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No Rhyme or Reason

=== MAY CONTAIN TRACE AMOUNTS OF INFLUENCE BY EXTRATERRESTRIAL FLYING RODENTS ===
=== PLEASE SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF HERE ===
In the Year of our Lord 1492, an Italian explorer named Christopher Columbus sailed west from Europe, searching for a new route to the East. However, what he instead encountered ended up changing the world for good, and not for the better.
He found two whole new continents; the central region dominated by a sprawling empire of people known as the Mexica. However, what made this empire different from all others was that this one was not ruled only by men, but by the gods themselves. Literally. Grotesque inhuman monstrosities who craved warfare and subjugation (well, most of them anyway; ole' Quetzalcoatl had always been a bit cagey about the whole “crush, kill, destroy” mentality the Mexica had, convinced it would be their undoing, but, eh, what did he know?). Parodies of the human form; mismatched hybrids of man and beast, who rained down fire and lightning with impunity. Columbus' faith was shaken, but he remained steadfast, convinced that these abominations were denizens of Hell itself, spawned on Earth to test his faith.
But the wheels had already been set in motion, for his mere presence had already provided the Mexica with their new goal to strive towards. They knew conclusively, for the very first time, that there was a whole other landmass out there, filled with men and women ripe for the conquering. Columbus tried to ward them off, telling them of Europe's formidable weaponry (relatively speaking; the Mexica were still fighting with atlatls and macuahuitls), but this only caused the Mexica deities to drive for the campaign more, as they had gotten a bit bored knocking over endless primitive tribesmen. They wanted a challenge, and Europe was prime for the taking.
However, the Mexica had no ships capable of long-range travel, let alone crossing an entire ocean. Luckily, the ships of Columbus' fleet provided the perfect template for them to base their new fleet on, so they set to work building their own fleet of ships to transport an invasion force. It took them around a decade and a half, given that they still lacked draft animals and experienced sailors, but the Mexica were more than willing to defer to the whims of their deities, who, being functionally immortal, were more than happy to commit to a long-term goal for their own ends.
Meanwhile, back across the Atlantic, Columbus having never returned, everyone was convinced that his mad venture had failed just as they had expected it to and moved on with their lives. Things went on as usual; nothing much changed except that Spain continued the Reconquista by driving into northern Africa and crushing the Moroccans. All other attempted expeditions west failed; John Cabot ended up getting killed by Viking ghosts in Newfoundland, while Pedro Cabral's ship turned slightly off course after his navigator accidentally dropped their compass overboard after leaving Cape Verde, resulting in him making land in the Amazon rainforest (they were never seen or heard from again).
Finally, in 1518 AD, the Mexica set out east to Europe and after 8 days, they made landfall in the Iberian peninsula.
Nobody could have seen it coming. An entire fleet of ships landing, dispatching warriors dressed in animal costumes, war paint and feathers, wielding swords and shields supported by crude firearms copied from the First Fleet as they liked to call it. No one could understand how they could possibly invade an advanced and civilised European nation like Spain or Portugal. However, the Mexica had one thing on their side that the Europeans didn't; the power of the Gods.
No sooner had the Iberians mobilised their troops that terrible plagues struck, followed by pillars of fire brought on by Xolotl, as well as storms and lighting from Tlaloc, killing thousands and decimating the command structure. Huitzilopochtli, the primary Mexica War God, then led the troops of the Mexica into battle, annihilating the opposing forces and securing victory upon victory. Portugal fell in 2 months; Spain in 5. However, setting up puppet states proved problematic, as the Catholic citizens of the nations, like Columbus, believed that theirs was a holy war and they were fighting the spawn of the Devil himself. Huitzilopochtli decided to issue an ultimatum; either join the Mexica, or die. Around a quarter joined, and Huitzilopochtli then ordered hell-for-leather on the others. Those who weren't killed fled either to France (they didn't make it far) or North Africa in former Morocco (where they were not pursued, Columbus having conveniently forgotten to tell the Mexica about Africa).
To make matters worse for Europe, just as they were finishing destroying Spain and its cultural heritage, the incoming second fleet of ships arrived, giving the Mexica the impetus to drive into France. What a buzzkill that was.
Europe now faced a graver crisis than it ever had before (yes, including the Black Death), with France unable to hold off the Mexica, the Ottomans completely disinterested in assisting and the Holy Roman Empire fraying at the seams. Luckily, a lone unnamed Austrian general had devised a plan. Using a new gunpowder formula devised by a scientific practitioner that everyone else derided as insane, he made a bold last stand in Lyon and succeeded in severely wounding Huitzilopochtli and driving back the Mexica. This triggered a massive table-turning; the Mexica were shocked that their God of War had been defeated and nearly killed, and the European morale was massively revitalised upon the realisation that their opponents were not invincible after all. Huitzilopochtli took his defeat harshly, declaring that the lives of all the remaining Europeans were now forfeit, and that they must all be exterminated. The other Gods were hesitant, but conceded and set about eradicating the French population, followed by raining fire and storms down on England and northern Germany. This did not deter the Europeans, who now knew there was a way to kill a God; with moar dakka.
The first Mexican god fell in March 1521. Huitzilopochtli, having largely recovered, redoubled his efforts to defeat Europe, but Mexica morale was failing, some soldiers even breaking ranks as their gods began to fall. Outraged at this, Huitzilopochtli began to make ever more reckless actions on the battlefield until he himself finally met his end, coincidentally at the hands of an army led by the very same unnamed Austrian general who had started the European reverse. This was the defining turning point; having lost their primary God of War along with almost all the others, the Mexicans could not compete with the Europeans, and Europe slowly reversed the Mexican conquest, until finally they were able to send a fleet of their own to meet with the Mexican Emperor in Tenochtitlan, on his own soil.
Quetzalcoatl, who had stayed behind to watch over the Empire in the absence of the other major gods, saw the fleet coming and led a coalition of the remaining lesser gods and the domestic military to overthrow the Emperor. Luckily, the coup was bloodless, and Quetzalcoatl met the leader of the European fleet under truce. Both sides met in heavily armed fashion, but no shot were fired (or swords drawn). Despite the victories in Europe, both sides recognised the reality of the situation; the Mexica could not hold Europe, but Europe could not muster up the force necessary to invade the Mexican homeland. Despite the massive casualties on both sides, the only option available was an uneasy armistice. Neither side believed that the peace was permanent, and began planning for the next war that each side was sure was coming.
Following the truce, Mexican society and politics became extremely volatile. With the death of s great many of their gods, the Mexica suddenly found themselves unable to function. Rainfall was now unpredictable. Wars were no longer one-sided. Agriculture was now far more laborious than before. Mexican society began to become divided between the ones who favoured a program of mass modernisation along European lines or “Revolutionaries”, and the higher-ups like the warriors, nobles and priests who favoured retaining more of the status quo, or “Evolutionaries”. Modernisation won out in the end, and the various warrior classes, the nobility and the priesthood was abolished (at times through force), with the Empire turned into an oligarchy, viewed at the time as the only real chance for progress in these troubled times.
History marched on, and the true nature of the Earth made itself more and more apparent. The encounter with the deities of the Mexica was just the beginning; this was a world where virtually anything could happen, and even in the present day, no one can come up with a single, unifying theory explaining all the weirdness away. The best explanation anyone can come up with is that there really is no method to the madness, just the simple fact that there is No Rhyme or Reason.
* * *
Much has changed in the intervening history since First Contact with the New World. New nations have risen to take the place of the ones destroyed during the invasion. Colonialism has taken its course, as in OTL, but with unrecognisable participants and aftermath. The scientific revolution, however, has spun off in some very bizarre directions, with the advent of the Alchemical Revolution and the discovery of the power of “Mad Science”. All sorts of strange and often-times dangerous inventions come of these two refinements in modern thinking, and many different nations have different attitudes towards the practice of both.
The Mexican (“Aztec” to those ignorant foreigners) Empire has come a long way since the invasion, having modernised reasonably successfully, especially given that their technology was practically stone age before contact with Europe. They retain the status of top power in Victoria [1], especially since the oligarchy which ruled for almost two-and-a-quarter centuries post-war eventually gave way to genuine democratic reform and the restoration of the Emperor as monarch, albeit a constitutional one. They have adjusted to their new “first among equals” position in world politics, and are trying to take a reasonably neutral position in world affairs, but for some unfathomable reason, the Germans just cannot keep themselves from antagonising the Mexica, calling them “our eternal foe”. The Mexica, sick of apologising for something that happened almost half a millennium ago, for the most part just sigh and ignore them.
The Mexica have retained their core territories; with the exception of a few breakaway native states in the north, the Empire remains largely intact (the remoter regions were largely Mexicanised by the time of first contact; turns out having actual gods on your side makes natives a wee bit more willing to submit to your will). They currently control the Mexican heartland, Central America, the Caribbean and the hotter western regions of the OTL US as far north as Oregon and the regions of north-eastern South America excluding the Amazon. Mexican culture tends towards the florid, with lots of colour and decoration. As tacky as this sounds, the Mexica have become an unusually successful cultural exporter, largely through excising the most objectionable parts of their culture, in particular their obsession with blood. It is also a notably tolerant society, with women's rights and same-sex marriage being introduced earlier than any other nation (Xochipilli, the Mexican god of homosexuality and prostitutes, managed to manoeuvre himself into a high-level government position post-war).
The remaining gods post-war found it difficult to adapt to the new society in which they lived, as new technologies quickly made them obsolete. Quetzalcoatl, virtually the last higher-up god, still soars over the breadth of the empire (and occasionally other nations, but only during diplomatic missions) as a guardian and symbol of Mexica pride and unity. He still holds great influence over the upper levels of government and is always quick to intervene when things get messy in the Mexican Parliament. The other gods have not had it so easy; many being forced to take positions in local governments or state facilities, using what little power they have to make a difference in the meagre posts they now hold. Some have been forced out of the governing circle altogether, having to find new ways to make ends meet (regardless of the fact that they are immortal and, y'know, gods, they still have to pay taxes, or they can go live with the vampires in Unterwelt). Not all of them have it bad, though; one previously unremarkable god now owns the largest fast food chain in the Western Hemisphere.
However, there is currently an upswing of conservative Mexican nationalism triggered by the latest refugee crisis from the East Victorian countries. What would be OTL's Texas is currently the heartland of the new-found Mexican nationalist movement, claiming that their jobs are being taken by subversive English-speakers. This particular area is where Mexican culture retains much of its original flavour; hardcore conservatives have even taken to the old practice of dressing up as the gods and re-enacting scenes from the mythology, which is seen as being in pretty poor taste nowadays, especially by the remaining gods. However, the most recent and notorious incident was when a local nutcase convinced a lot of people to sacrifice numerous foreigners (followed by themselves) in an effort to revive their fallen gods and restore Mexican supremacy. Not only did it not work, it caused a major international incident and earned them the ire of many Mad Scientists the world over, who pointed out what many had known for years: blood sacrifice only works if you're doing it unintentionally.
Across the Atlantic, the behemoth of Imperial Germany rules Europe with a leather-gloved iron fist. In the aftermath of the invasion, Austria quickly found itself in a position of power with many of the other European nations shattered by the Mexica, if not outright depopulated. Austria harnessed the new-found power of pan-German nationalism founded by their sense of unity brought on by the invasion coupled with their victory as a result, seeking to draw in the tattered remnants of the Holy Roman Empire under the new federalised banner of Austrian Germany.
Over the following decades, Germany gradually grew to dominate mainland Europe, first (utilising their mad dynastyk marryje skyllz) uniting with the powerful Polish state [2] and taking down the Ottoman Empire, followed by swallowing up the remnants of France in tandem with Italy. However, when word got out that the English, Spanish and Swedes were forming colonies in Victoria, the Germans decided they wanted a piece of that action as well, not only for the purposes of national prestige, but the colonies would also give them a platform with which to keep the Mexica in check. So, they sent their top sailor, Wolfgang Emeric, to sail west and founded the first colony (in OTL Roanoke Colony) of the nation that would one day be called the United States of Emerica.
Their colonial efforts continued in earnest, but their biggest break came with an Italian scientist (having studied the revolutionary gunpowder used by Austria during the invasion) codifying the laws of alchemy for the first time, beginning the Alchemical Revolution across the world. Soon phlogiston-powered ships were crossing the Atlantic regularly and alchemical artillery was rolling across the plains of north-eastern Africa (though, to this day, synthesising human souls to use as expendable soldiers is very verboten). All this would be superseded, however, by the other great revolution to come out of Germany; that of Mad Science.
As the scientific revolution spread, it spiralled off into some very bizarre directions in the later centuries, with all sorts of strange and unusual inventions being created, using principles that seemed to blatantly contradict what had already been established as natural scientific laws. But reality, as it happened, was more flexible than regular society believed, and the so-called laws that governed it turned out to be amenable to subversion if the person attempting to do so had his brain in a different gear than others. Nature, it seemed, treated irrationality as a virtue.
However, this approach to scientific development had its drawbacks. One of the core tenets of Mad Science, as it turned out, was lack of intent. Only natural madness enabled one to toss the accepted laws of physics out the window; one could not simply chug a mixture of mercury and oven cleaner and expect to invent a perpetual motion device; only innate, late-onset or accidental madness worked. One could not intentionally set out to subvert the laws of nature; it could only be done when a person's mental faculties operated at such a level that allowed them to stumble past the universe's defences, fiddle around a bit, leave and get away with it. Also, because the creations of such figures were largely derived from the creators own personal insights and no one else's, this made replication and mass-production of such discoveries exceptionally challenging. For these reasons, despite all the advances Mad Science has made, it still remains a very niche occupation, and indeed, due to quite a few very large and well-publicised screw-ups, almost every nation nowadays has laws regulating the activities of such individuals.
Today, Germany dominates the entirety of mainland Europe, with the Kaiser dominating as a near-absolute monarch. It is a fairly conservative and autocratic place, rife with macho attitude from the heavy militaristic tradition that runs throughout the German culture. Armoured Winged Hussars patrol the streets on robotic horses, and every major city has its own defence network, largely consisting of massive ordinance equipped onto every major and minor building. German armaments are renowned as being some of the most well-made, effective and creative in the world. In fact, Germany's gun obsession has gone so far as to drive them to develop what no one thought possible; a cannon inside another cannon. No one else has quite figured out how that bending of space-time works.
However, their reach outside Europe is nowhere near as wide-reaching. Virtually all of their colonial efforts have eventually ended in tears, with only Von Hayek's Land (OTL Cambodia) remaining; by this point only a nominal colony. However, they do retain a large degree of control in north-eastern Africa, with a large mess of puppet states set up to supplement their position against their foe to the south (and, you know, resources). The large region of Libya is set up under the administration of Sicily, who are beginning to think they were scammed by Germany after they were offered control of Libya (and its oil) in exchange for direct control of Northern Italy, as the Germans neglected to tell them that there were a bunch of superpowered homunculi [3] running around causing trouble. The Germans, of course, deny everything.

[1] TTL's name for North America; named by the English for their victory over the invaders; the name stuck before the Germans could challenge their dibs on naming the continent, and they're still PO'd about it even today.
[2] Meaning that, ITTL, Germany became heavily influenced by the Sarmatist Movement.
[3] Created by former Libyan strongman General Khedaphi.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

No Rhyme or Reason

=== MAY CONTAIN TRACE AMOUNTS OF INFLUENCE BY EXTRATERRESTRIAL FLYING RODENTS ===
=== PLEASE SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF HERE ===
In the Year of our Lord 1492, an Italian explorer named Christopher Columbus sailed west from Europe, searching for a new route to the East. However, what he instead encountered ended up changing the world for good, and not for the better.
He found two whole new continents; the central region dominated by a sprawling empire of people known as the Mexica. However, what made this empire different from all others was that this one was not ruled only by men, but by the gods themselves. Literally. Grotesque inhuman monstrosities who craved warfare and subjugation (well, most of them anyway; ole' Quetzalcoatl had always been a bit cagey about the whole “crush, kill, destroy” mentality the Mexica had, convinced it would be their undoing, but, eh, what did he know?). Parodies of the human form; mismatched hybrids of man and beast, who rained down fire and lightning with impunity. Columbus' faith was shaken, but he remained steadfast, convinced that these abominations were denizens of Hell itself, spawned on Earth to test his faith.
But the wheels had already been set in motion, for his mere presence had already provided the Mexica with their new goal to strive towards. They knew conclusively, for the very first time, that there was a whole other landmass out there, filled with men and women ripe for the conquering. Columbus tried to ward them off, telling them of Europe's formidable weaponry (relatively speaking; the Mexica were still fighting with atlatls and macuahuitls), but this only caused the Mexica deities to drive for the campaign more, as they had gotten a bit bored knocking over endless primitive tribesmen. They wanted a challenge, and Europe was prime for the taking.
However, the Mexica had no ships capable of long-range travel, let alone crossing an entire ocean. Luckily, the ships of Columbus' fleet provided the perfect template for them to base their new fleet on, so they set to work building their own fleet of ships to transport an invasion force. It took them around a decade and a half, given that they still lacked draft animals and experienced sailors, but the Mexica were more than willing to defer to the whims of their deities, who, being functionally immortal, were more than happy to commit to a long-term goal for their own ends.
Meanwhile, back across the Atlantic, Columbus having never returned, everyone was convinced that his mad venture had failed just as they had expected it to and moved on with their lives. Things went on as usual; nothing much changed except that Spain continued the Reconquista by driving into northern Africa and crushing the Moroccans. All other attempted expeditions west failed; John Cabot ended up getting killed by Viking ghosts in Newfoundland, while Pedro Cabral's ship turned slightly off course after his navigator accidentally dropped their compass overboard after leaving Cape Verde, resulting in him making land in the Amazon rainforest (they were never seen or heard from again).
Finally, in 1518 AD, the Mexica set out east to Europe and after 8 days, they made landfall in the Iberian peninsula.
Nobody could have seen it coming. An entire fleet of ships landing, dispatching warriors dressed in animal costumes, war paint and feathers, wielding swords and shields supported by crude firearms copied from the First Fleet as they liked to call it. No one could understand how they could possibly invade an advanced and civilised European nation like Spain or Portugal. However, the Mexica had one thing on their side that the Europeans didn't; the power of the Gods.
No sooner had the Iberians mobilised their troops that terrible plagues struck, followed by pillars of fire brought on by Xolotl, as well as storms and lighting from Tlaloc, killing thousands and decimating the command structure. Huitzilopochtli, the primary Mexica War God, then led the troops of the Mexica into battle, annihilating the opposing forces and securing victory upon victory. Portugal fell in 2 months; Spain in 5. However, setting up puppet states proved problematic, as the Catholic citizens of the nations, like Columbus, believed that theirs was a holy war and they were fighting the spawn of the Devil himself. Huitzilopochtli decided to issue an ultimatum; either join the Mexica, or die. Around a quarter joined, and Huitzilopochtli then ordered hell-for-leather on the others. Those who weren't killed fled either to France (they didn't make it far) or North Africa in former Morocco (where they were not pursued, Columbus having conveniently forgotten to tell the Mexica about Africa).
To make matters worse for Europe, just as they were finishing destroying Spain and its cultural heritage, the incoming second fleet of ships arrived, giving the Mexica the impetus to drive into France. What a buzzkill that was.
Europe now faced a graver crisis than it ever had before (yes, including the Black Death), with France unable to hold off the Mexica, the Ottomans completely disinterested in assisting and the Holy Roman Empire fraying at the seams. Luckily, a lone unnamed Austrian general had devised a plan. Using a new gunpowder formula devised by a scientific practitioner that everyone else derided as insane, he made a bold last stand in Lyon and succeeded in severely wounding Huitzilopochtli and driving back the Mexica. This triggered a massive table-turning; the Mexica were shocked that their God of War had been defeated and nearly killed, and the European morale was massively revitalised upon the realisation that their opponents were not invincible after all. Huitzilopochtli took his defeat harshly, declaring that the lives of all the remaining Europeans were now forfeit, and that they must all be exterminated. The other Gods were hesitant, but conceded and set about eradicating the French population, followed by raining fire and storms down on England and northern Germany. This did not deter the Europeans, who now knew there was a way to kill a God; with moar dakka.
The first Mexican god fell in March 1521. Huitzilopochtli, having largely recovered, redoubled his efforts to defeat Europe, but Mexica morale was failing, some soldiers even breaking ranks as their gods began to fall. Outraged at this, Huitzilopochtli began to make ever more reckless actions on the battlefield until he himself finally met his end, coincidentally at the hands of an army led by the very same unnamed Austrian general who had started the European reverse. This was the defining turning point; having lost their primary God of War along with almost all the others, the Mexicans could not compete with the Europeans, and Europe slowly reversed the Mexican conquest, until finally they were able to send a fleet of their own to meet with the Mexican Emperor in Tenochtitlan, on his own soil.
Quetzalcoatl, who had stayed behind to watch over the Empire in the absence of the other major gods, saw the fleet coming and led a coalition of the remaining lesser gods and the domestic military to overthrow the Emperor. Luckily, the coup was bloodless, and Quetzalcoatl met the leader of the European fleet under truce. Both sides met in heavily armed fashion, but no shot were fired (or swords drawn). Despite the victories in Europe, both sides recognised the reality of the situation; the Mexica could not hold Europe, but Europe could not muster up the force necessary to invade the Mexican homeland. Despite the massive casualties on both sides, the only option available was an uneasy armistice. Neither side believed that the peace was permanent, and began planning for the next war that each side was sure was coming.
Following the truce, Mexican society and politics became extremely volatile. With the death of s great many of their gods, the Mexica suddenly found themselves unable to function. Rainfall was now unpredictable. Wars were no longer one-sided. Agriculture was now far more laborious than before. Mexican society began to become divided between the ones who favoured a program of mass modernisation along European lines or “Revolutionaries”, and the higher-ups like the warriors, nobles and priests who favoured retaining more of the status quo, or “Evolutionaries”. Modernisation won out in the end, and the various warrior classes, the nobility and the priesthood was abolished (at times through force), with the Empire turned into an oligarchy, viewed at the time as the only real chance for progress in these troubled times.
History marched on, and the true nature of the Earth made itself more and more apparent. The encounter with the deities of the Mexica was just the beginning; this was a world where virtually anything could happen, and even in the present day, no one can come up with a single, unifying theory explaining all the weirdness away. The best explanation anyone can come up with is that there really is no method to the madness, just the simple fact that there is No Rhyme or Reason.
* * *
Much has changed in the intervening history since First Contact with the New World. New nations have risen to take the place of the ones destroyed during the invasion. Colonialism has taken its course, as in OTL, but with unrecognisable participants and aftermath. The scientific revolution, however, has spun off in some very bizarre directions, with the advent of the Alchemical Revolution and the discovery of the power of “Mad Science”. All sorts of strange and often-times dangerous inventions come of these two refinements in modern thinking, and many different nations have different attitudes towards the practice of both.
The Mexican (“Aztec” to those ignorant foreigners) Empire has come a long way since the invasion, having modernised reasonably successfully, especially given that their technology was practically stone age before contact with Europe. They retain the status of top power in Victoria [1], especially since the oligarchy which ruled for almost two-and-a-quarter centuries post-war eventually gave way to genuine democratic reform and the restoration of the Emperor as monarch, albeit a constitutional one. They have adjusted to their new “first among equals” position in world politics, and are trying to take a reasonably neutral position in world affairs, but for some unfathomable reason, the Germans just cannot keep themselves from antagonising the Mexica, calling them “our eternal foe”. The Mexica, sick of apologising for something that happened almost half a millennium ago, for the most part just sigh and ignore them.
The Mexica have retained their core territories; with the exception of a few breakaway native states in the north, the Empire remains largely intact (the remoter regions were largely Mexicanised by the time of first contact; turns out having actual gods on your side makes natives a wee bit more willing to submit to your will). They currently control the Mexican heartland, Central America, the Caribbean and the hotter western regions of the OTL US as far north as Oregon and the regions of north-eastern South America excluding the Amazon. Mexican culture tends towards the florid, with lots of colour and decoration. As tacky as this sounds, the Mexica have become an unusually successful cultural exporter, largely through excising the most objectionable parts of their culture, in particular their obsession with blood. It is also a notably tolerant society, with women's rights and same-sex marriage being introduced earlier than any other nation (Xochipilli, the Mexican god of homosexuality and prostitutes, managed to manoeuvre himself into a high-level government position post-war).
The remaining gods post-war found it difficult to adapt to the new society in which they lived, as new technologies quickly made them obsolete. Quetzalcoatl, virtually the last higher-up god, still soars over the breadth of the empire (and occasionally other nations, but only during diplomatic missions) as a guardian and symbol of Mexica pride and unity. He still holds great influence over the upper levels of government and is always quick to intervene when things get messy in the Mexican Parliament. The other gods have not had it so easy; many being forced to take positions in local governments or state facilities, using what little power they have to make a difference in the meagre posts they now hold. Some have been forced out of the governing circle altogether, having to find new ways to make ends meet (regardless of the fact that they are immortal and, y'know, gods, they still have to pay taxes, or they can go live with the vampires in Unterwelt). Not all of them have it bad, though; one previously unremarkable god now owns the largest fast food chain in the Western Hemisphere.
However, there is currently an upswing of conservative Mexican nationalism triggered by the latest refugee crisis from the East Victorian countries. What would be OTL's Texas is currently the heartland of the new-found Mexican nationalist movement, claiming that their jobs are being taken by subversive English-speakers. This particular area is where Mexican culture retains much of its original flavour; hardcore conservatives have even taken to the old practice of dressing up as the gods and re-enacting scenes from the mythology, which is seen as being in pretty poor taste nowadays, especially by the remaining gods. However, the most recent and notorious incident was when a local nutcase convinced a lot of people to sacrifice numerous foreigners (followed by themselves) in an effort to revive their fallen gods and restore Mexican supremacy. Not only did it not work, it caused a major international incident and earned them the ire of many Mad Scientists the world over, who pointed out what many had known for years: blood sacrifice only works if you're doing it unintentionally.
Across the Atlantic, the behemoth of Imperial Germany rules Europe with a leather-gloved iron fist. In the aftermath of the invasion, Austria quickly found itself in a position of power with many of the other European nations shattered by the Mexica, if not outright depopulated. Austria harnessed the new-found power of pan-German nationalism founded by their sense of unity brought on by the invasion coupled with their victory as a result, seeking to draw in the tattered remnants of the Holy Roman Empire under the new federalised banner of Austrian Germany.
Over the following decades, Germany gradually grew to dominate mainland Europe, first (utilising their mad dynastyk marryje skyllz) uniting with the powerful Polish state [2] and taking down the Ottoman Empire, followed by swallowing up the remnants of France in tandem with Italy. However, when word got out that the English, Spanish and Swedes were forming colonies in Victoria, the Germans decided they wanted a piece of that action as well, not only for the purposes of national prestige, but the colonies would also give them a platform with which to keep the Mexica in check. So, they sent their top sailor, Wolfgang Emeric, to sail west and founded the first colony (in OTL Roanoke Colony) of the nation that would one day be called the United States of Emerica.
Their colonial efforts continued in earnest, but their biggest break came with an Italian scientist (having studied the revolutionary gunpowder used by Austria during the invasion) codifying the laws of alchemy for the first time, beginning the Alchemical Revolution across the world. Soon phlogiston-powered ships were crossing the Atlantic regularly and alchemical artillery was rolling across the plains of north-eastern Africa (though, to this day, synthesising human souls to use as expendable soldiers is very verboten). All this would be superseded, however, by the other great revolution to come out of Germany; that of Mad Science.
As the scientific revolution spread, it spiralled off into some very bizarre directions in the later centuries, with all sorts of strange and unusual inventions being created, using principles that seemed to blatantly contradict what had already been established as natural scientific laws. But reality, as it happened, was more flexible than regular society believed, and the so-called laws that governed it turned out to be amenable to subversion if the person attempting to do so had his brain in a different gear than others. Nature, it seemed, treated irrationality as a virtue.
However, this approach to scientific development had its drawbacks. One of the core tenets of Mad Science, as it turned out, was lack of intent. Only natural madness enabled one to toss the accepted laws of physics out the window; one could not simply chug a mixture of mercury and oven cleaner and expect to invent a perpetual motion device; only innate, late-onset or accidental madness worked. One could not intentionally set out to subvert the laws of nature; it could only be done when a person's mental faculties operated at such a level that allowed them to stumble past the universe's defences, fiddle around a bit, leave and get away with it. Also, because the creations of such figures were largely derived from the creators own personal insights and no one else's, this made replication and mass-production of such discoveries exceptionally challenging. For these reasons, despite all the advances Mad Science has made, it still remains a very niche occupation, and indeed, due to quite a few very large and well-publicised screw-ups, almost every nation nowadays has laws regulating the activities of such individuals.
Today, Germany dominates the entirety of mainland Europe, with the Kaiser dominating as a near-absolute monarch. It is a fairly conservative and autocratic place, rife with macho attitude from the heavy militaristic tradition that runs throughout the German culture. Armoured Winged Hussars patrol the streets on robotic horses, and every major city has its own defence network, largely consisting of massive ordinance equipped onto every major and minor building. German armaments are renowned as being some of the most well-made, effective and creative in the world. In fact, Germany's gun obsession has gone so far as to drive them to develop what no one thought possible; a cannon inside another cannon. No one else has quite figured out how that bending of space-time works.
However, their reach outside Europe is nowhere near as wide-reaching. Virtually all of their colonial efforts have eventually ended in tears, with only Von Hayek's Land (OTL Cambodia) remaining; by this point only a nominal colony. However, they do retain a large degree of control in north-eastern Africa, with a large mess of puppet states set up to supplement their position against their foe to the south (and, you know, resources). The large region of Libya is set up under the administration of Sicily, who are beginning to think they were scammed by Germany after they were offered control of Libya (and its oil) in exchange for direct control of Northern Italy, as the Germans neglected to tell them that there were a bunch of superpowered homunculi [3] running around causing trouble. The Germans, of course, deny everything.

[1] TTL's name for North America; named by the English for their victory over the invaders; the name stuck before the Germans could challenge their dibs on naming the continent, and they're still PO'd about it even today.
[2] Meaning that, ITTL, Germany became heavily influenced by the Sarmatist Movement.
[3] Created by former Libyan strongman General Khedaphi.