Huatl, also called the "City of Reawakening," is a temple-city of the Lizardmen located in central Lustria.
While some believe the ruined temple-cities are evidence the Lizardmen are a fading people, Huatl stands in defiance of this.[2a]
Huatl is a rare example of a temple-city that is in the process of being refounded, having stood ruined and nigh-empty for millennia. Three decades ago, a delegation of Slann mage-priests from the nearby temple-city of Xlanhuapec, the City of Mists, agreed that the furtherance of the Great Plan required that Huatl be reawakened, and set out at the head of a mighty column of Skink artisans and Kroxigor workers to do so.[1a] Now, the surrounding jungle quakes as Stegadon and Bastiladon bring stone quarried from the mountains of the Spine of Sotek, while countless Kroxigor work to raise the city up to its former glory.[2a]
To date, the city's reconstruction is at an early stage, yet the Great Temple has been rebuilt, reconsecrated to the Old One Huanchi,[2a] and its Star Chamber now houses a mage-priest for the first time in an age,[1a] the Slann Lord Vo’Kel.[2a] The jungle resonates to the sound of Skink artisans carving intricate stone reliefs. The ground trembles as huge stone blocks, borne upon the backs of Kroxigors, are dropped into place with incongruous precision.[1a]
It is hoped that Huatl might stand as a bulwark against the Vampire Coast to the east. The Lizardmen also hope Huatl might replace sunken Chupayotl as a connecting node to the Southlands. To do this though, they will need an ancient artefact of communication, still believed to lie somewhere in the sunken city.[2a]
History[]
Looting of Huatl[]
This map shows the route taken by the ill-fated Duc d'Lorrain's Bretonnian expedition to Lustria in 1847 IC. On their outward journey (in red) they were blown off course to the north of Ulthuan, but still made landfall in Lustria within about three months of their departure. The yellow arrows show the scattered return of the Bretonnian mutineers' fleet as they dispersed throughout the ports of the Old World.
In the year 1847 IC the Bretonnian King Jean financed an expedition to Lustria. The expedition set off a year later under the command of the Duke d'Lorrain, and consisted of six Bretonnian Men O' War, several smaller auxiliary craft, and just over 500 Bretonnian knights and men-at-arms.[3a]
The journey to Lustria was filled with peril. The High Elf Navy and the monsters of the high seas took a heavy toll on the Bretonnians, but three months after setting sail from Bordeleaux the coast of Lustria was sighted.[3a]
The Bretonnians made their landfall close to the ruined Lizardmen temple-city of Huatl. The Duc d'Lorrain was a brave and bold warrior, but was also rather rash and not noted for his tactical brilliance. Forgoing any form of reconnaissance, he plunged into the Lustrian jungle, heading towards the ruined pyramids whose peaks could be seen jutting up above the forest canopy.[3a]
Huatl is close to the Lustrian coast, and the Duc d'Lorrain's army reached the ruined city very quickly. Even so the Bretonnians had already attracted the attention of the Lizardmen. Unfortunately the duc and his men were unaware of this fact as they started to explore and loot the ruined city. Distracted by the prospect of loot the duc's army scattered, as his troops split up to roam the city in search of booty. Then, as night fell, the Lizardmen moved in.[3a]
The result was a massacre. When the sun rose, a mere fraction of the once mighty Bretonnian army was still alive. The tattered survivors fled from Huatl carrying what artefacts and treasure they could. But the dawn brought no respite, and the Bretonnians were harried all the way from the city to their boats by Lizardmen lurking in the dense jungle. The Duc d'Lorrain died a mere hundred yards from the beached longboats of his fleet, in a heroic last stand that bought enough time for the handful of Bretonnian survivors remaining to make their escape.[3a]
However, those that did manage to escape did not leave empty-handed. In their possession were many ancient artefacts and dozens of the golden glyph plates that adorned the Lizardmen temples. The fabulous treasures proved too much of a temptation for the crews of the Bretonnian fleet, and without the strong, if misguided, leadership of the Duc d'Lorrain it was not long before trouble started during the return voyage.[3a]
Rather than return to Bretonnia and hand the booty over to their king, the fleet mutinied and its ships scattered to ports all over the Old World. And with that the artefacts looted from Huatl, including the coveted Sacred Plaques covered with Saurian glyphs, were scattered far and wide across the world of Mallus as well.[3a]
Canon Conflict[]
The timeline shown in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Lustria makes no mention of the Duc d'Lorrain's expedition to Lustria as orginally reported in White Dwarf 205. Instead, 1847 IC is the year that Tudual du L'Anguille, the Duke of Anguille, amidst rumours of his heir's illegitimacy, sponsored an expedition into the Lustrian interior, to be led by his son Rodrik de L'Anguille.[2b]
The expedition landed in Port Reaver and spent several months in preparation before commencing their explorations. The Bretonnian noble and his entourage disappeared into the jungle. Six months later, the Lizardmen's temple-city of Huatl was reported to have been plundered of sacred artefacts. However, the young nobleman and his party were never heard from again.[2b]