Chapter 1: ONE WORLD AMONG MANY flexive (not a sentient) response to hopefully slough off this wakefulness and return to its preferred eternal slumber This reaction arbitrarily afflicted such magical offenders in many ways, from the subtle to the obvious Stranger still than wizards and priests were those whose minds twisted the fabric of reality by sheer will alone These mind benders, or sarhaks, frightened the established wielders of magic, who feared the unseen limits of such minds An initiate youth with a finely honed mind could challenge or even conquer the strength of a wizard despite a lifetime of laborious research and study Jealous mages and priests became allies in a pact, directing their influence against the mind benders Where possible, they subdued them directly and discreetly More often, they used subtle rumors to poison the minds of the common people against them, painting sarhaks as grave harbingers of pestilence, famine or worse The Ages of Khitus The Barbarian Age - Prehistory to 2,000 years ago Primitive tribes appear and wander the face of Khitus, a time of wars and chaos, and migrations The Classic Age - 2,000 to 1,000 years ago The rise of nations and city states, watched over by the beneficent Dragon Kings, a time of grace, plenty, and justice The Age of City States - 1,000 to 200 years ago The gradual, inexplicable retreat of the Dragon Kings, leaving power in the hands of jealous and ambitious mortals, also called the Age of Decline The Age of Despots - 200 years ago to today The Dragon Kings are completely absent, foul rulers pursue their own greed Cold Skins and Krikis are ascendant, and the world is being mercilessly plundered Ancient Gods Primitive Khitans worshipped several savage, animalistic gods who strode like titans across the face of the world The gods offered no delicate exchange of philosophies or any pretense of guidance through life’s difficult struggles Their compact with mortals was simple and direct Give us your unquestioned worship in exchange for protection—protection from the young world’s harsh climactic changes; protection from the other savage tribes; and most importantly, protection from the gods’ own wrath that would be forthcoming without the expected worship These early religions were purely rituals of obedience and fear as straightforward and brutal as Khitus itself The Barbarian Age was a time when the priests in their stone temples held ultimate authority over the tribes The gods granted their priests spells and powers as a means of keeping order and further instilling obedience within the flocks Clergy demanded and accepted nothing less than total supplication, enforcing it with terrible magical retribution Dark magical craft streamed from their deep warrens to waft out over the villages like a smoky veil Ultimately, the savagery of the priestly lawgivers over oppressed human tribes caused many to defy their au-