WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK 0166 0166
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upon Khitus’s most treasured, dwindling resource into unassailable political might that forces many tribal rulers to
bow to them rather than the reverse. These are but a few of
the many challenges ahead.
The balance between tribal and factional power coincides
with the enormous climactic difficulties across Khitus.
They reinforce the cataclysmic change that has descended
upon the world, and how each struggle resolves itself paints
a bit more on the canvass of the shifting world.
Faction versus
Faction
Most Khitan factions recognize each other primarily
as competing threats. Each one pursues such a specific
agenda that each monitors (and works to counter) any
potential competition out of respect or fear. Each action
demands a balanced reaction within an intricate game,
of which the game pieces are the Khitan people. The
games within games never end, all played seemingly
for the game’s sake since complete agendas are nigh
impossible to ascertain. Whole plots conclude, rekindle,
and conclude again with little fanfare. Subtle as they
are, the machinations among the factions can mean life
or death, and everyone of import should know his or her
place within them . . . or suffer the consequences.
The most overt and inevitable conflict between factions rises between the Shadazim and the Trakeen, since
they both sell appeals of faith to the same desperate
flocks. The struggling masses can embrace the worship
of an ancient god as readily as an absent Dragon King, as
both factions know. Theirs is a direct competition where
absolute demonstrations of righteousness are difficult.
They both dazzle the new faithful with simple displays,
so success depends upon subtlety … and treachery.
Where Shadazim and Trakeen meet, palpable tension
pollutes the air between them, and the wary yield neutral ground that never remains so for long.
Similarly, the Gare Attessa and Water Guild find themselves in direct conflict despite having very distinct
agendas and origins. Wherever water resources are
stressed to the limits, both groups find strength for different reasons. The Raetanni assert authority based on
perceived water needs, which can undermine an existing ruler. That perceived weakness simultaneously gives
the Chroniclers opportunity to dig deeper into that sovereign’s affairs. The power often grows simultaneously
in the same place, leading to a three-fold battle for control. Knowing this, few welcome Raeten interference in
a local water situation, just as the Chroniclers naturally
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resist Guild assertions that “desperate times” justify
their harsh measures.
Other factional conflicts covertly rage just beneath the
social veneers of civilization.
• Every Khitan faction employs informants, enforcers, thugs, and spies to further their ends, whether
benevolent or nefarious, and undermine others.
• Kuad Ahir who display their mental talents enrage
the magic colleges; the Dramidgeth and Rakarth
are not above employing lies (or assassins) to enrage a populace already skeptical of such powers.
• The Quath Manhar, certain their enforced protection is just and necessary, are at odds with the Pale,
whom they regard as a blight upon the land.
• Most factions are so uncertain of the Yenfansa that
they keep a wary eye upon any Devil’s Child in their
midst, ready to employ savage methods whenever
they perceive a threat.
These conflicts make everyone’s existence on Khitus
more precarious. Everyone knows if you cross the wrong
person, you get a knife in the ribs or poison in your cup.
Few outside of royal courts understand the dangers of
befriending the wrong person. Just as the world’s climate is in the balance, so too is Khitan political power, and
many fight for their shares. The factions already upset
traditional tribal loyalties, and any failure to assert their
agendas carries the risk of expulsion from local or regional
situations entirely. They are all capable of monstrous acts
to keep themselves relevant, justifying them by their own
policies and politics. Woe to the traveler ignorant of these
allegiances and conflagrations, for he is certainly lost.
Factions versus
Themselves
Subtler still are the internal conflicts within each faction. What does it take for one Chronicler to turn upon
another or one Rakart to offer his fruit to a rival and add
him to his chain? The Nyutu troupes keep their distance
from each other, relying upon the uniqueness of their
entertainments to eke out livings. Shadazim of different gods are at once allies and adversaries, depending
on each god’s virtues, and the same can be said of the
Trakeen and their varied Daragkarik. All of the magic
colleges disparage or outright loathe the others. On
the surface, the Pale seem the most unified, though
none know the inner intricacies of their organization
and they may hide cutthroat ruthlessness behind their
draperied palanquins.
