When the Jade Wind swept through the branches of Echovald Forest, it turned everything to stone. Birds crashed to the forest floor in mid-flight. Deer leaped from the ground as flesh and blood, and came the earth little more then lif-like statues. Now, two centries later, life has cautiously returned to the forest. The Kurzicks were the first to venture back to the forest. There they have adapted to their petrified surroundings and have begun to carve their culture into this new landscape.

To the devout Kurzicks, everything is a sign. A portent of what is to come. They find a divine message and meaning in everything they witness. This church-state is ruled by the Council of Nobles, who makes decisions and laws only after receiving counsel from the spiritual leaders, known as the Redemtors. Great Houses govern the Kurzicks, ancience families that can trace their origins into Cantha's distant past, and beyound. Today there are five main Houses, two of which are the most powerfull and influenctial. It is common for the Houses to argue amongts themselves, but when it comes time to fight Luxons, Kurzicks quickly forget their internal squabbles and focus hatred on their long-standing enemy. Since Shiro's death and the petrifacation of the forest, the Kurzicks have built their elaborate homes and cathedrals directly into the fossiclised trunks of the enormous trees that make up the forest.

For a scant few seconds, the storm that followed Shiro's death wail roiled the sea, spawning waves that reached hundred o feet into the air. An instant later, everything was frozen in place but not because of a sudden cold front - the sea was not turned to ice. It had become solid jade. In order to survive, the Luxons had to adapt to the literally landlocked lifestyle, unable to transport goods to market or even sail to the nearby islands for fresh water. Their merchant ships had become one with the petrified ocean., the currents that took them to far-flung lands were now as still as glass.

The traditionally seafaring Luxons became nomads sailing on a lifeless sea. They coontriived ways to adapt their giant ships to the new landscape. They now carry out extensive jad mining operations ont he frozen sea, uncovering magical oddities and precious resources made up of the petrified life embedded in the unmoving waves.

Today, the Luxons have grouped themselves into three differen clans: the Serpents, the Turtle, and the Crab. To keep order, the Luxons invest authroty int heir Council of Elders, the ruling body that meets each year to modify and approve the "code" that all the clans will follow for the next twelve months.

Although the clans often battle againts one another, this is less aobut warfare and morea bout demonstrating which clan is the strongest and most powerful. These battles are usually fought by each clan's champion, along with that champion's elite guard.

well, based on the screenies, I think the Luxons look cooler. Seeing as I'm a guild of one (at least with one of my accounts) I probably don't have too loud a voice.