Thekhan Migration

The Thekhan Migration was a major political and cultural change that lasted nearly 900 years, from approximately -950 until -52. The effects of the migration led to huge political changes and in part undid the dominance of Peroatlan culture in Northern Kakhor.

## Origin

In -1000, the Thekhkan people were one of several Khanakh tribes roaming along the southern coast of Zointh. The Jekhans had established themselves around their main city- Jad-Ekheluu, and put pressure on the surrounding tribes to find their own land. It was at this time that the Mazakhans, future Mazedians migrated west into Maggard where they would eventually establish a maritime kingdom among the islands of the Mazedian Sea (giving it their name). The Thekhans chose to move east, and settled near the remnants of the Calixpha Empire.

In -1004 the Taholas Clan finally gained full control of the Gegana Capital after a century of civil war, and established the Gegantaholas Empire. After a brief campaign in the northeast, Sugalix Taholas marched into Calixphan territory in -954, making quick work of the weak city states there, and starting a chain reaction of migrations across Zointh.

Among these people ousted from south-central Zointh were the Thekhans, who moved west and reentered the Jekhan territory there. However, Jekhuu's king, Zuuthen was an isolationist, and refused the Thekhans a place to settle, knowing that it would only increase the pressure of Gegantaholas on his kingdom.

## Through Maggard

In -945, Thekhans moved further west along the coastal plain and entered Maggard, a conglomeration of kingdoms under a high king, making camp near the city of Konaggard. In retaliation, Maggard's high king raised an army and marched against the Thekhans in -942. The Thekhans fought several battles against the Maggardians, beating them back and eventually taking Konaggard for themselves.

A period of war dragged on for another 50 years, with Thekhans taking and then losing a number of other cities until -896, when Maggard's king Honat raised an army of over 60,000 men to march on Konaggard. Thekha's chief Ruthenekh sent an envoy to Mazed, seeking an alliance and refuge from war. Mazed accepted the offer and sailed an army of 20,000 men equipped with Atlan-style weaponry to aid in the coming battle.

The ensuing Battle of Konaggard was a major victory for the Khanakh peoples, with Honat being pushed to retreat and regroup. However, knowing that the war would continue, the battered Thekhans chose to abandon Konaggard and return with the Mazedians to their kingdom, where the settled on several key islands alongside their cousins.

## Ousted from Mazed

Over the next few centuries, the Thekhans grew numerous, to the point where their islands were cramped and full of squalor, and the Mazedian kingdom struggled to meet the demands of so many mouths to feed. In -660, Mazedian king Thantel banned Thekhans from moving around the kingdom, keeping them in camp villages trapped on their own islands. Though tensions rose, the Thekhans were not powerful enough to fight against the ordinances.

A generation later, Thantel II, Thantel's son decreed that Thekhans were no longer welcome in Mazed and must leave. He forced the Thekhan clans to turn their houses' wood for ships and sent them southward toward Kakhor. As many as 8,000 people died during this voyage, though over 50,000 landed on the island of Israe and surrounding islands in the Atlan province of Israe et Nenatal.

At this time, Atlass had loosened control of colonies beyond Redcah after a period of civil war, so people lived and traveled through this area with little oversight. The Thekhans were mostly welcomed by locals as farm and port workers and their population grew rapidly. This period would have a lasting effect on the cultures of the southern Mazedian Sea.

## A Move to the Mainland

By -500, Thekhans once again were overcrowded and starving for resources. Ties with Atlan traders had given the clans knowledge of the Empire, and so in a desperate attempt to find a more spacious and suitable home for the Thekhans prepared another voyage to the mainland. In -485, with about 75,000 people, the Thekhan people set sail from Israe and circumvented Redcah to settle on the northeastern edge of the Perocadh Peninsula, near the Siuse Jungles.

The area was sparsely populated, as the jungle had steered away settlement from Peroatlan colonies since the time of Ushanghal, but Thekhans founded a new city called Jad-Thekhuu on the coast. Over the next 20 years, several clans founded villages within the jungle and began garden agriculture of local plants and animals. They achieved immediate success and quickly spread throughout the area, growing to over 100,000 in number by -420.