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One thought off the top of my head--Marriages are an important diplomatic tool for clans. And a marriagable woman is, to put it crassly, a "trade good". If Halorica is a brilliant and skilled merchant (or smith or warrior or weaver or healer), any clan will be very glad to have her marry into them--and that means those clans will try hard to win her hand for some clan member. And "try hard" doesn't just mean buttering up Halorica--it means making things worthwhile for the clan chief, Halorica's immediate family, and so on.
I don't know if the Heortlings have any custom of paying a "bride price". But even if they don't, you could still expect a lot of informal bribery during courtship--nice trade agreements, some clan offering to give in on a boundary dispute, things like that. Or just a plain bride swap--Halorica marries into Lost Oak Clan, and a Lost Oak woman (who happens to be a brilliant cow-healer) marries into Halorica's old clan.
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