20.11.157 Xaanhal Settlement

Many years ago, a group of Xorani from the Mhojave village of Xoral broke away from their clan. Led by Krisiina, the heir and grand-niece of the Matron Thorasa, they lobbied for the village to rise up and strike back at those who repeatedly attacked the peaceful land, but the methods they favored were so gruesome and ruthless that they could not garner support.

Shunned by Thorasa and ordered to never return, they travelled for many years. They settled in Raim Vale not long after leaving Xoral, and Krisiina and Midolo formed a deep friendship. The Xoranis' loathing of what was done to the people of Raim Vale remains strong despite the distance of time; as unforgiving of harms done to their allies as to their own, their hatred of Enorian is deep-seated and inexorable, and they would love little more than to see that city destroyed.

After about a decade, the group moved on, learning and studying magic from numerous sources. Rumors abound of the places this group traveled from this point, but few details are known for certain.

What is known is that in the year 334 they finally settled in the Shamtota hills. Still under the leadership of Krisiina, now revered as the High Mage, they worked a great feat of magic, carving the Xaanhal tunnels out of the very stone. Here, the Xorani reside, now powerful warriors that will let no harm befall their families.

Seeking still further protection from the invasive world, Krisiina and three of her most loyal friends worked a great spell over the caverns. Only she knows the details of it, for only she survived it; her companions did not survive its casting, their very souls consumed by the unnatural forces of power that they sought to shape. The spell, however, was unflinchingly effective; the lower caverns lie under a seal of protection. Only the true citizens can reach the actual citizens that reside below; all others face only shades, soulless mimicries that they may attack as they please, for no true harm can be done to the vulnerable innocents.

After the events surrounding Varach Scolrys' return to prominence, during which Krisiina chose to side with him against outside forces, she subsequently fell victim to her foes despite her sorcerous attempts to stave them off. The remaining people of Xaanhal banded together under her daughter, Kithan, and it was under her guidance and leadership that they revoked the protections of the seal that had guarded their village for nearly two centuries.

Desiring a fresh start and new beginning, yet wanting to pull together the remnants of their people, those who made up the remainder of Xaanhal departed the caverns in a pilgrimage back to where they had come from in Xoral. Hopeful to call it their forever-home, the Xorani people have taken up where residence within the settlement of Xoral and now work to carve a new legacy in a new age.

Meanwhile, with nearly two centuries of ritual magic worked into the stone, the caverns of Xaanhal soon found themselves populated once more - this time by all manner of elementals and curious arcane anomalies that exhibited no signs of any long-lasting elemental alignment.