But before Kania and Hadagan, there was another.
Long before the Aro and orcs battled over the lands of Džun, the world had known the people of Zem.
For generations, the Zem tribes lived in the shadow of the great Džun Empire, their civilization dwarfed by its sheer power. But when Džun fell, it sparked a new era for the Zem.
From the southern deserts and steppes, they forged a mighty new state — the Hikut Empire.
But Hikut’s history was not one of conquest or expansion. It was a history of obsession — a relentless pursuit of immortality.
The sudden and terrible demise of Džun left the people of Hikut haunted. If the greatest empire the world had ever known could vanish in an instant, then what hope did they have?
Thus, they turned to magic, desperately seeking a way to defy death itself.
Necromancy became the foundation of their society. The art of embalming flourished, not as mere tradition, but as a promise — they believed that one day, when the secret of immortality was uncovered, their preserved dead could return to life.
Every child of Hikut, upon coming of age, was sent on a pilgrimage to the necropolises, where they would gaze upon the ruins of Džun and confront the terrible fate that awaited them all — unless they could prevent it.
Years passed. Decades. Centuries. Yet, the answer never came. Doubt began to spread. More and more voices questioned whether magic could truly grant immortality at all.
But one man refused to accept failure.
A brilliant but ruthless necromancer named Tep continued his research in secret, conducting inhumane experiments, determined to achieve what no one else could. And in his obsession, he created something monstrous. A plague — one unlike any before it. A curse that swept through the empire like the scythe of Nih himself. The people of Hikut fell, one after another, their lives devoured by the very magic meant to save them. And in the end, as the empire collapsed into silence and death, Tep’s name was spoken one final time —
As they dragged him into the grave with them.