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Major Kiith
The Exiles developed a rich history on Kharak, fragmenting into myriad clans along such lines as family, geographic holdings, philosophy and vocation. In recent centuries, two periods strongly shaped the cultures of Kharak: the long-standing religious conflict between Kiith Gaalsien and the now-defunct Kiith Siid known as the Heresy Wars, and the following Age of Reason, during which the scholarly kiithid came into power. A few of the more prominent kiithid are featured in the Homeworld and Cataclysm backstory, as follows:

Gaalsien: A religious kiith who preached that humans had been exiled to Kharak as a divine punishment and that they should therefore spend their lives in atonement and self-abnegation. Gaalsien has a long history of reactionary hostility toward progress.

Kaalel: A kiith descended from nomadic herders who supplied many hides used to make scrolls and books. Kaalel rose to prominence through a period of vassalage to first Kiith Sjet and then Kiith Naabal. Expanding on knowledge gained from these scholarly kiith, the Kaalel became leading specialists in information technologies.

LiirHra: Engineers who, with the help of Kiith Manaan, defected from their parent kiith in order to pursue aerospace projects. They contributed greatly to the development of the mothership.

Manaan: Vagabonds who made their living on Kharak as entertainers and traders. The Manaan have built up their power through judicious business practice.

Naabal: Scholars who had been dedicated to the secret collection and preservation of knowledge on Kharak. Naabal played a pivotal role in ending the Heresy Wars and ushering in the Age of Reason.

Paktu: A fiercely independent kiith that traces its origins and founding tenets to a group of pilgrims who fled the Heresy Wars. Kiith Paktu were the first to successfully cross the Banded Desert to Kharak's temperate southern pole.

Sjet: Scientists who had secret ties to Kiith Naabal during the Heresy Wars. During the Age of Reason, they branched out from astronomy and mathematics into biology. They discovered a genetic disparity between humans and the rest of Kharakian life, confirming that humans were not native to Kharak. Sjet developed much of the technology that made the Homecoming effort possible, and it was their representative Karan Sjet who had her body and mind linked with the mothership to enable central command of its incredibly complex systems.

Soban: Mercenary soldiers who recruit all their members from other kiith and raise no children. Long ago on Kharak, they originally broke from their parent kiith when it was subsumed by invaders.

Somtaaw: A lesser group that has a chance to gain prominence during the course of the Cataclysm story. Originally a religious kiith that maintained a series of shrines along the route of a popular mountain pilgrimage, the Somtaaw became miners when the Heresy Wars cut off the income that pilgrims brought to their high valley homes. The Somtaaw continue as miners today, gleaning valuable elements from asteroids and gas giants.