Zal'cuix Empire

The Zal'cuix were an ancient empire of humans which lived in and around the Xolotec Jungle. They were quite powerful in their heyday, and left many artifacts and structures behind.

Culture
It's believed that the Zal'cuix ate primarily grown crops, such as maize (corn) and fruits like cantelohp and grapes. Hunted meat was also eaten, and a bountiful hunt was often commemorated with a grand festival.

Magic/Religion
Perhaps one of the most fascinating aspects of the Zal'cuix was the way they viewed and used magic. Powerful priests called Hue'cui used staves embedded with shards of obsidian, called xozals, to channel arcane energy. They often presided over rituals and used their abilities to strengthen their warriors.

The Zal'cuix primarily worshipped the god Zolotl, who represented rain and vitality; priests of Zolotl would perform rituals to strengthen and purify crops. Many also revered the couatls that made their homes in the Xolotec after being brought there by the Aenoreans.

The Blistering
It is generally agreed that the Zal'cuix were wiped out by the hordes of evil dragons which poured forth from the Blistered Lands. However, they had been under siege for several decades before then by arcane monsters of their own creation: the Moloteli. The assault of the dragons merely caused the final collapse of the Zal'cuix empire.

Those Zal'cuix that were not killed in that last horrific slaughter became the other two races of modern humans: some interbred with the Ashanti nomads and became the Cerotheans, while the remainder bred with their own people and became the progenitors of the Kalestrians.