Kalkuun

The Four Great Clans

Krizaza

• Leader: Warlord Sarkesh Krizaza, Hobgoblin, The Iron Mandate.
• Colors and Sigil: Blood-red on iron; a broken hyena-jaw (their trophy from the Gnoll wars).
• Goal: Open hegemony, codify tribute, standardize levies, crown a “High Warlord of Kalkuun”.
• Slavery Stance: “Legal outside the capital; regulated inside our lines”. They issue stamped slave-bonds and hunt runaways.
• Forces: Shield-wall cohorts, bolt-thrower wagons, contract-ogres; sappers trained by ex-Nidoran engineers.
• Friends and Rivals: Buys labor from Kashakhi; bullies Betzan accountants; locked in a cold war with Merf.

Merf

• Leader: Sea-Matron Ulza Merf, hobgoblin admiral turned lagoon-warden.
• Colors and Sigil: Sea-green and bone; a net over a crescent moon.
• Goal: Be left alone. Guard the shoals, fish, trade quiet, no crowns and no crusades.
• Slavery Stance: Prohibited within Merf waters; smugglers are cut loose and accidentally lose their chains at sea.
• Forces: Shallow-draft cutters, marsh skirmishers, tide-wardens with harpoon lines; best scouts on the island.
• Friends and Rivals: Discreet exchanges with the Free Cities of Nidoran; hates Krizaza pressure; tolerates Kashakhi only outside their lagoons.

Tzoko

• Leader: Forge-Marshal Khol Tzoko, hobgoblin smith-prince.
• Colors and Sigil: Soot-black and ember-orange; a hammer striking a volcano sigil.
• Goal: Industrial primacy: arm everyone, own the forges, sell to all sides while playing kingmaker.
• Slavery Stance: “Penal indenture” is common (miners and charcoal burners branded contracts, term-limited (in theory).
• Forces: Iron-masked heavy infantry, ash-wolf handlers.
• Friends and Rivals: Supplies Krizaza for coin, Betzan for credit; avoids angering Merf by sea-clean charters.

Betzan

• Leader: Arch-Legate Vadruk Betzan, hobgoblin comptroller-general.
• Colors and Sigil: Ochre and black; a knotted tally-cord encircling a coin.
• Goal: Balance of power and profit in order to keep wars profitable but short; dominate law, tariffs, storage, and minting.
• Slavery Stance: Allows bonded labor but obsesses over paperwork with manumission charts, debt clocks, escrowed ransoms.
• Forces: Contract militias, ledger-mages, “quiet knives” for audit-enforcement; excellent fortifiers.
• Friends and Rivals: Buys routes from Kashakhi; resents Krizaza diktats; mediates disputes to look indispensable.

Kashakhi

• Leader: “Chain-Speaker” Jhakra Kashakhi, hobgoblin magnate who never sleeps in the same camp twice.
• Status: Top-five power with no territory which have a web of slave-markets, ransom brokers, drover-guards, and desert guides spanning Western Eldalor and the mainland.
• Colors and Sigil: Ochre and black; a knotted tally-cord encircling a coin.
• Business Model: Moves bodies and goods. Sells labor to Krizaza and Tzoko; resells manumission notes to Betzan; banned on Merf lands (so they skirt the shoals by night).
• Customs: The Chainmoot, a rolling marketplace under treaty-banners where rival clans trade prisoners for kin, goods, or oaths; breaking Chainmoot peace makes you untouchable to all traffickers.

The Lesser Clans

• Vrozkan: Hill-raiders turned border wardens; currently paid by Betzan to police grain roads.
• Cherzak: Sea-wolves with three galleys; uneasy truce with Merf if they keep offshore.
• Mruza: Goat-steppe nomads; sell hardy mounts to Krizaza scouts.
• Khezrak: Quarry-lords; limestone and quicklime cartel feeding Tzoko kilns.
• Torzan: Shrine-keepers and augurs; They are “neutral” as they sell auspices to whoever will listen.
• Zhorak: Frost-upland trappers; trade furs and smoked meat, back Merf in council.
• Brezak: Town-house thugs; muscle for Betzan auditors in the ports.
• Fruzhan: Corsair cousins; moonlight jobs for Kashakhi when caravans need a sea-leg.
• Moktar: Bridge-tenders and toll-lords; take anyone’s coin, anger everyone evenly.
• Krashul: Veterans of the Gnoll wars; personal feud with Krizaza command after a pay dispute.
• Dezrak: Copper-smelters; armed with nasty slag-maces, lean toward Tzoko.
• Zhaktan: Sworn bodyguards; rent out elite spear bands and they are currently pledged to Krizaza
• Korvak: Orchard-keepers; feed cities, lobby Betzan for tariff breaks.
• Truzhal: Sand-track guides; map the dry interior for Kashakhi routes.
• Mezrak: Salt-pan syndicate; sell brine rights, play Merf against Betzan.
• Shovrak: Dune-archers; ambush artistry, secretly trained by Torzan augurs.
• Drezak: Potter-clans; amphorae and roof-tile kings, side with whoever guards kilns (usually Tzoko).
• Krozan: Beast-bait arenas; rumored to fix matches for Betzan nobles.
• Veshnak: Knife-oath assassins; contracted ceasefire inside the capital only.
• Throzar: Storm-drummers and signalers; hired by Krizaza during campaigns, by Merf for typhoon season.