Khoras was established nearly two millennia ago when several nomadic Horse Tribes discovered the strategic value of the region. Not only did major trade routes intersect here, but the area possessed unusual geological features—a network of natural caverns, remarkably pure water sources, and accessible mineral deposits. The tribes settled permanently, founding a community that would grow into a city-state unlike any other.

At its zenith, Khoras was a testament to human ingenuity. While Alchester prides itself on airship technology, ancient Khoras achieved feats of civil engineering that were centuries ahead of their time. Their architect-engineers constructed aqueducts that brought fresh water from distant mountains, heated public baths through sophisticated geothermal tapping, and created a complex system of pneumatic tubes for rapid message delivery throughout the city.

Khoras was governed not by kings but by the Council of Seven—representatives chosen from different sectors of society: agriculture, engineering, trade, defense, education, health, and artistry. This balanced governance created a society that valued knowledge and innovation above military conquest, establishing Khoras as a center of learning rather than imperial ambition.

The Temple Observatories

The structures that would later be known as the "temples" of the Old Gods were actually observatories and research institutions. The impressive central dome that later generations would call the Temple of Convergence housed astronomical instruments of remarkable precision, allowing Khorasi scholars to track celestial movements and predict seasonal changes with accuracy unmatched until modern times.

These observatories were staffed by a dedicated class of scholar-priests who combined empirical observation with philosophical inquiry. They weren't worshipping gods but studying natural phenomena—weather patterns, astronomical cycles, geological activities—that they believed revealed the fundamental principles governing the world.

The extensive record-keeping of these scholar-priests created a body of knowledge that drew students from what would later become the Four Fiefdoms. The city became not just a center of trade but an intellectual beacon whose influence extended far beyond its walls.

Seeds of Destruction

Khoras's downfall came not from supernatural punishment but from a combination of environmental exploitation and geological misfortune. As generations passed, the city's demand for resources increased exponentially. The mines that provided minerals for their advanced metallurgy went deeper, the surrounding forests were harvested for construction, and the natural aquifers were tapped with increasing intensity.

Approximately seven centuries ago, the Council of Seven approved an ambitious project to expand the city's subterranean infrastructure. Chief Engineer Vexelar proposed a network of underground reservoirs and granaries to ensure Khoras could withstand any siege or natural disaster. Despite warnings about disturbing the region's already strained geological stability, the excavation proceeded.

The warnings proved prophetic. During the final excavation phase, workers breached an extensive underground cavern system that had been gradually weakening due to decades of mining and water diversion. In a matter of days, sinkholes began appearing throughout the city. Contemporary accounts describe "the earth becoming as water" and "buildings sinking as ships in a storm."

The Fall of the Old Gods: A Cataclysmic Battle

The central observatories were not just scientific installations but also housed a sophisticated defense system developed by the most brilliant minds of Khoras. In their pursuit of knowledge, the scholar-priests had developed powerful technologies that harnessed geological and atmospheric forces—technologies they came to personify as entities with godlike powers.

As the city began to collapse, these rival factions of scholar-priests blamed each other for the catastrophe. In a final, desperate attempt to save the city—or at least to prevent their rivals from controlling its fate—the different observatory factions activated their most powerful technological weapons against one another. Contemporary witnesses described it as "the gods themselves warring in the heavens," as massive energy discharges lit up the sky and powerful shockwaves shook the earth. The priests destroyed themselves and much of the city in this final, cataclysmic battle, their advanced technologies overloading and exploding with devastating force. The central dome of the main observatory didn't simply collapse—it was blown apart from within, taking with it generations of scientific knowledge and the majority of the scholar-priest order.

The literal self-destruction of these factions, combined with the ongoing geological instability, proved fatal to Khoras as a functioning city. Within weeks, the surviving population abandoned the area, dispersing across the land with little more than the knowledge they carried in their heads.

The Remnants Below

Contrary to popular belief, Khoras was not completely destroyed. As the earth swallowed the city, many structures remained intact, creating an underground labyrinth of collapsed buildings, intact chambers, and passageways. The most structurally sound buildings—particularly those with reinforced foundations—became sealed chambers now hidden deep beneath Alchester.

These subterranean remnants explain the extensive network beneath what is now Alchester's Temple District. What modern explorers believe to be purpose-built catacombs are actually the upper levels of Khoras's civic infrastructure—administrative buildings, libraries, and public halls repurposed as burial spaces by later generations.

Deeper still lie the true marvels of Khoras: engineering workshops with tools and designs far ahead of their time; chambers filled with astronomical instruments of remarkable precision; and at the lowest accessible level, Vexelar's ill-fated reservoir project—a vast artificial cavern whose ceiling continues to slowly subside, threatening the stability of everything above it.

Echoes in Modern Alchester

Though few in Alchester know the truth, Khoras's legacy influences their city in tangible ways:

• The mineral deposits that fueled Alchester's economic rise were first identified and partially extracted by Khorasi engineers, whose abandoned mining techniques are occasionally rediscovered by modern prospectors.
• The Technology Academy unknowingly rediscovers principles of engineering through what they call "innovation," often building upon half-understood Khorasi designs found in the ruins.
• Most significantly, the technological edge that King Classus IV has cultivated comes partly from recovered Khorasi knowledge. The "airship innovation" that defines modern Alchester builds upon principles of lightweight construction and aerodynamics first developed by Khoras's engineer-architects for their now-buried hanging gardens and observation platforms.

The Truth Behind the Fall

King Classus IV and a select group of royal engineers know much of the truth. The royal archives contain ancient maps suggesting that what citizens think of as natural caverns beneath the city are actually the remains of Khoras's ambitious underground infrastructure.

More troubling is evidence that the ground beneath parts of Alchester continues to slowly subside as Khoras's ancient chambers collapse. The periodic conflicts with neighboring fiefdoms mentioned in Alchester's history sometimes centered on controlling water resources after Khoras's collapse disrupted regional hydrology, and the Great Plague that decimated Alchester's population three centuries ago likely spread through contaminated groundwater when an ancient Khorasi reservoir finally ruptured.

The king's ambitious airship program serves a secondary purpose beyond commerce and military advantage: the extensive foundations required for the massive docks allow royal engineers to secretly monitor and reinforce the increasingly unstable ground above the ruins of Khoras.

As Alchester grows ever upward with its technological innovations, the remnants of Khoras shift in the darkness below—a silent testament that even the greatest works of human ingenuity can be undone by hubris and the inexorable forces of nature.