Khazi

Khazi Varedi, also known as Khazi the Swarthy, was a member of the House Varedi and the second son of Pelir the Fair. He was chosen by the Karls to become Wérgóm in the year 301 ABV.
==Appearance and background==
Khazi was the son of Pelir the Fair and Queen Dunila of the House Haddadi. He was born in the city of Haddad in the fifth day of the third month in the year 258 ABV, during the seventh year of Pelir's reign. Unlike his brothers, Khazi had unruly dark hair, green eyes and broader features, which all are typical Haddadi traits. The Haddadi were clan elders who migrated to the Gate Mountains during the years following Rodmuth's conquests.
Khazi's lack of golden hair and blue eyes had gained him adversaries in the court, of whom many looked down on him for not being fair. Since age 13, he was called "the Swarthy", and even "the Dór", epithets which he angrily rejected ("Dór"/Doryi is another word for "thrall" on Vidstossi).
==Military commander==
Khazi proved himself a competent commander when defending the border against Grosshalle, whom he later allied, from continuous raids and minor attempts at conquest. He did not, however, earn much fame doing this due to the defensive and passive nature of his duties. He was sometimes taunted for this but mostly by the same people that would taunt him for being swarthy. The more analytical and collected of Vidstossi elite however liked him for the methodical and dutiful manner in which he conducted his duties.
==Duel with Gezir Varedi==
==Rise to the throne==
==War against Za'ah==
== Battle of Erýaz ==
== Death ==
The Murder of Khazi
No facial expression could betray Khazi's opinions when he returned home through the wasteland. His host had been allowed to return north with their weapons and banners. The peace had broken his heart and spirit, but he was aware that it could be worse. A part of his mind had suspected that the Za'ahenes gave him and his son so good terms of retreat was so that their line would be blamed by the aristocracy for the defeat. Returning home through the barren ashlands, it took six weeks to come to the river Rodmuthina. Khazi allowed the infantry to return home to their farms first, and during the night he crossed the river fifty miles to the east of Rodmuthana, to set up his headquarters in the tavern of Zymara. Soft rain was pouring down and an owl was howling. In this region, the river was only fifty feet wide, and on their right where the wood-covered hills which would eventually turn into the mighty Gate Mountains.
The royal guard of 168 men started to ride over, the King waiting for last. Then, an arrow sang in front of the Wérgóm, hitting Belarozi Rodi in the neck. The young nobleman fell down into the river and his horse ran away. Already, more arrows had started to fall. The Wérgóm dismounted and gripped his battle axe, a ferocious weapon made of bronze and called his men to raise their wooden shields. So they did when the enemy charged through the woods from four directions.
Was it the Za'ahenes who had betrayed them? No! These men were men from the forest regions below the Gate Mountains, clans which for a long time had fought the Haddads about the rich deposits of gold and silver from the mountains. These men were armed with spears and sharp flint axes which they threw at the royal army. They were highwaymen, poachers, wild people who knew only the gods of the forest, and they were no match for Khazi's veterans.
The first wave consisted of between 60 and 80 attackers. They screamed to betray their fears, garbed in animal pelts and without a battle order. Khazi ordered a battle order formed, and then broke the enemy's advance in the river. Khazi's bodyguard lost 9 men, while the attackers suffered over 44 in losses before they withdrew. Khazi ordered his cousin Ramath Haddadi, a young man in his early twenties, to pursue the attackers with thirty cavalrymen.
Ramath did as ordered and attacked the retreating forest dwellers, cutting down another fifteen, with no losses on his side. When he was moving back to the grove that they had agreed to meet on, Ramath's group was attacked by arrows, which struck at their horses. They are then attacked by thirty men coming from the west, led by Helleg, one of the Wérgóm's cavalrymen who disappeared a week ago in a reconaissance mission. Helleg had brought with him his brothers Dyrnath and Sigurth, and with them they brought hunting dogs, that fell over Ramath's men, followed by another wave of local lawless peasants. Dyrnath was slain by Góthwald Abeli with the flaming red hair and beard, who took his spear and plunged it into the Gezirid's thigh. Sigurth led five men in an attack of Ramath Haddadi. Ramath fell over Sigurth and smashed his head into a tree so his left eye popped out. Then Ramath himself was pierced between the ribs by a spear wielded by Helleg himself.
"You swore an oath!" Ramath spat blod as he crawled on the ground. Helleg, rosy in the face from his abuse of beer grinned with his brown stumps for teeth.
"You betcha!" he said and dragged his spear out from Ramath's lungs, making the warrior cough some more blood. Helleg dragged Ramath to a stone, and placed his head over the stone with the teeth of the upper jaw firmly against a crack. Then he placed his booth on the back of Ramath's head, before stomping.
.
Helleg returned with Ramath's horse later, telling the Wérgóm's captain that they had come into an ambush, and that his group had tried to save Ramath but that it had been too late. Helleg showed his brother, who now had a bloody bandade around the head, to show how much they had bled for the Wérgóm.
"Stay back!" the captain said, "You sons of the Armless!"
Khazi came out from his tent, as it was dawning, and told the captain that Helleg and Sigurth were good lads, and his relatives. He asked them to come with a report, and they did. Helleg was asked to explain his departure, and he told that the forest dwellers were unruly and had been seen outside of Zymala. Khazi said that his forces should not divide themselves any more, and that they should move through the forest as a unified troop.
The next ten minutes, Helleg was seen running to his horse and disappearing once again. Sigurth was apprehended, but as he had caught the fever he was not possible to interrogate. Khazi's host left the camp that evening and continued under a starry sky. When they came out on a field where tall grass was growing, they were attacked at the flanks by numerous groups of men, not only forest dwellers, but also the men of the hills, Eldan mercenaries, swarthy men from the Copper Island and men from the lake of Doriya. These three hosts were commanded by Helleg and his brothers Sturmuth, Haldad, Athalulfir and Ulfon the Grinning, called so because of an accident that left the left side of his face lame and forever frozen in a grin.
The Wérgóm ordered a retreat into the forest, as the ground in the grassy field was soft and watery, and the horses could not manuever there. Athalulfir meanwhile led an assault with burning arrows against the wagons dragging the tents and food, causing a fire in the rear. The Wérgóm ordered the tents abandoned but estimated that the retreat south towards the woods was cut. His main host was then attacked with a group of Copper islanders, wielding nets and hooks tied to ropes, with which they tried to fell the riders.
Haldad Varedi, son of Gezir, was meanwhile killed by Berfarth of Sturoana. Haldad and Berfarth, who once had been involved in a brawl over a girl in a tavern that both had professed their love to in a drunken mood. Haldad, known as the hunchbacked as one of his shoulders was deformed, used his long spear to pierce Berfarth's side. But Berfarth was fat and well insulated. He smashed his Gár club into Haldad's deformed shoulder, crusing it and the arm. Haldad fell down on the wet ground, and subsequently got his face smashed in by Berfarth's club.
Khazi had fended off 20 attackers, but had moved from the main host in the dark. He had killed nine men alone, and had a bloody wound from a dagger on his right arm. Then he heard a soft, melodic voice calling to him.
"My Wérgóm, there you are."
Khazi turned around, finding himself standing before an archer leaning against a tree. The archer had watery blue eyes that seemed to cry, hands covered in gloves, was tall and lean and had a shy smile. His eyes seemed to avoid Khazi. The Wérgóm was about to order the man to join him and struggle back to the main host, when he recognised the man. Athalulf Varedi! The sixth son of Gezir. It was easy to forget Athalulf. There was not a man less charismatic in the entire Gate Kingdom, from the sea to Rahulia. Athalulf was always sitting silent in the darkest corners, and no one even remembered him.
Athalulf quickly strung his bow and then let an arrow off. It hit Khazi in his side, probably his liver. The Gate King moved towards Athalulf with his battle axe dripping by blood.
"You are good lads!" the Wérgóm said. "Why you are doing this? I have always treated you kindly, despite your father's insults!"
Athalulf did not say anything, just smiling shyly and then firing off another arrow. This one hit Khazi in the leg, severing one of the main arteries, so blood poured out from the wound. The Wérgóm almost fell forward, but held his weight against a young tree. Athalulf shot again, hitting the chest. Khazi felt dissi and fell down on the ground, the arrow feathers sinking down in the mud. The Wérgóm turned around, searching for his battle axe. He found Athalulf standing above him. The young man, barely twenty years of age, held on to the Battle Axe. He looked nervously around, his watery eyes flickering.
"My Wérgóm, you cannot wield this in your condition", he said and gave a shy smile.
Then he threw away the axe.
"Let me help you, my Wérgóm," Athalulf said with his soft, melodic voice. It was a voice as shallow as his eyes, as soft as his features. Then he moved in behind Khazi, grabbing his shoulders. The Wérgóm made attempts to struggle, but Athalulf moved around the arrow in his side, playing with it like a cat, before leaving it there.
"I am trying to help you, my Wérgóm! Don't make it complicated for me!" Athalulf begged. Then he kicked Khazi on his side, which burnt like coal now. He moved down towards the Wérgóm's belt, opening it up before taking his dagger. He worked through the tunic with the dagger, slowly revealing layer after layer. Then he removed the Wérgóm's underpants, raising his dagger before the face of the moon crescent. His shy smile had given into another type of smile, a daemonic. It was as if Athalwulf was possessed by one of the evil spirits of the Muh.
"D-don't do this... you've won... use my axe... *cough cough*... cut off my head..."
"I just want to make you feel alright. Wait, I will get this stone here, place it under your head, so you can see."
Then Athalwulf kissed the Gate king, before crawling down over his body again, dagger in hand. "I will take... some other trophies than your head, my Wérgóm!"
"Ulf! There you are!"
It was Helleg.
"We are overran!" the rosy brother shouted. "If we don't leave now, we'll be surrounded!"
Athalulf sighed. "But..."
"No! You sick little maggoth! If you don't come, I'll leave you here! The others have already ran!"
Athalulf stood up, sighing again, looking at his brother with a very sad look in his face, before turning his gaze towards Khazi. Then he took another arrow and aimed straight at Khazi. That was the last thing the Wérgóm saw.
He was found the following morning by his men, wounded by three arrows and killed by an arrow through his forehead. So ended Khazi Varedi, Wérgóm of the Vidstos.
==Reign==
Preceded by	Reign Began	Reign ended	Succeeded by
Stáhlir 	301 ABV 	307 ABV 	The Anarchy
Category:Monarchs
Category:Heads of state
Category:Vidstos people
Category:People
Category:Moaseraianan people