Lore:Khunzar-ri

Khunzar-ri
Khunzar-ri
Race	Khajiit	Gender	Male
Died		Merethic Era Halls of Colossus
Resided in		Elsweyr
Appears in		ESO

Khunzar-ri (or Zar for short), also known as the Laughing Lion, the Luminous Lion of Elsweyr, the Lunar Champion, the Jonelight Jaunter, and the Imprisoner of Dragons, was a mythical Khajiit hero and warrior who was active during the Merethic Era. Although he was of the Pahmar-raht furstock, some stories elevate him to the status of a god, or him being created by one. He is known for his many adventures, some examples include his meeting with the Skooma Cat, and the debaucherous Night of Seven Hundred Paramours. He was most well known for capturing the demons who plagued the land of Elsweyr by imprisoning them in the Halls of Colossus. Long after his death, he is still worshipped for his heroric deeds within Khajiiti shrines.

History

Merethic Era

Tales of Khunzar-ri

Much of Khunzar-ri's adventures are told in stories that often contradict each other and "hide important truths behind allegory and allusion". Zar's origin story for example has three differing stories, and one loremaster claims that the truth is hidden within an intersection between all three stories. The story of Khunzar-ri and the Divine Moonbeam speaks of Khunzar-ri being manifested by Jone and Jode out of moonlight and rescuing the future clan mother of the Barrukit kingdom, Shazeer Firstclaw, atop the Shimmering Rise from a pack of hungry Senche-Lions. The second origin is the Khunzar-ri and the Box at the Shrine, telling of an adept finding a box at a shrine to Khenarthi, within containing an infant Khunzar-ri who grew from a baby to an adult upon being taken out of the box. In the third origin, "Khunzar-ri and the Tear of Joy", Sheggorath is responsible for the hero's birth. The Mad Cat is the one who managed to cheer up a grumpy Alkosh (albiet it was a joke at Hircine's expense) when Mara and Khenarthi failed to, and from a tear of joy from Alkosh, Khunzar-ri was born.

Other tales exist teaching of Khunzar-ri's guile and ambition. One tale tells of Khunzar-ri outwitting a dozen Ogres who overtook an adeptorium, whom Khunzar-ri directed toward a Nedic fort closeby for even better spoils, making the Ogres someone else's problem. On one of Zar's adventurers, he pick up a starved and lost female alfiq whom he would enjoy many travels with. This Alfiq would become his scribe who would dutifully write down pages of anecdotes from Zar's daily life, but she would be faced with animosity by Zar's jealous lover, Anequina Sharp-Tongue.

Khunzar-ri actions are responsible for the naming of the ancient adeptorium of Moongrave Fane. Seeking to improve the living conditions of relunctant monks, he made a wager with the temple's elder cleric. Khunzar-ri betted that he could pluck the Moons from the sky and bury them at the cleric's feet, and if he lost, he would join the adeptorium forever. And so Khunzar-ri leaped up to the temple's summit, and there plucked the iron effigy of Jone and Jode, and finally buried them at the feet of the cleric. And with Zar's win, Moongrave accepted his generous donations of wealth.

Khunzar-ri and the Demons

A series of bas reliefs depicting Khunzar-ri's battle with dragons, their imprisonment in the Halls of Colossus, and his eventual betrayal at the hands of Cadwell

Sometime in the Merethic Era, when Elsweyr was composed of sixteen kingdoms, Kaalgrontiid and his horde of dragons came to dominate the land and above all, consume the Moon's lunar power. Kaalgrontiid is believed by some to originate from Alduin's horde in Atmora and Skyrim, having been driven to split off from the bulk of his kin in the north in order to sate his own pride and ambition. This behavior is considered normal for dragons, who are naturally driven to seek mastery. Kaalgrontiid in particular hoped that with the Moon's power, he would become Akatosh's equal. To stop them, Khunzar-ri recruited four companions, Nurarion the Perfect, Flinthild Demon-Hunter, Anequina Sharp-Tongue, and Cadwell the Betrayer. When fighting them proved to be futile, Cadwell suggested that it may be best to convince the dragons that they were now a willing part of their plans. In preparation, Anequina attuned to Shadow Dance Temple, incited the moons to align to form an eclipse, allowing the Moon Gate of Anequina to open a portal the Plane of Jode, where the object the dragons desired, Jode's Core, rested. The dragon's ambitions would be their undoing, as the dragons accessed the Plane of Jode, but Khunzar-ri convinced them to not simply absorb the power of the core like they originally intended, but instead store their energy within it in the guise that they would combine the lunar power with their own. The gamble worked, and the dragons were weakened enough for them to retreat back into the wilderness. To finish the job, Khunzar-ri once again convinced the dragons to play a part of his scheme. He managed to lure them into the Halls of Colossus, where he sealed them away. The Dragons would be obscured as "demons" in legends, and become the fabled "Demon Weapon". Their power would be coveted by many people.

After sealing the dragons away in the Halls of Colossus, Cadwell the Betrayer killed Khunzar-ri in an attempt to take the power sealed away in Jode's Core. Khunzar-ri was buried within the Moonlit Cove.

Second Era

Khunzar-ri at the Jonelight Path

In 2E 582, Kaalgrontiid returned and was successful in siphoning some of the power from Jode's Core. He then looked unto Pellitine to use the area's Aeonstones to further empower themselves. To prevent anyone from disrupting his plans, he utilized the energy of the Aeonstone to create an aegis, a massive and impenetrable ward, around the ancient fortress of Dragonhold. The reformed Dragonguard sought the help of Khunzar-ri who guided them through the Jonelight Path to access Kaalgrontiid's impenetrable fortress of Dragonhold, allowing them to destroy the Dragon's seat of power and to stop the Rage of Dragons within Elsweyr.

Kra'Jun

Kra'jun is a Ta'agra term used to refer to Khunzar-ri's company of heroes, which consisted of the following members:

• Anequina Sharp-Tongue — The queen and moon-priest of the Ne Quin-al Pride, she and Khunzar-ri were lovers during their time together. To trap the dragons, Anequina attuned herself to the moon and tricked the dragons by baiting them with lunar energy. She later led the Anequina region in the First War of the Prides.
• Nurarion the Perfect — An Altmer who wielded the Subtle Blade. He suggested the usage of the Halls of Colossus as a prison.
• Flinthild Demon-Hunter — A warrior who lived in a castle from the far north. She and Anequina devised the plan to lure the dragons, and used the urn of moonlight to lure the dragons.
• The Betrayer — A Nede who was the finest warrior in all the land. He suggested to fool the dragons into believing that they had surrendered to their plans to consume the moons' lunar energy. When the dragons were imprisoned in the Halls, he murdered Khunzar-ri, seeking to acquire the power for himself. For his betrayal, his name was erased from history and his remains were spread across the land.

Gallery

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  Khunzar-ri's sarcophagus

See Also

Books

• Khunzar-ri: Origin Transcribed by Aneshi, Keeper of Legends for the 16 Kingdoms — A collection of stories detailing the origins of the hero Khunzar-ri
• Khunzar-ri: Tales, One Transcribed by Aneshi, Keeper of Legends for the 16 Kingdoms — A tale of Khunzar-ri deceiving rum-drinking ogres
• Khunzar-ri: Tales, Two Transcribed by Aneshi, Keeper of Legends for the 16 Kingdoms — A tale of Anequina's sly and cunning tactics
• Khunzar-ri and the Lost Alfiq Transcribed by Aneshi, Keeper of Legends for the 16 Kingdoms — A first meeting between a Khajiit hero and his friend
• The Song of Khunzar-ri — (A Mythic Hero's Song)
• Khunzar-ri Sayings — Sayings attributed to the mythic hero Khunzar-ri
• Khunzar-ri and the Demons — The tale of Khunzar-ri battle against dragons
• Khunzar-ri and the Demon by Various — A Khajiiti legend detailing Khunzar-ri's conflict with dragons
• Lunar Champion Tablets — Tablets detailing Khunzar-ri's Adventures