Aslan Clan Age

The ancient Aslan city of Seaoul on the Tafohti continent of Kusyu (DARK 1226 A876976-E). Seaoul is one of the Five Cities of Aslan legend, said to founded during the Htahryolea, or “First Age.”

Although it doesn’t bear much game mechanical value, I think knowing the age of an Aslan clan can be an interesting bit of background color—like being able to describe an NPC’s height or clothes. The Aslan have a particular cultural appreciation for history, and I suspect older clans have considerably more prestige than younger ones. Just as people might take pride in being able to claim their ancestry back to the Mayflower, so Aslan may try to connect their clan to historical events such as great battles or the discoveries of new worlds. Aslan males are probably far more interested in pedigree than the more practical females.

We know that some clans in the Hierate are downright ancient. The Tlaukhu was founded in the Imperial year -2083. And as CT Aslan notes, “of the original 29, nineteen of the original clans remain in it today” (5). That means at least nineteen clans in the Hierate are over 3,188 years old during the Golden Era of Traveller, and there are probably many more clans of similar vintage. (This also suggests that clan structures are surprisingly robust despite the extreme competitiveness of Aslan culture.)

Let’s assume a clan Age attribute that ranges from 0 for the youngest clans all the way to A (10) for the oldest clans. And let’s further assume that the Aslan divide their history into a series of eras called hryolea, an interval of 384 ftahea, or approximately 336.9 standard years. (384 is 600 in a base 8 system.) An Aslan clan is identified by the era in which it was founded:

Aslan Historical Eras

Age	Era Name	Time Period	Notable Events
0	Tekhehaohryolea	950 Imperial (3456 Aslan) or later	Solomani Rim War.
1	Tehlaiaohryolea	Before 950 Imperial (3456 Aslan)	Yerlyaruiwo-Tralyeaeawi War.
2	Tealraohryolea	Before 613 Imperial (3072 Aslan)	Peace of Ftahalr.
3	Teaohryolea	Before 276 Imperial (2688 Aslan)	Great Conclave, contact with Imperium.
4	Koihaohryolea	Before -61 Imperial (2304 Aslan)	Age of Aslan expansion ends.
5	Hryaohryolea	Before -398 Imperial (1920 Aslan)	Syoisuis aggressions in Iwahfuah.
6	Khuaohryolea	Before -735 Imperial (1536 Aslan)	Crossing of the Great Rift.
7	Hryeaohryolea	Before -1072 Imperial (1152 Aslan)	Aslan encounter reavers.
8	Hihahryolea	Before -1409 Imperial (768 Aslan)	Yerlyaruiwo-Khaukheairl War.
9	Ihahryolea	Before -1746 Imperial (384 Aslan)	Discovery of jump drive, Terran first contact.
A	Htahryolea	Before -2083 Imperial (0 Aslan)	Aslan world wars, founding of Tlaukhu.

The Htahryolea, literally “First Age,” stretches from pre-history to the founding of the Tlaukhu and the start of the Aslan calendar. This era encompasses both the Leakhtefu, or “first stage of enlightenment” (roughly -3050 to -2260) as well as the first three Aslan world wars. Clans that claim to have been founded during the Htahryolea include Yerlyaruiwo, Khaukheairl, and Eakhtiyho. The current era, the Tekhehaohryolea (“Eleventh Age”), is expected to last until the Imperial Year 1287.

In order to determine a clan’s age, roll two dice and consult the following table:

Aslan Clan Age

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	A	8	6	4	2	0
2	8	6	4	2	0	1
3	6	4	2	0	1	3
4	4	2	0	1	3	5
5	2	0	1	3	5	7
6	0	1	3	5	7	9

The table assigns higher probabilities to younger clans than older clans, but that said the average age of clans generated this way is a little over 1,097 standard years. Although the larger and more powerful clans tend to also be the older clans, there are exceptions. An ancient clan with low population and few holdings might represent a once mighty clan brought low by time and fate. Conversely, a young clan with high population and many holdings might have fissioned off from another clan, or could be a recently emancipated vassal clan.

Copyright Information

The illustration at the start of this blog entry is by Michael Vilardi from Solomani and Aslan (1991).

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