Kells

The distant relatives of the Dagda of Lothor, the race of Men that are known as the Kells are a colorful folk with deep religious and cultural ties to nature. Found in the deep forests of Lothor, a nation on the east side of the Svirun, the Kells have always been a spiritual people with many deities and religious idols. Their connections with the natural and spiritual world have granted them the knowledge to use elixirs and magic in everyday life, especially during their cultural rituals and practices.

Physiology
The Kells are a race of Men typically regarded as light-skinned, green-eyed, and with wavy or curly red-brown hair. While physical appearance is separate among each individual, the Kells most well-known feature are the freckles that a large portion of their people have. Having deep ties to the forest, the Kells have adapted to the shade and comfortable temperatures below woodland canopies. This has caused many Kells to develop very pale and sun-sensitive skin, though this is highly dependent on the tribe that an individual is born from. Descendants of the ancient Mer race of the Dagda, the Kells have an innate connection with wildlife, and from a young age, are able to tame animals with ease. This skill has proven useful in battle and travel.

The average Kell has the average lifespan of around 80 years of age; common among a race of Men. Much like many other races, the Kell reach sexual maturity around the age of 17, but do not often marry until the age of 20, when they are more acquainted with life as an adult. Kells are found in many shapes and sizes, though the typical individual stands between 5'5" and 5'10", and weighs roughly 140 lbs. Men and women both stand around this height, though men are often built with more muscles to hunt and work, while women (like other humanoid females) have two mammary glands on their chest to feed their infant children, and have wider hips to reduce the pain of childbirth. It is often routine for elder Kell men to grow thick beards, often simply as a common fashion. Young men will often attempt this as well, but Kell women are mostly incapable of growing facial hair.

History
The history of the Kells is a rich and vibrant one, with many twists and tales to speak of. However, this article will cover only the most crucial information on the antiquity and origins of the Kells.

The Dagda and the Earth Mother
In the dawn of recorded history, known by many as the Age of Dawning, a great being came to be through the preexisting "Natural Order", the idea that life will always exist, and that there is no beginning and no end; only transitioning. This being became known as Dumara, or the Earth Mother. Dumara saw the emptiness of the world around her and sacrificed her body and spirit to create Agara; a plane of existence where new life could exist without end.

Upon sacrificing her body to create Agara (literally becoming the world), the Earth Mother's first living creation was the races of Men and Mer. One such race of Mer were the Dagda, the most magical humanoid race at the time. Recognizing the Earth Mother as their creator, they did everything they could to ensure her protection, but also made sure not to waste her resources and gifts. Thus, they pledged to forever make proper use of whatever she gifted them. With the wood from her trees, they built their homes. From her streams, they drank her water. From the meat of her animals, they would feast. Nothing was wasted, and for a long time, the Dagda were the Earth Mother's favored children.

The Alder Gods are Born
At the same time as the mortals were created, the Earth Mother gave life to immortal beings, with the purpose of providing what she soon could not to the mortals. Known as the Alder Gods, these immortals would became the patrons of certain domains, and would eventually create lesser immortals called the Callow Gods. Soon, the Dagda worshiped many gods. So many, in fact, that it was considered rare for an individual to know every single one. In order to balance the worship of each deity, the Dagda separated into different tribes, and each dedicated themselves to a different god. After the Earth Mother eventually lost her powers over the world, the Alder Gods inherited this duty, to which they have done since.

Rise of the Dagda Empire
After years of living in tribes, the Dagda began to grow rapidly in populous. In the year 200 (Age of Dawning), the Dagda chiefs decided that the tribes could now maintain a proper alliance among each other, and decided to build the stone city of Daediir near the highlands of Lothor and frozen wastes of Valkendur.

Within these walls, the Dagda chiefs decided upon a proper king and system of ruling. After 5 years of planning, the Dagda had decided that Daediir would be ruled by a king chosen by the high priest of each Alder God, who would have power only over the territories in and around the kingdom. None of the Lothor wildlands would ever be subject to the rule of a mortal.

The first king, King Deredus, proved this system to be quite effective and popular among the Dagda. However, as history has proven time and time again, the greed of mortals always finds a way to creep into ruling authority.

The Curse of Faustus
After only 100 years of Dagda rule over Lothor, hard times fell upon the land when Tarragon invaders from the southern nation of Norstrei began to sack and pillage the land in the name of their Dracae gods. During this period of time, food was scarce, and many Dagda perished not at the end of blades, but due to starvation and dehydration.

Seeing his land being crushed by invading armies, the King Faustus of Daediir ordered his armies to continue fighting without any means of sustenance. Soon enough, the lack of food became a problem among even the nobles of Lothor, and the royal family sent archers out in search of local food. One fateful night, a scout reported a massive white elk just beyond the city walls. Sending a party of hunters to find and kill it, Faustus was later told by the high priests that the elk was a mortal agent of Aine, the first Alder God. However, it was too late, as the hunters had already slain the beast. For his impatience and poor leadership, Aine punished Faustus by stripping his whole race of their innate magical powers. This degrading punishment caused the Mer race of Dagda to become but a mere race of Men. In addition to punishment by the gods, Faustus's own people began to rise against him and the royal family. By the end of that night, Faustus and his family lay burning in a bonfire, and the royal hall of Lothor was left to be ransacked by Tarragon invaders. From this day forward, the city of Lothor never again had a king, queen, nor even an emperor. The Dadga Empire is said to have been one of the most short-lived dynasties in history.

Enslavement and Uprising
After their crushing loss in Lothor, many of the now powerless (and hopeless) Dagda were transported south to Norstrei, where they would serve the Dracae that resided over the Tarragon. For years, the Dagda were forced into slavery to their new overlords. The few that could hide from the Tarragon stayed in the wastes of their homeland. It was in 510 (Age of Dawning) that the Dagda found hope in their gods, yet again. For one slave, known nowadays as Yuna the Savior, discovered that she was the first champion of Aine, and had been blessed with his power to overthrow he Dracae. Following a series of uprisings across Norstrei, the Dagda slayed countless of their Dracae masters, and escaped back to their tribes in Lothor. Once the Dagda had escaped and regained their strength, they renamed themselves as the Kells (the dated term for "Saved Ones"), and proudly proclaimed their status as a race of Men. Even after The Great Divide, in which the land of Mer and Men split, the race bore their honor and pride.

The Skald Spirit War
In the year 200 (Age of Enlightenment), the Kells came in contact with the Skald. Raiding Lothor's coasts with boats, the city of Daediir was first to fall, as it did not have a leader at the time. Under one banner, the Skald terrorized the Kells, but were held at the coast by a guild of war shamans known only as Sisterhood of Lothor. This guild had been created outside any Kell tribe as a defending army for the entire nation. With fireballs, ice storms, and lightning bolts, the shamans fought back the invading Skald until the invading forces ceased. Any Skald that weren't killed by the shamans were integrated into the Kell society. However, many of the Skald in Skaldenfar that heard of the defeat in Lothor became bitter, and sought to attack again. However, knowing that the Kells were skilled in magic (a topic that they were not so acquainted with), the Skald had their high priests look into ancient magics that could be used to fight the shamans.

After 10 years of study, the Skald priests found a way to utilize magical effects placed upon ancient Skald burial grounds to awaken their recently fallen comrades into a spectral form to fight as an ghastly army. In 212 (Age of Enlightenment), the Skald sent a surprise naval fleet to Lothor, made almost entirely up of ghostly memories of those that had died during their last invasion. During the course of the next 4 years, the Skald "ghost army" rained terror upon the shamans, who had never encountered undead forces of this magnitude. During the final year of the war, the shamans knew that the Kells would surely be wiped out unless someone could find a way to disrupt the undead energy controlling their invaders. One night, a high ranking shaman by the name of Myrne of Hawk Ridge prayed to Divona (Kell goddess of witches and dark magic) for an answer. To her surprise a crow visited her the following night, and taught her that if she sprinkled a line of salt around the borders of Lothor, and spoke the words of an ancient spell, the entire nation would repel any magical effects coming from any source other than a holy being. In return, she set a curse upon Myrne that rendered all of her magical powers useless. It took the rest of the war, but the shamans completed this task and, to their surprise, every undead soldier within their border vanished into thin air. However, everyone (and everything) else within the salt circle also lost any magical powers they had.

Seeing no opportunity for another attack, the Skald did something unexpected; in the winter of 216 (Age of Enlightenment), the Skald Queen, Frindul, crossed the border herself and demanded to speak with the shamans. With a deep respect for the endurance of the Kells, she spoke of peace; a concept that was almost unheard of in Skald culture. By the end of the day, the two nations signed a treaty known as The Salt Circle Agreement, that made it an act against either side's ancestors to engage in war with one another. From that day forward, tensions between the Skald and the Kells have been minimal, at worst.

Age of Dracae
Known worldwide as the worst event in mortal memory, the Drakes' occupancy of Agara was not only unexpected, but unavoidable. When they spread outward from Norstrei, the Drakes were relentless in their invasion, and targeted the two closest nations; Draven and Lothor. Draven fell rather quickly, as they had been so prepared to keep the Dracae out that they had never thought about what would happen once one had broken their defenses. Lothor's people fought for a good 20 years, but would eventually succumb to their Drake overlords. Over the course of the next millennia, the Kells served under the Dracae, as much of Men did. However, small groups of insurgents found ways of inspiring hope. It wasn't until 800 (Age of Dracae), unfortunately, that the Kells would be able to make a stand against their masters. The Sisters of Lothor were mostly dead, executed by the Dracae, and anyone caught training in combat was punished severely. When the insurgents began to war with the Dracae, they were led by champions chosen by their Kell deities who proved much more capable than the average slave. After two centuries of war, the Dracae vanished from Agara, never to be seen again.

Society and Culture
Kell culture revolves primarily around the worship of the gods and nature through mystical practices. Kells separate themselves into tribes, all who worship different gods in order to maintain balance among the pantheon.

Family
Each tribe is often made up of family members. However, since inbreeding is a very disgraceful act among the Kells, young men and women are expected to leave their tribe once they reach adulthood in search of a new tribe. This can prove conflicting for many, but is not usually questioned.

A tribe hierarchy is made up of several social classes. The highest position one can be is a priest or priestess. They are responsible for praying to the gods and providing their tribe with morals and laws. The next position down is that of the chief; a rank that can only be granted to one individual at a time. The chief makes almost all of the tribes moves, and is considered the most difficult job of all in Kell society. Next is the position of shaman. Depending on the tribe, shamans can be very common, as they are relied upon heavily as healers, mystics, and even soldiers. To be a shaman, one must first be a woman, learn all forms of magic, and then make the journey through Wight Hollow in the deep woods of Dunspeur Forest. Few make it alive, but those who do are deemed worthy of becoming a shaman. Shamans may not be the highest ranking members in Kell culture, but they certainly are some of the most respected ones. The last position in the hierarchy are the common folk; known as the tribesfolk. Tribesfolk do not have any specific purpose in society, but are often made up of many professions such as merchants, soldiers, and artisans

Art
The most common form of art in Kell society is that of stone carving. Since they believe parchment to be frowned upon by the gods, the Kells use stone slates for literature. Kell stone carvings are rumored to be some of the most precise in the world. Most carvings are of gods, historical events, or animals, and are usually placed in temples, crypts, and sometimes even fortresses. However, some tribes have been known to simply carve their likeness into random rocks they come across in the wilderness.

Food
While regular meats are common among the Kell, such as elk, rabbit, and pheasant, the Kell will eat almost any meat they come across, such as long as it's fresh and not human. There have rarely ever been cases of cannibalism among the Kells, as most tribes prohibit the consumption of fellow Men; even enemies.

Magic
Magic is taught to every young Kell, as the arcane arts are believed to be an important tool in regular life. Evocative spells are seen as a beginner's school of magic, while other restorative spells are usually reserved for shamans and priests. Necromancy is only permitted in certain tribes, as it is often considered disrespectful to awaken the corpse of a fallen ally. However, there are several exceptions, such as a creature that died only moments before. Curses are seen as evil to all but witches; Kell shamans that dedicated their lives to the practice of black magic, joined a coven, and swore an oath to Divona.

Death
It is believed that Kells who live a life of worship are reincarnated as another being somewhere in the world. If a Kell lives a truly evil life, they are sent to a dark plane known as the Ether for existence. Here, they wander for eternity without identity or purpose. Kells that die having never dedicated themselves to any one god are believed to simply fade from the mortal realm without any afterlife. This often motivates Kells to worship the deities, even though this idea is but a rumor.

Notable Kells

 * King Faustus


 * Yuna the Savior
 * Myrne of Hawk Ridge
 * Lornan Derrion