Re: Argrath and the Telmori

From: Joerg Baumgartner <jorganos_at_hotmail.com>
Date: Wed Apr 15 11:56:11 1998


Jeff Richard
>At the risk of being a contrarian, I'd like to quibble with the
>Starbrow "legitimists" and maybe engage in a bit of wholesome
>Telmori-bashing..

Well, I suppose that taking the crown of the Prince of Sartar involves a couple of hefty oaths to swear, including one to protect the Telmori and fulfil that ancient promise (at least by implication in the oath). Kallyr, having taken the crown, will also have taken the oath(s), and so she is a safe candidate. Argrath has been named "Warlord of the Aldachuri" after Sword Hill, but that's about his best Sartarite "title". (He has a nice collection of others, like Liberator of Pavis, King of Heortland and Protector of Kethaela, and King of Dragon Pass, most of which aren't 100% pure claims...) Thus, being denied recognition as Prince of Sartar (especially by the Telmori), there is no compulsion for him to give the Telmori what they don't want of him.

>A few opening observations:

>It seems obvious that Sartar introduced a kingship ritual that is
>quite different from the "elective" kingship rituals of Heort.
>Instead of kingship based on assembling a sanctified ring,
>Sartar's kingship magic is based on his bloodline - symbolized
>by the sacred flame of his immolation.

Effectively, the kingship is a combination of sovereignty ritual and ancestor worship. If there is a (RQ) Cult of Sartar I'd expect it to have lay members (anyone living in the Principality, or born there), initiates (citizens of Sartar - those who have made a spritual commitment) and priests (not quite officials of the Principality - perhaps those are required to be initiates), and a special class of descendants, automatically initiates of Sartar with access to special magics in case they make a spiritual commitment. Special magics like a Flame of Sartar ritual, either to commune with the Founder (to descendants like an Axis Mundi at the Flame, to ordinary priests a Divination) or to give proof of their inheritance (an initiation ritual if the flame is burning, possibly a proof after the flame was quenched, used e.g. by Temertain).

This reminds me of the unsolved questions re: city cult membership in Sartar. Is a city cult a full initiation like the one to Orlanth, or is one subsumed in the other for a child about to become an adult? I'm fairly certain that there are adulthood rituals which involve oaths of fealty to clan, city, perhaps also tribe and kingdom.

>This type of kingship is not unknown to the Orlanthi - it
>is quite likely based on the kingship rites of Vingkot. Only a
>member of Vingkot's bloodline could rule the Vingkotlings -
>and similar to Sartar, Vingkot himself was immolated atop a
>sacred fire. Just check out Enclosure.

Funnily, only a member of Kodig's bloodline could rule the Vingkotlings, Jeff... They even had a special tribal name (-vari instead of -tes or - -telli, or after the destruction of the Lastralgortelli also -vuli).

>To light the Sacred Flame, Kallyr Starbrow must have
>"proven" her association with the bloodline of Sartar

Yes. Unlike Garrath Sharpsword, she may have done so already as a child, during Terasarin's reign, after all she was of Kheldon merito-aristocracy.

>- but just the same, Argrath
>must also have later "proven" his association with the bloodline.

The key term here is "later". Since I suppose it takes quite a lot of proofs, he may have missed or failed the one(s) relevant to the Telmori - - which may well be one of the oaths of office.

>In that sense, both were legitimate rulers of the House of Sartar.

Except that Argrath was not the ruler of the House of Sartar while Kallyr was Prince(ss) of Sartar. Argrath's relation to Kallyr sounds similar to Tarkalor's relation to Jarolar - not quite as good pedigree as the holder of the office, and not acknowledged as holder of the office, but an active political and military force, also (or especially) abroad, and his deeds overshadowing those of the ruler.

>They both proved their affinity with the sacred bloodline and
>both were warlords with armed followers.

One difference: Kallyr had lots of armed followers when the throne was vacant and accessible, when Argrath still had to get his large following. He was a bit late to gain mass support - Kallyr was the acknowledged warlord of the Quivini, and Argrath only had the support of the Aldachuri (including the Alone confederate tribes and the Dinacoli, I suppose). Now those "Sartarites" supporting Argrath had been included into the Principality only two or three generations ago from their Tarshite origin, and spoke a different language. The situation is a bit like a hypothetical Rose War event where one claimant had the support of the Welsh and the other the support of the English - which one would have become King of England?

>Some might argue that Kallyr was more ideologically "legitimate" >given
her involvement in the 1613 rebellion and her senior
>status amongst the Sartarite warlords.

Kallyr had all the added legitimacy of a Heortling king in addition to fulfilling the prerequisites of a Prince of the House of Sartar. Garrath lacked unanimous support among the Quivini - even his Colymar kinfolk were split in their loyalties between Kallyr and him (like Minaryth Blue, who fought - well, marched - under Argrath's banners to Heortland but seems to have been a follower of Kallyr mostly.

>On the other hand, others might observe that Kallyr was
>seen as an ambitious opportunist following the fiasco of
>the 1613 rebellion. Many leaders from powerful tribes disliked
>and distrusted her intensely. So much for the greater legitimacy.

Her popularity as a war leader has always mystified me. Kallyr has as bad a military record as Tatius the Bright (main military advisor to Euglyptus the Fat, of Building Wall Battle and initial Starbrow Rebellion fame, and gloriously sending thousands to death with his futile capture of Whitewall) with her victories always achieved by others (the broken dam at the Hill of Orlanth Victorious designed by Minaryth Purple, executed with acute timing by Hofstaring Treeleaper, her participation at Whitewall under Brian's leadership) or under unproportional losses (her victory over the leaderless Tarshites at Dangerford in 1625 took all her inspiration, which makes this achievement a rival to the body count Tatius achieved at Whitewall). Her later actions (Battle of Queens at Runegate, defeat of Gunda, defeat by Harrek) weren't exactly pure success either.

I doubt that many of her political rivals remained after the Dragon Raising in 1625, though. There had been a change in generation among the tribal kings of Sartar since 1613, sometimes with replacements by Lunar sympathisers (eaten in 1625).

>As for the Telmori, it seems that Argrath's political intuition was
>superior to Kallyr's. I personally suspect that Kallyr wooed the
>Telmori to her cause because the Telmori were the traditional
>bodyguards of the Sartar kings.

She had not done so in 1613 (Hofstaring would never have stood for that). IMO Telmori support comes with the office, and Kallyr had almost two years of advantage over Argrath on her way to the office.

>Symbolically, Kallyr sought to show that she was
>the one true legitimate heir to the House of Sartar because
>she was supported by the Telmori. Argrath dispensed with
>that symbol since the Flame of Sartar was the all-important
>symbol.

I'm not at all sure that (some) Argrath did not get the Telmori to his side. If the "Argrath of Pavis" mentioned by Minaryth Blue was not Garrath Sharpsword but Enostar Bad Dream (KoS: Argrath of Pavis) or Argrath White Bull, all of whom could "claim" that name for the expulsion of the Lunars, Garrath could have let one of his namesakes (proxies?) quarrel with the Telmori and keep his own nose clean.

Later, when he took the office and the accompanying oaths, he may well have recognized his obligation towards the Telmori...

>Furthermore, everyone else HATED the Telmori. And with
>good reason. By attacking the Telmori, Argrath gained the
>enthusiastic support of those tribes who hated and feared the
>Wolfrunners.

That was his key to the northeastern Quivini tribes, previously supporters of Kallyr (and about as bitter foes of the Dinacoli and Aldachuri as of the Telmori). IMO Minaryth Blue's "We fight Dinacoli" is a mention of a battle, if not war, between supporters of Kallyr (Colymar and other Quivini) and Argrath (Dinacoli and Far Point tribes).

>Once he became Prince, the support of those tribes was
>probably far more useful than the Telmori ever could
>have been.

Well, the Malani would have wanted more than just a belated Telmori bash to overcome their distrust of the Dinacoli. The Cinsina had been fairly friendly to the Lunars after Jomes Wulf had bashed the Telmori in 1608 and continued to keep a better lock on them than the Maboder ever had. Being confederates of Jonstown, they were almost automatically opposed to the Malani. The Culbrea were probably the most easily taken support. I don't know about the Torkani or Aranwyth...

The other Quivini tribes were probably relaxed about the Telmori. "They raid the Malani, so they can't be all bad" could be a Varmandi statement...

>I suspect that Sartar in the years following Kallyr's Lighting
>of the Flame was filled with intrigue as rival warlords ran
>amok through the country-side, settling scores and unified
>only in their hatred of their former occupiers. As Kallyr
>struggled (possibly in vain) to assert her new-found authority
>as Prince, Argrath began laying the foundation for
>his much more dramatic rise to power by picking fights with
>the Telmori.

If the timing was correct. However, this quarrel with the Telmori is after his aquisition of the support (if not crown) of Heortland and/or Kethaela, and around the time of his proposal as King of Dragon Pass by marriage with the Feathered Horse Queen. Argrath has a huge power base - Grazer, Far Point tribes, and Heortlander (though ravaged by the Scorpion outbreak), all he lacks is popularity among the Quivini to outshine Kallyr. Whatever can be said about Argrath, he was absent both times when the Tarshites invaded Quivini lands - 1625 at Dangerford and 1627 at the Battle of Queens (or, wrt his reputation, and unexpected Lunar teleportation abilities, let's hope he was absent and not leading the Lunars to Kallyr's hird).

What other warlords do you propose, Jeff? More Argraths? Including Harvar Ironfist? Or other players?

>Hail Argrath!

War cry of the Crater Makers...

Joerg Baumgartner (via Hotmail)
mailto:joe_at_toppoint.de



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