Something stirred deep within the heart of the Lustrian jungles. The Amazons, the proud race of warrior women whose presence in these lands stretched back almost as long as the children of the Old Ones, were gathering their various tribes around a great bonfire.
Nine moths ago their queen, known simply as Anakonda, died at the hands of Wulfrik and his Norse Marauders. Through all this time her people have mourned her passing, for the passage of nine months held great spiritual significance to the warrior women of the Lustrian jungles on account of its relation to the cycle of birth. But with the passing of nine months came the time to nominate a new queen. Six tribes gathered around the bonfire, each led by one of Anakonda’s daughters, to claim their right to rule from the Curse Witches who stood before them dancing around the flames and gyrating their hips over its coals. The eldest daughter, Thalestris of the Blood-Lion Tribe, emerged from the crowd of warriors first to receive blessing from these strange, almost supernatural practitioners of the darker arts known only to those who’d given their lives to the Serpent god.
Thalestris stepped forward, carrying her spear and shield and dressed in a combination of green armour and long folds of crimson cloth, and stood before Lwaxana, the Curse Witch of the Blue Stumps and the chosen matriarch for this ceremony. The witch approached Thalestris with a pot of powdered minerals in her hand which she proceeded to smear across Thalestris’ body; below her eyes she smeared a blue mineral denoting the “Vision of the Falcon”, across her chest Lwaxana smeared the red paste representing “Heart of the Lion”, she smothered green chalk along the warrior’s elbows for the “Agility of the Jaguar” and finally, the Curse Witch poured a sample of water, diluted yellow by her own piss, to reflect the “Speed of the Culchan” (the Terror Bird) across the princess’ calfs.
With her opening blessings complete, Lwaxana took Thalestris’s hand and guided her towards the bonfire to gaze directly into its vapours. Thalestris did as instructed and looked deep into the roaring flames only to find something was off, for her surroundings seemed to slow down as she watched the flames and then, “Could it be?” She wondered as she began to see something moving in the flames. Something was moving, but how could anything survive in there? Yet despite her doubts, something slithered nonetheless only for it to suddenly erupted from the flames, sending embers and splinters everywhere which conveniently stuck to all the areas of her body which the Witch had covered, from just below her eyes, to her elbows, to her pasty chest to her urine-soaked calves. The embers stuck to those areas and moulded themselves onto them within seconds but the true wonder was not the way the embers had stuck to her body, it was what had caused those embers to fly in the first place.
A Coatl, a mighty winged snake believed by outsiders and colonists to be a symbol of Tepok though to the Amazons it reflected the majesty of the Serpent God instead, hovered above, flapping its wings which each spanned the length of a grown man. The Curse witches danced with delight, chucking burning embers at Thalestris’s tribe members for the ritual had been successful, the Serpent God had sent its angel to crown a queen and proclaim the Blood-Lion Tribe the chosen of the Serpent until the age of the next monarch dawned.
And then, something unforeseen happened as the sound of ravenous beasts approached from the jungle, snarling and roaring as they neared, snapping through old trees and jumping across streams. The Amazon warriors gripped their weapons and stood ready for whatever may come, they beared their blades, sharpened their spears and drew their bows in anticipation until finally, the beasts appeared through the trees. A unit of Horned One Riders, strangely led by a Skink, burst out of the forest and roared at the Amazon warriors as they halted before them. The Amazons looked on in bewilderment as the skink dismounted and proceeded to speak in the best facsimile of the Amazon language the records at Itza had been able to teach him.
“Greetings and rejoice, for I, Inxi-Huinzi, am here to introduce you to your master.”
Lwaxana stepped forward and angrily ranted at the Skink “You are interrupting our most sacred of ceremonies, leave now beast or suffer the punishment of our blades!”
“The Children of the Old Ones never interrupt, for it is your ceremony which interrupted our arrival. Behold, your true monarch!” Inxi-Huinzi declared as the trees behind him parted, revealing a Slann Mage-Priest hovering atop his disc. “Lord Tepec-Inzi, Supreme Ruler of the First City, Survivor of the Second Generation, Master of Realities, Creator of Dreams, he who has slept for countless generations, awoken once more.”
Thalestris then came to the front and joined Lwaxana’s tirades “Enough of this! Regardless of who you are, I am to be Queen! Do not rob me of my sacred time with the Coatl!”
“But that is why we have come, Princess. We seek audience with the new queen, to ensure she will uphold her pacts just as her predecessor did.” Inxi-Huinzi explained sincerely.
“You speak to us of pacts? Where were your cohorts when our Queen was crushed against a tree? Where was this toad in helping us avenge our fallen sisters and daughters?”
“Asleep, lost in the dark and the void. But my lord stirs once more and seeks your commitment in the wars that are to come. For it was his own champion, the mighty Gor-Rok who perished at the hands of elves and men. Stand by your allies once more and we will uphold your vengeance.”
“You speak of wars? We have known far too many of those to wish to enter other people’s battles. And why should I declare any allegiance now? You have yet to offer something greater than that which the elves may offer our people.”
Inxi-Huinzi turned to his master, whose eyes glowed silver and translated to him what the would-be Queen had said. The Slann grumbled and raised his arms as two horned one riders dismounted below him and the sky above suddenly jittered under a bolt of lightning.
The Amazons bared their weapons once more, uncertain of what was to happen until it was too late, as a lightning bolt came down from the heavens and struck the Coatl dead in a single blast. The Amazons turned to uproar, as the Curse Witches in particular appeared aghast at the sight of their religion being so recklessly defiled, but the Slann wasn’t over just yet as his magic lifted the winged serpent’s deceased body and brought it over to Thalestris before proceeding to coil it around her body.
“Your Queen wished to spend time with her serpent, consider this but the first of wishes granted under your master!” Inxi-Huinzi cried.
The dead snaked wrapped itself around Thalestris’ body, becoming tighter and tighter in its hold. Her tribe’s members rushed forward to pull the snake from her body, but found its hold too tight to remove. They slashed at it with their blades to set her free, only for its wounds to instantly mend themselves under the Slann’s oversight. The Serpent constricted around her ever tighter, breaking bones before finally wrapping around her neck, causing her to choke as her air passageways were crushed under its asphyxiating pressures. Within seconds she was lying on the floor, a mangled mess of broken limbs with a collapsed chest cavity and stretched throat.
The Amazons shrieked in horror as a second queen died before them but the Lizardmen had no interest in their grieving process.
“Which of you is the next eldest daughter of Anakonda? Step forward she who would serve her Master.” Inxi-Huinzi demanded.
The crowd was silent, for no Princess dared declare her claim to the throne after seeing what happened to their elder sibling. Even those who were specifically known for their courage and unbreakable spirits balked at the sight of the Slann’s brutality.
Finally, the silence cleared when Lwxana announced it was “Azura, Princess of the Black Culchan Tribe” who was second eldest daughter of Anakonda. The Princess stepped forward from the crowd, herself one of the warriors usually known for her bravery from whence she’s gained the title of Ice Maiden, now a timid wreck as the Slann stared into her soul with his glowing eyes.
“Hail Azura, Daughter of the Amazons, will you accept Lord Tepec-Inzi as your lord and saviour? To follow him in all his pursuits and ambitions?” Inxi-Huinzi questioned for the final time. “If so, please-“
“KKKKNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLL!” Tepec-Inzi bellowed, with a voice as deep as that of a walrus…

• Love React: Azura did in fact kneel before the Slann who in turn decided to remain for the rest of the ceremony. She was smothered in the same minerals and piss-water as Thalestris had been and was brought to the bonfire to receive the blessing of the Coatl. She was in luck, for a second Coatl appeared to bless her ascent to the status of monarch. Now Queen, she swore to the Slann to begin war-planning immediately.

• Wow React: Azura knelt before the Slann who in turn decided to remain for the rest of the ceremony. She was smothered in the same minerals and piss-water as Thalestris had been and was brought to the bonfire to receive the blessing of the Coatl. However, it never appeared for Serpent God could not forgive her so readily. However, all was not over as Tepec-Inzi hovered forward and decided to crown her himself under the watchful eye of the Lizardmen’s pantheon, the first human in all history to have ever received such an honour.

• Sad React: Azura knelt before the Slann despite what he did to her sister. With her loyalty assured, Tepec-Inzi allowed her to continue her coronation ceremony. However, a second Coatl never appeared upon being brought to the fire. Sending a great sense of shame both to her god and to her sister, Azura unsheathed a dagger from her costume and stabbed herself in the chest. The Lizardmen told the Amazons to declare another leader…

• Laugh React: Princess Azura rejected Tepec-Inzi’s offer. However, rather than killing her now like he had with Thalestris, Tepec-Inzi simply turned and flew away while the Horned One Riders mounted up and rode off. Finally, Inxi-Huinzi proclaimed that “You will regret this decision.” before setting off himself as well.

• Angry React: Azura rejected Tepec-Inzi’s offer who immediately rejected any notion of politeness in turn. Azura attempted to turn and run, or perhaps to reach for a blade with which to attack the Slann but either way the result was the same as Tepec-Inzi used his telekinetic powers to apply massive air pressure to her skull. The Slann pressed on, fracturing her skull under around 6 tonnes of pressure until finally, she jerked over onto the floor, with her forehead completely caved in.

Tepec-Inzi looked at the crowd’s terrified expressions and revealed the inevitable, there was no way these stubborn people would bow before him now that he had killed two of their queens. And so, Inxi-Huinzi cast a signal, leading to hundreds of skink skirmishers armed with javelins and even some chameleon skinks to appear from the bushes and begin throwing their projectiles at the unarmoured savages.
If the Amazons were suitably armed for battle or at least had some of their beasts on their side, they might have been able to put up a fight but as it was now, they didn’t stand a chance. The Amazons ran for their lives, as the occasional archer fired an arrow over her shoulder, but most were not quick enough to outrun the master skirmishers. One of the princesses, a huntress named Lysippe of the Emerald Jaguar Tribe, managed to outrun the Skinks through her excellent knowledge of the local vegetation but even then it was for nought, as she climbed a tall tree to discover that a second force of Lizardmen was approaching from the direction in which she had been running; an army of dinosaurs and sauri led by none other than the mighty Kroq-Gar himself who approached atop his carnosaur Grymlok. Hexoatl’s reinforcements had arrived and there truly was no place for the Amazons to run…