Trading Post of Khargün

Description

The Khargün Isles have historically been inhabited by an off-shoot of the Khalag orcs ruled by a Khalar. When the Middenlanders first made land here, it was ruled by Khalar Turgen Amgalan, who was firmly in the palm of the Commonwealth of Furan. The khalarate was suffering from factional division however, with both of the island chief ministers being loyal to his brother Tömör Lkhag, who was living in exile in Kulanakai. The Middenlanders of the then-existing Kingdom of Veloria smuggled Tömör back and offered to support his claim as Khalar and provide him with yearly economical support in exchange for the rights to build a large trading port on the main island.
Five years later another treaty gave further control of the island and made it effectively a Velorian province. Twenty years later however the Kingdom of Veloria fractured after the death of King Orsino Veolar and left the Khargün Isles in a precarious position. The Middenlander factions that have since rose and fallen through the centuries do not have full legal control of the port, and they are not in a position to exert their control by force.

Culture

Originally this was a place with a limited population, and limited thoroughfare, which led to a hardy people but they were also wary of strangers and travelers. After the construction of the trade port however, the place grew in population and came more into contact with other nations and peoples. At the time of the fall of the Kingdom of Veloria, there were many transient workers, sailors and soldiers in Khargün who had had no intention of staying, but decided to do so anyway seeing as the situation in their homeland was very unstable. At this point it does not really fit the traditional description of a nation, rather being a society-in-transition. Not all of the inhabitants have the same mother tongue, favor the same Gods and historical figures, or even have the same customs. Some tend to traditional Khargün customs, while others tend to conservative Middenlander culture, or that of the Commonwealth of Furan.

Politics

Originally the isles were ruled solely by the Khalar who took all decisions of importance. After the rule of the Kingdom of Veloria, and with a growing population, rule was decentralized slightly. The Khalar is still the head of state, but the two Island Chief Ministers of the two smaller islands were given more power to decide on affairs within their own island, and they are allowed to install a council of internal affairs. They frequently confer with the Khalar and his Vizier to decide the direction of the Khalarate and how it wishes to navigate political relations with other countries. The third island is uninhabited and thus does not have a chief. It is also rumored to be haunted by the spirit of a Dragon and attempts to settle it have been unsuccessful so far.
Relationships between them and some of the larger players in the world such as the coastal Middenlander duchies or the Commonwealth have become more tense. With increasing industrialization the gap in power and productivity between them and these larger countries is growing further and further and as a trading stop of relative importance they are worried that they will become a target of conquest soon enough. The main thing stopping this for now, is that it would likely escalate into a war between both sides and neither side wants to slow down their technological advancements by getting caught up in that. But for how long will this tenuous peace last?

Onward, Khargün

Alternative Names

Khargün Khalarate

Demonym

Khargün