Huaxotenoc - All You Need To Know!
This is the English version of the All You Need To Know document regarding our EXE, Huaxotenoc (Oo-ah-sho-teh-nok). This will contain everything from general concept, ideas associated with Huaxotenoc, design, and more. There will be another document written more narratively which will fully detail the story how we want it, hopefully available soon. The following is a table of contents to help you navigate the document with a bit more ease, as it can be a tad overwhelming and easily lost within. We wouldn’t want you stuck in a maze of text, right?
What is Huaxotenoc? - p.2 thru 4
Why is the protagonist Knuckles? Why not Sonic? - p.4 thru 5
What about the other Gods? - p.5 thru 6
Mayans & Mexica - p.6 ->
What is Huaxotenoc?
Huaxotenoc is our stand-in for Chaos during the events of Sonic Adventure 1. We took heavy inspiration from various mesoamerican cultures during his creation, but primarily Huaxotenoc is supposed to relate towards the Nahuatl people of central Mexico. While not everyone - especially those unfamiliar to Mexican history - know who the Nahuatl are, I’m sure there’s at least a smidge of familiarity with their legacy; the Aztec Empire. Huaxotenoc’s design is heavily inspired by the Jaguar and the Eagle, two very important animals to the Nahuatl people and creatures represented by some of their strongest and most daring warriors. The Cuauhtli (Kwow-Tli | This word means “Eagle”) and the Ocelotl (Ah-Seh-Lotuhl | This word means “Jaguar”) were amongst the highest ranking titles given to Aztec warriors, animals of great strength and repute that embodied the best of the best. Huaxotenoc is meant to be a fusion of these two animals, starting out as an Ocelotl and steadily (albeit grotesquely) evolving into a Cuauhtli as Huaxotenoc garners more and more Chaos energy. He can do this by eating any given living organism, or by passively absorbing it via his environment. Eating is not a necessity to Huaxotenoc, rather it is a means to an end and the quickest way for him to “evolve” into the Cuauhtli. Within the confines of his world, Huaxotenoc is amongst a pantheon of divine beings all inspired by the Nahua roster of divine entities. None of these other beings have been given names or are listed since they have ceased physical existence by the point of Huaxotenoc’s rampage - instead existing in a semi-limbo outside reality - leaving Huaxotenoc to more or less freely annihilate everything and everyone in his path. The Master Emerald is supposed to act as an extension of Huaxotenoc and his power, a metaphor for the story of his inspiration deity Xolotl. Within the tale of Xolotl, there came a time when the era of the fifth sun - or world - was supposed to begin initiation. For this immense endeavor to commence, each and every Nahua god was to give up their corporeal forms on the Earth and reincarnate into new deities to help form and rule the new Earth. Xolotl, despite being the deity presiding over Death and Misfortune (On occasion Fire and Lightning as well), was deeply terrified by the idea of his own demise and reformation into a new being. Xolotl decided he would pull a cunning move and delay his demise, inadvertently prolonging the existence of the fourth sun - the world as we know it - and trapping the other Nahua gods out of the mortal plane. In order to avoid the reincarnating power of the sun, he turned himself into the Corn plant. After some time, he realized this was futile, and instead transformed into the famous amphibian the Axolotl. By living in the water, he would never have to truly bask in the sun - and he could continue his existence as he saw fit. In a similar vein, the Master Emerald is to Huaxotenoc as the Axolotl is to Xolotl. It was his shield against reincarnation, fueled by his fear and desire to remain in the world as it was and not as it would be. It was his protective barrier, and by being exposed to the outside world - and therefore to the sun - he would start a timer that he could not reverse. A timer which would be his own end, and his forced reincarnation. Consequently, this would also result in the end of all things. Ever foolish and prideful, the Echidna tribe eventually discovered the Master Emerald. They spent centuries worshipping it and its immense power, unknowingly slowly awakening the slumbering deity within it with each ritual and with each chant. After so many centuries of this, Huaxotenoc was unleashed. He was enraged that mortals dared bring him out of his shell, forcing him to be exposed to the sun which would be his eventual end. In his fit of rage, he began to wage war against all that was and ever would be. Not for the sake of renewal, but rather for the sake of annihilation. At his apex, he nearly achieved the crux of his power and snowballed beyond anything the world could handle - but was stopped at the very last minute by a brave group of heroes and Tikal, who used her mystic gifts and the power of the Chaos Emeralds to force Huaxotenoc back into the Master Emerald with herself in order to perpetually drain Huaxotenoc’s energy and keep him trapped. This great victory did not restore the near extinction of the Echidna tribe, nor did it heal the scars implanted across the Earth by the terrifying power that had nearly ended it. For a time, this system worked. It worked well, and it kept Huaxotenoc at bay. That is, until a conspiring doctor discovers his existence and purposefully shatters the Master Emerald in an attempt to control the energy-starved God. Doctor Eggman in time would discover that no mortal could ever hope to make a truly divine being do their bidding, the best they could do is hold it off for as long as they could.
Why is the protagonist Knuckles? Why not Sonic?
The story of Huaxotenoc is by nature a story about Knuckles as well. The two characters are intertwined, and one cannot exist without the other. For Knuckles, Huaxotenoc represents the extinction of his race and his forced positioning as the guardian of the Master Emerald. Huaxotenoc is the being responsible for Knuckles’ profound loneliness and enslavement to responsibility that he had never asked for. In the inverse, Knuckles is a loose end to Huaxotenoc. He had already brought the Echidnas so, so very close to utter extinction - yet here is the last one standing before him. A warrior of profound strength and skill, the best of the best. An obsession that Huaxotenoc struggles to overcome until he garners more and more power, and his true Cuauhtli form is able to “leak” into their reality to a greater degree. Huaxotenoc will stop at nothing to ensure that the Echidnas - and all other things in existence - come to an end as punishment for their treason against him, while Knuckles must bear the weight of the world upon his shoulders in the containment of this forgotten, angry god. As the narrative progresses, Knuckles will be faced with many uncomfortable truths about his people and be forced to question the nature of the world he inhabits. All of these things will be explored deeper later on as the story goes.
What about the other gods?
Huaxotenoc’s peers are not all as devilish as himself. Huaxotenoc is supposed to act as the Deity of Death & Misfortune upon Others, his own vile nature is not reflected among every other god that existed in the pre-history of the world. These other beings have since been lost in name and roles, with Huaxotenoc’s permanence only being a reflection of his own cowardice and avoidance of reincarnation and the renewal of cycles. In some ways, it is also selfish. The renewal of the cycle can only be complete once all of the divine beings begin the process of reincarnation, enabling the creation of a new reality and world to be governed by a new set of gods. Through Huaxotenoc’s refusal, he has essentially imprisoned his peers in the midway point between death and reincarnation all while dragging out the existence of the current cycle. The world as Sonic and his friends know it is one that is overdue for expiration, held together by a cowardly God of Death who is more terrified of what could be done to him rather than what he does to others.
Mayans & Mexica
It’s not a well-kept secret that these two Mesoamerican groups are the primary drivers behind Huaxotenoc’s concept and the entire inspiration of his story. Put simply, Huaxotenoc is supposed to represent the Mexica/Nahuatl and the Echidnas are the Mayans. This draws from in-verse parallels to Mayan civilization within the Echidna peoples, and a noted overall lack of Mesoamerican-inspired EXEs within the community. Our hope with this specific concept was to bring some fresh air into the space, and give everyone something a little bit different than what we’re all used to. During the conceptualization phase, history itself was our single biggest driver and inspiration. In the midst of the 10th century, the most populous regions of the Mayan civilization - the southern lowlands - experienced a gradually worsening collapse. Records indicate a huge fall in population, an uptick in wars between tribes, and the mass abandonment of cities and large-scale settlements. Think about the famous Chichen Itza pyramid in Cancun, this structure was one of many abandoned around this time. In the midst of this downfall occurring, further north in what is now central Mexico the Nahuatl people began to properly rise up and consolidate into the great Aztec civilization I’m sure many people are familiar with. The rise of Tenochitlan as a center of Mesoamerican culture and civilization while the downfall of Chichén Itzá and its compatriots occurred was just one expression of an incredibly ancient cycle which dominated Mesoamerican history. Some say these cycles of rise & fall only ended when Spanish conquistadores overthrew the Aztec Empire and established New Spain (Nueva España) in its wake. Some more esoteric individuals and hobbyist historians consider this event in itself to be a part of the cycle of Mesoamerican civilizations and that the replacement of New Spain with México was a continuation that will eventually be fulfilled once again. Personally, I don’t subscribe to this thought - but it’s an interesting thought experiment. These ideas of cyclical civilization are the very root of Huaxotenoc, he is the next stage of civilization devouring the old world and preparing the slate anew. This is the very base of what he is and always will be, no matter what. Ravenous hunger for destruction without limitations, unburdened by mortal woes and hellbent on the consumption of all things in all places all so that something new can be seeded afterwards.. Yet, it refuses the renewal. What is tilling the land if you plant no seeds? What is clearing the forest if you build no home? Flowing water into the desert, for nobody to drink? It is a divine contradiction, a farce with no result nor end.