The Kharal, formed into armies, have no real infantry. Their warriors may fight dismounted, when the terrain demands it or when they engage in siege operations, but this is situational. On occasion desperate and impoverished Kharal, such as former prisoners or freed slaves, will be given the chance to go into battle even though they cannot supply a horse of their own, but this is mostly granted as a chance to die well and is not attached to any proper formations. Given any choice at all, the Kharal always fight mounted, on either horses or camels. Their forces are consequently powerful and mobile, but are poorly suited to holding territory or the defense of static points. This is sufficiently extreme that they will hire mercenaries to perform such work when needed, as in the case of garrisoning river landings. In battle between their own factions, which is the most common form of engagement, there are no strong points at all. This results in a unique form of battle in which only cavalry clash.

To properly explain the fighting methods of the Kharal, it is useful to describe the individual warrior in some detail. Variations on the theme exist, but these are mostly a matter of upgrades in equipment based on wealth or plunder. With the exception of the camel riders, which Tugun Khagan kept far from the sight of the Dragon Expedition, and the small groups of heavy cavalry who serve as the personal guard of the khagan and tribal chieftains, all Kharal go into battle in the role of mounted archer. This form of skilled combatant, rarely found elsewhere but ubiquitous on the open steppe where boys as young as six practice shooting polecats and marmots from the back of donkeys, produces a specialized form of warfare not often seen in other parts of the world. The Kharal reliance on archery from horseback means their goal is never to engage with an enemy formation. Instead, they seek to surround, flank, or otherwise position themselves to rain an endless barrage of arrows upon the opponent until they break, at which point they charge and obliterate the rout. Their warriors are equipped and trained specifically to achieve this end.

Each Kharal soldier is outfitted with a composite bow as their primary weapon. This is a powerful instrument with lathes that bend forward at the end and provide the force and carry of a much larger simple bow, allowing the mounted archer to match the power of the strongest shot by a standing archer while maneuvering their horse effectively. These bows are manufactured through a special process combining wood, horn, bone, and sinew, all glued together in overlapping patterns and bent into place such that when unstrung they wrap opposite their draw till nearly circular. This requires a skilled craftsman to conduct and it takes months, traditionally the entirety of the steppe winter, to produce a single bow. Any Kharal riding into battle carries at least two of these weapons, and those warriors who can afford it will bring a third. All are carried in treated leather bowcases to protect them from the ravages of the steppe weather. For the purpose of hunting and predator control the Kharal utilize a great many different arrow styles and will produce arrowheads of bone, stone, and bronze, but for war they use thick-shafted arrows tipped by hardened iron piercing tips designed to stab through armor. These arrows are quite numerous, a single warrior may carry as many as sixty into battle, with double or even triple that held in camp in case of multiple engagements. The number of arrows is such that there may not be sufficient iron to tip them all, and stone arrows appear in battle during prolonged campaigns or sieges. Every warrior paints the fletching of their arrows in a unique pattern so that after a battle they have at least a chance to recover some portion of their ammunition.

While the poorest of Kharal warriors may ride into battle with only their bows, most also carry a spear. These are long-hafted weapons that can be utilized mounted or dismounted. Spearhead variation is considerable, but most are simple leaf-headed points. Elite warriors, nobles, members of the heavy cavalry, and the camelry will additionally carry either a curved cavalry saber or a flanged mace. They are generally competent spearmen, and the elites are formidable when they charge as lancers, but their skills with other weapons are generally fairly basic. When fighting dismounted and forced to engage with swords or maces, these warriors are routinely embarrassed by lightly armored Nikkad or even mercenary fighters. Of course, they are little inclined to engage in such a manner. Kharal who are forcibly dismounted in battle will preferentially search for a horse rather than engage on foot. This is not considered to be cowardly. They will even ride into cities until the streets become too confining to permit further maneuver.

Protection is of equal importance to weaponry, for the output of arrows in Kharal battles is considerable, and strategies based upon evasion of the spiked cloud are doomed to failure. Far more so than for weapons, the distribution of armor among the warriors is dependent upon wealth. At the base level, adopted by the poorest, battle garb is little more than ordinary clothing. Kharal warriors are sometimes described, in stories and myths, as riding into battle bare-chested save for a neck-strap shield and armguards, or with nothing save quiver straps above the waist. This is an exaggeration, though in summer Kharal riders may doff their shirts and let their robes fall to the waist when riding about, and the poor among them are at such times wearing very little indeed. On occasion when they are forced into combat in the summer, especially on Shdustu's exposed ridges where they are most likely to be observed by foreigners, they must contend with extreme heat and may discard garments soaked with sweat, or perhaps blood, to avoid being rendered immobile.

Such incidents, while founded in fact, are quite rare. The overwhelming majority of large engagements occur in the winter, and the soldiers are quite heavily clad even without dedicated armor. The base layer is comprised of trousers and shirts of hemp, wool, linen, or, among the rich, silk. These are thin, used primarily to keep sweat from clinging to the body and to supply padding rather than protection. Above these are worn the standard steppe garment, a robe that extends from neck to just below the knee, which is tied over the left breast. This is usually made from thick felt, lined with fur. The fur in question is a marker of wealth, with the poorest Kharal using the fur of dogs or marmots, while the chieftains have sable, marten, or fox fur. These garments, which are very warm, are essential for survival in the bitter cold of Shdustu's winter. Thick boots, also of felt and tied in place, are also worn. The Kharal generally wear fur-lined mittens, tied and tasseled against the wrist by strong chords so that they may be quickly doffed to free the fingers to work the bowstring and then donned once more while still on the move.

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Proper armor, where possessed, is layered above the robes. Kharal armor is primarily made in scale fashion, with the overlapping scales circular in form and attached to a leather backing that is either hard or supple depending on the position of the piece upon the body. Both the number of armor pieces and the quality of the materials used to produce them vary by the wealth of the warrior. While the poorest warriors may have no armor at all, most have sufficient resources to supply at least breast and back plates of hardened leather scales, boiled and treated to be resistant to arrows and cuts. Those with slightly greater resources add pauldrons and faulds of the same material, and also treated and padded helmets covered in boiled leather. The elite warriors have scale skirts to protect the neck, circular metal plates hanging tied in place to protect the center of the chest, and a wide brim of stiffened wicker weave applied to the helmet to aid in arrow deflection. In all cases hardened leather, from a number of different animals, is the most common material. Scales may also be crafted using horn, though I saw this only rarely, and bronze and steel scale breastplates are worn by the elite. Metal mirror plates guarding the chest are likewise restricted to the nobility and to camel riders.

Horse armor, or camel armor in the case of riders who chose that mount, is generally minimal, with proper protection limited to the richest and most elite warriors. Where it does exist, such barding is mostly limited to hardened leather scale panels draped over the face and neck. Felted blankets are often placed in the same position in the absence of armor. Though even thick fabric cannot stop an arrow, it can catch splinters and thereby protect horse eyes. Flying bits of arrow fragment are a significant hazard in conflict between Kharal forces.

It is important to recognize that given the generally small stature of steppe horses, the Kharal ride into battle with their saddles forward over the forelimbs of their mounts, not atop the back as is common with the larger horses of the Sanid Empire. Only the khagan's elite guard, equipped with imported mounts from the Foothills Kingdom or other foreign lands in the distant southeast, ride in the familiar style. This forward position means that the rider leans over much of the body of the horse, and his own form thereby protects much of the back.

Though the Kharal utilize stirrups, they are fully capable of riding without them and may choose to maneuver out of the stirrups deliberately in order to shoot in the opposite direction of their horses' progress. This feat is most impressive to observe, but is also essential to their combat tactics. Their leaders assume, entirely correctly, that their warriors can shoot in any direction regardless of the course of their animal's stride. The result is extraordinarily flexible archery, but to those unfamiliar with the method it is a seemingly unbelievably chaotic array.

Organization of Kharal armies is simple. Each tribe responding to the khagan's call musters their own troops. Each chieftain or his proxy, usually a son in the case of aging leaders, reports either directly to the khagan or to the general to whose warband they have been assigned. In the case of the warband the Dragon Expedition observed, this meant twenty-four men, all grizzled chieftains as none wished to insult the khagan by not appearing in person, though one of their number had his brother lead the men in battle on account of a broken arm and another left immediately after reporting as a consequence of mourning his wife, passed nine days prior to the summons, and left his son to lead his warriors. This system, as can be imagined, is rather cumbersome. Two dozen men, all seeking personal commands from their leader during military conference is already deeply unwieldy, and in a much larger force would swiftly become impossible. As such, it seems any khagan must necessarily split his forces into multiple warbands of no more than thirty thousand riders, though given the logistical strains such a vast host would impose this as a practical choice in any case and the khanates always divide their wartime strength across multiple forces. This limitation, which also impacts the size of any potential siege force, is a key reason why surprisingly small Nikkad settlements are able to persist upon the steppe.

The khagan or general will usually deploy forces by tribe, in units between five hundred and one thousand warriors in size. In this case, as Tugun Khagan had issued a half-summons, the units were roughly five hundred strong. Each such unit is expected to fight in unison. The chieftains appoint local nobles with proven records in battle as sub-leaders and take the vanguard in person with their better equipped retainers. The khagan's elite guard, which is generally positioned at the center of any formation, will contain the brothers and sons of chieftains and nobles, which serves to induce greater unity. Exactly how willing these youthful warriors are, and how much they are hostages, was something no outsider could properly discern.

Each noble commands a small force, usually no more than fifty riders, but the tribal units moved with surprisingly good cohesion, something Erun remarked upon repeatedly. It seems long practice in large hunts, and the presence of numerous veterans in any group, supplied the equivalent of intense training. As most riders either hunt or war in every winter, and men as old as sixty still ride to war, the experience gathered in any group is considerable, in many cases far greater than that of professional forces in the Sanid Empire, which may drill exhaustively but rarely see battle. As the sound of thousands of horses tromping across the grassland makes shouted commands useless, orders are relayed using a system of colored flags. The signal lance is generally carried by a chieftain's most trusted ally, usually a brother or son, and this position is one of great honor. There is a coded arrangement to the flag commands which, while not especially complex, it seems best to avoid explaining here. The khagans change these methods regularly in any case.

Once assembled, the host embarks to the battlefront in divided columns, once again propelled by the need to disperse their horses. Tugun Khagan separated his force into three columns of four thousand riders apiece and sent them east with scouts ranging out in search of the enemy. He left his great audience yurt behind, but commanded the representatives of the Dragon Expedition ride with him.