Brief History of Killer-Shivian Relations

After the 100 Year War ended in 1620, the Killers (Ilkhatal) and the Shivians jointly ruled Shiva, the Killbraugha (the Shivian Hills) and the Phoenix Fields. The Killers governed through the Chamber of Marcus and the Shivians governed through the Chamber of Dejun and the two chambers would meet yearly to discuss issues of the empire. The prime minster was often a Killer and dealt with domestic issues while the President was usually a Shivian and dealt with international affairs. They ruled peacefully together until the 1700s when the Shivians sent a colonial expedition to the Ignis Desert. The Killer Prime Minister, Pearse Devoy, wrote, "Only animals have colonial aspirations-that sickening need to dominate lesser races because of one's own insecurities. It is a sickness that should be avoided at all costs." The Shivians continued to press their colonial aspirations, arguing that the Shadow’s growing empire needed to be checked. The Killers responded by voting against the colonial army's budget in the Chamber of Marcus.

"Newton's principle of self-governance and liberty ran in the Killer's blood. They were too independent to ever agree to a policy of colonialism and empire. The Shivians, on the other hand, had the Druid's lust for power and only cared for their own liberty. If the Ignis Desert had not torn the two races apart, something else would have. It was an inevitable as the changing of the leaves."-Gerald Newman, Thus Marched Modernity!

Tensions were heightened when the Shivian colony on Ferdern Island revolted. The Shivian government was heavily taxing the Ferdarian colonists and was trying to pass a bill through the Chambers that would draft both Killers and Ferdarians into the Ignis Desert War. The Killers supported the Ferdarian's bid for freedom and the Shivians fought a two front war-one against Ferdern and the other against the Killbraugha. Partially because of distance and aid from various Indarium pirates and partially because the Shivian military was more strained than initially realized, the Ferdarians won their freedom in 1764. The Killer army, however, was destroyed, shocking their Ferdarian allies. The Ferdarian general and future president, Theodore Carver, wrote, "A most grievous wound has been struck against Liberty. It will be years until she is the same again. To my Ilkhatal brothers, I fervently pray that a day will come when freedom will shine on the grassy hills of the Killbraugha once more." Despite this expression of solidarity, the Ferdarians never went to the Killer’s aid.

The Shivians dismantled the Chamber of Marcus and the position of Prime Minister and stripped the Killers of their rights, identity, and culture. The Killers fought back by creating the Ilkhatal Freedom Movement (IFM) in 1789. They unleashed a wave of terror from 1789-1798 and were led by Paidraig Collins and James Connor, prompting the Shivians to invent a new name for the Ilkhatal: Killers. It was a name designed with contempt, but the Ilkhatal in Shiva embraced it. Frustrated with Paidraig’s controlling leadership, Connor split from the IFM in 1796 and created the Killer Liberation Army (KLA). Paidraig led a futile protest in 1799 and was killed. The IFM fell apart and was not heard from again until after the First Shadow War.

"They kill my body, but not my spirit. They have ruined our plans, but not our willingness to fight. As long as one single Killer suffers injustice, the KLA will be there to avenge them. The Shivians will never know peace until the Killbraugha is free. Now, lads, take a step closer. It will be easier that way,"-James Connor, standing before his firing squad.

The First Shadow War started in 1803 because of frustrated colonial aspirations on the part of the Shivians and Sividons and an insecure grab for power by the Shadows. It started as a small regional war in the Ignis Desert and turned into a world war that brought Shiva to the brink of financial and military ruin. James Connor capitalized on the Shivian’s weakness for the Killer Cause and led an assassination attempt on the Shivian President in 1806. Connor and a number of KLA members were arrested and executed and the Shivian government was content to believe the KLA was destroyed. However, that was far from the truth as Heron Massie and Rory Montivelo assumed leadership and started a new wave of terror. The Shivian government met with Rory and Heron in 1807 and agreed to grant the Killers a Free Killer State if they agreed to help the Shivians defeat the Shadows. The KLA agreed and the Killer army made a pyrrhic stand at the Battle of Trippé. It bought the Shivians enough time to convince the Ferdarians and Korens to enter the war, but it destroyed the Killer Army. It is estimated that they suffered seventy-five percent causalities. The First Shadow War ended in 1808 and the Shivians refused to honor their agreement. The KLA slowly pulled itself together under the leadership of Heron Massie while a zealot named Marcus Galloway revived the IFM in the Killbraugha and restarted the Killer-Shivian war.

This is when Kingsley's Memoirs and this exhibit begins.