Kallyr Starbrow: her tribe and clan

The Kheldon tribe

The one thing we know for certain is that Kallyr was a member of the Kheldon tribe: in 1613 she was a "chieftain" in it, and soon to be king.

The Kheldon were around before Sartar came to the land: one of Kallyr's ancestresses was on the tribal ring then. They formed part of the Swenstown Ring. In 1613 Kallyr's supporters numbered 1,700: not one of the larger tribes, despite low losses in 1602. Maps show their position in the high Quivin hills, close to Swenstown. And that is, unfortunately, about all we know about them.

The Kheldon kings

We know that Kallyr was King of the Kheldon for a short time in 1613, and prior to that was expected "to be the next in line for the kingship after the present king dies". But who was the king before her? Her ancestry as given when she became Queen of Sartar gave all the positions held by her family, including being on the tribal ring. It did not mention any of them as kings of the Kheldon. I think we can deduce from this that neither of her parents were ever tribal kings, though clan chief would have been a possibility. The expectation seems to be that the present king will die soon: from natural causes, presumably. Kallyr seems to speak for the tribe without reference to him. An old man, perhaps, loved and respected (since they haven't just kicked him out) but now nearly senile, with Kallyr doing most of the work without having the rank? In that case he would have been king for some time: perhaps was king back in 1602.

It has been suggested to me that for Kallyr to become king of the Kheldon, she must have had the support of her own clan, and therefore that clan must still have existed in 1613. I'll admit that I lack evidence, and this is purely to make a good story, but what I see happening is Kallyr coming back in 1602 to find her clan destroyed. She spends a few years hunting down the Lunars responsible, then returns to the tribe. She then joins the tribal warband and works up from there: tribal champion, captain of the warband, on the tribal ring, and eventually acting king. By then she'd be known to virtually everyone in the tribe: there are only 1700 of them, after all. I can see them voting for her rather than someone from a clan other than their own.

In 1625, we are told that "Kallyr was queen of the Kheldon tribe in her own right". Still? After 12 years of exile? I think not. No way could the tribe manage without a king for that long. Perhaps the wording should be "by right": i.e. she would have been king if the Lunars had not exiled her. Perhaps she was king again, though I don't see this lasting for long. What happened to whoever was king of the Kheldon from 1613 to 1625? Was the position taken by a Lunar puppet, who was then killed in the Brown Dragon episode? Was it someone very loyal to Kallyr, who resigned in her favour as soon as she returned? I lack sufficient evidence to decide on this one. But there's nothing to stop me making up a story that fits: so here goes.

The story: Kheldon kings in the 1600s

(Thanks to Steve Martin for helping me invent names for these people, by the way.)

We want Kallyr to have sufficient clan backing to become king in 1613. The easiest way I can see of doing this is to make the previous king a relative of hers. An uncle would fit: and since we don't need any more Sartar royals around, on her mother's side rather than her father's. Her mother's elder brother, perhaps by ten years or so. Call him Ferenan, son of Ferena.

Looking at the dates, Enerin was born around 1562. Her older brother would be born around 1552, making him 50 in 1602: quite old enough to have been King of the Kheldon then, and for some time previously. By 1613 he would be 61, and my comments above about being physically past it seem to fit. If I'm right about Kallyr's own clan being matrilineal, he would have originally been a member of it, and married out.

So in 1602 Kallyr comes back, finds her own clan destroyed, and goes to her uncle. He would quite like vengeance for his dead family himself, but can't move openly against the Lunars. What he can do is support her for the next few years while she does the job. Eventually she comes back, and is given a place in his household. Technically she is still the chieftain of her own clan, but her status within the tribe (and his clan) is more important.

I would expect that he had children of his own, and we have to explain why she got precedence over them. Partly it would have been on merit, of course. Suppose his son (at least, the best candidate out of his sons) was an Issaries type: good diplomat, good at handlng tribal finances, but no warlord and so not expected to be king in his own right? He'd be older than Kallyr by a few years, and he has all the qualities she lacks for leadership. Let's call him Fengille (reasons for the ending will be seen later!). They might well work very well together: he'd be Speaking Companion to first his father, and then her. And when she was exiled in 1613, he would be the obvious choice for king: they no longer needed a warlord, but they desperately needed a diplomat and trader to help the tribe survive the punitive Lunar taxes. Dates again: this chap would be born around the 1570s, would be in his late twenties in 1602, and late thirties in 1613. He would be king from 1613 to 1625, and at the end of that period would be in his late forties, perhaps early fifties.

We have one clue as to the next generation: the younger son of one of the tribal kings of the Swenstown Ring is in Pavis in 1616, as a guest of Morgeneth Runestar. If that tribe is the Kheldon, he's the younger son of Fengille, perhaps sent to Pavis in 1613 for his own protection. Just after the rebellion, I think, rather than just before it: Sun County had a coup at the same time, and I have a theory that Kallyr knew about it in advance. Young Treungille Arannia speaks Sartarite and Trade, which fits the background I suggest, and uses a bastard sword. Maybe Kallyr taught him: the Yelornans certainly didn't. He's a pleasant young man, honest and concerned to do the right thing. At present (1616) he's a lay member of Yelorna. The Rubble pack doesn't give an age for him, but early twenties would fit. (Giving him a DoB around 1595, when his father was around 25. Sounds about right.)

A family tree may help.

          Ferena the Herbalist
              153?-1602
      ____________|_________
      |                    |
  Ferenan                Enerin   =   Loricon
  1552-1613            1562-1602  |   1562-1602
      |                           |
   Fengille                     Kallyr
  1572-?                       1582-1630
  ____|______
  |         |
  ?     Treungille
        Arannia
        1595-?

Kheldon clans

Very few clans of the Kheldon are known of, and Kallyr's clan is never mentioned. As stated in the ancestry section, I believe this is because it was destroyed in 1602.

One clan is mentioned as being that of a pre-generated PC in River of Cradles: the Heran clan, one of whose members was a jeweler in Swenstown before the Lunars drove him, with his wife and son, out to Pavis.

The list of "Kallyr's Companions" has been suggested as a source of clan names, but since it includes people who are definitely not Kheldon: Minaryth Purple, of Jonstown, and (I am told) at least one of the Culbrea clans, I have to regretfully discard this.

Kallyr's own clan we are free to invent: I see it as the healing clan of the tribe: small, generally protected by the other clans rather than raided by them, and known for strong-minded women. If we pick up the idea of "war clans" (such as the Varmandi) and "peace clans", I'd class this as having been a peace clan for years. That doesn't stop warriors existing, of course, though Humakti would be unlikely. Also, from the look of her ancestry as given in KoS, it may well be matrilineal.

Why do I want the most famous warrior of the time to come from a peaceful background? This is jumping ahead a bit in my arguments, but if we look at what happens to Kallyr over the years and how she reacts to it, the basic pattern is that she keeps having her relatives and friends killed by the Lunars, being beated by the Lunars herself, and always coming back for another go. To me, that implies a basic optimism as part of the character, and I think a secure childhood would be a prerequisite. Also, the main point of tension that Joerg and I see between her and Argrath in 1625-1630 is that she wants peace and time to rebuild the country, whereas he wants war. If, after twenty years of fighting the Lunars, she is happy to stop after her first victory and leave them in control of Tarsh while she consolidates Sartar, peace and stability must be very important to her: and therefore, must be something she'd known.

Matrilineal descent?

It has been suggested, going by Kallyr's ancestry, that her clan was matrilineal. I could believe this myself: it helps explain why she was a member of her mother's clan and tribe, not part of the Royal House bloodline. Or that most of her ancestresses didn't bother to get married at all, so their children stayed in their clan. What I don't believe is that the entire tribe is matrilineal: it seems too much, to me. But that line of her matrilineal descent: maybe.
"Kallyr Starbrow was the daughter of ..... Enerin Ironeye, daughter of Ferena the Herbalist, daughter of Ernaldness Freckles, daughter of Yerestia Knows-Better, daughter of Ernaldinni Wolfkiller, who was on the Kheldon Ring when Sartar came to the land."

Compare this with a document on the Feathered Horse Queens (KoS 227-228): discussing the time of the first FHQ, the one who married Sartar. "This was a great time for the Earth Tribe.... in Sartar the Orendanae sat upon the tribal rings of the three main tribes". So which were the three main tribes? I think we can take it that the Colymar were one of them. Could the Kheldon have been one of the other two? And Ernaldinni Wolfkiller one of the Orendanae?


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