29: Kkadir, the Usurper

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## Summary

### Twenty Questions

The party makes camp for the second night of their journey across the desert, weary from the blistering heat and two days of constant unfriendly encounters. In a rare show of curiosity, Damhir inquires as to Mahi’s status, and also asks the party if he’s really a prince. He seems surprised by the answer, and gives the gang a brief (and possibly unreliable) history lecture on ancient Kingdom-Empire sociopolitics, mentioning that the nations are hardly friendly due to a disagreement at the start of the Second Ark War. Ultimately, he also mentions that he knows of a white mage in the capital that can help Mahi.

Anxious to make progress toward the next Arkspring, the party then uses their evening to ask Damhir some questions about the Empire. When he expresses some doubt at their chances of convincing the Empress, they learn of Meranh’s most recent rulers: Emperor Kkadir, and Emperor Gimsaan before him. Before Damhir was born, Emperor Gimsaan enjoyed a largely peaceful rule, but inherited a significant problem: the closure of the desert Arkspring as a result of a centuries-long Ark drought. An honest and straightforward man, he informed the greater public of a dilemma that had long been hidden from them. But not all were grateful—seeing opportunity, Kkadir, a young man hailing from an old noble family, killed Gimsaan and took the throne as well as the lives of most of his royal court, preying on flaring tensions within the capital.

### Her Royal Majesty, the Empress of Meranh

While the palace was sacked and the royal family killed by Kkadir’s men, Damhir’s mother managed to shepherd a young prince and princess to safety. Because of their connections to the previous Emperor, they were forced into hiding. But now, years later, the young girl Damhir’s mother saved has reclaimed the imperial throne for her bloodline, killing Kkadir in ceremonial combat. Damhir is silent on most questions about their connection, and worries over the public’s perception of even a hint of favoritism, but reverently assures them that she is changing the sentiments of Balaayt’s erstwhile Farland nations, if only slowly. Nonetheless, he imparts on them another warning: if the party goes about aiding the Empire in the wrong way, they risk total failure. For proud Meranhi folk, a band of ragtag Farlanders flitting in and solving problems is out of the question, even if their intentions are good.

### Relics of the Past

After a night’s sleep (for everyone but Damhir, whom Luca, both worried about the party’s skill in diplomacy and generally curious) incessantly questions in order to learn more of Meranhi culture), the group heads off on yet another day of desert travel. By late morning, they find themselves at the mouth of a great crevasse splitting the sands of the Kkora desert in two. Despite Damhir’s warning, the party chooses the more dangerous path, and heads down into the gorge. But soon, they’re caught out: Muna and her riders run into a carefully concealed tripwire, and all hells break loose when archers let rain a flurry of arrows upon them. Recognizing the scattered signs of crimson banners and insignia as relics of the past Emperor Kkadir’s reign, Damhir urges the party to make haste out of the crevasse. Unintentionally, this prompts Mujie to flee on his own, and he meets the leader of the raiders: Prana, a former general of Kkadir’s Crownguard.

While Tira and Cat dispatch Prana’s men, Mujie falls to the leader himself, but it’s not long before they catch up to him. And once Prana is felled, the remaining raiders retreat into the hidden caves of the crevasse. But as the party gathers themselves and Damhir apologizes to Mujie in his own way, the ground trembles and the rock of the crevasse shudders, reverberating as a deafening cry rings out.

## Quotes

### *DIPLOMACY IS EASY:*

> “The Kingdom in the Sea? Ha. Our nations aren’t exactly friendly. I’d tell you to keep that quiet, but no one would believe you anyway.”
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> “Back before the second Ark War. The Lanikai King and Emperor—no, Empress…? …It doesn’t matter. The two representatives from the Kingdom and the Empire that would have gone to the yearly council couldn’t reach an agreement. The Kingdom wanted to send aid to the Farland nations, but the Empire didn’t. Anyway, without the leadership of the Lanikai Kingdom and the Empire at the council, the second Ark War started, and the Kingdom and the Empire blamed each other for kicking it off. But if you ask me, if the Farland nations couldn’t reach a peace agreement without us, I don’t think having two extra heads to argue with was going to help any.”
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> “Anyway. Whatever his ailment is, there’s a white mage in the capital I can bring him to. If anyone can help him, it’s her.”
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*—Damhir, on the Lanikai Kingdom and Mahi's condition*

### *WHAT KIND OF MONSTER KILLS AN OLD MAN?:*

> “Kkadir killed Emperor Gimsaan when Gimsaan told our people the Sacred Place had gone dormant. Kkadir painted him a liar, and tensions flared again between Meranhi folk and the Farland races. And now that Mhiral—Her Majesty— has taken the throne, things are… Change is slow, but sentiments are shifting. But the Sacred Place is still closed, the wells in the capital are drying up, crops are spoiling…"
>
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> “Even with the situation as dire as it is, we’re a proud people. A bunch of farlanders—no, mainlanders, coming to the Empire to open *our* Sacred Place, to speak with *our* God, to save *our* people… it’s a tough sell.”
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*—Damhir, on the Empire's recent history*

### *THANKS A LOT, CAPTAIN:*

> "Capture their guide. Kill the coward."
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*—Prana*