Editing Kreegan

'''The Kreegan''', or the '''Kreegans''', are a race of technologically advanced, hive-like humanoids who are one of the main enemies of the [[Ancients]]. They have taken over [[Paradise Valley]] and [[Eeofol]] after invading the planet [[Enroth (planet)|Enroth]] on the [[Night of Shooting Stars]]. The [[Inferno]] lineup is composed of Kreegans and creatures summoned and bred by them, such as the {{Cn|Efreet}} and {{Cn|Hell Hound}}s. Commonly known as {{Cn|Devil}}s, and primarily represented by that unit in ''Heroes'' games. Also sometimes called [[demon|demons]], as are their various summoned and bred creatures. Despite being called that, and indeed being monstrous in their ways, the Kreegans explicitly have nothing to do with any mythological hell or the concept of a metaphysically wicked devil.

A key reason why the Kreegans do their interstellar conquests is that their biology forces them to continually breed and gather resources until the planet can no longer support their numbers, then send their ships to other worlds to renew that cycle. They brutally conquer these worlds, ravaging them and picking them to the bone. The natives are systematically exterminted. Extremely prolific, the Kreegans multiply very fast, with the enormous, grotesque [[The Queen|Hive Queens]] being primary breeders. There are also other Kreegan females who serve as lower echelon breeders and are capable of creating hybrids between the Kreegans and the races of the worlds their conquer. New devils grow up very fast, becoming powerful, deadly fighters soon after they are born.

Various advanced technologies, weaponry and magics are employed by the Kreegans. Their influence also extends to alternate planes of existence, many of them practicing a form of teleportation that involves going to another plane and then returning in a different place. Upper echelon breeders and the Kreegan elite guard are also practically impossible to kill with the ordinary weapons and spells. They are felled only by something very powerful, like the Ancient blaster weapons.

The Ancients first discovered the Kreegans around three centuries before the [[Silence]], at some point before Enroth was seeded with [[VARN MCMIV]]. The devils were attacking outlying colonies in the Ancient region of space and stealing their resources. The Ancient attempted to reason with these aliens, thinking the Kreegans only needed certain minerals. However, the Kreegan cycle of breeding and planet looting made them too voracious, and they also refused to expand in a different direction than the Ancients.

War broke out, reaching tremendous proportions, with the Kreegans disrupting the the [[Web of Worlds]]. The Kreegan proved to be such a threat to the world in the care of the Ancients that the war against them consumed virtually all the attention and resources of this godlike civilization. This state of war is the reason why the Ancients have still not re-established contact with Enroth, and many other planets, for over a thousand years.

 They came from the depths of the Void, an ancient enemy of an ancient people. No one knows why they hate us so, or why they have made war upon us. Some say the struggle against their evil is the Mandate of Heaven. Though their origins and purpose are shrouded in mystery, their plan is simple. They travel, they land, and then they conquer. Now, they are here on our world, to do to us what they have done to so many others. And they will do it. Unless someone stops them.
 -- {{mm6}} intro

Against all odds, the inhabitants of the Silence-ravaged Enroth have managed to save their world and repel the invasion, albeit not without help from the [[Oracle]], the Ancient weaponry and the [[Conflux]]. The main hives were destroyed, and nearly all Kreegans on the planet wiped out. [[Escaton]] himself describes this as being amazing, since it is considered next to impossible for a world that has fallen as far as Enroth to defeat the Kreegans.

They are represented by the {{town|Inferno}}.

== Kreegan reference {{wll}} ==
The following is a short story that was written by [[Christian Vanover]] and published on the now-defunct [[3DO]] message board.

:<div style="font-style: italic;">"Good afternoon! I discovered that earlier today the [[University of Erathia‏‎|University]] received a letter from [[Xanthor]]. Since I knew that you would want to hear word of him, I shall read his letter to you.

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><nowiki>*ahem*</nowiki>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"To the Staff and Students of the [[University of Erathia]]…" blah, blah, blah, "…August 6th, 1164."</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"Colleagues."</span> He's always so formal, isn't he?

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"I know my journey has barely begun, but I felt it would be a good idea to keep you posted of my progress on a regular basis, even if at times it seems like nothing is happening. In the two weeks since leaving the [[University of Erathia‏‎|University]], I have seen little in the way of [[Tatalia#Tale from the Swamps|the excitement]] that Prof. [[Finch]] and I encountered in [[Stillbog]]."</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"We continue to travel to the northeast, toward [[AvLee]] and the [[Contested Lands]]. The weather has been good, and looks to stay that way, though as we travel farther to the north at this time of year we should definitely find some cooler climes. A [[Knight]] by the name of [[Desslock]] is our guide to the [[Contested Lands]]. Beyond that I understand that an experienced [[Ranger]] will be leading us through the forests. The eastern countryside of the kingdom is beautiful. Gentle, rolling hills and quiet streams make for a pleasant journey, and it's easy on the eyes as well. I would like to thank you all again for allowing me to tour the world!"</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;">"Ah, here is where things get curious."

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"But there is a reason I chose to write to you today. Last night we stayed at an inn in the town of [[Whitestone]]. Strange thing about this town, we didn't actually *see* a white stone anywhere. In fact, most of the buildings weren't built of stone at all! Anyway, we met a messenger who had stopped there for the night who told us that he was on his way to the capitol. He said that he had not read the letter that he was carrying, but that it was given to him by a commander of the eastern garrison near [[Eeofol]], a volcanic range on the eastern coast of the continent.</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">Apparently, there had been some sort of battle there. The [[Erathia|Erathian]] guard was not involved, they merely found the site where the battle took place. Actually, the messenger knew very little of the events, only that which he had heard while waiting to receive the letter. If what he heard was true, the battle was between creatures from [[Eeofol]] and creatures from [[Nighon|the underworld]], much like what we saw in [[Stillbog]]."</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;">"Since [[Xanthor]] doesn't mention it, I should point out for those of you who don't know that the [[Eeofol]] range is home to many of the creatures of the [[Inferno|Infernos]]."

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"Unfortunately, I have no other information of the incident, but our journey to [[AvLee]] should take us near [[Eeofol]]. I shall keep my eyes and ears open for any other news."</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"Warmest regards, [[Xanthor]].</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;">Well, that's the letter. I shall have to see if I can gather any information from here. Do not worry, there have been no problems from that part of the world in centuries. [[Xanthor]] should be safe and sound."


:<div style="font-style: italic;">'''CLARIFICATIONS'''

:<div style="font-style: italic;">"After reading [[Xanthor]]'s letter yesterday, I realized that there were a few things I should probably clarify. First, let me start with the [[Inferno|Infernos]]. These places of summoning and breeding are only part of [[Erathia]]'s recent history. You see, approximately three years ago, a race of [[devil|devils]] known as the Kreegans mysteriously appeared in [[Erathia]]. Several astrologers claim their arrival was signaled by a star that fell from the heavens, crashing into the volcanic [[Eeofol]] range where the Kreegans are most prolific.

:<div style="font-style: italic;">Shortly after their appearance, they immediately began to attack the nearby settlements. Initially, the only resistance they met were the garrisons of the [[Contested Lands]]. The Kreegans moved so quickly that the human cities of [[Dunwall]] and [[Marishen]], along with the elven city of [[Bath'iere]], fell before any large force could be brought against them.

:<div style="font-style: italic;">Troops from [[Erathia]] teamed up with elven armies from [[AvLee]], and together were able to halt the advance of the Kreegans. However, not even the combined might of the two strongest armies in [[Erathia]] could secure a victory. As the generals sought a solution, one came from a most unexpected place. The [[Dungeon Overlord|Dungeon Overlords]], long-time enemies of [[Erathia]], attacked the Kreegans from their flanks, but rather than destroy the army, they subdued them. The Kreegans, apparently now [[Kreegan#Trivia|under the command]] of the [[Dungeon Overlord|Dungeon Overlords]], retreated back to the [[Eeofol]] range, where they have remained for nearly all of the last two years.

:<div style="font-style: italic;">In that time, new garrisons have been created by both humans and [[elves]] alike. Reconstruction of [[Dunwall]] has begun, and the armies of [[Erathia]] and [[AvLee]] have found themselves in several insignificant skirmishes with creatures now bred or summoned within the [[Eeofol]] [[Inferno|Infernos]]. More often than not, it is troops of the [[Dungeon Overlord|Dungeon Overlords]] who step in when the Kreegans seem to get out of hand. The event that [[Xanthor]] reported was evidence of that.

:<div style="font-style: italic;">With luck, we will one day be able to rid the continent of the scourge of the Kreegans and their allies. However, one must wonder why the [[Dungeon Overlord|Dungeon Overlords]], who have never been friendly toward [[Erathia]], did not merely allow the Kreegans to run rampant across the land?

:<div style="font-style: italic;">Ah, well, that is a pondering for another time."


:<div style="font-style: italic;">'''DISTURBING LETTER'''

:<div style="font-style: italic;">"Oh dear, I just received a disturbing letter from [[Xanthor]]:

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"To the Staff and Students…" blah, blah, blah, "…August 14th, 1164."</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"Today was very strange indeed, and I fear that if I do not put today's events into writing before turning in, I will wake tomorrow having forgotten much of it. I shall try to remember it all.</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"Our travel has been swift. [[Desslock]] tells me that we should reach the [[Contested Lands]] in as little as another week provided the weather holds. In fact, we're making such good time that this morning when we came upon the town of [[Claxton]], [[Desslock]] decided we would spend the day here and leave tomorrow.</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"As you know the library in [[Claxton]] is one of the most complete outside of the [[University of Erathia‏‎|University]] (not including, of course, the libraries of [[Bracada]]), so I decided to spend the afternoon there. I wasn't looking for anything specific, but I did come across several interesting texts, including one highly entertaining novella written about many of the famous personae of [[Enroth (planet)|Enroth]]. I'll have to see if I can't get a copy made for the [[University of Erathia‏‎|University]].</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"About mid-afternoon, a slender gentleman entered the room I was in and began casually browsing through the scrolls. He was wearing a long coat of sorts, similar to the clothing of the [[Bracada Highlands]], which seemed odd considering the warm weather. When I inquired, he said something about not having packed enough summer clothes for his journey. I pressed him further (you all know how nosy I can be), and discovered that he was from [[Silver Cove]] in [[Enroth (nation)|Enroth]]!</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"Well, we must have chatted for hours, eventually leaving the library for a nearby [[tavern]], him telling me about [[Enroth (nation)|Enroth]] and I about [[Erathia]]. I feel I need to report, however, some of the news of [[Enroth (nation)|Enroth]]. First, [[Enroth (continent)|the continent]] is in chaos. Apparently the armies of [[Enroth (nation)|Enroth]] were not nearly as successful of stemming the tide of the Kreegans as the armies of [[Erathia]]. According to my friend, [[King Roland Ironfist]] marched an army to face the [[devil|devils]] and never returned. Between that and the increasing number of natural disasters that have been occurring, many are starting to believe that the [[Ironfist|Ironfists]] have lost the 'mandate of heaven,'<sup>1</sup> which he explained as 'the divine right to rule.' Hearing some of his tales, I thanked my lucky stars that such occurrences did not happen here in [[Erathia]].</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"At one point, my friend began rummaging through his pack that he carried with him, and I noticed a sealed letter marked with the name [[Xenofex|Zenofex]]. When I asked him if that was his name, he quickly shoved his belongings back into his pack and said, 'I can't discuss it here. Meet me back at the library in 10 minutes.' With that, he left the [[tavern]].</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"Well, you know how easily distracted I get, and tonight was no different. There was a travelling bard at the [[tavern]] who was telling a story but seemed to be making it up as he went along. I was enthralled, and as a result I completely lost track of the time.</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"Suddenly there was a woman's scream from outside in the street. Everyone in the [[tavern]], myself included, ran outside to see what had happened. It was dark, but we could see that across the street, at an entrance to an alley, a body was lying in a slowly growing pool of blood. The woman who had screamed said that she had seen the man come out of the tavern and cross the street. Just as he got to the alley, a figure wearing a foreigner's longcoat leapt from the alley, slit the man's throat and then just disappeared into the shadows.</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"By the time the city guard arrived and managed to clean up the mess, most of us had returned to the [[tavern]], though in a much more somber mood. As I mulled over the murder that had just had just taken place, a patron approached me and asked if I was related to the victim. This of course seemed like a strange question, but I told him I was not related and asked why. 'Because,' he said, 'you look a little bit like he did.' I downed the rest of my wine in a single gulp, then asked for an armed escort back to the inn where we were staying. I then began writing this letter.</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"I don't know who this [[Xenofex|Zenofex]] person is, but I hope never to see him again, or if this traveler was actually him. I shall be staying a little nearer to [[Desslock]] for the next week.</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #{{blue 2}}">"Until next time, [[Xanthor]]."</span>

:<div style="font-style: italic;">"I do hope he stays out of trouble. He could have gotten himself killed! Well, you must excuse me, I must see that this letter is sent to the [[King Gryphonheart|King]]'s palace. The King will certainly want to know of the goings on in [[Enroth (nation)|Enroth]]."

:<div style="font-style: italic;">-[[Finch]]</div>

<sup>1</sup> See {{mm6}}.

== Trivia==
* The Kreegans are the overarching main villains of the entire Enroth saga of games that spans {{mm6}}, {{mm7}}, {{mm8}} and the first four installments of the ''Heroes'' spin-off series. Even when they are not the immediate antagonists or absent from a story altogether, the consequences of their actions are still felt, as the war they wage on the Ancients caused Enroth to fall into decline, thus them being a major reason for much the suffering this world faces due to its sorry state. They also prevent the Ancients from bringing Enroth back into their fold. As [[Jennifer_Bullard/Acid_Cave_Interview|Jennifer Bullard]] puts it, "In many ways the Kreegans are the original demons faced in the M&M worlds".
* "Kreegan" is likely a reference to the German word "krieg", which means "war".
* Although Erathians [[Kreegan#Kreegan reference|initially assumed]] that [[Nighon]] forces subdued and controlled the Kreegans, it was actually an alliance between the two, as {{hn|Nymus|0=}}' biography reveals. Although the initial campaign was going well for them, the Kreegans ended it early. They decided to strike later, together with the [[Dungeon Overlords]], who were ideologically and economically motivated to attack [[Erathia]] in the near future, as described in [[Dungeons and Devils]] and [[To Build a Tunnel]]. This eventually led to Eeofol playing a role in the [[Restoration Wars]].
* {{hn|Sandro|0=}} has also unwittingly [[Poison Fit for a King|helped]] the Kreegan plan of taking over the planet. As described in {{mm6}}, {{hn|Catherine|0=}} being recalled to her father's funeral after he was poisoned aided the [[heretic|heretical]] religion of [[Baa]] in their efforts to weaken the [[Kingdom of Enroth]], considered to be a power that could potentially stop the Kreegan invasion. [[Xenofex]] expected that the Kreegan would take over this world after Baa had finished its job and toppled the [[Ironfist]] rule. [[Kreegan Alliance]] features the Kreegans being initially skeptical whether Sandro would be useful to their plans, thus putting him through a test before they accept his scheme. [[The Legacy]] and [[Unlikely Alliance]] mention Baa closely watching the events and even spying in [[Steadwick]], anticipating [[King Gryphonheart]]'s death.
* {{mm7}} reveals that, with the [[Hive]] in Paradise Valley destroyed, and the Baa conspiracy unraveled, the Kreegans soon betrayed their allies. Eeofol withdrew its support, leaving the Dungeon Overlords to fend for themselves soon after the tide of the war turned into Erathia's favor. This is why there are no Kreegan armies in [[Tunnels and Troglodytes]].
* As {{Hn|Kastore|0=}} describes to the [[Lords of Harmondale]] in {{mm7}}, the Kreegans "breed faster than rabbits". He then alludes to newborn Kreegans growing up very fast, saying that "the longer you wait, the more you'll have to fight".
* A prime example of this extremely fast growth is {{Hn|Xeron|0=}}, who was born after the Night of Shooting Stars, thus being no more than nine years old by the time of the [[Erathia-Kreegan war]]. Xeron also shows that the Kreegans sometimes create hybrids of themselves with the races of the worlds they conquer, his father being a [[human]] local of Enroth.
* {{Cn|Imp}}s, {{Cn|Familiar}}s,{{Cn|Gog}}s,  {{Cn|Magog}}s, {{Cn|Demon}}s,{{Cn|Horned Demon}}s, {{Cn|Pit Fiend}}s and {{Cn|Pit Lord}}s are all likely not members of the Kreegan race, since it is implied in various ways that the Kreegans are devils specifically, such as [[Inferno#The Inferno|The Inferno]] text singling them out among the summoned and bred creatures, or that those units don't resemble devils from the sixth and seventh ''Might and Magic'' games, unlike the Inferno devils. However, the lore does leave room to interpret these creatures as being at least a variation of the Kreegan race. Moreover, [[Greg Fulton]] has stated, noting it as his own interpretation, that all demons in the setting could probably be considered Kreegans unless proven otherwise.
* Also, some fans theorize that the {{Cn|Devil}} and {{Cn|Arch Devil}} units, or at least many of them, are hybrids like Xeron, due to their similarities to him. While possible, this is not confirmed, as these devils could just as easily represent "pure-blooded" Kreegans.

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="200px">
MM6_Opening.webm|thumbtime=0:27| Devils land near Sweet Water in Paradise Valley during the Night of Shooting Stars. The four heroes of the game narrowly survive, and would eventually save the world from the [[Kreegan]]<br>(MM6 intro)
MM6trailer.webm|thumbtime=1:09| Trailer for ''Might and Magic VI'' that was included on the {{homm2}} CD. It focuses more on the destruction of [[Sweet Water]], and shows how [[Falagar]] teleported the heroes to safety.
</gallery>

[[Category: Races]]
[[Category: Terms]]