Great Khan Turvil
Khan of the Yarmeza Turvil Antal (a.k.a. The Great Khan)
The scourge of empires, the great destroyer of the imperial cities of Achestad and Rasca, and the ruler of the vast and expansive Great Yarmezan Khanate which stretched all the way east to the land of the Zhors and to the present lands remembered as Akhantal.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Described as strong, sturdy with hands and thighs that showed signs of his origin atop a saddled horse
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Of all the eastern raiders to come to the banks of the two mighty rivers Rhor and Oltune, none inspired the terror that Turvil of the Yarmeza did. The ruler of all the powerful Yarmezan clans was born to chief Kubra of the Antals, a people among the furthest west of the wandering Yarmeza. The details of Turvil's rise to power are lost, what can be inferred is that his clan, the Antals, were already among the more powerful clans of the Yarmeza, and through diplomacy and military might, Turvil united the clans after assuming rule over his own. When Turvil reaches the common record, he is vividly described by Issac Vartizes, a notable historian and foreign ambassador to the Yarmeza during this time.
This was the image of Turvil that the wider world would know, that of an all-powerful horse lord of the grasslands beyond the Oltune. What truly made Turvil so feared was his intelligence, his coordination of such a powerful state was very unlike most raiding nomads of the past as he commanded soldiers, disciplined and understood orders which were very unlike the wild and whipping nomads of ages past. Much of the information of Turvil comes from later decades and centuries between the western peoples he attacked or conquered or from much later Yarmezan sources that wish to paint him as a glorious ancestor and father of their people. This makes the evaluation of his deeds and character difficult because of the differing perspectives of his time as the leader of his people. In the time of his ascension, the Yarmeza had made a name for themselves on the world stage as the top of the food chain as they had inspired fear and submission from the settled Prus, Herodi, Mykran, and notably the Rasenna who gave them donations of gold to not raid their lands. In the last years of the Empire, the Yarmeza were instrumental in the policies of the imperial administration of Mathias and Arno who continued the payments to these feared eastern riders. When Arno and the empire died, the only remaining threat to the Yarmeza did as well and they were set loose on the world and began far off, ambitious raids reaching as far as western Hasdulia. By 13 B.E, Turvil is reported as being at the head of the Yarmeza and to have led numerous raids, notably the one that sacked the Hasdinian cultural capital of Achestad in 7 B.E. The destruction of the imperial city of Achestad sent the various successor states of the Krauling empire into a tailspin and Turvil received bountiful tribute from these terrified leaders who did everything they could to appease the all power warlord. By the end of 3 B.E, Turvil began a great raid that would culminate in the Yarmeza besieging the city of Rasca itself where they were among a series of other enemies the dying state had made in its final days. Adding to his own prestige, Turvil's own people had already begun calling him "Ikh Khaan" or simply The Great Khan, a title above the typical one of Khagan which previous warlords of the east had been known as. Turvil proved an equal to his grand moniker as while the other enemies of the Rasenna looted the city for a day or two, the Yarmeza put it to the torch and razed the ancient city to the ground as they had done to Achestad only a few years prior. In a famous tale of this time, Turvil is supposed to have made a simple statement upon withdrawing from the smoldering ruins of the once greatest city in the world,
The Yarmeza grew rich from the destruction of Rasca, they carted back huge sacks of precious materials back to their main encampment of Palinska which came to be the center of their power under the Great Khan. The next few years are detailed with an assortment of accounts of Turvil's cultural actions which looked to centralize power and establish a permanent Yarmezan state on both sides of the Oltune. While he consolidated his gains, Turvil added new lands and subjects to his growing Khanate as he ventured north into the lands of the Prus on several campaigns that brought back enormous tributes from the various states of these lands. Under Turvil, Palinska became a place more akin to the settlements of his western rivals than a traditional nomadic encampment. Turvil himself is said to have constructed a well-fortified citadel for himself atop a hill, a sign of his further adoption of more settled customs. As success became more and more a fixture of life in the Khanate, Turvil's marauding bands had made inroads into Agrihenia toward the Arnziatic gulf where a scouting party made it to the walls of Komenia, the largest settlement in the region. Mustering a truly massive invasion force, Turvil rode out to take the city in the spring of 21 A.E and by the early summer, he had arrived at the swamps of the city and settled into a siege. Much had changed in the city during his advance however, the city had overthrown their Dux and commander Maurice Vatatzes, a veteran of the destruction of Rasca, had taken command of the city and rallied it to defend against the Khan.
Turvil's failure to take the city would doom not only himself but also the state he had spent so long creating as in those marshes it is thought he contracted a waterborne illness that plagued him. When the siege was lost and the Yarmeza retreated back to Palinska, the journey back seems to have aggravated the illness and it took the once invincible Great Khan of the Yarmeza in his sleep. The man who had united the fierce warriors of the far east, and often called the Radimane of the East for his unification of the vastly differing peoples of his realm. This great leader, this great eastern wind and terror of the known world, died asleep choking in his own blood.
Turvil's state imploded on itself when news of his passing reached his capital. In the aftermath of the Khan's passing, the Yarmeza he had united fractured as old clan rivalries flared up without the Khan's mediating presence. In a decade, the Yarmeza resembled the state of their ancestors while taking on more and more of the settled aspects of their once submissive western neighbors. With their fangs of old dulled, the Yarmeza settled into their new homeland and became a constant fixture of the lands now called "Akhantal" or as it is commonly referred to "The lands of the Khan".
"He was a man born to shake nations, the feared scourge of all lands. He was haughty in his walk but regal in stature as he strode he brought the gaze of watchers low for all would acquiesce to his vision. In diplomacy, he appeared to ambassadors behind a shroud of fog, a veil of eastern magic this chronicler had ever seen before. When visible, he wore decorated fabrics and appeared as orderly and extravagant as any ruler of the settled world. Once on the warpath, his steed beat the dirt and trampled anything before him as he relished conflict yet remained calm in his implementation of it. To this noble Khan, battle was strategy and the fear of his opponents could bring untold advantages to himself and his state. This chronicler cannot recall a man who instilled more fear without any actions which inspired fear than the Great Khan. While short of stature, his strong chest and large head did little to make this apparent as he appeared to possess the strength of Gordian with a single glance. His eyes were small and tucked away near to his skull, his beard lush and lightly sprinkled with grey. He had firm hands often griped at his sides or on his belt and strong thighs, showing evidence of his origin in the saddle".
This was the image of Turvil that the wider world would know, that of an all-powerful horse lord of the grasslands beyond the Oltune. What truly made Turvil so feared was his intelligence, his coordination of such a powerful state was very unlike most raiding nomads of the past as he commanded soldiers, disciplined and understood orders which were very unlike the wild and whipping nomads of ages past. Much of the information of Turvil comes from later decades and centuries between the western peoples he attacked or conquered or from much later Yarmezan sources that wish to paint him as a glorious ancestor and father of their people. This makes the evaluation of his deeds and character difficult because of the differing perspectives of his time as the leader of his people. In the time of his ascension, the Yarmeza had made a name for themselves on the world stage as the top of the food chain as they had inspired fear and submission from the settled Prus, Herodi, Mykran, and notably the Rasenna who gave them donations of gold to not raid their lands. In the last years of the Empire, the Yarmeza were instrumental in the policies of the imperial administration of Mathias and Arno who continued the payments to these feared eastern riders. When Arno and the empire died, the only remaining threat to the Yarmeza did as well and they were set loose on the world and began far off, ambitious raids reaching as far as western Hasdulia. By 13 B.E, Turvil is reported as being at the head of the Yarmeza and to have led numerous raids, notably the one that sacked the Hasdinian cultural capital of Achestad in 7 B.E. The destruction of the imperial city of Achestad sent the various successor states of the Krauling empire into a tailspin and Turvil received bountiful tribute from these terrified leaders who did everything they could to appease the all power warlord. By the end of 3 B.E, Turvil began a great raid that would culminate in the Yarmeza besieging the city of Rasca itself where they were among a series of other enemies the dying state had made in its final days. Adding to his own prestige, Turvil's own people had already begun calling him "Ikh Khaan" or simply The Great Khan, a title above the typical one of Khagan which previous warlords of the east had been known as. Turvil proved an equal to his grand moniker as while the other enemies of the Rasenna looted the city for a day or two, the Yarmeza put it to the torch and razed the ancient city to the ground as they had done to Achestad only a few years prior. In a famous tale of this time, Turvil is supposed to have made a simple statement upon withdrawing from the smoldering ruins of the once greatest city in the world,
"In all the lands I have gone, no blade of grass shall grow again".
The Yarmeza grew rich from the destruction of Rasca, they carted back huge sacks of precious materials back to their main encampment of Palinska which came to be the center of their power under the Great Khan. The next few years are detailed with an assortment of accounts of Turvil's cultural actions which looked to centralize power and establish a permanent Yarmezan state on both sides of the Oltune. While he consolidated his gains, Turvil added new lands and subjects to his growing Khanate as he ventured north into the lands of the Prus on several campaigns that brought back enormous tributes from the various states of these lands. Under Turvil, Palinska became a place more akin to the settlements of his western rivals than a traditional nomadic encampment. Turvil himself is said to have constructed a well-fortified citadel for himself atop a hill, a sign of his further adoption of more settled customs. As success became more and more a fixture of life in the Khanate, Turvil's marauding bands had made inroads into Agrihenia toward the Arnziatic gulf where a scouting party made it to the walls of Komenia, the largest settlement in the region. Mustering a truly massive invasion force, Turvil rode out to take the city in the spring of 21 A.E and by the early summer, he had arrived at the swamps of the city and settled into a siege. Much had changed in the city during his advance however, the city had overthrown their Dux and commander Maurice Vatatzes, a veteran of the destruction of Rasca, had taken command of the city and rallied it to defend against the Khan.
Turvil's failure to take the city would doom not only himself but also the state he had spent so long creating as in those marshes it is thought he contracted a waterborne illness that plagued him. When the siege was lost and the Yarmeza retreated back to Palinska, the journey back seems to have aggravated the illness and it took the once invincible Great Khan of the Yarmeza in his sleep. The man who had united the fierce warriors of the far east, and often called the Radimane of the East for his unification of the vastly differing peoples of his realm. This great leader, this great eastern wind and terror of the known world, died asleep choking in his own blood.
Turvil's state imploded on itself when news of his passing reached his capital. In the aftermath of the Khan's passing, the Yarmeza he had united fractured as old clan rivalries flared up without the Khan's mediating presence. In a decade, the Yarmeza resembled the state of their ancestors while taking on more and more of the settled aspects of their once submissive western neighbors. With their fangs of old dulled, the Yarmeza settled into their new homeland and became a constant fixture of the lands now called "Akhantal" or as it is commonly referred to "The lands of the Khan".
Accomplishments & Achievements
Dozens of highly successful raids and incursions into western territory
Sacking of Achestad
Sacking and destruction of Rasca
Enormous amounts of wealth brought back to his lands
Consolidated the Yarmeza into a single united state for a time
Sacking of Achestad
Sacking and destruction of Rasca
Enormous amounts of wealth brought back to his lands
Consolidated the Yarmeza into a single united state for a time
Failures & Embarrassments
Failed to take Komneia by siege
Fell on the road back to Palinska
Fell on the road back to Palinska
Intellectual Characteristics
Prudent and Calculating
Morality & Philosophy
The World belongs to the Strongest
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Ensure the stability and success of his state
Consolidate the Yarmezan people
Consolidate the Yarmezan people
Virtues & Personality perks
Decisive
Thoughtful
Skilled
Thoughtful
Skilled
Vices & Personality flaws
Ruthless
Unflinching
Zealous
Unflinching
Zealous
Social
Social Aptitude
Unlike some who can typically be dismissed as thoughtless barbarians by written sources, the words of Khan Turvil are inscribed and even commented on as being those made by a man with an intellectual upbringing on a variety of subjects with origins across the world. In commentary with Rasennan captives and even with Issac Vartizes who says he made references to stories of figures of Rasennan history like Tsavo Mhambi of the old Hakkatens and Corlio of the Republican era.
Speech
While educated, Turvil's speech reveals that he favored a very short and simple way of speaking. Never one to go on elaborate or detailed speeches, Turvil had a grounded and even humble way of speaking, at least when the words are being written down by enemy scribes and historians.
Religions
Ethnicity
Other Ethnicities/Cultures
Date of Birth
4th of Kaisie
Life
34 B.E
22 A.E
56 years old
Circumstances of Birth
Son of a clan chieftain named Kubra
Circumstances of Death
Died of an aggravated illness in his sleep
Birthplace
Erhkorum
Place of Death
On the trail back to Palinska
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Dark Brown
Hair
Dark Brown, Short with Bushy Goatee
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Brown
Height
5'10
Weight
200 lbs
Aligned Organization
Beijak
Luvaush
Hasdinian
Lakic
Comments