Good to be back Ulf! And if I may be so bold as to add another character, as I think Johnan the smith could do with a drinking companion.
Name: Khurayl
Gender: Male
Age: 29
Faction of Birth: Khuzait.
Allegiance: A true mercenary at heart, though with a fondness for the Khergit peoples of the Khuzait Khanate.
Experience: A veteran of the countless cattleraids and low-scale conflict that keeps the Khuzait tribes strong, as well as a few larger battles.
Feudal Rank: Vagabond/nomad/soldier
Appearance: A slight man, with a shaved head, sharp features and bright eyes. A scar that cuts across his left eye, nose and lip gives him a rather grim appearance, until he smiles. Lithe, thin and wind-tanned, one of his nieces once said he looked “like a piece of marmot meat left out to dry for too long”. The memory still makes him smile.
Personality: As cheerful as his close friend Johnan the smith, Khurayl is on the whole more restrained and stoic. That is, until there comes a challenge regarding horsemanship, swordcraft or archery. In these circumstances, a competitive streak three score long emerges, a habit that has won him no few horses and enemies back home.
Talents: As any true son of the Khergit people, Khurayl prides himself on his horsemanship, archery and swordwork. Whilst a capable swordsman, the nomad has always favoured a well-fletched arrow sent from atop a sturdy horse. Whilst no great tracker, he knows enough to follow a lost sheep that has wandered from the flock. Armies, in comparison, are easy enough to follow. He also takes a quiet pride in being able to read.
Biography: Khurayl spent a fairly typical life growing up as one of the Khergit, a lesser tribe of the Khuzait. His days were spent tending flocks, mending tents and saddles and, when he came of age, joining the countless small skirmishes and cattle raids that make up tribal life. It was a good life.
With no particular reason other than curiousity, he signed on with a passing mercenary company as part of a contingent of light cavalry. That was the beginning of the second half of his life, though it differed very little. The gers were replaced with tents, the dried mutton with salted beef and the roving flocks of sheep, goat and cattle became the myriad companies of other sellswords. The following years saw him move between mercenary retinues, where he met Johnan.
The two formed a solid friendship from shared hardship and a good few years of service together, and for the most part now serve in the same unit. For Johnan's part, he now has a snake-fast veteran about when trouble starts, and Khuhayl has never wanted for arms and armour. Khurayl often writes home to his family and will often sit by a campfire at day's end, cup of airag in hand, proudly reading of the achievements of his many neices, nephews and young cousins.
Equipment:
Worn (clothing/armor): Traditional nomadic deel-tunic, trousers and boots, with a lamellar vest, tassets and bracers.
Weapons: A nomad's sabre, with only the lightest of curves, and a beautiful horseman's bow of birch, bone and sinew. Tends to keep a quiver on his saddle, though will carry one on his back is necessary.
Mount: Khuhayl rides a Khuzait horse, which is affectionately calls Mori.