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Description

  The history of the Krell is linked to that of two other races that vied for dominance of Ahn. In many ways this distant world differs greatly from our own, which was hospitable enough to let us master most environments with relatively simple tools. Ahn’s people were long confined to the far northern hemisphere and developed agriculture, numeracy, literacy, astronomy and metallurgy before moving further south. To outsiders they would have initially seemed a remarkably united race but closer inspection would reveal a highly stratified society. The ruling Zaudrathi caste kept higher learning to themselves while the Ureshi were tasked with unskilled labour. Rebellions were inevitable, but they were neither infrequent enough to catch Zaudrathi unprepared or organised enough to topple leaders appointed by merit, not birth, and a well-trained military. Internal coups were more successful but one tenet never changed: Zaudrathi ruled, Ureshi served. This system was so strictly enforced, and intermarriage was so rare, these castes became separate races and in time virtual subspecies.

  As technologies improved they allowed both groups to spread to new environments, but they demanded higher levels of Ureshi education. Zaudrathi leaders stressed rote learning, so advanced manufacturing seemed more doctrinal than scientific, but the Ureshi were not immune to the lure of critical thought. Their later rebellions were more destructive and less easily quelled. Zaudrathi maintained their lead in science, but eventually they had to grant Ureshi independence.

  Had the Ureshi been more vengeful, they might have enslaved or exterminated their old masters; but they had tired of bloodshed and only wished to rule themselves. The great social experiments conducted in the absence of Zaudrathi leadership often ended in disaster but gradually led to more positive change. Zaudrathi progress meanwhile slowed, for the former ruling caste had lost the support of a large and inexpensive workforce. Yet it retained its discipline while the Ureshi grew more profligate. When Ureshi factions went to war over dwindling resources the Zaudrathi tried to intervene, but this stirred Ureshi memories of Zaudrathi tyranny and a greater war began.

  The Ureshi made some major gains when they seized Zaudrathi cities and acquired new technologies, but the great Zaudrathi skyholds remained beyond Ureshi reach. They rained death on Ureshi armies but could never control enough land to win decisive victories. Centuries of carnage ended in a stalemate, but also saw the Krell emerge as an important political force. As Zaudrathi-Ureshi hybrids, the Krell had long been shunned by both but now served as intermediaries between two irreconcilable foes.

  An uneasy peace began. The Zaudrathi skyholds were not completely self-sufficient and the Ureshi still desired Zaudrathi technology. Through trade with both the Krell ensured neither ever had to meet. Relations broke down when it was discovered the Zaudrathi sky factories were stealthily but steadily pumping dense toxins into the air. At first these condensed on the seas, killing higher organisms and producing blood-red algal blooms. As the miasma thickened and spread over lower coastal lands Ureshi farms began to fail and the people they supported starved. The Zaudrathi maintained innocence but the Ureshi launched massed attacks with airborne forces of their own. Some factories and skyholds fell but the majority survived. The miasma they released kept spreading and millions more Ureshi died.

  The Ureshi’s sole advantage lay in better bioengineering. The scale of destruction the Zaudrathi had wrought on their world drove them to more desperate schemes. Ureshi scientists developed race-specific viruses which would subject Zaudrathi to horrific deaths. The main challenge was dispersal. Ureshi air assets were greatly reduced, the skyholds were easily quarantined, and success was only likely if they could all be hit at once. Ureshi leaders appealed to the Krell, but the Krell maintained neutrality from their well-defended mountain keeps. The desperate Ureshi attacked and seized the largest one, commandeered its etherwings, and used them to strengthen their own forces before launching one last attack on their mortal enemies.

  The Krell paid it little notice; they were too busy repelling Ureshi from their other keeps. In time the attacks slowed, then stopped. No more Ureshi climbed the slopes and no more Zaudrathi came from skyholds drifting far above. The Krell launched expeditions and found the skyholds filled with corpses the colder upper atmosphere had dried and eerily preserved. The Krell shut down the factories that had been left to pump out death in a final act of hate. Further investigations revealed new technologies the Zaudrathi had apparently hoped would reverse the process and one day let them claim the world.

  The Krell remain few, but their numbers are growing, and as the poison dissipates their small territories expand. Their etherwings travel between keeps and help life spread across the world. For all the horrors it has seen, Ahn knows nothing more of war; and all Krell are sworn to remember they became masters of their world not through valour or vindictiveness, but through simple perseverance.

Description

  The history of the Krell is linked to that of two other races that vied for dominance of Ahn. In many ways this distant world differs greatly from our own, which was hospitable enough to let us master most environments with relatively simple tools. Ahn’s people were long confined to the far northern hemisphere and developed agriculture, numeracy, literacy, astronomy and metallurgy before moving further south. To outsiders they would have initially seemed a remarkably united race but closer inspection would reveal a highly stratified society. The ruling Zaudrathi caste kept higher learning to themselves while the Ureshi were tasked with unskilled labour. Rebellions were inevitable, but they were neither infrequent enough to catch Zaudrathi unprepared or organised enough to topple leaders appointed by merit, not birth, and a well-trained military. Internal coups were more successful but one tenet never changed: Zaudrathi ruled, Ureshi served. This system was so strictly enforced, and intermarriage was so rare, these castes became separate races and in time virtual subspecies.

  As technologies improved they allowed both groups to spread to new environments, but they demanded higher levels of Ureshi education. Zaudrathi leaders stressed rote learning, so advanced manufacturing seemed more doctrinal than scientific, but the Ureshi were not immune to the lure of critical thought. Their later rebellions were more destructive and less easily quelled. Zaudrathi maintained their lead in science, but eventually they had to grant Ureshi independence.

  Had the Ureshi been more vengeful, they might have enslaved or exterminated their old masters; but they had tired of bloodshed and only wished to rule themselves. The great social experiments conducted in the absence of Zaudrathi leadership often ended in disaster but gradually led to more positive change. Zaudrathi progress meanwhile slowed, for the former ruling caste had lost the support of a large and inexpensive workforce. Yet it retained its discipline while the Ureshi grew more profligate. When Ureshi factions went to war over dwindling resources the Zaudrathi tried to intervene, but this stirred Ureshi memories of Zaudrathi tyranny and a greater war began.

  The Ureshi made some major gains when they seized Zaudrathi cities and acquired new technologies, but the great Zaudrathi skyholds remained beyond Ureshi reach. They rained death on Ureshi armies but could never control enough land to win decisive victories. Centuries of carnage ended in a stalemate, but also saw the Krell emerge as an important political force. As Zaudrathi-Ureshi hybrids, the Krell had long been shunned by both but now served as intermediaries between two irreconcilable foes.

  An uneasy peace began. The Zaudrathi skyholds were not completely self-sufficient and the Ureshi still desired Zaudrathi technology. Through trade with both the Krell ensured neither ever had to meet. Relations broke down when it was discovered the Zaudrathi sky factories were stealthily but steadily pumping dense toxins into the air. At first these condensed on the seas, killing higher organisms and producing blood-red algal blooms. As the miasma thickened and spread over lower coastal lands Ureshi farms began to fail and the people they supported starved. The Zaudrathi maintained innocence but the Ureshi launched massed attacks with airborne forces of their own. Some factories and skyholds fell but the majority survived. The miasma they released kept spreading and millions more Ureshi died.

  The Ureshi’s sole advantage lay in better bioengineering. The scale of destruction the Zaudrathi had wrought on their world drove them to more desperate schemes. Ureshi scientists developed race-specific viruses which would subject Zaudrathi to horrific deaths. The main challenge was dispersal. Ureshi air assets were greatly reduced, the skyholds were easily quarantined, and success was only likely if they could all be hit at once. Ureshi leaders appealed to the Krell, but the Krell maintained neutrality from their well-defended mountain keeps. The desperate Ureshi attacked and seized the largest one, commandeered its etherwings, and used them to strengthen their own forces before launching one last attack on their mortal enemies.

  The Krell paid it little notice; they were too busy repelling Ureshi from their other keeps. In time the attacks slowed, then stopped. No more Ureshi climbed the slopes and no more Zaudrathi came from skyholds drifting far above. The Krell launched expeditions and found the skyholds filled with corpses the colder upper atmosphere had dried and eerily preserved. The Krell shut down the factories that had been left to pump out death in a final act of hate. Further investigations revealed new technologies the Zaudrathi had apparently hoped would reverse the process and one day let them claim the world.

  The Krell remain few, but their numbers are growing, and as the poison dissipates their small territories expand. Their etherwings travel between keeps and help life spread across the world. For all the horrors it has seen, Ahn knows nothing more of war; and all Krell are sworn to remember they became masters of their world not through valour or vindictiveness, but through simple perseverance.