Soban

This was not always the case. Prior to the emergence of the southern federation and the Naabel intervention, very few Kharakians had ties outside their own kiith, and if they did, they were ties of dominance and submission-one kiith was made vassal to another and owed tribute to its masters, in return for which it was given the protection of the larger kiith’s army and the benefit of trade with the larger kiith’s holdings.

In all of this, however, there was no provision made for those who were without kiith. Unthinkable as this state may seem to us today, it can still bring a shudder to the modern Kharakian to consider the fate of a kiithless man or woman during those times. Banishment from the kiith was effectively a death sentence at any time prior to the year 416, when Kiith Soban was born.

The origins of Kiith Soban, the "Grey Brotherhood," are somewhat hazy. It appears that two vassal kiithid, which held lands along the second sea, were invaded by the temple men of a strong neighboring kiith. The vassals fought back furiously, defending their homes with desperate strength, and succeeded in killing a few of the raiding kiith. In revenge, the invaders punished the survivors brutally, although they had already surrendered. Many of the basic taboos of Kharakian society were violated; all the children of the farmers were murdered as well as the leader, man or woman, of every family. Those that remained were driven from their holdings, and fled across the Sparkling Desert to carry the news of these atrocities to their kiith-sa.

The leader of this group was Soban, later known as Soban the Red. When he knelt before his sa, he recounted the horrors that the neighboring kiith had committed against his people and demanded vengeance. He offered to personally lead the army that would ravage the invaders and teach them the error of their ways, and waited for the men and women of his kiith-sa to join him in a rush across the Sparkling Desert.

Unfortunately, this support was never to come. Soban’s kiith-sa, afraid of the possible repercussion or perhaps simply realizing the kiith was not strong enough to prevail against a larger and stronger kiith, refused to attack the reavers. Instead, members of the smaller kiith became vassals to the larger, joining their blood to the blood of the murderers.

When he heard of this, Soban tore the colors of his kiith from his body in shame. His followers did the same, and in doing so they abandoned their kiith completely -- an unheard-of gesture at the time, especially coming as it did from landless men and women. According to legend, Soban then declared the word "kiith" was meaningless when any kiith-sa could turn a deaf ear to the blood of children crying from the ground. He vowed that he would never belong to any false kiith again -- the only kiith which deserved the word was the kiith of spirit, the brotherhood of like mind and shared ambitions.

All the followers of Soban took a new color: a deep and vivid red, the color of blood flowing from the heart. Although they could not have been many, their first act as a kiith was a successful attack on the holdings which had once been their homes. When they left their old farms behind, not a blade of grass was left green nor one stone standing on top of another -- everything was razed and every invader killed in ways that gave Kiith Soban a bloody reputation for years to come.

Kiith Soban became a martial kiith from then on, and as years passed, a peculiar set of rituals developed among them. Although many other warrior kiithid existed at the time, those kiithid were standard in their aims and organization; they were martial to the extent that they desired the property and possessions of their weaker neighbors. Only the Soban were completely landless and existed purely as mercenaries.

The Sobanii mercenary is a curious feature of Kharakian history. For centuries, Sobanii took part in every military conflict on the planet, and their skills as soldiers and commanders were highly prized. When the services of any given Soban were bought, he or she would dress in the colors of the new kiith and fight in the service of that kiith, regardless of personal risk or cost. When the term of service was over -- down to the hour and minute -- Soban mercenaries would put down their arms, remove their adopted colors, and return to their own kiith. If the end came during the middle of a battle or a thousand miles from home, they would still go; contracts for their services could not be renewed on the scene, and only through their kiith-sa.

To this day, the Sobanii are completely devoid of standard family groupings. No "marriage," as such, is permitted among their ranks; and although male and female Sobanii are permitted to form whatever alliances they might want, there is no such thing as a Sobanii child. Children born to the Soban are left as foundlings with other kiiths or their parents are made to leave Kiith Soban to raise them.

Despite the fact there has not been a major war on Kharak for 200 years, the skills of Kiith Soban are still valuable, and they never lack for money and influence. Sobanii are often preferred when influential kiithid like the Naabel need intelligence officers or security officers, and virtually all modern-day admirals and generals are trained at Soban-run military academies, which are now open to the public -- one can pay for the training and discipline that was once available only to life-long Sobanii.

A current of true Sobanism still exists in our society and always will as long as some men and women continue to reject the status quo. Some Kharaki still join Kiith Soban of their own free will, renouncing all other kiith ties and associations; others are forced to join when driven from other kiiths for violating their taboos. Before "taking the red," as it is called, a prospective Sobanii must repeat the ritual which Soban performed centuries ago; all other kiith colors must be forcibly ripped from the body, a powerful gesture of negation. To some it represents the ultimate rebellion, to some the only salvation, but Kiith Soban imposes the same discipline and solidarity on them all -- for which Kharakian society may well thank them.