The Khadan Humans

The Khadan Humans
Nicknames	The Orphans Of Anjyarr
Spoken Languages	Common, Tongue, Azari Linguae
Average Height	1.70m - 1.90m
Average Weight	65kg - 80kg
Homeland	The Anjyarr Desert, The Emirate of Al-Khadir
Capital	Al-Khadir (city)

Introduction

The people of the Anjyarr deserts, they have tanner skin then their Hadrian counterparts, as being a desert raised people’s the natural darker tone of their skin provides a type of camouflage when it comes to blending into the raging sand winds, the large and numerous sand dunes, and the dusty rock sculps which litter the land. From their centuries of surviving in the desert climate they have learned to never show fear and to always stand their ground, they fight majestically with agile spear and sword combat that blitz’s the enemy if they don’t plan for it. Though the Khadans have many combat secrets and a deadly arsenal of specific made weapons however the appearance of these, are few and far inbetween as the Khadans are a loving and accepting culture to all outsiders that  may visit them. Along with all this, they are in possession of a wide range of riches including different valuable metals, gemstones, and other bright shiny jewellery pieces which makes them a real eyecatcher.

They also have incredible bartering skills as their ability to sell a horse to a Hadrian, or ore to a Dwarf is not to be doubted and along with their Alliance with the Dark Elves who helped them through the Rotting Plague, they are capable of immense power. It is recommended you keep an eye out on the desert lands as what is there today might become outdated tomorrow, and what is far away tonight might become a border in the morning.

Appearance

The Khadans, also known as The Orphans of Anjyarr, The Roaming Men, or The People of Al-Khadir, share a very different look than those of the other humans. The Khadan are usually slightly shorter than the average Hadrian as their men grow to a max of 180cm (5’9”) and their women to a max of 170cm (5’5”).

The Khadan have not always been a unified people and in their past both shared periods of large unification and periods of fragmentation, due to this their skin colour while always tan in appearance shifts between darker and lighter tones depending on where the tribe settled for most of their time. Of the two groups of tribes the Zanmirs, the tribes which inhabited both coastal regions and areas near waterways have found their way to be the icon of beauty amongst the Khadan people. They have light brown hair which usually hangs long down their back, they can have glowing and shiny green blue eyes, and their lighter complexion makes them look like an Attian who got a sunburn.

Unlike their Zanmir relatives, the Vaemirs inhabited the sprawling deserts and such look very different. They have hair which ranges from jet black to nearly white as the amount of time a person spends in the sun can heavily dictate their appearance. They can be both very pale and close to caramel along with usually having brown eyes which sometimes appear to be orange to those who look at them. They are usually wrapped up and hidden but when they reappear they and their special looks can draw the attention of a crowd. Beauty amongst the female Khadans usually result from having a more oval shaped face, long dark eyebrows, and detailed eyelashes which contrast heavily with their eyes which is seen as the most important part. In comparison, the men usually maintain well kept facial hair such as beards and moustaches for their standards. Unlike in some cultures, scars of any sort are actually considered beautiful and seen as marks of courage, strength, and honour amongst their people.

Apparel

Even though there are many different tribes and two main races present in the country, the climate has forced all of them to accept a universal type of dress. Due to the Anjyarr desert, the people of Al-Khadir have been mainly seen to wear loose fit robes made of soft materials such as silk, cotton, linen, or satin. The more wealthy inhabitants have been seen wearing robes with gold and jewels attached to them as a display of wealth and fashion with gold being a mainstay. The Khadan robes are often mulicoloured with gold accents and gems along with gold or silver piercings, which contrast heavily to their ‘lunn counterparts as they usually wear dark coloured robes with purple gemstones adorning them.

When it comes to the armor of the Khadan’s, they wear chainmail and bronze or brass plates which are often covered in gems and shiny metals over their traditional robes. Both sexes often prefer armor crafted with ornate design and usually have leather boots and helmets to increase their agility and speed as they are main aspects of their fighting style. The cloaks and robes that accompany these warriors are usually red to keep both the sun away and to scare their enemy as red causes the eye to play tricks on those when under sandstorm conditions, along with this they often wrap their helmets with long scarves to prevent the sun from beaming down to heavily on it. Often to those who travel through the Anjyarr deserts, many wear masks to keep the sand out of their eyes and to conceal their identity, along with this women often wear veils to protect their faces and eyes from getting beat with sand.

Culture and Society

Among all races and peoples of Eden, Khadans are the only that can perfectly mix “fire and water” into their culture. The Khadan people are open, friendly, and welcoming people to both allies and people who seek friendship. However, they always keep a vigilant eye towards those around them, and also can be ruthless and violent to those who cross them.

Originating from war-stricken lands which caused a mass exodus of the Khadan people, they have not only settled well to their second home, but they have claimed the area as theirs. The Deserts of Anjyarr are theirs and they have made sure it is stated without words, they have mastered riding, archery, and trading to not only make them a super power but a force to reckon with. Even though the deserts they inhabit are barren and empty, their heart and spiritually are the exact opposite as they follow a philosophy called “The Path” - which is to live one’s life seeking inner peace, no matter how one might identify said peace.The Khadan’s living in the harsh desert climates has one major upside, they value friends and family highly and deem any sort of betrayal as one of the worst acts, which stretches back centuries in their history.

Their natural open-mindedness and alliance with the Azari’luun has made the region of Al-Khadir a very special place, as these two races are tied together as tightly as can be, which is a testament to their culture and peoples.

Holidays and Celebrations

The Khadan are a people of happiness and celebration, below are just a few of their most important holidays and celebrations:

• Sangh: Is an annual three day festival which takes place as a celebration of unity, as it’s roots chase back to when the splintered peoples joined together. During this time the Khadan’s host many duels (for sportsmanship only), and hold huge feasts with must dancing involved. In older tradition, the strongest warriors would put on huge shows through the entire festival, but due to the strain this causes on the body it has been replaced with smaller shows split up between the different warrior duos.
• Kura: A festival all about the love of life in the Khadan’s philosophy. A defining trait of this festival is that different activities occur throughout the day. Starting in the morning is when the youth would put on sporting shows such as horse archery and the old would visit their friends and family, then later at night is the time for couples to gather together and single people to search for mates..

• Wahid: This festival celebrates the day of alliance and friendship between the dark elf and human peoples. While originally it was a Khadan festival, it has become a large staple of Al-Khadir as a whole and would end up becoming a national holiday.

Romance, Marriage and Reproduction

As mentioned previously, the Khadan people value loyalty to a very high degree. This comes to a head as the values of romance and family are major cores to the Khadan culture, these families and marriages often are very loyal and result in prosperity so splits rarely occur. Even though this is the case, the Khadans are very picky and selective when it comes to their partner, as they treat marriage with utmost importance and hence make sure both parties are certain of their choice beforehand. The selection time for a partner is often years due to the fear of matching incorrectly, whenever a match is made official though a large feast between the families starts which usually ends peacefully and always with respect.

Death and Funeral

Due to their belief in “The Path” and finding inner peace, as long as the person is loyal to the ideals they often believe they will be reincarnated, this makes death not feared and instead respected. From a young age, a Khadan is told to enjoy and celebrate their life as it is seen as a sacred thing not to be taken for granted. During the funeral of a loved one, a private ceremony will often be held for the family and friends of the deceased to pay a last tribute under starlight. Their body is carefully wrapped up into robes, decorated with different types of flowers, and is adorned with golden trinkets and other valuables as a sign of respect and good luck. These decorations are believed to help them into their new life of prosperity. After the ceremony is done the cremation starts, the body is burned with the gifts until only their ashes remain, of which will be spread in the sea they came from many moons ago. Due to the respect and admiration of lost ones, no mourning occurs as they believe their lost loved one will help in the building of the next generation.

History

“We’re each other’s harvest; we’re each other’s business; we’re each other’s magnitude and bond.”

This ancient adage is well-understood by the Khadans. Originally a group of nomads that roamed the wasteland of Anjyarr, the Khadans were known for their perseverance and prevailing sense of unity. While most historians in Eden judge the Khadans’ unity as a legacy of their nomadic lifestyles, some others claim that the roots of this quality can be in fact traced back to before the Khadans set foot on Eden.

Although little is known of the mysterious ancestral home of the Khadans, most believe that their ancestors left the native land in search of asylum. As such, it is also believed that the ancestors of the Khadans first realized the significance of unity through witnessing how their beloved homeland disintegrated in years of quarrels and wars.

Due to the harsh climate and the lack of available resources, the ancestors of the Khadans initially separated into two groups with one group traveling along the shoreline and the other moving in-land. This decision eventually led to the rise of two clans that share the same philosophy but each adopting a different way of living. Although the two clans resemble each other in the sense that they both hold family values and self-fulfillment in high regard, the clans also differ greatly in terms of skills and traits.

Clan Zenthir - The smaller one out of the two clans. The Zenthirs would rarely abandon the shores of Anjyarr except for trade and occasionally marriage purposes. This clan relied on ship-building and fishing for a living, with the former being a legacy passed down by the earlier sailors that brought the Khadans to Eden through the unpredictable sea. Despite age or gender, the Zenthirs are often skilled swimmers and have mastered both hand-to-hand water combat and wielding the deadly trident. Using the trident they would develop a renowned combating style known as “Water Dancing”, an elegant dance-like fighting style that emphasizes using the opponent’s momentum against them and dealing swift strikes to quickly immobilize them. Since this fighting style focuses more on swiftness instead of strength, it has gained popularity among the dark elves and Khadans alike. To this day, both humans and dark elves in the Emirate of Al-Khadir still practice Water Dancing and adopt the fighting style as either their preferred or signature style of combat.

Clan Valmir - This clan surpasses its counterpart in size. The Valmirs were initially the adventurers that explored the barren in-lands of Anjyarr in search of a more suitable living condition. This clan roamed the desert consisting of seemingly never-ending dunes, making them the true children of the sands with every single hill and body of water known to them. Relying on their knowledge of the region and local wildlife, the Valmirs would put their focus on taming horses native to the outstretched plains bordering the deserts of Anjyarr. These great steeds are considered to be the most beautiful in Eden, having flowing manes, elegant heads and naturally slender bodies. Despite being smaller than regular warhorses and being light-boned, making them unable to bear the weight of heavy armor, this also brings with it many benefits. These Anjyarrian steeds are very swift and possess unrivaled endurance just like their masters, as well as being accustomed to the harsh climate which allows for relatively little maintenance, only needing a few drinks of water over the course of a day. This clan wouldn’t be as skilled in combat as their counterparts in clan Zenthir, they would quickly learn to appreciate the art of archery. Using a special short bow they would take their Anjyarrian steeds in search of wildlife to hunt, tracking them to bodies of water which would afterward make a suitable place to stay for the clan as well as providing food and water.

This clan wouldn’t be as skilled in combat as their counterparts in clan Zenthir, they would quickly learn to appreciate the art of archery. Using a special short bow they would take their Anjyarrian steeds in search of wildlife to hunt, tracking them to bodies of water which would afterward make a suitable place to stay for the clan as well as providing food and water.

The two clans lived in concord for five generations after the Khadans’ arrival in Eden. Through the few established trade routes they would barter goods such as livestock, life necessities and basic weaponry with each other and even the Hadrians on occasion. Despite the existence of trade routes, bartering did not take up a considerable part in the culture of both clans given that there were very limited kinds of commodities to be traded for. But as the resources – wildlife and especially fresh water – in both clans’ territories started to run short, their passes began to cross more often.

The search for available resources led to an increasing conflict between the clans, and with another massive drought occurring, the two clans eventually broke into fights over the still existing bodies of water which came in the form of the two rivers that still run through Anjyarr to this day.

It is known that on a certain day both clans would cross paths at the river known as Ifriq that now flows through the city of Al-Khadir, a day that will forever be remembered as both the beginning and the end of an era. Upon the arrival of the clans and purely based on friction caused by the dire circumstances, the two chieftains clashed and engaged in combat. A battle erupted under the ever-burning sun that would shine brightly upon the battlefield. This battle would decide the fate of both clans or so they thought.

Knowing that the defeat would certainly lead to the demise of their respective clan, neither of the chieftains was willing to give in easily. It is believed that the battle on the riverbank of Ifriq lasted for three whole days, and by the sunrise of the fourth day both chiefs were wound-covered, exhausted, and on the edge of collapsing. Yet they were so well matched that neither could gain an upper hand.

But just as the warriors on both sides were about to join and to turn the duel into a blood-shedding war, it is believed that something miraculous happened. For the first time in that year-long drought that drained the lives of many, it began to rain. Standing dumbfounded in the pouring rain, the Khadans lowered their weapons one after another until eventually, the two chieftains dropped their trident and bow. What happened next was very much based on Khadan folklore and is nowhere to be found in any documented history. But it is believed that when the trident of the Zenthir chieftain hit the ground, its sharpened tip bounced on a large piece of rock and sliced it open. To the Khadans’ surprise, the rock’s inner facet was decorated with gold deposits. Further scouting along the river bank convinced the Khadans that this land they set foot on, despite being barren and fruitless for what lives on the surface of it, is actually quite the opposite below. Despite having a rather fictional background story, the discovery of gold mines in the Anjyarr desert did lead to the merging of the two Khadan clans. Taking advantage of the already-explored trade routes and newly discovered gold mines, the Khadans were able to trade goods of much more value and on much greater scales first with the Hadricians and eventually, most of the other residents in Eden. The rapid increase of wealth put an end to the nomadic life of the Khadans’ and strengthened the bonds between the people as the Khadans’ pursuit of unity has only grown stronger ever since. Together, the Khadans built a town that formed the prototype of the city that will be known as Al-Khadir today. The town flourished as the only trade center in the desert, but it was not until the arrival of the Khadans’ dark-skinned ally that the town received a cultural and political significance comparable to other great cities in Eden.