Jhors

## Introduction

The Jhors (Also commonly known as Fomorians) are a unique breed of trolls. Unlike their giant cousins, the Jhors are modestly sized, standing only slightly taller than an Orc. A distinguishing feature besides their relatively small stature is their tendency to have tails covered in short fur, with longer hair at the end, almost akin to that of a cow. Jhors, unlike Giant Trolls, form large communities like many other races, and theirs are some of the oldest civilizations in the known world, having competed with ancient Orc and Goblin civilizations in ancient times.

According to Khiiric mythology, the Jhors are distant descendants of the giants, and by extension Krozfelmar. They believe that should the Jhors were created to rival them, so that they would not be able to come to the aid of the gods during their war against Krozfelmar and the giants.

## History

The origins of the Jhors are uncertain, but all sources point towards them having first appeared in the northern regions of the Westerlands, where they formed warring tribes that competed for land and resources, worshipping primitive gods that are said to have guided them forward. They eventually formed kingdoms that continued to wage war against each other, until an alliance of three kingdoms cast aside their gods, choosing to instead accept mighty dragons as their allies to whom they offered reverence and political power in exchange for their knowledge, the greatest of which was the knowledge of sorcery that would serve as the foundation of magical practices in much of the western world. These kingdoms used their knowledge and powerful sorcery to conquer their kin, eventually forming a vast and powerful empire called Jhorum.

Eventually, one of the Jhoric kingdoms grew weary of ruling the same lands that they always had, ultimately turning their gaze east with thoughts of conquest and war. This kingdom, Fomoria, would ultimately expand eastward, sparking the first conflicts between Jhors and the Khiir, which would escalate into a bitter rivalry that would continue for centuries.

Fomoria eventually became a vast and powerful empire in its own right, coming to span most of the northern Heartlands, and was in its time the world's foremost center of magic and technology, and eventually a staunch ally of the Dark Elves. The Fomorians eventually found themselves overwhelmed by the budding civilization of the first dwarves to the north, the coming of High Elves from the east, and multiple incursions by Human tribes to the south. After a war that lasted for decades, the Fomorian empire finally crumbled.

The Fomorians in the lands claimed by the dwarves were banished from their homeland and travelled west, many venturing to Jhorum, but even more refusing to return to their ancestral homeland out of shame, instead forming communities on the western edge of the continent that would eventually develop into a group of loosely affiliated city-states. Those in the lands now occupied by the elves were allowed to remain and subsist under elven rule, the elves wanting access to their knowledge and manpower to build their civilization. The Elves decreed that all male children born under elven rule would be castrated upon birth, a decision made in order to ultimately wipe out the Fomorian population under elven rule without having to resort to genocide- a decision which remained a matter of controversy for centuries- which caused many Fomorians to instead willingly migrate west.

In modern time, the Fomorians inhabit the Untamed Lands as a loosely affiliated group of city-states, though their own people only make up two thirds of their population, with the rest being made up by other native creatures. The Untamed Lands are noted for being a haven for ancient creatures and races that once existed across the heartlands, but declined massively over centuries after the Fomorian Empire fell.

Jhorum, their ancestral homeland, is the only Jhoric civilization to truly persist into the modern era. While having warred with the dwarves of Karadin for centuries, they ultimately made peace after participating in the Borric invasion of Telwya, a war in which they lost. To this day, they are a reclusive and isolated race, only very sparsely interacting with their Orc and Goblin neighbours.