SourceMaterial-Khanjar Kuro History

History of Khanjar Kuro

The Age of Spirits – 2000 P.O.D. – 1085 P.O.D.

As soon as The Negerai Prime arrived with his nine human prisoners, he began to change the face of the continents by using enslaved demons for building keeps and prisons to house his minions and their charges, and he created specialized facilities to conduct his vile experiments. The demons he imported to work the prisons began to spread across the continent by gating in other demons who would in turn do the same. This disturbed the original spirit inhabitants of Avlis, who though they had a long history of their own sagas and adventures, generally behaved benignly and were at peace. For the most part the spirits had little defense against the countless hoards of demons now entering their domain.

By the time the battle between The Negerai Prime and The Nine ended, nearly all of the nature spirits in the world were dead. The majority of those who fought perished. Only a meager few were able to flee with their lives. In the northern lands of Tyedu, intervention by the god Mikon allowed many spirit survivors in that area to hide and so they would be able to make themselves known sometime later as humans started settling the land. A second larger enclave of spirits in the extreme southern part of the continent of Negaria were also able to survive with Mikon’s aid, and with a great sense of foresight, Mikon’s servants (called mikonators) thought it best to help those survivors flee the continent to some refuge that they would create and maintain in isolation from whatever the future held. Thus, the spirits of the southern lands were quickly gathered and placed on a voyage off of the southern coast. Some of these fleeing spirits were unscathed, yet others bore deep wounds from their encounters with specially ensorcelled demons that would spread evil wherever they fought. Most of the wounded spirits damaged by these minions never healed, and some of those wounds festered and became infected, thereby tainting their unfortunate bearers. As members of the rapidly coalescing spirit community, these wounded were cared for and protected on the journey to the new land.

Refuge – 1086 P.O.D. – 175 P.O.D.

As the hastily constructed vessels carrying the spirit refugees neared the end of their trip, a beautiful green island shone before them like the color of emeralds. Tall forests blanketed the land which was outlined by beautiful white sand beaches. To the east and west, the shores stretched as far as the eye could see, and it appeared as if their new home could be endless. The island continent to which these spirits fled eventually became known as Khanjar Kuro, meaning Black Dagger. At the time, there were not many other native spirits living there and the refugees quickly spread. Some accompanying mikonator servants sent along with them on the journey taught them how to defend themselves and create fortifications. Once they were safe, their first task was to begin eradicating stray demons left over from the crisis.

It was around this time that certain wounded spirits from the previous battles began to turn delirious and strike out against their former kin. The newly arisen “tainted” spirits would stir new conflicts and had to be driven out from fortified areas to roam the countryside. This solution would eventually prove problematic, because the taint acquired from their previous battles with the demons was contagious among the spirits and soon most efforts by the spirit communities focused on containing the malady. Over time this struggle was controlled, but tainted spirits were never eliminated and their presence helped evolve the endless dance of power ever parading around the continent.

Landfall – 90 P.O.D.

In these early years, there was no order among the spirits. As the land became safe enough, they emerged from their fortified hideouts and started attaching themselves to groves, rivers, and mountains to reinforce their long-neglected connection with nature. As this healing process was progressing, a cargo convoy from M’Chek set off on a fateful voyage. The majority of the mariners were humans, but there were a few dwarves among them from Deglos, as well as some goblin slave laborers from Brekon. The crew was in the business of transporting stone from the gnomish nation of Deglos to M’Chek for the construction of a new capitol called Mikona. The humans in the group were among the founders of Mikona, named for their god, Mikon. The dwarves were a more outlandish lot who mostly followed Fegall, the gnomish hero, although some of them kept to their older god, Gorethar.

The voyagers made landfall out of a great storm, which legend has it was started as a by-product of magic being unleashed by the terrible conflict being fought by the fairies. The storm was devastating. Many of the ships in the convoy were decimated along with their crew, but a few hearty human and dwarven souls made it to shore to tell the tale.

Khanjar Kuro was a wonder to behold for the new castaways. They saw before them a vast land full of trees and caves and brimming with untapped resources. However, instead of considering the worth of these resources overseas, the castaways were charmed by the landmass. They fell in love with it and decided to stay. Whether this was the action of the local spirits in an attempt to keep their home secret, or whether the travelers were honestly presented with a better opportunity by staying is not known. But every one of them stayed, and eventually they came to know and revere the spirits who lived there. Mikon, Fegall, and the other gods were forgotten.