First impression
Kharzai are the people of stone, iron, and winterproofing. In Guibacia, their influence is felt anywhere there are bridges, lockworks, depots, storehouses, forges, and the hard systems that keep towns alive through the long cold.
Physical characteristics
Kharzai vary from clan to clan, but outsiders often describe:
- Build: compact, broad-shouldered, heavy-boned; strength that looks practical rather than theatrical.
- Skin: ranges from ruddy tan to ash-pale in northern provinces; many show weathering from wind and smoke.
- Hair: thick and coarse; worn in braids, knots, or close-cropped under caps. Beards are common across genders, though styles vary widely.
- Hands: calloused, scarred, stained by metal, resin, ink, or charcoal—hands that look like they’ve made something.
Dress and material culture
- Winter wear: layered wool, fur collars, felted cloaks, leather mitts; practical shapes that trap heat.
- Work marks: guild pins, stamped tokens, carved contract-chips, or corded wrist-knots that record obligations.
- Tools as identity: a Kharzai might carry a hammer the way others carry a holy symbol.
Values and social habits
- Contracts are sacred because winter punishes improvisation.
- Heat is political: fuel stores and ration rights decide who thrives.
- Craft is a language: your work speaks for you; boasting is rude, precision is respected.
What outsiders get wrong
- “They’re cold.” (No—many are warm, but careful with promises.)
- “They hate celebration.” (They hate waste. A feast that feeds the town is honored.)
Kharzai in Guibacia (common roles)
Engineers, bridgewrights, shipwrights, charcoal burners, foresters, quartermasters, clerks of tally and storage, militia organizers, and guild negotiators.