Statement of the Chief Genealogist

[Scott of Hyperborea]

Preface: If the reader finds this rushed, perhaps more rough around the edges than the usual fare of the Chief Genealogist of Tala, such a judgment would not be without cause. For I, Taksi Kamheinion, was woken from a deep sleep before blue-dawn by the wild-eyed Nithi Kirenion, the Elder of Hyperborea, who demanded that I immediately pen a summary of all known information about the line of Kalir and its possible connections to Babkha. Even knowing what I now know of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding this request, I can barely excuse this attempt to speed a pursuit that should rightfully be conducted only with the greatest care and artisanship. However, having no choice in the matter I grudgingly present this HISTORY OF THE LINE OF KALIR to the Council of Nine in response to the current furor over the Jayatar claim to the throne.

Imperial Bloodlines, the Council will recall, refer to those families that can claim a line of descent from Raynor I, the legendary first Kaiser of Shireroth. Any member of an Imperial Bloodline is eligible to take the throne, although in practice only nobles who have the support of the preceding Kaiser or a large personal power base have any chance of actually obtaining it.

Although all bloodlines share descent from Raynor, they are typically subdivided into fourteen sub-families (Meigi Arision, writing in S'4048 gives as few as ten, and Aldi Rasonion, writing in the past century, lists as many as seventeen, but fourteen is the number listed in most mainland Shirerithian sources). The divisions between bloodlines are somewhat arbitrary, but often based on descent from a certain legendary Kaiser.

Many bloodlines are linked to a certain land, and are often nobility there. Thus, twelve of the last fifteen Dukes of Yardistan have been of the Line of Grifos, and the Line of Haiken held almost exclusive control over all levels of power in Naudia'Diva until it became extinct (for an argument that the bloodline continues, see Arision's "History Line of Haikin", t. 18-20.) These bloodlines are considered "treasures" of the lands that contain them, and subdivisions can be inordinately proud to have people of Imperial descent living therein. Meigi Arision records that during his time, Brookshire offered tax-exempt status to heirs of Raynor in hopes of gathering as many as possible into its territory and shoring up its claim as the cradle of Shirerithian aristocracy (my own researches suggest that this policy ended shortly after Arision's death, during the New Feudalism period). Because Kaisers are usually extremely generous to their home territories, hosting an Imperial Bloodline can bring stupendous rewards.

Michael Blackmore of Brookshire, writing two centuries ago, produced a census showing that there were 10,833 people who had reasonably solid claims to Imperial blood. These were mostly concentrated in Brookshire, but existed in smaller numbers across the Empire (Blackmore's census, which I highly recommend, even lists two minor members of the Line of Ly'Technomaezj who lived in Mar Sara; both are high-ranking provincial bureaucrats).

Despite enough heirs of Raynor to populate a small town, traditionally only the head of a bloodline - defined either as the person with the most direct line from the bloodline's patriarch or as the highest ranking noble in the bloodline - is considered in line for the throne. Most lesser members of a bloodline will stand aside and support the head's claim (though for a counterexample, see Trondle's account of the internecine conflicts in the Houses of Raynor and Steffki during the brief interregnum that eventually led to the ascension of Alejian II)

Due to Hyperborea's remoteness and isolationism, many foreigners are surprised to learn that the island has a bloodline of its own - but not so its inhabitants, all of whom are supremely proud of the so-called "Hyperborean bloodline", the Line of Kalir.

The origins of the Line of Kalir date back over two thousand years in the past, when Hyperborea was still an independent country. A series of disasters, including the eruption of Mount Yaanek, led to political and economic dependence on Benacia, while the unification efforts between Shireroth and Machiavellia led the Kaiser in Shirekeep to dream of a united Benacian empire that stretched from Gallica to Vanaheim. The Hyperboreans bowed to pressure from Shirekeep and entered into a weak political union with Shireroth. Further disasters, including the cataclysmic Mt. Yaanek eruption of S'3234, weakened the government still further, and adventurers and mercenaries from various lands began trying to "colonize" Hyperborea. The native government, worried that it would be unable to deal with these incursions, eventually petitioned the Kaiser for annexation, which was granted.

The Shirerithian delegation to Thulel was led by Prince Paul Raynor (Prince here should not be interpreted as the son of a Kaiser, but rather as a title given to very high-ranking nobles with substantial Imperial blood; this Prince was Duke of Brookshire and also the head of the House of Raynor at the time; the Kaiser, Ari 0, was only distantly related). Raynor stayed in Hyperborea for eight months, negotiating with the Council, expelling foreign mercenaries, and setting up the apparatus of Shirerithian government. While there, against the wishes of his family he married a Hyperborean girl. The Book of the Dolphin King gives her name as Sora (Kadhamic Soran), but the Book of the Benacian Conquest gives it as Sairia (Kadhamic Sirin). To confuse matters further, Meigi Arision lists it as Aira (Kadhamic Yarin) and cites no source for the discrepancy. I will be primarily drawing from the BDK and using Sora.

Although women were essentially equal to men during this period, and many women had high positions in politics and even in the military struggle against foreign mercenaries, Sora was not one of them. In fact, we have almost no record of any activities of Sora whatsoever. Arision said that she was so quiet that many people who knew her only distantly gained the impression that she was mute, although this was absolutely untrue. She was short and, by all accounts, neither unusually ugly nor unusually pretty. At the age of nineteen, when she met Prince Paul, she was a minor bureaucrat in the Elithian religious hierarchy in Kalen, but did not have any strong religious convictions. The few accounts of her that survive suggest she had few close friends and few interests. Our only clue to her character was a passage from the BtBC claiming that she kept a small picture of Kaya Kalirion near her bed. Arision claims, with characteristic flair, that she was distantly descended from Kaya; if she believed that, it may have greatly affected the future Line of Kalir; however, there is no proof of this.

Sora is one of the major mysteries of the history of the Imperial Bloodlines. Not only is it unclear why Prince Paul should have fallen in love with someone so completely unremarkable, it is unclear how he would have met her in the first place. His diplomatic duties should have restricted him to Thulel, a good three inrhonal from Kalen; their social circles should not have intersected in any case. Nevertheless, the BDK not only gives an account of their relationship, but insists that it was Paul who tried to woo a reluctant Sora, rather than the other way around. Sora herself seemed someone offput by the Shirerithian prince, and letters by her father (almost the only source we have of her feelings, as she never kept a diary or wrote anything by herself) suggest that she simply wanted to be left alone (these letters have since been lost, but a short summary of their contents by Eithi Ainainion survives in the library in Tala). The Prince stayed at least two months longer than planned in Hyperborea, possibly in order to woo her. We have no record of how he did so, but annals of the Brookshirerithian court reveal that when he arrived home in S'3258, it was with Sora as his wife. Records suggest that other members of House Raynor, who expected a marriage of convenience to an important noble, were angered by the choice, but that the Prince eventually managed to calm them down).

Sora (who apparently took, or was given, the Brookshirerithian name Sara) lived in Brookshire as Duchess for two years. During that time, she was as quiet and devoid of impact as during her time in Hyperborea. She scandalized the court by never appearing at state dinners, refused any servants except for two young children, and many confidantes of the Duke report never having seen her. The only reason she remains of interest to Brookshirithian historians at all is her disappearance in 3260. One day, the Duke woke up and the Duchess simply was not there. Court officials immediately suspected foul play, but no ransom notes or demands sprang up, the Duke had no real enemies, and the Duchess was so apolitical that no faction could conceivably benefit from her removal. Taisi Olurion, collaborating with Brookshirerithian historian (and Raynor descendant) Aeric Raynor at John Metzler III University produced an interesting article on theories surrounding the disappearance; see Raynor, A & Olurion, T: "Sara Raynor and the Mysterious Origin of the Kalir Bloodline". I myself have confirmed that the Brookshirerithian Ducal Court is the only place south of Hyperborea where a nipil-rosebush grows, and I have no better explanation for the fact than Olurion does.

The Duke, though fanatically devoted to his wife during their marriage, seemed only mildly upset by her disappearance (Olurion analyzes and rejects the suggestion that this was because he was responsible for it: ibid, p. 29-31). He remarried within three months, to the daughter of the Baron of Lunaris - a textbook standard match for the nobility of the era. The new Duchess got the responsibility of raising Paul and Sora's son, Kian, who was four months old at the time of his mother's disappearance. She did so only partially and distantly, leaving most of his upbringing to various governesses hired for the task. We know from Brookshire court records that he was raised as a proper Brookshirithian heir in every way. Although his guardians made no secret of his part-Hyperborean ancestry, they did not make any attempt to instruct him in Hyperborean culture, and he, for his part, did not make any attempt to learn it.

Which makes it all the more surprising that the next we hear of him, he had moved to Thulel and taken the Hyperborean name Kalir Sethan (Common: Kal'ri Sethanion). Although some historians (especially Arision) try to link his decision to a conflict with his father or stepmother over the succession, there is no historical evidence for this, and a few letters suggest he and the Duke of Brookshire remained on good terms until the latter's death.

The name Kalir Sethan is another mystery. The name "Kalir", meaning "polar bear", was quite presumptious; polar bears were respected as, if not quite gods, at least superior spirits, and for that reason they were rarely cited in names. Further, we know from his own letters that Kian (who somehow attained a grasp of Kadhamic equalling scholars who had studied it since kindergarten) interpeted it with the grammatically correct by somewhat unusual meaning "noble mirror"; probably a reference to myth in which the Prince of Storms gives a magic mirror to the city of Kalen in exchange for the Kalenese maiden he seized as a wife. The relationship to his parents' family history is suggestive but ultimately incomprehensible.

Contemporary accounts of Kalir focus on his intense energy. His wife's letters describe him as "sleeping at most three hours a night, even in Deep Winter, and unable to sit still for more than a few minutes." If the chronologies from the Amethyst Annals are to be believed, he wrote his three most famous books - "Hyperborean Government Within the Shirerithian State", "The Kadhamic Mandate" and "Out of Winter from the East" within a single year. His work on governance, which breathed new life into the ancient Council system by reinterpreting the rules laid down by Kadham, gained him an invitation to the Council of Nine. He became Elder the following year, the fifth-youngest Elder ever. The Amethyst Annals give an exhaustive account of his thirty-three year tenure in that position, during which he fully synchronized the Shirerithian and Hyperborean governments and rebuilt the economy practically from scratch.

When Kaiser Lacrymosa I died after only two weeks on the throne, feuding between the Line of Haikin and the Line of Mors threatened to reduce the country to civil war. Kalir offered himself as a compromise candidate and managed to sneak in between the two feuding factions to gain commanding support - including that of the Line of Raynor, who considered him one of their own (another reason why I reject the thesis that there was bad lingering blood between Kalir and his family). The succession was eventually put before the Tymarian High Court of Client State Matters, and the Tymarian Arbiter - probably looking for the least controversial choice possible - selected Kalir.

As Kaiser Los I, Kalir almost ignored Shireroth's internal state (which was running smoothly enough) and focused on building it to a pre-eminent position within the Tymarian Union - something he accomplished.

His decision, possibly on his deathbed, to declare himself the start of a new bloodline rather than a member of the Line of Raynor, raised eyebrows. "Line of Kalir" apparently came from his own name, but its Hyperborean translation, "Kalirion", clearly suggested the ancient Kalirion family of Kalen. In modern times, these two "Kalirions" have become so conflated that popular belief holds a direct line of descent from one into the other, which is clearly nonsense despite the many justifications for it supporters have tried to find.

After Los I's death, the Kalirion family remained in Hyperborea, but with a few exceptions was not especially active in government. Most became priests, farmers, or diplomats, with a few joining the Imperial Civil Service and rising to the rank of minor nobility. The only Kalirion Elder before Los II was Mikol Rugal, whose reign was not considered especially glorious.

When the Hyperboreans successfully annexed Elwynn during the Kaisership of Raynor X, advisors to the Council suggested a Kalirion be named Duke of the Elwynnese lands, as the noble blood would provide legitimacy to Hyperborean domination of the South. This started the Hyperborean tradition of having separate Dukes and Elders, which has continued to the present day.

During this period of maximum Hyperborean involvement in Shirerithian affairs, no fewer than three Kalirions ascended to the throne - Los II and Los III from the main faily, and Yarad I from the Niderion branch. Los II (ni Nixuth Mekir) was notable for being the first Duke of Elwynn to also be Elder of Hyperborea, and considered one of the most successful occupants of either position.

Ironically, it was the policies of the Hyperborean Kaiser Yarad I that ended this golden age. In an effort to re-energize deadened and corrupt feudal structures, Yarad instituted the "New Feudalism" system. But Hyperboreans lacked the instinct for devious power politics that the new system required, and watched as other principalities gobbled up their Elwynnese territories. Soon, the principalities of New Feudalism became strong enough to resist the Kaiser, and the monarch in Shirekeep became nothing more than a figurehead. The Hyperboreans decided to cut their losses and retreat into isolationism.

Official Hyperborean records mention 551 members of the Line of Kalirion. Some 120, including the family leadership, live in Tala, about 350 live in Kalen, 70 are scattered across Hyperborea, and approximately ten remain in previously Hyperborean territories such as Cimmeria and Elwynn or in the wider world. No Kalir has attempted to claim the throne since Yarad.

That brings us, in a roundabout and long-winded way, to the current issue - the possibility of a Kalirion line in Babkha. At first, I was absolutely unwilling to even consider the possibility, but I have since determined a way that such a thing MIGHT come to be.

For a period of about fifty years, the Hyperboreans struggled against New Feudalism principalities in Elwynn. From the Hyperborean perspective, this was a rising tide of barbarism in once peaceful territories, and most Hyperboreans evacuated lands that seemed in danger of revolting from Thulel's control. However, the principality of Lesser Zjandaria, composed partly of ethnic Babkhans, was more civilized than those consisting fully of native Elw, and even engaged in diplomacy with Thulel for a while. The Council thought Lesser Zjandaria might make a useful ally in keeping some of the more barbaric Elw groups in line, and the two signed several treaties. In fact, for about twenty years, Hyperborea recognized Lesser Zjandaria's autonomy in exchange for Ardashirshahr remaining a client state of the Hyperboreans and aiding Thulel's containment policy of the Elw and the neo-Viking groups arising in Wintergleam.

Eventually, a influx of new immigrants from Babkha with more radical beliefs broke the delicate balance and led to full independence for Lesser Zjandaria. This coincided with a major shift in Zjandarian politics, and many of the former rulers become personae non gratae and returned to Babkha.

I suspect that during the period of Hyperborean-Zjandarian cooperation, there was intermarriage between a Kalirion and a Lesser Zjandarian of noble rank. When the new anti-Hyperborean faction led by the Khan of Vijayanagara seized power, this couple, or their descendants, returned to Babkha.

Who might this Kalirion have been? Talotal records list an Avri Kalirion as a major landowner in Lesser Zjandaria during the period of Hyperborean cooperation. Who was he? Due to ethnic tension in modern Lesser Zjandaria and the difficulty of island-mainland transit, I have no access to the records that might answer this question. Perhaps he controlled certain territory during the Hyperborean rule of Elwynn that was later seamlessly annexed into Lesser Zjandaria, and was allowed to remain as a vassal of the Khan of the period. If he - or one of his descendants - married a leading Babkhan, it is quite possible that their descendants could have returned to Babkha during the violence preceding the Khan of Vijayanagara's rise to power.

Whether Hesam Jahandar, former Grand Vizier of Babkha and current Count of Hyperborea might be related to this Avri Kalirion is currently beyond my ability to determine. I might eventually be able to track down the appropriate records in Ardashirshahr and Kamalshahr and return with a positive answer within a few weeks. This would require a very large government grant, of course. But when studying genealogy, one cannot afford to be stingy.

TAKSI KAMHEINION
CHIEF GENEALOGIST, TALA

[Erik Mortis]

So Hasan I is of Kalir not Doran. Oops.

[Jonas]

The wiki lied to me!

[h4773r's Herald]

*reads wide eyed, mouth agape. Lets it sink in for a bit*

ooh!, me next, ME NEXT!

*realizes his own history claims to be a naturalized citizen from "foreign" lands*

or . . not. heh