Cûno-Halaroi
"Cûno-Halaroi Wars" The Cûno-Halaroi Wars are a series of conflicts which began when the men - or halaroi - of Eänna invaded Eärwa through the Gates of Thayant , a series of fortified passes through the northern Great Kayarsus Mountains. Some historians believe that the Gates of Thayant refer to the Mansion of Siöl , which was located deep under the north-eastern Kayarsus Mountains, and the destruction of Siöl (formerly the strongest of the Mansions before the Battle of Pir Minginnial ) marked the beginning of the end for the Nonmen. The Four Tribes which invaded Eärwa - the Ketyai , Norsirai , Scylvendi and Satyothi - were following the teachings of Angeshraël , the Burned Prophet, and the command of the The Chronicle of the Tusk to throw down the "False Men", or Nonmen . The Nonmen themselves had been weakened by close to a millennium of warfare with the Inchoroi , as well as the loss of their women in the Womb Plague , and were unable to resist the invading hordes of men. In the resulting conflicts, those Mansions which survived the Cûno-Inchoroi Wars were themselves thrown down and destroyed. The sole survivors were Ishterebinth and Cil-Aujas . The wars lasted for at least four centuries, until Nil’giccas , the King of Ishterebinth, made peace with Cûnwerishau , the God-King of Trysë . The Nonman Tutelage , a prolonged period of peace and alliance between men and Nonmen, began in 555 Year-of-the-Tusk and saw the Nonmen impart knowledge of sorcery - even the Gnosis - to the nascent sorcerous schools. The Tutelage lasted until 825, when it was undone by an assault on the Ûmeri princess Omindalea by a Nonman Siqû . Cil-Aujas finally fell during the Apocalypse , leaving Ishterebinth as the sole surviving Nonman mansion.

Author's comments

Bakker himself suggested in a reply that the remaining Nonmen may well have let themselves be exterminated by the invaders, strangers from Eänna who may not have been any more intelligent or technologically advanced than the Nonmen. "Eännans had overwhelming numbers and Chorae [but] they were little more than savages [and] a great number of Nonmen were actively searching for a way to die."

Cûno-Halaroi Wars
The Cûno-Halaroi Wars are a series of conflicts which began when the men - or halaroi - of Eänna invaded Eärwa through the Gates of Thayant , a series of fortified passes through the northern Great Kayarsus Mountains. Some historians believe that the Gates of Thayant refer to the Mansion of Siöl , which was located deep under the north-eastern Kayarsus Mountains, and the destruction of Siöl (formerly the strongest of the Mansions before the Battle of Pir Minginnial ) marked the beginning of the end for the Nonmen. The Four Tribes which invaded Eärwa - the Ketyai , Norsirai , Scylvendi and Satyothi - were following the teachings of Angeshraël , the Burned Prophet, and the command of the The Chronicle of the Tusk to throw down the "False Men", or Nonmen . The Nonmen themselves had been weakened by close to a millennium of warfare with the Inchoroi , as well as the loss of their women in the Womb Plague , and were unable to resist the invading hordes of men. In the resulting conflicts, those Mansions which survived the Cûno-Inchoroi Wars were themselves thrown down and destroyed. The sole survivors were Ishterebinth and Cil-Aujas . The wars lasted for at least four centuries, until Nil’giccas , the King of Ishterebinth, made peace with Cûnwerishau , the God-King of Trysë . The Nonman Tutelage , a prolonged period of peace and alliance between men and Nonmen, began in 555 Year-of-the-Tusk and saw the Nonmen impart knowledge of sorcery - even the Gnosis - to the nascent sorcerous schools. The Tutelage lasted until 825, when it was undone by an assault on the Ûmeri princess Omindalea by a Nonman Siqû . Cil-Aujas finally fell during the Apocalypse , leaving Ishterebinth as the sole surviving Nonman mansion.

Author's comments

Bakker himself suggested in a reply that the remaining Nonmen may well have let themselves be exterminated by the invaders, strangers from Eänna who may not have been any more intelligent or technologically advanced than the Nonmen. "Eännans had overwhelming numbers and Chorae [but] they were little more than savages [and] a great number of Nonmen were actively searching for a way to die."

Cûno-Inchoroi
"Cûno-Inchoroi Wars" Cûno-Inchoroi Wars are the protracted series of wars between the Nonmen and the Inchoroi following the ancient arrival of the latter.

The Fall of the Incû-Holoinas

According to the Isûphiryas , the Incû-Holoinas , the “Ark-of-the-Skies,” plunged to earth to the west of the Sea of Neleöst in land ruled by Nin’janjin , the Nonman King of Viri . The letter sent by Nin’janin to Cû’jara-Cinmoi , the King of Siöl , is recorded as follows: Rather than send aid to Nin’janjin, Cû’jara-Cinmoi assembled an army and invaded the lands of Viri. Nin’janjin and his Ishroi capitulated without battle; Viri became a bloodless tributary of Siöl. The western lands of Viri, however, remained shrouded in cloud and ash. Survivors from the region spoke of a fiery vessel streaking across the skies. So Cû’jara-Cinmoi commanded Ingalira , a hero of Siöl, to lead an expedition to find this Ark. What happened to Ingalira on this expedition is not recorded, but he returned to Siöl some three months later and presented two inhuman captives to Cû’jara-Cinmoi. Ingalira called these captives Inchoroi, or “People of Emptiness,” both because the sounds they made were empty of meaning and because they fell from the emptiness of the sky. He spoke of flattened forests and gouged plains, of mountains thrown into a ring, and of two golden horns rearing from a molten sea, so mighty they brushed the clouds. Repelled by the obscene aspect of the Inchoroi, Cû’jara-Cinmoi had them put to death, and set a Watch upon the Incû-Holoinas, the Ark-of-the-Skies. Years passed, and the power of Cû’jara-Cinmoi and the High Mansion of Siöl waxed. The Mansion of Nihrimsul was subdued, and her King, Sin’niroiha , “First Among Peoples,” was forced to wash the sword of Cû’jara-Cinmoi. With the subsequent conquest of Cil-Aujas to the south, Siöl and her High King commanded an empire that ranged from the Yimaleti Mountains to the Sea of Meneanor . During this time, the Watch was kept on the Ark. The land cooled. The skies cleared.

The Destruction of the Watch

Either because of original inconsistencies or because of subsequent corruptions, extant version of the Isûphiryas are unclear as to the subsequent order of events. At some point a secret embassy of Inchoroi reached Nin’janjin at Viri. Unlike the Inchoroi brought to Cû’jara-Cinmoi by Ingalira, these possessed the ability to speak Ihrimsû. They reminded Nin’janjin of Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s treachery in his time of need, and offered an alliance to break the yoke of Siöl over Viri. They would undo, the Inchoroi said, the misfortune their coming had wrought upon the Cûnuroi of Viri. Despite the warnings of his Ishroi, Nin’janjin accepted the Inchoroi terms. Viri revolted. The Siölan Ishroi within its halls were slain; the rest were enslaved. At the same time, the Inchoroi swarmed from the Ark, overwhelming the Watch. Only Oirinas and his twin, Oirûnas , survived, riding hard to warn Cû’jara-Cinmoi.

The Slaying of Sil

Sil , the Inchoroi King, and Nin’janjin assembled their hosts to meet Cû’jara-Cinmoi on the Fields of Pir Pahal , which Men would call Eleneöt in a later age. According to the Isûphiryas, the Nonmen of Viri were dismayed by the sight of their allies, who wore fierce and festering bodies as garments of war. Gin’gûrima , the greatest hero among them, pointed to Nin’janjin and declared, “Hate has blinded him.” This treason within a treason was repeated by others, until it became a thundering chorus. Nin’janjin fled, seeking protection from Sil. The Inchoroi then turned upon their allies, hoping to destroy the host of Viri before Cû’jara-Cinmoi and the great host of Siöl could close with them. Overmatched by the Inchoroi and their weapons of light, the Nonmen of Viri were driven back with horrendous losses. Only Cû’jara-Cinmoi and his Ishroi Chariots saved them from utter destruction. The chroniclers of the Isûphiryas claim the battle raged through the night and into the following morning. Eventually, all but the most powerful of the Inchoroi were overwhelmed by the valour, sorceries , and numbers of the host of Siöl. Cû’jara-Cinmoi himself struck down Sil, and wrested from him his great weapon, Suörgil, “Shining Death,” which Men in a latter age would call the Heron Spear . Much reduced, the Inchoroi fled back to their Ark, taking Nin’janjin with them. Cû’jara-Cinmoi hunted them within sight of the Ring Mountains , but was forced to abandon his pursuit when word of further disasters reached him. Emboldened by Siöl’s distraction, Nihrimsul and Cil-Aujas had revolted.

The Second Watch

Weakened by the Battle of Pir Pahal , Cû’jara-Cinmoi was hard pressed to recover his empire. A Second Watch was put upon the Holoinas, but no attempt was made to breach the gold-grooved faces of the Ark. After years of hard campaigning, Cû’jara-Cinmoi finally brought the Ishroi of Cil-Aujas to heel, but King Sin’niroiha and the Ishroi of Nihrimsul continued to resist him. The Isûphiryas chronicles dozens of bloody yet indecisive confrontations between the two Kings: the Battle of Ciphara, the Battle of Hilcyri, the Siege of Asargoi. Proud beyond reason, Cû’jara-Cinmoi refused to relent, and put to death every embassy Sin’niroiha sent to him. Only when Sin’niroiha became King of Ishoriöl through marriage did the High King of Siöl concede. “A King of Three Mansions,” he is said to have declared, “may be Brother to a King of Two.” The Isûphiryas mentions the Inchoroi only once during this time. Unwilling to assign desperately needed Ishroi to the Second Watch, Cû’jara-Cinmoi had charged Oirinas and Oirûnas, the sole survivors of the First Watch, with recruiting Men for the duty. Among these Halaroi was a “criminal” named Sirwitta . Apparently Sirwitta had seduced the wife of a high-ranking Ishroi and conceived by her a daughter named Cimoira . The Judges of the Ishroi were perplexed: such a thing had never happened before. The truth of Cimoira was suppressed, and despite her mannish blood she was accepted as Cûnuroi. Sirwitta himself was banished to the Second Watch. Somehow (the Isûphiryas does not go into detail) Sirwitta managed to enter the Incû-Holoinas. A month passed, and all thought him lost. Then he reappeared, deranged, screeching claims so alarming that Oirinas and Oirûnas brought him directly to Cû’jara-Cinmoi. What was said between Sirwitta and the High King of Siöl is not recorded. The chroniclers say only that Cû’jara-Cinmoi, after hearing Sirwitta speak, ordered him put to death. A later entry, however, described Sirwitta as “tongueless and imprisoned.” It appears the High King, for some unknown reason, had rescinded his warrant. Many years of peace followed. From their fortresses in the Ring Mountains, the Ishroi of Siöl guarded the Ark. Whether the Inchoroi lived still or had perished, no one knew. Cû’jara-Cinmoi grew old, for the Nonmen of those days were still mortal. His eyesight dimmed, and his once-mighty limbs began to fail him. Death whispered to him.

The Womb-Plague

Then Nin’janjin returned. Invoking the ancient codes, he appeared before Cû’jara-Cinmoi begging Mercy and Penance. When the High King of Siöl bid Nin’janjin come near so he might see him, he was astonished to discover his old adversary had not aged. Then Nin’janjin revealed his true reason for coming to Siöl. The Inchoroi, he said, were too terrified of Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s might to leave their Ark, so they dwelt in confinement and misery. They had sent him, he claimed, to sue for peace. They wished to know what tribute might temper the High King’s fury. To which Cû’jara-Cinmoi replied: “I would be young of heart, face, and limb. I would banish Death from the halls of my people." The Second Watch was disbanded and the Inchoroi moved freely among the Cûnuroi of Siöl, becoming their physicians. They ministered to all, dispensing the remedies that would at once make the Nonmen immortal and doom them. Soon all the Cûnuroi of Eärwa , even those who had initially questioned Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s wisdom, had succumbed to the Inchoroi and their nostrums. According to the Isûphiryas, the first victim of the Womb-Plague was Hanalinqû , Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s legendary wife. The chronicler actually praises the diligence and skill of the High King’s Inchoroi physicians. But as the Womb-Plague killed more and more Cûnuroi women, this praise becomes condemnation. Soon all the women of the Cûnuroi, wives and maidens both, were dying. The Inchoroi fled the Mansions, returning to their ruined vessel.

The Fall of Cû’jara-Cinmoi

Ishroi from across Eärwa answered Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s call to war, even though many held the High King responsible for the deaths of their beloved. Grieved almost to madness, the High King led them through the Ring Mountains and arrayed them across the Inniür-Shigogli , the “Black Furnace Plain.” Then he laid Hanalinqû’s corpse before the unholy Ark and demanded the Inchoroi answer his fury. But the Inchoroi had not been idle over the long years since the Battle of Pir Pahal. They had delved deep into the earth, beneath the Inniür-Shigogli and out into the Ring Mountains. Within these galleries they had massed hordes of twisted creatures unlike any the Cûnuroi had ever seen: Sranc , Bashrags , and mighty Dragons . The Ishroi of the Nine High Mansions of Eärwa, who had come to destroy the diminished survivors of Pir Pahal, found themselves beset on all sides. The Sranc withered before the sinew and sorcery of the Ishroi, but their numbers seemed inexhaustible. The Bashrags and the Dragons exacted a horrifying toll. More terrible still were those few Inchoroi who ventured out into battle, hanging above the tumult, sweeping the earth with their weapons of light, apparently unaffected by the sorceries of the Ishroi. After the disaster of Pir Pahal, the Inchoroi had seduced the practitioners of the Aporos , who had been forbidden from pursuing their art. Poisoned by knowledge, they devised the first of the Chorae to render their masters immune to Cûnuroi magic. But all the heroes of Eärwa stood upon the Black Furnace Plain. With his bare hands, Ciögli the Mountain , the strongest of the Ishroi, broke the neck of Wutteät the Black , the Father of Dragons. Oirinas and Oirûnas fought side by side, working great carnage among the Sranc and Bashrags. Ingalira, the hero of Siöl, strangled Vshikcrû , mighty among the Inchoroi, and cast his burning body into the Sranc. The mighty closed with the mighty, and innumerable battles were fought. But no matter how hard the Inchoroi pressed, the Cûnuroi would yield no ground. Their fury was that of those who have lost wives and daughters. Then Nin’janjin struck down Cû’jara-Cinmoi. The Copper Tree of Siöl fell into pitching masses of Sranc, and the Cûnuroi were dismayed. Sin’niroiha, the High King of Nihrimsul and Ishoriöl, fought his way to Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s position, but found only his headless body. Then the hero Gin’gûrima fell, gored by a Dragon. And after him Ingalira, who had been the first to lay eyes upon the Inchoroi. Then Oirinas, his body sundered by an Inchoroi spear of light. Realizing their plight, Sin’niroiha rallied his people and began fighting his way into the Ring Mountains. A greater part of the surviving Cûnuroi followed him. Once clear of their foe, the glorious Ishroi of Eärwa fled, gripped by a mad fear. Either too weakened or suspecting a trap, the Inchoroi did not pursue.

The War of Extermination

For five hundred years the Cûnuroi and the Inchoroi waged a war of extermination, the Cûnuroi to avenge their murdered wives and the eventual death of their race, and the Inchoroi for reasons they alone could fathom. No longer did the Cûnuroi speak of the Incû-Holoinas, the Ark-of-the-Skies. Instead they spoke of Min-Uroikas, “the Pit of Obscenities”—what would later be called Golgotterath by Men. For centuries it seemed the abominations had the upper hand, and the poets of the Isûphiryas record defeat after defeat. But slowly, as the Inchoroi exhausted their fell weapons and relied more and more on their vile slaves, the Cûnuroi and their Halaroi servants gained the advantage. Then at long last the surviving Ishroi of Eärwa trapped the last of their diminished foe within the Incû-Holoinas. For twenty years they warred through the Ark’s labyrinthine halls, finally hunting the last of the Inchoroi into the deep places of the earth. Unable to destroy the vessel, Nil’giccas instructed the remaining Qûya to raise a powerful glamour about the hated place. He and the surviving kings of the Nine Mansions forbade their peoples from mentioning the Inchoroi or their nightmarish legacy. The last Cûnuroi of Eärwa withdrew to their Mansions to await their inevitable doom.

Cûno-Inchoroi Wars
Cûno-Inchoroi Wars are the protracted series of wars between the Nonmen and the Inchoroi following the ancient arrival of the latter.

The Fall of the Incû-Holoinas

According to the Isûphiryas , the Incû-Holoinas , the “Ark-of-the-Skies,” plunged to earth to the west of the Sea of Neleöst in land ruled by Nin’janjin , the Nonman King of Viri . The letter sent by Nin’janin to Cû’jara-Cinmoi , the King of Siöl , is recorded as follows: Rather than send aid to Nin’janjin, Cû’jara-Cinmoi assembled an army and invaded the lands of Viri. Nin’janjin and his Ishroi capitulated without battle; Viri became a bloodless tributary of Siöl. The western lands of Viri, however, remained shrouded in cloud and ash. Survivors from the region spoke of a fiery vessel streaking across the skies. So Cû’jara-Cinmoi commanded Ingalira , a hero of Siöl, to lead an expedition to find this Ark. What happened to Ingalira on this expedition is not recorded, but he returned to Siöl some three months later and presented two inhuman captives to Cû’jara-Cinmoi. Ingalira called these captives Inchoroi, or “People of Emptiness,” both because the sounds they made were empty of meaning and because they fell from the emptiness of the sky. He spoke of flattened forests and gouged plains, of mountains thrown into a ring, and of two golden horns rearing from a molten sea, so mighty they brushed the clouds. Repelled by the obscene aspect of the Inchoroi, Cû’jara-Cinmoi had them put to death, and set a Watch upon the Incû-Holoinas, the Ark-of-the-Skies. Years passed, and the power of Cû’jara-Cinmoi and the High Mansion of Siöl waxed. The Mansion of Nihrimsul was subdued, and her King, Sin’niroiha , “First Among Peoples,” was forced to wash the sword of Cû’jara-Cinmoi. With the subsequent conquest of Cil-Aujas to the south, Siöl and her High King commanded an empire that ranged from the Yimaleti Mountains to the Sea of Meneanor . During this time, the Watch was kept on the Ark. The land cooled. The skies cleared.

The Destruction of the Watch

Either because of original inconsistencies or because of subsequent corruptions, extant version of the Isûphiryas are unclear as to the subsequent order of events. At some point a secret embassy of Inchoroi reached Nin’janjin at Viri. Unlike the Inchoroi brought to Cû’jara-Cinmoi by Ingalira, these possessed the ability to speak Ihrimsû. They reminded Nin’janjin of Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s treachery in his time of need, and offered an alliance to break the yoke of Siöl over Viri. They would undo, the Inchoroi said, the misfortune their coming had wrought upon the Cûnuroi of Viri. Despite the warnings of his Ishroi, Nin’janjin accepted the Inchoroi terms. Viri revolted. The Siölan Ishroi within its halls were slain; the rest were enslaved. At the same time, the Inchoroi swarmed from the Ark, overwhelming the Watch. Only Oirinas and his twin, Oirûnas , survived, riding hard to warn Cû’jara-Cinmoi.

The Slaying of Sil

Sil , the Inchoroi King, and Nin’janjin assembled their hosts to meet Cû’jara-Cinmoi on the Fields of Pir Pahal , which Men would call Eleneöt in a later age. According to the Isûphiryas, the Nonmen of Viri were dismayed by the sight of their allies, who wore fierce and festering bodies as garments of war. Gin’gûrima , the greatest hero among them, pointed to Nin’janjin and declared, “Hate has blinded him.” This treason within a treason was repeated by others, until it became a thundering chorus. Nin’janjin fled, seeking protection from Sil. The Inchoroi then turned upon their allies, hoping to destroy the host of Viri before Cû’jara-Cinmoi and the great host of Siöl could close with them. Overmatched by the Inchoroi and their weapons of light, the Nonmen of Viri were driven back with horrendous losses. Only Cû’jara-Cinmoi and his Ishroi Chariots saved them from utter destruction. The chroniclers of the Isûphiryas claim the battle raged through the night and into the following morning. Eventually, all but the most powerful of the Inchoroi were overwhelmed by the valour, sorceries , and numbers of the host of Siöl. Cû’jara-Cinmoi himself struck down Sil, and wrested from him his great weapon, Suörgil, “Shining Death,” which Men in a latter age would call the Heron Spear . Much reduced, the Inchoroi fled back to their Ark, taking Nin’janjin with them. Cû’jara-Cinmoi hunted them within sight of the Ring Mountains , but was forced to abandon his pursuit when word of further disasters reached him. Emboldened by Siöl’s distraction, Nihrimsul and Cil-Aujas had revolted.

The Second Watch

Weakened by the Battle of Pir Pahal , Cû’jara-Cinmoi was hard pressed to recover his empire. A Second Watch was put upon the Holoinas, but no attempt was made to breach the gold-grooved faces of the Ark. After years of hard campaigning, Cû’jara-Cinmoi finally brought the Ishroi of Cil-Aujas to heel, but King Sin’niroiha and the Ishroi of Nihrimsul continued to resist him. The Isûphiryas chronicles dozens of bloody yet indecisive confrontations between the two Kings: the Battle of Ciphara, the Battle of Hilcyri, the Siege of Asargoi. Proud beyond reason, Cû’jara-Cinmoi refused to relent, and put to death every embassy Sin’niroiha sent to him. Only when Sin’niroiha became King of Ishoriöl through marriage did the High King of Siöl concede. “A King of Three Mansions,” he is said to have declared, “may be Brother to a King of Two.” The Isûphiryas mentions the Inchoroi only once during this time. Unwilling to assign desperately needed Ishroi to the Second Watch, Cû’jara-Cinmoi had charged Oirinas and Oirûnas, the sole survivors of the First Watch, with recruiting Men for the duty. Among these Halaroi was a “criminal” named Sirwitta . Apparently Sirwitta had seduced the wife of a high-ranking Ishroi and conceived by her a daughter named Cimoira . The Judges of the Ishroi were perplexed: such a thing had never happened before. The truth of Cimoira was suppressed, and despite her mannish blood she was accepted as Cûnuroi. Sirwitta himself was banished to the Second Watch. Somehow (the Isûphiryas does not go into detail) Sirwitta managed to enter the Incû-Holoinas. A month passed, and all thought him lost. Then he reappeared, deranged, screeching claims so alarming that Oirinas and Oirûnas brought him directly to Cû’jara-Cinmoi. What was said between Sirwitta and the High King of Siöl is not recorded. The chroniclers say only that Cû’jara-Cinmoi, after hearing Sirwitta speak, ordered him put to death. A later entry, however, described Sirwitta as “tongueless and imprisoned.” It appears the High King, for some unknown reason, had rescinded his warrant. Many years of peace followed. From their fortresses in the Ring Mountains, the Ishroi of Siöl guarded the Ark. Whether the Inchoroi lived still or had perished, no one knew. Cû’jara-Cinmoi grew old, for the Nonmen of those days were still mortal. His eyesight dimmed, and his once-mighty limbs began to fail him. Death whispered to him.

The Womb-Plague

Then Nin’janjin returned. Invoking the ancient codes, he appeared before Cû’jara-Cinmoi begging Mercy and Penance. When the High King of Siöl bid Nin’janjin come near so he might see him, he was astonished to discover his old adversary had not aged. Then Nin’janjin revealed his true reason for coming to Siöl. The Inchoroi, he said, were too terrified of Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s might to leave their Ark, so they dwelt in confinement and misery. They had sent him, he claimed, to sue for peace. They wished to know what tribute might temper the High King’s fury. To which Cû’jara-Cinmoi replied: “I would be young of heart, face, and limb. I would banish Death from the halls of my people." The Second Watch was disbanded and the Inchoroi moved freely among the Cûnuroi of Siöl, becoming their physicians. They ministered to all, dispensing the remedies that would at once make the Nonmen immortal and doom them. Soon all the Cûnuroi of Eärwa , even those who had initially questioned Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s wisdom, had succumbed to the Inchoroi and their nostrums. According to the Isûphiryas, the first victim of the Womb-Plague was Hanalinqû , Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s legendary wife. The chronicler actually praises the diligence and skill of the High King’s Inchoroi physicians. But as the Womb-Plague killed more and more Cûnuroi women, this praise becomes condemnation. Soon all the women of the Cûnuroi, wives and maidens both, were dying. The Inchoroi fled the Mansions, returning to their ruined vessel.

The Fall of Cû’jara-Cinmoi

Ishroi from across Eärwa answered Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s call to war, even though many held the High King responsible for the deaths of their beloved. Grieved almost to madness, the High King led them through the Ring Mountains and arrayed them across the Inniür-Shigogli , the “Black Furnace Plain.” Then he laid Hanalinqû’s corpse before the unholy Ark and demanded the Inchoroi answer his fury. But the Inchoroi had not been idle over the long years since the Battle of Pir Pahal. They had delved deep into the earth, beneath the Inniür-Shigogli and out into the Ring Mountains. Within these galleries they had massed hordes of twisted creatures unlike any the Cûnuroi had ever seen: Sranc , Bashrags , and mighty Dragons . The Ishroi of the Nine High Mansions of Eärwa, who had come to destroy the diminished survivors of Pir Pahal, found themselves beset on all sides. The Sranc withered before the sinew and sorcery of the Ishroi, but their numbers seemed inexhaustible. The Bashrags and the Dragons exacted a horrifying toll. More terrible still were those few Inchoroi who ventured out into battle, hanging above the tumult, sweeping the earth with their weapons of light, apparently unaffected by the sorceries of the Ishroi. After the disaster of Pir Pahal, the Inchoroi had seduced the practitioners of the Aporos , who had been forbidden from pursuing their art. Poisoned by knowledge, they devised the first of the Chorae to render their masters immune to Cûnuroi magic. But all the heroes of Eärwa stood upon the Black Furnace Plain. With his bare hands, Ciögli the Mountain , the strongest of the Ishroi, broke the neck of Wutteät the Black , the Father of Dragons. Oirinas and Oirûnas fought side by side, working great carnage among the Sranc and Bashrags. Ingalira, the hero of Siöl, strangled Vshikcrû , mighty among the Inchoroi, and cast his burning body into the Sranc. The mighty closed with the mighty, and innumerable battles were fought. But no matter how hard the Inchoroi pressed, the Cûnuroi would yield no ground. Their fury was that of those who have lost wives and daughters. Then Nin’janjin struck down Cû’jara-Cinmoi. The Copper Tree of Siöl fell into pitching masses of Sranc, and the Cûnuroi were dismayed. Sin’niroiha, the High King of Nihrimsul and Ishoriöl, fought his way to Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s position, but found only his headless body. Then the hero Gin’gûrima fell, gored by a Dragon. And after him Ingalira, who had been the first to lay eyes upon the Inchoroi. Then Oirinas, his body sundered by an Inchoroi spear of light. Realizing their plight, Sin’niroiha rallied his people and began fighting his way into the Ring Mountains. A greater part of the surviving Cûnuroi followed him. Once clear of their foe, the glorious Ishroi of Eärwa fled, gripped by a mad fear. Either too weakened or suspecting a trap, the Inchoroi did not pursue.

The War of Extermination

For five hundred years the Cûnuroi and the Inchoroi waged a war of extermination, the Cûnuroi to avenge their murdered wives and the eventual death of their race, and the Inchoroi for reasons they alone could fathom. No longer did the Cûnuroi speak of the Incû-Holoinas, the Ark-of-the-Skies. Instead they spoke of Min-Uroikas, “the Pit of Obscenities”—what would later be called Golgotterath by Men. For centuries it seemed the abominations had the upper hand, and the poets of the Isûphiryas record defeat after defeat. But slowly, as the Inchoroi exhausted their fell weapons and relied more and more on their vile slaves, the Cûnuroi and their Halaroi servants gained the advantage. Then at long last the surviving Ishroi of Eärwa trapped the last of their diminished foe within the Incû-Holoinas. For twenty years they warred through the Ark’s labyrinthine halls, finally hunting the last of the Inchoroi into the deep places of the earth. Unable to destroy the vessel, Nil’giccas instructed the remaining Qûya to raise a powerful glamour about the hated place. He and the surviving kings of the Nine Mansions forbade their peoples from mentioning the Inchoroi or their nightmarish legacy. The last Cûnuroi of Eärwa withdrew to their Mansions to await their inevitable doom.

Cûnuroi
The Nonmen (in their own tongue, Cûnuroi ) are an immortal non-human species native to Eärwa , whose presence preceded the arrival of Men by tens of thousands of years. They achieved a tremendous level of civilisation before the Arkfall , the arrival of the Incû-Holoinas and the vile Inchoroi it carried within it. The Nonmen triumphed over the Inchoroi over the course of millennia of battle, but were so weakened by the conflict and resulting cataclysms that they were unable to prevent the arrival of men in Eärwa, who subsequently supplanted them. Today, Nonmen are only found in numbers in Ishterebinth , their sole surviving stronghold. All Nonmen females were killed thousands of years ago in the Womb Plague , leaving only males. The passage of millennia has driven many of the Nonmen insane; these madmen are known as the Erratic .

Mythology

According to myth, Imimorûl was the first Nonman. He fled from the Heavens into the depths under the world in a way of avoiding the gaze of the gods. In the most common scripture, Imimorûl founded Siöl as the first of the High Mansions and beget at least two children, Tsonos and Olissis . After his death, Tsonos followed his father as High King of the Nonmen. However, Nihrimsul was founded by other Nonmen from outside this tradition and rejected Siöl's authority, leading to millennia of strife and occasional war. All of the other High Mansions were founded by Siöl and by descendants of Tsonos. The Nihrimsuli, sometimes called "Dark Nonmen", were disregarded for their lack of noble blood until Sin’niroiha of Nihrimsul married Tsinirû of Ishoriöl ; their son Nil’giccas was accounted of the blood of Tsonos, thus reuniting the bloodlines. According to the Nihrimsûli, their Mansion was actually founded by Imimorûl directly. Tsonos and Olissis murdered their father whilst he slept and then fled like cowards to found Siöl. Unsurprisingly, this version is thoroughly rejected in the dominant Tsonic tradition. Imimorûl is named as the “Father of the False” in The Chronicle of the Tusk , and in Mannish traditions, was a once-glorious God imprisoned deep in the earth as punishment for teaching sorcery to the Nonmen. According to Cûnuroi traditions, Imimorûl was not imprisoned within the earth, but sought refuge in the “Deepest Deep,” those places the gods could not judge because they could not see. Though Ajencis famously attributes the Nonman aversion to open sky to his theory of “vital accommodations,” the Nonmen themselves see this predilection as a sacred observance of Imimorûl’s ancient straits—as well as the best way to find oblivion upon their deaths. Nonmen occasionally practice a ritual trip to the deepest part of the world they can find, known as a Fathoming. The Fathoming constitutes a symbolic re-enactment of Imimorûl’s flight from the Heavens (or “Starving”) into the depths beneath what became Siol, the House Primordial, the idea being that souls so deep can slip the notice of the Gods and find oblivion. Fathomings were most common undertaken by those upon the threshold of death, the thought being that the Deepest Deep lay on the edge of Oblivion. The Psalms of Imimorûl seem to allege that Imimorûl had no wife but instead created the rest of the Nonman species by implanting his flesh within that of lions: The World to him, who sings my song, for I am the Font, the Spirit of the Deepest Deep, and mine is the first heart to beat your blood. The World to him, who sings my song. I, Imimorul, fled the Heavens, so much did I love the brooks that chirrup, the high mountains that hiss, the myriads that bolt through this blessed hair, The World to him, who raises up rooves in the Deep. I, Imimorul, did flee the Starving [sky], so much did I fear the Heavens, the wrath of those who were wroth, who would forbid my love, of the myriads of the World. The World to her, who kindles her fire in the Deep. I, Imimorul, did cut from my hand my fingers, and from my arm, my hand, and from my body, my arm, and these pieces of me I did place in the wombs of Lions, so that I might dwell content in my own company. And I became One-Armed, Imimorul, the Unshielded. And you were as children to me, the form of Gods as the issue of Lions, sons who would father nations, and daughters who would mother the myriads of the World. And I sang to you such songs as are only heard in the highest of Heavens, and nowhere in the Hells. We did weep together, as we sang, for woe cares not for names or glory only that skin blackens for bruising, breaks for blood. The World to him, who sings my song. The World to him, who finds me in the Deep. The World to him, and woe.

History

The Nonmen call themselves ji’cûnû roi, “the People of Dawn,” for reasons they can no longer remember. (They call Men j’ala roi, “the People of Summer,” because they burn so hot and pass so quickly.) The Chronicle of the Tusk, which records the coming of Men to Eärwa, generally refers to Nonmen as Oserukki, the “Not Us.” In the Book of Tribes, the Prophet Angeshraël alternately refers to them as “the Accursed Ones” and “the sodomite Kings of Eärwa,” and he incites the Four Nations of Men to embark on a holy war of extermination. Even after four millennia, this xenocidal mission remains part of the Inrithi canon. According to the Tusk, the Nonmen are anathema:

Accomplishments

But Cûnuroi civilization was ancient even before these words were carved into the Tusk. While the Halaroi, Men, wandered the world dressed in skins and wielding weapons of stone, the Cûnuroi had invented writing and mathematics, astrology and geometry, sorcery and philosophy. They dredged mountains hollow for the galleries of their High Mansions. They traded and warred with one another. They subdued all Eärwa, enslaving the Emwama , the soft-hearted Men who dwelt in Eärwa in those early days.

Decline

Their decline is the result of three different catastrophic events. The first, and most significant, was the so-called Womb Plague . In the hope of achieving immortality, the Nonmen (specifically, the great Cû’jara-Cinmoi ) allowed the Inchoroi to live among them as their physicians. The Nonmen did in fact attain immortality, and the Inchoroi, claiming their work done, retired back to the Incû-Holoinas . The plague struck shortly after, almost killing males and uniformly killing all females. The Nonmen call this tragic event the Nasamorgas, the “Death of Birth.”

Cûno-Inchoroi Wars and Near-Extinction

The following Cûno-Inchoroi Wars further sapped their strength, so that by the time the first Tribes of Men invaded, the Nonmen had not the numbers or, some say, the will to resist their advance. Within the course of a few generations they were nearly exterminated. Only the Mansions of Ishoriöl and Cil-Aujas survived.

Interbreeding

It is possible for Nonmen to impregnate human women; and, when Nonmen females still existed, it was possible for them to be impregnated by human men. However, such mixed-breed pregnancies are rare, and it is even rarer for them to come to term. Those who do survive may have very long lives; Anasûrimbor Nanor-Ukkerja I ’s life of 178 years was credited to the Nonman blood in his veins. The earliest known instance of interbreeding between humans and Nonmen was Cimoira , the child of the human Sirwitta and a female Nonman, whose birth was recorded in the Isûphiryas .

Mansions

Instead of cities and castles Nonmen built underground systems of vast halls and passages called " Mansions ", always located beneath the mountains. The total number of Nonmen mansions is unknown, although it is known that the mightiest, the High Mansions, numbered nine. Greatest, most powerful and most populous was Siöl , lying under the titanic peaks of the Northern Kayarsus . The proudest and most fiercely independent was Nihrimsul , located under the south-eastern Yimaleti Mountains. Cil-Aujas lay in the east, under the peak of Aenaratiol at the south tip of the Osthwai Mountains. Ishoriöl , the Exalted Hall, lay in the far west, beyond the Demua Mountains near the shores of the Great Ocean. Viri , in the north, lay under the peak of Antareg in the Urokkas, a small range of mountains overlooking the Neleöst , the Misty Sea. Illisserû lay far to the south, under the Betmulla Mountains. Curunq lay under the Araxes Mountains and Cil-Aumûl under the Hinayati Mountains . The last, Incissal , lay under the hills near what is now the city of Domyot .

Physiology

Nonmen are bigger and stronger than humans. They are adapted to subterranean life and thus have skin devoid of any pigment, all-black eyes, and are hairless. It is mentioned in the books that Nonmen cannot derive meaning from paintings, which is why they depict their history through sculpture. This may imply that they do not see colors, having monochrome vision. The god-alien 'Engineers' in the movie "Prometheus" (2012) by Ridley Scott look almost exactly like Bakker's Nonmen.

Cûnwerishau
First God-King of Trysë, famed for con­quer­ing all the cities of the Aumris and forg­ing the first treaty be­tween Men and Nonmen.

Cû’jara-Cinmoi
Cû’jara-Cinmoi was the greatest of the Nonman Kings and the first great foe of the Inchoroi .

Role in the Cûno-Inchoroi Wars

Cû’jara-Cinmoi was the King of Siöl when the Incû-Holoinas plunged to the earth in the land of Viri . Nin’janjin , the Nonman King of Viri, sent a letter to Cû’jara-Cinmoi begging his aid; instead, Cû’jara-Cinmoi sent an army and invaded. Viri became a tributary of Siöl. Cû’jara-Cinmoi dispatched the hero Ingalira to investigate the Incû-Holoinas, and Ingalira returned with two Inchoroi captives. Repelled by the obscenities, Cû’jara-Cinmoi had them put to death and set a Watch upon the Incû-Holoinas. Cû’jara-Cinmoi proceeded to conquer the Mansions of Nihrimsul and Cil-Aujas . However, the Inchoroi sent a secret embassy to Nin’janjin, who allied with them against Cû’jara-Cinmoi. The Nonmen of Viri rose up in revolt against rule of Cû’jara-Cinmoi; at the same time, hordes of Inchoroi poured from the Incû-Holoinas. However, the Nonmen of Viri were appalled when they actually looked upon the Inchoroi, and turned on Nin’janjin, who attempted to flee. The Inchoroi then turned on the Nonmen, hoping to destroy them before Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s forces arrived. The first conflict of the Cûno-Inchoroi Wars occurred at Fields of Pir Pahal . The Battle of Pir Pahal raged through the night and into the following morning, but the Nonmen eventually prevailed. Cû’jara-Cinmoi struck down the Inchoroi King, Sil , and took his weapon, the Heron Spear . After the Battle of Pir Pahal, emboldened by Siöl’s distraction, Nihrimsul and Cil-Aujas had revolted. After years of hard campaigning, Cû’jara-Cinmoi finally brought the Ishroi of Cil-Aujas to heel, but King Sin’niroiha and the Ishroi of Nihrimsul continued to resist him. The Isûphiryas chronicles dozens of bloody yet indecisive confrontations between the two Kings: the Battle of Ciphara, the Battle of Hilcyri, the Siege of Asargoi. Proud beyond reason, Cû’jara-Cinmoi refused to relent, and put to death every embassy Sin’niroiha sent to him. Only when Sin’niroiha became King of Ishoriöl through marriage did the High King of Siöl concede. “A King of Three Mansions,” he is said to have declared, “may be Brother to a King of Two.” Many years later, when Cû’jara-Cinmoi began growing old and frail, Nin’janjin returned begging Mercy and Penance. Cû’jara-Cinmoi was shocked to see that Nin’janjin had not aged. Cû’jara-Cinmoi offered peace with the Inchoroi in exchange for their secrets of immortality. He allowed the Inchoroi to move freely among the Nonmen, distributing the remedies that would make them immortal and doom them all. The first victim of the Womb-Plague was Cû’jara-Cinmoi’s wife, Hanalinqû . As all the women of the Nonmen died, Cû’jara-Cinmoi realized the Inchoroi had betrayed him and called the Nonmen to war. The Nonmen and the Inchoroi met in battle on the Inniür-Shigogli , the Black Furnace Plain. But the Inchoroi had learned much since the Battle of Pir Pahal; they now wielded Chorae , Sranc , Bashrags , and Wracu . Though the Nonmen fought valiantly, Cû’jara-Cinmoi was slain, struck down by his old foe Nin’janjin. The remaining Nonmen went on to win the battle, then returned to their Mansions and awaited their inevitable doom. Cû’jara-Cinmoi was succeeded as High King by Nil’giccas , who made qirri from his predecessor’s body.

Cû’jara-Cinmoi

Title(s): High King
Aliases: The Copper Tree of Siöl
Lived: ? - ?
Race: Nonmen
Nationality: Siölan
Gender: Male
Occupation: High King King of Siöl
Relatives: Cu'huriol (grandfather) Morimhira (great-uncle) Cet'moyol (father) Linqirû (mother) Cu'cûlol (kinsman) Hanalinqû (wife)
Books: The Warrior-Prophet (mentioned) The Thousandfold Thought (mentioned) The Judging Eye (mentioned) The White-Luck Warrior (mentioned) The Great Ordeal (mentioned) The Unholy Consult (mentioned) Four Revelations (flashbacks)

Cû’jara-Cinmoi

Title(s): High King
Aliases: The Copper Tree of Siöl
Lived: ? - ?
Race: Nonmen
Nationality: Siölan
Gender: Male
Occupation: High King King of Siöl
Relatives: Cu'huriol (grandfather) Morimhira (great-uncle) Cet'moyol (father) Linqirû (mother) Cu'cûlol (kinsman) Hanalinqû (wife)
Books: The Warrior-Prophet (mentioned) The Thousandfold Thought (mentioned) The Judging Eye (mentioned) The White-Luck Warrior (mentioned) The Great Ordeal (mentioned) The Unholy Consult (mentioned) Four Revelations (flashbacks)