This is another 'old' document. Originally the companion peice to a long bit on the Kra nation.  I believe I have a second variant of it, but i like this one.

The fuller Kra piece was delayed by constant re-writes as I tried to pin stuff down. I'll post what I have of it in this thread later, but the initial post is a great teaser that yet managest to convey (I think) MORE than the delayed main entry.


Koga Va, known as the Iron General, or occasionally as Ko-O (the Iron Horse), is an old man, and has led the Kra for nearly fifty years. He is much beloved of his people and feared and respected by the nobility.  It is said that he is as fearless as the dead, and so he bears his death name in life. (Ko-O)

He was a younger son of the last Koga, known as Gu Bey (Endless Youth, for his vigor even in old age), who was well liked but viewed by many as a mere administrator rather than a proper Koga (and subsequently the Kors were very restless during his long reign, leaving Kra a dangerous (if relatively prosperous) country, full of banditry and little wars.

As a young man Ko-O, known then a Va Alshara, was renown for his ferocity and lust for Battle and was said to be much favored of Okal. So much so that when he was still a youth he fought a duel over a trivial matter of honor, and chose to take a powerful blow to his right arm in order to strike a killing blow against his opponent. This cost him his right arm, and according to some his blessing from Okal (who does not favor the foolish).  His father is said to have mocked him, asking what sort of warrior hopes to fight with a single arm (the Kra favor large weapons requiring two hands to use properly, and Alshara was said to favor his right hand as a youth).

The folk tales pick up years later, when Va Alshara is said to have put on a demonstration before his Father of his swordsmanship against one of his older brothers, using an oversized sword single handed. The blades were blunted and he bested his brother after a grueling duel.  

Instead of praise and elevation to Kor of his own unit, Gu Bey is said to ask how long until he scarified his remaining arm for a minor victory. In shame, Alshara fled the court. Legends of what Alshara did during this time are rampant, he is said to have fought bandits, performed banditry himself, explored the world and many other deeds, too numerous for a single life.

What is known is that five years later, when Gu Bey died at last in the bed of his favorite mistress, Alshara fought his eldest brother for the title of Koga, at the head of a small band of warriors of uncommon skill, and a few units supporting him from poorer border clans that favored him.  The war, Alshara against all the remaining sons of Gu Bey (over a dozen at this time... not counting those who had died years before), drug on for over a years before Alshara crushed the last of the resistance and proclaimed himself Koga.  It is said that at some point during his years in the wilderness he had given himself over to Teneb, others say Vokh.  

His first command was to do away with the court of the Koga, the idle retainers and sycophants and petty bureaucrats that had flourished in Gu Bey's reign. Only the Kor and his own warlords could attend him regularly. His second command was that no warrior should sit or kneel in his presence, which is the most famous of his early commands, for he executed the powerful Kor of Clan Con Si who found it ridiculous that he should stand before the Koga (it was viewed as a mark of respect to be 'below' the Koga... and rather comfortable for long stretches, which is why he did away with the practice).  

The long years of Ko-O's reign have been filled with many wars. The Clans were pacified brutally during the early years of his reign, banditry was supressed, and campaigns against the Spada and Reve are frequent. He cares little for the administration of the realm itself, only the movement of its troops. He does not think of the plight of the commoners, and has been known to demand troop levies for a surprise action during the growing or harvesting season... if a sacrifice will lead to victory he will make it.

Despite that he is a very good ruler, and much beloved of the people. It is said that before he demands any sacrifice he contemplates the stump where his arm used to be and decides if this sacrifice is too much, or the victory too little, and so the people believe that if he asks it of them, he is prepared to suffer alongside them... and there is something to that, for in lean years the Koga has forbidden rich foods to the Kors, and he himself is said to eat only his own battle lust (untrue of course), with a little wine to soften the bitterness.  

The reason he has proven a remarkably adept, if unenthusiastic, administrator is that as a general he had to learn the logistics of moving and feeding troops, and he treats the entire country as a large army and its supply train.  A single farm or village might be burned, but he will not allow his people to starve or they will be unable to fight.

The Koga is married of course, and has several sons. He actively encourages them to fight amongst themselves and avoids naming a favorite so that when he dies (and he is hoping one will prove ambitious enough and cunning enough to kill him for the job) they will not complacently accept one of their own as ruler unless he has earned it.  Unlike most of the warrior class, it is said that Ko-O never visits the brothel or tavern, for it is unthinkable for him to set aside his duty.

The Lady Va, his wife, was said to be so moved by his example that when she could no longer bear him children she took up the sword and served as one of his Kor for many years until she fell to a Spadan spear.  This story is somewhat apocryphal, though it serves his purpose for the people are much enamored of the myth and their fervor to destroy the Spada is at an all time high since it grew in popularity.  In truth, the Lady did join a warrior order, but she had little talent for it (and was in poor shape, being an old woman). She remains in seclusion in the Palace of the Koga, teaching the finer points of swordsmanship to her sons and encouraging them to find a way to live with one another once their father is dead. She respects her husband, but loves her sons.  

There is a second 'Lady Va' of note, one of the Ko-O's daughters, born later in his life, has followed her mother's example, taking up the crushing bronze shield-breaker club and fighting with her brothers.  She is much favored by the Ko-O, but he refuses to acknowledge the possibility of a female Koga.   This, of course, only makes her try harder to win his approval as a Kor.  


Cities and fortresses of the Kra:

The Kra do build stone fortresses and wall their cities. However, it is unthinkable to a Kra warrior to sit in a keep under siege, so unlike the castles of other nations the Kra fortress is designed more to keep raiders out rather than as a long term base for war. WHen confronted with a potential sieging force, the Kra will assemble and march out to engage, regardless of the odds. This has a remarkably preservative effect on the commoners.

It is a mistake, however, to believe that the Kra don't grasp siege warfare, for their war against the Spada has included numerous sieges against that CIty, and when they fight other Tenebrian Kingdoms of the South and to their West they often must engage in Sieges. The Kra are past masters of the art of LAYING sieges.  

Aside from the Spada, most of their common enemies in these engagements learn to fear Kra forces in a sieging army, for the Kra do not generally bother with breaking walls, but prefer instead to break the men within.   If a city is watered by a river the Kra will put their privies upstream, they will launch diseased corpses into the city, and whenever possible will engage in acts designed to convince the enemy to either leave to engage them or surrender to end the battle.   They do have a large number of excellent siege weapons, and their powerful bows can launch heavy arrows over tall walls, raining death on defenders they can't even see. The Kra warriors will happily dig entry tunnels, climb up middens and any other action that allows them to come to grips with an enemy.

One notable action involved the cunning movements of troops. The Kra began moving entire companies out of the siege lines in the cover of darkness, leaving only their tents to fool the defenders.  Having freed up the vast majority of their force, they continued the campaign around the fortress... and when the defenders realized how few Kra remained around their city they sallied out to route them, only to discover that the Kra had left more behind than they pretended... and the rampaging army in the countryside had been expertly maneuvered so as to be within a hard march of the city.   When the citizens saw the sally force trapped beyond the walls, kept from returning and unable to break the 'fearless' Kra, they surrendered the city, believing it was hopeless.    To this day, nearly three centuries later, the city of Koutla in Ventimigla still shows signs of the long Kra occupation and residency (one of the titles of the Mayor is Kor Koutla, and the city watch still favors the large Kra swords, though they use the crossbows common among the Ventimigla rather than Kra bows.   Ironically, part of the surrender agreement was that the Kra would not rape the women of Koutla... but the occupation of the city was long enough that many Kra married and settled in the south. To this day the Koga expects an honorable gift from the Southernmost Kor, though this has not been tribute since the end of that particular war (known as the war of three tigers, due to the fact that the heraldry of each of the major leaders of the factions fighting featured some variation on the beast).  The Lord of Koutla annually sends a symbolic gift from the city to the reigning Koga. Once it was a young daughter, intended as a ladies maid, but she wound up marrying the future Gu Bey, bearing him four of his sons and his eldest daughter but dying in childbirth, most of the time its a simple frippery or moderately valuable trinket.

This is an early attempt to detail the Kra.


The lands of the Kra lie south of Spada and occupy the same craggy foothills as their ancient enemies. Taloneash, or Broken Horse, in their tongue, most people simply refer to it as 'the Lands of the Kra', and leave it at that.

Ethnically, the Kra people are tall and strong, with long limbs, broad shoulders and heavy, slightly orcish features common among true blooded Tenebrians. Skin tones range from a light golden to polished mahogany, but their hair is universally dark and coarse. Upper class Kra rarely cut their hair, the better to arrange it in the often elaborate styles they favor. A tiny minority of Kra have small tusks, which are considered quite attractive, and a mark of great destiny.

Culturally the Kra are distinct, barely resembling the other Tenebrian Kingdoms, of which they are considered the northernmost example. The Kra do not have a proper kingdom, but rather a collection of powerful, autonomous clans that are only loosely led by the Koga, or Horselord.  The Kra are a warrior people, and their clans are largely organized like military units, and while the Koga is often the most powerless leader, his authority as a general against the enemies of the Kra is held to be absolute.  

The peasants are not considered Kra, per se. They do not claim allegiance to clans, but simply give up large portions of their labors to whichever Clan currently claims their villages.  For the most part, the clans do ignore the farms and villages, preferring to lay specific claim to the mines in the mountains and the lumber mills that work the forests of their slopes, but even there they care little about the people who labor in those industries. To the clans what are important are warriors, and in their tongue that is exactly what Kra means, warrior.  The sons of the clans are sent to schools, to study under masters at an early age, and more public schools and masters can be found in larger cities where even the lowliest peasant may seek to become a Kra.  Of course, few peasants can pay for such schools, nor spare the time to train, but if they have the will and an aptitude, it is relatively easy to find a sympathetic master or an eager patron.

Officially the Kra live only for the principles of their code. Glory in battle, Duty to their Lords and .  However, an ambitious Kra will seek to earn land, not merely serving a clan but becoming a part of it. These men are Kor; even the patriarch of a clan is Kor, and the more land he holds the more Kra he is expected to support.  Fighting within a clan is unheard of, aside from duels over points of honor, but ambitious border Kor will eagerly raid or even war with their neighbors from other clans or countries in the hopes of expanding their holdings and wealth.  Successful Kor not only gain wealth and prestige but can actually rise within their clan, even to lead it. Bloodlines and lineage are not terribly important to the Kra.  The Kra marry and have children out of duty, and the high mortality rate of the warrior caste means that there are many widows, and it is proper to marry a young widow and to adopt her children as one's own.

The Kra, and to a lesser extent the Kor, live for battle and aside from the Spada they are among the highest trained warriors in the entire world.  Unlike the Spada, the Kra eschew shields, preferring massive curved swords, mauls and axes, using these powerful and heavy weapons with a surprising amount of skill and finesse. The warrior class fights well as either light or heavy infantry, and every warrior is expected to be a competent, if not master, archer... though many neglect this area of their duty.   Like most of the Tenebrian Kingdoms, the Kra make their armor out of leather and cloth, using heavy lacquers and resins to provide additional resilience and color, but the Kra do not wear the peaked helmets common among their kin. As the Kra use heavy grease and even lacquer to shape their long coarse hair into fearsome designs they cannot actually put helmets on, but will frequently wear demonic masks or half masks to protect their faces.  They are often augmented with a peasant levee, equipped with spears and wooden chest plates.  The greatest weakness of the Kra army is a lack of cavalry, which hinders them on open ground.  However, they are masters of siegecraft, and few things are more feared than conquest by the Kra for they take the concept of rape and pillage farther than any race short of the Reve.  It can be fairly said that the Kra do not want your city, or your castle or your people, only the land it's on and the gold in its walls.  For such masters of siege craft, however, the Kra themselves are poor defenders, the fortresses and walls in their lands are more to keep bandits at bay than for set piece battles, for the Kra will always prefer to meet their enemies in open battle rather than hide behind their walls.

Duty can weigh heavily on the warriors, oppressive in its totality. Almost as famous as their hairstyles, the 'brothels' of the Kra provide the only escape. Officially these are taverns, but in appearance they may take on a semblance to an entire city. An official tavern, in this sense, is dedicated to the god Okal. Within the bounds of a Kra brothel there is no duty, for while Okal is a warrior god he is too wild and untamed to tolerate such stifling concepts. The role of the 'Island Life' in Kra society is powerful enough that plays and poems are written about it, many tragic, and the full time denizens of the brothels have an elaborate social order of their own, and are greatly respected by the Kra.

The warrior caste tends to be strongly chauvinistic, but duty applies equally to men and women.  Men are expected to fight and die, and if they live to rule over other men. Women are expected to run the household, no matter how big or small, and bear strong children.  They are protected, which can take on an oppressive tone, but they are also expected to be strong and men and women both can escape the duties of their gender by taking on the role of the opposite gender. Warrior women are surprisingly common, and even a proper, dutiful wife is expected to fight if the home is invaded. Men who take on the role of women frequently retire to the Island Life, as their inability to bear children makes them un-marriable.  Marriage is a political and legal matter, not a romantic matter, and men and women both have affairs, though discretion is prized greatly.  High ranking Kor may have multiple wives, but this is rare. There is no stigma for divorce, though it too is rare. The most common method of divorce is for a wife to throw her husband out of her home, and to request from her Kor a new husband.

There are only a few gods worshipped by the Kra. Teneb and Okal are the twin pillars of the Warrior Caste, Duty and Glory respectively,  Javsk, who is called the Faceless One, who is recognized for his cunning, an early Koga known as the Waverider, who is said to have seduced the Sea and invaded the lands of the Reve, and a handful of minor gods. One God of note who is never worshipped is Death, who is held up as an adversarial figure and is only depicted in his old guise of a monstrous darkness. It is said that once Teneb favored the Kra above all others, and so they could not die.  Death wished to reap the Kra, as he did all things, but Teneb opposed him at every turn.  Javsk tricked Teneb into making a rash statement (and so Teneb never speaks), and he withdrew his protection of the Kra, allowing Death to claim them and the Kra despaired. It was then that Okal taught them to love life, no matter how short.

Teneb and Okal are both in the old Ten Thousand Gods of Tenebria, though their depictions in Kra mythology are wildly divergent, but Javsk is an unknown figure.