Chapter 2: Dead Steps

"Fools, dig faster! Do not let them pass us in The Threshold!" This was a very frequent sound that rang through the tunnels of the Khajai. Graaj, the Khajai warlord was a ruthless soul that worked his tribesmen in most cases to their deaths, where their bodies were used to replace the soil dug away by the mutated elves. When the ground was hallowed, the bodies were put on a thin layer of hardened soil and covered with another thin layer. This tactic trapped passersby feet in the jumble of bodies, and the weight collapses the ground, and pulls the victim into the hallowed tunnel, buried under piles of bodies and left to die. The bodies used to create this trap gave it the name "The Dead Step". It worked because the other tribes thought it to be a legend of the trees, rather than an actual trap. The Khajai only set the mythical trap in The Threshold, where it was impossible to see below the waist, and because there has never been a known survivor, no one knew the truth to the stories heard about the step. Countless elves were claimed by The Dead Step, their supplies plundered and their scalps used to burn camps of other tribes. Much like the other Khajai, Graaj was an elf with the skin complexion of black ink. They painted their faces with the glowing blue blood of any Equinox that they kill in their travels, their hands white with the blood of the slain Gahn, and their hair drenched purple with the blood of the victimized Nihani. The Khajai have a very particular set of rituals used to become part of their tribe, which involve extremely masochistic body carvings, removal of the toenails and fingernails, and in finale, the removal of the eyes. If a trespasser refused to perform the rituals, they became a contribution to the next Dead Step. In some cases, even an elf that performed the rituals would be thrown to the hungry for Graaj's entertainment. The Khajai used a more precise form of echolocation, in combination with the imprisoned Elder's magic to navigate the underground. They saw the world through the link that Elder Barduk shared with Phaunos. The vast underground tunnels that the Khajai have formed throughout the years since The Dawning covered approximately 2/3 of Pan. They have access to the largest transportation system on the planet. Graaj had a plan for his tribe, and he released information on a need to know basis, although he usually felt as though he was the only one who needed to know the fate of his tribe. Although his followers were dedicated to their warlord, they often enjoyed experimenting with their own ways to end the lives of other tribesmen, or their own people if the weeks went long without encountering another tribe. They enjoyed death. The most masterful in the tribe, including Graaj, were powerful necromancers that used their abilities to animate the corpses of the Dead Step honorees when they did not want to wait for their prey to pass. The life of a Khajai could end at any time. They not only knew this, but embraced it. Death was taught to be an improvement. It was taught to be an honor for your body to be used in the Dead Step, and it was what all Khajai aspired to be. If you were a Khajai, you were either digging or dead. Their mission was to dig. Their pride was to kill. "Dig to death." This simple statement was the Khajai way of life.