One thing the new edition of King of Sartar (in layout now) and Coming Storm makes clear is the amount of dramatic potential between the Royal House of Sartar, the Feathered Horse Queens, and the Telmori werewolves. Like a great soap opera or a tragic Icelandic saga, these three groups are closely intertwined.
Prince Sartar, as all know, married Eneera Tor, the first Feathered Horse Queen to become the King of Dragon Pass. They had two children, Yorastina and Saronil. We all know how Saronil went on to become the second Prince of Sartar, but it is less commonly known that Yorastina became the second Feathered Horse Queen (called “Keeps the Children”). She founded the line of horse queens that still rules the Grazelands; although their genealogy is difficult to precisely determine because it is wrapped up in religious mystery. It is known that all Feathered Horse Queens are chosen from the daughters of the previous queen – but whether “daughter” is a title or truly restricted to blood kin is unknown outside the household of the queen; some “daughters” were almost certainly sisters or cousins of the previous queen.
Regardless, all of the Feathered Horse Queens trace their lineage to Eneera Tor and Sartar. The third Feathered Horse Queen, called “Mother of Lands”, married her cousin Tarkalor, the son of Saronil. Her granddaughter “Riches Without Tears” married King Moirades of Tarsh, who sired a daughter. It is believed that Single Matron Woman and With Bitter Heart were sisters or cousins of Riches Without Tears. Sources suggest that Reaches All, the Feathered Horse Queen that married Argrath in 1629, was the daughter of Moirades and Riches Without Tears, thus uniting the houses of Sartar, Tarsh, and the Feathered Horse Queens.
The Telmori were also tied into this family saga. Saronil’s daughter Onelisin Cat Witch fell in love with Ostling Four Wolf, a companion of her grandfather. She gave him a son Kostajor Wolf Champion (she had previously given her husband Jostharl triplets – Minara, Rana, and Ondurisa – the “Three Sisters” of song and story). Kostajor had five sons, called the Helkos brothers, and all served the House of Sartar loyally as bodyguards. Two (Helkos and Goram) married their second cousins, Eonislara and Tarkala, the daughters of Prince Terasarin. Their wives were murdered by Lunar assassins while in the Holy Country.
Finally, Prince Salinarg married a “wolf woman” of the Telmori and together they had three children, Harsaltar, Enothea, and Benera – the famed “Household of Death”. All died in 1602, defending Boldhome against the Lunar Empire. This close connection between the Telmori and the House of Sartar was a strange source of respect for the Sartar rulers among the tribes. The tribes feared and hated the Telmori, but the House of Sartar could command the werewolves like loyal hounds. Those tribes loyal to Sartar were not molested by the Telmori until the destruction of that House in 1602.