Kral's ChosenReport
English：Kral's Chosen · Factions
The Shek-supremacist rebels who refuse to recognise Esata's rule. They venerate Kral, who died fighting, and hold that an outsider must earn the right to live by fighting — which is why they attack travellers on sight, and why they will march on your outpost for exactly the same reason.
You tread on Shek soil, flatskin! Is it war that you're after?! Come to me! — Flying Bull
Kral's Chosen are a large faction of Shek with close ties to the Shek Kingdom, made up entirely of loyalists to Flying Bull.
Why they split off
After King Shager was overthrown, Ida — one of Shager's Five Invincibles, better known as Flying Bull — refused to accept Esata's new rule.
His charge was blunt: the Stone Golem had failed to press the war against the Holy Nation to the end, which meant bowing to flatskins, which meant cowardice. He took a great many of Shager's supporters out of Admag, founded the rebel outpost of New Kralia in the south, and Kral's Chosen took shape around him.
Flying Bull is enormously popular in Shek society, and the faction's numbers reflect it: their patrol density is broadly on a par with the Shek Kingdom itself, and they turn up in Skinner's Roam, Okran's Valley and Skimsands — zones the Shek Kingdom does not patrol at all. They are also capable of taking over every town except Admag.
What they believe
Kral's Chosen venerate the Shek hero Kral.
The legend says Kral met an ambush of a hundred swordsmen in his final battle and was stabbed in the back; he kept fighting after that first blow and took a hundred cuts before he finally went down. The book Kral's Last Stand tells that tale.
The faith dictates the behaviour directly: they hold weaker races in contempt, and an outsider must prove his strength in combat to earn their respect. That is why they harass and assault passing travellers without provocation. In their logic that is not robbery. It is an examination.
What happens when you meet them
- In the wild: squads of 5–8 (while Flying Bull lives), attacking on sight. They wear Standard-grade armour with a 15% chance of High, making them considerably harder than the Berserkers, the other great Shek splinter.
- Near your base: build within four kilometres of New Kralia and you trigger the Shek Proving.
Foreigners! We are Kral's Chosen, mighty guardians of the sacred homeland... And you insult my people with your trespass, invader! Come to me! Fight and earn your privilege to dwell on warrior soil!
The Shek Proving has a 20% daily chance within 1,800 metres, scaling to zero at 4,000. It sends 2–4 squads of 5–8 each. Its cooldown is enormous, so in practice it happens once per playthrough — beat it and it will not come again unless you import your save or play past ten thousand days. Lose, and another arrives in 60–130 hours; and from the second visit onward, a victorious assault party will occupy your base until you remove them by force.
Kral's Chosen inside a town behave strangely
Under certain world states they take over Bad Teeth, Squin, Stack and the Holy Mines. The moment they become the town authority, their behaviour inverts:
- Town-dwelling Kral's Chosen do not attack outsiders unprovoked, in complete contrast to their roaming squads. They will still fight you if you are defending yourself against those roaming squads.
- Their Hundred Guardians in those towns are incapable of assigning bounties when they witness a crime.
- Their gate guards do not even mind you carrying their own leader, Flying Bull, into town.
- Their trade culture differs from the Shek Kingdom's, so their general shops sell hashish — yet the gate guards still search your bags for contraband, even though under Kral's Chosen rule there is technically no illegal substance to find.
Turn of allegiance
If Esata has been imprisoned or killed even once, a body of Shek may switch their loyalty to Flying Bull and begin spawning as Kral's Chosen — including Esata herself.
The list: Esata, Seto, Bayan, the Five Invincibles, Hundred Guardians, Shek Warriors, Shek Retainers, Shek Barmen and Shop Guards.
It is a bleak note on where Shek society is heading: remove the Stone Golem in person and her reformist line collapses, and the whole people slides straight back onto Kral's road.
Relative numbers
| Zone | Shek Kingdom, as a multiple of Kral's Chosen |
|---|---|
| Border Zone | 0.75× — Kral's Chosen are the majority |
| Okran's Pride | 1.17× |
| Okran's Gulf | 1.31× |
| Spider Plains | 1.31× |
| Stenn Desert | 3.5× |
In short, Kral's Chosen are a substantial minority within Shek society. By contrast, the Berserkers and the Band of Bones are outnumbered by Kral's Chosen in every zone where they overlap — of the three Shek splinter groups, this is the largest.
Relations
- Default −100 towards every faction. This group has no allies.
- Harming Flying Bull seriously damages your standing with them.
- After certain world states, you can turn in bounties in towns under Kral's Chosen rule and gain positive relations that way.