History of Kenshi

The great mystery of Kenshi is figuring out what happened on the moon of Kenshi. Kenshi is a tidal-locked moon with a history spanning several thousand years. Much of it is shrouded in mystery, with legends, lies, and myths mixed in with the historical records. This is a timeline of events we know to have happened, sorted as close to chronological order as possible with our limited knowledge.
SPOILER ALERT!
== Timeline ==
=== The Ancients (Many Thousands of Years Ago): ===
* The First Empire. A powerful and technologically advanced civilization, possessing automated factories, satellites, genetic engineering, giant robots, and space elevators. Unknown how long they existed, what came before them, how far their reach extended, or if they were even from Kenshi's world or not; regardless, they were advanced to the point of godlike levels compared to the modern times. Possible rusted remains of spacecraft can be found around the continent.
* The War of Behemoths. At some point, a war broke out between the First Empire and an unknown enemy. The war was very destructive and used weapons so powerful that their owners began to fear the consequences of using them, such as the Behemoths, giant Skeletons that tower over the normal races.
* Obedience. Due to their fear of the Behemoths, the Ancients decided to dispose of them. Taking advantage of their unquestioning loyalty, the Ancients ordered the Behemoths down into a massive pit and then betrayed their servants by encasing the pit in solid metal. (Possibly included the ordering of suicide among normal skeletons, as there are apparently many cases of skeleton bodies found with suicide as the cause of death. Unconfirmed if related.)
* The Chaos Age. A time of many calamities, from dangerous celestial activity, to natural disasters, to plagues, to a skeleton rebellion (possibly in vengeance for Obedience). It's unclear exactly what happened, but it brought the great empire of the Ancients to its knees, and humanity to the brink of extinction. According to ancient legends, the calamities were stopped by a being named Chitrin, though the validity of these legends is impossible to say.
=== Second Empire (1000+ Years Ago) ===
* The Second Empire is Founded. Many hundreds or thousands of years after the Chaos Age, to redeem themselves in the eyes of humanity for their actions of the past (though the humans had long since forgotten), Cat-Lon and his Skeleton followers founded an empire. They attempted to rebuild civilization and study the remains of the Ancient Empire.
* The Northwesterners Turn to Cannibalism. At some point, and for reasons unknown, the humans in the northwest developed a taste for human flesh. Cat-Lon's empire spent a fair amount of resources combating them, including the formation of a militant group known as the Hydraulic Knights. These knights would combat the external enemies of the empire, such as pirates and cannibals. The cannibal tribes have legends that speak of a skeleton warrior they know as "The Inedible One." It is highly likely that this warrior was a member of the Hydraulic Knights, possibly their leader General Jang.
* The Empire starts to Crumble. While initially founded with good intentions, to keep the peace, the empire became more and more dictatorial. Child prisons, crackdowns on piracy and religious cults, and the killing of many of their own innocent citizens in the process much-inflamed tensions amongst the populace. When a great famine hit, the empire neared its breaking point.
* The Founding of the Holy Nation. While details from this time are sparse (and rarely trustworthy), legends say it was around this time that a great leader of humanity stepped forward and gathered his followers in rebellion. Legends call him the Phoenix, champion of the god Okran and possessor of the everlasting Holy Flame. He liberated the imprisoned humans, and eventually went on to found one of the oldest living civilizations to this day, The Holy Nation.
* The Fall of the Second Empire. It is unclear what actually caused the fall of the empire. The most reliable evidence would suggest betrayals from the inside, possibly combined with the rebellion of the Okranites. Regardless, the empire collapsed. Their leaders retreated into the dangerous Ashlands, where they reside to this day. The rest of the empire fell into ruins, though some settlements like the Black Desert City survived, and many likely became the towns the United Cities reside in to this day.
=== Intermediate Period (100-1000 Years Ago) ===
* Appearance of the Hivers. Though it is unclear when or how the Hivers appeared, it is evident they were not around much, if at all, at the time of Cat-Lon's empire at least not in a form recognizable as a Hiver. Whether they mutated from humans or came from a land across the seas, they appeared and have been a resident of our lands ever since.
* Appearance of the Modern Shek. While it is likely the Shek existed during Cat-Lon's empire, and possibly even back to the days of Ancients, they did not have the appearance they currently sport. Their previous appearance was much more similar to a standard human, as they lacked the horns they are known for, and were known as Enforcers. It is unknown what role they played in the empires of old, though given the name it is possible they were a soldier caste, dedicated to fighting their master's enemies. This could explain the Okranite belief of them being "Servants of Darkness" if they fought on opposite sides during the human rebellion against the Second Empire... The truth, however, has been lost to time.
* The Rise and Fall of Kral. For as long as anyone can remember, the Shek were simple tribes living in the wilderness, divided and warring regularly. At one point, a great Shek warrior named Kral unified the tribes into a powerful kingdom, taught his followers a code of honor and strength, and led them into a march of conquest. Eventually, however, he was slain in battle against an enemy force that legends say outnumbered him a hundredfold. After his death, he attained near godlike levels of worship from his followers, who want nothing more than to die in a great battle like him. As such, they have continued their raiding and warlike ways with their neighbours ever since.
* The Birth of the United Cities and the Traders Guild. It is implied that the United Cities and Traders Guild were formed in the ashes of a former empire. Whether this was the Second Empire itself or another one is unknown, but the United Cities and the Traders Guild seized power and began to institute new laws regarding slavery, where people would be free of the tyranny of the former empire, and only the criminals would be relegated forcefully to the mines and farms. However, much like the Second Empire in the past, the term of 'criminal' was found to be more and more loosely applied.
=== Recent History (0-100 Years Ago) ===
*As is Holy Nation tradition, the 62nd Phoenix was taken from his birth parents shortly after his birth and raised in isolation by the High Priest. There he was indoctrinated into the Okranite religion and taught all the skills he needed in order to rule the empire. The 62nd Phoenix is said to be one of the most hegemonistic Phoenixes in the Holy Nation's history, having judged his own family at the age of 16, sentencing them to be purged in Holy Fire. Ever since, Holy Lord Phoenix has championed the unrelenting will of Okran.
* The Red Rebellion and the rise of the tyrannical Emperor Tengu. A few decades ago, the southern plains suffered a significant drought, which in turn caused a severe famine that nearly brought the United Cities to its collective knees. Due to the famine, the southern cities were forced to rely on the Traders' Guild to bring them the supplies they needed to survive. Unfortunately, bandits and Shek raiders blockaded the routes and took these supplies for themselves. What little did get through was instantly set upon by the nobles in a bidding war, and the lower classes were driven to starvation and rebellion. The resultant fighting claimed many lives, including many nobles and even Emperor Anzai himself, but the rebels were eventually put down and survivors enslaved. This marked the selection of a new Emperor from the Noble's Circle, Emperor Tengu, a cruel and impulsive man known for his lack of common sense. As a result, the poor and downtrodden are now even more heavily oppressed, even being arrested and sold into slavery for merely being poor as they are seen as a threat to the stability of the empire itself.
* The Holy Nation's war on the United Cities and the destruction of Bast. Bast was once a prosperous and fertile area, filled with many farmlands and towns for trading. However, everything changed when the Holy Nation attacked, who proceeded to burn towns and farms to the ground and haul the children off to Rebirth. It is unclear what exactly compelled this radical change that shattered the long peace, but it is likely that more or less it has to do with the tyranny of Tengu and/or paranoia of UC elites having wild ambition to take over the grass lands and enslave the civilians. Either way, the land has been a warzone where both the Holy Nation and United cities vie endlessly in a stalemate, trampling underfoot any life that may have once thrived here.
* Revenge of Luquin. Luquin and his family were sold into slavery at a young age, where they were subjected to beatings, starvation, and exhaustion from working in the mines. Eventually, his father would succumb to the horrid conditions, devastating both Luquin and his mother, who, with nothing left to lose, devised an escape plan to save her son. She succeeded in freeing him, but at the cost of her own life. Starving and alone in the desert at the age of 15, he was found and taken in by a clan of ninjas who trained him in the arts of stealth and assassination. Seven years later, he returned to his hometown for blood, using his skills to stalk and assassinate noble after noble. Eventually, Luquin was arrested and paraded through the streets as a criminal before being sent off to Tengu's Vault, where he was subjected to many tortures, including being forced to write a book in tribute to Emperor Tengu.
* Overthrow of King Shager. Shager was the latest in the line of Kings from the Shek Kingdom. Like most Shek, he saw battle as a point of honor, with death in battle being the highest of honors. Under his rule, the Shek Kingdom was crumbling under the loss of life sustained in their wars with the Holy nation and the United Cities. King Shager proposed a desperate, suicidal last stand with whatever weakened warriors were left. To this, the warrior Bayan spoke up, protesting against throwing away their lives needlessly. Shager was furious, but one of the Invincible Five, Esata the Stone Golem, stepped between the two and shouted, "the man speaks the truth. You want Bayan silenced; you'll have to cut me down first". Their swords crossed, and that day marked the beginning of the Stone Golem's rule, with Bayan at her side. She pulled her warriors off the front lines, made peace with the United Cities, and opened her borders to trade from the other races. Despite protests from some of her warriors, she is determined to ensure her people survive into the future, even if it means tearing down some of their long-held ideals and traditions. Category:Lore