It’s taken a bit of doing, but we’ve finally come up with a standard Aslan clan profile that, like a world or personality profile, uses a series of attributes to define a clan: Status, Age, Holdings, Population, Aggression, Tradition, and TL.
In order to put the profile through its paces, let’s look at a single clan at several different points in history.
The Wahtoi
One of the most frequently cited clans in Traveller canon is also one of least well known. Plus, it sports one of the more convoluted histories of any clan.
The first mention of the Wahtoi is in a “Random Notes” article in Journal of the Travellers’ Aid Society 18 (1983), which tells us that a lesser Aslan noble “might be named HlyueawifiyAhroay’ifiyWahtoiLayeauiwahfeaktelihlalikhtyeiteyahahtateisiyu, roughly meaning, ‘unmarried first son of the third son of the grandfather of the head of the pride which holds the valley in the fork of the Iwahfeal River, part of clan Wahtoi, which is a vassal of clan Aroaye’i, itself a vassal of clan Hlyueawi’” (7).
The same information is repeated nearly verbatim in CT Aslan (1984), GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 2 (1999), MgT Aslan (2009), Pirates of Drinax (2017), and Aliens of Charted Space 1 (2020).
We also learn in CT Aslan that Hlyueawi is a member of the Tlaukhu, joining in 652 Imperial (35). This strongly implies that Aroaye’i and Wahtoi are Tlaukhu vassals.
Further, the “Syareahtaorl” adventure in CT Aslan describes an Aslan world named Wahtoikoeakh in Riftspan Reaches, located at one end of the Jump-5 route. The name means “Wahtoi ko’s world,” suggesting this is the clan’s homeworld.
CT Merchant Prince (1985) notes that “Soon after the jump-5 route across [Riftspan Reaches] was discovered in -1044, the Wahtoi clan staked its claim to many of the worlds of the sector. Naturally enough, a trading company tied to the Wahtoi clan soon developed a monopoly on trade across the Great Rift. In about -750, however, the Aroaye’i established itself on Aulryakh as the dominant clan; after a clan war lasting several years, they forced Wahtoi clan to accept the Aroaye’i in partnership on the trade routes across the Great Rift. Over the years, the participation of Aroaye’i clan females has increased to the point today that the two clans are equal partners in ownership of Khu Su’ikh” (8). The home port for Khu Su’ikh is Wahtoikoeakh in Riftspan Reaches, which further supports Wahtoikoeakh as the Wahtoi homeworld.
Additional background on the Wahtoi is found in a writeup of Riftspan Reaches from The Travellers’ Digest 19 (May 1990). TD 19 also details the Fteweyeakh clan, a disgraced Wahtoi offshoot that eventually overcame its outcast status to become a Tlaukhu member and partner in the Eakhtiyho political bloc. In TD 19 the Fteweyeakh have subsumed the Wahtoi, control Wahtoikoeakh, and are joint owners of Khu Su’ikh along with Aroaye’i.
It’s crucial to remember that the Riftspan sector and library data from TD 19 are set in Imperial Year 1116 or possibly 1120, and that this dating reflects massive changes to the composition of the Tlaukhu in the Rebellion timeline: the removal of the Hlyueawi from the Tlaukhu and their replacement by the Hlaotiyoiho, and the absorption of Wahtoi by the Eakhtiyho bloc.
So when did the Fteweyeakh absorb the Wahtoi? It clearly happens after the 1105 baseline of the Traveller Map, after the CT Alien module, set in 1111, and after CT Merchant Prince, which describes the Wahtoi are partners in Khu Su’ikh—but before TD 19. So this change could have happened as early as 1112 or as late as 1120. If the Fteweyeakh conquest happened earlier, this event might have been a contributing cause for the fall of Hlyueawi from the Tlaukhu. If the Fteweyeakh conquest happened later, it was probably an effect of the fall of Hlyueawi.
Personally I prefer the events to occur later in the Rebellion timeline, as an effect of the fall of Hlyueawi. (For what it's worth, the Wahtoi are still described as Khu Su’ikh partners in MT Solomani and Aslan.) In 1120, following the fall of the Hlyueawi, the opportunistic Fteweyeakh then absorbed most of the Wahtoi’s assets and forced the remnants of the clan into vassalage. At this point the allegiance of Wahtoi worlds should switch from Tlaukhu vassal (AsTv) to Tlaukhu control, Eakhtiyho block (AsT4).
Note that the Traveller Map data for Riftspan Reaches in the 1105 (Golden Age) milieu is based on the 1120 sector data from TD 19. But if I’m correct that the absorption of the Wahtoi doesn’t occur until 1120, the allegiance code for Wahtoikoeakh is probably in error. Instead of the AsT4 (Eakhtiyho bloc) allegiance, Wahtoikoeakh should have the allegiance AsTv (Tlaukhu vassal control) to reflect Wahtoi control as of 1105.
The Mongoose Traveller books covering Aslan space have good writeups for the Wahtoi that are generally consistent with other sources, except for one point: the Wahtoi are sometimes described as vassals of the Tlaiowaha. This doesn’t make a lot of sense and is contradicted in the very same MgT books, so I’m inclined to simply ignore this statement.
Finally, note that MgT features both the Aroaye’i and the Ahroay’if, two totally different trans-Rift Tlaukhu vassal clans with very similar names. The latter clan is dominant in Tlaiowaha subsector of Trojan Rift. I have been tripped up by this several times.
So here is a look at the Wahtoi at nine different points in their long and tumultuous history, including the future Rebellion timeline and the even more distant future of the 1248 timeline:
The Wahtoi Chronicles
The Wahtoi are an Aslan clan considered to be excellent traders and diplomats. The clan is unusual among the Aslan in not engaging in ancestor veneration. [ 0 ] Over their long and tumultuous history they have risen to the highest levels of the Hierate only to suffer a long decline, but the clan persists and its leaders believe that future glories await.
Wahtoi circa -1000
Wahtoi. Independent Clan. Status 6, Age 8, Holdings 7, Population 8, Aggression 8, Tradition 3, TL A. Capital Tarealao (Riftspan Reaches 1838 B564844-A) [ 1 ].
The Wahtoi were one of the first clans to exploit the route across the Great Rift following its discovery in -1044. Wahtoi ihatei explored the worlds in and around the Rift, and the Wahtoi soon came to dominate liyoihuakh sector (Riftspan Reaches).
Wahtoi circa -900
WAHTOI. Tlaukhu Clan. Status F (29th), Age 8, Holdings 9, Population 9, Aggression 7, Tradition 4, TL A. Rival Aroaye’i. Vassal Faoheirlyu. Enemy Fteweyeakh. Corporation Khu Su’ikh. Capital Wahtoikoeakh (Riftspan Reaches 2936 A773987-A).
The Wahtoi established the trading company Khu Su’ikh (“Five Shields”) to trade throughout the sector. As a result, the clan was given a seat on the Tlaukhu. But this meteoric rise to power attracted rivals and new troubles. In -951 a splinter clan from the Wahtoi, the Fteweyeakh, attempted to assassinate the Wahtoiko and seize power. When the attempt failed the assassins were exiled to Hlakhoi as outcasts. [ 2 ]
Wahtoi circa -700
Wahtoi. Tlaukhu Vassal (Aroaye’i bloc). Status 9, Age 8, Holdings 7, Population 9, Aggression 3, Tradition 5, TL A. Patron Aroaye’i. Vassal Faoheirlyu. Enemy Fteweyeakh. Corporation Khu Su’ikh. Capital Wahtoikoeakh (Riftspan Reaches 2936 A773987-A).
The history of the Wahtoi is entwined with the Aroaye’i, who entered the trans-Rift territories as an upstart clan. In -802, the Wahtoi and Aroaye’i clans and their vassals established the Ya’soisthea to cope with the communications delay back to Kusyu. [ 3 ]
In -750 the Aroaye’i challenged the Wahtoi for control of Great Rift jump-5 route; after several years of war the Wahtoi were forced to submit, becoming a vassal to Aroaye’i, which assumed the Wahtoi’s place on the Tlaukhu [ 4 ]. The Wahtoi were also forced to provide the Aroa’yei with an ownership stake in the Khu Su’ikh trading company.
But the Wahtoi troubles were not at an end. An exile group of Fteweyeakh out of Hlakhoi overthrew the Wahtoi leadership in a successful coup d’etat, bringing stability and a new direction to the humbled clan.
Wahtoi circa -400
Wahtoi. Tlaukhu Vassal (Aroaye’i bloc). Status 7, Age 8, Holdings 7, Population A, Aggression 6, Tradition 6, TL A. Patron Aroaye’i. Vassal Faoheirlyu. Rival Fteweyeakh. Enemies Khaotyarl, Roihtyo. Corporation Khu Su’ikh. Capital Wahtoikoeakh (Riftspan Reaches 2936 A773A87-A).
As a rising Tlaukhu member, the Aroaye’i and its vassals flourished during the Aslan Age of Discovery, with new holdings ranging across the Hierate from Magyar to Etakhasoa.
By -410 the Aroaye’i were engaged in a serious clan war with a rival clan, the Khaotyarl. While the Wahtoi were occupied helping the Aroaye’i with their war, a small, independent clan named the Roihtyo seized the opportunity to encroach upon the Dark Nebula holdings of a Wahtoi vassal clan, the Faoheirlyu. Human exiles from Terra provided crucial assistance to the Faoheirlyu in their hour of need, allowing them to hold off the Roihtyo, and thus accruing a massive debt of honor from the Wahtoi. Rather than settle the Humans in their own space, the Wahtoi called in enough favors to have them granted passage through the Hierate, across the route to the other side of the Great Rift. [ 5 ]
Wahtoi circa 100
Wahtoi. Tlaukhu Vassal (Yerlyaruiwo bloc). Status 9, Age 8, Holdings 7, Population A, Aggression 3, Tradition 7, TL B. Patron Uawairlew/Aroaye’i. Ally Tokouea’we. Enemy Fteweyeakh. Corporation Khu Su’ikh. Capital Wahtoikoeakh (Riftspan Reaches 2936 A773A87-B).
Around -200 the Faoheirlyu rebelled against the Wahtoi and were destroyed.
During the Cultural Purge the Aroaye’i lost a clan war to the Uawairlew, a major clan of the Yerlyaruiwo bloc, and the Aroaye’i, along with the Wahtoi, became Uawairlew vassals. By becoming vassals to another, the Aroaye’i lost their Tlaukhu seat along with most of their holdings rimward of the Great Rift. [ 6 ]
During the Purge the Wahtoi became allied with the Tokouea’we clan, which sought to migrate en masse across the Great Rift. The Tokouea’we provided military assistance to the Wahtoi, and the Wahtoi provided the Tokouea’we with technology and transportation.
Wahtoi circa 700
Wahtoi. Tlaukhu Vassal (Hlyueawi bloc). Status B, Age 8, Holdings 7, Population A, Aggression 4, Tradition 6, TL B. Patron Hlyueawi/Aroaye’i. Enemy Fteweyeakh. Corporation Khu Su’ikh. Capital Wahtoikoeakh (Riftspan Reaches 2936 A773A87-B).
The alliance between the Wahtoi and the Tokouea’we proved short-lived, as the latter clan spurned an offer of vassalage, quickly amassing enough power to assert its independence in the trans-Rift region.
In 652, during the great Yerlyaruiwo-Tralyeaeawi War, the Hlyueawi clan arranged for the fall of the Uawairlew, taking over most Uawairlew assets and replacing that clan on the Tlaukhu. The Hlyueawi also claimed the Aroaye’i and Wahtoi as vassals.
Wahtoi circa 1105
Wahtoi. Tlaukhu vassal (Hlyueawi bloc). Status D (796th), Age 8, Holdings 7, Population A, Aggression 5, Tradition 5, TL E. Patron Hlyueawi/Aroaye’i. Enemy Fteweyeakh. Corporation Khu Su’ikh. Capital Wahtoikoeakh (Riftspan Reaches 2936 A773A87-E).
Today the Wahtoi are considered excellent traders and diplomats. Their military forces, however, are notoriously laughable and they rely heavily on mercenaries for defense.
In 1105 the Aroaye’i are an equal partner in the Khu Su’ikh trading company.
Wahtoi circa 1120
Wahtoi. Tlaukhu Vassal (Eakhtiyho bloc). Status 5, Age 8, Holdings 6, Population 9, Aggression 2, Tradition 7, TL B. Patron Fteweyeakh. Capital Aoikhekh (Riftspan Reaches 1103 B563597-B).
With the collapse of the Imperium, the Hlyueawi, the patron clan of Wahtoi’s patron, opposed the expansionist Aokhalte clan and other clans of similar mindset. Their stance cost them critical political support and the Hlyueawi were cast from their Tlaukhu seat by the Hlaotiyoiho.
The Wahtoi’s ancient enemy, the Fteweyeakh, used this turmoil to settle scores with the Wahtoi. The Fteweyeakh had themselves joined the Tlaukhu centuries earlier as part of the Eakhtiyho bloc. The Fteweyeakh drove the Wahtoi out of Wahtoikoeakh, absorbed most of the clan, subjugated the remainder as a vassal clan, and seized the Wahtoi’s shares in the Khu Su’ikh company.
Wahtoi circa 1248
Wahtoi. Independent Clan. Status F (4th), Age 8, Holdings A, Population A, Aggression 6, Tradition 6, TL E. Capital Aulryakh (Riftspan Reaches 0507 ?562???-?).
The defeats and humiliations the Wahtoi endured during the Rebellion period pushed their principal holdings to the less desirable far side of the Great Rift. After the Collapse, this setback proved a blessing, as the major holdings of their masters were wiped out. The Wahtoi gathered enough strength to break free of the Eakhtiyho before the calamitous Imperial Regency-Aslan War, and thus avoided severe retaliation from the Regency.
The Wahtoi are now the primary power in the Riftspan Reaches, and all trans-Rift traffic must pass through Aulryakh, which has allowed the clan to claim power and prestige that hasn’t been seen for nearly two thousand years. The Wahtoi are one of the twelve members of the great Aorekhohuiha (“New Family of Clans”) council. [ 6 ]
Footnotes
0 This detail, as well as the Wahtoi’s alliance with the Tokouea’we, are drawn from the MgT Glorious Empire (2021) supplement, written by Christopher Griffen.
1 A high Aggession matched with a low Tradition score is typical of a brash young clan just starting out. I’ve assumed that the Aslan as of -1000 were a mature TL10 society but possessed more advanced jump technology, giving them J-2 capabilities. The homeworld is pure speculation on my part.
2 The Tlaukhu seat and rivalry with Fteweyeakh are detailed in TD 19. Note the Aggression and Tradition scores moderate as the clan becomes more established.
3 The Ya’soisthea, a sort of regional “small Tlaukhu,” comes from MgT.
4 Having the Aroaye’i assume the Tlaukhu seat is speculation on my part, but the Wahtoi could not have held it once they became a vassal to another. In any case, I dropped the Aggression score significantly to reflect the clan’s humbled status.
5 The Humans helped by the Wahtoi will go on to found the Sword World colonies in the Spinward Marches. This entire sequence comes from the GURPS Traveller line. See, for example, the excellent GURPS Traveller: Sword Worlds (2004).
5 I invented this sequence to explain how the Wahtoi and Aroaye’i came to become vassals of Hlyueawi.
6 This information is drawn from the Traveller 1248 Sourcebook 3: The Spinward States (2008).
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The illustration at the top of this blog entry is from Solomani and Aslan: the Rimward Races (1991).
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The Wahtoi are also described in The Glorious Empire.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I've been meaning to pick that one up. Establishing a connection with the Tokouea’we makes a lot of sense. At first blush it looks like the Glorious Empire material works with this post. I might edit accordingly.
DeleteBought a copy and it looks really good. The history of the Tokouea’we section is outstanding. Did you write it?
DeleteIndeed I did. I hope you enjoy it. As a fellow Aslanophile, I've been avidly following and enjoying your blog posts. Great work!
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