Empire of the Open Sky
For generations, the Khuzait and their kin roamed the eastern steppe as nomads, riding into Imperial borderlands to raid, trade, and test their strength before vanishing back into the grass sea. Their world was motion without center, clan without crown. The Empire kept these tribes divided with bribes, rivalries, and quiet assassinations of chiefs who grew too strong. As long as the steppe fought itself, the eastern frontier remained a managed wound rather than an open war.
Two generations ago, the balance broke. Pressure from far to the east forced entire horse clans westward. Whether driven by changing winds, drought, or distant conquerors, the steppe peoples found themselves pressed between advancing nomads and the fortified edges of Imperial land. Survival demanded unity. From this pressure rose Urkhun the Khuzait, who bound rival clans into a single war-confederacy. Where others had raided by whim, Urkhun imposed command. He forced the clans to ride when called, not merely when tempted by plunder. The eastern Imperial provinces fell to this new discipline, and the loose confederation hardened into the Khuzait Khanate.
Urkhun ruled with absolute authority. He curtailed private raiding, levied taxes on conquered towns, and turned seasonal warbands into standing forces. This transformation brought stability and wealth, but it cut against the grain of steppe freedom. Unruly clans chafed under the Khan’s commands, resenting restrictions on their traditional independence. Even so, Urkhun’s rule held the Khanate together long enough for nomadic riders to become rulers of towns, roads, and tariffs. The steppe learned to sit on stone without fully trusting it.
After Urkhun’s death, the unity he forged began to fray. His descendants inherited the title of Khan, but not the singular authority of the founder. Some clans accepted settled rule as the price of strength. Others dreamed of replacing the ruling line entirely. Old rivalries resurfaced beneath the surface of obedience. The Khanate endured, but as a tense balance between crown and clan rather than a seamless empire.
Today, the Khuzait Khanate is ruled by Monchug Khan of the Urkhunait clan, who holds the nine-horsetail banner, symbol of the Khan’s supreme authority. Under Monchug, the Khanate occupies the eastern grasslands and steppes of Calradia, ruling both moving clans and settled towns. His authority is real, but never unchallenged in spirit. Every beg and clan chief carries the quiet question of whether the Khanate still belongs to Urkhun’s blood, or whether the steppe itself will one day choose another.
The Khanate’s structure reflects its origin as conquest fused with nomad tradition. Clans hold lands and towns in vassalage to the Khan, paying tribute in horses, warriors, and tax revenue. In return, they are granted grazing rights, trade protection, and the right to call upon the Khan’s riders in times of need. This system holds so long as victories continue and spoils flow. When campaigns falter or herds thin, loyalty wavers.
The nine-horsetail banner is more than a symbol. It is a declaration that the clans ride together. When it is raised, private feuds are expected to pause. When it is lowered, old grudges creep back into daylight. The Khanate’s strength lies in motion and unity under that banner. Its weakness lies in the fact that unity must be renewed every generation by a Khan strong enough to keep the clans riding in the same direction.
Across Calradia, the Khuzait Khanate is feared not merely as a nation of riders, but as a people who learned to turn wandering into empire without surrendering the instincts of the hunt.