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By first observation, of course, none of this could have been foretold. For now, that being was merely a struggling adept in a settlement that could only be called a city by the standards of that time, born to toil for the betterment of that people for only the reward of seeing others survive. The city to the east demanded tithes and tributes for a cessation of hostilities. Food for their people and to fuel the machine of war, and partners for their military leaders. The cruelest of the generals had taken and buried two spouses already, and the ignoble adept was to be the third. The Great Serpent learned of this adept's curse, spun from cinnabar and magic, that slowly poisoned an army as their general slipped further into illness and madness. With the dying gasps of the eastern city's warriors, the adept changed form and rent the skin of the world, entering the Mansus. The Great Serpent took this new Long as its own, despite having given them no patronage. The Great Serpent could not be denied. As the new Long rose in their patron's esteem, they took a Name befitting their form: [[The Anaconda]].
Following the War of the Doors the Hours of the Keys, those Hours of a chaotic and changing nature, set plans in motion to establish a foothold in the History of their rivals, across . Across the sea and in the darker corners of the world, new gods begin to whisper and work their wonders, drawing many to their service. In the New World in particular, numerous small scattered segments of humanity began to be drawn together in worship of a new pantheon of gods whom whispered in their dreams. Gathering together, these humans came to form the nameless empire emerge centered on now known as [[The Old Kingdom]], whose profane rites and prayers strengthened their gods' hold over their world, so that they may one day facilitate their worshipcoming. Seeing their rivals on the rise, the Doors began manipulating events in the mortal world to counter their influence. [[The Cuckoo]] sent the kingdoms of man visions of treasure across the sea, and urged them to take them for themselves. Explorers and Conquerors set sail for the New World, and attacked the indigenous peoples.
Initially the Doors’ plan worked perfectly. The conquistadors caught the Keys’ scheme in its infancy before the fledgling empires could fully establish themselves, conquered and converted the people with reasonable effort. Things went far off script, however, when the Conquistadors saw how easily they took the New World and decided they would be better off without having to answer to Spain. They announced their secession from the Crown, and crowned the greatest among them “[[El Rey Dorado]]”, the Golden King. Realizing their error, the Doors doubled down and lent their combined might to the reclaimers sent by Spain to retake the New World. Facing unexpected, supernatural difficulty defending his new empire, Cortez receives an offer of help from an unlikely source. The Exile-Priests of the “heathen gods” returned, and showed Cortez the works of their otherworldly masters. Needing power and allies, he accepted their aid, and became an unwitting agent of the Keys.
