Khand



Khand (earlier "Kha-on") ''stretched between the southeastern flank of the Ephel Duath and the northwestern edge of the Ered Harmal. It occupied the semi-arid plateau bordering northeastern Harad and thus commanded the great Khand Gap, the 100-mile wide pass facing southern Rhûn and eastern Mordor. Nûrad lay in the hills to the northeast.

Hot, dry, and windy, Khand was an unforgiving locale. Its flat, lowland areas afforded few means for stable settlement. Scrub and desert abound throughout Lower Khand. Here, horse herders moved their lightly-encumbered bands around a circuit of periodic shelters and encampments, their routes dictated by the location of springs, seasonal pools, and intermittent streams. The only permanent settlements lay along the broad, shallow Knife River, a tributary of the Harnen. Sturlurtsa Khand - the traditional capital of Lower Khand and the largest city between Umbar and the Talathrant - stood by the confluence of the rivers Knife (V. "Noz Peka") and Gold-horse (V. "Medlóshad Peka"). It was the home of the powerful Ûrpof and Oléna clans.

Upper Khand, which comprised the eastern and northern quarters of the region, enjoyed a bit more rainfall and cooler temperatures. The more numerous tribes of the area were generally richer and more settled than their brethren to the west and south. Upper Khand's principal city, Ûbésêsh-ûta-Pavéter (V. "Refuge from the Flailing Wind"), stood only about 170 miles east and upstream from Sturlurtsa Khand; however, it received twice the precipitation and a lot less heat than its larger and more important counterpart. The town was home to the Irbo clan.

Lâorkí was the sister city of Ûbésêsh-ûta-Pavéter and the second town of Upper Khand. The home of the Achef clan, it had produced most of the Variag kings. Ûvathar Achef, the greatest conquerer of the line, became the ninth of Sauron's accursed Ringwraiths.

Ûvathar (aka "Ûvatha") was born at the Caves of Ôlbamarl. The vast caverns wind up and down through a mountain spur located in the southeastern part of the Ephel Duath (S. "Shadow-fence"). They include two permanent towns and seven shrines. Here, the bones of many Kings were entombed (the Variag successors stripped the meat from, and then ate, their fallen monarchs).

All seven of the Variag confederations spoke Varadja and shared a common culture rooted in an ages-old reverence for the horse. Superb riders and warriors, they were without peer as cavalry.

History
Khand originally was a gap and plateau between the southwestern shores of the Sea of Helcar (later to become the Núrnen) and the Ered Harmal.Khand was finally shaped when Sauron created Mordor by the volcanic activities of Mount Orodruin.The Lands of later Núrn and Khand by this time were populated by tribes of Iorag descent, the Ororath, Omodath and Vracarath which would become the ancestors of the later Variags.

The Iorag would name the Lands between Núrn and the Ered Harmal Kha-on ("Land of Horses and Sun") which would later evolve into Khand.

Characters
Ainur: Meklak Rakodsâol Talmorng Tuilerwen Yaria Feogur

Men:

About TA 1640: Ada Akroth Nikôd Akûl Brôdvaga Akhev Curuband Iusan Ivica Ibô Karm of Nurn Khôdid Ûprava Khionvad Akhev Khôngiû Ûdo Khûndai Itakh II Khûndai Itakh IV Nôhoth Akheth Nômid Akhev Ôdavith Akhev Ôthour I Ôziour II Ôthour III Ôthour IV Ôtokh Ôvag Ithô I Ôvask Drîond Ôvatha Akhev III Ôvatha Ithô Ôvatha Ûdo II Sevrakhara Tarôkh Temer Cosrah Tukhik Tûlrokh

TA 2950-3019: Asternakh Avas of Igath Beg Balûn Caljar Curuband II Gorovod II Haarith Itâna Ôron Itâna Ôvan II Khanhai Kheiseimû Khîonid Lûthkan Mîonid Ôvatha IV Râisha Tûkhrai Ûrdrath Ûrig II Ûsriev Vakheraltan Vangaris Vrônkhar Wârlog

Undead:
 * Uvatha

Regions



 * Bûrsk Mareg
 * Chain of Blades
 * Eastern Khand
 * eastern mountains of Khand
 * Ered Caradhram
 * Fire Sea
 * Greater Khand
 * Harad-Khand-Border
 * Hûk Saromis
 * Kajbah
 * Khadû Prakhôd
 * Khand Amû (Khand Inferior)
 * Khand Gap
 * Khand Khûrvesra (Upper Khand)
 * Maresh
 * Middle Ered Harmal Passes
 * Muzeida Vales
 * Northern Steppes
 * Ôlbamarl Plains
 * plains of Khandur
 * Pûstrava
 * Sâr-Khand
 * Sûrakh-Khand
 * Telaith Lyst
 * Velarith

TA 1650:

 * Amast Núrn
 * Ammû Khand
 * Bôgakh
 * Bûth Ôvaisa
 * Enmahadh
 * Erahavar
 * Gizar
 * Hlastûon
 * Hrôn Tûmrakhi
 * Kôrandai
 * Krûk Boiadla
 * Krûk Mahûr
 * Kyzilkum
 * Lagari Ôrath
 * Laôrki
 * Murilak
 * Neburkha
 * Olbamarl
 * Ôrduga Aivaisa
 * Ôvatharakh
 * Parzee
 * Sturlûrza-Khand
 * Talazhan
 * Ûbesêsh

TA 3019:

 * Agûth-ot-Kekhaolthí
 * Aldea Variag
 * Ammû
 * Asubûhi
 * Blûmkholands
 * Ikh´ahôn
 * Kha´hae
 * Kharsûm
 * Kîlikûm
 * Lurôki
 * Maresh
 * Mûldin
 * Parkhereb
 * Pashâr
 * Pâzghar
 * Slaveport
 * Sturlûrza
 * Sûbi-Khand
 * Sûstaph-Khand
 * Talazhan
 * Temple of Khôndri Ôdchi
 * Vârfest
 * Varnakh

Creatures of Khand
Andodailion Aryx Black Lizards Black Swans Brown Rats Bûb Bush Gazelles Camels Cliff Hornets Cobras Dagri Desert Pumas Dire Wolves Fell Beasts Fell Wargs Fern-dancer Flying Foxes Gacalac Gembucks Great Beasts Grey Wolves Harad-Dogs Haradan-Jackals Highland Lynxes Kingshorn leaping Unbird Lions Lise Lisicavi Mordor Cattle Morgûl-Dogs Morungol Mosquitoes mud dauber wasps Pond Bats Red Deer Rock Vipers Slota Variag Horses Variag Zûrafa Vultures of the Ered Lithui Werewolves Wild Goats Wild Horses