Kheshig of Tengri

Character designs created for the Empire fall chapter - part of the story from my unKnown world, which describes how these Tenger nomads raided the destabilized Tharkan Empire and created their kingdom on its ashes.

As always, the goal of my designs was to combine already existing warriors. The original idea was to make a mix of Huns and North American Indians, because according to lore Tengri assimilated some "Indian-looking" tribes that lived around their steppe territories.

This part of the story is a kind of paraphrase of the fall of the Roman Empire and the migration of nations, in which the Huns had a large share, and the establishment of the "barbarian" kingdoms of the Goths.

Although the Huns are a big inspiration for this fantasy/alternative history, I'm still sliding towards the Mongol warriors when it comes to designs.

Because I don't like completely made-up fantasy names and often pull them from our history. Here's a note on that:

The name "Tengri" that I use for this civilization is derived from the Turkic and Mongolian god of the sky. The oldest form of the name is recorded in Chinese annals from the 4th century BC, describing the beliefs of the Xiongnu (Huns).

"Kheshig" were the imperial guard for Mongol royalty in the Mongol Empire, particularly for rulers like Genghis Khan. They were divided into two groups: the day guard (Torguud) and the night guard (Khevtuul). They were distinct from the regular army. Famous Subutai was in the kheshig in his early years...