The History of Shadowclan Virakt

Note on the reckoning of dates. Dates are given in relation to the end of the War of Flames when the Irekei were scattered into the sands, which is called the Far Wandering. Dates before the Far Wandering are noted by E.L. (Eskrit Lok'cha Lor, Before the Far Wandering), and dates following the Far Wandering are noted by T.L. (Tarkhit Lok'cha Lor, after the Far Wandering).

Listen jhor, for I shall tell you of our proud history. Ours is a story of survival. Ever has Nkurakar tested our endurance, and never once have we failed him.

After the War of Flames the surviving Virakt'al disappeared into the desert wastes. The War was a test, and the Irekei had succeeded, for only the boldest, strongest, and most cunning Irekei had survived the Khal'Jallakar, the War of Flames. Our people had learned patience: it is not our place to wake the Dragon "until the appointed time."

These words were spoken to me by an ancient khanarch'ular, Blood Prophet, long ago when I was but a child. It has been more than a thousand years since the Time of Flame ended, yet it is during those thousand years following that the greatest of virakt'al, Shadowclan Virakt, has established itself as the pinnacle of what it means to be Irekei. The Irekei were spread out following the War of Flames, and the tribes were strengthened by the culling of the weak. This event following the war is known to the Irekei as the Lok'cha Lor, the Far Wandering. Several of the southern virakt'al were populated by only a handful of Irekei by this time. These tribes were the Khanrhi (The Blood Arrow Tribe), Hifa'Nkur (The Dragon's Head), and Tah'Shahadin (The Tribe of the Sky). These small bands of Irekei began to battle each other for control of the southern lands. The khanjallakar'al, blood feuds, lasted for years.

It was not until one Irekei, who was named Haraq al-Qhufar, took command of Hifa'Nkur Virakt, the Dragon's Head Tribe, that the battle began to favor one tribe alone. In the course of a single year Haraq al-Qhufar managed to conquer much of the southern desert, but the threat of fir'khan settlers was growing. The fir'khanim were the first of a flood of Temple believers, whose intent was to wrest the desert from Irekei control. Haraq realized the danger in allowing such settlements to gain footholds in the desert and quickly called a meeting of the tribal chieftains.

On the last day of Nkurakar'vikh, the Month of the Great Dragon, the leaders of the southern virakt'al met in council in the shadow of Vorhi'Dawib, The Mountain of the Spear. The meeting, called the Gathering of Southern Blood, lasted from the setting of the Sun until its rise the next morning. By the time Kry'Khalin, the Sun, began its ascent into the sky the southern tribes were united under the leadership of Haraq al-Qhufar. And so it was that on the first day of Jall'vikh, the Month of War, the southern tribes had known their first Blood Lord since Jall'kroda, and under him they became Kiriv'akt, Shadowclan.

It is from this event that the following saying originates:

"Nu kan jalla nugh jhor'al,
nu kan nhala nugh jhor'al,
ubh lasa'Irekei kragod jalla qhe fir'khanim."

"I can fight my brothers,
I can hate my brothers,
but all Irekei must fight the Rain Bleeders."

The Temple Ascendancy

Haraq set about planning strategies to disrupt the settlement efforts of the Temple, which is called Bhalo'Khalim by the Irekei, meaning False Flames. For three years the Irekei raided caravans, slaughtered settlements, and burned the temples of the Fir'khanim. However, as hard as they fought, it seemed that nothing could stem the tide of fir'khanim. Soon the southeastern isles were overrun and the Irekei city of Bhal'vir came under siege by the Bhalo'Khalim. The Irekei were unused to siege warfare and were quickly pushed out of the city by the templar legions. The city was renamed Gray Sands by the Bhalo'Khalim.

The Irekei were forced into the deep desert, where no fir'khan would venture. However, their raids did not end. It was during one of these raids that Haraq al-Qhufar, the first Blood Lord of Shadowclan, was slain by a host of infidel cavalrymen. His body was laid in a small tomb at the base of the Mountain of the Spear. The Khalusht'al of Shadowclan knew that if another leader was not chosen soon the tribe might disintegrate into the smaller tribes again. The tribal council appointed a new leader for the virakt, whose name was Ijaf Bhal'khar.

It was during Ijaf's reign that the foundations of the first Irekei capital, Nkuru, were laid. Ijaf's reign was a noted period of peace for the Irekei; the fir'khanim no longer ventured inland and the Irekei turned their eyes inward seeking to strengthen their wisdom through study of Holy Writings. Bhal'khar died in the year 112 T.L. Ijaf's descendants ruled for two more centuries during the time that is called the Bhal'khar Dynasty. Ijaf's eldest son, Tsi'ek, died only twenty years after taking power. Most believe that he had succumbed to the poisons of rival virakt'al. The attempt to break Shadowclan's power failed, however, as Tsi'ek's younger brother, Roz, assumed the title of Arkhalar.

Roz the Great immediately set about hunting the assassins and their accomplices. It was only a matter of months before every Irekei involved in the assassination of Tsi'ek Bhal'khar was captured and executed. It was Roz who saw the first great temples of Nkuru completed, and it was Roz who rekindled the wars of old. Roz Arkhalar led a series of raids against the fir'khanim. These raids were so bloody they became known as the Kha'Vra, the Red Fury. It is said that so much blood was spilled that the rivers and the sea were stained red with the blood of the fir'khanim for years afterward. Roz did not rest until every fir'khan outpost was destroyed, and he even led several raids into the Voruzk'im, the Greenlands. His blood war lasted for one-hundred and seventy-eight years.

The fury of the Irekei people would not go unanswered. The Irekei had lived far apart from the outside world for many years and the fir'khan nations, and in their anger they had destroyed not just the cities of a single nation, but those of many. During one of the Greenlands raids the Irekei slew a human named Garault de Barache, the brother to a human king. De Barache had also been a diplomat who tempted the greedy nature of the Hated Ones by offering lands and treasure in exchange for an alliance. Garault's death led to an alliance of the humans and elves against the Irekei people. The Irekei would know no peace for centuries.

Soon the ships of the Fir'khanim landed on the shores of Jov Hir'akar. The great armies of the Greenlands spilled from their great vessels onto the sands and began the long march to Nkuru. Our ancestors resisted the enemy's advance every step of the way and it took two years for the Fir'khanim to reach the walls of Nkuru. Shadowclan Virakt had fought hard, but had suffered many casualties. The Rain-Bleeders wasted soldiers like they waste water, but the Irekei could ill afford to lose a single brother or sister. Roz the Great fell on the walls of Nkuru and the Irekei saw that their great city was lost. It was then that the surviving elders ordered the city razed to the ground, for such a fate at the hands of its creators is better than to see the great capital defiled by the Fir'khanim.

The few surviving Irekei disappeared into the desert for a time. It was during this time, nearly three hundred years ago, that I was born. We lived in the desert and waited until the Sun and the Sands took their toll on the weak fir'khanim. Every village from Nkuru to the sea had been burned to the ground and the Fir'khanim were trapped in the open desert with no shelter. Nkurakarin took revenge on the Fir'khanim armies. Less than one quarter of the Hated Ones and their allies would return to the Greenland, but before they left they salted the fertile lands so that no crops would grow, and they poisoned the waters with diseased animal carcasses. Our desert had been turned into a barren wasteland.

The era of the Khan'Vir

We were forced to cross the Khan'Vir, Blood Sands, which is an orc infested wasteland in order to find a more suitable home. Our journey lasted for two years. Under the leadership of two young Irekei, Rak Kirjhal and Jihan Qhi'Krys, the Irekei began to rebuild. Over the next few years Shadowclan built the cities of Khalikryst and Vir'Olba and allied with local virakt'al. The Law of the Dragon had been declared and the virakt ruled the sands of the west for almost two hundred years.

As the Irekei prospered in this new home Rak Kirjhal began to hear the call of Nkurakar; some proclaimed him a Prophet. He preached to the virakt that the worst times had yet to come, that soon Shadowclan would be visited by a Herald of the Dragon and that his coming would mark the beginning of the End Times.

One year passed before Rak's prophecy came to be. On the twenty-sixth day of Bhal'vikh, the Month of Truth, a messenger appeared at the gates of Khalikryst. The strange Irekei wanderer was fully covered in cloth wraps and his hood was drawn low, but I swear I could see his face that day. His skin was scarred by fire, and his eyes glowed like hot coals.

He had to be Darivastor, by the Dragon's own truth I swear this. The Prophet brought word that Khalikryst, the Phoenix, had left the council of the Dragon to sit with his enemies. The Prophet declared that the End Times were coming, that some of the Irekei present would even live to fight in the Krykhan'Jallakar. After delivering his message he left with Rak and Jihan the plans for a great monument; a dragon carved to be carved of onyx.

Events began to worsen from this time onward. It is said that Khalikryst herself had hidden amongst the crowd that had gathered to hear the prophet, and witnessed for herself the construction of the Dragon Statue. Many believe that these things made her angry and jealous of her Father's power and so she aided the enemies of the Irekei. Shadowclan was plagued by Rain-Bleeder invaders and hostile virakt'al alike.

The fighting lasted for only one year. Time and again enemy forces tried to capture Khali, but the walls still stood and Shadowclan laughed as their enemies fled into the desert. Strength in arms, however, could not save the city from the Betrayer's wrath. On the final day of battle after the last Rain-Bleeder had fled the ground began to shake. An Earthquake leveled the cities of Khali and Vir'Olba. I believe the Betrayer Goddess in her anger came down to Aerynth and shook the walls of Khali down herself. These things happened nearly one-hundred and twenty-four years ago.

Shadowclan did not dishonor the Dragon though, for we endured the hardships and continued to survive and rebuild. Now we are here in the new world and our struggle against the Fir'khanim hordes continues on to this day. This is the story of our roots, learn it well.