Kozkil is the Shadowed Land, a place of darkness and terror, the last home of a culture which predates the Empire, and indeed the Armoricans, by a thousand years. The Kozkirrim are the deathly people of this bloodstained land.
For a thousand years before the coming of the Armori barbarians to their land, the Kozkirrim were the rulers of a great empire, a massive, military entity controlling iron-fistedly the entirety of what is now called the Armorican Lands. The Kozkirrim are extremely flat-faced, having few planes or extensions to their skulls, with flat, large-nostriled noses, and large, unnatural-seeming eyes, totally black but for the colorful curve of the iris. All Kozkirrim have soft, fieathery hair either of the dark auburn of dried blood, or of a black as dark as a raven's wing. Kozkirrim of both sexes wear their hair long, pulled back in a ponytail. Both sexes also dress alike, wearing long, ankle-length silk hooded robes, with stripes of color indicating caste hemming the sleeves, hood, and front of the robe. The robe is belted with a silk sash in the caste color. Sandals suit the warm, humid climate of Kozkil. They do not wear jewelry, for their religion forbids it.
The Kozkirrim are not the only descendants of the pre-Armorican peoples. Radothites and Daalishmen are alike in that way. However, they are the only folk of their nature who have retained the bloody ways of their ancestors. Within the boundaries of the Shadowed Land, the Kozkirrim array themselves in castes, with the highest caste being the Priesthood ("Taacharai" or "Godspeakers"), followed by the Law-makers ("Nrachegrai" or "Lawgivers"), followed by the Warriors ("Vartaagai" or "Swordwielders"), followed by the Populous ("Populai", or "Headbowers"), which include merchants, common workers, tax collectors, and other government officials, and, least of all, the Slaves ("Helotai" or "Weightcarriers"), who farm, construct, do tanning work and butchery, and other sublunary tasks. The Priesthood control the entire nation with an iron fist, and their leader is the Priest-Queen of All of Kozkil, She Who's Name Is Not To Be Spoken, The One in White. The Priest-Queen is the most important being in all of Kozkil, to the Kozkil mind, for she is the high priestess of the Kozkirrim god, K'Thalath, an ancient deity forgotten to all but the Kozkirrim since the dark, misty days of the past. K'Thalath is a brutal, bloody-handed god, a dark being who, it is said, demands the sacrafice of blood and the worship of all of Kozkil so that he will not destroy the Kozkirrim once and for all. It is said, in Kozkirrim legend, that in the ancient days of their empire, the Armori swept down from the north, laying waste to the Kozkirrim glory, leveling their ancient cities, and slaying their mighty armies. The Kozkirrim cried out to their solar deity, begging mercy and help, but they were forsaken by the Sun, and their empire was destroyed. The Kozkirrim fled from their capitol, a great exodus, fleeing the pursuing Armori, and they split into three different Diaspori, one going to the far, far north, to Radoth, one to the sea, to Daaldag, and the last to the shadows of the mountains, to Kozkil. The Kozkirrim, in their need, forgot the Sun. At their final battle against the Armori, the Kozkirrim fell beneath the horror of slaying after slaying. Finally, a being came to the leader of the Kozkirrim, a shadowed being, but offering hope, in exchange for eternal service. The leader snatched it up in a second, and upon the battlefield appeared a horrible being, K'Thalath, the Unspoken. The Armori fled, and the Kozkirrim called out to the Unspoken, and pledged forever to worship them. As they established their nation, the Kozkirrim contacted the Daalishmen and the Radothites, tried to give them the glory of K'Thalath, but their brethren would not except it. The Kozkirrim vowed death and destruction upon their brothers, seeing the refusal of the Unspoken as a bitter betrayal. The same is true of all folk, for all but the Kozkirrim see the true dark nature of the Unspoken, and thus, Kozkil is known as the Shadowed Land, a place of evil and darkness, and rightfully so. The very ground of Kozkil is tainted with the evil of K'Thalath, the mountains above, the forests between, and the people within. They have very strong morals and laws, prohibiting killing of other Kozkirrim, rape of other Kozkirrim, and other atrocities, as well as looking into another's eyes, especially a member of the priesthood. All Kozkirrim laws and morals apply only to other Kozkirrim, except under special exceptions.
Kozkirrim homes are large affairs, circular, octopus-like structures sunken in the ground. The hallways and auxiliary chambers form the tentacles, and the central chamber as the head. The whole home is generally sunken below the ground, but for the roof of the central chamber, which is two storied. Kozkirrim homes have two entrances, one in the central chamber leading to the overcity, and one an auxiliary hallway, leading into a warren of tunnels below the city that connect districts. Kozkirrim towns and cities are odd-looking structures, with the low-boxes of Kozkirrim houses protruding from the ground in irregular patterns spread through a carefully controlled wilderness area overhead. Paths lead throughout this are to the center of the settlement which is always occupied by the pyramidal temple of K'Thalath. The undercity is were most city activity takes place, with subterranean tunnels taking the place of a usual city's streets.
Kozkirrim worship one god and only one god, K'Thalath, and the depth of their dark devotion knows no bounds.
Kozkirrim Names: A'lai (M), Li'laa (F), Kaaz (M), Aazkai-e (M), Kail'za (F), Taa-e-Kai (F), Thaazan (F)