Khadagan Commonwealth
The brutal, untamed lands of Khans and Warlords, founded by the legendary Scarlet King long ago
Structure
Governmental Structure
The Government of Khadagar is a relatively simple thing compared to other nations across Zheng-Kitar, as one might expect from a land still ruled by barbaric tribes and roaring warlords - though it is, rather to the surprise of many, a great deal more "peaceful" and "civil" than the likes of other nations similar to it like the Astaran Republic and The Narixian Empire thanks in large part to the design of their government which was designed from the outset to prevent bloody tribal feuds from ever occuring on the large-scale. Great Khaan: The united, singular ruler of the tribes of the Commonwealth. The exact means of their election to this vaunted position is not known, but according to popular Khadagan mythos, Great Khaans are not elected nor born; they are forged in fire and made in blood. The selection of the Great Khaan is finalized by the mysterious group of Viziers that work in service to their seat of power known as the Kurul-beq, who notify members of the populace that qualify as potential candidates of Khaanship to put them through the "Trials of Heaven" to see who emerges victorious and claims the title. They rule for as long as their lifespan and strength allows - while absolute obedience and loyalty are critical themes of the Commonwealth and especially for the Great Khaan, they must yet remain vigilant and not show themselves as incompetent or blatantly weak so as to project power and prove themselves worthy of the unflinching loyalty of those beneath them - and of the merit that got them chosen in the first place. They face the herculean task of uniting the countless tribes and Khans of Khadagar beneath their rule and organizing them, and are unofficially expected to contribute to the commonwealth in some great, lasting way before they leave office or face some small degree of shame in the Khadagan histories. Kurul-Beq: The mysterious group of Viziers responsible for selecting the various candidates for the seat of Great Khaan. Founded long ago during the Commonwealth's inception by no less than Khaasin Baatar himself, they are created to serve as a constant check to the various Khans of the Commonwealth in a bid by their original founder Khaasin Baatar to prevent a situation similar to what has taken hold in the Astaran Republic: eternal, bloody civil wars between the Chiefs to decide who gets the throne. Their exact methods and means of recruitment and even their headquarters are a mystery, but they serve as a check to the Khans by forcing them to work towards the Commonwealth's benefit rather than bloodily squabble for power in the hopes of one day attaining the seat of Great Khaan - for only through proving themselves a great hero of the people can the hope to secure the approval of the Kurul-Beq to be granted the rights to enter the Trials of Heaven. The Trials of Heaven: The mysterious trials held high up on Khülchin Mountain southwest of the Commonwealth Capital of Panchun - everything about the Trials is a mystery even to the ranks of the Kurul-Beq, but it was supposedly created as a mystical training ground that would take the candidates selected by the Kurul-Beq and determine which among them is fit to become the next Great Khaan. In this way, it acts as a check against the Kurul-Beq to ensure that they can never rise to power using their ability to directly pick the next Great Khaan of Khadagar. Typically, of the half-dozen or so candidates sent into the trials, only the successor returns alive - though exceptions have arisen over the centuries. Khan: The catchall title for one of Khadagar's many tribal leaders, capable of ruling anything from a small section of the plains to one of the largest cities in the land. In the simplest terms, a Khan is a leader of others - typically in charge of one of the tribes that roams the plains of Khadagar. They are expected to provide for the well-being of themselves and those under their command, and must work towards the betterment of the tribe they rule - and unlike the Great Khaan who is chosen by the Kurul-beq, the more regional Khans are elected by the free males of the tribe in question and hold office for as long as they can remain in and hold power. They are honor bound to give absolute loyalty and obedience to the Great Khaan above all else. Baqlare: The Viziers, Advisors, and Ministers who serve the Khans and Great Khans in the performance of their day-to-day duties - they are typically Male Khadagarians(Though this is not a legal requirement) and serve the important role of advising the Khan or Great Khaan in matters of state, politics, finance, and more. Though Ultimate Power ultimately rests with the Khans and Great Khans themselves, the position of Baqlare is a highly respected one and most Khans and Great Khans at least take the advice of the Baqlare to heart and consider it well before making a decision - it is altogether rare for Baqlare to exist who are considered useless and ignore, as in such cases they simply would not be hired and brought into the fold of the Khan or Great Khaan in question. Those Baqlare who serve the Great Khaan are considered to be of higher standing than those who serve the lesser Khans, but all Baqlare are considered to be respectable and noble invididuals. Askek: A regional governor elected by the more nomadic Khans to rule over a given area, quell dissent, and collect any tribute from the nearby area and its people. They are subordinate to the Khans, but are given broad discretionary powers to ensure the absolute rule of the Khan and the Great Khaan above them is upheld. This office, while often ignored, is a vital step to the continued existance of the Commonwealth established by the great Khaasin Baatar himself long ago - a critical focal point to counterbalance the roaming, nomadic nature of the Khans and their tribes so the great cities of Khadagar can be maintained and upkept. Khadar: The citizens of the Commonwealth, divided neatly into the "Khadar-gal" and "Khadan" sub-groups, respectively. They are members of the tribes, cities, or otherwise natives of the great lands of Khadagar. They participate in their government on the local level by participating in voting for the next Khan of their tribes - though typically this task is done by the male citizens of the tribe.Societal Ranks
Khadagarian society is exceedingly simple - all citizens in Khadagar are simply grouped into one of two categories, described below: Khadar-Gal: The rank of society reserved for the native-born citizens of Khadagar - defined by the Khans of Khadagar as those who have been in the lands of Khadagar for longer than one generation. They do not enjoy any special laws or privileges, but simply do not pay the extra tribute or find themselves subjected to extra scrutiny that the Khadar-Xon pay or are subjected to. Notably, any child of a Khadar-Xon is automatically considered a Khadar-Gal themselves, unlike their parents, and are welcomed into the formal family of Khadagar. As natives of Khadagar, they are each expected to contribute to the common welfare of their tribe, obey the orders of the local Khan and their subordinates, pay the proper tributes of the area, and participate in all battles the tribe undertakes themselves...alongside a host of other responsibilities, determined variously by the tribe they ascribe to. Khadar-Xon: The rank of society reserved for the foreigners and outlanders(Literally translating to 'Not Khadar') who come into the country to settle down and live a life from places far afield. Because Khadagarian society is so open that nearly anyone can immigrate to the lands of Khadagar and settle down to start a new life anywhere within the country without much fuss so long as they are prepared to obey local laws and pay proper tribute, a societal rank was formed to denote them from the ranks of the Khadar-Gal, or the native Khadagarians. Laws are stricter for the ranks of the Khadar-Xon and their tribute to the local tribes somewhat higher, though this is done only as an extra precautionary measure against foreigners who come to Khadagar with ill intentions or for those who bring trouble to the doorstep of the tribes onto whose lands they immigrate. These extra fees and stricter laws are widely considered to be a formal tax given to the lands of Khadagar in exchange for the tribes accepting them as family, protecting them as one of their own, and for accepting any and all children born within their lands as one of the Khadar-Gal - native citizens of the land.Culture
For information on the Khadagarian culture, read up on it on the Khadagarian ethnicity page.
Public Agenda
The central goal of the Commonwealth as best as can be determined is the defeat of the City-State of Sakhrad to the west and the defense of their southern border against the ever-encroaching forces of the Cheoltang Technocracy and the Jinsei that dwell there, constantly seeking to destroy them and their way of life.
History
The history of the Commonwealth is a thing written in blood - founded several centuries ago by the legendary warlord Khaasin Baatar, the Commonwealth was formed after that legendary warlord led a bloody, brutal campaign across the Khadagarian Peninsula, uniting the warring tribes and founding the unified nation of Khadagar after winning his final victory on the fields of Oyuun after beginning his conquest on the eastern coast of Khadagar near the modern-day capital of Panchun. Founded on the corpses of thousands and even potentially millions that died in the wake of his brutal campaigns of slaughter and destruction, the Commonwealth stands in the modern day as a miracle in the histories of Khadagar as the first and longest-standing period of relative inter-tribal unity since the dawn of all Khadagan history long ago.
Demography and Population
The population of the Commonwealth is predominantly Dragonborn, Tortle, and Human. Secondarily, races such as Guīmogoa, Bomujeo, Kobold, Výtrúl, Sea Elves, and Qìtóng can be found here in more limited quantities. However, to a minor degree, nearly all races can be found in the Commonwealth in single digits - owing to how popular the lands of Khadagar is as a place to flee to and start a new life within.
Territories
The lands of the Commonwealth encompass most of the Khadagarian peninsula - though it was once all held by the tribes of Khadagar in the times of Antiquity in a mixture of conquest, birthright, and everytime in between, the lands of the Commonwealth have since diminished slightly to merely encompass most of the Peninsula, in the lands established and conquered during the heart of Khaasin Baatar's bloody crusade to unify the scattered tribal lands of Khadagar. However, even before that, the barbaric tribes of Khadagar are said to have dwelled on the Peninsula since ancient times - some say even since The Spirit Kings reformed the continent and potentially even before, when the very first proto-khadagarians arrived from a long-defunct land-bridge to the continent of Khyarmani that the Kingdom of Tarthus-Tetsu now lies upon, thousands and thousands of years ago.
Military
The Khadagarian military is broadly divided into five organizations, listed below:
- Geraagül Horde: The armies of the Khans that rule the Commonwealth that serve as the Rank and File military of the country. Because everyone in a given tribe is expected to help pull their weight and ensure the tribe's survival, most natives of the Commonwealth are trained and equipped for combat, though not to the degree of the actual fighters of the Horde. They are drafted from the ranks of the native and foreign members of the Khan-led tribes and pressed into service of their tribe and Khan for a varying period of time, after which they muster out for a time before being called back to service.
- Askeku Militia: The armies of the Askek - the Governors appointed by the Khans to govern the cities and unmoving infrastructure of the Commonwealth. They serve primarily as peacekeepers and police the streets of the Commonwealth's cities and towns, enforcing and upholding the laws of the Khans - in times of great and dire need, they are called upon as the Military Reserve. Similar in many ways to the internal town guards and police forces of other nations.
- Scarlet Commandos: The most elite fighting force in the Commonwealth, given the unflattering nickname of "Purge Troopers" or the even more infamous "Death Commandos" for their brutal, borderline sadistic training regimen that turns many into seldom-speaking murder machines. They fight exclusively against the infinite machine hordes of the Cheoltang Technocracy, fighting constantly against the Jinsei and other machines deployed by the Technocracy along the Great Reaping Wall that lines the border of the Commonwealth and the Technocracy. They face suicidal odds daily and are tasked with the impossible task of stopping the ever-expanding onslaught of mechanical death from laying waste to the Commonwealth as a whole. Each is the equal of a thousand men, trained night and day in a hellish environment almost none can fathom to fight against an enemy that defies all reckoning and common sense. They earn their nickname "Scarlet Commandos" for their habit of decorating their bodies with the Scarlet blood of their fallen comrades, painting intricate canvases upon their skin to evoke the visage of Khaasin Baatar and his vicious Scarlet Lightning in the hopes it will grant them better odds in battle.
- The Clansingers: A unique function of the Khadagarian Military, the Clansingers serve the all-important role of ensuring the armies of the Commonwealth adhere to the ideals of the Great Khaan and Khadagar as a whole - serving as spiritual leaders and political knights that carry the ideologies of the Khans to the troops at the ground level. They also serve the vital role of carrying the battle standards of the armies, the history of the units they are assigned to, and also serve the vital function of being the information and spy network of each Khan and their tribe. Due to the Khadagarian importance of hospitality and oral tradition, they are almost always left alone even during brutal civil wars - for as to kill one is to kill a thousand years of history, done only in the most scorched-earth of tactics that is sure to earn one the ire of all nearby Khans.
- Skybreathers: An extremely dwindling population of elite warriors who carry on the teachings of Khaasin Baatar, and his numerous military innovations. They serve as a mercenary force who roams the lands of Khadagar answering to those in great and dire need, and traveling to the places where remnants of Khaasin Baatar's legacy can be found - akin to itinerant Holy Warriors. They are given immense, overwhelming respect by other Khadagarians, and often roam far afield on quests that carry them across the continent in the hopes of uncovering ancient relics of The Scarlet Emperor. They are rumored to have a secretive headquarters from which they deploy and in which they store all their secrets, but its location - as with many of the Skybreathers' secrets - remains unknown to the general populace.
Religion
There are no religious laws in the Commonwealth - all religions are welcome so long as they do not interfere with the country or its citizens.
Foreign Relations
Because of how isolated the lands of the commonwealth are, they have few Foreign Relations at all - though the ones they do have are usually neutral or negative...though, this may not be the fairest comparison, as one of the Commonwealth's neighbors, the Cheoltang Technocracy, is an unknowable entity that seeks only their true and utter destruction.
To the west, their relations Sakhrad are not ideal - founded on cold hostility with occasional open warfare as the city-state's southern land around the city of Bukhara blocks the only Land-route in and out of the Peninsula...and has also cut off the entire Commonwealth from oceanic trade with the construction of one of The Seven Wonders of Zheng-Kitar, the Sakhradi Canal.
Otherwise, their relationship with the other nations of Zheng-Kitar is best described as neutral, though other nations mostly see the Commonwealth as a strange and mystical far-off land of which many rumors exist, but few facts are available...telling tale of a far-off land at constant war with a race of undying, unbreakable machines that seek to exterminate all life.
Agriculture & Industry
The agriculture of the Commonwealth is quite a booming industry all its own - as a country largely dominate by fertile grasslands, humid swamps, and similar hot and humid climates, the Commonwealth has always had a surplus of land and a surplus of food grown on that land.
They also have an enormous plantation industry, in whose vast fields are grown enormous quantities of cotton, tobacco, sugar, and more.
Trade & Transport
Trade within the Commonwealth is primarily done overland, in Caravans placed under the protection of the various tribes of the land - though oversea travel is also done wherever possible in the same manner.
Education
Education in the lands of Khadagar is done orally, through the oral traditions of the Clansingers who education the young members of the Clans in the proper ways of the tribe from a young age.
Drink deep from the Cup of Destruction.
Founding Date
3633 ASK
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Alternative Names
The Commonwealth, Khadagar
Demonym
Leader Title
Government System
Tribalism
Power Structure
Federation
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
The Commonwealth uses the nationalized, standard currency known as the Görgöl - a unique currency system established in the wake of the Commonwealth's founding by Khaasin Baatar. The Görgöl itself is similar to paper currencies such as banknotes, but instead is typically "printed" on cured animal leathers or hides, with small coins divided up into several smaller denominations below the Görgöl.
Major Exports
Cotton, Sugar, Tobacco
Major Imports
Metals, Ores, Weapons and Armor, Manpower, Luxury Goods
Legislative Body
The Great Khaan ultimately holds the power of legislation in the Commonwealth - though his array of advisors as well as the other Khans serve as his council to advise him on such matters
Judicial Body
Though the Great Khaan holds ultimate judicial power in the Commonwealth, in practice the judicial system is mostly left up to the individual tribes - so long as the overarching laws of the Commonwealth are not broken, each tribe is left to handle its own areas and decide upon matters requiring the interpretation of the laws set down by the Great Khaan. In the rare case where a lawbreaker or judiciary issue is so prominent that it gains national attention, then the Great Khaan themself will step in to decide upon it.
Executive Body
The enforcement of the laws of Khadagar is a task left up to by the armies of the Khans who subordinate themselves to the Great Khaan - each is responsible for enforcing the laws within their territory.
Neighboring Nations
Related Species
Related Ethnicities
Related Reading
Constant Rivals
Though initially the two countries held a rather neutral view of each other, the tensions have risen in recent years as the City-State of Sakhrad constructed its sister-city of Bukhara and finished the Sakhradi Canal, effectively blockading the entire Khadagarian Peninsula from overland trade and cutting it off of Sea-Trade entirely by way of the canal which allows ships to sail through the canal instead of around the Peninsula...a move which cut the entire Commonwealth off from the global economy.
The Khadagarians, understandably, have been extremely annoyed about this - and have sought to conquer Bukhara and the Canal ever since.
Eternal Enemies
With no reason given, the Cheoltang Technocracy and its infinite mechanized legions have sought to destroy the lands of Commonwealth since as long as anyone in the Commonwealth can remember - only through the constant, bloody efforts of the Scarlet Commandos and the wider Khadagarian Military are the forces of the Technocracy kept at bay from flooding the Peninsula and destroying all life.
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