Before the end of the first empire there was a powerful race that could control the very land itself. They could harness the natural powers that surged through the land and use them to power many powerful rituals and spells. During one such ritual they divined the point in the world at which the largest amount of Ley Lines interconnected. They then set about creating a way to harness the power that this Nexus created. They devised a ritual to create a great landmass over this Ley Nexus to make it easier to control the forces that they sought to harness.

As their ritual reached its peak the land tore its self asunder as the world reshaped itself around their blueprints. A deafening tearing sound could be hard and a great light could be seen from all Four Corners of the world…When the light had subsided, the island of Nordahl could be seen.

But the great race was unaware of one side effect of their plan. Once the island had been created the power from the Ley Lines began to leech off, sometimes with devastating consequences. Suddenly the power they had guarded for millennia was available to anyone and everyone and, while they had used it wisely and benevolently, many were now able to abuse it.

Something had to be done!

Through meditation and prayer the elders were able to conceive of a way to safely channel the energy and effectively ‘Earth’ it. Their plan called for the construction of a number of great towers that would act as control rods for the Ley energy.
And so the towers of Nordahl were built and balance and harmony was restored to the world, at least for a time.

The race adopted Nordahl as their new homeland. They realised the only way for the balance to be maintained was if no-one used the power contained within the land, and so they adopted a simple lifestyle, designed around living in harmony with the land and nature, rather than exploiting it. They used the last of their powers to summon the fiercest creatures from all over the known world to act as a deterrent to those who would try to take the power for themselves, before retreating into the forests of Nordahl.

Less than fifty years later the world as they knew it was destroyed as the cataclysm wracked the land…

 Following the end of the First Empire many things had changed in the land. One of the towers of Nordahl had been destroyed in the Cataclysm, but this was as yet unknown to the race. The once powerful race that had receded into the forests had renounced their old ways and christened themselves ‘Khala’ or ‘Children of Nature’. They had also renamed the island Call’Breah after their most revered Nature Spirit. Much of their ancient lore and knowledge had been lost, either over time or through choice, but they had developed a profound understanding and respect for the land and nature. The order and cycle of nature was sacred to them and they worshipped it as both provider and predator, with every creature and every plant having its place in the greater scheme of things. They revered all the elements as sacred and worshipped them, believing their spirits to be bound into certain items or places.

‘The water of Life’- Call’Ae: The bringer of life and death.

 This sacred liquid flows only from one spring on the entire known world. Contained within the glade of Call’Rah the Khala use it to test themselves as only those in harmony with nature can drink from it and live. This represents the Khala belief that all things in nature are bound together in the eternal cycle.

 ‘The Earth Soul’- Call’Breah: The natural cycle

 Call’Breah represents the natural cycle- You are born, you live and then you die. The Khala see death as an integral part of life and this great spirit represents their belief in the true cycle and that death is merely just the next step on a journey and should be celebrated, not mourned. So strong is their belief in the true cycle and their devotion to its teachings that they renamed the island after this spirit.

‘The Glade of Life’- Call’Rah: The Protector

 This glade served as the sacred resting-place for all the other elements and the Khala regard it as the most sacred place in the known world. A permanent guard is maintained around its borders by an elite group of Khala warriors known as the Stil’Gar. These are the only Khala permitted to take up arms and any others that do so are immediately exiled from the land.

‘The Raging Storm’- Alah-Aroo: The Chaos of Nature

 Implanted within the very air itself, Alah-Aroo represents the Chaos of nature. He represents the stillborn calf, the fox that slaughters an entire flock when it needs only a single bird. He is the contrary, the disorder. He is the violence of nature incarnate.

 All the elements were placed within the glade of Call’Rah and a special force, the Stil’Gar, were created to protect them. With the establishment of the four elemental guardians the balance in the land was strengthened and the Khala people lived happy and contented lives…

 Then the whitefaces came.

 The first the Khala knew of their arrival was when a great Earthquake shook the land. Lightning streaked the heavens and great cracks of thunder rung out like funeral bells. The Khala knew that this omen meant great destruction would befall them but little did they know what this great portent of doom would entail.

 The whitefaces were led By Seral, who the Khala christened ‘The White General’. Seral had been granted the lands by The Unicorn Faction for defeating their enemies in battle, even though some condemned his tactics as brutal and cruel. The Khala pleaded with Seral to leave their land but he just ignored their plea and proceeded to have a fort built from the remains of the fallen tower of Nordahl. He then sent word to his superiors that he needed more troops to “Crush the local hostiles” as he put it.

 Seral was ruthless and treated the Khala with the utmost contempt. When the Khala sent their most important emissary to plead with him, Seral’s temper snapped. He ordered the emissary to be put to death and then unleashed his legions of troops against the Khala. Some of his troops objected to the orders and they too were summarily executed, following the farce of a drumhead trial. Seral’s troops slaughtered thousands of Khala, but even in the face of such provocation they refused to fight back.

 Only once did they offer any resistance…when Seral tried to enter Call’Rah. Seral sent over one hundred troops to capture Call’Rah and not one escaped the wrath of the Stil’Gar. Even after this act of sacrilege the Khala didn’t succumb to petty vengeance, and gave Seral’s troops the traditional burial- Burying them face down so that they could look into Call’Breah.

 Seral was horrified when the news of his troops’ failure reached him, but also outraged. In a fit of rage he led an entire legion of his best troops against Call’Rah. Through sheer weight of numbers he punched through the Stil’Gar and captured the glade. Those Stil’Gar warriors that survived the initial assault took their own lives, not being able to live with the dishonour of allowing the whitefaces to desecrate The Glade of Life.

 Once having captured it Seral found nothing of wealth within the glade and couldn’t understand why the Khala had been willing to die to protect this small piece of woodland. In sheer spite of the Khala Seral took the large stone from the centre of the glade and returned to Fort Nordahl.

 With The Earth Soul gone from Call’Rah the Khala retreated into the deepest depths of the forests. Seral took advantage of this and, after landing more troops, workmen and artificers at the northwestern landing site, he began to clear areas of woodland to make way for buildings and agriculture. After clearing a large enough area he ordered construction to begin o his fortress. While Fort Nordahl was structurally sound, it was built from reclaimed stone and tattered bits of wood. Seral’s conceited streak would not allow him to use this fortress for long; he needed a suitably large monument for his equally large ego.

 After construction was complete he had The Earth Soul placed under his throne and set about making plans to rid the island of the Khala once and for all.

 Meanwhile the Khala were making plans of their own. Led by Shal-Azar, the High Shaman of the Khala, a conclave of all the shamans was convened. They arrived at a plan to rid themselves of Seral once and for all, but little did they realise what repercussions their actions would have.

 They decided to summon Alah-Aroo.

 The conclave formed a circle around the glade of Call’Rah and began the ancient rite necessary to summon one of the Elemental Guardians. Reading from the last great tome of knowledge Shal-Azar began the specific chants necessary to summon Alah-Aroo.

 As her chants grew in intensity, many members of the conclave fell to the ground, exhausted by the psychic effort. A great rush of wind could be felt to surge into the sacred glade. The wind seemed to pause momentarily in front of Shal-Azar before rising once more and encircling the glade, increasing in intensity along with the chanting. As the chanting reached its climax the wind seemed to solidify and Alah-Aroo was manifest.

 He stretched his Talons for the first time in centuries and breathed in the air of Call’Rah. He saw the mortals that had summoned him and laughed to himself. He knew that they couldn’t control him; who could control the chaos of nature, anarchy incarnate! With one mighty sweep of his claws he tore through the psychic bonds that the Khala had placed on him and stretched his wings ominously. He was imbued with only one thought:

 Someone had invaded HIS island and he was going to take it back!

 As Alah-Aroo stormed through the conclave, scattering the shamans as he went, Shal-Azar knew that their efforts had been misguided and were doomed to failure. She should have realised that only his brothers could ever hope to control Alah-Aroo, but she had been blinded by the dire need of her people. As the Dark-Eyed beast stormed past her she knew that their only hope laid in their greatest fear…

 Alah-Aroo instinctively headed for Seral’s fortress, the gleam of death in his cold, black eyes. He easily fought his way through the small number of guards that Seral had posted around the great walls of the fortress. Then, with an unearthly stealth he crept up to the great doors of the castle and shattered the doors with one sweep of his great tail. The doors opened straight into Seral’s throne room and there, sat atop his throne and the Earth Soul, was Seral. Alah-Aroo surged forward, straight towards Seral. The White General stood up, a look of terror in his eyes, but he was dead before he even had time to draw his sword. Alah-Aroo expected the imbalance in the land to be remedied with Seral’s death, but he could still sense an unbalance. Gaining a handle on the imbalance he surged forth once more, in the direction of Fort Nordahl.

 Shal-Azar knew what she had to do. A wall of stone stood before her and she removed the pendant from around her neck while the young Stil’Gar warrior waited patiently behind her. For a moment she hesitated, questioning what right she had to take this young mans life, but then the strength of her resolve took over again and the calm, withdrawn look returned to her face. She searched for the small crack in the stone and then inserted her pendant into it. The sound of stone on stone could be heard as a portion of the stone wall slid away to reveal a heavy looking box. Shal-Azar took the chest and carried it to the Khala warrior that was waiting. She placed the chest on the ground so that it was facing the brave warrior, slowly opened the box and stepped back.

 Inside the box was a great black blade, covered with runes and glistening with a barely contained magical power. The brave warrior reached forward and grasped the blade. As the power surged through him he knew that the time of his death was close at hand, he just prayed he could cling to life for long enough. For the blade in his hand was the legendary Fell-Blade, an ancient artefact of Skaven construction. The blade was made from a solid piece of polished Warpstone, with runes to amplify its destructive power encrusting its length. Legend said that the spirits of at least seven members of the council of thirteen were bound within its length. The brave warrior went forward without a word, to face Alah-Aroo and his death…

 Alah-Aroo could smell the fear of those within Fort Nordahl and he knew that their fear was well founded. While their comrades left in droves the foolish troops within Fort Nordahl believed that the pitiful walls of stone would protect them…

 When the Khala warrior arrived at the fort, all that was left was ruined walls and flaming timbers. Then, amongst the flickering flames and the streaks of moonlight, the black shape of Alah-Aroo could be seen. The brave warrior drew the Fell-blade from its scabbard, its black blade glinting dully in the light of the flames, and made his way towards Alah-Aroo. With one mighty swing he cleaved the demon in half and returned its essence once more to the glade of Call’Rah, just before his pattern collapsed, thanks to the corrupting influence of the fell blade…

Far across the sea, a sharp pain rang in the head of a Skaven Grey Seer. The Fell-blade had been reawakened and he knew he must return it to Skavenblight. He could hear the voice of the horned one calling him, tempting him with the promise of Warpstone and power. He would not fail his master. He would recover the blade…

 With Seral dead, his men leaving and Alah-Aroo once again bound to Call’Rah, the Khala should have been able to return to their normal ways of life. But some of their number had taken up arms against Seral, killed some of his men and, in doing so, betrayed the most sacred precepts of Khala tradition. Someone had to pay!

 And that someone was Shal-Azar.

 Her Cabal told the Elders that it was her fault that Alah-Aroo broke free of their control and that it was she that had goaded some of their people to take up arms. Despite Shal-Azar’s pleas and protests the High Council of Elders decreed that she should be exiled from the land and forbidden ever to return.

 Taking only her pendant and some personal belongings, Shal-Azar managed to leave with Seral’s men, and said goodbye to her homeland. With Shal-Azar’s exile the Khala felt as if the balance had been restored to the land and so began rebuilding their civilisation…Forgetting about the destruction of Fort Nordahl. While it was in existence it compensated for the destruction of the tower of Nordahl that had stood on the same spot. Now that it was gone, small amounts of power began to seep in to the land, and the power was directed at the Caltrip Islands…

 The Skaven finally managed to locate the island and began searching for the Fell-blade. They never found it, but did manage to summon a great tome of knowledge to the land. However the forces of the island intervened and scattered the tome to an unknown location on the island.

For the next seven hundred years the island remained lost, shrouded in mist and drifting around the known world with the rest of the Mauritanian islands. That is until the Chou-Hadra were granted it as a homeland…

 With the arrival of the Chou-Hadra the island was given a new name, Boreth, to honour the Chou-Hadra’s origins. They have tried to live in harmony with the Khala people and have helped restore the Earth Soul to the glade of Call’Rah, as well as eradicating the Skaven and binding their evil tome to the glade of Call’Rah.

 When the Chou-Hadra received premenitions that seemed to coincide with the apocalypse predicted in Khala prophecies, they abbandoned the island and took the Khala with them. It was later revealed that the island was not destroyed merely altered. To what extent the Chou-hadra do no yet know.......