Murder (Schote)

The Khanshael do not consider the killing of a member of any race, other than another of the Kin, murder. To one of The Kin, there is no concept of peace. They have spent so many millennia at war, to protect both themselves and the Dhe'nar, that there is not even a word in their language for peace. They have adopted the word peace, and many of its translations, from several other tongues, but, to one of the Kin, the word "peace" means simply the lack of any immediate conflict. War, to the Kin, is eternal, and it can only cease when every enemy of Khanshael is obliterated.

However, it is one of the Khanshael's most sacred taboos that one of the Kin can never kill another. Trials of Ascension, Honor Trials and challenges, and even the Rite of Naming, are not exceptions to this rule. This tradition even extends to forbid suicide, which is simply a form of murder, to the Kin. There is no allowance for a ritual suicide for a disgraced Khanshael as there is among some of the other races.

Over the centuries, exposure to the magical energies underneath the Southron Wastes has rendered many of the Kin sterile. In order to combat this problem, the Khanshael elders, ages ago instituted this harsh view on murder.

This view of murder even extends to include members of other races that have killed members of the Kin. It is not much of a stretch to state that the Khanshael hold a dim view of almost every other race on the planet due to this perception. In the Khanshael mindset, war is no excuse for anyone, regardless of race, to ever kill another of the Kin. The Khanshael have long memories, and they have grudges against entire races that are millennia old.

Khanshael, and prisoners, guilty of murder are only ever given one punishment. They are sentenced to the Judgment Stone.