Kitbuqa Gurkani

Kitbuqa Gurkani
Biographical Information
Race	Kiffar
Homeworld	Kiffu
Mother	Unknown
Father	Guyuk Gurkani (adoptive)
Spouse	None
Siblings	Hulagu (adoptive brother)
Children	None
Born	Year -4 Day 103 (age 25)
Imperial Service
Branch	Imperial Academy
Positions	Student
Prior Service	N/A
Awards	N/A

Kitbuqa Gurkani is a Kiffar male from Kiffu.

Early Life

Humble Beginnings

The inhospital environment of Kiffu has a habit of making or breaking survivalists, often known as one of the home worlds of the romanticized Kiffar, people forget how quickly moral obligations such as honor become an afterthought during dire times, and the searing golden dunes of Kiffu are no exception. Kitbuqa was born to a caravan couple while they were on a particularly long journey to the next settlement - realizing the terrible electric storms gave no sign of future respite and the fact that they still had plenty of ground to cover, the couple knew that having another mouth to feed was the last thing they needed. His parents barely break even in their work, and during bad weather, their situation can only get worse, whatever grief they had felt at that moment, they had left Kitbuqa's fate for nature to decide.

Azure Horde

Roving falcons in the sky pick up on the faint cries of the infant, descending like lightning, these feathered beasts had found their prey, or so they thought? A shout in the distance breaks their hungering gaze, before a group of men clad in mismatched armor and various weapons pierced through the sandy veil and approach the cloth garbed child, his winged companions returning proudly to their shoulders. The Azure Horde had found another to fill their ranks.

Eternal Golden Sky

Albeit an outside observer would see taking in orphans as a sign of good will and kindness, the reality is much more sinister and a great example on how a raider group would operate. With Kiffu being such a volatile place in its politics as well as its environment, roving groups of fighting men are always in need, and always in business, with hordes conquering other settlements or hordes, they must absorb their numbers to maintain a steady flow of power. Whether they operate as mercenaries, or simply raid weakly defended settlements, it's clear that these groups will have a constant "recycling" of troops. Kitbuqa had been thrown in a meat grinder of sorts, with a very unpleasant conveyor belt at that, although unable to pick up on just how sociopathic his brothers in arms were, he had been fooled into believing that the complete disregard for human life and sacredness present in his leadership was the norm, and that he should slowly change his moral standings to be like theirs. For the Azure Horde, nothing was spared in their wrath and greed; religious sites, the disadvantaged, objects of cultural significance - it was a very one way road with how bandits saw you. Growing up in the horde, the only person Kitbuqa form a close bond with was his future Anda (blood brother), Hulagu, both had been raised and tutored by Guyuk of Clan Gurkani, the Ildüchi (sword bearer) of the Great Khan, the three would fight side by side in many battles and trusted each other's company during feasts, something most people take for granted when they are not surrounded by alcoholic psychopaths.

Rude Awakening

With the mounting galactic civil war happening around them and the Kiffar homeworlds being a highlight of the conflict, Kitbuqa had been seeing more and more atrocities committed by his kinsmen as the Azure Horde became more desperate to stay competitive, dark rumors have been spreading of a future collapse of the entire planet and a total surrender to intergalatic superpowers that will strip them of their power, and the men were concerned. Hulagu had become more of an icon in the horde, a beacon for a new era. Becoming the designated heir to the mantle of Great Khan, Hulagu had impressed Guyuk greatly with his eagerness and his wit, whereas Kitbuqa was seen as a weak link. It didn't help that Kitbuqa had a sincere difficulty adapting to the despoiling nature of it all, an aging Guyuk noticing his timidness and the hazards of it when running a gang full of murderers, he had given Kitbuqa a more simpler task. A common ruse when mounting an assault, most warbands send a spy to their target settlement weeks before an assault, they would dress and behave as an innocent visitor, and would asses the target's readiness to withstand a raid, sleep schedules, munitions, weapons would be taken into note and sent back. Guyuk being a ruthless, ironfisted leader, any sight of weakness would spark his contempt, so his sincerity and kindness in debriefing Kitbuqa's mission was very unpleasant and concerning.

With sand and blood covered garb, Kitbuqa had been shoved to the settlement at gunpoint, growing black silhouettes were encompassed by waves of heat, it was unknown what Kitbuqa was walking into. Whether it was to fool the settlers more or to spite him, his sword brothers took a potshots at Kitbuqa's extremities to make the tale of escape more believable, little did Gurkani know it wouldn't be a ploy at all. Taken in by the settlers, Kitbuqa had felt unconditional compassion for the first time, they treated his eviscerated arm and sent him to a resting spot to heal, Kitbuqa marveled on what a fantastic thing civilization was, the settlement was an Empire sponsored energy generator, massive conduits would absorb the energy storms in the skies to fuel Imperial civilization, he had seen what collaborating people can accomplish.

A week of rest and recovery, an all too familiar sound struck at noon. Bellowing familiar roars of the Azure Horde's warhorn broke his slumber, and the impeding sounds of his former kinsmen's desperate charge rose the hairs on the back of his head, it was a terrifying irony that he had been on the receiving end, and a true wake up call to the horrors of barbarism. The house he had been evacuated to was completely empty, the screams, military jargon and radio from storm troopers radio chatter, and megaphone announcements were muffled by blaster shots and sounds of struggle. Kitbuqa got up with nothing but the clothes on his back ran as far as he could, at the top of a cliff he had looked back to what was once a beacon of hope for Kiffu, fallen power conduits and toppled radio towers was a statement within itself on the lows of human sadism. Familiar laughs coming from his forgotten earpiece that could only have been made by Hulagu and Guyuk put the farce of petty brotherhood on display, as if the atrocities he'd see and his amputated arm weren't enough. Later presenting himself for service as an Imperial auxiliary, Kitbuqa was a useful asset in identifying and guiding Imperial forces through the barren reaches of Kiffu. Whatever bond there was with his former sword brothers - it lied dead. Now he fought with a cold hatred against the enemies of mankind's progress - his own regressive people.

Imperial Service

Kitbuqa Gurkani was accepted to the Imperial Academy for officer training on Year 21 Day 103, after serving as an auxiliary for the Empire in its liberation of the Kiffar homeworlds from local dissident warlords.