Teomallki

The Teomallki are the new generation of south american mummies. Heirs to the Spell of Life that animated the Capacocha, the Teomallki negate many of the weaknesses of their precedessors.

History and Creation
After the disastrous defeat of the indigenous nations against the whites, many Capacocha had lost their bodies and were stranded in the Underworld, without means to contact the Skinlands. The Intimallki put this time to good use by examinating the Spell of Going Westward to the Sunrise that animated them in the first place, hoping to find a way to reconfigure it. After several centuries, they were successful. The illi of the Capacocha had to "marry" a mortal soul in order to gain access to the mortal world. In this fashion, the bodiless spirits began to search for mortals near death, similar to the Tem-akh, and offer them eternal life. With the aid of loyal wizards called amawtas, who performed the binding, the first new Teomallki were created.

Resurrection
In contrast to the Capacocha, the Teomallki no longer have to rely on an intact body for resurrection (although it certainly helps). Their corpses are put in a kind of stasis for as long as the Teomallki is in the Underworld. The body, however, is still vulnerable, and should it be destroyed entirely (so that not even ashes remain) through any means, the unfortunate Teomallki has to search for a new host. While they do not believe in the nine-fold soul, the Teomallki believe that some residue of the immortal remains to protect its shell. They call this part of them the illi, or "the gleaming". The illi isn't considered a part of the Teomallki's soul, but rather a protective magic that wards the body from outside interference.

Teomallki can rise whenever they desire to, instead of relying on mortal worshippers that summon them back. Once they return to life, their bodies age in decades at the rate of their Samapa ("the breath," the soul itself, which departs the body at death and travels the afterlife). After this period, the Teomallki enters its death-cycle again.

Dynasties
The Teomallki follow the same four suyu (quarters) as their precedessors.
 * Chaskimallki, the mummies of frost
 * Intimallki, the mummies of air
 * Pachamallki, the mummies of earth
 * Uchumallki, the mummies of fire

Culture
In contrast to the Amenti, the original illi often overpowers the mortal part during the joining, combining them to a whole new person who exhibits the strongest traits of the original Capacocha and the chosen mortal. As a result, many Teomallki have a far superior recollection of the First Life. Another result is that many Teomallki are quite anachronistic, being unaccostumed to many things in the modern world.

Many Teomallki seek to retain their ties to the clan that once protected their bodies. These ayllu, or clan, have sometimes survived to the present day. How much they recollect varies, some are nothing more than survivors gathered around a campfire, while other regulary sacrifice to the Teomallki to appease it.

Unlike the Amenti, the Teomallki have no involvement in a cosmic struggle against corruption. They seek a new home for survival and adaption to a strange foreign world. They still follow their ancient codes of behaviour, but these can clash with modern perceptions, such as the prohibition of human sacrifice.

Tomb
The cultures of the Teomallki have a rich history in mummification. Most often, the bodies of the deceased were kept near the family, so that the spirit of the the departed could continue to watch over them. Others were placed at high mountain plateaus or caves, in touch with the natural world. Teomallki tombs tend to be one of these two extremes: either amidst the mortal population or in isolated regions. Many Teomallki also make sure that medical health is within reach from their tomb, given their tendencies

Differences to other Reborn
The Teomallki follow Direction instead of Balance, and do not have to justify their actions before a council of supernatural arbiters, like the Judges of Ma'at or the Eight Immortals. Instead, they receive vision quests that are believed to originate from the will of the gods. There is no reliable way to tell which of these visions is actually from the gods, and which is a fevered delusion. Also, these visions differ from each Teomallki so that there is no way of telling how "directed" a Teomallki is.

Like their mallki ancestors, Teomallki refer to their Lifeforce as Waka (instead of Sekhem). They regain Waka according to the same rules as other Reborn, their Blessing of the Gods requires them to be within the bounds of their ancestral homelands. For Chaskimallki, Intimallki and Pachamallki, this means the lands around the Andes (most of the western half of South America). Uchumallki are instead bound to the amazonian rainforests. Teomallki that expend their lifeforce reserves outside their homeland fall into a state of weakness identical to Egyptian semektet.

The Aztecs, and other cultures as well, kept two calendars. One, meant for mortals, measured a year of 365 days, as the modern calendar does. The other, the calendar of the gods, measured a "ceremonial" year of 260 days. The souls of the Teomallki are bound to a compromise between the two calendars, rather than adhering entirely to one or the other. Therefore, many of them are required to spend less time between resurrections than their Egyptian brethren. Unfortunately, because they have less time to regain their strength, and because their own underworld (the Dark Kingdom of Obsidian) is somewhat harsher than others, the Teomallki find it difficulty to return to the living world. In Aztec belief, the souls of the dead must spend four years with the god Mictlantecuhtli before being allowed to pass on to their final fate in the afterlife called Chicomemictlan. Even the Teomallki must obey this sacred deadline. A Teomallki who's between lives may not choose to spend more than four years in the afterlife. At the setting of the sun on the last day of the fourth year, he must return to his physical form.