Tengri-Kharn

Lords of the Sky

The Tengri-Kharn, the ruling class of Tengri-Uul, see themselves as the divinely chosen masters of the sky, elevated above the land-bound people of the Ötgön Tal. From their palaces of enchanted stone and wind-carved terraces, they dictate the fate of the floating city, controlling trade, diplomacy, and military affairs with the confidence of those who believe they were born to rule.

While they are respected and feared, they are also isolated, living in luxury high above the toil of the herders and warriors below. Some among them are visionaries, seeking to expand Tengri-Uul’s influence across Tymora, while others are ruthless schemers, manoeuvring for power within the Tengriin Khural (Sky Council). Beneath their elegant words and carefully measured gestures, the Tengri-Kharn are constantly locked in quiet conflict, vying for dominance over the city and its vast wealth.

Their floating homeland, Tengri-Uul, moves across the Grass Sea on great tethers drawn by herds tended by the Salhichin. The histories of the city and the herders are bound together, even as their beliefs and ways of life pull them apart.

Culture and Society

The Tengri-Kharn’s culture is steeped in tradition, built on ancient rituals, noble rivalries, and a deep reverence for the sky. They believe that their ancestors were the first to claim the floating city, chosen by fate to rule from the heavens.

The Tengriin Khural – The Sky Council

At the heart of their rule is the Tengriin Khural, a governing body composed of the most powerful noble families. Each family controls a sector of the city, overseeing trade, military affairs, diplomacy, and the management of the great tethers that bind Tengri-Uul to the herds below.

While the Tengri-Kharn present a united front, in truth, the Tengriin Khural is a battlefield, where houses constantly vie for influence and control. Political alliances are forged and broken like shifting winds, and rival families engage in elaborate power struggles, using trade agreements, assassinations, and marriages as their weapons.

Attire of the Sky Lords

The Tengri-Kharn dress in extravagant, flowing garments, designed to catch the wind as they walk the open-air bridges of Tengri-Uul. Their clothing is crafted from lightweight, enchanted silks, woven with golden threads that shimmer in the sunlight. Many garments are embroidered with symbols of the sky and wind, representing their connection to the heavens.

They favour flowing, layered robes known as the Robes of the Windborn, designed to billow elegantly with every movement, emphasising their connection to the air. These robes are secured by broad, jewelled belts, each intricately crafted to display the wealth and lineage of the wearer.

High-ranking members of the Tengriin Khural, the ruling council, distinguish themselves with Storm-Cloaks, lined with woven cloud-silk, a rare material harvested from sky cocoons that shimmers like mist in the morning sun. The quality and length of these cloaks serve as a visual marker of power and prestige within Tengri-Uul’s strict hierarchy.

During formal occasions, many nobles don Celestial Masks, exquisitely crafted from polished silver or enchanted obsidian, engraved with symbols of the sun, moons, and stars. These masks reinforce their ancestral ties to the sky, embodying the belief that the Tengri-Kharn are not merely rulers, but stewards of the heavens.

Further solidifying their dominance over Tengri-Uul’s most coveted resource, they adorn themselves with rings, necklaces, and hair ornaments forged from Khökhzurkh (Sky-Iron), ensuring that wherever they go, all are reminded of their unbreakable grip over the floating city and its wealth.

While they favour beauty and refinement, they are not without practicality. The Tengriin Tengrüüdi, the elite pegasus-riding warriors of the nobility, wear lightweight lamellar armour, forged from Sky-Iron to provide protection without sacrificing speed.

Beliefs and Spirituality

The Tengri-Kharn revere Khökh Tengrist, the Blue Sky, believing that the heavens watch over them, guiding the path of Tengri-Uul. While they acknowledge the gods worshipped by the Salhichin and Oasis Tribes, they see themselves as separate, elevated above the faiths of those below.

Celestial Worship and the Winds of Fate

The celestial bodies—the sun, moons, and stars—are sacred to the Tengri-Kharn, as they believe these entities influence the movement of Tengri-Uul and the destiny of its people.

The Sun (Auralis) – Represents order, rulership, and divine right, often associated with the Sky Council’s authority.
The Three Moons – Each moon is linked to different aspects of fate and magic, consulted by scholars and seers for guidance.
The Eternal Wind – A philosophical belief that Tengri-Uul must always move forward, never stopping, never stagnating. To stop is to invite doom.

Many Tengri-Kharn nobles consult wind-priests, who study the patterns of storms and air currents, interpreting them as omens of prosperity or disaster. Some believe that should the wind ever abandon Tengri-Uul, it would signal the end of their rule.

The Tension Between Sky and Land

Though the Tengri-Kharn control the floating city, their power is not absolute. The Salhichin and Oasis Tribes are vital to Tengri-Uul’s survival, yet they are also the greatest source of unrest.

The Salhichin Resentment – The herders below see the Tengri-Kharn as parasites, profiting from their labour while contributing nothing to the survival of the herds. Some whisper of rebellion, believing the floating city has grown too detached from the realities of the land.
The Oasis Tribes’ Leverage – The Oasis Tribes control Tengri-Uul’s access to fresh water, making them both allies and potential enemies. When relations are strong, the Oasis Tribes facilitate trade, but when tensions rise, they restrict water access, forcing the Tengri-Kharn into uneasy negotiations.
The Dal Mörgöl Threat – The Skyborne nobility see the Dal Mörgöl as nothing more than raiders and outlaws, yet some suspect that hidden factions within the city itself support their cause, waiting for a chance to overthrow the Sky Council and seize control of Tengri-Uul.

Despite these tensions, the Tengri-Kharn remain steadfast in their belief that they alone are destined to rule, their wings ever unfurled, their eyes always on the horizon.

The Black Pegasi of Tengri-Uul – The Windborne Guardians

Among the many wonders of Tengri-Uul, none are as feared and revered as the black-winged pegasi, known to the Salhichin as Har Süüld (“Black Tails”). These creatures are not simply beasts of war, they are symbols of the sky itself, living embodiments of freedom, power, and untamed winds. Residing in the Tengriin Tsergüül, the vast caverns beneath the floating city, the Har Süüld are both sacred mounts and deadly weapons, ridden only by the Tengriin Tengrüüdi, the elite Sky Riders of Tengri-Uul.

Unlike their gentle white-winged cousins of other lands, the black pegasi are fiercely independent, difficult to tame, and completely unwilling to serve those they deem unworthy. Even among the Tengri-Kharn nobility, not all who seek to ride a Har Süüld will succeed, these creatures choose their riders, not the other way.

The Har Süüld are larger, stronger, and more aggressive than common pegasi. They stand a full head taller than the strongest warhorse, with sleek, muscular bodies built for endurance. Their coal-black wings, spanning up to seven metres, are thicker and more angular than those of lesser pegasi, allowing them to navigate the turbulent skies above the Grass Sea with unmatched agility.

Their manes and tails are often long and braided, flowing like storm clouds in the wind, and their eyes glow with an eerie silver light at night, leading some to believe they are descended from celestial beings. Unlike most winged creatures, their feathers absorb light, making them nearly invisible against the night sky, an advantage the Tengriin Tengrüüdi use to great effect when striking from above.

What makes the Har Süüld truly unique, however, is their ability to manipulate air currents. Though not magical in the traditional sense, these creatures possess an innate connection to the wind, allowing them to ride storms, detect changes in the atmosphere, and move with a precision no mortal rider could ever hope to command on their own.

The Bond of Rider and Pegasus – A Trial of Worth

A Har Süüld cannot be tamed in the same way as horses or raptors, they are not trained, they are earned. Each pegasus chooses a rider, and once bonded, the connection lasts for life. The process of selection is ritualistic and brutal, and only the most skilled warriors of the Tengri-Kharn are even allowed to attempt it.

The rite of choosing, known as the Süüldiin Sorilt (Trial of the Black Tail), takes place within the caverns of the Tengriin Tsergüül. Aspiring riders must descend into the darkness alone, where the pegasi roost in perpetual twilight, their silver eyes watching from the shadows. The warrior may not bring weapons, only a single rope and their wits.

The test is simple but unforgiving: stand among the Har Süüld and wait. Some pegasi will ignore the intruder entirely, while others will test them, snapping at their arms, buffeting them with their wings, or simply driving them out. Many warriors leave the cavern bloodied and broken, rejected by the herd.

But if one of the Har Süüld steps forward and lowers its head, the rider must act instantly, leaping onto its back. The moment this happens, the pegasus takes flight, rising through the caverns at incredible speed, bursting into the open air over Tengri-Uul.

This is the final test, the rider must hold on, guiding the wild creature through a skyward ascent, enduring the sheer force of the wind and the pegasus’ attempts to throw them off. Many fall to their deaths in this moment, failing to prove themselves. But those who succeed return as Tengriin Tengrüüdi, the Sky Riders of Tengri-Uul, forever bonded to their steed.

The Sky Riders of Tengri-Uul – Masters of Aerial Combat

Those who succeed in bonding with a Har Süüld become part of the Tengriin Tengrüüdi, the deadliest aerial warriors in Tymora. Unlike traditional cavalry or archers, the Sky Riders rely on speed, surprise, and pinpoint strikes to devastate their enemies.

Armed with light recurve bows, barbed lances, and enchanted javelins, they are trained to strike enemy leaders, supply lines, and siege engines, crippling their foes before they ever reach the battlefield. Their black-winged pegasi allow them to move unseen at night, striking from the darkness before vanishing into the clouds.

During battle, a Sky Rider and their pegasus move as one, navigating the skies with effortless precision. The Har Süüld respond not just to reins or leg commands but to subtle shifts in body weight, allowing their riders to fight while barely needing to guide them. Some say the bond between a rider and their mount is so strong that they can sense each other’s thoughts, though whether this is true or simply legend is unknown.

The Sky Riders are also responsible for defending Tengri-Uul itself, patrolling the airspace around the floating city and responding to threats from raiders, rival nations, or rogue airships. They are the first and last line of defence, and an attack on Tengri-Uul is not taken lightly, when the Sky Riders descend, they bring death with them.

Legends and Myths – The Celestial Origins of the Har Süüld

The Har Süüld are deeply ingrained in Tengri-Kharn mythology, with many believing they are not natural creatures, but the descendants of celestial beings. Some say they were once the storm steeds of an ancient sky god, cast down to Tymora for their arrogance, cursed to roam the mortal world until they found warriors worthy of carrying them back into the heavens.

Others claim that Tengri-Uul itself was once carried by a great herd of black-winged pegasi, who guided it across the sky before the herd-beasts of the Grass Sea took their place. Even today, the pegasi never leave the floating island, remaining bound to it as if by fate.

Among the Salhichin, there is a legend of the First Sky Rider, a warrior who bonded with a Har Süüld unlike any before, a pegasus with silver wings, said to have led the Tengri-Kharn to their rule over the skies. It is said that when Tengri-Uul faces its greatest peril, this winged steed will return, bringing with it a rider who will change the fate of the floating kingdom forever.

The Har Süüld are more than mere mounts, they are brothers and sisters of the sky, warriors in their own right. They cannot be bought, bred, or broken, only earned through skill and respect. If a Sky Rider falls in battle, their pegasus will often return to the Tengriin Tsergüül, mourning their loss, never to accept another rider. Some, consumed by grief, plunge into the clouds below, vanishing into the storm-winds, as if seeking to reunite with their fallen partner beyond the veil of the world.

For those who ride the Har Süüld, the sky is not a battlefield, it is home. The wind is their ally, and the heavens their hunting ground. To be a Sky Rider is to be untouchable, unstoppable, and unseen, striking from the clouds before vanishing like a shadow. And for those below, watching the sky, there is only one certainty, when the black wings descend, death follows.

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