WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK 0014 0014
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over insignificant differences or vindictive disputes, and
few knew how to stop them or keep them from escalating once begun. Many now scoffed at the wise and the
learned. Those unwilling to fight were now shamed as
dishonorable and cowardly instead of honored for their
knowledge. Crops were burned, whole cities were razed,
and few guiding forces emerged to put an end to the chaos. Smoldering during its decline, the Classic Age and all
it represented met its end in sudden flames.
Many take the unexplained departure of the Dragon
Kings seriously, even if their lives or their predecessors
rarely intersected with such beings. Common laments
over the past centuries all circle around the questions
of “If they loved us so in the past, where are they now?
Why have they left us all? Will they ever return?”
The historical relationship between each Dragon King
and the mortals under its care was close and personal.
Their relationships were far more complex than those
between subjects and sovereign, or worshipers and deity. What was shared was far more personal, even parental, and its absence stung. The ache of that absence
is still felt by many to this day. The departure of each
Dragon King, like each one’s origins and experiences
on Khitus, was unique, mysterious, and often unexplained. What all had in common is that they were all
completely gone and no longer in communication with
anyone—a strange coincidence noted even back during
those times. The true connection among the Dragon
Kings and their mysterious withdrawal never became
clear and remains an enigma now, even among the Trakeen—though none would confess such readily.
Rumors about the Dragon Kings, their unexplained departure and their possible return, abound in every Khitan culture.
For instance, Chindi tradition holds that their Luksaw women
drove the Dragon Kings from the world because of their foul
magic. The Penmai feel that they never actually left the world,
but wander it still as animalistic wild daragkon. Prajalu tribal
tradition holds the Dragon Kings that once watched over them
will return one day to lead them to a heavenly reward. Some
cling to the hope that the Dragon Kings will one day return
from some distant place and watch over the world anew. Others insist they are gone forever and possibly already dead.
Many groups put the blame for their departure squarely upon
another. The truth may not be known in this age.
The Present Day
The world has become a significant challenge to the
peoples of Khitus. Since the Classic Age, extremes of
weather have become more prevalent, as evidenced by
the written record and commonly held expectations. The
12
northern continents have become so frigid that only the
hardy Nordor can survive, let alone flourish, there. The
southern hemisphere, in the main, shifted gradually toward wider deserts and more arid lands, a slow but relentless crawl that placed barren steppes where there had
once been more fertile prairies. The gentle rainclouds
that graced those lands for centuries now scatter and
disperse or carry their moisture elsewhere. Violent land
storms are more prevalent there now, carrying tons of
earth from place to place, dumping dust atop those foolish enough to dwell in their shadow.
This environmental decline was well in progress before
the plunder of Khitus began in earnest. Few understand
why their world is being stripped of all it has to offer. Want
can be explained, and droughts and famine can be understood. But everything of value fetching a price doled out by
mysterious hands? What are the origins of this silver and
gold? What is the basis for this seemingly insatiable demand for Khitus’s resources? Is the loathsome Iron Virus,
that eats away at everyone’s precious steel, somehow tied
to all of this? The appearance of the Black Fortress—a formidable tower of dark sorcery—was a primary herald of the
new age. Its pale-skinned ambassadors have their hands in
this change, that much is widely accepted. It’s no coincidence, but what part they play is something none can discern…or dare say with certainty.
The almost inescapable conclusion is that Khitus has entered its end-times. Entire tribes accept this fate, as do
many common folk who never speak of it but hold the notion locked in their somber hearts, and few can blame them.
Peaceful prosperity exists only as the stuff of history, while
decline and decay and want taint every aspect of Khitan life.
Dust chokes the body and clouds the mind darkly. People
are less trusting and more insular, and a helping hand is
less common than a drawn knife. Despair rules the minds of
most men. Some wallow in it, while others see potential and
opportunity. The end-times? Some have the courage to believe this is not so, and their time in the sun has just begun.
For good or ill, this is the world the Dragon Kings have
wrought. Khitus teeters on the edge, balanced between
potential rebirth and unrestrained, precipitous decline.
Fundamentally, the fate of Khitus rests with those courageous few who take up hope’s mantle. The challenges
are many: creeping desolation, wanton plunder, sorcery
turned vengeful, sub-races seeking dominance, despotic leadership, and worse yet. Still, solutions cannot
be plucked from the past or lured to Khitus from some
faraway place. The planet, sand-blasted and plundered
as it is, needs new leaders—new Dragon Kings, some
whisper in hopeful tones—willing to plant their feet
firmly, meet these challenges with grim-faced determination, and vanquish them for the good of all Khitus.
