Beastlord

A terrified cry pierced through Gwelian's dream, ripping her from the calm wilderness of her subconscious.

Orcs. Gwelian instinctively grabbed the thick wooden club from her nightstand and readjusted her leather cuirass, which had twisted in her sleep. She burst through the doorway of her wooden home and emerged into a nightmare.

She immediately saw Amthol, curled up and lying in the massive roots of The Great Oak, an ancient tree at the center of camp that her people had nurtured for countless generations. Her little girl's eyes were clenched tight, her tears splashing onto the oak's sturdy roots. The seven orcs nearby ignored the tiny crier, more interested in hacking at The Great Oak's ancient trunk, for now.

The night watch was dead. It only took a glance to see the town was lost. She counted twelve dead wood elves already, only half of them of fighting age. Three buildings were already on fire, as packs of orcs tore mercilessly at flesh and wood alike.

For a brief moment, Gwelian was terrified. She considered grabbing Amthol and taking her chances in the dark wilderness around them. Kelethin wasn't too far. She looked again at the bodies of her friends and the orcs tearing at the consecrated trunk of The Great Oak.

Families murdered. Nature ravaged. Tunare mocked.

A soft glimmer of a beautiful woman appeared next to The Great Oak. Even in the chaos, its power could not be mistaken. Gwelian cried out, a desperate plea for aid.

Long in the distant past, civil war erupted between the erudites of Erudin. The conflict was swift and savage, and the erudites unleashed terrible magics against one another, often with devestating results. The peaceful kerrans, native to the continent of Odus, were caught up in the brutal conflict, in spite of their efforts to stay out of the line of fire.

The greatest loss, however, came when the armies of Paineel unleashed a powerful spell designed to completely wipe their enemies from Norrath. As a test, the erudites targeted a large kerran village on the southern end of Toxxulia Forest. In one terrifying flash, the village completely vanished (along with the mountain on which it once rested), and the Hole was formed.

The spell was based on teleportation magic, and rather than destroying the village and its inhabitants, it actually sent the entire mountainside through the Combine network, and onto the moon of Luclin. The survivors of the spell were shocked at their new surroundings, but since they were unable to reverse their situation, they soon began to rebuild on their new home.

Khati Sha, a general and advisor to the tribe elder, Kejaan Kerrath, was also one of the first explorers on the moon of Luclin. Among his discoveries were the Acrylia Mines, which gave the kerrans the material they would use to build their new city, and the glade of spiritual animals, which lead to the rediscovery of the beastlord path. The house of beastlords became known as Khati Sha after the one who discovered them.

When adventurers came to Luclin, they met with Khati Sha, and began to learn the secrets of spiritual bonding. Thus, the teaching of the beastlords reached out beyond hte city of Shar Vhal, and back to the denizens of Norrath. Beastlords had again returned to Norrath.

Prior to the age of Cataclysms, the gods departed Norrath. Those attuned to the spiritual world began to feel the mighty spiritual guides who once spoke to them also began to retreat, although unlike the divine gods, the spiritual retreat was far more gradual. Rituals to bond spirit animals to their beastlords began to fail, and the spirits did not respond when questioned why. As a group, beastlords were becoming extinct on Norrath.

The Truespirit, who were responsible for the spirit guides, had sensed impending cataclysms and chose to retreat. Since the spirit guides themselves were tied to the essence of mortals, the disasters could threaten to destroy the Truespirit as well. Thus, they elected to retreat back to the spirit world, and await the time when they could emerge again.

The Tragedy of Khati Sha

The beastlord Khati Sha was the most accomplished of his kind. He traveled the world of Norrath, seeking out mysteries and investigating threats to his kingdom. The animals of Norrath were his friends and allies; he spoke to the birds and sang with the wolves. He knew the secret language of the forest and the ways of the plains. He climbed the mountains beside the great goats and sheep that dwell there, and he fought alongside the mighty cave bears. He learned the wisdom of dragons and the hidden knowledge of the fey. In all these things, Khati Sha was the wisest of his kind. Many were the times that his devotion and learning saved our people from disaster.

When the Shifting brought us to this realm, Khati Sha was among the first to venture into the darkness beyond the city, to find safe routes across the Moon of Luclin. He first mapped Hollowshade Moor and learned the languages of the owlbears and the sonic wolves. He sought the great cats of Shadeweaver’s Thicket and even ventured to the gates of dread Vex Thal.

Khati Sha returned to tell King Vah Kerrath of his discoveries, and the knowledge of our people grew. But the beastlord also learned of the mysterious races of the light side of Luclin, and ventured there seeking to expand the wisdom of his people further. To the shores of the Twilight Sea and beyond he ventured, into the sun-baked wilderness of the Scarlet Desert, the crags of Mons Letalis, and beyond, to the airless waste that is called the Grey.

And that was the last that was ever heard of the great Khati Sha. He lives on only in legend now, and many tales of his fate have been told, yet no one is certain what truly happened to him. Perhaps he was caught and slain by the evil snake-folk of the Grey. Perhaps he was killed by a fierce unknown beast or a natural disaster. Or perhaps he was not slain at all, but lives on, impossibly old, exploring the Moon of Luclin in the name of his people, and granting us his protection. Whatever his fate, we may be sure that the this lost hero still watches over the Vah Shir — whether a mighty hunter or a mighty spirit — and his memory lives on in the hearts of those belonging to the guild that bears his name.

The great beast-friend who feared no horizon. It was an honor to recite this story for you.

Source: EQRPG – Luclin – Page 77