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Khemani

Kheman is an arid, flat, desertic region, encased in a net of navigable rivers and irrigation canals, around which run thin strips of green cultivable land and deadly marshes. The area around the rivers is very rich with fertile land and clay deposits, which make for a particularly rich production of pottery, while the more rocky regions are rich in ores and gems, granting the area with a large fortune, allowing the land and the people to prosper through commerce and agriculture despite the severe weather and the many threats humans had to deal with in the region and still do, even if much less so, thanks to the coming of the Empire. Kheman is a land of rich culture and great architecture, with customs that may seem partly out of place, considering it is a radical part of the Empire, though, “Everything that happens in the sun, happens under the eyes of the Law”, says a Khemani adage.

Society

Kheman is very populated, almost an endless stream of little villages and sparse houses stretching along the banks of every river and the major canals, interrupted by some major city, or by the rare uninhabited marshland areas, often at the intersection between multiple rivers. The reign is divided into different provinces such as Setennu, Sjedu, Pikuatta, each along one of the major rivers, plus the main province, Ti-Bastit, extending along the main river, and its entire delta, including most of the coast.
The kingdom is (or, was) essentially a matriarchal society, with a Queen ruling over Ti-Bastit and the state, and Nomarchs ruling over the single provinces. Men do occupy many other roles of prestige outside of direct governance, such as Sages or high military ranks. The nobility in general has kept a particularly decadent lifestyle, at least in private, while in public they would of course all show a convenient decency and moderation, all in all, quite similarly to a majority of the Annorian nobility, though still keeping some of their peculiar customs and less covering clothes, gaining the constant frown of the highest charges in the church of the Three and the Inquisition, but deemed by the wise, as a necessary inconvenience for the sake of stability.

Kheman, and its capital in particular, Ti-Bastit, are places of great culture. The Great Library, with its Sages dutifully recording the entire history of humanity and the Continent, is undoubtedly the largest the Continents has ever seen, unrivaled even by other libraries and archives in Annoria. People visit the Great Library from all over the Empire, and who can not or do not want to visit, often orders copies of some of its manuscripts -the ones available to the public-, making the commerce of scrolls and book copies one of the lucrative activities of the capital of the kingdom. Sages are anyway greatly respected in the entire kingdom, living quite rich lives at the courts of other nobles, when not being noble themselves, and sometimes being employed at the courts of the neighbouring regions of Messalya or the Free Cities.

The most prominent of the Sages can become part of The Hundred, each with a role similar to the one of Imperial Fatebinders (in modern times often the two charges actually overlapping), that is, local judges and executors or the governor's powers. The council of 100 men called The Hundred has quite an immense power, as other than proposing laws, if voted with a ninety percent majority, they can even overthrow a Nomarch, or even the Queen herself. However, the title of Hundred can only be given with the approval of a Nomarch, each of whom can propose only a certain number, and the two Sufetts, in ancient times, high priests of Lilith and Dominium, now a charge occupied by two people chosen by the Empire for being particularly good fits for Khemani society.

The Khemani army had never been of immense proportions, focusing more on elite troops, outfitted with the best equipment possible, relying on their large war elephants and heavy phalanxes, or using their large gold coffers to pay mercenaries to complement the army. Kheman never relied on the strength of their armies alone though, instead focusing on strategic alliances via weddings and exchanging gifts with neighbouring kingdoms.

 

The army, differently than most other armies of the Empire, is composed almost exclusively by men, as women tend to focus more on trade and governance, while in the case of the common people, men and women tend to occupy approximately the same roles. However, and despite the strong monogamous view of the family in the empire, the previously quite disinhibited culture of the Khemani adapted into a structure that allows to have multiple husbands and wives at the same time.

Curiously, the practice sees no difference between the sexes, but only one of the two partners in a relationship is allowed to have more than one wedding, with extramarital relationships being as frowned upon as in the rest of the Empire.
The practice of multiple weddings allowed the structuring of a complex pyramidal society at multiple levels, where the more powerful, rich, or influential families would let their sons or daughters marry to members of multiple less influential families. Daughters have always been easier to marry, as only a male would be needed in the family to produce heirs. This little fact overall made women be very influential in the top spheres, but their power also quite distributed, while at the same time, for a man to be in the leading role of a harem, meant having an especially high status and usually being really powerful.

All in all, these customs made the practice of political and convenience unions an art in which every Khemani was well practiced.

​Khemani society in the past has relied greatly on slavery, both of humans and non-humans, especially elves, making for a noble class that was particularly detached from reality, busy instead to enjoy their amenities and privileges. The customs of the nobility did not change with the entrance into the Empire, if else, the phenomena increased, the Overlord and the ruling class of Annoria well realizing how a frivolous Khemani nobility, preoccupied with clothes, drugs and orgies, but still able to maintain a perfect facade, would be a much lesser potential annoyance to deal with.

The desertic regions around the big rivers have always been inhabited by nomad tribes that went from oasis to oasis and towards the mountain regions at the border of the kingdom and into Messalya. Tribes of both Humans, Ogroids and Beastkin often battled each other, and have been since ancient times the main occupation of the Khemani army. The desert however has always been rumored having had some access to the Underworld, accesses that would be almost impossible to find, as any sandstorm would cover some and uncover others, but nonetheless, they would not stop the dark elves from exploring these regions of the surface, though, for their particular vulnerability in that environment, the Dark Elves in the region have historically been less openly hostile towards the surfacers and the nomadic tribes. These ones especially, together with most western province of Kheman, Sjedu, have been having long standing trades with the Underworld, their very culture starting to be less frightened by the dark-skinned creatures...though malevolent voices the Sjeduiti having a darker skin because of inbreeding with the vile creatures of the darkness.

Apparel

Khemani are usually on the short end of the average humans of the Continent, always black haired, but whose skin tone can vary wildly between dark brown to almost pale white. They use less clothes than other populations of neighboring regions, mostly because of the climate, but also as showing their curves or muscles is a great form of advertising for potential marriage partners. Especially true for women, often, the higher the social status, the less clothes are exchanged with jewelry and perhaps transparent silks. Although, showing their privates is considered a very shameful act, worthy only of cheap whores and beasts, so everyone will always keep their ‘secrets’ dutifully hidden to the eye. Common people, especially farmers and travellers, often working their entire days under the sun, wear more covering clothes, to shield them from the scorching sun that would otherwise burn and ruin their skins.

 

The armies of the area, even if fully and proudly part of the Imperial Army, all wear a different uniform, consisting of a scaled skirt and shirt, as it is way more convenient for fighting in their desertic regions, although, the rest of the equipment of legionaries is always kept the same, from sandals to bracers, their typical helmets, shields and weapons.

History

Khemani have mostly managed to keep positive relations with the Empire through their history, never entering a direct war with it, but rather, slowly building up relations with it, until in the past one of their Queens asked for her reign to become part of it. Possibly it is for this reason, its riches, and the very strong ties with many prominent families in the Empire that Kheman managed to keep all but its most unorthodox customs somehow unvaried.

Even before the coming of the Empire though, the mother of Queen Alasamirma, the queen that would then marry the Gran General of Annoria at the time, started a process of conversion to the Three, and especially to Minerva. The great temples that were before dedicated to Lilith and Dominium were slowly converted in places of Justice, places for the worship of Minerva, or simple palaces for the nobility. However, the cults of the two deities are far from cancelled from the region, practiced in secret in catacombs - at times even luxurious one, sign that even some of the rich would partake in such rituals - or in isolated places in the desert. Tiny sanctuaries to Boggereth can also be found scattered deep in the marshlands at the fork between two rivers, or semi covered by the sands of the desert, sometimes still used by the most expert travellers as small, temporary refuges for the night.

Slavery has always been a very prominent characteristic of Khemani society in all of its provinces. With joining the Empire though the practice obviously had to come to a stop. Society however was not ready for an event that, especially coming abruptly, would have caused a complete economic collapse, nor the Empire was willing to let such a thing happen, as it had become partly dependent on the supplies of grain, barley, and other materials coming from Kheman.

Indeed, the practice was abolished more slowly, in the arch of two generations.

The idea has been so rooted in the local culture that it has never been completely cancelled.

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Khemani laws instead accept some very typical forms of contracts that do not pay in coins nor are very specific in the mansions of the employee, but that have a decided expiration date, usually of at least a few years, in exchange of favors, goods, land, or debt repayment.

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These contracts always had to be signed between two willing individuals and in front of a Fatebinder or a Sage that would guarantee that no coercion was involved.

Two of the most common reasons for entering one of such contracts were actually going into debt, which Khemani found particularly shameful, and to grant the prole a better future. It is actually for this last reason that several elves did accept these contracts, even after the abolition of slavery.

In recent history, Kheman has always shown eagerness in wanting to take part in the rest of the Empire’s ventures, not least the conquest of the Black Dome peninsula, for which purpose Kheman deployed three Khemani legions together with its famous war elephants. Two of whom are stationed still at the border between Kheman and the Black Dome, while one is an active part of the occupation force.

Authors: Rashan

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