Khatib - the Host of War

Amateurs talk about killing. Professionals talk logistics.

— Ahkan, the Warrior

The Khatib or the Host of War is a military formation of medium size, consisting of around 90 to 130 men, separated into individual Atha squads. Its principle role is to organize and direct the Atha, either all together or spread out throughout the war-zone. When the war moves beyond small skirmishes and into open pitched battles, the Khatib is the most common military formation used by those who can afford them.

Structure

At full strength, an Khatib are made up of ten separate Atha plus one command Atha. The command Atha consists of the commanding Warlord and his aides, usually a tacticians and quartermasters, plus whatever retinue the Warlord sees fit to bring. The command Atha does no fighting on its own and usually consists entirely of non-combat personel. Instead, their task focuses on strategy, logistics and communication - all difficult topics in the winding caverns of Araea.

With the difficulty of communicating in Araea, each Host typically employs a number of messengers above even the regular Atha size. Other city-states affix one or two to each Atha squad instead. Such work is dangerous and messengers are one of the best prizes a foe can find.

Unless they are simply fighting as one in an open cavern, the Atha underneath the Khatib are can be assigned specific roles and tasks: sapping, engineering, raiding and so on. This is reflected in their name and their equipment. In larger campaign, the Khatib usually track and distribute supplies from a central camp behind the battles proper and keep the vital lines of logistics operational.

Tactics & Equipment

The Khatib equip the Atha's with what they need to perform their specific duties, depending on the wealth of the faction that raised them. Some are uniformly equipped from a central armory while others are levies raised from the poor and expected to bring their own armament. While Atha are generally expected to function independently and on their own initiative much of the time, when the war reaches a certain size their maneuvers must be coordinated to achieve whatever goals that have been set.

The command Atha at the heart of the Khatib is typically better equipped and better supplied than the rest, even when they do no fighting. They have a store of communication equipment, ranging from horns and drums to hattick-pressed parchment and ink. They are usually, but not always, housed in a fortified camp and possess both the equipment and supplies required to assemble their fortifications.

The Host of War

For the city-states that can afford them, the Host is the principle formation in use. Save for a few regions of wide spaces and fertile caverns, it is difficult to wage war on a grand scale in the deep. The greatest challenge the Khatib face is to coordinate the movement of the Atha in face of difficult terrain, sparse supplies and near universal darkness.
Few city-states have standing armies of any significant number with most raising a levy when war looms on the future. With all the difficulties and with the lack of training from such levy troops, the plans and ploys drawn up by the Khatib commanders can sometimes be little more than fantasy. Those few with a grasp for command despite all difficulties are highly prized and highly respected warlords. To the clever, the twisting landscape can be made into an asset.

The Atha - Hand of War
Each Host is made out of the Atha, squads of 8 to 12 soldiers. It is the smallest and most common military formation in Araea, suitable for smaller tunnels or coordinated as part of a Host in larger caverns. Atha is also called the hand of war, due to its two principle formations: the Open Hand and Closed Fist
Read more about Atha - Hand of War

War in the Underworld

Between the dark caves and all the strange things that live in them, waging war in Araea is a difficult thing. Cramped tunnels and sparse vegetation prevent large massing of warriors in all but the most open and fertile caves. The Surface, while more spacious, has few things worth fighting over. Not easily deterred from killing each other, humans have adapted and found a number of ways to wage war.
Read more about Warfare in Araea

Weapons of War

From sharp bits of bone on a stick to a sword forged in the heat of magma, the ways to deal death are many. The people of Araea have had to adapt their killing to the cramped tunnels and open caverns, but despite this there is no lack of options to chose from when the call to war comes.
Read more about Ranged Weapons in Araea

Read more about Melee Weapons in Araea