Board Thread:Lore Texts/@comment-28813058-20170531190032


 * 1) title:Of the Battle of Nkulutaak Kaah
 * 2) types:far_harad_jungle

In older days, when the great Tauredain Empire still stood, the Forest was attacked by grey demons. They were tall and muscular, with red tongues and cruel faces, and they bore clubs of wood and swords of rock. They entered the Forest and slew many, burning villages, killing the men and enslaving the women and children. They even ransacked the proud city of Kimen Paah, which had twelve tall towers within its walls. The Half-Trolls had ransacked the city and slew the entire population, and the twelve towers were set aflame. Fortunately for the Tauredain, Nkulutaak, the Emperor at the time, was a noble man and a great warrior. Tall, bearded, and strong, he was very famous for his independence. Although very fine foods from Númenor and the Great Plains were laid on his table, he would often hunt for his own food in the forest. When he was informed of the Half-Trolls' attacks, he was very angry. He led a large force and drove back the first wave of the Half-Trolls, but the Half-Trolls had an enormous army and their soldiers were far from spend. Nkulutaak, who realized this, had an enormous fortress named Nkulutaak Kaah built on the western borders of the forest to hold off the Half-Trolls.

The wonder of this fortress is still remembered today. It was built on a great hill called Ulukaahalu. The builders worked day and night tirelessly, and soon they built many mighty walls ringing the hill. Towers, battlements, and barracks were built into the hill, and on its summit was an open shrine to Kinza'nzala, the Tauredain's chief goddess. Flags of many colors flew from its towers. However, no citizens lived there, for Nkulutaak did not want an attack by the Half-Trolls to result in the mass murder of innocents should the defenses fail. Instead, a thousand five hundred warriors clad in their magnificent armor dwelt there, and Nkulutaak himself also chose to dwell in a hall there.

More border skirmishes took place in the months after Nkulutaak Kaah was erected. It became difficult to find warriors to station on the border, for many warriors had perished on the borders. Many of the Half-Trolls began to impale the deceased warriors' heads on spears and brought them to battle, and the sight of these cloven heads filled the soldiers with fear. However, the Half-Trolls still feared the forest and stayed out of it at all costs, for the Tauredain hunters wore cloaks of green that disguised them in the leafy thickets. Combined with the blowguns and darts that they had gotten from trade with Númenor, they could drive off even large hordes of Half-Trolls. The Half-Trolls had only one option: to seize Nkulutaak Kaah and slay the Emperor.

Nkulutaak was constantly paranoid of an attack on Nkulutaak Kaah. The Line of Kibakala, the first Emperor, would continue even with his death, since his wife and children still dwelled at Ya'ax Kaah, the capital. However, if Nkulutaak Kaah fell, then the Half-Trolls could seize the road that had connected Kimen Paah to the Forest. So Nkulutaak was determined not to let Nkulutaak Kaah fall.

When the Half-Trolls finally sent an army to Nkulutaak Kaah, the day was cold and misty. When the first of the four thousand Half-Trolls was spotted by a scout, Nkulutaak called all of the soldiers to the ramparts, and they sent a hail of darts and spears that slew many. The battle raged for a week before the Half-Trolls dug a tunnel underneath the wall and sent warriors through it. The Half-Trolls slew most of the soldiers, and those who resisted capture were slain. They finally caught Nkulutaak in his hall, and they captured him and put him in chains. They then razed the shrine to Kinza'nzala and burned its remains. "Filthy sons of the Eye!" Nkulutaak roared. "You will never prevail!" The Half-Trolls did not listen. They whipped him, and they broke his bones. He was forced to hang on the wall in agony. Then they decided to execute him after almost three days of torturing him. As they approached him, Nkulutaak, with the last of his strength, bellowed, "Kinza'nzala! I call upon your power that created the Sun and the Stars, Forest and Rain, River and Beast! Exact your revenge upon these beasts that have defiled your shrine!"

Then a horrible and mysterious thing happened: a great bolt of lightning hit Nkulutaak Kaah, and it disintegrated the whole fortress and a very large chunk of the forest that surrounded it. Nkulutaak himself died, and so did everyone else in the fortress. The land was wasted and scorched, and it was called forever after Kinza'nzala’akaahúlu, the Land of Kinza'nzala's Fury in the Tauredain tongue. Nkulutaak Kaah's old site is rarely marked on maps, for Nuuko, the next Emperor, did not wish for such sorrow to be remembered.

Thanks for reading, and constructive criticism is welcome! 