Khaghatan

Khaghatan (archaic: Khaghatan'alar) is a title of imperial rank used by the supreme leader of the Khaghate people of northern Iroa. The word comes from the Khaghat'oa language and is equivalent to the rank of emperor. Literally translated, the word means "leader of all Khaghate." The position appears to have originated with Khaghatan the First, the mythic patriarch of the Khaghate people, and its duties are prescribed in the Ogadinui , the foundational legal and spiritual text of the Khaghate people.
Unlike similar titles in other states, the Khaghatan functions as both a civic administrator and a warrior general and is expected to serve lead the armies of the Khaghate into battle personally. They are appointed during times of great crisis by a khurutai, or assembly, of the great houses of the Khaghate people. Candidates for the position are put forth by these houses before being selected through a combination of democratic elections and duels in single combat. Upon being selected, the Khaghatan rules until they have resolved the crisis of the Khaghate or until their death, at which time a new Khaghatan is selected via the same process.
Though the Khaghate do not have a Khaghatan in command at all times, the powers given to the Khaghatan are unusually broad and absolute, particularly for a culture without a codified state structure. All Khaghate are expected to be loyal to the appointed Khaghatan above all else, even if they are considered citizens of another state or entity. Their unilateral control over their people and their skill in battle caused many states such as the Tao-Tē Dynasty to become fearful of the Khaghatan and his people, leading to several foreign attempts to control the selection process. Following the Sundering Arcana and the recent collapse of the Dynasty, reports of a khurutai forming in the Khaghat Steppe have led many to believe that a new warrior may soon take the title, bringing fear and destruction to the people of Iroa.

Requirements

Though a candidate for the title of Khaghatan may be of any gender, tradition dictates that upon taking the title, the Khaghatan is to be identified as a male. Though there is some debate as to the reasoning and origin of this tradition, it likely traces back to the foundational "Legend of Khaghate the First," who was male. Women who have taken the title of Khaghatan often are referred to by their children as Father and by their partners as Husband. Outsiders are told to always speak of the Khaghatan as Lord Khaghatan.

Appointment

In times of great hardship, three or more houses may issue summons for the other houses to form a khurutai, or an assembly of the great houses. At the khurutai, the heads of each house will present their case for electing the Khaghatan, a sole ruler for the Khaghate people. The alore of each house will cast chits made of deer antler to decide if a Khaghatan is needed.
If the motion is passed, then each house has an opportunity to put forward a candidate for the role of Khaghatan. The candidates will then make their case to the khurutai for being chosen as Khaghatan. However, unlike a traditional kingsmoot or a democratic election, any of these candidates can challenge one another to single combat. The loser is disqualified from the election and the winner is seen as favoured by the gods.
These duels, called bökhe¹, are highly ritualized and typically take place in a kurgan, near where the khurutai has gathered. In practice, this means that nearly every Khaghatan is ultimately decided by their ability to defeat their opponents in combat.
One year and one day after taking the title of Khaghatan, the khurutai gathers along with the Khaghatan and his retinue to discuss the Khaghatan’s epithet. All Khaghatan are given one that reflects the first year of their appointment. This has meant that some Khaghatan with a fortuitous first year have regal sounding epithets such as Khaghatan the Glorious, even if the rest of their tenure was marked by failure. At other times, Khaghatan that have struggled in their first year have gone on to be remembered fondly, despite being known as Khaghatan the Supplicant.

Duties

Khaghatan Supremacy

Though the Khaghatan functions as both a king and a general, his place in the cultural imagination of the Khaghate is far more nuanced. The Khaghate see the Khaghatan as not a leader of their country but rather as a military commander of their culture. This means that the Khaghatan has the capacity to command and rally Khaghate from any clan regardless of whether or not they are a formal member of the Khaghatan’s armed forces.
The best example of this concept is the sol’ysh joruur,² or the "Ordinal Call." The sol’ysh joruur is a formal summons that acts as a calling of the banners for all Khaghate, specifically all Khaghate warriors. It can only be issued by the Khaghatan and typically precedes a major military operation, such as an invasion or defensive war. If a Khaghate warrior is currently serving as a bodyguard for another leader, the warrior is expected to either abandon their post and join the Khaghatan’s forces at their muster point or send word of their current position so as to be of any aid to the Khaghatan. Those Khaghate who refuse or fail to fully submit to the will of the Khaghatan are considered dar’khagha. In essence, a Khaghate warrior’s loyalty is to the Khaghatan above all else, even if they’d previously offered their services to another leader.
This has led to some Khaghatan coming to power with hundreds of spies spread throughout their foe’s territory and ready to act at a moment’s notice. This has allowed Khaghate armies to sweep through territory, sack cities with opened gates, and given their forces unparalleled intelligence into enemy movements and defenses. By the same token, outsiders who know of this and get word of the Khaghatan’s rallying have per-emptively executed any Khaghate living in their borders, including those considered non-combatants.
This dedication to the Khaghatan is enshrined in both the Ogadinui and the Daikau'nare, where it actually serves as the foundational passage for the position of Khaghatan.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Khaghatan vary somewhat depending on the reason the khurutai gathered to select a Khaghatan. Generally, the crises the Khaghatan is called upon to address are geopolitical or require the use of the military. Because of this, and because of the Khaghate's martial culture, the Khaghatan is expected to be extremely well-versed in the art of war as well as personally proficient in various forms of combat. These skills include horseback riding, archery, melee and ranged weapon fighting, and hand-to-hand combat. The rigors of the bökhe in the selection process are meant to weed out any candidates that fail to meet these criteria.
In addition to the usual responsibilities of an emperor, the Khaghatan is expected to uphold the Ogadinui and see that his followers adhere to its rules and prescriptions. While this does include the personal behavior of his soldiers, it also means that a Khaghatan must pursue any conflict that is to the benefit of the Khaghate. The Khaghate believe that through war and combat, they not only aid their own personal spiritual identities but the spirituality of the world by keeping the Material Realm from falling into stagnation. A tactical Khaghatan that fails to take this into account may be seen as unwilling to follow the Ogadinui to its logical conclusion and thus in need of removal through trial by combat.

Accoutrements & Equipment

As with all Khaghate warriors, the Khaghatan appears completely clad in his armor at all times. In particular, the khurutai will present the newly anointed Khaghatan with a sacred war mask worn only by the Khaghatan. This tradition dates back to the First Intermediate Period, when the helm of Khaghatan the First was lost during a war with the yikaria of Rhalpalkan. The current mask, sometimes known as the Face of Tor, is said to be thousands of years old and made of temōrtra from the Chekeren Crater. It is unclear how old the current mask is, only that it likely has been recreated several times.³

Grounds for Removal/Dismissal

Should, at any point, a Khaghatan be unfit to rule the Khaghate, a warrior can challenge the Khaghatan to bökh again. These challenges must be declared in public and the challenger cannot be silenced by any of the Khaghatan’s retinue or followers. However, unlike the bökhe overseen by the khurutai, a challenge to a sitting Khaghatan is a fight to the death, with no opportunity for yielding. Moreover, a Khaghatan cannot be challenged while he is recovering from wounds sustained during battle. A Khaghatan killed in this kind of challenge is stripped of their epithet and given back to his original clan for burial. Challenges to a sitting Khaghatan are common in the first few months of the Khaghatan’s reign, when his skills as a leader are still being tested. To avoid being killed in one of these challenges, most Khaghatan abdicate if they believe the crisis they were elected to resolve will last into their later years.
The position of Khaghatan remains with a person until they are unfit to lead their people. Most interpret this line in the Ogadinui to mean that when a Khaghatan can no longer lead his people into battle, he can no longer hold the title of Khaghatan. While most Khaghatan die in combat, some upon reaching their fifties or sixties abdicate their position. If the hardship they were elected to address remains unresolved, the khurutai will be called forth once more to select a new Khaghatan. If not, the title and mask of the current Khaghatan is removed and placed within their clan’s kurgan until the next khurutai is called. The former Khaghatan takes back their previous name and gender and retains their ceremonial epithet until death, like a true Khaghatan.

History

Following the reign of Khaghatan the First, the crises of the Khaghatan became more and more geopolitical in nature. On rare occasions, the Khaghatan has been called to resolve internal disputes, forcing some Khaghatan to lead campaigns against treasonous houses or clans. More often, they involve the Khaghatan leading campaigns against their neighbours, such as the Tao-Tē Dynasty or the Samartha centaur tribes. In the past, the crusades of the Khaghate could last generations, with one Khaghatan passing the title to the next as each died in battle. At their height, Khaghatan ruled over not only the Steppe but the Hotan and Goji Peninsula; as well as parts of Decca, Tao-Tē and Rhalphalkan.
In the waning years of the Palladian Era, the armies of the Tao-Tē Dynasty had managed to thoroughly crush the united forces of the then-Khaghatan, Khaghatan the Supplicant. For the next few decades, the Dynasty appointed their own Khaghatan who ruled as a puppet king over the Khaghate.
Later, with the Sundering Arcana and the internal collapse of the Tao-Tē Dynasty, the last foreign-backed Khaghatan, Khaghatan the Lame, died of an infection in the Tao-Tē city of Baofu. The Khaghatan’s mask was then lost when the city was attacked by rebel sorcerers, leaving the Khaghate without the means to select their own Khaghatan. This led to a long-lasting but ultimately low impact civil war among the houses of the Khaghate as each attempted to claim the title of Khaghatan.
For the past several centuries, the Khaghate have lived without a Khaghatan and fully returned to the nomadic, clan-based warrior society. Many Khaghate warriors left their homeland to trade on their people’s fearsome reputation and became mercenaries, bodyguards, and bounty hunters. However, in 351 S.E., reports of a new Khaghatan surfaced when a mysterious warrior claimed to have recovered the Khaghatan mask. After several years of internal conflict, a khurutai has been called for the first time in almost four hundred years. Time will tell if the Khaghate will rally around this new Khaghatan as they did in ages past or if he is merely a pretender in the armor of a warlord.

Footnotes

¹   bökh — "durability"; refers to a ritualized duel used by Khaghate warriors to settle feuds and determine elections for Khaghatan.
²   sol'ysh joruur — (pronounced sohl-EESH jaw-ROOR) "Ordinal Call"; a calling of the banners by the Khaghatan that includes all Khaghate, regardless of current location or citizenship status.
³   It is widely believed among the anthropological community that the current mask is not the same one made by Khaghatan the Reclaimer. It has likely been recreated and then reforged for various Khaghatan several times.

The sigil of the Khaghatan—a one-eyed horse head anointed with the Mark of Tor and flanked by two orc tusks.

Type

Nobility, Military

Status

Taken by Khaghatan the Infinite in 351 S.E.

Creation

First Intermediate Period

Form of Address

Lord Khaghatan

Alternative Naming

Heir of Oheilion

Equates to

The Khaghatan is roughly equivalent to the position of emperor or supreme commander.

Source of Authority

The Ogadinui

Length of Term

Until death or the completion of his task

First Holder

Khaghatan the First

Current Holders

• Khaghatan the Infinite

Related Locations

• Khaghat Steppe

A Khaghate kurgan, the traditional place of appointment and burial for the Khaghatan.

The Mark of Tor, a symbol of Khaghatan the First used to anoint each successive Khaghatan since the Mithril Era.

Horsemanship is one of the many martial skills the Khaghatan is expected to have mastered before attaining the position.

The Palladian Era Khaghatan warmask. Note the lack of a T-shaped visor, an unusual change known only to this period.

Recreation Khaghatan the First's original bone warmask.

Foreign depiction of Khaghatan the First with anachronistic armament.