The Tales of Krahnuhl (First Tome)

Krahnuhl
Introduction:

E
vents have transpired throughout the ages
which have held such enormity that they
have grown in to the thing of legends. Tales
of murder, battles, giant creatures, bravery,
love, betrayal, subterfuge, and creation.
These tales have helped to shape the world
in which we thrive and mold the cultures of
future generations.
Within these pages I have, at no small effort, woven a
collection of some of these legends. First we shall explore the
fabled death of the Fourth Emperor, Aumanas, who was killed
by his own wife. Perhaps it was deeper and darker than that?
Next we will travel south to the Aighot Mountains where we
shall witness a territorial battle between a clan of Frost Giants
and their invading foes of Fire Giants. From there we shall
learn of the fate of “The Helm of Umatrum” and then the
reaches of “The Dark Tide”. Lastly, we shall try to look past
the veil and glean knowledge from “The Prohpecy of Icophith,
The Sorceress.”
I now invite you to turn the page and, with it, the passing of
time. Delve deep in to the first tome of “The Tales of
Krahnuhl”!
Thakkea
The Dragonborne

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First Tale: “The Death of Aumanas, the
Fourth Emperor”

I
t is the age of The Great Wizarding War, third age of Aumanas sent messages to the two warring Sekts,
Krahnuhl, which our tale takes place. Aumanas, son imploring and demanding them to cease any experiments they
of Peren, was Emperor of the Upher Empire. The may be conducting on the people of The Empire. His words
High Link, head of the wizarding order known as went so far as to order them to release any people of the
“The Order of the Goblet” had been murdered and empire they may have as captives, agreeing to grant the Sekts
the order had split into several factions known as amnesty if they did so immediately. Both Sekts claimed the
Sekts. The largest of these Sekts were “The Order of other was at fault and neither would accept responsibility nor
Kuhzahtun” and “The Sekt of the Spark”. punishment for acts they did not commit. Furthermore, it was
Aumanas was known as “The Iron Emperor” and was seen the opinion of both sides that Aumanas need not intrude upon
as oth sturn and fair to those he ruled over. While he passed matters which he could not comprehend. As The Emperor
many laws, none were seen as unjust by the people. Since the received his replies he was filled with a rage which
days of Upher, none had seen an army such as that built by transformed his features in such a way to make his own wife,
Emperor Aumanas. An army used to slay beasts that Rania, fearful of his presence. Soon after Aumanas received
threatened the empire or as a large scale enforcement of law. his replies arguing could be heard from the Imperial
So, too, did the empire see prosperity through agricultural Bedchambers between the two over his handling of the
development and the creation of The Imperial Road, once situation.
used for widespread trading and now long gone. Rania was a beautiful woman whom had born two sons and
With the security of the empire assured, trade and economy a daughter for Aumanas. Rania, perfectly loyal and faithful to
boomed. Criminals were delt with swiftly and justly. The Great her husband, that their children might be targeted or harmed
Wizarding War had, until now, been a smoldering affair as recompense for Aumanas getting involved with the war
somewhere over the horizon to most. Little did the people between the wizarding sekts. Aumanas calmed his wife with
know that they were to become pawns of unfathomable reassurances of nobility and highly trained guards. After
experiments in a game they could never understand. several hours of arguments the bedchambers quieted as the
In the beginning people disappeared in low numbers and couple took to bed.
only for a short time before being returned to whence they It was the next morning which found the guard running
came. These few quickly developed gifts which they embraced towards the maniacal screams of Rania emanating from their
such as phasing through walls or teleporting short distances. bedchambers. There, they found the body of Aumanas
Crime slowly began to rise throughout the empire as culprits stabbed seventeen times, a bloody knife lying next to his body.
could not be easily caught. Within a time rumors began to ring Slumped over him was Rania, covered in an abundance of her
in the ears of The Emperor. Rumors of people being stolen in husband’s blood and screaming as if having lost her mind.
the night, disappearing for weeks, and returning with no In the following days Rania was found guilty of the murder
memories or as abominations of their former selves. Rumors of her husband, The Emperor of the Upher Empire. Even as
of peaceful me returning as enraged beasts with wings, or the axe fell she wailed of her innocence and lack of memory of
innocent children returning as mute shells of their past with the night her husband was brutally murdered.
extra appendages.
As Aumanas began an inquiry of the rumors he found many
of his Truth Seekers going missing as well. Over the next
several months the rumors escalated in their frequency and
dire import. Mutilated corpses were being found discarded in
forests, lakes, rivers, and along the Imperial Road. Women of
beauty had become more frequent targets and a trend was
increasing in popularity among the lower class women to cut
their hair as short as bristles in fear of being snatched for
their beauty. Women in higher classes were less concerned as
they were better protected.
As fear spread like wildfire through the Upher Empire, so
too had it seeded in the heart of The Emperor, Aumanas.
Reports began to surface of stolen people being used as
weapons in the war of the wizards. Some, known as
Vashaduhn, were women used to seduce and kill their targets
either through means of stealth or large, fiery explosions.
Others became known as Therakie, serpentine men who
could blend seamlessly with shadows to gain knowledge or
assassinate better protected targets. Most feared were the
Sharahn, dream walkers and controllers of thoughts and
actions. Terror swept the land like the first frosty wind of Ehn.

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Second Tale: “The Battle of Fire & Ice”

I
t is at the end of The Age of Rising, the first age of The night the clan arrived was dark and moonless. Whudrig
Krahnuhl, that a dwarven bard named Whudrig arose as the ground shook beneath him. As he emerged from
Caskbelt travelled through the Aighot Mountains in his small tent which Crethmalog had erected for him, he saw
search of Giants and giant tales. High on the peaks of a world of flames and blood. The Fire Giants were attacking in
these mountains he found a clan of Frost Giants led the cover of night. Whudrig ran through the camp seeking
by The Chieftain Crethmalog. Amused by the tiny some place of safety as the giants raged around him in a tribal
form of Whudrig, Crethmalog allowed him to live dance of death. The ground had become muddy with the
among the clan for a time. Whudrig learned their language blood and entrails of giants which caused him to slip and fall
and wrote of their fables and legends. face first. As he tried to stand the dead weight of a felled giant
On the fifth month among the clan there was a great landed on his tiny legs with the sickening sound of crushing
disturbance in the night as one of the hunters, bloodied and bone. As Whudrig cried out in anguish a Frost Giant child
worn, stumbled in to the camp. Having left with three others, found him and, being too small to move the larger body, cut off
the hunter called Mahbuk, was the lone survivor of an Whudrig’s legs and carried him back up the slope to wait for
ambush. He proceeded in telling Crethmalog of other, strange dawn.
giants who carried weapons of heat and attacked the hunting The following morning found Whudrig being carried in the
party without mercy or honor. Crethmalog screamed in rage mountains on the back of one of the Mammoths. So few of the
causing mountains to shake and snow to fall from their peaks clan surrounded him as they walked in silence. He learned
in devastating cascades. Immediately a warband was sent out that the clans of Frost Giants had been decimated and the few
to find the attackers and seek justice for the fallen brothers. which remained were fleeing back in to the mountains as
Krilnar, son of Crethmalog, led the warband that night and his exiles. Crethmalog was dead as were most of the giants that
was one of the bodies later sent back without a head. Whudrig had come to call friends.
Whudrig Caskbelt watched helplessly, always recording The fields in which the battle took place is now a dense
what he heard and saw, as the population of these Frost forest, fertilized by the blood of giants. The Fire Giants, whom
Giants slowly grew smaller and smaller. On the dawn of the had invaded, eventually continued to push further north and
sixth month a messenger arrived from a neighboring clan with east. After so much bloodshed, they abandoned the lands
a plea for assistance from Crethmalog. Frost Giants hold their which they had taken from the proud Frost Giants. Many
honor in very high regard, and to ask another for help is years later a clan of Frost Giants would form and seek out
practically unheard of once entering in to adulthood. Even still, revenge against the Fire Giants, but that is another tale for
Crethmalog agreed to travel and meet with the other another time.
Chieftain.
Two weeks and a blizzard passed in the time that The
Chieftain was gone. While he was away no more hunting
parties or warbands were sent out. The Giants lived on what
they had, and it had become painfully obvious that life for this
clan had become even more difficult than they were
accustomed to. On the night of Crethmalog’s return the clan
celebrated with dried meats, music, and fornication. The
Chieftain, however, watched with a long face and eyes that
indicated his thoughts were elsewhere. The following day it
was announced that The Clan would be joining several other
clans to push the invaders from the lands of the Frost Giants.
Blades were sharpened, spears were carved, and pigments
were applied in a tribal show of fury.
It took three days for preparations to be made in full.
Whudrig awed at the efficiency and mad rage that was
displayed as even the women and children prepared to defend
their home. Mommoths, large beast covered in fur with long
thick tusks and a trunk of a tree for a nose, were harnessed
and equipped with their own weaponry. As the march finally
began the sound of footfalls echoed from the surrounding
mountains like a constant rolling of thunder. It was four days
of never-ending marching before the mountains sloped to the
tundra plains below. Upon the slope was miles of large tents,
grunts, and roars. Opposite a partially frozen river was a large
fortification built of upturned stone and rock, smoke rising
from within like the colossal ash column of an erupting
volcano.

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Third Tale: “The Helm of Umatrum”

O
ur tale takes place near the end of the third age With great care, Daegan used magic to fuse the stones to a
of Krahnuhl, during The Great Wizarding War, helm which he had paid Duergar to for him in secret. As he
when a wizard of no renown named Daegan placed his helm upon his head he grew to twice his height and
changed the world of magic forever. stature. Daegan walked calmly down the courtyard before the
Discovering the gift at a young age, Daegan tower. With but a thought he willed the tower, and everything
typically used his magic to trick the within it, melt and sink in to the ground. The cries of anguish
unsuspecting out of coin or otherwise find were brief, but could be heard around the city for miles. Thus,
himself a single meal. Having eventually been caught by The Helm of Umatrum was created.
guards in the city of Cholthus and found guilty of theft through For three years Daegan travelled Krahnuhl as a seemingly
magical means, a member of The Order of Kuhzahtun had unstoppable force before the warring wizards untied and
him freed and took him to the city of Cleoliaros and The killed him. Upon killing him the wizards ruled that the helm
Tower of Many Eyes. Here Daegan began his long years of was far too dangerous a weapon and opted to destroy it. The
learning and honing his powers. helm was taken to the forges of Leimos where it was melted
Daegan spent most of his life studying the works of those down, the molten metal cast in to the deepest pits of Leimos.
who came before him. The Great Wizarding War was raging The stones, however, survived and were scattered across the
at full tilt around him and eventually claimed the life of his continent to never be united again. The Arcanium in Sechlosis
wife. Filled with rage, Daegan Umatra swore to end the war at has attempted to gather them as “God Relics”, artifacts so
any cost and make those responsible for his wife’s death pay powerful as to give a being godlike powers, and keep them
with their very lives. Ge began to formulate a theory, one that under guard. They have never been successful.
instilled both awe and fear into his compatriots within the
order. Daegan would harness the very energies that fueled
magic and focus all of it in to a single, focused weapon.
Daegan spent many years travelling the world, collecting
knowledge and artifacts. People whispered that he even found
portals to other planes so that he could find whatever tools he
needed to accomplish his task. Periodically Daegan would
return with pouches, bags, and crates of things that he kept
guarded and secret from the other wizards. Soon after he
would return, he would leave again.
After several years of this routine came the day when
Daegan returned to The Tower of Many Eyes and locked
himself away within his chambers. For days at a time he
would go unseen, taking neither food nor drink. As the
following months passed other became worried as his
appearance withered and became gaunter. Rumors began to
circulate that Daegan had begun pursuing Lichdom. Then,
suddenly, everything changed.
Daegan sent out messages to the fourteen members of The
High Council to meet him within his chambers, that he had
made a breakthrough. The claim that he discovered an end to
the war is ultimately what lured them in. The council
convened excitedly and greedily at the thoughts of a new
weapon, or better still, new power. Silence filled the chamber
as they gather round a small, circular table. Smoke was
suffocating through various smells and colours as eight clear
gems lay in a circle before them, Daegan with his back to
them and mumbling something to himself incessantly.
As the council grew bored with his supposed theatrics and
questions his reasoning for summoning them, Daegan turned
to the council as he drank deeply from a goblet of brass. As he
released the goblet to fall to the floor his mumbles became a
loud chant and his eyes glowed with raw power. The Council
tried to flee from his chambers but found the only door barred
with powerful magic. As Daegan chanted he watched the life
energies sucked from the bodies of every man and woman
that comprise The Council, leaving only dried husks. Daegan
smiled as each other clear stones now glowed with their own
power. Each was coloured to match the Arcane Arts; Black,
Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Red, White, and Yellow.

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Fourth Tale: “The Dark Tide”

I
t was the beginning of the current age of Krahnuhl,
along the coast of The Kingdom of Cleolias. The town
of Tholdus was a hub of fishing and trade, small yet
bustling. Found in a cove to the southeast of Argaros,
it was famed for it perfect weather, beautiful beaches,
and exotic catches. The king of Cleolias, King
Pahrleon, often requested meals of fish come from
nowhere except Tholdus. It is, to this day, a mystery as to how
it all changed.
On a beautiful day in Til-Ahn the coast was full of its usual
flock of fishermen working towards their daily catch. Sails
dotted the horizon as numerously as the sparkles of the sea.
As the sun crept low on the horizon, tension filled the air. Not
a single boat had caught anything. It was unheard of and
unnerving.
As the days that followed passed, no fish were seen or
caught. Even the birds of the seas that frequented the area
seemed to have disappeared without a trace. Slowly, the
crystal blues of the sea gave way to darker blues and
eventually purples. The water became clogged and dirty with
seaweeds and Kelp. The plants became so thick that the boats
of Tholdus could not even sail. The industry that fueled the
little town came to a grinding halt in as quickly as a week.
What came next, though, was truly horrifying.
For two solid months storms beat the coastline from
Tolevas to Xanellian with berating winds and dangerous
lightning. The very shape of the coastline changed and in the
years that followed maps needed to be redrawn, such was the
power of this storm. At the beginning of the second month
rumors began of eyes in the storm, growls in the waves, and
people disappearing in the tempest. Fear grew of a second
wizarding war, and eventually the rumors met The King who
sent out one of his Inquisitorial Squads to seek out the truth
of what was happening.
As the Inquisitorial Squad arrived they found a once
flourishing town now little more than a coastal ghost town.
They arranged accommodations and began their investigation.
For a week The King received daily reports of disappearances,
including some of their own. Reports including firsthand
accounts of large, yellow eyes in the darkness and howls in
the wind. Then, one day, the reports simply stopped arriving.
After a week of silence The King sent another squad to
Tholdus to seek after the first. Instead what they found was
that the storm had finally passed and all that remained was an
empty cove.
As the Inquisitorial Squad combed the beach for miles they
could find no evidence of there ever having been a town that
existed there at all. There was no wood, turned ground,
foundations, or stitch of cloth. A single tooth, three inches
long and sharp as a needle, was all that was recovered from
the beach that was once Tholdus. A group of citizens
numbering nearly three hundred had simply vanished without
a trace.
To this day the waters to the southeast of Argaros are still
purple and lifeless. Though there have been expeditions to the
area, no sign of Tholdus has ever been found and no
explanation can be given.

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Fifth Tale: “The Prophecy of Icophith,
The Sorceress”
I
n the dark forests to the east of Actyrius, during the
fourth age, lived a lone sorceress named Icophith.
She was a beautiful woman of many gifts with hair
like fire who preferred her solitude. No one knew
exactly where she lived, but if you went in to the wood
to find her you need only call her name and make
camp. Eventually, in the dead of night, she would
appear to whomever called her name.
One day a young adventurer who wanted to make a name
for himself entered the woods to find where she lived. The
young man stayed for three days and night searching the
forest, careful to never utter her name, and on the third night
he awoke to find her sitting across his campfire from him. Her
beauty struck him and dared not move in fear of scaring her
away. As he had been in the woods for so long and had not
called her name, she inquired as to his reason for being there.
His response was the most beautiful and poetic thing ever
said. Icophith was so smitten with the young adventurer that
she took him to her home where they lived as husband and
wife for five blessed years, eventually consummating in a
daughter.
After venturing in to the forest one evening to meet with a
council of ENts, Icophith returned to her home to find it
empty, save for the body of her husband. Fear and anxiety
gripped Icophith as she searched for her daughter in their
home and in the surrounding wood. Her daughter was
missing.
Several years passed as Icophith travelled the known world
in search of her daughter, and one day she found herself in the
market of a small fishing village named Eroleum. There,
standing before Icophith and unaware, was her long lost
daughter purchasing a fresh castch from a sea merchant.
Knowing her daughter would react fearfully if approached in
an open market, Icophith decided to follow her from a
distance, eventually coming to a luxurious home on the
northeast corner of town.
When Icophith knocked on the door a man appeared,
announcing himself as the Chancellor of Eroleum. Icophith
confidently explained who she was, how she came to be here,
and who she believed the young girl living at the residence
was. The Chancellow turned pale and invited Icophith inside
and to his office. He explained how his wife had been with
child three times and how the Celestials had claimed all three
for themselves upon the birth of the children. As his wife gave
birth to their third child a woman appeared on his doorstep,
prophesizing the stillbirth of their third and the resulting
suicide of his wife. Out of desperation and love for his wife,
The Chancellor agreed to pay the woman who claimed to be
able to prevent this outcome.
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A few days passed and as the wife of The Chancellor awoke,
she found him standing by her bed holding their new,
beautiful baby girl. She knew nothing, and he swore to never
speak of it ever again. Icophith felt a pang of pity for the
couple but demanded her daughter know the truth and decide
for herself how to live the rest of her life. The Chancellor
suddenly grew enraged and ordered Icophith to leave his
home. She left without argument only to return the next day.
Again The Chancellor grew angry and demanded that she
leave, and again she left only to return the next day. So it was
for thirty days.
On the thirtyith day Icophith was greeted at the door by her
daughter who announced that her father, The Chancellor of
Eroleum, had informed her and the guard that a beggar
woman with a poisoned mind was harassing him and trying to
blackmail him. It was decreed that should she return that she
be arrested on the spot. As the guards surrounded Icophith
and clasped her in irons her heart broke, and she saw The
Chancellor emerge from his home with a victorious smile. In a
low voice that echoed, Icopthith said these words:
“For the theft of a babe, from a mother whom loved
Your house shall know ruin, by death from above;
All that is yours, shall rot and shall wilt The town
that you’ve built, shall return to the silt; A death
from within, and a death by your hand Only my
daughter by my blood shall still stand; Your name is
forgotten, your house is but ash This is my
vengeance, for my family’s bloodbath.”
Icophith was burnt alive the same day and her ashes drowned
at sea. In the following months the wife of The Chancellor
grew ill and died. Soon after her death, their home was struck
by lightning during a storm and burnt to the ground. Two days
after the fire guards found the body of The Chancellor who
had committed suicide by slitting his own throat. No one
knows what happened to the daughter who, soon after, left
Eroleum and never returned. To this day the town still stands
as a flourishing fishing community, but those who believe in
the prophecy wonder for how much longer.
Departing Thoughts:

O
ur stories, our legends, make us who we are.
While most likely embellished tales told to
amuse, or possibly teach lessons, there is
undoubtable historical evidence to prove the
roots of these tales of Krahnuhl.
Who are you? What deeds have you done? Will they be the
deeds told to future generations? Will your stories help shape
future generations and cultures? Perhaps time will tell. Until
then, I bid you good fortunes until next we meet in written
word.
Thakkea
The Dragonborne

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