Shadow Born (Qimb'hak)

Those Khanshael that show the skills in the art of hiding and stalking usually spend a good deal of time with the Duk'Sa, refining and sharpening their skills. Dwarves with talents along these lines are often the forward scouts and shock troops of the army, stealthily flanking an enemy, and springing from nowhere with weapons high. These Khanshael are called the Qimb'hak, the "Shadow Born."

These Khanshael have a very broad base of training, depending on the particular role they are assigned to fulfill. Some concentrate solely on strength of arms and stealth, and become assassins or point men for Khanshael armies. Others, with a small skill in magic, become scouts, able to camouflage their position with a flick of their wrist.

A final group, those deemed particularly loyal to the Dhe'nar, is assigned long range, autonomous scouting missions. These are the reconnaissance men who gather information for the Khanshael Forgelords and the Dhe'nar Warmasters. These Khanshael are trained in many arts. They are taught the arts of torture and interrogation, to gather information and intelligence for their Dhe'nar masters. They are well versed in the arts of war, and are often able to make deadly weapons of anything they can hold in their hands, as well as their hands themselves.

These Khanshael spend years under the direct tutelage of the Dhe'nar. They are conditioned against any forms of interrogation by the enemies of the Dhe'nar and Khanshael. Their minds are carefully worked, almost like a sword, into almost indomitable fortresses. Their bodies are strengthened to withstand pain and the most horrible physical tortures.

The rigorous training and harsh emotional and mental trauma inflicted on these Khanshael are enough to break the spirit of any dwarf. Many of the Kin selected for this caste do not succeed in their training. Some of them die. Others are driven mad. Some survive, but are broken in spirit and will, and become members of The Weary. Others fail early enough in the training that their minds are left intact and they flee to the forge or the mines.

Long ago, this caste was not one of war and destruction, nor was it even a caste. It was a group of fomenters and dissidents, intent on liberating the Khanshael from the yoke of Dhe'nari slavery. They worked in secret, spreading propaganda and unrest against their Dhe'nar overlords. They called themselves the Shadow Borne, reasoning that information from the shadows was the best way to overthrow their slave masters.

Finally, they were able to turn an entire settlement of Khanshael against the Dhe'nar. The Dhe'nari reacted quickly, intent on stemming a revolution of this sort as quickly as possible.

Two complete legions of loyal Khanshael troops were sent into the settlement, with orders to raze it to the ground, leave no survivors, and capture the ringleaders of the revolt. Those loyal to the Shadow Born fought valiantly, but, in the end, the superior number of Dhe'nari troops was more than enough to crush the settlement. The revolt was crushed, and its leaders were brought to the Dhe'nar for punishment. Some rumors say that the original Shadow Born are still held prisoner, and tortured regularly, by the Dhe'nar high council.

The Dhe'nar ordered all records of the original Shadow Born expunged from any written Khanshael histories. Their names have been stricken from all Khanshael records, of birthing and from any records of war or heroism. In some incredibly loyal Khanshael settlements, especially those closest to Dhe'nari cities, it is a crime to even speak the name of someone who was of the original Shadow Borne.

Amongst the current caste, the knowledge of the original Shadow Born is well known. A joint council of Dhe'nari Warlords and Khanshael elders instituted the caste. The underlying purpose of the caste is to monitor any such uprisings in the future. In fact, the current Shadow Born have been given orders to kill any outright dissenters, be they Khanshael or otherwise. Fortunately, this fundamental breach of Khanshael law has not been perpetrated. The Kin are loyal to the Dhe'nar and perpetuate that loyalty fanatically.