The Ancient Shotum section of the History tab has been completed, and I am now working on 'The Winter War'. Following that will be the Altioc Empire, then the Mythshan Empire. With those lore pieces done, I will then finally be on the lore pertaining to the current, frozen over world of Arkadia.

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Before the mana sustaining Arkadia's orbit and rotation dissipated, the far north one of the coldest regions on Arkadia. Summers were short and cool, with seasons like Autumn and Spring lasting only a few weeks before the long winter would set in again. The people of the South, known as the Shotum, had adapted to survive in the frigid cold. The Shotum were less of an actual empire, as they were a union of multiple clans. Before the calamity, the Shotum were a proud, if not barbaric people. Despite their label as being barbaric, most Shotum of the time were quite welcoming to foreigners. Their barbarism comes from their traditions and religion, as well as their nation's level of development. The Shotum were just beginning to develop new farming techniques and methods of construction, that the rest of the world had learned long ago. The Shotum were highly ritualistic and stubborn in their ways. Many clans were too busy skirmishing with their neighbors to focus on advancing as a country. Their knowledge of magic was more unrefined than other places in the world, but also more powerful. Shotum shamans couldn't contain their power as well as magi from other lands. This led to Shotum magic being very devastating in its delivery.

The Altioc Empire to the South viewed the Shotum as uncivilized, and would often raid into Shotum lands to acquire 'stupid brutes' for manual labor. Despite what the Altioc believed, the Shotum were more than simple brutes from the north. One Shotum in particular rose to notoriety, Khalash. The young clan chieftain was a visionary, and a very capable warrior. Khalash had grown up in a village near Altioc's border, and had witnessed an Altian raid that resulted in the taking of his entire family. Khalash was orphaned, and in Shotum society, he was doomed to scrutiny and persecution so long as he had no family to support him, thus branding him the title of 'Rokh': a shameful prefix to his name that meant alone. Rokh-Khalash resisted the persecution throughout his young years, all while overcoming the elements over the years. Despite the Rokh stigma always being present, the people of his clan respected his resilience. Rokh-Khalash grew stronger and stronger, and eventually became an honored clan warrior.

When Altioc came again to gather a fresh batch of Shotum slaves, Khalash and his axe-brothers met them in bloody battle. Despite being outnumber three to one, the Shotum warband was victorious, and the North's snow was stained red with Altian blood. Khalash had attained the honor of beheading the Altian lord responsible for the raids, thus removing the stigmatic title of Rokh. In the very same battle, the clan chieftain had fallen in battle, and Khalash was unanimously chosen by the clan to take the mantle. With Altioc staved off for the year, Khalash turned his gaze further North. He would unite the Shotum clans, and march south on Altioc.

Within a single year, the North was united under Khalash's rule. Word had spread into Altioc that the Shotum were preparing for war. With the Kurgans beginning to encroach on Altioc from the west, the Altian King was forced to make a decision. He attempted to bargain with the Shotum in order to avoid war. But secretly, the ambassador would poison Khalash, and shatter the united clans so they would squabble among themselves once again. The plan had succeeded as far as Altioc was concerned. Khalash was on his death bed, quickly succumbing to the poison. His axe-brothers scoured the north in an attempt to find a healer versed in Altian poisons. One of them brought back a Shotum shaman, but he too was a Rokh. Unlike Khalash, this shaman was far more weak willed, and had lived as a hermit in the mountains where he would hone his magical talents. The persecution of being a rokh had stirred the hatred inside of the shaman, and that in turn translated into his magic.

The shaman began to cast a spell, but as with all Shotum, his magic was volatile and difficult to control. He healed Khalash of his poison, but stripped him of his soul as well. But the shaman couldn't contain his magic, and it continued to pour out. Most magi would die from the torrent of mana coursing through them. But, as the shaman was attempting to cast healing magic at the time of the outburst, it was healing him as fast as the mana was pouring him. The magic spread through the great halls and did to other Shotum what it did to Khalash, stripping them of their souls and turning them into animalistic husks. The shaman was no exception, and he became nothing more but a wellspring of rampant mana, perpetually drawing the energy sustaining Arkadia.

Before long, the entirety of the Shotum people had become mindless and enthralled. They reverted to a pack animal form of intelligence. They were little more than undead hordes at this point. The mana coursing through the Shotum began to mutate their bodies over time, and even past death, they remained functional. The souls that were stripped from their bodies, became akin to a hive mind, and Khalash was at the head of it. The north had gone silent, the King of Altioc had reasoned that his assassin's report was accurate, and the Shotum had gone back to warring with themselves. He turned his focus on the Kurgans and waged war.

To both the Kurgans' and the Altians' surprise, winter had come early, extraordinarily early. It was hardly a week into autumn when the sky darkened early and the snow fell to the ground. The Kurgans had their guesses, and they were right. The shamanic wellspring deep in the heart of the north was bleeding off Arkadia's mana, and fast. The Kurgans and Altians continued to fight in the odd winter, but on the third week of straight snowfall, the Shotum arrived.
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