Berenethtelli

Berenethtelli riding horses into battle

The Berenethtelli are a Ram tribe located in the Black Eel Valley. It was founded by Beren and Redalda and the hereditary king of the tribe is their descendant. The king and the royal clan is situated in the dwarf-built fortress of Berenstead. The Berenethtelli distinguish themselves from other Vingkotling tribes by being the only one that knows how to ride horses. All of the Kestaytelli clans and all the Rams in the valley, sans the Deleskarings, joined Beren's tribal kingdom. The legends and history of the events leading up to the founding of the tribe is told in the myth How Horses Came to Orlanthstead.

## Location

The Berenethtelli's tribal lands lie in the southwest of the Black Eel valley: south and west of the Oslira river; on both banks of the Forantin river; east of the Autumn Mountains and the lands of the Penentelli; and north of the lands of the Vestantes and Forosilvuli.

## Gods

Redalda brought many of her people's gods to Beren's Rider clan when they wed and—as time passed and their tribe expanded to include more Ram clans—the Berenethtelli would become all the more Orlanthi in their worship. Most notably, in order to properly found the Berenethtelli tribal kingdom, they were forced to forever give up worship of Hyalor, whose laws dissuaded kingship. However, many Rider gods would still remain within the tribe, especially amongst those belonging to the royal clan.

The Berenethtelli style of worship would change further, as gods died during the times leading up to the Great Darkness. This change included a greater emphasis on the veneration of the tribe's ancestors.

By the time of Iverlantho, the major gods of the Berenethtelli clans were:

* Ancestors: Rider ancestors, who migrated from the Golden City.
* Chalana Arroy: Pacifistic goddess of Health and Healing.
* Dostal: God of hunting, and husband of Inilla.
* Elmal: Bright god of war, ruling in Orlanth's absence.
* Ernalda: The great Earth Mother, who provided food and clothing.
* Eurmal: Trickster, who discovered Death.
* Humakt: God of War and Death, and of all Endings.
* Inilla: Goddess of Foraging, and wife of Dostal.
* Issaries: God of Trade, Communication, and Conciliation.
* Lhankor Mhy: God of Knowledge and Law.
* Orlanth: King of the Storm Tribe, patron of the Berenethtelli.
* Osara: Flame Sister, Elmal's daughter, and patron of warrior women.
* Redalda: Horse goddess, who brought Ram and Rider together.
* Uralda: The Cow Mother, daughter of Ernalda, source of Berenethtelli cattle.
* Urox: The Storm Bull, Chaos foe.
* Voriof: God of Shepherds, son of Orlanth and Ernalda.

It is notable that Ram only clans of the Berenethtelli do not worship Elmal, but others do. The royal clan in particular hold him in high regard, as he is the patron god of the Berenethtelli kings. Similarly, some clans worship Elmal's daughter, Osara, as the godess of female warriors while others prefer Orlanth's daughter, Vinga. Osara became more prominent as Vinga diminished after the death of her father, however.

The Berenethtelli's preference for Dostal over the traditional Ram hunting god of Odayla sometimes bring them in conflict with others, like the Deskelarings and the people of Bearwoods.

Zarlen and Gamari were venerated in the distant past, but their roles were eventually superseded by Redalda. Some gods, like Yinkin, are not actively worshiped through the construction of shrines or temples, but are called upon and sacrificed to when the need arises.

If Beren's clan worshiped Buseryan as Riders, then it would continue to do so as Berenethtelli Rams, at least up to about the time of the Great Darkness, when stars were no longer normally visible from the earth. Similarly, if already venerated, Venurtera-worship would be maintained past the clan's transition into becoming Orlanthi. However, her worship would end when she died around the same time as Issaries and Lhankor Mhy.

While Raven-worship would fall out in favor Eurmal's, spirit-worship and Shamanism remain a common and accepted alternative to god-worship. As more and more gods died during the Great Darkness and the Chaos Age, the tribe was forced to rely more on spirits than ever before.

## Kings

Vingkot's law dictates hereditary kingship.

Berenethtelli kings are traditionally crowned using the tribal regalia, now lost. Without it, the authority of the kings following Vinglanth is limited.

### 1. Beren

> *See also: Beren and Redalda*
>
>

The Rider Beren the Tall, descendant of Elmal, would become the first king of the Berenethtelli tribe and Redalda, daughter of Vingkot, its first queen. Together, the two presided over the tribe's founding and consolidation. Through their union they wedded not just their bloodlines, but also their cultures. Beren gave Redalda's people the secret to horse-riding and, in return, Redalda gave the magic of kingship. Redalda demonstrated her mastery of the horse by riding one on her and Beren's wedding day, though no one had taught her.

Redalda also brought with her gods of the Storm panthon to Beren's clan: Orlanth would join Elmal as one of the Berenethtelli's main deities, Nyalda would be worshiped under the Orlanthi name of Ernalda, and Erissa gave way to Chalana Arroy, among others. In time, the people of Beren's clan began to don traditional Orlanthi tattoos, started to keep the occasional alynx, and kite-flying games came to supersede the traditional archery contests that Riders favored. Beren even went so far as to slaughter all of his clan's goats so that they could start keeping sheep instead. However, in order for Beren's Rider ancestors to accept the merger of their peoples, Redalda had to promise to forever uphold one Rider virtue.

With the merging of the clans, there would be a lot more than the original seven families of Beren's Rider clan, de-emphasizing the importance of family ties when it came to balancing the interests of its circle. However, this division would still persist, especially as different factions of solar and storm devotees in clan politics, the former largely consisting of the original Rider families and the latter mostly of Ram families that were later adopted into the clan. In the future, the clan *circle* would be referred to as the clan *ring*, in accordance with Orlanthi customs.

In order to unite the Rams of the Black Eel Valley, and to prepare for a Chaos-ridden future, Redalda aided Beren in his unification of her people. First, she brought many of her kin to Beren's clan, first through marriage and then through full merger. Finally, she helped to bring the other Ram clans of the Valley into their fold, both through martial might and through clever alliances. Members of one Ram clan would even lead the Berenguard and their javelins would aid in convincing recalcitrant Ram chieftains that a son of Elmal could be their king. However, the followers of Deleskar would never join the Berenethtelli clan, as he harbored ambitions of becoming a god himself.

As Hyalor's law forbade the rulership of kings, Beren's clan melted down Hyalor's golden tablet into a royal crown. This crown would become one piece of the Berenththelli's royal regalia, along with the Horn of Vingkot and the Mantle of Redalda. Instead of Hyalor's law, Beren would found a new law code, one that harmonized the traditions of Hyalor and Vingkot. According to his Rider traditions, Beren forbade slavery.

By the time of Beren's crowning—attended by all the Ram and many Rider chieftains—dwarven sailors captured by him and Redalda had already started the construction of Berenstead. The fortress would serve as a place of power and protection for the royal clan henceforth. With Berenstead's establishment, the story tent of Beren's Rider clan became a royal tapestry hung behind his throne.

When Chaos—in the forms of Wakboth and his Unholy Trio—finally came, Beren answered Orlanth's call and joined the other tribal kings at Stormfall Battle. Though Beren fought better than the other kings, the battle was still a loss for the Storm gods and a great Chaos victory. The royal clan survived the subsequent destruction of the Spike and the resulting blanketing of the sky—heralding the onset of the Great Darkness—by taking refuge inside Berenstead. Following these events, Beren's clan found that it could no longer keep its Yarm tree alive. Neither could the remaining Rider clans of the valley.

Later, Beren was the only Orlanthi king, being the only one of both sun and storm, who could aid Orlanth in his battle against the Chaos god Tyram when the latter invaded the sky.

Other great Berenethtelli figures of this time were Varasina Broadback, keeper of the stores of Berenstead; Janard Double Blood, carver of Berenstead's story wall; and Alakorde Manyfoot, Beren's senior emissary.

Both Beren and Redalda lived many mortal lifetimes. In the end, Redalda picked up many of the roles of forgotten gods—horses, riding, and preservation—and became a god herself. Finally, Beren allowed himself to die and Redalda showed her priestesses how they should pray to her. Beren's body was burned on a funeral pyre, starting the funeral traditions for future Berenethtelli kings. The spirits of him and Redalda then rode to Orlanthstead.

Before she departed, Redalda released her "daughters", a herd of golden, singing mares to aid her descendants in times of need.

    Over time, the Berenethtelli ceased to wear their Rider honor belts, instead choosing to dress more like other Ram peoples and tattoo themselves in the typical Orlanthi ways. The Berenethtelli continued to grow out their beards in the typical Rider-style, however, preferring full beards to the beardless mustaches most Vingkotlings favor.

After his death, the plaques of Beren's honor belt would be kept as royal emblems and be used in ceremonies of augery.

### 2. Ulvargar

> *See also: Ulvargar*
>
>

Due to their supernaturally long lives, by the time of their passing, Beren's and Redalda's oldest sons were already old and frail. Therefore, it fell to their youngest and strongest son, Ulvargar, to take his father's place as the second king of the Berenethtelli. Unusually, he initiated to both Elmal, the traditional patron of Berenethtelli kings, and Urox the Storm Bull. Thus, he declared himself to be the Chaos-Fighting King.

In his time, he would maintain strong ties to the Uroxi, roving war bands of Chaos fighters. Under his rule, the tribe grew and he spread the worship of Elmal to other Berenethtelli clans.

Like Beren, he too died of old age.

### 3. Vingulf

> *See also: Vingulf*
>
>

After Ulvargar, his son, Vingulf, became the third Berenethtelli king. In his time, the Berenethtelli was beset by Chaos and the first Berenethtelli clan would disband, falling prey to the temptations of Chaos. The other clans would remain, however, out of fear of Wakboth.

Besides his son by blood, Vinglanth, he would also adopt Koralant as his son. Vingulf would become known as the Last Wise King.

### 4. Vinglanth

*See also: Vinglanth*

    Though many tribesmen desired Vinglanth's adopted brother Koralant to ascend to the kingship, Vingkot's law forbid this. Thus, Vinglanth became the fourth Berenethtelli king.

When Vinglanth rode to battle against Chaos, Koralant advised him not to take the royal regalia with him. Vinglanth, however, rebuffed his brother. As a result, Vinglanth would not just lose his life, that of his eldest son, Helethar, but also the royal regalia to Chaos. Thus, Vinglath would be the last Berenethtelli king to be properly crowned.

### 5. Brolarulf

> *See also: Brolarulf*
>
>

Vinglanth's remaining son, Brolarulf, became the fifth Berenthtelli king.

Brolarulf appealed to tradition and led a revival of solar worship among the Berenethtelli. He even approached Wheel clans to do so. This alienated him to the Ram only clans in the tribe, who had never worshiped Elmal. Brolarulf would oversee the slow dissolution of the tribe, individual clans increasingly making decisions for themselves, fighting Chaos and each other as they saw fit.

    He would try to unite the valley under himself by conducting a Great Raid against one of his reticent neighbors. Though he won a great victory, he never achieved the unity he dreamt of.

In the later years of his reign, he had to face the slow death of many Storm gods. First Orlanth and Ernalda and then Issaries and Lhankor Mhy. It was his decision as to whether to continue to worship these dead gods or not. As the gods began to wither and die, the veneration of ancestors and spirits became all the more important.

Brolarulf and his advisors would eventually die of either the Blue Plague or the Blood Blizzard. The royal clan retreated back to Berenstead, surrounded by other Berenethtelli clans.

### 6. Iverlantho

*See also: Iverlantho*

By the time that Brolarulf's son, Iverlantho, became the sixth Berenethtelli king, the position had become mostly ceremonial, with even the royal clan split as to whether to maintain the kingdom or not. Iverlantho, however, desired a true kingship over all the Berenethtelli clans.

Early in his life, he had been wed twice and lost all his sons to Chaos. He saw it as one of his royal duties to remarry and father new children to continue Beren's and Redalda's royal line. Eventually, he wed a third wife, a Berenethtelli maiden many years his junior, with which he fathered his final son and heir, Venef. This would be his ultimate legacy, as he never achieved his ambition of reinstituting royal authority amongst the Berenethtelli before his death.

## Lights Going Out

You play as the royal clan of the Berenethtelli in *Lights Going Out*. The prologue covers the reign of King Brolarulf and the main game starts in the fifth year of Iverlantho.

### Events

Since the player controls the royal clan of the Berenethtelli, all events in *Lights Going Out* involve the Berenethtelli tribe to some extent. The following are events that either deal with the tribe's royal line:

* Prologue
* Iverlantho's Wedding
* Birth of Venef
* Venef Comes of Age
* Venef's Wedding
* Birth of Erenlanth
* Erenlanth Comes of Age
* Death of Iverlantho
* Death of Prince Venef
* Death of King Venef

And the following are events dealing with intra-tribal Berenethtelli politics:

* King's Adjudication
* Inter-Tribe Feud
* Inter-Tribe Raid Favor
* Royalists and Realists
* Clan Seeks Royalist Blessing
* Chaos Clan Within Tribe
* Dying Temple Request

### Lore

About their own tribe, the clan ring has the following to say:

* About becoming Rams:
	+ "We were Riders before we were Rams."
	+ "We were Hyalorings before we became Vingkotlings."
	+ "We were once Hyalorings, but are now Vingkotlings."
	+ "Half our ancestors are Riders."
	+ "Redalda moved to a Rider clan, and over the years transformed it into an Orlanthi clan."
	+ "We must always remember that Rider blood pulses in our veins."
	+ "Hyalor, guardian hero of early Riders, taught them that kings were unnecessary. To have an Elmali king, we had to become Rams."

* About their gods:
	+ "Redalda was born a mortal, becoming a goddess some time after Stormfall."
	+ "When Beren married Redalda, Orlanth and Ernalda joined Elmal as our main deities."
	+ "This is why Redalda brought Elmal and his children into the Storm Court."
	+ "Beren was willing to embrace a deity his people were unfamiliar with."
	+ "Elmal was our god long before we accepted Orlanth."
	+ "Orlanth is the main god of our tribe, but since before Beren's day Elmal has been chief god of this clan."
	+ "Elmal honors the royal clan, as he does no other."
	+ "When priests asked King Beren what they should sacrifice, he said, 'Ask the Queen.'"
	+ "When we were still Riders, we used to worship Ernalda under the title Nyalda."
	+ "Redalda did well to bring Urox to Berenstead."

* About the time of Beren and Redalda:
	+ "Redalda arranged for Beren the Rider to fall in love with and marry her, joining Rider and Ram to make the Berenethtelli tribe."
	+ "The wedding that remade our clan was all Redalda's idea."
	+ "Redalda's words recalled those she used when convincing horses to let Beren ride."
	+ "Beren gave Redalda her first horse."
	+ "When warlike enemies showed up, Beren's wedding to Redalda nearly went awry."
	+ "Beren and Redalda founded this tribe, and made us the royal clan. Anyone who opposes our tribe opposes our founders."
	+ "Redalda made us who we are today, by working so hard to achieve marriage with Beren."
	+ "Of our kings, only Beren was born entirely a Rider."
	+ "Beren was the first king."
	+ "Beren and Redalda are our greatest ancestors."
	+ "What Beren touched, we preserved."
	+ "Beren offered Deleskar horses to join his tribe. Deleskar refused, saying that one day he would be a god."
	+ "Redalda showed Beren how to take allies and mold them to his will."
	+ "Beren befriended some Wheels and fought others."
	+ "King Beren took part in the battle that led to Tyram's fall from the sky, which broke the god into pieces."
	+ "Beren fought alongside Orlanth when he battled Tyram. Only the [royal clan], who unite fire and storm, could have done so."
	+ "It took great heroism for Beren to go from chieftain to king."
	+ "In order to become a king, Beren had to bow to Orlanth."
	+ "Beren never dealt with spirits, though he was happy to have shamans in his court."
	+ "Redalda invented Berenethtelli kingship."
	+ "Redalda made Beren king to unite us, not divide us."
	+ "Before Beren became king, a group called the Antler Society arose in our ranks. They were betrayers but not everyone wanted them sent away."
	+ "Bane banner appeared during the Era of Opposition, before Beren consolidated his authority."
	+ "This sort of banner came into being during Beren's battles to establish the tribe."
	+ "Young King Beren had to defend against his former Rider allies, who called him a traitor to Elmal, and Orlanthi, who called him an Emperor in Stormfolk clothing."
	+ "Like the songs of the [Ram clan], the songs of the Berenguard are sharply pointed."
	+ "I would not say that Beren was ruthless in bringing Ram clans into his tribe. Occasionally forceful would be a better phrase."
	+ "Beren put his son, Ulvargar, on the ring at [the age of fifteen]."
	+ "Beren had his own troubles with wandering Uroxi."
	+ "Beren took bold action, when prompted by the queen."
	+ "Beren's kingdom depended on strong trade."
	+ "Beren sent food to the clans without being asked."
	+ "To show he had become truly Orlanthi, Beren ordered all [the clan's] goats slaughtered."

* About Beren's law:
	+ "Beren and Redalda wed not just each other but their cultures. The culture they gave birth to had a new law, but it was born from Rider and Ram law."
	+ "Beren's law is different from Hyalor's law. As one of the last Riders, [Rider ancestor's ghost] could have asked Beren for justice under either code."
	+ "Beren's law code harmonized the traditions of Hyalor and Vingkot."
	+ "For Beren and Redalda to combine the laws of their peoples was no small task, but both codes used compensation to right wrongs."
	+ "Beren forbade the keeping of slaves."
	+ "Redalda showed us how to resolve disputes between clans, with the right appeal to the king."
	+ "The involvement of the king in justice was one of the ways Beren and Redalda changed Rider law. I will of course uphold my duty to rule fairly."
	+ "Our tribe was made by the power of women—yet Redalda gave in and allowed only men to rule."
	+ "When our tribe held real power, its clans settled disputes by petitioning the king and never had cause to feud."
	+ "No Beren clan may feud with another. We must enforce the law."
	+ "Beren would determine guilt or innocence before deciding."

* About Berenethtelli treasures:
	+ "We turned our Rider story tent, on which our history was embroidered, into a tapestry that hangs behind the throne."
	+ "When we were Riders that tapestry was a sacred tent."
	+ "Brolarulf's father was slain and we lost his regalia, but we are still a tribe, and should act like it."
	+ "Beren owned these emblems, but they don't possess the magic power of a treasure."
	+ "Beren wore these emblems on his belt, in our Rider days."
	+ "Hyalor said we should not have kings. We melted down his tablet to make Beren's crown."
	+ "Hyalor said we should not have kings. We had to give up his tablet when Beren was crowned."
	+ "Redalda took an existing treasure, holy to Vingkot, and incorporated it into her husband's regalia."

* About Berenethtelli culture:
	+ "Goats stink, and tear up pastures. Yet when we were Riders, we kept them too."
	+ "We kept goats when we were Riders, giving them up when we converted to Orlanth."
	+ "Kite-flying contests replaced archery bouts when we recognized Orlanth."
	+ "[Ram clan] follow Berenstead custom by burning their dead."
	+ "Rider and Wheel clans burn their dead, as do we, but other Berenethtelli clans maintain graveyards."
	+ "When the world began to die, Riders turned their fire cages into fire horses. We adopted the tradition through our Hyalor side."

* About the troubles of the Berenethtelli:
	+ "This is a sign of how bad things have gotten. The Berenethtelli tribe was once the brightest light in the valley!"
	+ "When [Chaos] slew King Vinglanth, they also killed the willingness of other clans to follow us."
	+ "Our Beren clan neighbors show no appetite for a resumption of our authority over them."
	+ "We used to know more about distant neighbors, but our retreat behind Berenstead's walls shrank our sense of the world."
	+ "Living without a royal heir is dangerous. We need a descendant of Beren to to take part in the Sacred Time rituals that strengthen our fortress."

## Other Stories

For more information on how the Berenethtelli may be remembered by later Gloranthans, see Berennethtelli on the Glorantha Wiki.

## Images

Some Berenethtelli elders quarrel.A group of Berenethtelli nobles.Storm followers of the Berenethtelli.Solar devotees of the Berenethtelli.Sages of the Berenethtelli.Berenethtelli Ram and Rider ancestors quarrel.