Heroes of Natlan

Heroes of Natlan
Type	Lore Natlan Culture
Region	Natlan

The Heroes of Natlan are a group of Ancient Name bearers who were specially chosen to lead Natlan in battle against the Abyss. The original six Heroes were the companions of Xbalanque who joined him in his war against Xiuhcoatl. During the cataclysm, one from each tribe were selected by Tenoch, while another six were rallied in the present day. Certain other individuals, due to their importance in the plan to defeat the Abyss, are also referred to as Heroes of Natlan.

The Six Ancient Names

Ancient Name	Tribe	Original	Cataclysm	Current
Baraka	Children of Echoes	Ixquieh	Sundjatta	Xilonen
Bidii	Masters of the Night-Wind	Unknown	Sanhaj	Ororon
Malipo	Scions of the Canopy	Yupanqui	Burkina	Kinich
Umoja	People of the Springs	Uenuku	Tupac	Mualani
Uwezo	Collective of Plenty	Ahpub	Wanjiru	Iansan
Vuka	Flower-Feather Clan	Lianca	Menilek	Chasca

Others are also referred to as Heroes of Natlan, despite not inheriting one of the six Ancient Names, due to their key involvement in the fight against the Abyss:

• Capitano
• Mavuika
• Tenoch
• The Traveler and Paimon

The Cataclysm

Due to its lack of Ley Lines, Natlan was hardest hit among the nations in the Abyss invasion of Teyvat during the cataclysm. An exiled Muratan warrior named Tenoch gathered six other warriors, one from each tribe, to fight back against the Abyss. The Abyss was eventually repelled from Natlan, but the tribes were left shattered and without hope. At this time, the Pyro Archon, Mavuika, formed a plan to rebuild the tribes to fight the Abyss. As each tribe was reunited and its Wayob's strength restored, the Wayob would acknowledge a hero, signaling the tribe's readiness for war. These heroes will have inherited an Ancient Name borne by one of the original heroes. The original hero would manifest to the newly selected hero and bestow upon them all their knowledge and memories, making them aware of their part in the plan. Because Natlanese Archons have normal human lifespans and this plan would take many lifetimes to bring to fruition, Mavuika sacrificed her life to the Sacred Flame in order to be revived to lead again at the culmination of the plan.

Burkina was killed when his Yumkasaurus companion Kongamato became severely tainted by Abyssal energy and turned on him in a fit of rage. Sanhaj, along with Tenoch assisting him, died when they summoned a miniature Night Kingdom and exploded it to defeat the approaching dark calamity during the Battle of the Mare Jivari. Later, in their final battle together alongside Mauvika which they knew they would not survive, a drunken Menilek died while gripping an Abyssal monster in a headlock, which killed it after his death, and Sundjatta took a lethal hit that was meant for Wanjiru. Wanjiru is assumed to have been killed at some point afterward. With Mauvika having fallen unconscious at one point, the last of the heroes, Tupac, carried the archon on his back to the Stadium of the Sacred Flame for her sacrifice to the Sacred Flame, and died from his wounds while still standing up.

Present Day

At the time that the Traveler arrived in Natlan, Mavuika had already returned as the Pyro Archon for quite some time, but due to the Abyssal interference in the Night Kingdom, only three of the modern heroes had been acknowledged: Iansan, Kinich, and Xilonen.

After Kachina failed to return from the Night Kingdom despite the team having been victorious, Mualani immediately volunteered to look for her, alongside Chasca, Iansan and the Traveler. They found her in the Night Kingdom as an Abyss Lector named Comonqui appeared and began to mock Kachina. Mualani perked Kachina back up and the two defeated the Lector. Due to Mualani's acts of kindness to Kachina, the Wayob acknowledged her and thus they now had four heroes prepared for Mavuika's plan.

While investigating Capitano's plan regarding Natlan, the group discovered that he and Ororon sought out a Source Mechanism in order to rewrite Natlan's Ley Lines, which could stop the invasion at the cost of everyone losing their heritage. They tracked them to a cave, but Ororon activated the device. Rather than rewriting the Ley Lines, the mechanism instead awakened Yohualtecuhtin, Lord of the Night, emitting a cry that resulted in Ororon collapsing due to his fractured soul. Ororon fought with Guthred over control of his own body, who wished to take his body to continue serving Capitano. Ororon, realizing that his life now had meaning, was able to expel Guthred's soul from his body and resulted in him being acknowledged by the Wayob.

Ororon's new status as the second to last of the six modern heroes resulted in the Abyss increasing the frequency of its attacks, culminating in a massive nation-wide invasion in an attempt to kill the Natlanese before the last hero could be discovered. During the invasion, the Flower-Feather Clan was hit the hardest, prompting Chasca and Chuychu heading to the Stadium of the Sacred Flame to help out. Monsters ambushed and infected Chuychu, resulting in her dying despite the Traveler's attempts to purify the energy from her. Chuychu's death greatly anguished Chasca and caused a flare-up of the latent Abyss energy within her, but she was able to compose herself due to the Traveler's presence. This in turn resulted in her being acknowledged by the Wayob as the final hero for the plan, and with all six heroes assembled, Mavuika channeled Ronova's power to herself, allowing the Natlanese to repel the invasion.

Mantras

Each of the six Ancient Names of the heroes is associated with a known mantra.

Umoja

"As long as blood still runs through your veins, even the tiniest spark of steel against stone can ignite a flame. Its blaze will become one with the gaze of all Natlan. Even amid everlasting darkness, our bonds remain eternal."

Baraka

"Stone engraved and echoing peaks. Converge, disperse, in ashes be reborn. For flames born anew, and the blazing dawn."

Uwezo

"A hero scaled the volcano to seize the sun. Anointed with flames, she shone with the light of a thousand stars. Now, guide me in my first step."

Bidii

"Having foretold his own death, the omniscient man holds a feast in celebration. Let us raise our cups in honor of his heroism and send him off with this final tribute. For, at last, his wish is now fulfilled."

Malipo

"By past fuel, and present flame, life marches ever on. We will answer to the fire for all our deeds."

Vuka

"My life's suffering shall be my epitaph. To remember the pain I endured, and finally, transcended."

Trivia

• By process of elimination, due to all other members of Xbalanque's party bearing the Ancient Names of the Six Heroes of Natlan, Maghan was likely the first bearer of BDI ("BDI," Bidii), as the representative and founder of Mictlan.
  • It is worth noting that mantra of Bidii relates to an 'omniscient man' foretelling his own death, which aligns with Maghan being a powerful mystic who sacrificed his own life to fertilize the soil of Natlan.

Change History

Introduced in Version 5.0

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