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Library: Barbarian Conquest of Kara-Tur

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Author: hobo
Date:Sep 14 2005

The history of Kara-Tur is deep and rich with tales of swords, sorcery, wealth
and power.  Stories of powerful Wu-gens weaving their magic mystifed some
while tales of prosperous merchants rising from poverty made others envied. 
But of the thousands of tales to be told, this is a tale of how the Barbarians
of the North conquered the lush lands of Kara-Tur.

In the northern steppes of Kara-Tur thrived bands of nomadic people.  They
lived off the land, and what they could not provide for themselves, they took
from others.  From childhood, these nomads were raised with one thing in mind
- preperation for combat!  One cannot blame their lifestyle, since in the
barren lands for which they roamed, life was tough.  If you cannot hunt, you
do not eat, and if you cannot fight, you would not live.  Such lifestyles
molded young men into fierce warriors by adulthood, who many referred to as
Barbarians.

Thru natural selection, one barbarian rose to become their leader, their Khan.
 As with most cultures, power yearned more power, and thus Khan led a once
sparsely unorganized group of nomads, to a powerful army of conquering
barbarian hordes!  Their tactics were brutal, and their combat fierce.  Any
town that resisted their presence was razed and its population slain.  Once
word of such barbarism spread, no one from small villages to big cities dared
to resist.

The Emperor of Kara-Tur quickly realized that his army could not win, despite
their wealth, organization, or technology.  The barbarians were just too
brutal that armies rather run than risk a torturous death.  So one day, the
Emperor did an amazing thing, he greeted his barbarian foes.  Everyone was
shocked as the barbarian hordes marched thru the capital streets, unhindered. 
The Emperor himself offered his throne to Khan personally, and thus the royal
family was spared.

Not only did royal courts of Kara-Tur surrender their leadership to the
barbarians, they offered everything of value as well.  The Emperor ordered his
tailors to outfit Khan with the finest silks.  The best foods of the capital
were gathered and cook for the conquering leaders - indeed ten course meals
professionally cooked with imported spices throughout the lands were much
welcomed from the hunted meats cooked blandly over an open fire.  Perhaps the
most welcomed gift, for both barbarians and the townspeople, were the hot
bathes offered, full with fragrant sandlewood soap and shampoo.  In fact,
almost every aspect of Kara-Tur's civilization was offered before the
barbarians, and they were all accepted in full.

Khan was so surprised by the welcome and hospitality, that he let his own
offsprings play with those of the royal familes of Kara-Tur.  Since the great
Khan also wanted to preserve his great conquest for all those in the future to
witness, he ordred his elites to learn about books and writing, something
entirely foreign in the barrens steppes their former nomadic camps.  The young
ones were the quickest to learn, and it was Khan's own son who expertly
adopted the new language to immortalize his father's achievements.

To everyone's surprised, well perhaps not everyone but the majority of the
population for sure, the two cultures once so radically opposite soon lived
together, in harmony.  And this ends the story of how the Barbarians of the
North, conquered the civilized lands of Kara-Tur.

End.


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