“Come closer little one and warm yourself by the fire. You’re just in time to hear the story of how we came to be known as Korindians… A long time ago they referred to us as half-elves or half-bloods and we were despised. The Faelakar and Eldakar thought themselves to be too good for us and the humans barely tolerated our presence. We suffered ill treatment at the hands of Fae and man alike for generations on end before one amongst us had the courage to stand tall against the bigotry.” As the wizened old man began to spin his yarn the children’s eyes grew wide. The youngest crowded closer while the older among them smiled, fondly remembering back to the first time they heard the tale.

“Do any of you know the name of this brave one?” asked the storyteller. “Ooooh ooooh! I do, I do!” said a little one. “Well don’t keep us all waiting, answer him” mocked one of the older boys. As the elder turned his attention to the teen, he realized the disrespect of his interruption.  Smile fading quickly, he tried to meld into the throng that had now gathered around the fire. “Kor, his name was Kor!” “That’s right little one, we know him as Kor but his given name is lost to us. When he began to speak out he took the name Kor and it is said that no one uttered his birth name again, not even his own mother. It is also said that he was high born, his father a noble and his mother a member of the Great Council.”

The legend of Kor has been told for generations. The Korindians have a proud tradition of oral history. The first Korindians were largely illiterate. Made up of castoffs and thought not fit to take part in respectable society most were barely able to feed themselves and their families. They often retreated from the towns and villages and huddled just on the outskirts of enclaves of humans living a marginal existence. Many turned to Druidic magics for added self sufficiency.

By the time Kor became a unifying factor it was not uncommon for half-blood newborns to be abandoned at the edge of these ramshackle settlements by their pure-blood mothers. It is thought that at the time as many as half of all Korindians, as they would come to be called, didn’t even know their birth-parents. In some instances the mothers, and more rarely the fathers of half-blood children left the comforts of their villages to live with the half-bloods. Not surprisingly the half-blood communities openly accepted them as they knew firsthand the lessons of hatred and prejudice..

Given those conditions families became quite extended and generations blurred. Often councils of elders were formed to manage the scarce resources of the community and a sort of cooperative society prevailed. As they honed their Druidic magics the communities became more self sufficient and more isolated. In times of famine the Korindians even helped pure-blood communities stave off starvation. Even this kindness was oft met with contempt and revile.

Very little is known of Kor and very much is rumored of him. He began his quest by traveling from one half-elf enclave to another speaking of the tragedies he had bore witness to and passing on the stories of hardships that others had related to him on his journeys. He preached that strength and self-reliance could improve their lot in life and that no good could come of trying to blend into Eldakar or Human societies. He dressed simply and carried no coins nor forged tools. He explained that the pure-bloods had rejected his kind so he rejected their ways in favor of a simpler more natural existence. Nature, he espoused, would provide everything that was necessary to thrive.

In his travels he met several former sailors that spoke an island to the south of Ellanor and to the west of Sunset. During their days of shipboard servitude they made port at one very large but inhospitable island to make repairs on their storm-damaged vessel. (A few half-elves found service as sailors performing the most unwanted drudgework to keep themselves fed.) The Island was filled with wild beasts the likes of which they had never seen and was overrun with thick vegetation and a tall and craggy central mountain. Several of the crew were killed by the beasts and the tales eventually spread amongst sailors becoming an ominous legend. Ships knew to steer clear of the dreaded isle for fear of meeting a gruesome fate. Kor, however, thought this island might make an ideal home for he and his fellow outcasts.