Kahvlarashar

The gods have fallen

But we will not mourn them

The gods were our barrier

And our path is now clear

Clever, arrogant, and mostly disinterested in the rest of the world, even as the world has developed onward, the Kahvlarashar remained an enigma. Many aspire to their peoples’ accomplishments, and many more dislike them for their general disinterest in the rest of the world.

In the early days of history, the energy left behind after the battle between Yio and the gods gained a will of its own, a consciousness of immense unbridled energy. In its raw form that being was destructive and uncontrolled, so it used its power to craft a body for itself based on the inhabitants of the world who were beginning to rebuild. In that body it sought to learn of the societies surrounding it, and when asked its name, it chose to call itself Kahvlarashai.

Kahvlarashai learned of these people, but found them strange and alien, and they saw it as much the same. In time it learned to split off pieces of its being and form bodies for them as well, and from this action, the nameless people of Kahvlarashai were formed. In time they became simply known as the Kahvlarashar, with Kahvlarashen as the singular form of their name.

Though Kahvlarashai’s arcane flame burned out, at the end of the Arcane War, the Kahvlarashar remain amongst the most accomplished scholars, mages, and chroniclers of Verail. Their society was amongst the least impacted by Divinity’s End, for the Kahvlarashar have never regarded gods as beings to revere, but rather a goal for Kahvlarashen society to strive for.

Biology

The bodies of the Kahvlarashar are constructed from a mineral construction of stone and metal, precisely carved to resemble a kelaloid body. These bodies are made from several pieces, held together through nodes of energy at the limbs, which the Kahvlarashar use as a means of moving the body and controlling it.

Their heads typically appear far stranger, however. In the early days of their people, perfectly crafted faces were difficult to craft, let alone manipulate the way they do the rest of their body, and imperfectly crafted faces were seen as unsettling, and so Kahvlarashai, and future generations of Kahvlarashar, took to using simpler designs for their heads. Many of the first were simply metallic orbs, though in time many would come to be more intricately carved objects in some form. Kahvlarashen heads can vary widely, and are the main means of identifying a specific member of their people.

In more recent times, some Kahvlarashar have learned to craft a realistic face. This is usually done in order to present a more approachable and understandable appearance to members of other civilizations, though as most Kahvlarashar have little interest in this goal, the process remains rare, and whether the issue of these faces seeming unsettling is actually solved depends on the skill of the crafter.

In truth, however, a Kahvlarashen is not these constructed bodies. Their true form is a small flame, devoid of heat and usually blue or purple in color. This flame is usually sealed within their head, though in some Kahvlarashar it may be bound somewhere else within their body. While Kahvlarashai’s flame was immensely powerful and destructive if uncontrolled, an average Kahvlarashen does not hold nearly that much power, and if the body that holds it is destroyed, they are likely to simply dissipate.

Kahvlarashar can live long lives so long as their body is not destroyed, though they are not entirely immortal. Their flame will dissipate on its own eventually, though this usually takes a few hundred years, and the most powerful of their kind can learn to preserve themselves even longer. Typically the more capable they are with magic, the longer their flame will endure.

Kahvlarashar reproduce by crafting a new body, and connecting their flame to it for a brief moment. Much like lighting a spark on a candle, a new Kahvlarashen can form within the body. In some cases, the body of a dissipated Kahvlarashen is used in this process, and inheriting the body of a particularly talented Kahvlarashen is seen as a great honor. Young Kahvlarashar typically begins life with a rudimentary understanding of language and basic concepts, passed down from the one that sparked them.

Sociology

It is a common belief that the Kahvlarashar hold themself superior to all other societies on Verail. While the attitude of most Kahvlarashar does little to counter this idea, it would not be correct to say they look down on other races. The Kahvlarashar believe in improvement and progression in all things, and while they have advanced their society greatly through magic, they do not look down on those who have not reached the same accomplishments. Rather, they dislike those who are unwilling to strive to overcome their limitations.

Above all else, the Kahvlarashar dislike the worship of deities, as they believe that to revere a higher power and place yourself beneath them is to accept defeat. To accept that your position is below greater beings, and that you are better off begging for the gifts of those greater beings than to seek them out for yourself.

They are however more than happy to help guide others, but their guidance is reserved for those who seek to overcome their own limitations, and who do not see any prospect as impossible to their own abilities. It is this belief that led the Kahvlarashar to create the spire for other races, as placing the capacity for arcane magic in the hands of other races would give them the means to more easily learn to master it for themself.

As a whole, the Kahvlarashar greatly value ambition, and they see any limitation and any problem as something to overcome, no matter how difficult it may be or how many generations it may take to achieve. The existence of gods is, or at least was, proof of the capabilities that are possible to reach. And if the gods have reached that point, then in time every being on Verail can, and should, learn to become like the gods.

Arcane Magic

The Kahvlarashar were the first to wield Arcane magic, and it has become a core part of almost every aspect of Kahvlarashen society. They travel across their nation of Vhaeirsoane through a network of crystals which allow teleportation to other crystals in the network. Magic is used in the sculpting of new Kahvlarashen bodies and in the construction of their architecture, allowing them to build and sustain the massive towers that Vhaiersoane is known for.

It is through their magic the Kahvlarashar believe they are most likely to overcome limitations and obstacles, and indeed they have already accomplished many things that would have once been considered impossible, and that to many civilizations still are. The teleportation network is one of the greatest examples of this, though other nations have begun to start constructing their own networks, at least within larger cities.

In truth, what is typically referred to as Arcane energy is derived from the chaotic energy that formed into Kahvlarashai, and by extension is a part of their very being. It is the energy that forms their flames, and overuse of this power has caused many Kahvlarashar to burn out. When a Kahvlarashar dissipates, however, they typically leave vestiges of their energy, and this is something the Kahvlarashar have learned to capture within specific crystals capable of storing the energy.

As soon as a Kahvlarashen’s flame is lit, they will be encouraged to start learning the use of magic, and Vhaiersoane houses numerous institutions dedicated to teaching the practices and applications of manipulating arcane energy Kahvlarashar and non-Kahvlarashar alike. Many mages across Verail aspire to learn at Kahvlarashen academies.

Naming

Kahvlarashar typically choose their names shortly after being sparked. Kahvlarashar typically take a single name, though most of their names are rather long and complex on their own. A few have taken additional names however, especially if they wish to integrate themselves into another culture somewhat.

Using the full form of a Kahvlarashen’s name is seen as formal and respectful, but in casual conversation it is acceptable to shorten their name to avoid repeating the long names regularly. For those outside their culture, saying and correctly pronouncing a full name is greatly appreciated, but the majority of Kahvlarashar will not be greatly offended by someone less familiar with their society using a shortened and mispronounced form in a formal conversation.

The name of Kahvlarashai, however, is never shortened, though Kahvlarashai is often simply referred to as The Progenitor rather than by actual name. Other important figures such as leaders or important scholars or mages are often given similar treatment, and always referred to by their full name as a sign of respect.

Attire

Kahvlarashar traditionally wear some form of robes, usually designed to cover all of their joints so their movements can appear more natural. An everyday Kahvlarashen robe is typically designed to be simple and functional, but more intricate robes are used for important occasions or by those in high ranking positions. There is no actual rule regarding this though, and some common Kahvlarashar prefer more intricate robes, while some prestigious members of their society prefer simpler styles.

Armor, for those amongst the Kahvlarashar who have a reason to wear it, is typically made by attaching plates of metal onto simple robes. Some Kahvlarashar also use a material they have dubbed Silversilk, fine strands of metal that can be woven like cloth, to craft robes. Silversilk is much more mobile than the traditional armored robes, but is not as protective.

The Fall of Vhaeirsoane

For thousands of years the Kahvlarashar lived within the city of Vhaeirsoane, a place of crystalline towers that spanned a size larger than many actual nations, and in truth Vhaeirsoane was a true nation in most regards, only holding its classification as a city out of historical origins.

After the Arcane War, the Kahvlarashar became more isolated from the rest of the world, fearing future attempts to harvest them for power now that the knowledge of how to do so was known. During this time, a number of Kahvlarashar led by the sage Delhralen began research into a means of harvesting the power wielded by gods. His goal, as he had stated, was to place the Kahvlarashar so far beyond the rest of the world that no one would wage war upon them again.

Several hundred years later, Delhralen, had performed several experiments recreating and harvesting power from what he referred to as “artificial divine cores”, sources of energy meant to replicate those held by gods, but with much less power and no sentience, and the project progressed to its final stage, to extract the divinity of the gods themselves.

Many contradicting stories surround the details of this event. Some say that the experiment was successful, but Delhralen and his team could not contain the resulting energy, some say they had targeted one god while others propose they had attempted to siphon the entire primary pantheon at once in order to avoid retaliation by the others. The truth will likely never fully be known, as whatever their goals and faults may have been, the backlash of the experiment resonated across Vhaeirsoane in an instant. Towers fell to the ground, bridges collapsed, Kahvlarashen flames died out and bodies were shattered to pieces.

Surprisingly a significant number of the Kahvlarashar, roughly 5% of Vhaeirsoane’s population, managed to survive the destruction and escape to other nations. Some managed to evacuate through their own quick reactions, though the majority of survivors were evacuated by a being calling itself Sharallel.

Some speculated that Sharallel was perhaps the vessel from the experiment, successfully awakened despite the destruction, others proposed it to have been a rogue Visitor deciding to intervene at this moment, or even the rebirth of Kahvlarashai. Sharallel revealed little about its true nature or origins, but would become the closest thing to a leader the Kahvlarashar had.

Many would come to settle in the places they were evacuated to, doing their best to, if they could not integrate into other cultures, at least prove their worth to them. Kahvlarashar were often met with mistrust, if not outright malice, but some at least were able to find their place, typically as some kind of scholar or mage.

Others sought to create a new home for themselves and, finding the ruins of Vhaeirsoane unstable and utterly uninhabitable, founded a new home for themselves, an nation built atop an artificial island, which they called Velvhaeirsoane. It is miniscule compared to their former home, and led by the being that called itself Sharallel.

On the day Vhaeirsoane was destroyed, the primary pantheon went silent as well, an event known by the world of Verail as Divinity’s End. It is unknown what truly became of them, whether they were stripped of power, killed outright, or simply withdrew from the world out of fear, as the Kahvlarashar themselves once had. Whatever the reason may be, Delhralen’s experiment is largely believed to be responsible, and the loss of the world’s deities, and the turmoil that followed, did no favors for trust of the Kahvlarashar.