Lost Isles- History of Qurshan, the desert Elves of Lost Isles


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	Elven History .

	Note: The qurshan have only in recent history written anything down. Prior to the advent of Qaroo’s modern cities (circa 2,500 PT), all history was an oral tradition. Because of this, much of the history of the qurshan is mythical in nature, and not necessarily reflecting the hard truths of accurate dates. There is one major time that all qurshan agree on, which is the year of the Azheer Sundering, which closed the Azheer War and tore the island in two. When qurshan give historical accounts, they preface the story as “Before the Sundering” or “after the Sundering.” Age of Myth - 30,000 PT and earlier Earliest stories and myths go back to this time. This was a time of the gods and goddesses, when their physical and divine presence on the island was greater. During this preiod, elves and gods interacted on a much more frequent basis than they do in modern history. Stories indicate that Qaroo was a “paradise of the gods” in this most ancient of days, lush with trees and many rivers and lakes and a plethora of animals. It is said that the land was filled with breathtaking cities made entirely of glass, and that these cities, each named after a particular god, were the homes of those gods on Oheia. The myths and stories told of this time are marked by the dramatic day-to-day events, and loves and lives of the gods and the mortals who loved them. Often the stories explain certain natural forces or phenomena, or are used to tout the superiority of one side of qurshan belief (the belief of Kadar and his cronies) vs. khahl belief (Ghaaz and his cronies). Much of the folklore and religious beliefs of the qurshan were founded in this time. The Azheer Sundering - 15,000 PT Accounts place the Sundering in “middle history” between the earliest “god times” and modern times. There are records from megi libraries that indicate the people of Sumil Kai noticed peculiar oceanic and atmospheric phenomena around 15,000 PT, and it is commonly held by today’s scholars that what they were seeing was the fallout of the Sundering. This crucial pivot point of qurshan history is the reference by which all stories and accounts are told. The Sundering was the climatic result of a war that had been fought for many millennia, basically an elven embodiment of the godly battles waged between Kadar and Ghaaz. The magical forces released during the war killed over fifty percent of the population of Qaroo, and ripped the island in two. During the devastation that followed the Sundering, these northern tribes were said to have been obliterated in the explosive fallout: The Eshqi- Described in stories as expert guides and scouts. Their keen eyesight made them lookouts for the north, foiling many a southern advance. Their tribal symbol was a pair of hawk wings. The Kuchek- Folklore paints these fierce people as the vanguard of the northern army, the first to battle, and the last standing. The Kuchek never retreated, which may be why there were no survivors in the last cataclysmic days of the war. Their tribal symbol was a spear. The Kawab- Reputed throughout history as the most devious trappers. Their snares were often used in the war, causing great casualties to the southern warriors. Many in the south felt the Kawab fought without honor, using traps and sand pits to destroy their enemies instead of open combat. Even so, it is an open secret that several discreet groups on Qaroo have sought to ressurect the knowledge and practice of the Kawab for their own benefit. The Kawab's tribal symbol was a sand spout. One northern tribe survived and stayed on the north side of the island, the Khahl tribe. Unlike the Maakha and the Nefuru, whose survivors quickly left the north for the less toxic areas to the south of the Sundering, the Khahl were caught dead in the center of the magical inferno, and were thus twisted and changed forever. Kadar's Wrath - 14,500 PT It is commonly believed that just a few centuries after the Sundering, before the northern tribes could recuperate from their devastating losses, a meteor (“Kadar’s Spear”) impacted the northern side of the island, causing even more destruction, and poisoning the survivors with radiation. No one today knows quite what happened to the khahl to bring them to their present form, but most believe that it was Kadar’s vengeance on Ghaaz, that Kadar poisoned Ghaaz’s minions and twisted them into something “less than elven.” If the khahl have their own accounting of history, there are no known records of it. There is corroborating evidence and records from Sumil Kai and Komadas indicating that a flaming piece of the sun fell to Oheia, struck land, and caused major tidal waves and earthquakes. The Strengthening - before 5,000 PT This was a time of healing, when the qurshan nurtured their population, and continued to beat back the weakened north. Very little is known of this period, since the qurshan glorify war, they did not expend much effort to hand down stories of relatively peaceful times (by qurshan accounting). Around 5,000 PT, Qurshan spies scouting out the northern territory reported information on an invasion that happened on the northern shores of Qaroo. It is said that an army of spotted jhraak (translated: the dung of elderly camels) landed upon the shores near Kharahl, and were repelled by the fierce and terrifying khahl. Today scholars know that it was the naktul who had invaded the shores of Qaroo, and though the qurshan are insulted that the Naktul thought to invade Qaroo, they also find it hysterically funny that they inadvertently aided the qurshan by waging war on their blood enemies, the khahl. The qurshan have had a bit of a strange alliance with the naktul ever since. There is uneasy speculation that captive naktuls might have been taken as breeding fodder to strengthen the poisoned khahl bloodline. No khahl would confess to such a thing however, and such a theory came to light in modern history when a band of explorers survived an expedition to Kharahl, saying they saw, with their very own eyes (before the khahl poked them out and sent them running home to Gabal) crude paintings on the walls of a building in the center of Kharahl, depicting khahl with spotted faces. No khahl have been reported in modern times to have spotted faces. Dawning of the Modern Era - 4,000 to 2,000 PT Up until this time, all the qurshan lived in tribal, nomadic communities. The magical fallout of the Sundering devastated the population, and made the land of Qaroo inhospitable. It took long time for the elves to regroup and become a power again. For several millennia, the elves lived in smaller groups and waged constant battle with the khahl in the north. Around 4,000 BT, some people started moving towards living in permanent groups, and raising mightier defenses. This caused a division among the qurshan, as the city dwellers were considered weaker and less worthy than the nomadic warriors. The city dwellers, however, managed to live longer and produce more surviving offspring, thus enabling the cities to grow. Those in the cities began keeping written records, and thus a more accurate account of history has become available. These are considered the “modern times.” The Trading Era - year 250 by the Common Calendar to present day Those pesky humans just would not go away, so the qurshan relented and formed a trading arrangement with Komadas. Money from trade is a good thing! Gabal prospers. By 300 cc, the qurshan open up trading to all other islands.
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