Ka'ani
The Ka’ani is an ancient society of warriors that developed into the warrior caste of the Kahala'i. Even before the hakanu caste system first emerged, the Ka’ani hakanu of Amitari were warriors of discipline and skill. Ka’ani villages raise their children in the ways of war, training their children from the age of six in the art of combat and strategy. Ka’ani villagers fought as soldiers of fortune for the fractious ruling classes. Today, that tradition continues, now ensconced in the rigid caste system of Kahala.
Many say what makes the Ka’ani unique is their unmatched discipline and intelligence. Over the centuries, the Ka’ani have converted the art of warfare into a science, more so than any other society, including the Kalmasan War Academy. Ka’ani are relatively small in number compared to the conscripts gathered by the Kalmasan Samraj or the warriors of Talani. But what they lack in quantity, they make up in quality. In addition to their skill, the Ka’ani have the finest weapons and armor, developed by their master craftspeople and enhanced by the semiotic magic of the To'ani caste magicians.
Recently there has been pressure put on the Ka’ani to allow Kua and Pu’anu castes into their fighting forces, even if only as an auxiliary. Some Kua villages have become rich from black market trading and have acquired their own weapons and established private militias, sometimes hiring foreign mercenaries as trainers. The Kua village leaders argue this has been out of necessity to protect against raiders and outlaws that they say the Ka’ani caste is either unable or unwilling to control.
Some members of the ruling Tohuna caste fear this development, others see them as a new source of power and have legalized these armed ‘village defense militias’, ostensibly as an act of compassion for the plight of the Kua. But according to some rumors, it is really a way of growing a new resource of fighters at minimum cost and without the interference of the Ka’ani. For their part, the Ka'ani leaders utterly reject the idea of armed Kua and Pu'anu, arguing it is profane in the eyes of Ila'Makau and endangers the realm.
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