The Kharn

The Kharn are the heirs to an ancient and mighty empire. Though they are now fallen on hard times and are only a fraction of their former power, they dream of a restoration to greatness. Currently their Empress, whose reign is Prosperous and Precise, 126th of her line, is a child and Visgar the Tyrant is her Regent. The Child Empress, whose Reign is Long and Lasting, cannot come of age until the arcane calculations of Kharn scholars deem it so. The Kharn believe their emperors to be divine, but they are bound by elaborate tradition, endless ritual, and must work through a powerful bureaucracy.

The Kharn dress exclusively in black, often in simple long robes or coats. They have an elaborate seven caste system, the marks of which are tattooed on the face, as follows:

Red patch - caste mark removed, outcaste.

Circle - Servant.

Scythe - Peasant

Hourglass - Artisan

Double hilted Sword - Warrior

Scroll - Scholar

Star (six radiating lines) - Noble.

Regardless of caste, Kharn are, in theory at least, scrupulously polite, obsessed with status and appearances, and honorable to a fault.

In the present day, however, their system has tended to break down as old ways no longer function. The warrior Caste and Artisan caste feud over whether war should be conducted with the Sword or the Jezzail, and their scholars dabble in dark magics. Nobles are increasingly powerless and decadent, while Servants and Peasants begin to wonder about their place in the divine order.

The Kharn worship their Ancestors and Aa, God of the Sun.