Gwen
Gwen and Kuri married before Kuri joined the Order of the Checkered
Shield.
Menda Cassean The youngest child of Gwen and Kuri, Menda was the only one of three children to survive into adulthood; his brother and sister both died from illness when he was only two years old. He grew up to be a compassionate, loving man, suited to a more peaceful existence than fate granted him. Appointed to be Lord Marshall of the Kandayan army, he was killed at the Battle of Teb Marshes in 1263, leaving his four children orphaned.
Jarena Torka
Jarena was the eldest daughter of Arvan Torka and Yebael .
Revekka (Brygyne) Cassean
The eldest child of Menda Cassean and Jarena Torka, Revekka gave up
her right to inherit the Earldom in order to join the Order of Hyvrik
and become a member of Harchesa Abbey when she was fifteen. That she
was in a position to inherit the Earldom at all (normally the eldest
male child is heir) was due entirely to her father's belief that she
was every bit as capable as anyone to occupy the office and lead the
clan.
At the age of 34, Brygyne (the religious name she took on entering the
Order) became Abbess of Harchesa on the death of the previous Abbess,
Merin of Caelmas. Three years later, and at her own insistence, her
niece Yebael came to live with her. Together the two women spent much
of their time travelling about Kanday, for both political and
educational reasons.
Brygyne is now 74 years old, but is still Abbess of Harchesa, and her
mind and body are almost as keen as they ever were. Brygyne is known
by the educated throughout Kanday as a saintly and scholarly woman;
she has written several texts on matters as diverse as architecture,
Laranian symbolism, astrology and poetry.
Duram Cassean
Duram was an unfortunate man. His mother Jarena died when he was four;
the rest of his life was spent looking for someone to replace her. He
held his younger sister, Meryle, responsible for Jarena's death in
childbirth; from the time he was eight he tormented her continuously.
After first his father died, and then his mother's mother, Yebael,
(who looked after Duram and Meryle for three years after Menda's
death), Meryle ran away from home to escape his resentment.
At the age of 21 Duram ceased to be a ward of the Crown and became
Earl of Heroth in his own right. He very quickly married, to a
"replacement mother" called Klarina. He treated her as his exclusive
possession, keeping her hidden away from others. She bore him three
children, and while he was delighted with them at first, he came to
dislike the attention they required from their mother. He soon gave
them into the care of nurses, to Klarina's great distress.
Klarina
Klarina was chosen by Duram to be his wife.
Kuri Cassean (the Second)
The life of Kuri Cassean, the third child of Menda and Jarena, was a
brief and painful one. Born ill, he remained weak and unhealthy for
the seven years of his life.
Meryle Cassean
Meryle's birth cost her mother's life, a fact which was to make her
life miserable. Duram held her responsible for the death, and
tormented her for this perceived crime. Six days after the funeral of
her mother's mother, Yebael, she fled her home. She has never been
heard of since. Her sister Revekka blames herself for not coming to
her rescue.
The following are Revekka Cassean's words to Yebael Cassean, about her younger sister, who ran away from home in 1266 at the age of thirteen and has never been seen since.
"I failed my sister three times. Three times I saw her need, and turned away. No less than any other, even her brother, am I to blame for her fate. Always I thought to lead a holy life, yet here I proved unworthy of any favour from the Goddess.Sinel Cassean"I left you behind when I went to the Lady, thinking you safe in our father's arms. He told me to trust Duram, to have faith that he would emerge from his ill-will in time. Our father made few mistakes, but I should not have listened to him that day.
"O sister! Grief we shared in abundance, when the body of our slaughtered parent returned to its final rest, in the home that was no longer my home. What cruelty to have both mother and father taken away so soon; what greater cruelty for me to shed my tears and turn back to the light, leaving you in darkness. I could have shown you the way, guided your steps to that most beautiful of places, where happiness is no illusion. But instead I left you with the certainty of despair, of a pain delivered by no messenger. That our brother had no changed, indeed grown into a greater evil, I saw, even through my grief. Yet I did nothing, knowing that I myself was safe in the Goddess' house.
"Another saved you then, one who was almost a stranger, yet kinder than your own sister. I never knew Yebael, but I know what she did for you, sister, what she gave to you. I was glad that she protected you, comforted you, and I felt that all was settled. I was a blind fool to think that I should put all my trust in an old rose; yet I did, and my foolishness was proved. When Yebael died, I was unprepared. Happy in my home, I did not see further than Harchesa's light. Yebael, you who were so kind to my sister, I thank you. Sister, why did I not come, then and there, to save you?
"I have failed her three times; may the Lady grant me a fourth chance to do good. I shall not fail her again.
"Forgive me, Meryle."
Kenis Cassean
Yebael Cassean
At the age of seven Yebael was betrothed to Syman Gepander, the eldest
child of Kobar Gepander, a close friend of Duram. On hearing the news,
Brygyne (Revekka Cassean, Yebael's aunt) immediately sent for the girl
to live with her at Harchesa Abbey, where she might be properly
educated. For the next six years the two women travelled about Kanday,
visiting a great many of the religious places, spending the winters at
Harchesa. Yebael and her fiancé exchanged letters over this
period, and met several times, slowly growing to know each other.
Shortly before the date for the marriage, Syman decided that he wished
to join the Order of the Checkered Shield.
Rogan Cassean
Kuri Cassean (the Third)
Dorthea Cassean
Kiri Cassean
Cybela
Cybela was the only child of ...
Syman (of Tolfane) Gepander
Elsebet Gepander
At the age of nineteen, Elsebet (who by common custom was not the new
heir to the clan) moved to live with her close friend Alyne, whose
husband had recently died, leaving behind two children. One of these
children was the heir to the manors formerly held by Alyne's husband;
until he came of age the estate was managed by his uncle. Alyne was
sent to live with the children in a small manor house, where Elsebet
joined her. The two have lived there together ever since, though the
children have grown up and left.
Thyl Gepander
After Syman joined the Order of the Checkered Shield, Thyl became the
heir to Kobar Gepander. He was not to take on his father's position of
Constable of Ewen Keep, however; when Kobar died in 1299, Duram
appointed a distant relative to the position, perhaps out of pique at
the actions of Syman in joining the Order of the Checkered Shield.
Thyl is still, of course, holder of the traditional Gepander manors.
Lorissa Gepander
Lorissa died at the age of two.
Yvyle
The youngest child of Kobar and Cybela, Yvyle is now a middle-aged,
but childless, widow.
The clan was revived when in 1290 when Syman Gepander joined the Order of the Checkered Shield, marking his separation from his family by taking on the clan name of his relative, Awal of Tolfane.
Syman of Tolfane
Syman's biography has been presented above, under Clan Gepander.
Sheryle of Tolfane
Sheryle takes after her father far more than her mother, and joined
the Order of the Checkered Shield at the age of seventeen.
Toralda of Tolfane
Toralda is the true son of Yebael and Syman, though it does not appear
so at first. At the age of twelve he decided to join a Peonian
monastery; after being fostered out for three years, in 1319 he
recanted his Laranian vows and joined the monastery at Foreno.