The Province of Kahn
The Province of Kahn, or Desert of Kahn as some call it, has not always been the barren land of dunes that it is now. Records of a prosperous people from the area date back farther than almost any other area known on Velwythe and hint at a much more ideal climate many years ago. The first markings on the walls of caves carved by simple tools to the ornate markings and murals on the temple ruins date back to around 50,000 PM and 10,000 PM respectively.
The earliest discovered evidence of settlers in the Kahn area proved that not only were the people nomadic, traveling the vast area seasonally, but that they did so in a very different climate from today. Even a short 6500 years ago, what is now the province of Kahn, was a fertile, tropical land where the nomads could live with a measure of ease off the abundant plant life. Tools and clothing dating before 6250 PM suggest that many of the small bands might never have killed any of the native animals except out of protection. Only a handful of spear points and knife blades were found, and many of those knives were found buried with pottery fragments hinting that they used it not for hunting, but meal preparation. And the animal remains almost never show signs of human inflicted damage. Whether or not the people even wore clothes is still unknown. If they did, it is likely they used plants such as hemp, which at the time was incredibly abundant.
From approximately 20,000 PM to 6800 PM the people of this area progressed in what is considered to be many a complete departure from conventional evolution. During this lengthy period in human history, the technology and lifestyle of the people hardly changed at all. Dating objects found during the time has been particularly difficult. Relics found 40,000 years or 10,000 years ago are different only in how worn and weathered they are. Tools, clothing, dwellings, none of them show any signs of what our modern day considers progress. Even styles and techniques of carving or engraving show little signs of change. The only change the people experienced was a population increase. Accounting for the drift of the dunes and other natural weather patterns, the scattering of relics and remains was mostly even throughout the region.
While their dwellings and technology in general seemed to be in a 40,000 year stasis, one thing flourished and thrived during the entire period of their existence, their art.
The people lived in a land of such abundance that their lifespan and numbers of offspring were unrivaled until only recently. The dominant theories suggest there was little need for improvements in tools, housing and clothing. Even the animals in the area were mostly docile herbivores. It was this luck as many consider it, that allowed for early art to begin and flourish. Though little remains (mostly due to the climate change and not their inability to preserve it) the greatest pieces of art ever produced can all trace their influence to the creations of this culture.
With no permanent dwellings, and therefore nowhere to affix their work, it is assumed that most of their art was produced in the form of music and oral expression. Though few work today, many of the artifacts recovered in the desert regions were instruments ranging from wind, percussion and what might have been stringed (though the strings have longs since vanished, many instruments have areas that could only be where strings were attached). What artwork or writing that has been found was only in caves or the monuments scattered throughout the region.
The monuments and structures that have been discovered in the area do not appear to resemble what we traditionally view as houses. Many wouldn’t even provide shelter. Instead, the only real structures throughout the area are massive monuments. These monoliths probably served as either sacred pilgrimage destinations or as memorials for certain events during the time when an area was inhabited.
Some of these structures are immense pillars of limestone, watchtowers it would seem. Having small platforms at their top, and (though they are well weathered and nearly smooth) a crude ladder system of protruding stones leading up to the top, it would seem most obvious that their function was indeed as watchtowers. However, with no evidence of a primitive government system and therefore no structured sets of rules to interfere with their blessed existence, wars and contentions seem unlikely, rendering the watchtower hypothesis false. Were contentions to ever arise, the abundance of resources over the hundreds of thousands of square kilometers meant that changing locations if threatened by another group posed little problem, far less than waging a war. Lately, theories about the purpose of these structures have shifted from watchtowers back to monuments or sacred sites. Perhaps in their nomadic life, a family or group might have built a monument to their gods during a particularly easy or fruitful year, and departed some time later, leaving the monument as an offering of thanks. However, at this point, all this remains speculation with few facts to support any theory, regardless of how absurd.
Despite the mere speculation of all of them, three main ideas within the monument theory have circulated more than the rest. The first and most popular is that the towers were built under the direction of the spiritual leaders of the time for communicating with their gods. The two others are equally as popular (though not as much as the first). The towers were either used to house ancient technology long since destroyed or pillaged, or they were actually part of large kingdoms that have yet to be properly identified.
One last theory for the purpose of the monoliths suggest they were actually arranged astrologically, perhaps for calendars or to mark the passing of the seasons, or even communicate with their gods. Because the land might have been reshaped by a cataclysmic natural disaster, it is impossible as of now to align the remaining monoliths with any stars or constellations.
All of these theories and many more have been considered and reconsidered many times only because there is nothing else to believe. Most educated historians and scholars alike are in agreement that they were nothing more than places of ritual and worship. The fact that they are all so similar, yet subtly different suggests a widespread common religion with perhaps different sects in each area. But understanding a culture over 55,000 years old that spanned more time than anywhere else on Velwythe is so difficult that it is likely answers will never be uncovered.
What caused the sudden shift in climate between 6300 to 6000 PM has been at the forefront of studies done in the area in hopes that it would reveal more about the peoples way of life (possibly revealing the answer as to what the spires were actually for, or more importantly, how they were built). Legends and inscriptions found in the area dating from the year 6400 PM and beyond (the first understandable and ‘modern’ language began sometime around 8000 PM) mention a wide variety of factors and causes, yet all hold a startlingly similar theme throughout. The cause is said to be primarily a curse from the gods for the people’s wicked nature. It is said the entire gulf of Kahn was at one time a solid landmass, and that the gods in their wrath, split the land in two and cursed it with an eternal drought.
Other stories from the area (and indeed there was an abundance of writings produced just before that time suggesting a sudden enlightenment before the cataclysm) point to the cause being greed and problems of two warring faction said to be ruled by two brothers (the brothers Kahn). Through their early Magi-Tech and some terrible disaster possibly in war, the writings describe them as being the cause of the drought and the formation of the gulf. This would help explain the sudden explosion of art and technology in the years before, but does little to explain a cataclysmic event which might have been caused by their actions. Recently though, ruins more condensed and numerous than anywhere within the area have been found on either side of the gulf not many kilometers from either shore. This would hint that, were the landmasses connected, the kingdoms would be far enough apart to be completely separate as far as rule while still remaining close enough to be in contact and possibly conflict with one another. But ruins still don’t explain what caused the gulf to form, if it wasn’t already there 6500 years ago, nor does it explain why the area continues to experience a drought.
Many researchers today believe that it is due to geography and climate change throughout Atla that has caused the drought, though many argue the land should today still be a tropical or at least a temperate climate due to its location near the sea and placement of mountain ranges.
With the ever growing rail lines finally allowing for some tourism, the area is nowhere near as remote as it once was. However, the land remains a land of adventurers and explorers, one not for the weak or faint of heart!
