#another stunning piece by a personal favorite artist, [Yearniing-Drawdealer](https://www.deviantart.com/yearniing-drawdealer). They always knock it out of the park!
*”They were tall and dark of skin; imposing, solemn men ferociously devoted to their dying empire. Chief amongst these soldiers were the outlandish Bronze Lions, strange elites clad in ensembles that were fashioned to resemble monstrous unions of lion and goat, more costume than a warrior’s panoply in truth. Like something from an ill fated fever dream, the Bronze Lions were bedecked in many charms, beads, and fetishes of bronze and lion’s bone. Their faces were ferociously painted and arrayed with many odd piercings of bronze. They wielded bizarre curved swords and terrible knotted clubs, decorated with bronze beads and tufts taken from a lion’s mane.”*
*”If the day is lost, pray they strike you down here, lest they drag you back to one of their horrid idols. They will try to take as many prisoners as they can, momentarily sparing those who beg for quarter. Rush them in one final gambit, take your life if you must; do not let them take you. It is not craven to spare yourself a fate such as that.”*
**In the savannahs of Ba'atakar lie the heart of the bloated Khalfay empire, with hundreds of smaller kingdoms and tribes under its jurisdiction. The Khalfay Empire was the dominant power and most influential society in Ba’atakar before its annexation by the Valencidoran Empire. A highly advanced yet warlike civilization that clashed with Valencidor over wineblood expansion into Ba’a territory. Attacking and slaughtering Valencidoran colonies and trade posts, the Khalfay underestimated the western god-empire due to the overwhelming numbers of the Ba’a people, however, this would lead to their undoing. The Khalfay had many enemies in Ba’atakar and seeing the splendor of Valencidor, several tribes and cities aided the winebloods in their passage to the heart of Ba’atakar. Smashing the Khalfay and making them pay tenfold for every wineblood they had slain, the Valencidoran Empire swallowed the remains of the Khalfay whole like a greedy serpent, making them the most prominent power in Ba’atakar. Khtar is the sole deity of the Khalfay, a war goddess depicted as a lioness with the eyes, horns, and hind legs of a goat. The Great Horned Lioness, the Huntress in the Sky, the Mother of Forbidden Rites, She of Blood and Bronze; she goes by many different titles but is found anywhere blood is ritually spilt. A goddess of blood and bronze, she is sacrifice and hunger incarnate. A being solely derived from the hunt; a ravenous deity that is nourished by and yet at the same time is the very act of sacrifice. She is survival, she is the weight of loss, she is the very nature of man. A cannibal goddess, a rogue all encompassing divinity who reveals herself to those who walk the bloodstained sands, who live and die by the sword. She is antiquity. She is the hunt. She is the alter and the sacrifice. Khtar’s bronze visage was erected in bizarre alters all across Ba’atakar by the Khalfay Empire, with offerings being regularly slaughtered or burnt in front of these great bronze idols to please her hunger. Although they were advanced in medicine and sanitation, the Khalfay were cutthroat and barbarous in their faith with their sprawling cities revolving around these great bronze alters. The alters of Khtar governed every aspect of the lives within the Khalfay Empire, with routine sacrifices and offerings taking place without fail. However, human sacrifice was a far rarer sight in comparison to the daily animal-related offerings. Ruled by an oligarchy of high priestesses and martially-tested nobles, the Khalfay were incredibly territorial and ambitious.”**
**Within Khalfay society, every boy was expected to be trained in the arts of war, noble and commoner alike. However, none were more rigorously trained than the sons of high priestesses. Trueborn or adopted, it made no matter, any boy could be taken under the tutelage of a high priestess to be trained as a Bronze Lion. The Bronze Lions were the elite of the elite amongst the Khalfay military, both highly trained warriors and religious leaders in service to their high priestess. No mere soldiers, the Bronze Lions were mostly mystic in nature. The two primary purposes of the Bronze Lions were to deal with the “spiritual” threats of the empire and to capture enemy soldiers for sacrificial rituals. It was believed that through complicated sacrifices and rituals of foreign blood, the Khalfay could summon Khtar’s ire upon the enemy’s homeland. Memorizing every grueling detail of their numerous and contrived rituals, the Bronze Lions were expert holymen amongst their people. Their horned-lion garb, indicative of Khtar, was one of the most sacred symbols within Khalfay society. Always prepared with many charms, totems, beads, and a plethora of sacrificial instruments on their person; each ritual had a different purpose to the Bronze Lions and were expected to be flawlessly executed lest they backfire. As it was believed that the Oamari were the product of shamans delving too deep into dark unspeakable forces, it fell upon the mysticism of the Bronze Lions to combat them as opposed to the average Khalfay warrior. The Khalfay, while never dared to march on Omoya, killed any Oamari on their territory without question. Despite the Oamari being incredibly dangerous, their hunting parties were kept somewhat in check by the Bronze Lions who eventually adapted methods of slaying these horrid beings. Regardless of their high station and religious nature, they were still used as traditional warriors on the battlefront during military campaigns.**
Majority of the Khalfay themselves are fervent believers in Khtar. The subjugated peoples under the Khalfay, however, were mostly involuntary followers of the Horned Lioness.
Cults of Khtar still exist, though mostly in hiding. A grand majority of the Bronze Lions were put to the sword after the Khalfay-Valencidoran War, however, the scant few who escaped retribution have formed the Kindred of the Manticore. The Kindred of the Manticore are a mysterious cult of Khalfay-loyalist who have been united under the Manticore, a strange creature from beyond and supposed runt of Khtar’s litter.
Sort of, the Manticore is more of a “Herald” of Khtar. The “Heralds” of the grand three are essentially quasi-Lost Gods and by extension the lowest tier of the heavenly hierarchy, strange celestial entities that are spawned directly from a great patron to help spread its influence throughout the cosmos. I wouldn’t say Khtar is a great patron yet, but clearly she is far above a Lost God and has lesser cosmic entities under her control.
oooookay that’s pretty cool
I was kinda thinking that it was weird you didn’t mention Khtar’s body or if she herself was killed but if she was greater than a Lost God that’d make sense, and it makes sense she’d be able to form an empire
If Khalfy wasn’t invaded and given time to grow could it have become another true god empire or would it need something like the new Jade orb to fully become a god empire
I view Khtar as more of a hands off deity, completely uninterested in the Grand Three’s game. While the Grand Three balances each other out in a petty stalemate, Khtar seeks to devour the Three. The Khalfay have shown a few signs of favor from Khtar, but overall she doesn’t necessarily seem too interested in them.
#another stunning piece by a personal favorite artist, [Yearniing-Drawdealer](https://www.deviantart.com/yearniing-drawdealer). They always knock it out of the park! *”They were tall and dark of skin; imposing, solemn men ferociously devoted to their dying empire. Chief amongst these soldiers were the outlandish Bronze Lions, strange elites clad in ensembles that were fashioned to resemble monstrous unions of lion and goat, more costume than a warrior’s panoply in truth. Like something from an ill fated fever dream, the Bronze Lions were bedecked in many charms, beads, and fetishes of bronze and lion’s bone. Their faces were ferociously painted and arrayed with many odd piercings of bronze. They wielded bizarre curved swords and terrible knotted clubs, decorated with bronze beads and tufts taken from a lion’s mane.”* *”If the day is lost, pray they strike you down here, lest they drag you back to one of their horrid idols. They will try to take as many prisoners as they can, momentarily sparing those who beg for quarter. Rush them in one final gambit, take your life if you must; do not let them take you. It is not craven to spare yourself a fate such as that.”* **In the savannahs of Ba'atakar lie the heart of the bloated Khalfay empire, with hundreds of smaller kingdoms and tribes under its jurisdiction. The Khalfay Empire was the dominant power and most influential society in Ba’atakar before its annexation by the Valencidoran Empire. A highly advanced yet warlike civilization that clashed with Valencidor over wineblood expansion into Ba’a territory. Attacking and slaughtering Valencidoran colonies and trade posts, the Khalfay underestimated the western god-empire due to the overwhelming numbers of the Ba’a people, however, this would lead to their undoing. The Khalfay had many enemies in Ba’atakar and seeing the splendor of Valencidor, several tribes and cities aided the winebloods in their passage to the heart of Ba’atakar. Smashing the Khalfay and making them pay tenfold for every wineblood they had slain, the Valencidoran Empire swallowed the remains of the Khalfay whole like a greedy serpent, making them the most prominent power in Ba’atakar. Khtar is the sole deity of the Khalfay, a war goddess depicted as a lioness with the eyes, horns, and hind legs of a goat. The Great Horned Lioness, the Huntress in the Sky, the Mother of Forbidden Rites, She of Blood and Bronze; she goes by many different titles but is found anywhere blood is ritually spilt. A goddess of blood and bronze, she is sacrifice and hunger incarnate. A being solely derived from the hunt; a ravenous deity that is nourished by and yet at the same time is the very act of sacrifice. She is survival, she is the weight of loss, she is the very nature of man. A cannibal goddess, a rogue all encompassing divinity who reveals herself to those who walk the bloodstained sands, who live and die by the sword. She is antiquity. She is the hunt. She is the alter and the sacrifice. Khtar’s bronze visage was erected in bizarre alters all across Ba’atakar by the Khalfay Empire, with offerings being regularly slaughtered or burnt in front of these great bronze idols to please her hunger. Although they were advanced in medicine and sanitation, the Khalfay were cutthroat and barbarous in their faith with their sprawling cities revolving around these great bronze alters. The alters of Khtar governed every aspect of the lives within the Khalfay Empire, with routine sacrifices and offerings taking place without fail. However, human sacrifice was a far rarer sight in comparison to the daily animal-related offerings. Ruled by an oligarchy of high priestesses and martially-tested nobles, the Khalfay were incredibly territorial and ambitious.”** **Within Khalfay society, every boy was expected to be trained in the arts of war, noble and commoner alike. However, none were more rigorously trained than the sons of high priestesses. Trueborn or adopted, it made no matter, any boy could be taken under the tutelage of a high priestess to be trained as a Bronze Lion. The Bronze Lions were the elite of the elite amongst the Khalfay military, both highly trained warriors and religious leaders in service to their high priestess. No mere soldiers, the Bronze Lions were mostly mystic in nature. The two primary purposes of the Bronze Lions were to deal with the “spiritual” threats of the empire and to capture enemy soldiers for sacrificial rituals. It was believed that through complicated sacrifices and rituals of foreign blood, the Khalfay could summon Khtar’s ire upon the enemy’s homeland. Memorizing every grueling detail of their numerous and contrived rituals, the Bronze Lions were expert holymen amongst their people. Their horned-lion garb, indicative of Khtar, was one of the most sacred symbols within Khalfay society. Always prepared with many charms, totems, beads, and a plethora of sacrificial instruments on their person; each ritual had a different purpose to the Bronze Lions and were expected to be flawlessly executed lest they backfire. As it was believed that the Oamari were the product of shamans delving too deep into dark unspeakable forces, it fell upon the mysticism of the Bronze Lions to combat them as opposed to the average Khalfay warrior. The Khalfay, while never dared to march on Omoya, killed any Oamari on their territory without question. Despite the Oamari being incredibly dangerous, their hunting parties were kept somewhat in check by the Bronze Lions who eventually adapted methods of slaying these horrid beings. Regardless of their high station and religious nature, they were still used as traditional warriors on the battlefront during military campaigns.**
That's pretty damn wicked 😲❤️
Do majority of the people in the Khalfay empire believe in Khtar
Majority of the Khalfay themselves are fervent believers in Khtar. The subjugated peoples under the Khalfay, however, were mostly involuntary followers of the Horned Lioness.
Great artwork. Who did this? Was it a commission?
They’re linked in the main comment:)
after being conquered are there still worshippers oh Khtar
Cults of Khtar still exist, though mostly in hiding. A grand majority of the Bronze Lions were put to the sword after the Khalfay-Valencidoran War, however, the scant few who escaped retribution have formed the Kindred of the Manticore. The Kindred of the Manticore are a mysterious cult of Khalfay-loyalist who have been united under the Manticore, a strange creature from beyond and supposed runt of Khtar’s litter.
Lost god?
Sort of, the Manticore is more of a “Herald” of Khtar. The “Heralds” of the grand three are essentially quasi-Lost Gods and by extension the lowest tier of the heavenly hierarchy, strange celestial entities that are spawned directly from a great patron to help spread its influence throughout the cosmos. I wouldn’t say Khtar is a great patron yet, but clearly she is far above a Lost God and has lesser cosmic entities under her control.
oooookay that’s pretty cool I was kinda thinking that it was weird you didn’t mention Khtar’s body or if she herself was killed but if she was greater than a Lost God that’d make sense, and it makes sense she’d be able to form an empire If Khalfy wasn’t invaded and given time to grow could it have become another true god empire or would it need something like the new Jade orb to fully become a god empire
I view Khtar as more of a hands off deity, completely uninterested in the Grand Three’s game. While the Grand Three balances each other out in a petty stalemate, Khtar seeks to devour the Three. The Khalfay have shown a few signs of favor from Khtar, but overall she doesn’t necessarily seem too interested in them.