Having untangled some of the Wahtoi’s tangled history, let’s take a look at a second Aslan clan with a long and storied place in Traveller canon: the Loakhtarl (sometimes spelled Loaktarl in Galangic).
The Loakhtarl
The Loakhtarl are first described in the adventure “Syareahtaorl” from Alien Module 1, Aslan (1984) as an Aslan clan that
traces its lineage and name back to the original expansion by the Aslan off Kusyu in [-1999]. During the Aslan Border Wars … the clan [dominated] nearly eight subsectors with the promise of gaining more. Unfortunately, the tides of war turned against the Loakhtarl, and by the time the Peace of Ftahalr was signed in [380], the clan landholds were reduced to less than four subsectors, all situated along the Hierate border in Ealiyasiyw sector.
The adventure, set in Imperial Year 1111, provides numerous useful details about the clan structure, the clan leader and his family, their enemy clan Raohkeil, and the clan homeworld of Ilekhahke in Ealiyasiyw sector.
The Loakhtarl are briefly mentioned in the MegaTraveller Referee’s Companion (1988) as the Aslan clan “ranked number 730,” while the hated Raohkeil were “ranked number 450” (71). The two clans are also briefly described in GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 2 (1999).
Although The Travellers’ Digest number 18 (January 1990) covers Ealiyasiyw sector in the Rebellion timeline (circa 1120), the accompanying library data does not reference the Loakhtarl. And as Leroy W. L. Guatney pointed out, the TD 18 sector data, developed by James Holden, does not include a world named Ilekhahke. By closely reviewing the text of “Syareahtaorl” against the Atlas of the Imperium (1984), Guatney concluded that the best location for Ilekhahke was probably Ealiyasiyw hex 2828. Unfortunately, TD 18 named the world at that location Oulktauw. (Guatney’s notes, dated 27 March 1994, can be found in an old History of the Imperium Working Group file for Ealiyasiyw sector.)
This omission was most likely a simple oversight. But the late Hans Rancke-Madsen was able to cleverly reconcile this conflicting information by speculating that the Loakhtarl lost their war with the Raohkeil at some point following the 1111 events of “Syareahtaorl” but prior to 1120. Hans proposed that the Loakhtarl were beaten so badly that they were driven from their homeworld, which was then renamed “Oulktauw.”
This explanation has largely stuck, though note that while the 1105 data currently on the Traveller Map correctly names Ealiyasiyw 2828 as Ilekhahke, the allegiance code is AsTv (Tlaukhu vassal clan dominates). This is consistent with Holden’s 1120 government code of N, but is inconsistent with what we know of the Loakhtarl as of 1105. As there’s no mention in any sources of the Loakhtarl being a vassal clan, I propose changing the allegiance to AsMw (single multi-world clan dominates). This requires also changing the Tlaukhu base to a clan base.
A few other tweaks to the world seem desirable: the Loaktarl had almost 1,500 years of uninhibited development in Ealiyasiyw: they literally had their pick of homeworlds. Why not, for example, choose nearby Khaeaai (Ealiyasiyw 2826 C68767A-3), a garden world orbiting a K7 V primary?
I therefore propose to change Ilekhahke’s primary star from an improbably bright G4 II to a more habitable G4 V star. Changing the UWP from B567552-A to B967883-A puts the mainworld’s gravity a little closer to Kusyu-norm and offers more territory to develop. Pop 8 is more befitting the homeworld of an important clan; Government type 8 (civil service bureaucracy) is the most common government for Multiworld clan worlds and has a minimum Law Level of 3. Taken together, here is the revised Ilekhahke:
| Hex | Name | UWP | Remarks | {Ix} | (Ex) | [Cx] | N | B | Z | PBG | W | A | Stellar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2828 | Ilekhahke | B967883-A | Pa Ph Ri | {3} | (B7A+2) | [4B16] | – | R | – | 904 | 6 | AsMw | G4 V |
Hans expanded on his ideas in the article “The Loaktarl and the Hkastahistoti,” which appeared in the Journal of the Travellers’ Aid Society Online, then published by Steve Jackson Games. As Hans explains,
The Loaktarl clan is a venerable old clan fallen on hard times… Around the time of the Great Conclave, the Loaktarl clan was ranked 31st and was a serious contender for membership in the Tlaukhu. It dominated almost half of Ealiyasiyw Sector and was active in parts of Reavers’ Deep, trying to prevent other clans from settling worlds the clan lords had their eyes on.
Hans held that the Loakhtarl were on the verge of consolidating their territories in Reavers’ Deep when they were attacked by a coalition of smaller clans during the Cultural Purge. The coalition subsequently drove the Loakhtarl out of the Deep and ended the clan’s hopes for a seat on the Tlaukhu. See Traveller Chronicles 6 (1994) for more information on the interesting history of the Loakhtarl in Reavers’ Deep.
Pulling all of this together, let’s look at the Loakhtarl at seven different points in history.
The Loakhtarl Chronicles
Loakhtarl circa -2000
Loakhtarl. Independent Clan. Status 8, Age A, Holdings 4, Population 7, Aggression 6, Tradition 4, TL 8.
The first known reference to Clan Loakhtarl appears in written records from Kusyu in -2001, following the Third Aslan World War and shortly before the discovery of the stardrive. The Loakhtarl were described as a minor clan with ambitions far in excess of their holdings.
Loakhtarl circa -1300
Loakhtarl. Independent Clan. Status 9 (1,970th), Age A, Holdings 8, Population 8, Aggression 7, Tradition 6, TL A. Capital Ilekhahke (Ealiyasiyw 2828 A967686-A).
By -1600 the Loaktarl clan had claimed a few modest, scattered holdings throughout the Kusyu Cluster. But competition from neighboring Humans and Aslan proved so fierce that the clan elected to migrate deep into Ealiyasiyw sector, far beyond any other established Aslan settlements. There the clan discovered the pleasant, habitable world of Ilekhakhe (Ealiyasiyw 2828) and established a capital there.
Loakhtarl circa -100
Loakhtarl. Independent Clan. Status F (31st), Age A, Holdings A, Population A, Aggression 8, Tradition 4, TL B. Corporation Eakoi. Capital Ilekhahke (Ealiyasiyw 2828 A967986-B).
The Loakhtarl isolation from the rest of the Hierate afforded the clan several centuries of relatively uncontested expansion into neighboring star systems before other Aslan clans arrived. By now the Loakhtarl had become a serious contender for membership in the Tlaukhu: they had parlayed their lead in Ealiyasiyw into control of nearly eight subsectors there, and were active in Eakoi and Ea subsectors of Reavers’ Deep. The Loakhtarl formed the Eakoi Corporation in -835 ostensibly to trade with the score or so inhabited worlds in Eakoi and Ea, but in reality the company was used to actively discourage other clans from settling worlds coveted by the Loakhtarl clan lords.
Loakhtarl circa 400
Loakhtarl. Independent Clan. Status E (569th), Age A, Holdings 9, Population 9, Aggression 4, Tradition 6, TL B. Capital Ilekhahke (Ealiyasiyw 2828 A967784-A).
Unfortunately, the Loakhtarl policy of blocking other clans from Reavers’ Deep resulted in them being accused of un-Aslan conduct. Then, during the Cultural Purge, the clan was attacked by a coalition of minor, land-poor clans and forced to retrench. Simultaneously a minor human polity centered on Solomon (Reaver's Deep 1538) started waging a trade war against the Eakoi Corporation. After a protracted war with little real action but a ruinously expensive arms race, the Eakoi Corporation collapsed, and associated Aslan abandoned the area in 128, bringing their fighting assets back to the Loakhtarl heartland to help stave off attacks from the coalition of minor clans. By the time of the Peace of Ftahalr, the Loakhtarl's landholds were reduced to less than four subsectors, all situated along the Hierate border in Ealiyasiyw.
Loakhtarl circa 1105
Loakhtarl. Independent Clan. Status F (271st), Age A, Holdings 9, Population A, Aggression 6, Tradition 7, TL D. Enemy Raohkeil. Capital Ilekhahke (Ealiyasiyw 2828 B967883-A).
The Loaktarl managed to halt the decline and hold on to their remaining territories. However, as of 1105 tensions with the neighboring Raohkeil have been simmering for many years and the clans stand on the brink of war over certain worlds in Ealiyasiyw sector.
Loakhtarlako (b. 1048) became clan leader in 1071. His brother Aikhaheh (“Starts by Throwing,” b. 1051) is his trusted adviser and serves as a vassal handling some minor clan lands. The Loakhtarlako has three sons: Heatloi (“Longblade,” b. 1066), Akoaft (“Far-Throwing,” b. 1067), and Estalyah (“Thirty Claws,” b. 1068). As first born, Hearloi is preparing for his eventual investiture as clan leader. Akoaft left Ilekhahke as part of an ihatei fleet in 1081, bound for territories beyond the Great Rift. Estalyah, who originally intended to accompany Akoaft, instead joined the Soarlyaki, the Loakhtarl bodyguard unit dedicated to protecting clan and pride heads from enemies, and has risen to become the Soarlyaki head.
Loakhtarl circa 1120
Loakhtarl. Independent Clan. Status D (730th), Age A, Holdings 6, Population 9, Aggression 4, Tradition 4, TL C. Vassal Hkastahistoti. Enemy Raohkeil.
In 1106 disputes between the Loakhtarl and the neighboring Raohkeil clan erupted into clan war. The Loaktarl-Raohkeil War began using low-casualty rules, but gradually escalated into full-scale warfare. In 1111 the htatei and heir, Heatloi, was murdered by assassins, shortly after Loakhtarlko announced his intention to abdicate in 1115. In 1116 the clan was thrown into a vicious dispute between Estalyah and newly-returned Akoaft over succession as clan leader. The internal struggle cost the clan heavily in both power and prestige.
In 1119, the Loakhtarl were attacked by a Raohkeil coalition that overran the Loakhtarl homeworld, which was occupied and renamed Oulktauw. Other Loakhtarl worlds were divided up between members of the victorious coalition. The Loakhtarl now control no worlds outright and all of their remaining holdings are menaced by greedy neighbors.
Copyright Information
The striking illustration of a Taorl-class Exploratory Merchant is by Jesse DeGraff and appeared in version 5.1 of the Traveller5 Core Rules (2015). Unfortunately, this illustration was not included in the final Traveller5 books.
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