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Post by lordyam on Jan 25, 2016 14:22:14 GMT -5
Queen Khajara of Turan
Originally Khajara was in many ways a normal Khaurani girl, her only quality being her extreme beauty. When Salome usurped her sister Khajara was one of the unfortunate men and women sold in slavery to Turan; in her case she resisted joining the debaucheries of the palace. She endured extreme torment at the hands of her first master, a eventually reaching her breaking point after being the object of his "affections". The sweet girl was comforted by another of the servants, who told her that in order to survive in this world one must be willing to do whatever it took.
Khajara took this lesson to heart. She convinced her master that she had become pliant, sharing the bed of a man she detested while also using her master's relaxing his guard to learn his secrets. Her persistence paid off; she learned that her master was planning a coup against Yezdigerd himself, as part of a visit to his estate. She realized that if she helped save the monarch that he would be grateful.
During the monarch's visit Khajara danced for him, demonstrating a brazen side while also slipping him a written warning, asking him to meet with her in private later. Her master tried to have her confined (not that he was aware of her warning, he was outraged at her brazenness with the King himself) but she snuck out and kept her rendevousz. She informed the King of her master's plot and managed to persuade him to be on guard. Her master's plan was thus thwarted and he himself killed. Khajara parlayed this to become a member of Yezdigerd's seraglio. From there she continued to connive until she became his main wife and the mother of his heir.
Personality: Khajara was originally a kind hearted girl, but being sold into slavery by the Queen she admired and raped by her master broke her spirit and persuaded her that one must become cruel to survive. She is not as educated as high borne women; she was originally just a servant in the palace of Khauran. However she is by no means stupid. Being in a Turanian seraglio taught her how to get good at reading people and she picked some knowledge of politics from Yezdigerd.
Authors note: there you have it. A darker version of Zenobia. Khajara proved her worth and won the love of one of the mightiest monarchs in the world. However whereas Zenobia won it through her virtue Khajara had to abandon her humanity and kindness to win.
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Post by lordyam on Jan 25, 2016 18:24:25 GMT -5
King Yezdigerd, The Mightiest Monarch of Turan Part 1
From the very beginning, Yezdigerd had to work hard in order to get what he wanted. Unlike his brothers and sisters, whose mothers hailed from civilized countries, Yezdigerd's mother was the daughter of a hyrkanian nomad chieftain. There had been an uprising, and it had gotten so intense that Yildiz was forced to make concessions for peace. One of these concessions was marrying the daughter of one of the chieftains in the coalition. Yezdigerd was born from this union, and though his father loved him like he loved all his children, Yezdigerd's siblings and the other wives generally treated Yezdigerd and his mother with scorn. Only two of his brothers, Ardashir and Mustafa, showed him compassion and befriended him. Yezdigerd was nevertheless determined to prove everyone wrong and almost immediately set about to gaining the skills that he would need in order to rule Turan and it's increasing empire. If he could not make the people love him he would make them respect him. He sought out the greatest swordsmen of the age and practiced at their feet, becoming a superb duelist in the process. In addition he studied military strategy, politics and history, gaining knowledge and charisma in the process. Eventually at the age of 16 he entered the Turanian army, sleeping in the same barracks as the men, eating the same food as the men, doing the same exercises as the men. He led punitive expeditions against various tribesmen, bringing many to heel, and earning recognition in the campaigns against Hyperborea. During this time he began to gather a small band of close companions of multiple races.
Eventually came his first real test; taking an army to sack the hidden city of Onagrul. The city of Onagrul had long been the secret capital of a band of bandits called the blue raiders, who had preyed on Turanian caravans. Yezdigerd's brother Mustafa had tried to find the city and destroy it, but been lured into a trap, ambushed and slaughtered like a pig with his head sent back to Yildiz. Yezidgerd seized the opportunity and volunteered to lead the expedition to avenge Mustafa and destroy Onagrul. After a tough argument he was able to persuade his father to allow him to lead the force, and by using his knowledge of military strategy and tapping into his skills he was able to take the city, putting every single bandit inside to the sword except for the leaders, who were publicly beheaded in Agraphur's main square. This act earned Yezdigerd widespread acclaim from the nobility; even those who had mocked him for his mother's origins grudgingly expressed admiration for his decisive handling of the Blue Raiders. This was soon followed by the conquest of the cities of Razadan, Dimmorz, and even the mystically protected Khor Khala, all of which earned him further recognition.
Soon afterwards Yezdigerd faced his final test. The city of Makkalet, one of the few cities which had not fallen under Turan's sway, abducted the living Tarim and placed him in their temple. While Yezdigerd managed to defeat the forces of both Makkalet and Pah Dishah, he suffered a scar across his face that would be with him for the rest of his life at the hands of a young Asgardian adventurer named Vili, who had defected from Yezdigerd's service alongside 3 others. More importantly he was forced to conceal that the living Tarim had in fact been killed by some of Yezdigerd's careless soldiers while trying to kill Vili and his friends. Nevertheless, Yezdigerd was able to quickly conquer Pah Dishah without a fight after the leaders overthrew King Ghannif and return to Agraphur in triumph. He had conquered the last hyrkanian city states, bringing them all under Turan's heel, something even his father had not accomplished.
With this increased recognition however, came increased resentment from Yezdigerd's siblings. They were outraged to see the son of a nomad's daughter eclipsing them in prominence, an outrage which grew when it became clear that Yildiz himself (who was dying of sickness) was now favoring Yezdigerd as his chosen heir. Eventually this outrage boiled over, and an attempt on his life was made. Sadly, while Yezdigerd escaped with his life thanks to his companions Maeldun and Fassir his brother Ardashir was killed in the attempt. Yezdigerd quietly learned that his eldest brothers Selim and Murad were the ones who engineered the attempt and began plotting his revenge. As long as their father lived he refused to act, since he did not want to cause his father pain. Once his father died Yezdigerd's 7 companions led troops loyal to Yezdigerd in brutally slaughtering Yezdigerd's brothers and sisters, their children, as well as everyone who could conceivably support them. While not all had plotted against Yezdigerd, Yezdigerd wished to repay them for the lifetime of torment they had inflicted upon him and his mother, and saw the children as potential threats to his reign. Selim was beaten to death by Mael'dun and Fassir, while Murad was tortured to death in the palace dungeons.
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Post by Von K on Jan 30, 2016 9:32:32 GMT -5
Those are some excellent character profiles LordYam!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2016 13:26:49 GMT -5
Great profile of King Yezdigerd, The Mightiest Monarch of Turan.
There are several parallels with the Ottomans, Selçuks and Ilkhans. The Hyrkanian tribes established the Turanian empire - The Turkic and Mongolian tribes formed several empires in Central Asia, Persia and Turkey. King Yezdigerd's mother being a Hyrkanian is also very interesting - Suleiman the Magnificent's (reigned 1520-66) mother was probably the daughter of Mengli Giray, Khan of the Crimea. Most Ottoman sultans married christian concubines from the harem. Very rarely did they marry into other Turkic or Mongol clans. The Tartar tribes captured slave girls from the south of Russia and Ukraine - one of the girls presented to Suleiman in Istanbul was the legendary Roxelana! Sister to the even more legendary Red Sonya of Rogatino.
can't wait for part 2
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Post by lordyam on Jan 30, 2016 23:12:08 GMT -5
Thanks. I wanted to make Yezdigerd somewhat sympathetic rather than a heartless monster, but I also wanted him to be kinda nasty. The thing about his mom was so that he would have more potential at badassdom than the average scion of civilization, and to give him a reason to push himself. I added Mustafa and Ardashir to give humanity. I even planned to have Yezdigerd name his sons after the only two of his brothers he actually liked (Mustafa and Ardashir were the cool big brothers).
Anyway, on to part 2.
Once his position was secure, Yezdigerd quickly set about expanding Turan even more. More lands were taken from Stygia and Hyperborea, and for the first time Turanian raiders were able to reach as far as Nemedia itself rather than simply Koth. Turanians under the command of General Fassir conquered large segments of Shem, including the city of Shusan. The Navy, which had only moderately prospered under the rule of his father, grew tremendously under Yezdigerd. Most of the pirates in the Vilayet sea were either crushed or forced on to the defensive. He even found a companion who he felt worthy of ruling at his side in the former slave Khajara. Unfortunately, it was also at this time that a new threat to Turan's dominance arose. Shortly after he married Khajara the Zuagirs that had served under Olgerd Vladislav had come to the east under the command of a new leader; a Cimmerian named Conan. The Zuagirs joined together with the Kozak, forging an alliance that enabled them to do actual damage to Turan rather than simply being an annoyance. Eventually Conan and his army raided Kharwazeim, sacking the city and putting it to the torch. Yezdigerd was forced to recall soldiers from their foreign expansion campaigns in order to combat Conan, but even that was not enough. Fassir of Shusan, one of the few people Yezdigerd called friend and among his deadliest warriors, fell at the hand of Conan. The next year was a stressful time for Yezdigerd; some of his closest allies began to doubt his competence due to the damage that Conan and his men were able to inflict on Turan, and he was forced to fight off two assassination attempts. Even the birth of his son Ardashir did little to lift his spirits. Eventually however, Yezdigerd was able to break the Zuagir-Kozaki horde through the use of the spy Kerim Shah.
Kerim Shah
Kerim Shah was able to infiltrate the horde as a renegade hyrkanian (since a few of the Kozak were Turanian nobles who had been exiled or fled to escape execution.) Kerim Shah was able to eventually lure Conan into an attack on Sultanphur; however, Yezdigerd's forces were able to surprise and ambush both the Kozak and the pirates who Conan had recruited into aiding the attack. Conan the Cimmerian was able to escape with his life and a small portion of his army, but most of the Kozak were wiped out with such ferocity that the field outside of Sultanphur, as well as the seas around it, were red with blood. While this was enough to placate his critics it wasn't the complete victory that Yezdigerd wanted. The Kozaki had been broken as a major threat, and the remaining pirates of the Vilayet had been wiped out in the battle. However, Conan himself and several of his high ranking generals were able to escape the slaughter (killing two of Yezdigerd's seven, Maeldun and Lucius in the process) and enough of the Kozak remained that they were able to nip at Turan's borders like a mosquito attacking a human. As a show of strength Yezdigerd had Kharwazeim rebuilt, though not to the extent it had once been.
Eastern Intrigues
While the countries of Corinthia, Shem Koth and even Nemedia were plagued by Turan, Yezdigerd himself began to turn his attentions to the east. More and more Hyrkanian tribes were brought under Yezdigerd's heel, and the lost nation of Meru in the Himelias was also conquered, with it's treasure and black magics swelling Turan's coffers. He began to turn his eyes towards the wealthy country of Vendhaya, reasoning that capturing the one nation wealthier than Turan would be the crowning achievement of any Turanian monarch. Yezdigerd's first plan to take Vendhaya involved the Black Seers; though the seers successfully killed Bundra Chand they were in turn wiped out by Conan the Barbarian. The soldiers that were dispatched to capture the Devi were also wiped out by the combined forces of Vendhaya and the Afgulis. Despite these losses, Yezdigerd remained unperturbed. Vendhaya would fall like every other nation that Yezdigerd had set his eyes on. For years afterwards he would invest time in trying to incite a coup of pro Turanian nobles in the Vendhayan court, but these plans were always thwarted. Eventually, however, Yezdigerd was forced to temporarily concede the contest to Yasmina.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2016 16:10:27 GMT -5
I like the way that even after People of the Black Circle Yasmina is still one tough lady.
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Post by Von K on Feb 3, 2016 17:58:55 GMT -5
Thanks for part 2 lordyam. Good stuff!
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Post by lordyam on Feb 3, 2016 18:43:29 GMT -5
I wasn't sure how to flesh out Conan and Yezdigerd's final fight. I had some ideas.
Yezdigerd would get Stygia riled up by playing the Conan is Amra card. They would spend years of fighting and intrigue; some in hyboria (the few diehards who still disliked Conan after the disaster that was the reign of Valerius.) Some in Turan would free Yezdigerd's lust for power will lead the kingdom to ruin, since he will overextend the kingdom
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Post by lordyam on Feb 3, 2016 18:51:17 GMT -5
Any ideas
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Post by buxom9sorceress on Feb 5, 2016 13:13:46 GMT -5
Hi Lordyam. Thanks for your various detailed character profiles. Plenty good ideas and sensible speculations. and hopefully other writers will find them useful in fleshing out some more new fan tales? ==== >> some more ideas for fan tales... 1] high level thievery, in Turanian big city, robbing priceless items from a palace, or a big temple complex? [ not by conan. by some other characters? ] 2] daring pirate adventures /raids [ + sea fights? ] in Vilayet sea, on Turan coast? 3] a powerful female warrior /assassin [ with some sorceress spells ] [ very sexy dancer ] infiltrates huge turan palace to kill the king. + then very exciting escape attempt, + big chase? ====
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Post by lordyam on Feb 5, 2016 15:47:44 GMT -5
I'm really glad at the positive reception this stuff is recieving. I included some pastiche stuff but changed it. Makkalet was just sublime storytelling so I kept it even without Conan. Khajara was a bit of a risk but I always thought that Khaurani slaves in Turan had potential. Glad she was liked.
Speaking of no 3 Janissa has been changed into leading a slave rebellion against Turan and Shem so that none will be slaves like her. Really saved the character in ways. I was imagining her as one of those who defied Yezdigerd in some ways.
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Post by Erik on Feb 7, 2016 16:01:45 GMT -5
Nice work on King Yezdigerd! The backstory with the siblings who hated him makes the reader a little more sympathetic towards him, which is a nice touch.
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Post by lordyam on Feb 7, 2016 17:32:04 GMT -5
Yeah. I remember what Roquefort and Taraniach said about how De Camp messed up by making Numidides a debased monster, so I wanted to give Yezdigerd sympathy even if he did horrible things. I added Mustafa and Ardashir to give Yezdigerd more of a reason to take out Murad and Selim; in addition to bullying him they murdered one of the only two siblings he ever cared for (I'd go so far to say that he would have left Mustafa and Ardashir's kids alive). Having him be shunned explained why he works so hard to get to where he is and having his mother be hyrkanian gives him a bit of barbarian, allowing him to go toe to toe with conan.
Would anyone be willing to make a oneshot of Yezdigerd (the moment he claims power and slaughters his siblings; I wanted a moment that was horrifying in spite of the pity you feel for Yezdigerd; Murad's death I imagine him screaming at Yezdigerd to tell him where his children are, and Yezdigerd coldly telling him that they're dead, maybe even showing him their heads. Sorta like Sejanus in I Claudius.)
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2016 2:51:33 GMT -5
Yeah. I remember what Roquefort and Taraniach said about how De Camp messed up by making Numidides a debased monster, so I wanted to give Yezdigerd sympathy even if he did horrible things. I added Mustafa and Ardashir to give Yezdigerd more of a reason to take out Murad and Selim; in addition to bullying him they murdered one of the only two siblings he ever cared for (I'd go so far to say that he would have left Mustafa and Ardashir's kids alive). Having him be shunned explained why he works so hard to get to where he is and having his mother be hyrkanian gives him a bit of barbarian, allowing him to go toe to toe with conan. Would anyone be willing to make a oneshot of Yezdigerd (the moment he claims power and slaughters his siblings; I wanted a moment that was horrifying in spite of the pity you feel for Yezdigerd; Murad's death I imagine him screaming at Yezdigerd to tell him where his children are, and Yezdigerd coldly telling him that they're dead, maybe even showing him their heads. Sorta like Sejanus in I Claudius.) Great stuff there Lordyam. This scene may help, it is from a Turkish soap called 'The Magnificent Century.' Selim murders his brother Bayezid and his children - leaving himself as sole heir to the Ottoman Empire. I have to warn you even with the bad subtitles this scene is still heartbreaking.
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ironhand
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Post by ironhand on Feb 9, 2016 3:14:29 GMT -5
Some excellent acting, even if the subtitles are awful.
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