Nakai
Warriors of the Eastern Provinces
The main body of the Songkram, and in the past, Ganpoumi Fi's militaries. Nakai are highly trained, elite Isutan warriors taught from an extremely young age. Their loyalty and skill has made them stand out for years against the other military powers of Legere. Masters of sword, bow, spear and horse, nakai are exceptional combatants with whatever they can get their hands on.
Composition
Manpower
A typical nakai patrol is 6 strong. Nakai act as police during peaceful times, often marching up and down streets at night time to prevent crimes. However, 90 nakai are grouped together into a haka under the command of a nakai master.
Equipment
- a trawl with sharpened edges. Approximately 15 cm in length, this tool is primarily used as a digging implement to aid in the setting up of the mantlets mentioned above. However, this can also be used as a backup weapon or even throwing weapon if the situation calls upon it.
- small jar of fafly females. Nakai can simply drop a few leaves into the jar to allow the females to give birth and produce substantial, long-lasting light within mere hours.
- drinking gourd.
- flask of bitter alcohol. Gives the nakai a quick disinfectant in case of injury. A powdered bitter herb is mixed into the drink in order to prevent nakai from drinking it, although some exceptionally tough nakai have learned to ignore the taste just to get their fix.
- ryukeon mushroom caps. Only found in leather pouches of nakai who are willing to risk their use. On top of this, ryukeon toxin is only employed when the Songkram are actively at war.
Weaponry
Table of Contents - Weapons
Nakai have a wide array of weapons at their disposal, and like their armour, they also employ starsteel in their construction.
Isutan weapons are all slightly larger and dramatic looking compared to the weapons of other locales primarily due to the lightweight nature of starsteel. This is to provide sufficient mass for starsteel weapons to impart their damage.
Starsteel is exceptionally strong, capable to enduring forces and stress that would break lesser metals. Starsteel is widely considered to be the manufactured equivalent of fire iron. Unlike fire iron, starsteel is incredibly light, leading to the unique problem of lack of mass behind weapons forged from this metal.
Isutan weapons are all slightly larger and dramatic looking compared to the weapons of other locales primarily due to the lightweight nature of starsteel. This is to provide sufficient mass for starsteel weapons to impart their damage.
Isutan Polearm - Rauwing
The rauwing unique and iconic battlefield weapon wielded by nakai both in combat and in ceremonies. This weapon typically has a shaft length of around 2 meters and a flattened, straight, double edged blade mounted on the end that acts as a spearhead. The spearhead is around 30 cm long and gets as wide as 6 cm at the base. The other aspect of this weapon is its scythe-like blade that protrudes perpendicular to the spearhead. It extends slightly upwards, allowing for the underside of the sickle-blade to cut through enemies. The top of the sickle is also sharpened, and the end of the blade tapers into a point excellent for puncturing wounds. Opposite to the sickle blade there can be a variety of attachments, like warhammer heads or crow's beaks. Ceremonial rauwing may have a phayu wing "horn" fixed to the back of the weapon. This weapon's name comes from its shape, which in the past was far more curved and almost circular, like a sliver of the moon. Rauwing is Isutan for "moon-stick", although it is often referred to more elegantly in Tradespeak as "eclipse-staff" or just "Isutan scythe". The use of the rauwing was, like many polearms, designed to be multifunctional. The spearhead on its top allows for simple thrusting attacks to be made, allowing for lines of nakai standing shoulder to shoulder to all strike at once. The scythe top was designed for rows of warriors behind the front lines to be able to strike the enemy from overhead. These tactics are very similar to some battlefield formations found in naga warfare, leading some to speculate that an attempted invasion of the Eastern Provinces by the naga early in history may have influenced this weapon's development and associated tactics. The sickle head was also useful against mounted troops, allowing nakai to pull riders off of horses. Historical battles between the Ganpoumi Fi and other kingdoms in the past also have seen the use of the rauwing's sickle to pull down shield walls before striking forward with the spearhead. The rauwing was also used on horseback, slicing through opponents like a scythe through grain.Isutan Spear - Raujang
The raujang is a straightforward weapon- a 1.8 meter long spear with a traditional spearhead on one side and a heavy metal block on the other end. The raujang is used to counter opponents with heavy armour, employing the weighted side of the spear like a club to crush the enemy's armour. While the spearhead is made from starsteel, the heavy mass on the striking end is usually a cheaper, heavier metal. Raujang are the weapons of choice of the kwailok- high-ranking honor guards of the Songkram warlord. However, the raujang wielded by these elite guards are longer, and often sport decorations at the base of the spearhead like feathers, fur, ribbons and sometimes banners.Isutan Bow - Ju Pe
There is not that much unique to Isutan bows compared to the bows of other nations. The most unique aspect is likely found in the arrows- again, their weakness being mass from the light weight of the starsteel arrowhead, isutan arrows compensate by extending the wooden shaft of the arrow.Isutan Sword - Kizaraka
Perhaps one of the most iconic weapons of the nakai, the kizaraka is a single edged, curved, two-handed sword worn in a hip mounted sheath by nakai of all ranks and role. Every nakai learns to master this sword during their training: it is the first weapon they are taught to use. However, the kizaraka's use is not as widespread as most believe. This blade is exclusively a sidearm, or a backup weapon when a more suitable battlefield weapon is lacking. If anything, the kizaraka is more often a ceremonial or aesthetic symbol than an actual weapon. Don't be fooled though- kizaraka are still exceptionally deadly when in the hands of a nakai. Kizaraka have a very small guard, sometimes no guard at all. The blade length is often around 80 centimeters, with some meter long exceptions.Isutan War Sword - Uneonaka
The big brother of the kizaraka, the uneonaka is a weapon that acts as a mediator for nakai to channel their swordsmanship into a more battlefield-friendly weapon. Like the kizaraka, the uneonaka is single edged with a curved blade. Naturally, the blade of the weapon and the handle are much longer than that of a kizaraka, so some techniques that are viable for combat with the kizaraka are not compatible. The handle can be anywhere from 50 to 60 cm long while the blade is at least a meter long. It's almost a polearm, or could be considered the mid-point between a polearm and a sword. The uneonaka was another weapon used against calvary, as its wide blade was exceptional at striking the legs of horses and dismounting the rider. One of the most famous uneonaka made is the Muza, a djinnblade uneonaka wielded only by the Songkram lord.Isutan Mace - Somaza
A glorified club built with the undistinguished purpose of bludgeoning opponents to death. An incredibly cheap weapon, often not employing any starsteel in its construction due to its purpose as a heavy, armour-crushing weapon. It's usually made from hardwood coated in heavy metal reinforcements, or made entirely from a metal. Consisting of a 1.5 meter long pole coated in metal rivets, the somaza is a weapon that can be easily given to foot soldiers and nakai when facing heavily armoured combatants. Many nakai do not use this weapon due to its brutish appearance, often scorning the weapon for "bringing bad luck". Nevertheless, the somaza is a ruthlessly effective weapon and has been wielded by nakai more than once in historical battles.Isutan Gunspear - Rauming
A powerful, pole-mounted cannon that can be quickly muzzle-loaded on the battlefield to deliver potent long-range attacks. While heavier, louder and slower than the more traditional Ju Pe, the Rauming is capable of puncturing heavy armour and sometimes even blasting through multiple lightly-armoured opponents. Ammunition for the rauming has varied from metal shrapnel to iron balls. Kwailok or high-ranking elite nakai squads may even be equipped with starsteel shells. Because of its pole-mounted design, the rauming can also be quickly changed into a polearm weapon in close quarters combat. The heaviness of the cannon effectively doubles as a crushing mace, and sometimes a small axeheads have also been added to the underside of the barrel. The barrel of the rauming itself is made from iron, and can be discharged by touching a spark or torch to the weapon's vent. Naturally this renders the rauming significantly less reliable in wet weather, as excessive moisture can prevent the explosive charge from igniting properly. Combined with the occasional backfiring or structural failure of the weapon, rauming are still a rare weapon on Isutan battlefields. However, there is still plenty of time for them to be improved- rauming were invented recently, about 25 years after the beginning of the Songkram's rise to power. Rauming are often decorated with the engraving of a Klo Ming, as the weapon is supposed to reflect the powerful plasma bursts that these extinct creatures could project.Vehicles
Nakai are not strangers to mounted combat. Learning to ride a horse as well as shoot a Ju Pe while mounted is a crucial skill taught to nakai. A timeless, infamous sight to the foes of the nakai are a wall of scythe-wielding warriors on horses charging at enemy formations.
Nakai horses are granted armour made of starsteel, allowing for easy protection of mounts while barely weighing down the horse.
Structure
As mentioned earlier, nakai are organized into 90-strong platoons known as haka. Every haka is commanded by a nakai master, and every nakai master reports to a grandmaster. The grandmasters report directly to the Songkram warlord or to their respective Ganpoumi Fi councilman.
Typically a grandmaster will have up to 5 haka under their command.
Nakai Masters and Biyuan
Nakai masters are simply experienced nakai who have demonstrated aptitude in both combat and tactics. They also act as teachers to nakai students during their training. nakai masters are allowed to hand pick a squad up to 10 nakai to act as their biyuan- that is, their personal guards. Members of a nakai master's biyuan are often their favourite students from their training days. While in war, nakai are randomly assembled into haka, the biyuan of a nakai master will always be assigned to the same haka together. Due to the biyuan often ending up extremely loyal to their master and tight knit between each other, they also act as intermediates between their master and the rest of the haka. Relaying commands or making tactical decisions without the presence of the master are all responsibilities of biyuan nakai.Nakai Grandmasters and Silyuan
Nakai grandmasters are the greatest of nakai, either being promoted from their position as a master or elevated directly from the ground level to this high position due to natural aptitude. Exceptionally smart, wise, and powerful, grandmasters are picked directly by the Songkram Warlord or Ganpoumi Fi councillor (depending on the time period). Grandmasters are also the only nakai allowed to own permanent, non-expiring djinnblades. It should be noted that despite grandmasters being excellent warriors, their responsibilities extend further than just war. While in a state of peace, grandmasters help manage the economy and other political issues of their respective province and act as advisors to their councillor or the Warlord. Grandmasters do not teach general nakai, considered too important by the government to waste their talents on teaching students. However, they do play a role in nakai training as judges for battle-readiness. During the Ganpoumi Fi's rule, nakai grandmasters comprised the panel that would judge classes on their abilities. However, the grandmasters would not retain such a role during the Songkram's reign, as grandmasters' responsibilities were increased due to the abolishment of councillors. Similar to nakai masters, grandmasters can select 10 nakai to be their silyuan, which is essentially the same as a biyuan but commanded by a grandmaster. Silyuan nakai would have a role more like bodyguards rather than messengers due to the high social status of their leader, although they would still be used to send messages to nakai masters under the command of the grandmaster. Nakai masters often recommend their best students to their grandmaster as members to make up their silyuan. After all, it would be an incredible honour for both the nakai and their master if a grandmaster chose them to be a personal guard.Members of biyuan or silyuan are often decorated in much more fancy armour than their standard counterparts. For example, biyuan may have gold-trimmed armour with feathers on the top of their helmet, or a silyuan nakai may have carved sluggdon tusks for horns on their helms. An important thing to note is that the nakai master or grandmaster have absolute control over what their biyuan or silyuan wear. A master may specify to his biyuan that a specific ribbon with specific patterns and colours must be worn, etc. This is not to say that all masters/grandmasters don't allow for their personal squads to express themselves. It is simply different for every master/grandmaster. While some masters may be incredibly strict with their dress code, others may be incredibly lax or forgo a code altogether.
Kwailok
Kwailok are not really nakai, basically being an entirely different type of soldier than nakai- however, their is very little extra information involving them so details about their existence can be included in this small subsection here. Kwailok are elite guards with some officer duties. They serve directly under the Songkram warlord, and could be compared to the biyuan or silyuan of a master or grandmaster respectively. Kwailok are extensively trained to use the raujang spear and act as bodyguards for the Songkram Warlord. It should be noted that kwailok did not exist before the Songkram's rise to power, and therefore were not used in the Ganpoumi Fi command structure. Kwailok are hand-picked from the nakai body by the Songkram Warlord- as he is present at every Duelship, he has the ability first hand to see which students hold the greatest potential. Kwailok do not act as advisors to the Warlord in the way that grandmasters are, but still act as representatives of the Warlord wherever they go. While not in the presence of the Warlord, kwailok are to be respected as if they were the Warlord. They are extensions of the Warlord's will, and must be treated as such. These elite guards are incredibly intimidating and have the training to back it up. Kwailok are the only members of the Songkram military to be regularly trained by grandmasters. Additionally, the Warlord himself may also train the kwailok from time to time in order to ensure that they're up to his standards. Kwailok also forgo all equipment customization and are subject to a consistent but highly ornamental set of armour. Kwailok armour is decorated with engravings, patterns, trim made of precious metals, embedded jewels, animal remains(horns, fur, etc). Aside from being more decorative, kwailok armour is also much more protective than the standard nakai's- an additional layer of starsteel mail and a greater coverage of starsteel plate all add to the imposing presence of such a heavily armoured combatant. Kwailok also wear a full face mask for even greater protection. A thing to note is that kwailok armour is often also enchanted to render them more resilient against magical attacks.Training
Ganpoumi Fi Nakai
The Ganpoumi Fi had little to no stipulations as to who could join the ranks of the nakai. Anybody could join if they could pay a "training fee" up front. Some parents of peasants would save up their entire life savings just to pay for their son or daughter to become a nakai student. The fee increased with age, as it was increasingly difficult to train an older individual to the same level of quality as other students who had begun training at such a young age. The offspring of nakai got a sizeable discount, allowing generations of nakai to continue passing the sword to their descendants. This fee is required due to the fact that the students get free food and housing for the duration of their training, right up until they graduate to a fully fledged nakai where they begin receiving a salary but are no longer fed or provided with lodging. Once the fee had been paid, a nakai student could drop out or be expelled without their money returned- as such, the students would train hard as often times such expulsion could leave them and their previous family out on the streets. Nakai are trained for twenty years, six days a week. Students are divided into classes of 50 which they will train with until they graduate. At the end of those 20 years, the entire class will be tested by a pantheon of elder nakai warriors(grandmasters) in a series of exhaustive exercises to see whether or not the students are ready to officially join the ranks of the nakai. Those who fail are sent to train intensively with the others in a newly formed class comprised of members from all classes that were supposed to graduate, yet failed.
Songkram Nakai
The Songkram Empire is notorious for their strict and brutal training. While many other kingdoms would disagree with the Songkram’s philosophies there, no one can deny the effectiveness of it- Songkram nakai, are swift, efficient, and loyal. There is a reason why the Songkram have the largest post-Demon War dominion on Legere. The Songkram keep the exact specifics of their soldiers’ training on whispering lips only, but information still leaks out to outsiders. For instance, people as far away from the East such as Icthy’s Rest have heard of the Songkram’s annual bloodsports- the Duelship. However, what actually occurs in such an event is a mystery to foreigners, with only rumours as the prevailing theories.The Songkram Duelship is an annual tournament where entire classes are divided up into brackets and pitted against each other. 1 class of students is comprised of 40, and each bracket consists of 4; each class only yields 10 winners. But that isn’t all- winners can only advance if they kill their opponent. Mercy is not an option, as refusing to kill a defeated opponent is punishable by death. The Songkram believe that only those who have the willpower to take the life from a classmate are powerful enough to become fully fledged Nakai. This tournament is thereby an inevitability in the past, present or future of any Songkram warrior. As an interesting note, the existence of the Duelship leads to a unique dynamic amongst students all year round. Because other students in one’s class are likely to become your enemy, students choose to make friends with individuals outside of their class, where it will be impossible to be forced to fight against them. This does help alleviate the potential emotional attachment to an opponent, but also leads to violent outbreaks and feuds between groups of students.
To address the often discussed inefficiency of the Duelship (as a class of 40 will only yield 10- or in some cases less- nakai), the Songkram send out scouts, officers and leaders(known as khatkir, kwailok and grandmasters respectively) to accept the youngest children from neighboring villages twice every year. Those who do not comply with this “taxation” are killed where they stand, and all of their children are taken by force. The Songkram prefer to take the youngest child as it will be easier to condition them, overwrite memories of the parents, and avoid disputes with villagers (who are more willing to give up a younger child rather than their firstborn). This whole process of taking young children to replenish their ranks is surprisingly secret; villagers don’t talk about it, high ranking Songkram will not speak of it. This is to help avoid young Songkram students from abandoning their class and running away- only when a nakai has proven to be completely loyal is the truth revealed. Nakai students are subjected to years of state-issued programming in order to instill unwavering loyalty and prevent adverse reactions upon the receiving of the truth.
Similarly to the Ganpoumi Fi's method before, the offspring of a nakai warrior can also be inducted into the training process for a fee. Nakai students like these form special classes where the traditional Ganpoumi Fi graduation method is used in order to prevent the loss of life that normal students would have to face. Once graduated, these nakai students are known as sauwok nakai, and are typically considered to be less skilled or strong as normal nakai due to their "easier" graduation method. However, sauwok nakai are more likely to be picked to undergo further training as a khatkir as their linguistic and arithmetic education is much more sophisticated compared to that of normal nakai.
Logistics
Auxilia
While the nakai are the indisputably powerful backbone of Isutan forces, they rely on the support of other specialists in order to secure victory.
- Khatkir - Khatkir have been around as long as their more recognizable nakai counterparts. Khatkir are special agents, assassins and intelligence officers crucial in providing information to nakai masters and grandmasters. While their primary purposes are scouting, espionage, sabotage and occasionally assassination, khatkir under the Songkram rule have become more feared as secret police.
- Dabhai - Warrior-blacksmiths integral to the Isutan's highly adaptive military. Dhabhai are derived from nakai, trained in the art of weaponsmithing, armoursmithing and during Songkram reign, the arcane. Their primary role is to repair armour and weapons while on the battlefield.
- Mabosa - Absent during the Ganpoumi Fi's reign, mabosa are powerful battle mages and the latest addition to the Isutan military by the Songkram. Mabosa are private wizards hired by the Songkram to fight for them. Often seen wearing masks to hide their identities, the use of mabosa to bolster Songkram forces was introduced as the war between Phovezila and the Eastern Provinces began in 314 DHT.
- Footmen - It may seem crude to mention, but the nakai aren't the lowest of ranks in the Isutan armies. Individuals conscripted from farms or other such peasantries are effectively sword-fodder, bolstering the ranks with more bodies. It should be noted that for years and years, the Isutan military has been famed for its ability to achieve victory without the numbers advantage: the use of common men as foot soldiers is uncommon and only done in the most extreme of armed conflicts.
Recruitment
As mentioned above, nakai during the Songkram Empire's reign are drawn from citizens' youngest children while the Ganpoumi Fi allowed anyone to undergo the training assuming they paid the price.
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