[rust]

Okay, I have put the Kraecheeth on the list (which is only meant to record
ideas and proposals, nothing in any way final).

The Gates could well have caused the mutations of the Kraecheeth. In a sci-
ence fiction setting the Gates could be described as disintegrating a "passen-
ger" at Point A and reintegrating him at Point B. If the process of reintegra-
tion is somehow manipulated, or the Gate is malfunctioning, the "passenger"
could well be "transformed" into something different.
If the Azchirgnoth had found a way to manipulate the Gates ...

By the way, Soltakss (I hope I got his name right ...) has just edited the
myths in the Wiki, bringing them in line with your description of the past; I
think he has done a very fine job.

And another thought (rather a question): Do you have any idea who built
the Gates ?
Edit.: Ah, I have found it, the Akershule created the Gates.