Gan Iriq

About
Gan was born to the Borlaaq tribe on The Steppe. Due to The Borlaaq tribe consisting of only female Xaelas he was handed over to the Iriq tribe which is where all male Xaela born to the Borlaaq tribe would go, without any exceptions. Because of that the Iriq tribe heavily depended on the Borlaaq tribe to keep theirs from going extinct or be wiped out by bigger and stronger tribes. Members of the Iriq tribe were usually raised and trained from a very young age to protect and fight for the safety of the Borlaaqs during the Naadam. Gan as a child was very timid and shy and preferred helping out with chores rather than wanting to practice fighting and playing pretend war with the other Au Ra children.Instead of becoming a prodigy in combat like the rest he ended up sneaking into one of the tents where the kitchen was located in order to avoid the harsh treatment from those in charge of training. This resulted in Gan befriending one of the tribe elders. A Xaela named Bujir who was usually the one in charge of preparing food for the tribe. Bujir taught him everything from hunting to cooking and baking and even helped Gan hide in order to keep avoiding training. Bujir ended up being the closest thing to a parental figure Gan would have.But those peaceful days would not last. All the other kids in the Iriq tribe seemed to glorify the Naadam as something worth dying for if it meant they could protect anyone from the Borlaaq tribe from injuries or death. Because of Gan's meek personality and efforts to avoid practice and training they always got into trouble with the adults in the tribe.Once they reached their mid-teens they’d started to realize that if they wanted to have at least a little chance at living a full life they had to take training seriously even if they hated violence and fighting. Their efforts paid off after some time and became one of the strongest out of the young Xaelas in the Iriq tribe. But during their efforts to become strong they had forgotten a single detail about the consequences of becoming a capable fighter and that was that they would without a doubt be picked out for the upcoming Naadam.The time for the Naadam approached fast, the day Gan had dreaded over. If they just kept themselves distracted and subdued members of different tribes without killing them they would be fine! Gan didn’t want to kill or be killed.. So they just had to stay alert until the oovo was claimed. Gan was a coward yes, but was it really that selfish of them to want a normal life without having to worry about getting killed every time the Nadaam came around? Everything was going well up until 10 minutes into the Naadam when they could hear one of their peers yelling out for assistance. At that moment they didn’t know what to do because they were surrounded by members of the Adarkim tribe.Adarkim was the largest tribe in all of the Steppe, notorious for overwhelming their rivals in numbers. Being overwhelmed by fear for their own life Gan ran away as fast as their legs could carry them while the sound of their name kept being called out. The rest of the day they hid in a cave only daring to come out once the stars and the moon had come out. Gan remembers that night so vividly. The stars were shining bright, almost blindingly bright. The torches outside of the Iriq tribe were still lit.Usually after the Naadam there would be laughter, the sound of music and people talking and shouting happily while enjoying the feast prepared for the few brave warriors that had survived. This time it was different, it was dead quiet but everyone was gathered by the fire and as soon as Gan had set foot in camp everyone's eyes seemed to be fixated on them. The warriors that had participated alongside him in the Naadam were all battered and covered in blood soaked bandages looking up at Gan with resentment and hatred. Nothing was said to Gan until the elders of the Iriq clan stepped out of the tent located in the middle of their camp. Gan remembers only the first words spoken to them and the rest was a blur of shouting.Gan knew what was waiting for them at that moment, the only punishment fit for someone that abandoned their duty, death. But before Gan even had the chance to accept the fatal blow of the blade that was held above their head they heard Bujir’s voice. “Punish me instead, I raised Gan to be a coward. It is my fault entirely, Gan is still young and a promising warrior so please do not punish them for my mistakes.” Gans last memory of their time in the Iriq tribe was stained in blood.They ran and ran for what felt like hours. Their aimless journey led them across the sea thanks to a couple of fishermen heading to Kugane and thankfully they didn't seem to want to pry into Gan's reason for needing a lift. They barely knew anything about the world outside of the Steppe but the further away they managed to get the better.