Kashur

A kashur (plural Ikashur), literally "slave warrior" were a breed of Nekos from Ta’ka sha’miri employed as heavy infantry by the Shahs of most lands where the faith of the unconquerable sun were prevalent. While the practice decreased during times of Imerian occupation due to chronological theological bans against slave warriors so were they still employed by sun worshipping nobles right up to the abolition of slavery. Both as personal guards and to put down riots and slave uprisings from other Neko slave communities that generally were isolated outside of larger free communities due to the aggressive nature of Nekos.

Creation of Kashur

To be called a true Kashur is a young potential recruit taken away from his family at the age of five and raised by one of the several ancient and very honoured Miri Ta'ikashur or house of slave soldiers that operated as a barrack, monastery , and slave market rolled up in one. These training areas jealously guarded their own training regiments and styles, and were limited to Ta’ka sha’miri. The first years of the recruit's life is spent building up a comradely with his fellow soldiers and indoctrinate him to service and a fanatical devotion to the sun god, instilling a disdain for worldly pleasures, and utter devotion to their potential employers and to the god Himself in the hope of being reborn higher in the next life. When the recruit reaches the age of ten does he start with a rigorous combat training where he learn to fight with the bow, sabre and buckler and spear that most armies of the sungod used at the time. Later soldiers are also instructed in the use of firearms even if Scanderan occupiers issued orders that restricted the training of Kashur to simply melee fighting as the realms of the sungod more and more fell under Scanderan influence. However despite this was such laws often ignored and modern temples are once again allowed to teach their recruits to fight with the same weapons that the royal guard uses.

There were rumours about Kashur soldiers also being eunucks but this is almost universally untrue in most temples, instead is the recruit allowed to complete his training without any major alterations to his body. After training is completed at the age of 16 and the recruit has been able to pass several hard tests not only physical but also in combat arts, spirituality, and endurance is he was branded by a large sun symbol over his chest and declared a true Kashur that could now be sold.

However a soldier once bought could at the end of his life be bought back by the Miri Ta'Ikashur itself where he was trained after which he often serves as an instructor or on the request of the Kashur itself is given over to the sun and is tasked with wandering the countryside and protecting the munks and wise men of the faith. Generally does these released Kashur follow one munk they attached themselves to and especially wise and holy men often had large groups of warriors following them for the last days of their lives. Were they not able to die in combat by this time did most of them chose to starve themselves to death in the holy ritualistic suicide of the faith of the unconqurable sun that is supposed to cleanse their souls from the soul debt they had gathered during their lives.

History

The Ikashur soldiers were often the elite troops of petty kingdoms in the rather fractured realms where the worship of the sun held sway and they were often pitted against Scanderan raiding parties and outright invasions before eröfringstiden when Scanderans unified started to swarm into the realm and their days as soldiers were at an end. The only exception of this was Ta’ka sha’miri that were the last realm to be fully incorporated into the federation where they continued serving as troops in some manner or another until the end of slavery. And the future of the order is uncertain even if the Miri Ta'ikashur were all officially handed over to the few remaining ikashur.

However some confusion also exist since the krigsmakten officially raised several Iksahur regiments of newly freed Nekos after the officially introduktion of non-humans into combat rolls of krigsmakten. This were however highly contested by the Ikashur themselves that claimed in several lawsuits that these were just neko soldiers and not official Kashur as they had not gone through the training and rituals required to be named kashur. While the lawsuits did not reach court so did the crown itself take a step back and renamed the regiments "Neko infantry of the line regiments" instead which were met with angry protest from the regiments in question since the title of Kashur did carry a lot of respect.