Palumkar Clan
For a clan of great wealth and power, one that claims the title of Count, the Palumkar's have very little in the way of land. Indeed, beyond a small estate just outside of Wargun and a larger castle built along the Wyntyne River River - just before its waters become to shallow for longboats - they have little land to speak off. Serfs toil their meager farmland pulling barley, wheat, and sorghum from earth to feed their meager - but fine - herd of horses and to brew hearty, hoppy ale stored on their ships long voyages. Their wealth - and therefore their status as the second most powerful family in Wargun, however, comes from their mastery of the waves.
Palumkar longships, crewed by serfs offered their freedom in exchange for a decade of service, patrol the Wartin Gulf and travel deep into the dangerous waters of the Great North Sea . Unlike the bulk of fishermen that set sail from the Zennonaize city, the Palumkar set their eyes on the largest of prizes to be found in Jendredi's domain: whales. Each spring and summer as whales of a dozen shapes and sizes flock to the icy waters north of Tarien, Markudar ships set sail, armed with harpoons, to bring back the whale meat and, more importantly, the whale oil that is worth more than its weight in gold once shipped south to markets in the Inner Seas. An inherently dangerous business, the Palumkar pride themselves on having a successful hunt. Their ships rarely return to Wargun empty handed, though there are those that claim some of their voyages result in holds filled only by virtue of sinking ships from more successful rival clans.
The family has long eschewed primogeniture, its wealth offsetting any stigma that this eccentricity might cause among the traditionalist noble families of the Confederacy. For at least three centuries the family name has been passed to all the sons and daughters in the line, with the eldest, regardless of gender, assuming the mantle of leadership in the clan. This has been, perhaps, fortuitous, as the number of sons and daughters lost to cold, icy graves in the Great North Sea is vast, averaging over two-thirds in most generations and peaking as high as nine in ten during one disaster out decade in the middle of the Seventh Century. With the exception of a few marriages to second sons of the Delante Clan every man or woman that has married into the Palumkar has also taken that name as their family name. Many have even risen into positions of power within the family, though the overall title of Count or Countess has always been held by the most senior Palumkar by birth.
These strange customs have, at times, hindered the clan as much as helped them as they effectively shut out from political marriages involving the most powerful families in the Confederacy. On those rare occasions where the clan has married “above its station,” the new couple has been forced to renounce all ties to the family. Instead, the family has generally marries nobles from smaller house, often two or three at a time, effectively swallowing up the smaller families. The most prevent of these - fifteen years ago - has lead to the establishment of a small Palumkar residence and slowly growing fleet in Zennon itself.
Type
Geopolitical, Clan
Family Leader
Parent Organization
Location
Controlled Territories
Related Species