Sic transit gloria mundi
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on a Qadiri culture.
Image Credit: Here. Here.
Canon: N/A.
Permissions: N/A.
Links: Khaimari, Tephrike, Into Darkness, After Darkness, Shahbânu Semiramis, Tygara, Firemane Industries, Jazan Jai Khalal, Vashyada, Eldorai Exodus, Twin Exiles, Eldorai, Xioquo, Shadow Knights, Qadiri, The Stardriven, Sky Caravan, Shazora Jai Vahal, Mirage Squadron, Sky Shatter Cabal.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Tradition Name: Daughters of the Flowing Tide
Tradition Type: Monastic.
Tradition Focus: Spiritual, Physical, Elemental.
Influence: Minor
Orientation: Dark-leaning.
Influence Area: Khaimara Peninsula on the world of Tygara.
Symbol: A trident over stylised waves.
Description: The difference between a peaceful farmer and a ferocious pirate often comes down to whether the harvest is good or not. Desperate people will inevitably do desperate things. The Khaimari hail from the Khaimara Peninsula on the world of Tygara. It is a harsh, arid, rocky land with few safe harbours. The seas around the peninsula are stormy, and prone to wreaking havoc. The harsh conditions of their rocky homeland have shaped the Khaimari as a people. The peninsula is sparsely populated, and Khaimari communities tend to be comparatively small. But it's very hard to invade their home due to the deserts and reefs.
The territory of the Khaimari is lacking in valuable resources. In peaceful times the Khaimari fish, trade and explore. In warlike times or when resources are scarce, they are fearsome raiders and corsairs. They are excellent sailors and navigators - and have started moving into space. Some are even able to use the Force to instinctively find their way in the most treacherous of conditions, which is very helpful for navigation on both the sea, in space and the sky. In contrast to many Qadiri groups, they practice a form of martial democracy, where captains elect admirals and a grand admiral.
Within this framework the Daughters of the Flowing Tide serve as Khaimari priestesses. Khaimari culture is religious, and indeed somewhat superstitious. It is common to make offerings to the gods and ancestral spirits in return for favourable winds before embarking on a big venture. Likewise, they consult priestesses and oracles.
The Khaimari worship Iskur, the Qadiri god of the skies, and Nanshe, goddess of the seas, fishing and sailing, and Kashara, the supreme goddess of the Qadiri, along with a host of minor deities and spirits. While the Khaimari theoretically acknowledge Kashara as the supreme deity, the Daughters focus heavily on Nanshe, the goddess of the seas, boats and sailing, and Iskur, the sky deity. Nominally, the Saoshyant is the supreme head of the Kashari faith, but the Daughters only pay lip service to this distant high priestess. They have certainly not had any qualms about sanctifying Khaimari raids on Krolian merchant ships...even though Krolis is the holy city of the Kashari and the Saoshyant's residence.
The Daughters' scriptures proclaim that Nanshe nourished the Khaimari and gave them dominion over the seas. The Khaimari are fond of saying the sea goddess wakes when the sea becomes rough. Their world view is polytheistic, which means they accept the existence of many deities instead of just those they happen to pray to. The Daughters of the Flowing Tide perform an important social role. They are not only priesteses, but teachers, lorekeepers and negotiators. Khaimari admirals and commoners are obligated to give them shelter.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Membership: They seek out female Force-Sensitives and offer to apprentice them. A gruelling process which not all survive before they are inducted with a final ceremony into the sect. Khaimari are overwhelmingly Qadiri, though with some scattered Vashyada, and Xioquo populations. The Daughters are a dark-leaning tradition, but distinct from say Sith or Dark Jedi cults.
Rather than Sith being obsessed with the individual, they are interested mostly in the group and unity of purpose. So what they do is train communally, each working towards a purpose. Then, the final trial. They are turned loose in a small rowboat and have to find their way back. The favour of the goddess, their survival skills and hardiness are required to endure. This is done in small groups of say three to five. They must work together with their fellow acolytes. It is common for new initiates to give up their family name and instead take Jai Khaimara as their surname because it shows their fellowship with all Khaimari.
Motives: Empowerment of the clan, the Khaimari and oneself, doing the will of their goddess, and preserving her tenets. Rather than being obsessed with the exaltation of the individual, they are interested mostly in the group and unity of purpose.
Rules and Teachings: Loyalty to one's clan, the sect's precepts and the goddesses is paramount. For the Qadiri the Force - or Zari as they call it, literally spirit or soul - is a gift of the goddesses. They regard it as a tool to be used, and sometimes it backfires when one falls and uses their powers for their own ends. To many Khaimari, Zari is a neutral aspect to reality. They liken it to an element: A strong wind will ensure good fortune for sailors on the sea, but a raging storm can destroy ships and settlements. In keeping with this, they treat Zari as a source of strength instead of a as a mystical energy field that controls their life. They acknowledge that Force-Sensitivity grants power, but do not treat 'spirit-touched' as inherently anyone better than anyone. A Force-Sensitive who joins a ship crew needs to prove themselves like anyone else, and have conventional skills, too.
The Khaimari would consider overly bloodthirsty or plain insane Sith such as Jadus, Exar Kun, Vitiate or Zhorrid to be inherently weak. In the philosophy of the Daughters, people who are 'spirit touched' need to remain in control, regardless of a spirit's intent. 'Good' or 'evil' is irrelevant in that regard. If a sect member is not in control of herself, she has proved themselves to lack the strength of will to wield such powers and must be killed or banished for the good of everyone. The Daughters will go so far to execute such a fallen sister, and give her blood to the sea.
As a result, if a Daughter is acting for undeniably selfish reasons that hurt allies, or being a jerk to her own people, she is allowing whichever spirits have empowered them to act through her directly. In short, she has become a puppet to otherworldly forces instead of simply using the power as a tool to achieve certain ends. At the same time, if a Force-User has become so emotionless and detached that they blatantly ignores the emotional and material needs of their friends and allies in the name of their 'code' and has become so obsessed with their own moral righteousness that they can justify anything done to enemies, they are also inherently weak.
A Force user who fully embraces the Dark Side and uses it dishonestly or against their own clan will often be turned on. A Force user who attempts to call for pacifism, harmony and such will usually meet a similar fate. Broadly speaking, the sect does not see anything morally wrong with raiding and slaving...as long as it provides a net benefit for the Khaimari. Equally they will not scorn someone who has achieved success as a peaceful farmer or merchant. The Daughters value honour, but it is very internal. They do not view raiding and pillaging as a sacred duty, but also don't see anything inherently wrong with it from a moral standpoint. It goes without saying that they have no prohibitions against lethal Force abilities. Nor do they believe that a Daughter should not shed blood.
Traditionally, Khaimari groups have practiced a form of martial democracy where a leader who bears the title of grand admiral is elected by all Khaimari of captain rank and above. A candidate cannot vote for themselves. The Daughters are not allowed to participate in elections...but obviously influence things behind the scenes. Moreover, they are the ones who call for an assembly. Thus they get to set the parametres and can guide the deliberations of the assembled captains. For example, by stipulating that a goddessless captain cannot ascend to the position of grand admiral. Overmighty admirals have learned to heed their word, lest a 'turbulent' Daughter rouse their crews against them.
One Khamari custom that strikes outsiders, both other Qadiri and non-Qadiri, as particularly strange is that of ritualised drowning and then resuscitating them with the kiss of life. Contrary to some rumours, this is something people choose to do rather than something all Khaimari are required to do. It is something a Daughter of the Flowing Tide undergoes as a show of their devotion to and trust in the Goddess Nanshe. For them it is part of being elevated to join the sisterhood. Priestesses often claim to receive visions from Nanshe in the moment of drowning.
Other Khaimari may submit to the ritual, but aren't required. An example would be a Khaimari captain undergoing ritualised drowning and revival before embarking on a dangerous expedition to seek the blessing of the deity. This applies in particular to a young and unproven one who has yet to accomplish any great deeds and thus has yet to earn the full confidence of the crew. Sometimes a Khaimari who has lost their honour but is still considered somewhat redeemable may ask to undergo the drowning to be reborn again from the sea. The sea is the domain of Nanshe, so anyone who undergoes the drowning temporarily enters her queendom, and emerges with a new understanding of their purpose in life.
The priestesses of Nanshe know how to drown someone and bring them back to life. The ritual blesses the drowned person in the name of the goddess. While this takes place, acolytes and family members pray around them. Not all drowned are successfully revived, but deaths are rare. If a priestess keeps failing at reviving people, her people will start wondering whether she's impure in some way...which gives her incentive to do the job properly.
Foreign Qadiri allege that the Khaimari ritually drown and revive their new-born, but in truth the child is only dipped into a tub of seawater to wet the baby's head. The rare Khaimari who does actually ritually drown their child is viewed as insane and frankly unworthy of being a parent. A Daughter who does such a thing will be cast out by the sect and executed. Interestingly, she will not be given to the sea, for the Khaimari do not drown someone who has been sentenced to death. Ritualised drowning is a sacred rite, so giving Nanshe someone who is unworthy is seen as blasphemous. Instead heretic will be flogged while she is over the water, so the blood into the sea as tribute. The body is hung out in the air for carrion. They may also put the Daughter who elevated the unworthy one on trial.
It's to be observed that the Daughters have little truck with mindless dark lord worship. There have, of course, been powerful leaders among the Daughters who have been able to aggrandise power and gain cults of personality. But while it's a given that the priestesses will meddle in politics, an open takeover would be frowned upon. Moreover, Khaimari are highly decentralised, notoriously stubborn and don't take kindly to being commanded by people they don't respect...and even then they expect to get their due. Khaimari society is incredibly ruthless and cruel towards outsiders, but in some ways oddly egalitarian on the inside among those regarded as part of the clans. Daughters who don't understand this tend to come to a bad end.
Within Khaimari society, the Daughters preach the word of Nanshe, Iskur, Kashara and the other deities. They baptise newborn with seawater, act as storytellers and mediators, oversee religious ceremonies and bless ships that go on a voyage. Interestingly, they also do that for starships, which shows how they have been able to adapt. They also supervise burials, for tradition dictates that Khaimari are buried at sea. A dead Khaimari is ritually cleaned and dressed, and given a weapon to hold with their fingers, restrained to keep the grip. A Daughter leads a procession to the sea, accompanied by family and clan members of the deceased. The deeds of the fallen Khaimari are recited along the way.
Then the Daughter, accompanied by those closest to the deceased, then takes the corpse into the sea on a boat. There a prayer is spoken, and the corpse, with additional weights attached as necessary, is dropped into the water to sink beneath. Never is the corpse to be boxed or dismembered. The dead is to rise free and whole. If a Khaimari dies from decapitation or dismemberment, others present are expected to collect all the pieces they can with them. These pieces are reattached by a priestess through sewing or otherwise. If a body part cannot be located, a replacement can be made from wood.
The Daughters' views on the afterlife diverge significantly from the Qadiri mainstream, since they essentially elevate Nanshe above Kashara. Under the sea is Nanshe's kingdom where the worthy dead go. Those who are drowned and revived see some of her light. So when one dies they are judged by the Queen of Tides and those who are worthy are invited in. The others are left for the fish and the crabs to eat.
Reputation: Very well-integrated into Khaimari society. A captain or admiral will often seek the counsel of the priestesses and ask them to take the auguries before embarking on an expedition. This is also an opportunity for a new commander to undergo the drowning. Moreover, the Daughters negotiate legal disputes, such as when a captain and their crew are arguing about how to divide the spoils. It is common for ordinary Khaimari who seek redress to petition the Daughters. Finally, they are the ones who summon the assembly for the election of a grand admiral, though they are not allowed to vote themselves.
None of this means that every Khaimari respects or even likes the Daughters. However, if they are not liked, they are feared. The Khaimari believe their deities actively involve themselves in the affairs of the world, and thus it is unwise to take those who have a special connection to them lightly. All in all, the Daughters are an active part of local Khaimari communities instead of being cloistered.
The sect is poorly understood outside of Khaimari society. Mainstream Qadiri tend to have poor experiences with Khaimari, who are reviled as pirates and slavers. Many Kashari consider the Daughters to be heretical. This has been used to justify military campaigns against the Khaimari, though in all fairness their practice of piracy and reaving was reason enough. It has, however, not stopped orthodox Kashari polities from sometimes aligning with Khaimari pirate queens or employing them as privateers when it suited them. There are all manners of lurid rumours about their practices. For example, it has been alleged that they sacrifice fellow Qadiri to demon goddesses and drown infants. This is untrue, and reflects a serious misunderstanding of their tenets.
Openness: Very closed off, by design. They'll show who they are to others, but reveal little of their inner workings. They are jealous and suspicious of others learning their secrets.
SKILLS INFORMATION
Characteristic Equipment: They often carry a trident, bident, harpoon or other nautical item. These priestesses are trained for battle and use them to channel their Force powers.
Notable Force Skills: Given the nautical origins of the Khaimari, it comes as no surprise that air and water shaping powers are common among this sect. They emphasise the union of the two, especially of the storm. Many are also gifted in Force Sense powers, and precognition. The latter manifests in farsight, which they utilise in a shamanistic fashion that includes taking auguries from the remains of animals.
Their truth-sense is particularly feared among the Khaimari, for they cultivate the ability to tap into their powers to determine whether someone is spreading falsehoods. Furthermore, they are very good at predicting weather patterns, allowing them to essentially serve as military meteorologist. After all, when you are leading an invasion across the sea, it is helpful to know when the seas will be calm and the skies clear. Their ability to give a captain favourable winds was particularly beneficial during the age of sail.
More than a few of the priestesses manifest abilities akin to instinctive astrogation. Only a very small number achieve mastery of it, but it makes them a boon for any captain who has to navigate under hazardous conditions, whether on the sea or in the sky-ocean. Moreover, they train in mental abilities to control and dominate people. These obviously tend to be of a darker persuasion. Some manifest the power to channel Force lightning through their Force imbued tridents.
Notable Force Limitations: While not every Daughter of the Flowing Tide is a darksider or even an evil person, as a whole the sect is dark-leaning. There is no prohibition against learning what is commonly called Light Side abilities because the Khaimari view the Force differently than Sith. However, for obvious reasons a Daughter is incredibly unlikely to say learn Force Light, Force Harmony or other powerful manifestations of the Light Side.
MEMBERS
Kisha Jai Nanshe - Officially the Daughters of the Flowing Tide have no supreme leader or high priestess. They have a conclave of the wisest...but, of course, there is always someone who is first among equals. That happens to be Kisha Jai Nanshe. She has held this position for longer than anyone else has been part of the conclave. Qadiri are longer-lived than humans, but she is very old even for members of her race, having outlived many Grand Admirals. Some claim that she was a companion of Mazara Jai Nanshe, the greatest of the Khaimari grand admirals. This may be hyperbole, but says a lot about the high esteem the Khaimari hold her in.
She is slight of stature and her body is frail, but the mind of this wizened crone is incredibly sharp. Her strength in the Force is considerable. She is a highly accomplished sorceress and mystic with an impressive command of farsight. Kisha rarely interacts with foreigners or even other Khaimari, but surrounds herself with a coterie of mystics and interpreters. Kisha acts as a sort of oracle for the Khaimari...but also manipulates events to her ends. She stays out of the perennial power struggles, positioning herself as a final arbiter and sage bearer of wisdom. Khaimari children are not afraid of her, viewing her as a kindly grandmother who dotes on them and has fun stories to tell. She shows special care towards orphans and foundlings.
It is a rare day when she openly meddles in daily politics, but when she does, the squabbling warlords listen...and those who don't do so at their peril. But she seldom touches a matter directly - she suggests, influences, insinuates. There have been times when she spent many years in seclusion, and communicated solely with the rest of the world through a chosen acolyte. Only to suddenly emerge during great upheavals. In terms of demeanour, she is calm, reserved and introspective.
She is capable of incredible acts of ruthlessness and cruelty. Torture, murder, massacres, arranging 'accidents' for foes - all these are valid methods in her view. But she treats such actions as one tool among many rather than her first resort. The priestess is not given to ostentatious displays of power. She advocates self-reliance...but in the service of the greater whole. As of late, Kisha has become more of visible presence among the Khaimari. She has taken a personal interest in the training of young acolytes, personally supervising the education of an unprecedented number of them. Moreover, she has spent many hours in seclusion with mystics from other Tygaran groups such as the Xioquo. No one is sure what this means, but all agree that she is plannig something big.
Anjara Jai Khaimara - an incredibly warlike, militant battle priestess who is less focused on the prophecy and lorekeeping side of things, and more on what she considers glorious battle. She actively fights on the frontlines when she wills it, having made herself a name as a fearless reaver whose fury strikes terror into the hearts of her foes. Her idea of preaching is to sway converts by displaying her combat prowess to smite those who defy the Goddess. She has a well-earned reputation as a blood knight who relishes the fury of combat. She routinely undergoes a ritualised drowning before every campaign. Rigidly loyal to the Daughters' code, she is honourable...by the standards of her people. Surprisingly, she also has a talent for poetry and singing.
One of Anjara's odd quirks is that she favours burying worthy foes in accordance with the Khaimari rites rather than leaving their corpses to rot. From her perspective, this will ensure that Nanshe grants them entrance into her queendom as worthy dead. When a fellow priestess sardonically pointed out to her that these worthy dead might hold a grudge when they meet her again, Anjara said she welcomed the challenge because at some point singing, feasting and entertaining herself with mermaids would lose its lustre. She has repeatedly said that should a foe manage to slay her in honourable combat, she would speak out in their favour when she was brought before Nanshe.
Anjara was exiled for a while after Firemane imposed its so called 'Clear Seas' policy, which had culminated in a brutal campaign to subjugate the Khaimari. The campaign was only partly successful, but the Khaimari had to officially renounce reaving. However, Firemane's grip has weakened ever since Siobhan Kerrigan fell into a coma. Anjara used her time in exile productively to travel, and learn more about the world and the sky people who seek to dominate her people. With Firemane's power waning, she has returned and is counselling war to restore the Khaimari's independence. Many believe that Kisha may be the only one who can restrain her fiery passion.
Nahka Jai Khaimara - A young initiate added after the sky people arrived, and who wants to bring her people into the sky-ocean because Nanshe's mandate extends there, too. Nahka is part of a younger generation of Qadiri who have one foot in the world of their foremothers, but another in the exciting and all too often dangerous world of the sky people. Some accuse her of being too close to the sky people who invaded the native lands of the Khaimari and forced foreign dominance on them. This is very unfair though. Nahka is still a Khaimari patriot, and loyal to her sisters. She is fascinated by some of the technology of the humans, but not a stooge who wishes to bow and scrape before the would-be star mistresses. Kisha has subtly encouraged her to learn all she can, but not lose sight of who and what she is.
Nahka corresponds regularly with select Khaimari who have joined the sky people to earn glory and profit in the sky-ocean. One of her friends is Jazan Jai Khalal, the daughter of an infamous pirate queen and a skilled reaver in her own right who joined Firemane's naval forces. The two are distant kin, and Nahka is a bit starstruck by her highly accomplished relative. Once she went into space with Jazan, visiting the Arx Aeternae and a distant tropical world called Arkas. The two had a bit of an adventure, and Nahka returned with stories of the dangers - and opportunities - of the sky-ocean. A hyperspace accident caused them to be cast into a 'void of storm-grey nothingness', where the pair faced 'demons'. Nakha saved Jazan's life from one of the abominations, and her relative was able to use her astrogative talents to guide them out of this dark realm.
Zajunal Jai Iskur - Zajunal is a bit of an anomaly among the Daughters. Whilst not a lightsider, she is more grey than dark. As is common among the Daughters, she gave up her family name upon her initiation. Most unusually, she chose the name Iskur. She feels that even though she is one of the Daughters, she has a special connection to the sky. During her trial she was saved by a providential wind, while many of her companions were swept away by the storm and perished.
Zajunal lost an older brother to the Amikarese and her mother in a skirmish with the Eldorai. Curiously, she doesn't hate either group despite her personal loss...though not because she didn't care for her dead family members. She loved both deeply, but states that they died doing what they loved most. Their deaths were honourable, and they have taken their place in the realm of the Queen of Tides. She doesn't feel any guilt about the actions of her kin, who were both corsairs and slavers, but nor does she hold a grudge against their foes for fighting back. For the same reason she does not view slavery as immoral per se, but also views it as natural that a slave would try to escape or rebel against their owner. She believes a slave should be treated 'decently' and is supportive of manumission as a reward for 'loyal service'...but doesn't view the institution itself as morally abhorrent.
She tries to help people with outreach and spreading the message of the goddesses and gods. Thus she is one of the few Daughters who leaves the Khaimara Peninsula to travel, proselytise and learn about other cultures. Her life style is that of a mendicant. Of course, this is quite unusual, and so she has often been falsely suspected of being spy. This not to say that Zajunal is a pacifist. She is by no means a stranger to violence, and has participated in her share of raids or aided and blessed them. However, she is not particularly militaristic and open to cooperating with other Tygaran groups through alliances, peaceful trade and exploration. More warlike Daughters view her as too soft, but Kisha has prevented her outreach projects from being blocked.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The origins of the Khaimari have been deeply mythologised over the centuries Khaimari storytellers say that they used to live among the Amikarese, but were betrayed by their tyrannical Mirzas and forced to flee. When all hope seemed lost, a storm came up and consumed their pursuers, but Nanshe guided them to the new land ever bordered by the sea as a gift…and an obligation to remember her worship. The actual historical record on this indicates that around 7,000 years ago settlers from Amikaron settled on the peninsula after a series of droughts and survived on fishing and trading.
Regardless of the truth, the origins of the Daughters of the Flowing Tide are closely connected to the origin story of the Khaimari people. The priestesses claim that they can trace their heritage back to a holy woman who was granted a blessed trident by Nanshe. Her name was Rokasha Jai Nanshe. The surname she was born with has been lost to history.
This mystic helped guide the 'first grand admiral' to the Khaimari homeland. When the priestess' ship was assailed by the Amikarese, she chose to help her comrades get to safety rather than save herself, smiting the attackers with holy wrath. Struck down, she drowned when the ship was sunk. However, according to the legend, while her body was swallowed by the ocean, Rokasha's spirit was detached from her body, and she visited Nanshe's realm. Her pleas were heard by the goddess, and she was revived. Her comrades found her body drifting in the water. Not only was she alive against all odds, she held a blessed trident. The mystic returned to her people to share her knowledge and wisdom. Several called Rokasha a heretic and a blasphemer, but one captain called Bakara Jai Halassa realised that she spoke truth and heeded her instructions.
Relentlessly pursued by the tyrannical Amikarese, the rag-tag fleet followed the visions of the mystic, drifting further and further away from the known lands of the Qadiri. However, their pursuers caught up with them. It was then, as many of the fugitives had begun to doubt their faith, that a storm consumed their pursuers, while Nanshe guided them to safety. The Rokasha not live long enough to see the Khaimari settle upon their new land. Nanshe had given her preternatural insight that allowed her to guide the fleet to their new home, and safely pass through the storm that drowned the hostile armada. However, the goddess' favour came at a cost. When Rokasha's end came, her people mourned her, but the mystic embraced death, for she knew that she would return to the goddess' kingdom.
Her final days were spent sharing the memories of her mystical experience with her closest acolytes via a melding of minds. Rokasha's apprentices spent many days with her in seclusion, absorbing her teachings. Her teachings formed the basis for the commandments all Daughters of the Flowing Tide must adhere to. Moreover, she taught them how to bless a believer by drowning them and bringing them back to life. When she finally passed away, her apprentices gave her body to the sea, as she had commanded them. The chosen acolytes constituted the first conclave of the Daughters of the Flowing Tide. To avert strife among riven Khaimari factions, the Daughters called for a grand convention, where the wise captain Bakara who had heeded her wisdom was elected as the first grand admiral.
No doubt truth and myth have been fused in this origin story. Naturally much of it cannot be verified anymore due to the passage of time. It is likely that it took a lot longer for the Daughters to establish themselves than the myth implies. Traditionally Qadiri religious traditions acknowledge the preeminence of Kashara as queen of heaven, though other deities are worshipped, too. However, while the Daughters paid lip service to Kashara, in practice they focused their worship on Nanshe.
Sources indicate that this led to sectarian strife with more conservative Kashari sects, to whom the idea that the worthy dead would find their eternal rest in Nanshe's watery realm was blasphemous. The process that allowed the Daughters to penetrate and become deeply intertwined with Khaimari society might have taken centuries. The highly decentralised nature of Khaimari society prevented the formation of a formal order, though even so the sect is rather tight-knit by Khaimari standards.
Khaimari society was archetypically divided into three social groups. The People of Iron were the professional warriors, warleaders and admirals; the People of Silver the merchants; the People of Salt the ordinary commoners, fishers and farmers. Priestesses were drawn from all three, but stood apart from them. Slaves were an oppressed underclass. However, these social groups were less rigid than it might seem on first sight. The most successful merchants happend to be flotilla leaders who were perfectly fine with committing acts of piracy, owned lavish residences but reinvested their wealth back into their ships. Poorer, land-based merchants existed though. Trade was the Khaimari's life blood as well as piracy. Fishers and other sailing professions were respected. An entirely land-based merchant would get less respect than a farmer despite being wealthier. And in old age a warrior might settle down and invest their loot into their own homestead. Within this framework, the Daughters established themselves as spiritual guides, mediators and seers of the clans.
In these early days, the Daughters played an active role in supporting raids on Qadiri cities and ships. In times of great scarcity, the Khaimari turned to raiding and reaving. The Daughters made themselves a name by using their visions to guide pirate fleets and use the power of the storm to smite and drown their enemies. Nominally they paid lip service to Kashara...but those Krolian merchant ships and temples were too tempting to ignore.
However, the priestesses also helped with navigation, using their preternatural talents to augment the skills the Qadiri have. In those days, there was an early expedition to Yarkul by accident. A ship of Khaimari were washed up on the shore. This being technically the first contact between Qadiri and Vash since the Dawn War, there was actually friendly relations. They helped the Khaimari repair their ship in exchange for some items from the north and they returned. Unfortunately the goodwill of this visit did not last long, and the gratitude of the first crew for being helped turned within a generation towards greed for their successors to plunder this new land.
However, back home the religious struggle between those who glorified Nanshe and a 'heretical' element that wanted to place Kashara in a more prominent position. Within a generation of the colonisation of the Khaimara Peninsula, the struggle had turned bloody. It is to be observed that the Kashari Daughters did not oppose the slaving and reaving. Slavery was a fact of life among the Qadiri. Abolitionists were incredibly few and far between. What they opposed was the fundamental departure from established Qadiri religious practices and customs.
Matters came to a head when Admiral Dhawaral Jai Najrana, a powerful warlord, invited Krolian missionaries to her lands. Najrana was resentful of the influence of the Daughters, whom she suspected of having sabotaged her father's candidacy for Grand Admiral and having arranged for his exile and subsequent assassination. It was known that they favoured one of her rivals, and so she sought an ideological counterweight. Conversion would allow her to build bridges with the wealthy realm of Krolis and other Qadiri polities that stood opposed to the Amikarese Empire.
After putting the Kashari priestesses through a series of trials to prove the strength of the Goddess Kashara, she passed an edict that allowed them to proselytise and practice their faith. The followers of the new faith were called the Najrani. When the Krolian priestesses' aid helped her attain victory in battle, Najrana formally converted. Soon she began to make moves against the Daughters. Property stolen from Kashari believers was returned and several of the sect's temples were confiscated or burnt. This sparked a counterreaction. The attempt to convert all her followers ended messily. The Admiral was overthrown and put to death, along with many of her followes. The religious schism culminated in a brutal purge that saw the Kashari 'heretics' banished or murdered if they refused to recant.
With 'proper orthodoxy' restored, the Daughters turned their attention to expansion. Priestesses travelled with a Khaimari captain called Touran Jai Tahmasba who successfully circumnavigated the world of Tygara looking for the mythical 'Land of Silver Shores'. She didn't find it, but did find that the world was round and a way to get to Khajwar without going through Amikarese lands or seas. A priestess helped her navigate through a storm into a bay where they could take shelter. It soon became an important trading colony. They were also part of a Khaimari group that ended up with territory on the northern continent of Ajustra, which lay on the other side of the world. Though they came as conquerors, they eventually turned into farmers. To this day they use a strange form of Zandri for their names and words.
The Daughters supported and legitimised the the Khaimari's brutal way of life. But at the same time they helped preserve customs that could, to an extent, be described as democratic. The Khaimari resented tyrannical central authority that ran roughshood over their rights, insisting that they bowed to no queen or king. When Grand Admiral Malakeh Jai Rekaba rose to power through intimidation, and violence, having secretly assassinated her predecessor and bribed the conclave, the Daughters ended up in opposition to him. Azadeh Jai Khaimara, the unofficial leader of the Daughters, denounced his dictates as tyrannical. Significantly, when the Grand Admiral sought the Daughters' blessing for an expedition, she refused, declaring her unworthy to command the faithful.
Enraged, the Grand Admiral exclaimed that someone should rid her of this tumultuous priestess. Or so the story goes. What is certain is that Azadeh was waylaid by some warriors sworn to the Grand Admiral, stabbed twenty-three times. Her murders heaped an insult upon the Daughters by mutilating Azadeh's body and leaving it as carrion. To this day it remains unclear whether Malakeh actually ordered this act, but she reaped the consequences. Enraged by this blasphemous act, the Daughters rallied the clans. If the stories are to be believed, Azadeh's death was followed by a series of ill omens. Devastating storms raged, making it virtually impossible to depart the peninsula for trading, fishing or raiding. Some Khaimari claimed to see the blood-covered of apparition of Azadeh walking across the land.
Malakeh was overthrown, and her blood was given to the sea to appease the Goddess. Several of her family members and close associates were executed, too. Thereafter, a new election was held. The Daughters acknowledged its legitimacy, and stepped aside from direct leadership, but the new Grand Admiral knew that it was wise not to cross them. Though the Daughters would claim that their relations with Mazara Jai Nanshe were harmonious, in truth matters were more complicated. Famously brave, ruthless and charismatic, the great Grand Admiral was beloved and feared in equal measure. Before her ascent, she had spent more almost twenty years as a mercenary commander in foreign lands due to being exiled after a failed bid to seize power. During this time, she served many Qadiri potentates. But she didn't only acquire treasures and glory on the battlefield, but unparalleled insights into their politics, rivalries and tactics.
She put all this knowledge to good use when she returned to her homeland, and successfully made a bid for the position of Grand Admiral. Upon taking control, she led the Khaimari on an aggressive course of expansion. They would not just raid, they would conquer and establish dominion over the seas. Neighbouring Qadiri lands were subjugated or forced into a tributary system. Mazara used the prestige accumulated by these victories to weaken clan loyalties in favour of binding the Khaimari to a united cause. Having spent such a long time abroad, she sought to adopt Krolian and Amikarese bureaucracy to Khaimari conditions. Even Krolis was forced to pay tribute when her fleet laid siege to the holy city.
The Daughters blessed her campaigns, but Mazara was not a Grand Admiral they could safely control. They had an uneasy partnership. Each successful campaign proved the might of the Goddess Nanshe and brought home booty and slaves. The Daughters benefited from this, but it also enabled Mazara to consolidate power. Soon rumours abounded that she would declare herself Queen. Then she would no longer be dependent on the Daughters as a source of legitimacy. They were no doubt nurtured when she took the Goddess' name after smashing the 'Five Nation Fleet' despite being badly outnumbered, using not only her prowess as a naval commander, but also artefacts she is rumoured to have discovered in a cursed land devastated by the 'War in Heaven'. Today, it is suspected that they might have been Rakata in origin. Mazara was the only Qadiri to raid the Underealm and return alive. To do so she used allied Xio to pretend to take 'slaves' into the gates using captured ships. Once there they attacked the harbours where the Xio were unaware and made off with slaves, treasure and ships.
The full Council of Ten gathered a massive warfleet to destroy this insolent challenger but she skilfully led them into the peninsula's shallows and many Xio ships were wrecked. However, at the moment of victory a Xio assassin struck her down with a poison dart. Thus her reign came to an end. A group of Daughters had accompanied her into battle, and worked together to provide leadership amidst the chaos. Working with one of the admirals, they were able to ensure a mostly orderly retreat. However, the coalition Mazara had gathered dispersed, as factions began to squabble over the fortune she had amassed. A cynic would say that at least some Daughters were not unhappy about her passing, but now they faced chaos.
Mazara's son and daughters vied for power, admirals and clan leaders who desired greater independence threw off the strong central authority she had established. Even the Daughters were divided. As a result, her heirs gradually drifted apart and the united realm was lost. The Amikarese struck back, conquering many lands that had been claimed by her. One of Mazara's daughters, who had joined the priestesses, was captured by Mirza Adhira of Mansura, who inflicted a devastating defeat on the Khaimari upon the Plain of Zaltaxa. She was paraded around in chains during the victory procession, and later executed. Kisha Jai Nanshe is said to have begun her rise during the dark time. She saw how far the Khaimari had fallen, and devoted herself to restoring a semblance of order. To that end she played on the connection she supposedly had to the greatest of the Grand Admirals. Over time she became accepted as an oracle who stood above factions.
The Khaimari went through a period of weak grand admirals. Sometimes there was no grand admiral at all. However, though they were diminished, they still remained a force to be reckoned with, and the Daughters continued to play an important role. This was proved a century and a half ago when the Mirza of Kajad tried to 'rid the seas of the pirate menace' once and for all using a fleet of eighty ships and nearly 30,000 soldiers and sailors. However it came to grief when supposed Khaimari "traitors" led them into reefs. The smaller and more nimble galleys hit the large but ponderous galleys when they were becalmed. Eventually they broke free but a storm, partly natural and partly summoned by Daughters, and subsequent attacks battered them. Only twelve ships returned safely.
Their times of empire-building were long past, but the Khaimari would continue to be notorious as raiders, traders and mercenaries. Qadiri nobles and even the occasional Xioquo hired them as privateers or paid them protection money to guard their convoys. Anjara Jai Khaimara became notorious as a war priestess. Ironically, due to the Khaimari's mercenary spirit some Daughters would end up fighting to protect Krolis, from a Xioquo invasion. The arrival of the sky people changed many things. At first the Khaimari saw business opportunities.
Indeed, the humans of Firemane, for all their preaching about good governance, were willing to employ them as mercenaries in their campaign against the Xioquo. However, then Firemane began to impose its 'Clear Seas' policy. An initial Firemane expedition was thwarted. But then the megacorp began to wage war against the Khaimari in earnest. In open battle the elves could not match the machines and metal ships of the sky people. Firemane warships and bombers bombarded Khaimari coastal cities before invading the peninsula. The Khaimari were further weakened by slave revolts. Many Daughters perished, and holy places were destroyed.
Indeed Amikarese auxiliaries often desecrated them. Firemane troops were also guilty of crimes against the native population. Firemane special forces carried out extrajudicial executions, tortured prisoners etc. Moreover, drone strikes caused collateral damage. Oversight was limited, and whenn the accusations of unlawful killings were first raised, closer obviously to when the events occurred, few cared. Moreover, Firemane had only limited knowledge of the natives' religious customs, being on reliant on information provided by Kashari Amikarese. Thus it often displayed a cavalier disregard that offended local sensibilities. Naturally the Khaimari insurgents committed atrocities of their own, brutally torturing and killing captured enemy soldiers and alleged native 'collaborators' and their families. Rebellious slaves were killed. Collective punishments became the norm. Anjara Jai Khaimari was among the war priestesses who fought the invaders with fanatical zeal, cutting a bloody swathe through Firemane soldiers and Order of Fire adepts.
They had no answer to the sky people's firepower. However, while it was easy enough to subjugate the settlements on the coast...the vast interior of the peninsula was a different matter altogether. Arid and mountainous, it was hard to control. The Khaimari had patience and knowledge of the terrain. The land was difficult to hold without vast numbers, which Firemane didn't want or have available to commit. The peninsula was large, and it was one thing to have 'green zones' in the settlements, and another to actually control the waters. The Khaimari forces that continued the struggle also capitalised on the occupation government's inability to deliver on access to basic services and protect civilians from conflict-related violence to secure local support or acquiescence.
Regional warlords offered protection from violence and service delivery in some areas in order to secure the population's collaboration, while also imposing harsh punishments, including extrajudicial killings, on those refusing to collaborate. As a result, many communities that had initially been willing to reject the old order and cooperate with the occupation administration if it led to peace and a resumption of commerce switched sides and actively supported the insurgency. Though infamous for their brutality, the insurgents were capable of varying the level of service provision and use of civilian-targeted violence across communities under their control in order to secure buy-in and deter defection. Moreover, there was tension between those Khaimari factions who cooperated with the occupiers, and freed slaves, who rightly demanded justice. Finally, Amikaron sought to use the war to extend its influence, and sent missionaries.
The megacorp sought an exit strategy, which amounted to coopting Khaimari warlords and militias to police the rest. This was done in full awareness of the fact that many of the supposed moderates had been engaged in piractical ventures in the past, and were only willing to cease raiding and slaving because it was no longer practical for them. Megacorps like Firemane dislike spending a lot of money, and most of its troops were organics, not droids. Kisha knew this and had come to Firemane early on, and promised to help them. Fighting them openly would only lead to ruin. Let them think they won the battle when the war was very much in doubt still. Once their main forces left though and things settled down she secretly continued to work against them.
Firemane was persuaded by her to allow her sisters to pick 'trustworthy wardens' who could patrol the seas on their behalf. They knew the people after all. An operation was initiated to repatriate freed slaves to their homelands. At the same time the Daughters supported reliable Khaimari captains in stockpiling assets and weapons, and setting up hidden caches of technology forbidden to them under the terms of the truct. Captains and admirals considered untrustworthy were quietly eliminated, or framed as 'hardline reactionaries' that ended up being killed by Firemane drone strikes. Over time Firemane's attention shifted elsewhere. Young, capable and discreet Khaimari were encouraged by Kisha to learn all they could from the sky people. As long as Siobhan Kerrigan was in power, the Daughters remained cautious. But now she is comatose, Firemane is mired in corruption, tangled in bureaucracy and suffering from a leadership vacuum. The priestesses have taken notice.
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