I’ve spoken to the historical director Jorian Herr’mann at the Kalash Institute of Magical Studies. Getting him in a room was more difficult than I had hoped. Once we sat together he gave me more than my journey to Onirose did.
I had already known that Kalash was one of the last cities remaining from before the Last Human Empire fell. What I did not expect was that Director Herr’mann was from before the fall. I had known that the Khadijians live for a long time. Longer than any other race on Erasure, I did not expect them to be able to live for thousands of years. That was just the tip of the iceberg, I feel as though he could sense my excitement at this information. He could be a wellspring of knowledge on ancient history the likes of which the world has never seen before. He entertained me for quite a while. He seemed to have liked the chance to relive his past as I absorbed as much as I could. The origin of the Khadijians was finally at the tips of my fingers.
Rather than ask as many questions as I could, I let Director Herr’mann speak his mind for as long as he saw fit. Luckily the Director likes to follow the historical order of events as much as myself.
Back before the fall whilst the Empire was taking over Erasure they had been looking for a new form of power. Something to energize their “machinery”. I’m not sure what he means by machinery, from what I have seen in my own studies the Empire was only marginally more advanced than our current selves. This new power could have been used for weaponry, such to infuse a weapon with some form of magic that they couldn’t use or a more powerful mineral but I’m not entirely sure. And at this point I have lost the chance to ask. Anyways this new power was nowhere to be found on the surface of the planet, so the Empires “Technomages” as Herr’mann called them told the Emperor to search underground, namely near Siradin. The closer to Siradin the better as there would be more magic there. The Emperor commanded his people to start mining at the largest mountain in the Khalshiri Mountain range.
This mine while looking for some elusive sort of mineral also happened to churn out more resources than every other mining operation in the entire Empire. So resources and manpower got rushed to the site. Within a decade it became one of the largest projects the Empire had ever undertaken. That’s when Director Herr’mann was sent to the mines. He was working on a project for a university nearby. He was sent to record a historical log of the area and find out what sort of cultural changes had been occurring with so many people from around Erasure being united in one place. He claims that there were easily 100 million people in the mines and the town surrounding it. His numbers sounded ludicrous, not even Onirose has that many people living in it.
After a few years of Herr’mann living in the area while on an expedition deeper into the mines to see some people who had been living in the depths of the mountains for years now, tragedy struck. The Khalsh Mines caved in at the entrance. Herr’mann claims to have heard a loud boom and the entire range shook as thousands of tons of stone collapsed on the only entrance they had bothered to make. While not entirely sure what caused the collapse, some locals have their theories. A god damned them to starve, or save them from the outside world as the Empire burned. Others blame Grilnax the dragon of Siradin for caving them in. The reason was not their concern for long though it seemed. Their most pressing matter was the limited supplies. They had enough water from the river systems deeper in, but food would start to run low relatively quickly with so millions of mouths to feed. The head of the mining operation took up more of a leadership role very quickly.
Within a few days he had a plan. While most of his crew would try and clear the rubble. No matter how fruitless this was with the limited tools at their disposal and hunger starting to set in. The rest would follow him deeper into the mines, there they would try and find what the Technomages sent them there for in the first place. Crystalized Magic. With that he believed they could blow open a hole to escape from.
Herr’mann stayed behind, he wished to see how people would react to their new living conditions. Had they gotten out then he would have his study completed and he could return home to the university. It took a few days for the expedition of Crystalized Magic to return, while they were gone a divide in the people began to form. Those desperate to get out of the mines, mostly driven out of their hunger. And those who thought their gods were punishing them. The zealots did not help very much with the escape attempts. Then after almost a week the expedition returned with carts full of crystals. They seemed to glow all on their own. The luster caught the eye of everyone it passed by.
The Crystals got brought to the lead Technomage. He inspected them, running all sort of magical exams. In the end he determined that they would not give the effect that the Miners had hoped for. That the empire had hoped for. There was no explosive potential for the crystals, though they would provide a potential solution for the current problem. The largest issue facing the population was mass starvation. These crystals held some of the strongest transmutation capabilities that the technomages had ever seen. If consumed the human body would transform taking on a more Crystalline almost rocky form.
The head of the operation made the decision to tell the trapped people. If they wished to take a chance he would eat the crystals first to prove they were safe. Those who wished not to could have the food stored by those who ate the rocks as they would no longer need to eat any sort of material to survive. Later that day a speech was held on a large stage with the crystals broken into small pieces, large enough to transform a person but small enough as to not choke on it. A large portion of the population agreed that they should eat the crystals and transform. The only group who did not agree were the Zealots who believed doing this would make them less than human, and go against their gods wills. These Zealots went into self imposed exile deeper into the mines taking the majority of the food stores with them. While those who remained consumed the crystals, no longer having a need for food. This day became known as Transmutation Day among the Khadijians.
On this day the whole of the remaining population underwent a transformation after consuming the crystalline shards. Their bodies while still looking human had more function closer to stones. While some people looked like the crystals they consumed, translucent reds and blues, others held more resemblance to a common stone. Though this did come with all the benefits and downsides of being made of these materials. While some could conduct lightning and resist flames. Most of the people became brittle. While a normal human could bounce back after being hit by a blunt object with minimal damage. Blunt force held a chance to chip or even break off parts of their bodies. One large upside to the transformation to the entire population was the increase in magical attunement and aptitude. While before the average person could hold small amounts of magical energy in themselves to cast spells, they could now hold immense amounts of energy, equivalent to what the crystals had once held before.
With the change the people started to elect leaders. The head of the operation was elected for the first term of the colony, for saving them in a time of distress. They hoped that he would carry this through for the coming years.
This is as far as my interview with Director Jorian Herr’mann got before his secretary pulled him out of the room to go and meet with some important ambassador from a nearby military power.
From what I gathered the crystals transformed their people who had now grown used to the non-aging factor. They don’t seem to care for time like you or I might. After talking to a few of the locals they seemed to share a common idea. Time matters not when you are older than even Cereblemous.
Next on my journey I’m going to go find what remains of this “Zealot” group. I asked a local inn keep if he might know what happened to them. He recommended not to even try, but if my curiosity gets the better of me to look for the Seevumo. I just hope that I get one that’s conversational this time. They aren’t known for their people skills after all.
Andon Writes 
Leave a comment