The Khor
In the First Age the Khor lived in vast underground complexes mining ore and stones from the mountains. Having trade routes with all three kingdoms, the Khor thrived and lived well inside their mountain fortresses. During the war of the First Age, the Khor continued trade with all three kingdoms until near the end when the Elrathi and Tir began to try to pit them one against the other. Refusing to trade with either side, the Khor continued trade with the Humans even under the Elrathi threat of invasion.
Gearing up for potential war, the Khor fortified their underground fortresses and began to build and train a military. True to their word, the Elrathi unleashed thousands of horrible creatures upon the Khor and several of the smaller holdings fell. Near the end of the war the Elrathi in one last effort began to summon thousands upon thousands of creatures to devastate the world both above and below.
Driven from the mountain fortresses during the dark age, the Khor turned to the desert of Malkis as a place to live. By time the second age set in, the Khor society had drastically changed from docile miners to dangerous and trained warriors.
Early in the Second Age, the Khor were rocked by the Clan Wars and nearly half of their population was killed. The war ended out of necessity with five clans being chosen based upon the leader’s combat ability. All clans and members of the clans mutually agreed to a new code of honor that all Khor are to follow, a code that was designed to help prevent the Khor from driving themselves to extinction.
For over a thousand years the Khor have been led by the five clans chosen by their ancestors. Over the past few hundred years smaller clans have began to emerge through disagreement, but all still hold to the code. The five are still the largest of the clans and number into the thousands. There are many smaller clans that constantly fight for land rights near watering holes.