The Hold of Kórmos

- work in progress -

## **History**

### **Origins**

The people of Kórmos originally derive from the world of Cinderguard. Before their arrival to the new world they lived as two separate civilizations, the Mosi clan of Hálendi and the dwarven village of Kór who resided deep within the Hálendi forests.

### **A world's end**

Upon receiving notice of the horrendous beast wreaking havoc in the west, the people of Mosis quickly rushed to their ships to fight for the greater good. Unbeknownst to them, the warriors of Kór set out to sea at the exact same time.

While fighting the never-ending horde of monsters the Mosi people were cornered. The crowd of beasts grew too large and forced them up against a cliffside. The soldiers were getting pushed further and further back towards the wall. Men being ripped to shreds and devoured left and right. The Mosi warriors were strong, but their numbers had dropped severely and the immense amount of enemies was overwhelming them. The monsters shrieked, moving closer by the second. Mixtures of blood and saliva dripping from their jaws. Hope was scarce for the Mosis. But then, the horde in front of them suddenly started to shrink. Beasts were flung to the sides, their malformed limbs sent flying. The Mosis saw their chance and charged towards the now distracted beasts, making quick work of them. With the horde now thinned out and less coordinated the Mosi warriors chopped them apart with ease. A pile of corpses had built up around them. At the other side of the pile were stood a couple dozen dwarfs. Their weapons and mails were stained with blood and dirt. They carefully maneuvered through the tangle of bodies and introduced themselves as the Kór.

After the monsters were beaten, both the people of Kór and Mosi had suffered great losses, losing most of their warriors. Upon arriving at the shore the group discovered the Kór boats had been completely shattered by the monsters and so the Mosis let them join in on their voyage home as a gesture of gratitude. The Kór ventured together with the Mosis all the way back to Tremosa, where they stayed a for a bit to heal their wounds and get some rest.

Loud bangs followed by a crash. A tearing noise, and then a deep rumble. Screams filled the village as the sound grew louder. Trees collapsed in the distance. Masses of dirt spouted into the air. Boulders catapulted towards the sky. The end was approaching. The screams were no longer audible. The roaring sound of darkness surrounded all else. The sound consumed all other. Then the sound disappeared with a pop and consumed itself through its overpowering glutton. The inexplicable rifts soared towards the city. Large tentacles off nothingness, bottomless in every direction. Cracks through reality itself. Entities of negative mass. A vacuum pulling apart the earth beneath, and the sky above. An unstoppable force of destruction. Nothing could satisfy its hunger, and in a matter of seconds, the rifts consumed the village and everything in it.

### **A new beginning**

Pulverized rocks, twisted trees. Rubble of all sorts was spat out of the rift. Pieces of the former town fell from the sky. Some things still intact, others warped beyond recognition. The debris slowly piled up and created a small mound of ruins. Amongst the wreckage was everything from berry bushes to door handles. Then came the people. Water spouted out of the rift like an open wound. Red blood and muddy water turned the flow to a rustlike shade of brown. The flood dragged with it what remained of Tremosa's inhabitants. Bodies, both dead and alive were hurled around by the forceful stream. Mangled corpses were ripped further apart by the immense powers. Few had survived through the rift, and even fewer survived the expulsion. People were slammed into the ground, bashed against each other, torn to shreds on sharp wreckage. The rift disappeared as just as suddenly as it had arrived. It contracted itself until it was no more. Merged with the nothingness.

The survivors were disoriented and few in number. The properties of the rift had jumbled their minds, few memories were left and little emotion remained. After paying their respects to all that were lost they quickly started to organize. With no other shelter the group settled in a nearby cave. This came as a natural instinct for the dwarves, and the Mosis quickly adapted to this new way of life. The dwarves taught the humans all about the mines and the minerals, and in exchange the humans shared their skills within magic, agroculture, fishing and the like. After not too long they grew into a town within the mountains, small, but bustling with activity. "Kórmos", they called it. A new generation of half-dwarves cropped up within the village, they retained the brute force of the dwarves and the intellects of the humans. As time passed the Kórmi also regained many of their lost memories, and the towns eldest hurried to write down all they knew before their time was up.

Not long passed before the Kórmi realised how dangerous this new world was. Monsters lurked behind every corner and land-hungry settlers attempted to occupy their territories. The people felt unsafe and acted upon their well grounded fears. A massive gate protecting the inner hold was constructed at the base of the mountain. It made sure no one came and no one left. Special permission was required to leave and, or enter the hold. For the first hundred years only a few select scouts and farmers were permitted outside the gates, but things changed. The monster population decreased and visits from foreign merchants became more and more frequent. The people required freedom. Large discontent among the citizens resulted in a freer gate policy, and the age of exploration bagan.