The Varati caste system rotates around the religion of Atarism. Though indeed castes were in place before Khalid Atar came to the Varati and claimed the position of God-King, they were at that time a much more informal system forged out of general trends that had developed on their own. When Atarism came to the fore, the caste system was formalized and explained as an essential part of both the religion and the society.

The system ties directly into the concept of reincarnation: members of the society believe that they have been born into their current caste and station in life due to the sins or achievements of their prior life. Their souls, having been judged by either Ashur Masad or Khalid Atar, were reborn into a new body, so that they may continue the search for spiritual enlightenment through service to their God-King.

This concept and sentiment has caused the members of the society to be much more accepting of their lot in life than they might be in other cultures and kingdoms. All individuals in society understand they have a place in the world, a reason for why they are there and an opportunity to move forward in their next life. Service to Khalid Atar, to the Varati kingdom, and to their own people will be rewarded in a spiritual sense. Even the shudra and naraki bear their fate with stoic acceptance; unlike the mongrels of other cultures, they do indeed have a place in society -- albeit the lowest rung of all.

The drawback of this system is that the Varati people tend to be very fatalistic. They believe everything happens for a reason and often they are inclined to think that the future is already written and cannot be changed. At times, the entire culture can seem paralyzed; motivation to do things, to move forward, can be lacking in the Varati when they become too obsessed with the concept of preordained events.

In addition, the Varati culture suffers from one of the highest suicide rates of any of the four major kingdoms. Because the belief in reincarnation is strong among the people, it is a way out to a new and better future, or an opportunity to start over fresh. Those who feel their lives can only improve in the next life often choose to end their existence in ritual suicide, or the Jhor. Though this is frowned upon by the priests of Atar if used for improper reasons, ritual suicide is an accepted social mechanism, and in fact, those who have acted in an extremely dishonorable fashion are expected to undergo the Jhor. It proves to be a quandary for the culture.

The Castes

Kshatri: The kshatri claim the highest position in society, although this would be disputed by the Atarvani. Khalid Atar himself has stated that the Atarvani and the kshatri are two sides to the same coin, yet he has not acknowledged whether one or the other caste is higher in his eyes. The general consensus in society is that the kshatri are more or less on equal footing with the priests of Atar.

The kshatri caste came about through thousands of years of warfare, both internal and external to the kingdom. As the Varati came to depend more on martial pursuits to gain strength and land, the warriors of the nation grew in strength and influence, until they finally displaced the nobility of the time. There is a popular legend in Varati culture about a young warrior who was raised by a lowly shudra family, and who later defeated the "demon monarch" who ruled the kingdom at the time. This was the story of Feridun, who gathered an army together to overthrew Zohak, a cruel tyrant -- and this was also the beginning of the "noble warriors" known as the kshatri. Now the kshatri serve as the sword and shield for the kingdom and as its upper class in conjunction with the Atarvani.

The kshatri are the only caste allowed to bear arms larger than a dagger. It is their right, honor, and duty to fight for the kingdom and their God. However, the kshatri are barred from engaging in common trade. They cannot sell manufactured goods within the kingdom or participate in general business. The kshatri get around this by "giving" and "receiving" gifts, to a limited extent, and by entering into "defensive" agreements with vaisya Clans who will utilize and sell the resources held by a kshatri Clan on their behalf, in return for protection.

However, the caste is allowed to make items and goods for its own internal use. The women and children of the caste are often hard at work, making the clothes for the clan, farming the fields, and so on, while the men make the arms and armor for the Clan during peace time. This only helps alleviate the burden on the vaisya caste, which still takes the brunt of sustaining the economy for the kingdom.

Atarvani: The Atarvani are perhaps the only caste to have little in the way of history prior to the time of Khalid Atar. They can trace their roots to the sages and learned men of old, yet in truth, the caste is a direct creation of the God-King. They have been in existence a mere thousand years or so.

Atarvani priests are the voice of Khalid Atar, and sometimes considered both his eyes and ears, as well. They preach the ways of Atarism to both Varati and non-Varati, while fulfilling the various duties of their priesthood. Service to the Atarvani is considered a lifelong duty. Even those members of the caste who are not active members of the priesthood have specific religious requirements to the kingdom: they are expected to be leaders. Much like the kshatri, they are not allowed to engage in general barter, and like the kshatri, they get around this obstacle in similar ways.

The Atarvani are often some of the greatest minds and scholars of the kingdom. Some of the best inventions and technological developments have been created by the priests of Atar and then later built by the vaisya. The Atarvani represent the "intellectual class" of the Varati as well as its spiritual caste.

For more information about the Atarvani, see the Atarvani page.

Vaisya: The vaisya caste, while lower in social and religious rank than the Atarvani and kshatri, is as important as the other two, if not more so, in some ways. They are the craftsmen, the farmers, the merchants, the artisans, and generally any other occupation that does not fall into the realm of either the kshatri or the Atarvani. They are key members of society, being the most populous caste, and help establish the economy and infastructure of the Varati kingdom.

While the vaisya are not allowed to take up arms, they often wage their wars in more subtle ways: undercutting a competitor's prices in the market, slandering an enemy through a well-orchestrated campaign of gossip, and employing the deadly Dultas. In addition, many vaisya have become remarkably skilled dagger-fighters, for it is the only official weapon they may use. Other vaisya have become proficient in wielding tools that are not official weapons; some kshatri have learned too late how deadly a staff can be in the hands of an enraged vaisya merchant.

The vaisya caste comprises some of the most skilled merchants in the world. Due to the vast mines of the Varati -- especially in gold, silver, gems and other precious commodities -- the vaisya's buying power on the world market is unrivaled. Along with their fabled crafts and works of art -- which often sell for exorbitant prices -- the vaisya are able to buy most resources which the Varati kingdom does not have access to or in which it is lacking.

Shudra: Perhaps one of the most common misconceptions about the Varati culture comes directly because of this caste. Outsiders seem to believe that most shudra are slaves within the culture. This viewpoint probably has to do with the menial duties and positions to which the shudra are resigned within the culture, yet no shudra is a slave. The shudra are a caste of their own within the society, and have their given place. While considered the lowest of all, they are not slaves, but are rather willing servants who seek to better themselves in this life so that they may be reborn in a higher caste in the next life.

While the vast majority of shudra are of mongrel descent, some do come from pure Varati racial stock, or even of the other races. This is due to various reasons, whether it be a Varati family that has fallen in the eyes of Khalid Atar and punished for their transgressions by being made into shudra, a group of Varati that were formerly naraki and freed to become shudra, or simply non-Varati converts who become shudra. Most shudra, however, are indeed mongrels.

All shudra are employed and paid. The manner of this payment varies from shudra to shudra; some of the lucky ones get fairly decent wages for their work, while other shudra get little more than room and board for hard larbor. Yet no shudra is actually forced to do work. As a general rule, however, one is unlikely to find a shudra who is not laboring hard for his or her keep; idle hands rarely survive long in the Varati kingdom.

The shudra have little in the way of rights, as well. Some end up in cruel households or Clans, being beaten and abused as they work. It is a thin line between slavery and freedom in such households. Yet the shudra may appeal to the Atarvani if they are indeed treated badly and can cite an instance where one of the surahs have been violated. The surahs of Khalid Atar apply to all the castes of the kingdom, and even the shudra find comfort in them. More than one Clan Warlord has found a retinue of the Atarvani Nabi and Akhund on his doorstep, demanding justice for wrongs committed by him against a shudra. Yet in practice, this is a rare event, and most shudra must stoically bear the pains heaped upon them due to their status in society.

Over seventy percent of the shudra are employed by the vaisya caste to help supplement the labor force. Unlike other castes, whose members often retire or otherwise step down from active duty upon reaching old age, the shudra usually work until they die. It is a hard life, and the shudra have the highest suicide rate of all the castes of the society. Still, some shudra have managed to achieve great heights in a single lifetime. At least one member of the Dai is known to have been a shudra, while another shudra rose to become a chief advisor to Khalid Atar during the Reign of Fire. These examples, unfortunately for the shudra, are very rare.

Agni-Haidar: While they are not exactly a caste unto themselves, the Agni-Haidar do merit special mention. They are the elite soldiers of Atar, and are bound together by loyalty and honor. The web-page linked previously gives the entire scoop on the Lions of Fire, and is an indispensable source of information for any who wish to consider creating a character among their ranks. The page was originally created by Anubis@Aether.

Ushasti: The Ushasti are not a caste, per se, of their own. Instead, the Ushasti are an underground faction and religion devoted to Khalid Atar's mother, Ushas. During the God-King's rise to power among the Varati and the earlier stages of the Reign of Fire, Ushas was said to have taken mortal form and to have stood by her son, battling enemies within and outside the kingdom. But she grew weary of the mortal world and, longing to join her consort Ashur Masad, rose to the heavens once more.

The Ushasti were formed roughly during the same time that the Atarvani were created, and they devoted themselves to Ushas. Originally, they came from the same caste as the Atarvani and had equal standing. However, as time passed on, the Ushasti lost status and power within the culture, becoming no more than a minor religion in comparison to Atarism. Still, it is the only other accepted religion within the kingdom, and the Ushasti bear a certain amount of unofficial power, if not as much as their counterparts among the Atarvani.

The Ushasti as a whole are generally considered to be lower in societal importance than the Atarvani or the kshatri, though they usually have a place higher than the vaisya. Most Ushasti come from either the Atarvani or kshatri castes, though some do indeed come from the vaisya, and there are even a few of shudra origin. However, since the Ushasti are not a caste of their own, a particular member's caste is the caste they belong to; a shudra Ushasti is still shudra, though perhaps of slightly higher status than other shudra.

See the Ushasti: Beloved of Ushas page for more information about this group.

Naraki: The naraki are the true slaves of the Varati society. They are almost always booty from wars between Clans or candala, though in some few rare cases, an individual of a caste may become a naraki as punishment for grave crimes. The naraki are not a part of the caste system; they have no caste and no rights.

The naraki are not encouraged to have children. In fact, the naraki are all but forbidden to have children and certainly cannot have families. Khalid Atar has forbidden his Warlords to breed the naraki as a large slave labor force; it goes against the Ataristic surahs of self-reliance, respect and compassion, in that it might encourage the Clan to give up work that should be its own, and because it would be to treat thinking beings as base animals. The attempt to keep this group small also comes from the desire to encourage the souls of naraki dead to be reborn in a higher form; it is not wished that there be wholesale opportunities -- in the form of naraki babies -- for a reborn soul to be trapped within the naraki.

Over eighty percent of all naraki are owned by the kshatri Clans, though a little under twenty percent find their way into the homes of vaisya as "gifts" for services rendered to the warriors. The naraki have little hope or chance for redemption, though it is not unheard of for naraki to be "freed" by their masters. In this case, they usually become a member of the Varati society once more as shudra. There have been a few recorded cases in which naraki who have been freed have regained position within their old caste: in particular, one kshatri who became a naraki after being captured during a raid was eventually freed and became the Nayaka for Clan Khalida. Obviously, this happens in exceedingly rare cases, and is legendary when it does.

* Written by Khalid I/III@Aether