The History of the Irekei People

We found the Sand, the burning deserts and called them home. We endured and became worthy of transcendence. We were passed through the Transforming Flame, and our spirits were bolstered with its heat, elevating our ancestors into the superior beings we are today. Though emboldened, we were still to be tested. By the Desert, the Sun, the Sand and the dreadful Skath. The weak were culled from our people and we become strong and fierce. Though the Sand still tests us to this day, we no longer fear it. It is the Anvil of the Sun, and upon it we are forged and shaped. It is as much a part of us as the Fire that burns within.

In the Before Time, we were lost and soulless. Cold to the touch and without will. It was the Time of Darkness. The Unfinished Ones, the ancestors of our people, were soft and deluded. Trapped by ignorance in the cold, bleak world. But the Terror arose, and Darivastor, the first to see, discovered new wisdom. For here was a force mightier than all else arrayed against it.

With the kindling of the Sun began the Time of Embers. We stayed upon the Burning Sands beneath eternal light and blessed heat, and we endured. We worshipped the Great Dragon, and from its restless slumbering dreams our first Blood Prophets were born, heralding visions of a time when the Dragon would awake and only the worthy would be spared. And through them the Phoenix Goddess was stirred to action. She taught us much and we came to call the deserts home.

Then came The Change, when the first day was ended and the flow of time begun. The Meddling God attempted to hide the Lady of the Sun from us, but our heroes fought against his designs, causing the cycle of days and nights that shall continue until the end.

At long last, our time of seeking for our true selves was brought to an end by Jall’kroda, the Blood Lord. Khalikryst was freed from her bonds and descended upon our people with the Transforming Flame. Thus was our khar'ika ignited, never to be quenched and thus were our people born. This began the Time of Flames. Yet another testing for the Irekei. The Hateful Ones attacked us with much fury, fearful of the power we had and afraid of our attempts to rouse the Dragon. Though they could not hope to match the skill and fierceness of the Irekei, the Hateful Ones were numerous, and our people began to be driven back.

But, it was the Dragon who saved us again, whispering secrets into the head of P’reklabhar and telling her of the ways of the Chaos Gate. Through great magical ceremonies, she opened the gate, unleashing the Hordes upon our enemies. The Horde passed us by in gratitude for the favors we had done, and our people retired to the deeps of the deserts to replenish our strength. It was apparent that the time for the Awakening had not yet arrived.

Once, long ago, our people were as one. But as we became accustomed to our new selves and grew in numbers and power, our people began warring amongst themselves. The weak-willed fir'khanim would have fallen before us as quickly as the shifting sand had we the unity of old. We fought ourselves as much as the outsiders.

But then, The Dragon stirred, breaking this world into scattered pieces. Our time of destiny is nigh. We must prove ourselves strong in order to burn for eternity within the Dragon itself. It is time for the wars against the fir'khanim to intensify, and for blood to spill upon the ground.

The banner of the Shadowclan shall lead the way. The other virakt will join in or face extermination. Now is not the time to coddle the weak-willed or hesitate in our actions. The Dragon demands strength and fortitude. Any who cannot meet these requirements will find their khar'ika extinguished forever and forgotten.