The Colymar currently consist of twelve clans. Five of them (Anmangarn, Arnoring, Ernaldori, Konthasos, and Orlmarth) are descended from the original Black Spear clan of Chief Colymar Black Spear.
History
South of Dragon Pass lived the Unknown clan. They were of the Unknown tribe from south of the Unknown and were devout Orlanth. In 1247, their chiefs and priests all woke with headaches. They looked to the north, and there for the first time they saw the great orb of the Red Moon. No one except the priests knew what it was, until the assemblies met. Then, the woeful tale was told — that Chaos had once again risen in the north, and that Orlanth had been wounded. In the sky the festering wound still was visible, and from it would come the doom of the world unless it was stopped.
Unknown, a Storm Voice among the Orshanti clan, was struck by a vision then which said this: “The wound of the god can be healed, but the healer must come from the cleansed land where no men now live. When monsters are slain, and mountains are made, and rivers change course, is the time to plant the vine.”
Two generations later, their land of Kethaela was embroiled in civil war. The Stranger from the Sea called Unknown was trying to take command of the land. The Stranger claimed sacral kingship of all Kethaela. The Hendriki protested, supporting the ancient rights of the Unknown, ruler of the land since the Dawn. But in the fighting the newcomer won. Monsters were slain, and mountains were made, and rivers changed course. The Stranger proved himself to be the sacral king and from then on was called God-King, or Pharoah. But a portion of the Orshanti clan protested, and rather than submit, declared itself to be a new clan, following only the Black Spear. The chief of the new Black Spear clan was a Wind Lord named Colymar; his wife Unknown was an Ernalda priestess from Esrolia who knew much Earth magic.
When word of this got around, many people from other clans flocked to join the new clan. With the blessing from the remaining Orshanti clan, and safe passage guaranteed by the Kitori kings, the new Black Spear clan packed up its belongings, drove its herds before it, and prepared to enter Dragon Pass.
At the border, at the place called Unknown, Chief Colymar and Hareva led a prayer. Then the two of them, hand in hand, stepped across the invisible boundary, followed by their household. The rest of the clan, seeing no ill effects, followed.
Unharmed, the triumphant Colymar led his people northward. When they walked in the river valleys, they followed the directions of his wife. When they went over hills, they followed his red-tailed hawk ally.
At the place now called Clearwine Earth Temple, Hareva awakened the goddess and welcomed her to her home. Ernalda gave Hareva a unique type of winter-grown grapes. The wine was a very pale yellow, and always cool to the tongue. They called their home Clearwine, after the grapes. There they hunted and built houses to face the coming winter. They survived the winter, and after some difficulties — such as three encounters with Dragonewts — the settlement grew to be strong and stable. A town and several hamlets were settled.
All this was done in as much secrecy as possible. Chief Colymar allowed no one to return to Heortland with any news. The holy people did not lead celebrations of any ancestors whom they held in common with people back in Heortland. (This indicates that they must have, in that time, founded the Colymar tribe.) But total secrecy was impossible.
Colymar’s settlement flourished and grew strong. They did not balk at adopting newcomers who were fleeing from the south. It was not a fort when first settled, but an unwalled frontier village.
Earliest Expansion
During the twenty or so years of peace that Colymar and his folk had, the internal affairs of Heortland had grown tumultuous. Warfare in Kethaela sent forth a flood of refugees northward into Dragon Pass. Most of these were Hendriki who worshiped Orlanth, lived in villages, herded, hunted, and fought. When they settled, they built hill forts, as was the custom in the south.
The First Wave of settlers came into Dragon Pass about 1320. The clans which came at this stage were generally small. The most famous were the Balmyr, Unknown, Torkani, and the Unknown. Often, they were no more than a single ragged bloodline seeking any refuge, fast. Others were disgruntled halfclans, who had sometimes gone off without official sanction. Some departed without even the ceremonial forging of a new Clan Ring. Some were gangs of desperadoes, murderers, and freebooters.
About 1325 or so, the settlement of Clearwine was burned by some of these raiders. Chief Colymar called the clan together, and together they entered and cleared all malignance out of the ancient hill fort which loomed over the valley. They took it as their home and called it Brondagal. But now everyone calls it Clearwine Fort.
After Colymar died in 1335, the clan decided to create a tribe. The clan was already too large and unwieldy, but instead of just splitting into two clans, they split into five. This initial five-clan tribe was among the most powerful in the region. It grew quickly, and many refugees joined the tribe. Soon, the Colymar tribe occupied all the lands between The Creek and The Stream and collected tribute from clans outside of that.