Today there exist fourteen clans to which modern clansmen trace their lineage, but surviving records from before the migration suggest that there may have previously been as many as thirty. The only clan city-state to survive the shift intact is Lahkis, founded roughly thirteen hundred years ago on the banks of the Indall. Though not unaffected by the shift, Lahkis’ supply of fresh water from the river protected it from the worst effects of the drought. Two other clans, Trahn and Alaran, have since established thriving cities along the Indall. Although the remaining clans remain mostly separate in their villages clustered in the southeast corner of XXXX, the new order has necessitated an increased interdependency between clans. Clan identity remains an important distinction among the clansmen, but old rivalries have cooled sufficiently to allow a greater exchange of resources (including stock).

For males, the name of one’s clan is considered part of the self to such a degree that it precedes the given name. Indeed, the traditional forms of formal address between clansmen forsake given names entirely, using only the clan name and a suffix which differs depending upon the allegiance of the subject.

Historically a clansman would never be called by his clan name alone except as an insult or challenge, but the relaxing of old rivalries since the coming of the imperialists has softened the rudeness of this method of address. Now clansmen of different clans who are well-acquainted might refer to each other by their clan names without malice. In most cases, however, a clansman is known by his given name. A clansman dealing with outsiders unfamiliar with clan customs would probably introduce himself with only his given name to avoid needless confusion.

Given names in clan society are highly recyclable. A family tree (following the male line) might contain only a handful or two of distinct names for either sex. Traditionally a firstborn son is named after his grandfather and additional sons after other male ancestors in no strict order. It is important to note, however, that it is considered in very bad taste for two living members of the same family to share the same name (suggesting that the junior member’s existence has written off the elder member as inconsequential). While the elder member lives, the name of the junior member is modified with the suffix -at (“son of” – clansmen are considered the sons of all ancestors before them, living and dead). Thus, if Cale's father Yan (for whom Cale's son is named) still lived, his son would be called Yanat.

Female Names
The most important distinction between the names of males and females in clan society is that female names do not include the clan identity. Because a female can never be considered a representative of her clan, it is a severe taboo for a woman to call herself by the name of her clan. This is also due in part to the practice of females being married into a different clan when they come of age to minimize inbreeding. Only in the most formal of situations would a woman of the clans (there is no word in Vesari for “clanswoman”) be addressed with reference to her clan, and only through her husband:

In most other situations a female would be called only by her given name, though this name is not formed so straight-forwardly as a male’s. A female’s given name is comprised of at least two parts: a base name given at birth and a characteristic suffix added ceremonially once the female has reached sexual maturity. This suffix is chosen by the parents of the female to represent a single defining quality, and signifies her passage into womanhood and readiness for marriage (though in modern clan society the age of adulthood for both males and females is widely considered to be 16 years old). Cale’s wife was called Necha as a girl, but was christened Nechayen when she came of age.

To fully understand the views held by these groups it is necesary to understand first the history of religion among the clans. In the time before the Great Migration, each clan had one or more patron gods whose might and power determined the clan's place in the social and political hierarchy of the Vesari Valley. Inter- and extra-clan warfare, a common instrument of social change, was looked upon not only as a clashing of men but of gods. The physical battle was merely a literal expression of the metaphorical struggle taking place outside of humanity's narrow perception. In these battles, as in political matters, the will and power of the gods was channeled through Heroes, men (clan history drastically downplays the contributions of the women) chosen by the gods as their mortal representatives. These Heroes were capable of weilding remarkable power and were commonly revered as demigods themselves. Though the clans were not the only society in XXXX to produce Heroes, the wars of the pre-cataclysm era left no doubt that their gods were the strongest.

But a generation before the beginning of the Great Migration, a startling event changed the history of clan religion forever. In a matter of months, the power of the gods left the land of XXXX. It was the Heroes who felt it first; the energy which they had sensed and drawn from their entire lives was suddenly tapering off. But before long the absence of this energy began to manifest itself in droughts and dying crops. Though many areas throughout XXXX were affected, no piece was devastated to the extent of the Vesari. What was once a lush and bountiful valley was transformed in the space of twenty years into a desert wasteland, inhabited only by the most persistent animal and plant life. As resources grew scarce, the battles over remaining patches of arable land or fresh water grew vicious. Heroes whose power had once been feared from ocean to ocean fell upon the swords of their enemies like common footsoldiers. Those that did not die in battle, either through skill or cowardice, often met their ends at the hands of their own people, whose reverence had turned to resentment and blame for the death of their land. The bloodlines of the Heroes, preserved and strengthened through thousands of years of selective breeding, were cut off by the hundreds; those few that survived to be carried east were mostly in the veins of women whose power had been necessarily kept secret.

As conditions worsened in the Vesari it became increasinly clear to the clansmen that their gods had abandoned them. For the first time in two centuries, for the last time in clan history, a Gathering was called and the death of their land was debated. Being traditionalists by nature, the prevailing opinion among the clans was that some mortal crime had cause the gods to turn their eyes from the land, and that only by suffering this punishment would the clans prove their worthiness again. However, there existed a minority but nonetheless vocal faction which insisted that the clans had to leave their valley before the land became so inhospitable that it could not be traveled. Clan Lahkis, in particular, urged other clans to move east where the desolation was not so severe. Against the decision of the Great Council many clans pulled up stake and migrated individually, then in clusters, toward the eastern coast. These clans were disowned by their brethren, who remained to face whatever wrath the gods had in store for them. But the clans who undertook the hardship for the Great Migration in turn disowned the gods who had forsaken them. It became a point of pride that they would no longer bow to gods, no longer credit them for each good fortune while taking blame for every misstep. Their destiny had become their own, and they lived with a determination to survive, to prosper without the gods' favor.