Kharsaga

Kharsaga, an ancient flotilla city that meanders the eastern seas.

First remarked upon in east Suldzana waters early in the Era of Chaos, sailors yet speak of the city in breathy tones. A conglomerate of vessels banded together form the core of the flotilla. Galleys and skiffs and all manner of ships, richly dyed and decorated, melded into a single beast, mimicking the appearance of an island. It sailed the seas, ringed by dozens if not hundreds of smaller vessels. To many, sightings of the flotilla came as a harbinger of war, a declaration of intent. Straying far from the mainland narrows and straits, this massive flotilla became the talk of legends for years to come.

To this day, sightings are often noted under a delirious haze. Many see the flotilla as little more than pirates, smugglers, mutinied sailors, and while they numbered these and more, the Kharsagans boasted culture beyond such loose definitions. To the laymen’s appraisal of the flotilla, the Navigators with their strange tattoos and ships which sail beyond the ken of contemporary man, they appeared little more than the sum of their parts.

The Kharsagans are contractors, mercenaries, taking on work for the highest bidder, initiating trade with some of the most influential states. They may provide escort for diplomats or political captives, plying their myriad trades to those in the know.

Governance​

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Admiralty Board​

A ruling authority comprised of dozens of anointed royals, the Admiralty Board oversees the logistics, governance, and protection of the flotilla. The method of their selection is often seen as chaotic by outsiders: certain admirals inherit the position, others receive it by popular vote among contemporary fleet admirals, and still others by trial, or simply by burden of no one else wanting the job. They maintain the fleets, with each admiral carving a specific piece of the city and flotilla under their command.​

Navigator Council​

Chosen representatives of the Navigator class head up the spiritual and social governance of the city. Each Councilor represents the head of a Navigator school, of which there are five in total. Acting as a check on the otherwise unilateral dominance of the Admiralty Board (assuming its members acted with a measure of coordination rather than the historic contention), the Council provides a buffer between the naval doctrine of the outlying ships and civilian life. Many of Kharsaga's merchant marines report earnings and ask advice on tradewinds and routing from the Council, awaiting their stamp of approval before requesting writ from the Board.​

Stormmothers​

A traditionally matriarchal body of Tempestarii elders influenced by the Celestial Mother (representation from all genders is seen in modern times, with many keeping the the moniker of Stormmother or Mother all the same), the Stormmothers play an integral supporting role in Kharsagan governance. They hold no official authority, no technical power on the flotilla, but few among the Admiralty Board or the Navigator Council outright refuse to hear the Stormmothers' foretellings. As the winds may shift and the weather change from the clearest skies to devastating storms, so are the Stormmothers heralds of change. They welcome it, even where it clashes with the traditional values of Kharsagan society.​

Culture​

Navigators​

Within Kharsagan society, Navigators act as the backbone of culture. Spiritual leaders, they guide their crew home physically and spiritually. An essential addition to any crew, the Navigators are a class of their own requiring years if not decades of training to qualify. Entrusted with the lives of hundreds, with the livelihood of Kharsaga itself, with its reputation, they are put through rigors that test them physically, mentally, and spiritually at every turn.​

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Even a fledgling Navigator is given charge of the safety of dozens of individuals. To ensure that they meet their duties with the respect and quality expected of their society, Navigators undergo rigorous education. The schools select fledglings from a young age, determining proclivities towards their methodologies and philosophies by testing a child's personality: interests, likes and dislikes, the curiosity with which they approach the world all factor into the schools' decisions.​

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The five schools are: the school of stars, the school of sky, the school of sea, the school of ink, and the school of bone. Each school hones their method of navigation derived in spirit by their name. The schools themselves are diverse of thought, allowing varying levels of shared knowledge and freedom. The school of stars, sky, and sea are often homogenized and seen as a triumvirate. They share the wealth of their experience and teach freely across the schools. The schools of ink and bone conversely hoard their teachings.​

Tempestarii​

Commonly known as cloud movers, storm readers, wind conjurers, or (in jest or insult) weathervanes, the Tempestarii are an eccentric branch of Kharsagan society that value change and progress. While some of their rank are weavers capable of the feats attributed to them in truth, most are students of the philosophy, enjoying the diverse opinions and educations of their peers. Tempestarii weavers are prized for their talents in keeping a vessel safe, and the rest of their ilk are no less valued for what they bring in conversational joy.​

Naval Doctrine​

Those living near the docks or on the outlying ships of the flotilla, beyond the reach of the melded city core, are in large part comprised of sea folk: pilots, captains, shipwrights, sailors of all stripes reside at the Mother's Embrace. As such, they are expected to follow ship protocol to maintain order, a rule extending both to those from the Embrace who venture into the city and those from Kharsaga's core who journey dockside.​

Civilian Life​

Despite its status as a floating city, Kharsaga is home to a variety of peoples outside of sailors, Navigators, and Tempestarii. Craftsfolk, artisans, smiths, bakers, farmers, botanists, cartographers; the list of vocations available to the idle Kharsagan is vast.​

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Several schools exist within the city to teach of history and reason, or the Shroud and the Celestial Mother, and still others to teach commerce and governance. The Kharsagans are an eclectic people, absorbing knowledge and culture across the seas of history their flotilla has traveled. Occasionally they absent the flock for a spell or for a lifetime, but always will their hearts remember their home.​

Major Cities/Landmarks​

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Kharsaga​

Originating as an independent flotilla, the countless dozen ships forming Kharsga melded together over time, touched by the influence of the Shroud. Popular conjecture among historians theorize that armonium dust woven by Kharsagan temperstarii caused the initial meld, scraping together what few written records remain from such times of antiquity. Few in modern Kharsagan society care, preferring that the flotilla blended in tandem with the cultures that proliferated its inception.​

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Under the passage of centuries, as the city grew fat with its growing fleets, the planking and structure of older models gave way to more modern decor: city streets lined in basalt fill ancient cedar and oak planking, reinforcing walks about the flotilla proper and cementing the monumentality to all who sail upon the vessel.​

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Compact domiciles mark its facade, single-floored houses and shops with terraformed foliage scattered between. Subsistence farms and single-family groves and orchards and even vineyards comprise the bulk of the city's surface. The street level of Kharsaga acts as the ship's deck, with the bulk of activity taking place in the city's belly.​

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Brimming with docks and larger port fixtures that trail the flotilla, extremities dubbed the Mother’s Embrace, Kharsaga’s perimeter extends beyond the naked eye, lending more the appearance of an island.​

Mother’s Embrace​

The outer facade of the flotilla, strung up in a forest of masts and a constant stream of activity. Rings of interlocking docks and larger ports are attached to the flotilla, partitioned off into fleets under the controlment of a designated Admiralty Board member. The Embrace, its name a relic of a forgotten past when it may once have resembled a pair of hands welcoming ships home to the fleet, sprawls well beyond the borders of Kharsaga proper. It takes a skilled pilot, a capable Navigator, and a swift vessel to brave the channels to enter the city. On foot, it is a journey of many promised hours.​

History​

Little is known of Kharsaga's inception beyond remnants of sea shanties and campfire tales. It formed in a time of antiquity, when the written word had fallen from the minds of people and the Mother's Tears wrought devastation upon the world. Perhaps some of its history is preserved deep in the flotilla's core; deeper still beneath the paved over cracks and reinforced hulls and decorated facades that sprawl its surface today. Its origins are a mystery, one yet to be properly explored.