Kivirr History Part 1 A dark dawn 1st draft

Revised Edition

Part 1: A dark dawn.

Kivirr History stretches back over 21,000 earth years. On the Planet Kiron'Tirr days and years are longer but so are Al'kir lifespans; the progenitors of the Kivirr Nation. When civilisations where first being recorded, vast settlements of stone and ash were ruled over by a religious leader. Their principle religion was a type of sun worship but instead of having deities that watched from above, the Al'kirr saw how the sun brought empowering life to their environment and realising they could mimic this, saw themselves as demigods, blessed with energy from their single, almighty, core being. Energy has ever since been their one tool and most used term with the Al'kir. Many settlements were originally named after a form of light or heat, later to also be given a descriptive prefix for character, eg. Enduring Flame or Bright Comet. This tradition of naming required naming to be earnt through a commemorable moment and was kept although used in a non-formal fashion. Skirmishes were uncommon but not unheard of. This continued for the first 500 years until the discovery of metal. The Al'kir then were not very inventive and mainly used this incredible substance for weapons. Bringing the first major war.

The two largest settlements and their allies fought for control over the largest and most accessible Volcano on the planet: Vi'koli 'Peak of Glory.' Not only was it a valuable religious icon that brought great prestige but it also had became the first major metalworks district. One side desired the power of metal to create an abundance of tools, weapons and sometimes even their own idols. The other side saw this as defiling a precious relic and an abomination to replace raw energy with cold, unmoving items of desire. The battles were long and massive sieges laid waste to large areas surrounding the volcano, almost no fighting took place on or inside the volcano, it was simply to valuable and the two sides mutually agreed to avoid confrontation within as much as possible. This war lasted 12 years granting victory to the religious faction. It is agreed that this victory was very influential for the rest of Al'kir history.

At 1253 earth years of Kivirr history, the Minarith were discovered. These bug-like, hive creatures were isolated for a century or so underground and only recently emerged en-mass. The two races bonded. The Al'kir fascination of energy and understanding complemented the Minarith curiosity of development and mass. A period of about 20 years of integration took place where the two races exchanged knowledge, members and resources, shared each others' passions and religious views and made treaties to safeguard each others' investments. The two sides intermixed steadily the Minarith finding a place as engineers, building grand cities whilst the Al'kir, enlightened by a bright vision of a united people, set about creating and leading their new nation. A group known simply as 'Cold Iron' loathed this vision. They saw the Minarith philosophy of creation as the one and only tool for ascension. They aimed to rebuild themselves and in the age of technology after 2179 became the most salient terrorist organisation on Kiron'Tirr. The group gained many members after displaying excellence in science and material development. This conflict ignited old fires and after many failed diplomatic efforts to stem the tide of recruitment or nullify the Cold Iron scientific advantage, Cold Iron declared itself a dictator state and war was declared in 2193. Just two Kivirr years after the first successful satellite launch.

This became known as the 'Century War' and stories are still told today of the many heroic and malignant actions on both sides. Semi-automated infantry and battle suits marched alongside massive war machines to battle against disciplined, zealous warriors of the sun and stars. Both races were drawn into the conflict and much was lost in this war. It is due to this war that many dates, events and names are not clear or almost completely forgotten altogether. Entire settlements were fortified greatly and later flattened and the cost in lives numbered in the billions, swallowing up an approximated 45% of the population of all life on the planet. This battle was  heavily-draining on both sides and at 2289, the religious called for a cease-fire. It was met with malice on an unforeseen scale. The first 'weapon of mass destruction' was unleashed. The focus point and primary stronghold of the Al'kir religious faction was at Vi'koli, the original focal point of the first war. Cold iron, instigated an eruption from deep within the bowels of the volcano by destabilising the primary magma vent and nature's wrath was brought upon it's own worshippers. The effect it had was not what was planned however.

Instead of crippling the religious faction like planned, removing their primary vantage point and prestigious armaments factory and destroying their morale it increased their fighting capability. The manipulation, desecration and destruction set alight the Al'kir soul. The first major case of the 'Redblood rage' was discovered on a large scale. Beforehand the Al'kir were relatively peaceful but after such an atrocity this 'psychological disease' has become the greatest dilemmas for the Kivirr nation. Normally Al'kirr blood is a dark purple but when this rage initiates, red/orange 'patterns' emerge and a terrestrial form of adrenaline is released with explosive results. The main trait is an uncontrollable temper but on the field of war cases of supposed invulnerability, blinding speed, great strength and even glowing veins were reported alongside numerous heroics. This hidden temper grants great power but at the cost of control. Only the most disciplined of Al'kir at the time could harness it, many succumbed and became obsessed purely with the destruction of their enemies. This almost fanatical devotion won the war in only 20 years but not before the Cold Iron prototype vessel fled into the far reaches of space with a group of devoted nobles. Nobody knew where they went. They only knew that in 2293, the last Al'kir and Minarith either were dead or had revoked their Cold Iron allegiance.

The war had lasted exactly 100 years and claimed billions of lives. It had left the people with a dark curse that desperately needed to be disciplined and taught about to the future generations of Al'kir and other races. The planet was desolate compared to the beauty it had been before with radioactive zones and frozen seas replacing blue grasslands and green oceans. Crystal mountains now shrouded in low-hanging smog continued to be exploited for the vast resources that remained but not without great care. In 2299 at the dawn of the new century, the Kivirr nation was officially born. Their purpose was to unite and protect all sentient life and 'jewels of the black ocean' ie. Life bearing planets.