Khanvarians

Events that shaped Khanvarian culture

Like some races that now reside in the Dragon Quadrant, the Khanvarians did not originally come from the area. In fact, as best as can be determined, they come from someplace near the border of the Delta GR and the Eta GR, though almost certainly on the Eta side. This uncertainty is largely due to the fact that Khanvarians did not explore much beyond their own solar system before migrating to the Delta GR..

The Khanvarians are actually three genetically distinct races. The Khrenesch an Lupine race, dominating the plains of Khanvar. The Frenalian an Amphibian race, dominating the oceans of Khanvar. Lastly, the Laukhi an Avian race, dominating the mountains of Khanvar. It is important to understand the geography involved because geography was in part the reason for the conflict that the Khanvarians call 'The Forever War'.

It comes as a surprise to many outsiders that the actual reasons for the war have been lost to antiquity. How could the Khanvarians lose track of the reasons for a war that lasted over 200 years? All Khanvarian historians seem to agree that war's origins lie with the theological differences between the Khrenesch, who worship a pantheon of elemental gods and the Frenalians who believe in a single nature goddess. However, after 12 generations of continuous conflict, the motivations evolved. The theological differences became something of a cover for the need to control the lands between the oceans and plains, the most fertile land on Khanvar.

Though the Frenalian are mostly water creatures, they still have need of the land to grow crops and raise livestock that does not thrive underwater. As the ocean's flora and fauna are considered exotic treats to the Khrenesch, so too is the land's bounty considered exotic amongst the Frenalians.

Living high in their mountaintop cities, the Laukhi never allowed themselves to be drawn into open support of either side of the conflict despite the fact that the Laukhi never financed a large standing army. By nature, the Laukhi are academics, preferring to conquer knowledge rather than other people. When the war started, the Laukhi positioned themselves as neutral and eventually this neutrality became valuable to both the Khrenesch and the Frenalians. The Laukhi became information brokers and negotiators. Though they sold improved magic and technology to both sides, they were clever enough to keep the most advanced stuff for themselves. In a way, the war took on a life of its own, driving the economies of all three races to the point where without the war, everything would collapse.

One of the other prolonging effects of the war had to do with how it was fought. The Khrenesch became the undisputed masters of magical destruction through elemental forces and the Frenalians became the undisputed masters of magical defense. Any advance by one was quickly counteracted by an advance of the other. So though many skirmishes were won and lost, it seemed as though the war was going to never end.

That is until the power of the magical spells used by both sides began to diminish. It was slow at first, but when it was noticed, the fighting became more intense as the sides probed for advantage. The intensity of the fighting intensified the diminishing effect, create a sort of feedback loop. Tasked with finding an answer to the problem by both the Frenalians and the Khrenesch, the Laukhi discovered that 200 years of constant magical warfare had depleated the mana sphere of the planet to catastrophic levels. Within a year the great mages of either side were better off throwing rocks at each other.

Unfortunately, the destruction of the mana sphere had ecological impact as well. Since Khanvar started with a strong mana sphere, most of the plant and animal life evolved with a dependance on the presence of magic. With mana being used up and not replaced, the ecosystem of Khanvar also began to collapse. This was noticed by the Laukhi, but was lost on the Frenalians and the Khrenesch who were too wrapped up in reinventing other ways to continue to fight. From swords, to bows, to cannons, and catapults, all forms of weaponry made a comeback after having been put aside for more devastating magic.

Unknown to the other two races, the Laukhi were in the early stages of making contact with an alien race. It seems that a merchant/scholar, who is now believed to have been a Jomu, discovered their planet quite by accident. Though little is known about how he managed to safely travel 15,000 light years by himself, he was once overheard remarking that he was known among his own people for showing up in the darndest places.

With his own knowledge of magic, the Jomu was quick to confirm what the Laukhi had already determined, Khanvar was doomed. Not one to miss an opportunity, he offered the Laukhi a deal they couldn't refuse. In exchange for access to any knowledge ever gained by the Laukhi, he gave them an artifact of tremendous power. If charged with enough mana, the artifact would be able to transport the entire planet instantaneously to any point in the galaxy. The unfortunate side affect being the permanent destabilzation of the planet's core which would render the planet completely uninhabitable 6 months after transport. Since they were only going to have one shot at this, the Laukhi accepted the Jomu merchant's suggestion of aiming towards the Dragon Quadrant. With nothing to lose, the Laukhi accepted the possibility that all Khanvarians would become refugees on the inhabited planets there.

The only problem was how to get enough mana to charge the artifact with the mana sphere unable to sustain anything more complex than lighting a campfire or keeping bugs away. The Laukhi already had the answer to this, having developed a special type of spell that was able to take a person's stamina and convert it into mana. It would be exhausting, but everyone on the planet would be able to contribute to the effort.

In force, the Laukhi descended on the Khrenesch and Frenalian capitals and using their renewed magical abilities, easily took the leaders hostage. They explained the situation, how the planet was doomed, and how they could all be saved. The only catch is that every single Frenalian and Khrenesch would have to swear they would not use the new ability to continue the Forever War. Though the leaders first opposed any such oath, they quickly changed their minds when it became undeniably apparent that the ecosystem was collapsing. After a month of focusing every ounce of energy into power the artifact, the exhausted Khanvarians activated the artifact.

The arrival of the Khanvarians was quite a shock to the newly formed United Dragon Alliance; however, its forces quickly mobilized to relocate the Khanvarians before the planet became uninhabitable. Eventually, each race was given its own planet. The Laukhi now inhabit Khystarn, the Khrenesch now call Khrenleign home, and the Frenalians now swim in the oceans of Luischawn. Though it took each of the races quite some time to acclimate to their new worlds, the challenges of rebuilding and reinventing themselves allowed the Frenalian and Khrenesch to let go of their centuries long war. It helped that permanently resolving the conflict was a condition of their acceptance into the United Dragon Alliance.