The Gökmavi Khaganate

## Gökmavi Khaganate

The **Gökmavi Khaganate** is an empire made up of many nomadic tribes that all bow to the Great Khan. The main tribes are the Blue Horde, the Red Horde, the Black Horde, the New Horde and the Silver Horde, in order of importance. The names denote the colours of each clan's traditional war banners. The Empire is centred on an enormous river that traverses the steppe of the main landmass. Every century or so the region tends to fall into a civil war as the 4 Khans battle for supremacy. The current top dog is the Gökmavi dynasty of the Blue Horde, which has reigned for close to 170 years now, presiding over a period of relative peace and prosperity. Though related, each of the hordes has its own distinct culture. The Red Horde, for example, is known for following a particularly dour and strict version of the cult of the God of Blinding Light. Various culturally related city states and independent border principalities exist at the margins of the empire.

The Gokmavi Khanganate is an engima to outsiders, who often deride it for its isolationism and apparent lack of culture and military strength. This is because most have only met the raiding parties and caravans of one Horde. In truth the Great Horde would be a force to shake even the mighty empires of the world.

## History

The history of the Gökmavi people is one full of lights and shadows, with many myths and legends in place of solid facts. Most outsiders do not bother studying the history of the region, assuming the gökmavi peoples as backwards, an uncivilized and tribal raiding culture, with little of worth to study. This image is not helped by the strong resilience of many gökmavi groups to adopt the written language, even to this day. This could be further from the truth, as all those who have travelled throughout the Khaganate are witnesses to a land dotted with signs of a rich culture, thriving cities, a long and varied history and monumental stone kurgans.

The roots of the Gökmavi are shrouded in mystery. The most accurate version of the early days of the people of the steppes is “***The Tales of the Tribes***”, a series of poems narrate the legends of the original roots of the Gökmavi’s predecessors. It is passed from generation to generation through non-written means, though there are several written versions in some archives, in the cities. The tales are mostly mythology and parables, telling the Gökmavi tales of gods and heroes of the steppes, and about the creation of the world. The Tales tell the history of “the first tribe”, who after offending their gods, were punished by having their green pastures dry up and turn into desert, never to return until they become worthy in their divine eyes again. They wandered the steppes for many decades, trying to find a place to call home, all while finding many creatures of myth along the way. They had to walk on foot, as the gods had killed all animal mounts they knew, and as such, they eventually forgot how to ride. Eventually, the elder chief of the tribe died, giving his power to his three sons. However, these three men were griped by many mortal sins and weakness. The eldest son was boisterous, and was proud of his strength and ability with the bow and the sword. The second son was wise but vainglorious, thinking his knowledge of the stars and the moons elevated him over the rest of the tribe. The youngest son did not have the strength nor the wisdom of his brothers, and thus grew bitter and envious. So envious in fact, that he concocted a plan to make the brothers fight each other to inherit the tribe’s leadership.

The third brother kidnapped the wives of his brothers, and after a week of keeping them hidden, he slit their throats and abandoned the bodies in the steppes, planting evidence that had been the other brother the one to do the deed. Both the first and the second brothers were grief-stricken by their losses, and many tears were shed that day. Pain eventually led to rage, however. While the second brother saw something was amiss and tried to investigate what had happen, not believing the signs, the first brother was too enraged to think straight. In a fit of anger and pain, he slashed his brother before he could react. This act of barbarism led into a civil war, with the two halves of the tribe fighting each other. The war lasted for years, but the side of the elder brother eventually won, forcing the other half of the tribe to the east, never to be seen again. However, this war had spilt a lot of blood of their fellow tribesmen, and the elder brother now felt miserable. Having lost his wife, his brother and half of the tribes, he felt in need of penitence, and entered into a self-imposed exile, becoming a hermit for a year. Seeing this as the chance he was looking for, the third brother took control of the tribe, beginning a reign of terror and vice that made the tribe hate him. The rest of the tribe tried asking his elder brother to return, but he was not ready yet. In desperation, the people prayed to the gods for relief, and the gods answered. Seeing the treachery, the disloyalty and the depravity of the third brother, the gods turned him into a scorpion, to be hated and preyed upon for all creatures that live in the steppes, never to find peace or respite.

Once the eldest brother returned to the tribe, he organized a great march towards the north. His pilgrimage would led to find the lands of green, with mighty rivers and ample game. The elder brother, however would not live to see it, and died of old age before arriving. His soul was taken by the great flying serpent, servant of the gods and its intermediary in the mortal realm. The tribe entered a compact with the people of the rivers, and for a time, all was good. The eldest brother’s successors intermingled with the people of the rivers, learning many things from them, even relearning the ancient arts of riding. With their alliance with the people from the rivers formed, the tribe grew mighty and prosperous. However, many signs began appearing that the people of the tribes were losing their way, living in prosperity and opulence had led them astray from their original quest of penitence. Thus, they left the rivers to go back to the steppes, this time with gathered knowledge and unified purpose.

Trying to interpret correctly “*The Tales of the Tribes*” has led many experts to the conclusion that the “people from the rivers” were, in fact, the Urgun Tribes, and possibly even the twin cities of Aquilea and Caprea, which helps us date the arrival of the Gökmavi to the Urgun rivers around the 5th and 6th century ABE. Their stay nearby the poems, would last many decades, until certain matters would force them to leave the area. Many believe they left to conquer the steppes with the new knowledge and tools they had gained from the Urgun, but this also began a schism between the Gökmavi that would last for centuries: the clash between the city dwellers and the nomads. The more territory the Gökmavi claimed for themselves, the more they settled in stable populations, gaining power through trade and agriculture. However, the more land they explored, the nomads also gained more ground for their herds to graze. This translated in backlash, as both tried to convert the other into their way of life. While at first there was little tension due to the mutual service they provided to each other, over time the traditional tribal tensions and rivalries morphed into a fight for the spirit of the gökmavi.

With each side wanting to impose their way of life on the other, and with growing ambitions of empire building, the gökmavi tribes began a series of wars in the Red Land Steppes, the different nations and tribes fighting for dominance. This would began a series of fights between the increasingly growing cities and an alliance of nomadic chiefs. This would began the **Wars of the Blind Hawk**, (named after one of the most famous nomadic leaders at the beginning of the conflcit), lasted between 701 ABE to 822 ABE, and expanded to a great portion of the Red Land Steppes. Many records tell that the war became a particularly brutal affair, with the nomadic raiders cutting off the cities from any supply, poisoning wells during the night and burning down the cities that fell. The gökmavi cities tried to retaliate, but the city armies were not able to mobilize as well as the nomadic raiders, which were capable of just moving around the territory without a central capital to decapitate.

The war expanded to the Urgun rivers, who traded a lot with the young gökmavi cities. The cities asked for help to the peoples from the Urgun Plateau, who saw the threat of the gökmavi raiders as something to defeat before they could reach their homeland. This would backfire for the urgun cities, since the gökmavi raiders launched their hit and run attacks against the region, ravaging the fields near the rivers and burning down whatever they couldn’t take. While the Urgun were able to fight off the gökmavi, the damages to the Urgun cities was severe, beginning their downwards spiral into full isolation. With the defeats of the cities and the Urgun, the nomad tribes began fighting each other, clashing for the spoils. With both sides exhausted, the Wars of the Blind Hawk ended in an uneasy peace. Recovery was small, but fortunately, there was little rancor between the two sides. The cities rebuilt their lands, mostly around the rivers and lakes near the Red Land Steppes. Many of these had enormous quantities of natural salt, and thus the Gökmavi began developing ways to filter out the salt to consume water, both for personal use and to water the fields. They would also partake in the harvest of the pink rice, a type of rice that grows even under high levels of salinity, eventually becoming their near singular crop. It would take many decades for them to polish these water-filtering techniques, and it would take even longer for them to realize that the salt they were having as just fattening material for their cattle could be of high value in trade.

The growth of the salt business meant an explosive evolution of the cities. They began creating trade routes with the rest of the world, particularly with the Urgun cities, the gilgemashi and the azanese. Azan in particular brought many advances to the Gökmavi cities, but they were very mistrusting of the empire of dragons. The expansion of the azanese through the Onyx Strip blocked the Gökmavi from accessing the Sea of the Dead Pirate, forcing the gökmavi to lose part of their profits to the azanese. Plus, the encroachment of these people within the steppes made both city dwellers and nomads very uncomfortable, after hearing the tales of the powerful empire and its expansion throughout the east. The clashes and tensions with the azanese were plentiful, but never enough to spark an all-out war. At this point, though, there was a real risk of war.

The pressure of the nomads to the cities had made the nomads rich as well, collecting plenty of taxes and tribute. While they were not particularly high taxes, the riches brought to them were more than the humble nomads had ever seen, and fights arose between them. The different nomadic groups clashed for power and influence, beginning the first of the **Horde Wars**, which would become a staple in the region every couple of centuries. With the nomads fighting each other, the city-dwellers grew in power and influence themselves, but many were afraid that the infighting in the steppes would give Azan an excuse to intervene militarily. Thus, the cities began suing for peace, managing to stop the conflict between the nomads. To organize the law of the steppes and put an end to the instability once and for all, they began setting up rules of engagement and honor codes to minimize the damage the hordes did to each other in their fights for dominance. The nomads would protect the cities in case of war, and they in turn, would produce all the nomads could not, as well as begin the organization of the burgeoning nation. The nomad hordes accepted on the condition that the national power would never be in the hands of the cities, and thus their nation would never have a capital. The “**Conclave of Tsa'agan**” would be the first step for the creation of what we know nowadays as the Gökmavi Khaganate.

The following centuries would see the consolidation of the Khaganate. Expanding all they could throughout the lands near the Red Land Steppes, they would manage to grow into one of the biggest “nations” in the world at the time, though its population was considerably lower than any of the big powers at the time. This was not a painless process: multiple wars with Gilgemash, multiple Horde Wars and a near war with Azan saw the steppes embroiled in conflict frequently. Still, this period allowed the Gökmavi to grow, and this saw a jump in artistic and architectural development, with many palaces, statues, canals and stone kurgans, both in and outside the cities. This period saw the final establishment of the gökmavi written language, as they had been using multiple different written formats up until that point, including azanese.

The start of the wars against the witchelven saw the gökmavi involved in the spiral of violence that swallowed Western Giantstep for many decades. The rapid expansion of the witchelven forced the Urgun cities, the old allies of the Gökmavi, to call the nomads for help. The gökmavi quickly rallied to their aid, as they sensed the witchelven were not only malicious and cruel, but a real threat to the growing khaganate. The witchelven and the gökmavi were well even in terms of speed and nimbleness, both sides preferring fast hit and run tactics as their main method of war. The stalemate was broken with the help of the Urgun, managing to keep the witchelven at the other side of the river, but at the cost of most of the cities in the realm. The Gökmavi served with Azan against the witchelven as mercenaries, at that time in desperately need for help. However, the growing tensions within Azan finally broke into the Azanese Civil War, witch Changrila rising up against the emperor. While the Gökmavi did not have any interest in the fratricide war at first, further negotiations between changrilese and gökmavi diplomats opened the door to great gains: if the Gökmavi allied with Changrila, they would be allowed to gain control of the Onyx Strip, earning a connection to the sea, monopolyzing the salt trade all for themselves. In 2.050 ABE, the Gökmavi quickly overwhelmed the azanese forces, isolating Azan from the riches of Nosso Lar and the salt trade, and giving the advantage to Changrila once again. While the azanese forces tried to push back against the gökmavi, they were overwhelmed on many warfronts, and were forced to abandoned the region. The end of the war allowed the Gökmavi to keep the strip, since neither Azan nor Changrila had the strength to reclaim it. The final city to fall to the Gökmavi fell after the Silver Horde and the dsrvysthian city of Susar accorded the invasion of the city many years after the Kingdom of Dsrvyth crumbled down.

The Gökmavi also took an important role in the fall of the Kingdom of Nosso Lar. The figure later known as René the “Blind Bastard”, after having survived the mysterious attempt on her life, ran to the steppes, where she found refuge within the Blue Horde, and even married a gökmavi man. Her charisma and cunning would grant them a place of honor in the tribe, but when her ambitions began outgrowing those of her fellow tribesmen, she was expelled as well. From the steppes, she and a group of gökmavi mercenaries would go to the land of the Great Norossor Peninsula, conquering the northernmost part of the region and creating the Blind Bastard’s Domain.

## Society and Culture

The lands of the Red Steppes are harsh and unforgiveable. From the plains to the deserts to the salt fields, the Gökmavi must grow to be hardened and resilient. Both city-dwellers and nomads are well versed in survival techniques, from protecting themselves from the harsh sun and the cold nights to how to track game. Just the simple act of finding water is a great ordeal. Clean and clear water is considered a divine nectar, of much more value than even the highest quality mead. Every house and nomad yurt has within a canteen of pure water in a small altar dedicated to the ancestors and the gods. When having visitors of the utmost importance, those people with ties even beyond the expected obedience to the tribes (such as a friend that saved the host’s life during the war, or the arrival of the bride at her parents at the husband’s home for the first time) they will take it and all drink in ceremonial cups. The Gökmavi have developed many forms of water processing and storage, from digging natural wells, creating artificial wells and canals, using the blood of the game as a water source… The most interesting ways of filtering water come from the city-dwellers. They use two main methods to filter water, not only for their personal use, but to separate the salt from the rivers and the lakes. The first method is the use of salt cucumbers, a species of sea cucumber that accumulates water into its body to feed off the organic matter within it. Once the creature is bursting, it will expel the salt and the excrements from one orifice and the water from another, offering surprisingly clear water, though barely drinkable from the standards of outsiders. The second one is the use a system of ceramics and cloths, where the water will be passed through multiple filters until it arrives to the last ceramic container, as clean as possible. None of these methods are perfect, thus they complement them by storing rain water.

Aside from agriculture and nomadic husbandry, the salt trade is the biggest industry in the land. Many cities and towns are dedicated to extracting as much salt as possible from the lakes and rivers in the land, sending it to the coastal cities to sell to the outsiders. The value of salt in the gökmavi way of life cannot be understated, as it allows the khaganate to have a great weight in international trade, despite their relative lack of natural resources. Salt is used as a form of currency in the region, as the steppes lack important gold and silver mines. The gökmavi have dotted the land with salt statues, covered in cloths and ceramics, which are thought to be of good luck. In particular, these icons are frequent within the funerary kurgans, great underground tombs built in the steppes and the desert in honor of great leaders. The gökmavi are also known to use salt to mummify the bodies of the deceased: buried deep within the kurgans and preserved for eternity to enjoy their treasure before becoming one with the land.

All gökmavi are exceedingly superstitious, stemming from their animistic believes and their cult to their ancestors. They believe the spirits of the steppes and those who left them long ago are still with them in one way or another, and they partake in many small rituals to keep them content and not garner their ire. They also have a great deal of symbolism. The scorpion is considered the foulest and most evil creature that lives on the land. Scorpions and all things that resemble them (from arachnids to crustaceans and anything that has pincers) is considered unholy and cannot be consumed, on the risk of staining one’s soul. This has made the apparition of Great Pincering Squids in the Salt Lakes a particularly bad omen, as they are considered devils in need of extermination. When a gökmavi commits a particularly grave crime, they will be branded by the shamans. Heating two red irons with the shape of the scorpion, they will be marked in the cheek and in the chest, and then they’ll be exiled from the steppes, never to come close to any good Gökmav. Any gökmavi that comes in contact with one of the branded has the obligation of kill them, at least if they are within the Khaganate. This has made “scorpion bandits” particularly dangerous outlaws, in particular concentrating in the Blind Bastard’s Domain, or as mercenaries in Dsrvysth.

The Gökmavi society has divided over time between the city-dwellers and the nomadic herders. While these two ways of life have fought each other plenty of times, nowadays they enjoy a certain level of symbiosis. The nomads are not able to produce half the goods the city dwellers can (from clothes to weapons to vegetal food…), and the nomads are trained throughout their life for a harsh lifestyle perfect for warfare, defending the cities in case of trouble. Though their way of life has diverged constantly, they still share many social and cultural elements. First, the cities are exempt from the traditional clashes and rivalries of the hordes, though they are due obedience to the horde in control of their territory at the time, as well as the horde in charge of the Khaganate. The city-dwellers are not able to favor one horde over the other, but they are in charge of mediating in negotiations between them. The city-dwellers are barred from using gunpowder, though this is a minor gripe, since gunpowder is considered dirty and unworthy of the true gökmavi, relying on the traditional bow and sword. The city-dwellers are also the only ones allowed to operate and sail ships (the nomads can board ships, but are barred from sailing them, since this is considered exceedingly bad luck). The gökmavi are not particularly good sailors, preferring to hire foreign sailors for this purpose.

## The Hordes

Each Horde is culturally and militarily distinct; yet each is a collection of tribes, each led by a tribal ur-khan . The ur-khans pay tribute and to a Khan. The Khans then in turn owe their loyalty to the Great Khan. Each Great Khan rules for about 100 years, then the hordes go to war to determine the next ruler. The Khan who wins these Succesion Trials is then able to choose a Great Khan. They are not allowed to appoint themselves, but may otherwise choose any Gokviri Tribesmen they wish. Some choose the man or woman they think will lead the tribes to prosperity. Other choose those that owe them loyalty. All chose a capable warrior. The current Great Khan is Mujin Khan, of the Blue Horde. A male khan bears their title after their name (Mujin Khan). Female khans bear the title as a first name (Khan Myris).

### Blue Horde

Known internally as the Sythic Tribes, the Blue Horde is the second oldest horde, and also invented the "nomadic farming" technique that all the tribes use today. The Sythic count among their number the Great Uniter; Khan Myris, and the current Great Khan; Mujin Khan. They produce more food any other tribe, and trade freely with their counterparts.

They raid, protect their caravans, and protect their farms with heavy cavalry. These cavalry are armed with war sycthes; originally farm equipment, war scythes are long polearms with curved blades mounted parellel to the haft. They are armored in thick leather armor and breastplates of laquered wood. These troops are equally capable in the charge or the middle of a melee.

### Red Horde

Known interally as the Red Land Tribes, the Red Horde is the oldest Horde, and has adapted to their desert lifestyle by becoming an orderly, disiplined (also dour and serious) people. They are also much more religious than other tribes, with a majority being believers in the Cult of Blinding Light. The Red Horde claim to trace their lineage to the mythical First Khan, Blind Hawk; but they are considered the second most important Horde currently. They are also famous for their craftsmen. Red Horde craftsmen are credited with the invention of the heat-dissipating desertcloth which is used by all the hordes; as well as mastery of many non-metal crafts besides.

Their raiding parties are known for their expertise in mounted shortbow combat and hit and run tactics. They are also feared for their dreaded Red Circle formation; wherein the archers ride circles around an enmey position and fire arrows with great speed and precision. Each warrior carries a long dagger called a khanjar for close combat encounters.

### Black Horde

Known to their fellow tribes as the Nightborne Tribes, the Black Horde live in an even more desert covered region than their Red Horde neighbors. They have adapted to this harsh climate by becoming a noctunal culture. All tribes of the Black Horde rest during the day and rise with the moon. The culture of this Horde is paradoxical; they are the loudest, merriest, and most brash of the Tribes in civilan life, with tales of Black Horde celebrations being legendary all across the Khanganate, and those few outsiders privileged to the event often too drunk to recall much beyond a legendary hangover.

By contrast, the Black Horde military are disciplined masters of stealth warfare and night raids, as well as light infantry and light cavalry tactics. The principle troops of this horde are lightly armored warriors weilding curved one-handed swords called tachi. These agile soldiers are clad in black tanned leathers.

### Silver Horde

The youngest of the Hordes, the Silver Horde is a very martial group of tribes. Chosen from the tribes of the Blue Horde and tasked by the Great Khan before Mujin Khan to explore and settle the southern reaches of the Khanganate. The Frontier Tribes have great holdings, and control the only port of the Gokmavi at Opole. In exchange for this wealth and potential wealth, the Silver Horde lives in the most dangerous region of the Khanganate. This Horde defends the others from great beasts ranging up from the Zulutuar Steppe, and from piratic raiding parties coming ashore at Opole.

The Horde's main means of defense and raiding is the mounted longbow. These bowmen have supeior range when compared to their shortbow weilding brethern in the Red Horde and can still loose volleys at full gallop, but with reduced volume of fire. The prefered tactic of these archers is to ride to within arrow range of the enemy, stop, and fire indirect volleys of arrows, before charging with tachi to rout the foe.

### New Horde

Ironically not the youngest horde, the New Horde (also known as the Stonebreaker Tribes) are renowned among their kind for two things. First, strength of body, with the average Stonebreaker being two heads taller and much stronger than their counterpart tribes' largest specimens. Second, their skill in metalwork. Even though there are other tribes that operate mines, like some in the Black Horde, they trade all the metal ore extracted to the New Horde to be crafted into tools and traded amongst the various tribes. The New Horde also operate more mines than any other.

The Stonebreaker Tribes are unique in that they don't regularly employ cavalry. Instead the New Horde ply their mineral wealth in arming heavy metal-clad infantry. These massive warriors protect the mines and caravans with the huge curved swords known and feared as Horsekillers or the massive clubs called Wulfbreakers. Such is the combined weight of a Stonebreaker, their weapon, and armor that they can only ride the mightiest horses. However, the value of such mounts is so great that most warriors dismount and shoo the horse away before joining battle on foot. Only the wealthiest can afford to replace such a beast and being dismounted allows them to wield their weapon two-handed, increasing effectiveness.

## Religion

Most of the the major Gökmavi tribes' religious beliefs are rooted around totemist and shamanistic practices, which vary from tribe to tribe. Each tribe is associated with one guardian animal, of which totem's they carry around as a war banner. The Blue Horde's totem animal is the Horse, which symbolizes the nomad way of life, determination and hard work, the Black's the Shadowcat, which symbolizes cunning, stealth and agility, the Silver's a Hawk, ever so vigilant and aware of all present dangers, while the animal of the New Horde is a Stoneflesh Rhino, bulwark, unmoving and staggering.

The practices associated with Gökmavi shamanism vary as well, with the Blue Horde conducting rituals associated with fertility and farming, while the Black Horde performs sacred rituals involving the worship of the moon and the cloak of the night, and the New Horde communicate with the spirits of the earth in order to bless their miners to wield more ore. The Silver Horde shamans, known as the Windbreakers, conduct a number of rituals which they believe are able to cause favourable weather conditions for their frontier rangers.

However, there's a particular exception within the Gökmavi, and that's the Red Horde, which are not associated with the shamanistic and totemist practices of their brethren, but rather a strange, ancient faith that's almost extinct between all the other tribes. We are talking of course about the Cult of Blinding Light. The Red Tribes worship an entity known as the Nameless King, who resides over at his palace perched on top of Fehrum Edzulair's peak, ruling over the Dragongods, which he defeated long way before their decline.

The Red Horde believe that their legendary ancestor, the Blind Hawk, was the Nameless King's companion and a famous dragonslayer at that. Even though their religious differences them make them stand apart from the rest of the tribes, they have decent relationships with each other, as the Red Tribes are not hostile towards the practicioners of other religions, yet apostasy from their own is punished by death by live burial.

Strangely enough, the existence of this cult was reported by the Khenomeric authorities way before the appearance of the Gökmavi as we now know them.

Foreign religions almost never manage to survive in the land of the Gökmavi, as few outsiders have ever managed to settle there, and those who did, had never been able to proselytize the locals in favor of their own faiths. The long presence of the azanese in the Onyx Strip has caused that many areas in the south of the khaganate have temples dedicated to the old azanese faith. While not used for their original purpose nowadays, they are maintained by the shamans, as their believes would forbid them to let a place touched by the spiritual in disrepair. In general, they are used as social centers, in particular as nursing homes and other centers of healing.

## Demographics

The Khaganates are comprised of nomadic humans, united mostly by various cultural practices as well as their nomadic way of life. This land has proven to be hostile and inhospitable to foreigners, so very few outsiders have settled in this place, and the only visitors from outside the Gökmavi's lands are usually either envoys or merchants, usually from Dsrvyth, Gilgemash, the Urgun Tribes and Aquilea.

Apart from humans, a species of cyclopic giants can be found to the south, living to the mountains bordering the Ettin Range, and the western mountain range is infested by various goblin tribes, who even though are numerous, pose no danger to the Gökmavi, who have learned how to deal with them or even employ them. The salt flats were once also home to a species of Giants (although not as large as the ones to the north), and the only thing remaining from them nowadays is their bones, and the odd (yet unreliable) sighting here and there. This also goes for Dragons and Wyverns, as the land of the Khaganates is said to have been a place of many drakes in the past, who are now all relics.

Ghouls are sometimes said to live in the eastern grazelands of the New Horde, who claim that they make their homes out of hollow hills, and like to snatch away children, virgins and other pure creatures to suck out their blood.

The Gökmavi are one of the nations where there had been multiple sightings and even trials of vampires, yet all those were either of weaker, feral vampires, or fletchlings that were almost harmless. The existence of a deadly, primordial Elder Vampire deep within the canyons has cultivated fear amongst the Great Khans for millenia now.

## Geography

The heart of the Khaganates is dominated by endless grassy plains. These vast steppes stretch as far as the eye can see, offering ample grazing land for nomadic herding communities that have thrived in this region for centuries. The steppe provides an ideal environment for the rearing of horses, cattle, and other domesticated animals, which form the backbone of the Gökmavi society. In particularly, the areas close to the great lakes and other water bodies are the most ideal for grazing, and for that reason are highly contested between the tribes. The Gökmavi have learned to harness the resources of these rivers and lakes, constructing qanats and aqueducts, not to provide drinkable water for themselves, but as a way to slowly transistion the more arid landscapes into pockets of greenery. Amidst the steppes, the central part of the Khaganates is also home to various salt flats which greatly contribute to the nomads' economy.

As one ventures away from the steppes, the land slowly gives way to rugged mountains, badlands and endless canyons that scar the earth, as well as arid landscapes such as deserts and mesas. Mountain passes and valleys provide valuable trade routes that have allowed the Gökmavi to interact with their eastern neighbours, through the passage beyond realms of Dsrvyth.

## Foreign Relations

For a nation that is generally believed to be isolated and backwards, the Khaganate has a lot of ties with the powers of both sides of the continent, with a level of influence easily comparable with the other world powers. With that said, the Khaganate is much less populated than the other empires, simply because the harshness of the steppes does not allow for major populations. The fractured division of the hordes and the cities also affects the ability of the Gökmavi to project their power outwards. Finally, their lack of a powerful navy (wood is not particularly plentiful in the steppes, with the gökmavi fleet bought from foreign shipbuilders) limits the ability for gökmavi traders to expand their influence, even to nearby territories. This means that, while they are excellent when defending their own land, most of the world only sees them as raiders and nomads of the steppes, unevolved and uncivilized, even though it is far from the truth.

The Gökmavi monopolize the salt trade. As the first salt producer in the world by quite a margin, the Gökmavi enjoy a comfortable position in the world trade, especially when trading to the big powers, since their position allows them to sell to both the east and the west. However, they lack the reach to actually take full advantage of this position. Selling to Azan, Changrila and the Drow is difficult due to the lack of a navy of the Gökmavi, and generally are foreign ships the ones arriving to the gökmavi ports. Their inability to move their shipments on their own in a significant way leaves them dependent on foreign fleets, in particular dsrvysthian, azanese and changrilese. The salt is sold to these merchants in exchange for many exotic products and riches from far away. In particular, the gökmavi are fond of fruit of any kind, as the steppes are unable to produce but a few choice crops, and has no local fruit. This has developed into a refine cuisine focused on fruit dishes, eaten only during festivities and periods of celebration.

To the east, most of their trade has to go through Gilgemash. While in the past Gilgemash and the Gökmavi fought multiple wars, in recent decades the relations between the two powers have mellowed out. Gilgemash is still focused on reorganizing its power and defending itself from the growing pirate threat from the Blind Bastard’s Domain, and as such, fighting the Gökmavi is not a wise move. On their part, the Gökmavi need the Gilgemashi to sell their salt to the rest of the eastern powers. The Gökmavi have even helped Gilgemash finance their fleet, as they need to keep it far from the pirates’ grasp. It is not like the Gökmavi have no dealings with the people from Moridan, but the legal business is simply much more profitable.

To the north, business is much scarcer, since the only real clients in that area are the cities of Ghülam, Bashur and Aquilea. While exchanges with these cities is not as profitable, it is maintained due to historical reasons. Plus, the proximity of the Lustrus Breach means that keeping these cities going is essential to avoid the threat of the succubae from reaching the Khaganate’s borders. The Gökmavi also partake in fights against the witchelven, with many hordes relishing in fighting them, both due to their hatred against the witchelven, and also because they see them as a worthy hunt. The Gökmavi and the Witchelven do have similar tactics and strategies, so fights between the two are fast duels of maneuvering, trying to surround or trick the opponent into falling for faints and traps, all while arrows rain from one side to the other.

Outside of the salt trade, many Gökmavi travel to foreign lands to serve as mercenaries, using their honed skills in fights all around the world. In particular, they are hired by dsrvythsian and gilgemashi lords to fight their wars and clashes. They have been seen fighting and hunting down the dangerous fauna in the Zulutaur Steppes.

## Locations

### Hundred Circles

A vast fortress of earth, wood and stone consisting of 100 concentric rings of fortifications. It's from this nigh-unassailable fortress that the New Horde launches its frequent raids. It's final rings are said to be nothing but chambers full of looted treasures and gold, but no stranger has ever managed to enter them, as even the highest foreign diginitaries are never allowed to travel further than the 77th ring.

### Opole

Opole is an important port city originally founded by colonists from southern Ceri. Eventually a deal between the rival kingdom of Susar and the Silver horde would lead to the siege and surrender of the city which would become a vassal of the Silver horde, significantly reducing the power and influence of Ceri in the region at the expense of Susar. Opole now serves as a window to the world for the Gökmavi Khagnate and has grown into one of the largest cities in the empire, almost eclipsing Tsa'agan and Kalai'urt.

### A’irir’ut

The town of A’irir’ut wouldn't exist in the dry steppe, if it wasn’t for a massive underground lake that was discovered under what was once a mere Caravanserai. The lake is haunting however, as once light enters the cave a submerged city can be seen at the bottom of the lake. What's more, during the winter and summer solstice ghost figures can clearly be seen wandering under water. Spooked, but determined to make use of one of the only reservoirs of water in his land, the first Ataman of the Red Banner tribes ordered the priests and shamans to protect the city of evil curses.

The holy men thus devised a complex ritual, whose final step was that the town's populace adhere to a strict fasting regime for 55 years. The ritual had to be started over twice because of non-compliance, but after the great ghost march of 472, the populace was frightened enough to successfully complete the warding. The inhabitants of A’irir’ut and the Red Banner clan have remained a devout and frugal people to this day, only letting loose twice a year, during the spring and autumn festivals.

## Groups of Interest

### The Ifrit Folk

Ifrit Folk are a tribe of goblins that live between the great salt flats and the city of Ab'ylay. They were once known under a different name and lived to the east, on territory that has since been conquered by the Seguerial hordes, but were slowly pushed into the Suritas range. During the long interregnum between the reign of Kymil Khan of the Red Horde and Iblid "the Bloody" of the New Horde, the Ifrit exploited the chaos brought on by the complete collapse of authority to grow bold, pillaging and raiding deeper and deeper into Gökmavi territory under the leadership of their chief Bes-Korol.

Their greatest hour however came under Bes' successor, Ifirit-Korol. Ifrit used the enmity of local warlords to create a stratagem, using false flags and traitorous messengers to pit bey Sözlogü of Ab-Ylay into what he though was an easily won war against the bey of Tuz-Batirler. As the two beylik battled. the goblins mounted a daring assault on the city of Ab-Ylay, taking it in the dead of day, while most of its inhabitants were fast asleep.

The city would spend 7 years under goblin rule, with Ifrit styling himself as supreme potentate of men and goblins. Ifrit, being even more cunning than most of his species, was able to use the city's immense wealth to assemble a mercenary army with which he managed to fend off much of the smaller warlords, along with an ingenious system of day-time watch.

Eventually Ifrit would die a most ignoble death, falling down the much too large human-sized stairs of the Ab-Ylay gubernatorial palace and breaking his neck. His successor Mari-Korol, commander of Ifrit's personal guard proved too hot-headed for his own good and died merely four moths after suceeding Ifrit, killed by poisoned arrows during a battle with the bey of Kund. Mari's successor, Kor-Korol was an old shaman with a good sense of perspective that knew where the wind was headed as news came from the east of the bloody exploits of the bey Iblid many were already calling the next great Khan.

Kor-Korol sold the city of Ab-Ylay and the fealty of the goblin tribes to Karakurt the-one-eyed, the Khan of the Black Horde for quite a lump price of gold and the perpetual rights to the relatively worthless lands between the Salt flats and the Salt lake. Though allegiances have changed many times since, the descendents of those goblin tribes, known to this day as Ifrit's folk, still dwell in the area. Though to western minds, humans and goblins living side by side may seem strange and even sinful, the men of the Black horde have long gotten used to sharing their land with Ifrit's descendants, even though the two species mix little. At the traditional Kurultai of the Black horde, the goblins are allowed to send 2 representatives, though they are forbidden from riding horses, the implication being that they ought to schlep with their own feet. Ever the cunning beings the goblins had however quite quickly found a solution and now traditionally enter the Kurultai on a pair of magnificent Great White Goats, a species native to the Salt Plains.

Ifirit's folk are quickly recognizable by their greyish skin and intricate white tribal tattoos which goblins use to identify each other. Indeed goblins without markings are considered non-bound by the treaties the Gökmavi have with Ifrit's folk and are persecuted and even killed through horde territory.

Living a pastoralist life herding their goats through the salty plains of their homeland, the goblins have long adopted a governing system very similar to their human neighbours, with many small clans led by Knags all federated under a Korol which is considered the leader of all of Ifrit's Folk and direct vassal of the Blue Khan.

Traditionally the goblins almost never pay tribute to the Khan in warriors and instead pay their human liege with goat wool and cloth.