Heart of a Chalyn: Chapter 8

Let’s talk about how Ashlon came to be the Rhi’Camran.

Lothor wanted to go back to sea. When he is first introduced in Legend of the Storm Hawks, he has just returned from serving in the Innish Navy. He left because of the restrictions placed on Rhynns, and he had risen as high in the ranks as his heritage allowed.

Even so, Lothor respected the service and the sailors who served. In The Witch of Lurago, when Laron volunteers to man the canons at Twelvestones, he tells Dara and Nigel…

“I was a gunner in the Royal Navy. The Rhi’Camran encourages us all to serve for a few years.”

So, after the rebellion is won, Lothor readily steps up to be Admiral of the Rhynn Navy. That means handing over his duties as Rhi’Camran to someone else in the clan. Unlike Aleron, where the chief of chiefs is elected, the other Rhynn clans pass the title through inheritance.

Calum inherits from Dowan, becoming the Rhi’Iverach at fourteen. Redan inherits from Murdoch, making him the Rhi’Connor after his father’s death.

Lothor has no children.

Lamar is his closest male kin, but Lamar has not been seen since the rebels took Jorendon. Though not included in the story, Lamar did acknowledge Ashlon as his son during the war. Lothor signed the letter Lamar sent him, legitimizing Ashlon as his son and giving him the Camran name.

Lothor knew what he was doing. Ashlon, a half-breed, would become chief and Rhi’Camran someday, if he had the fortitude to stake his claim before the clan. Ashlon had already made a name for himself as Captain of the Dawnguard, and had earned the respect of men like Seth Callan. The fact that Calum Iverach found fault with his breeding only raised him in Lothor’s estimation.

Lothor didn’t hesitate to sign the letter.

If he had known Ashlon coveted the very mindgift Lamar misused, he would have refused.

If Lamar had been around to mentor his son’s quest for that mindgift, Bethan would still be painting portraits in the backwoods hills of Camran.