Towards the end of The Golden Age, the greatest of all the prehistoric races went against the Trow just like all races before them. This race was called the Callieach, and they were considered the greatest magical beings to ever walk the earth. Despite their massive advantage in numbers, the Trow lacked magical powers and lost many to kill few. Because breeding was not possible with the Trow, they were slowly becoming extinct.

So the Trow prayed to their creator Nyx for support in their war with the Callieach. Answering their prayers, Nyx gave the Trow control over a new race of creatures Ð the Kurggen. The Kurggen were larger than men, were covered with hair, were fierce in combat with sharp teeth and claws, and wielded devastating magic that ensured Trow victory over the Callieach. Although similar to the Trow in that they could not reproduce, this proved to be less of a problem for the Kurggen because they were an unstoppable force. The Callieach numbers dwindled, and so a last stand was made in the East. Summoning all of their powers, the Callieach died honorably and sold their lives dearly. So terrible was their final blast of magic that the Great Devoid was created.

In return for their service and in thanks to Nyx for her creation, the Trow pierced eternal iron rings on the KurggenÕs bellies and gave them freedom to live independently in the northwestern lands. However, they kept their independence only under the conditions that they did not expand their territory or associate with foreign creatures without the permission of the Trow.

Once settled onto their new land, the Kurggen slowly civilized. Some studied necromancy and others lived peaceful lives of fishing and hunting, but a large number honed their skills as warriors and mages. They also began to enslave humans to serve the Trow, but the Trow refused by reasoning that the humans were too small and inferior to be of any use. The Trow called them unliving because of their dependence on food and water, their short life spans, and their vulnerability to changing weather. With these beliefs, the Trow respectively named the spell that Nyx used to create the "Younger Races" the Dream of Unlife.

Despite the TrowÕs disdain for the humans, they allowed the Kurggen to mingle with them. Eventually the two races began to live in harmony and created the Yer-Ks empire, which was short for "Your Kingdom", uniting the two races/

As the Age of Reason passed by, the Kurggen began to grow lax in their respect for the Trow and associated with the Oghres Ð the slaves of the Trow. They were correct in believing that the Trow were not watching the Kurggen affairs closely, and so began to unify the two races.

These actions stirred about Siknahl'al, a Kurg who practiced different beliefs than the rest of the Kurggens. A friend of the humans, he believed that he could empower them with the same magical strengths as the Kurggen. Siknahl'al started a Scholomance teaching humans how to perform Kurggen sorcery, which greatly angered his fellow Kurgs. SiknahlÕal and his students were exiled.

Determined to get revenge, SiknahlÕal formed a plan to get the support of the Trow. After leaving his students at the Stair of Grief in respect to the TrowÕs prejudice, he claimed that the Kurggen had manipulated the Callieach into creating the Great Devoid, hoping that the explosion would weaken the Trow race enough for the Kurggen to take power. To further infuriate the Trow, he explained how the Kurggen broke their ancient treaty by letting Oghres wander their cities. As proof, he pointed to an Oghre he had taken with him that was not in shackles.

SiknahlÕal was a convincing liar, and the Trow vowed to sink Yer-Ks with a Callieach artifact that had been recovered at The Great Devoid.

Meanwhile, the Kurggen realized they had made a grave mistake by letting this lunatic roam free. After deliberation, a force of executioners was sent in the direction of the Trow to hunt down and kill SiknahlÕal. As the force neared the Cloudspine, it split into two groups. The first group was led by BahlÕal and went east across the Twelve Duns. The second group was led by VaeskahlÕal and crossed the Cloudspine at the Stair of Grief.

On reaching Trow lands, the humans accompanying the first Kurggen execution party had to stop in accordance with Trow law. BahlÕal stayed with them as the rest of the Kurggen pushed forward, but they were not even out of earshot before they were ambushed and massacred by the Trow, who had long since spoken to SiknahlÕal. BahlÕal fled before the battle was over, oblivious to the fate of the humans.

Meanwhile, VaeskahlÕalÕs group was nearing the Dire Marsh when they stumbled into chaos. Humans, Gh™ls, Myrkidia, and God knows what else were scrambling about in the night, some defending and others pillaging. Evasion of the fight was impossible, especially once the human troops accompanying the Kurggen joined forces with their own race Ð the Llancarfan army. The betrayed and outraged Kurggen, who were now caught in the middle of the battle, lashed out against all that came near. As the sun rose, the battle died away, leaving a battered division of Llancarfan soldiers and one Kurg to claim the field. Slipping quietly away, VaeskahlÕal gave up the mission and made his way to Yer-Ks.

Vaeskahl'al and Bahl'al both got back safely, but at different times and did not meet each other. Upon reaching the outskirts of the once great Yer-Ks Kingdom, they were shocked to see nothing more than an occasional spire protruding from the expanse of water. It was then that they both swore to get their revenge on SiknahlÕal.

With no way to get his revenge other than someday being strong enough to kill SiknahlÕal, BahlÕal studied. He studied necromancy and warfare, and he searched for the Dream of Unlife Ð for nine days he searched the Halls of SiÕanwon beneath the sea. BahlÕal believed the Dream of Unlife could be used to create undead troops without the corpse of a human, but it was actually the spell used to create the human race Ð and the holder could possibly bring back the Kurggen race.

VaeskahlÕal was not idle either. After seeing the sunken Yer-Ks Kingdom, he realized that he had nothing left in the west and decided to go east to be closer to SiknahlÕal. There he trained in warfare and became one of the greatest warriors since the creation of the Trow. 

Siknahl'al has meanwhile been thinking that he commited the perfect crime and that he is the last Kurg alive. With nothing better to do, he became very fascinated with the human race and their culture, and decided that he should become a true archmage among them. He also learned about the true nature of the Dream of Unlife from the Trow. 

All three of the surviving Kurggen went through a major evolution process during their hundreds of years on the earth, and now greatly resemble humans.

Bahl'al and Vaeskahl'al believed they were the sole survivor of the Kurggen race, until they re-united during the middle of The Wind Age, and they were both relieved by the realization that they were not the last of their kind. Their memories of the deaths of their execution parties were still clear, and they shared their tales of loss and shared their lessons since then. Their vows to get vengeance on SiknahlÕal were made even stronger, and together they recruited and trained an army. Bahl'al discovered how to create Thrall, and he gave them axes as weapons. He chose axes because he believed that in large numbers they would be unstoppable. Vaeskahl'al thought this was outrageous, saying that considering Thrall lack a functioning brain they should use an easier to wield weapon such as a broadsword. 

This disagreement created two divisions within their army, making it obvious at a glance whoÕs was any given set of Thrall.