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Mictlan: An Ancient Mythical Tale News

Mexican priesthood

Do you know the different ranks of the Mexican priesthood?

The Florentine Codex is a document created especially for the King Carlos V and was overseen by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, written thanks to the tales of survivors of the conquest. The document represents in a pictographic nature the culture, society, customs and history of the Mexica people, a valuable document in the studies of ancient Mexico.

In this document, the different ranks that existed among the Mexica priests are described:

“The ranks, by which one would rise, were as follows: the first was called tlacamazto, an acolyte; the second was called tlamacazquj, a deacon; the third, they called him tlenamacac, a priest. From these priests, the best ones were considered as supreme pontiffs and they were called ‘quequetzalcoa’, which means heirs of Quetzalcoatl”.

Based on this information, we have another WIP variant of what a Tlamacazqui or a deacon could be, based on the Durán Codex, where the priests are offering human hearts to a giant image of the god Mictlantecuhtli.





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FEDELOBO as calupoh breeder: 3D character

Hey Mictlan gang!
Today we want to show you the WIP on the calupoh breeder for FEDELOBO, who has joined Mictlan's family!

Fedewolf will embody an experienced hunter dedicated to breeding wolfdogs, an impressive dog breed from Mesoamerica.
We made a clothing study with variations that include a two-way skirt and a military-looking bodysuit with a ichcahuipilli that goes below the waist.

Can you hear the howling in the distance? That’s a lonely hunter that walks the woods with his loyal pack!




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Deadlier than weapons...

Contrary to traditional beliefs, the best weapon available for the Spanish against the indigenous people were neither firearms, breastplates nor horses.

The plagues and diverse diseases were the main causes for the demographic decline.

Diseases like smallpox spread quickly through the American population, with no distinction between kings and peasants. Death traveled the land and nothing could stop the ruthless and devastating virus that spared no one.

In this concept art, we display the picture of workers infected by smallpox, an image that became common at the beginning of the conquest, until the surviving indigenous people were able to generate the necessary antibodies and survive the disease.





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Coyote Warriors

Did you know that Coyote warriors existed both with the Mexica and the Tlaxcalans?

The Coyote warrior appears numerous times in the History of Tlaxcala, participating on the side of the Mexica, as well as the Tlaxcalan. It also appears in Mixtec codices and in Teotihuacan murals.

It was a creature of a carnivorous nature and great libido, and was associated with the immutable cycle of regeneration and death, the base of the Mesoamerican cosmovision; so it is not surprising that it sought to have its own power and strength, just as it was for the eagle and jaguar warriors.

The coyote was so important that the name of Nezahualcoyotl, an extraordinary character in Mesoamerican history (a poet, reformer, warrior and lover) means “fasting coyote”.

This is why for this WIP we present a coyote warrior, in this case, a fire coyote, represented in the first memoirs. We based its shield on one of the few Mesoamerican shields that have survived to this day, besides adding multicolored plumage, representing the noble background of the character.





Legends, myths, facts, history: Mictlan has it all! We're aiming at including in our game the most incredible stories, and we will continue updating you with news, concept arts, sneak&peeks of our creative process, so make sure to follow us on our social media channels to stay updated!

Priests of Mictlantecuhtli

Did you know that the priests of Mictlantecuhtli had their hair tangled up to look like the beings from the underworld?

In an archeological context, there has been found only one temple that worshipped Mictlantecuhtli, and that is the “Templo de las Calaveras”. It was found in 2013 while excavating the archaeological zone of Tehuacán El Viejo, in the state of Puebla. This temple stands out because it has ornaments made of human skulls embedded on its sidewalls, as well as images of this deity where the shrine once stood, making it one of a kind.

In the iconographic reference, we have several pre-Hispanic and colonial codices where they present the priests of Mictlantecuhtli offering large quantities of blood or performing the self-sacrifice.

Alternatively, in the tonalamatl books such as the codex Cospi, a priest of Mictlantecuhtli is shown offering copal and blood from his ears to a temple dedicated to the deities of the night.

Based on these somewhat limited references, we took some “liberties” to represent this WIP of a priest of Mictlantecuhtli. He stands out for his “dirty” look, possibly due to the arduous religious rites associated with human sacrifice, with his tangled up hair in honor of his tutelary deity, and with a feather ornament that holds his long dreadlocks, as well as a clay container, where human hearts were collected.

As a final touch, in a more fantastic twist, he carries a scepter with a human skull, emphasizing his relationship with the fearsome god of death.





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