Im wondering if any of our Klingon players or Devs can help me with a few questions I have about in-game Klingon history. Specifically, in regards to the House of Duras.
In the episode Saturday's Child, we meet both Jarod and Admiral Leonard James Akaar. During this episode, the admiral gives us the following background information:
Ja'rod strikes me as honorable, but he's young and impulsive. He is the heir to the House of Duras through his mother, Lursa. The House of Duras was once one of the most powerful in the Klingon Empire, although it fell on ill fortunes about forty years ago.
Ja'rod's uncle, Duras, was in the line to be Chancellor before he was challenged and slain by Ambassador Worf. Lursa and her sister, B'Etor, backes Duras's son, but the crew of the Enterprise-D was able to prove that their attempt to overthrow the High Council was being backed by the Romulans. Lursa died attacking the Enterprise-D in 2371. After that, Ja'rod was adopted by a family friend, Councilor Torg. Ja'rod is the heir of two great houses, and he was the one who first exposed the Undine infiltration to the Klingons. That gives him an amount of influence in the empire that the average captain doesn't have. Ja'rod has the potential to be the leader of the High Council someday, but he still has much to prove. Starfleet needs to keep its eye on Captain Ja'rod.
While on the surface this reads all well and good, I have a few concerns, (questions), based on cannon.
First, in the TNG episode Redemption, Toral, Durass illegitimate son is officially named the head of the house of Duras. Although in the TNG episode firstborn Lursa is pregnant, Toral seems to keep the leadership of this house up to and including the events in DS9s The Sword of Kahless, although It is not clear, whether Worf or Dax killed Toral in the Gamma Quadrant or just knocked him out, It is reasonable to assume that due to their Starfleet oaths, Neither Worf nor Dax killed him, and he was able to return to his ship. Non-cannon evidence of this is found in the computer game Star Trek: Armada, where he returns again to take over the Empire. (In the game, Toral mentions that Worf "lacked the courage" to kill him twice before, referring to both TNG: "Redemption" and DS9: "The Sword of Kahless").
Second, even if we assume that Toral either died after these events, or was deposed as Head of the house of Duras, there is one other matter bothering me. In the TNG episode Redemption II, the relationship/alliance between the Duras Sisters, (Lursa & B'Etor), and the Romulans is (seemingly) made apparent to all. Additionally, once Gowron was seated as Chancelor, he offers Torals life to Worf. Worf spares the boy, but it is implied that he will be discommendated as were his aunts, who are seen trying to raise money in DS9, and are then killed during the movie Star Trek Generations.
What bothers me about this is according to Worf in TNGs Reunion, it is revealed that the effects of Discommendation affect the wife, children, and childrens children. (I believe the actual term is given as 7 generations). If this is the case, then Jarod, as the son of Lursa, should officially be treated in Klingon society as a pariah to Klingons everywhere. Other Klingons should refuse to associate with him or her, and it is customary to refer to them as "that" (an object, rather than a person). Being accepted into the house of Councilor Torg would allow him to act as a true Klingon Warrior but, like Worf, he should not be able to claim the house of his birth without first having his honor restored by a Klingon Leader, and the main leaders would have been Gowron and Martok, neither of whom due to either war or loyalty to Worf, would seem willing to bestow such an honor on either, (depending on the view), the son of a traitor, the son of a a hated enemy, or a pariah. Addionally, I think that they would be more inclined to deny any such request by another high-ranking Klingon.
Continuing this thought, due to their relationship with the Romulan Empire, and their failure to win the Klingon civil war, it seems more than likely that, as he did to Worf in the DS9 episode Way of the Warrior, Gowron would have stripped the sisters of all titles, and broken apart and/or taken their lands. After all he would have just won a civil war started by the sisters, and probably was not in a generous mood towards them. At the very least they (the Duras family), would have suffered a severe loss of status and would probably have to fend off several assassination attempts.
This brings to mind several questions such as:
1) What happened to Toral why is he no longer head of the house?
2) How much is actually known about the Duras familys Romulan connections within the Empire?
3) How does one remove the stain of treason or discommendation?
4) Who (if anyone), restored Jarods honor?
5) What did Jarod do to overcome not only the stain of discommendation, but to regain such a (seemingly) highly-regarded position in Klingon society? (let us play through that mission as a cross-faction featured episode)
6) How many major/minor houses are there in the empire and in what way do they gain or keep power?
7) How\Why is the House of Duras still considered one of the most powerful houses in the empire, with a leader able to possibly assume Control of the High Council given their history of treasonous and dishonorable actions?
Devs, I would like to suggest that this discussion could be used as the basis of several over-arching episodes for Klingon-specific content. (Mind you, I only have a level 12 Klingon at the time of writing this, so forgive me if the answers are already in game). If the answers are not in game, we currently have Worf, Jarod, and Lady Sirella available in game. Use them to start new quests that could explore and expand on this subject. Sprinkle in a few missions that are either Federation-specific, Romulan-specifc (when that faction becomes playable), and a few cross-faction missions, and this could be a huge win for everyone. (Another Possibility would be to have the player find out that not all of the Admirals information is entirely true, but that may be a little too much )
On the other hand, if these questions have been answered, please point me to the correct source.
Thanks for reading,
G.
PS:
Cryptic_Wishy (WishStone), hope this post doesnt cause you to skip it due to your eyes glazing over :p
Ja'rod was the one who captured an Undine for the Empire. As such, given his actions / bravery / honor, he would have been accorded a significant boon, perhaps even the restoration of his honor and House.
1) What happened to Toral why is he no longer head of the house?
2) How much is actually known about the Duras familys Romulan connections within the Empire?
3) How does one remove the stain of treason or discommendation?
4) Who (if anyone), restored Jarods honor?
5) What did Jarod do to overcome not only the stain of discommendation, but to regain such a (seemingly) highly-regarded position in Klingon society? (let us play through that mission as a cross-faction featured episode)
6) How many major/minor houses are there in the empire and in what way do they gain or keep power?
7) How\Why is the House of Duras still considered one of the most powerful houses in the empire, with a leader able to possibly assume Control of the High Council given their history of treasonous and dishonorable actions?
1. Toral's fate is unknown (far as I can remember), he was an abandoned puppet anyway; in all likelihood he is either dead or in exile in disgrace somewhere.
2. Duras's father betrayed the Klingon people to the Romulans and directly contributed to the fall of the Khitomer outpost, Duras himself continued that relationship and brought rampant corruption into the High Council while he was a member there, Duras's sisters worked with the Romulans to gain control of the Empire by starting a Civil War (with Toral as the puppet leader); and now Ja'rod's adoptive family has been discommendated for consorting with the Romulans. I think the Romulan connection is as strong as ever with those dishonorable targs.
3. Discommendation takes 7 generations to clear naturally, until then all members of the bloodline are dishonored. You can clear your name by challenging the accusations or performing a great service to the Empire.........or if you know the Chancellor and he needs you more than those that would object to your being reinstated.
4. Jm'pok did as a political move, he reinstated the House of Duras and allied his own House with them for the power that they wield.
5. His actions in uncovering the Undine were deemed to be exceptional and invaluable to the Empire, thus giving Jm'pok a leg to stand on in reinstating his family name and honor.
6. There is not an exact number known
7. With the House of Duras being reinstated and their Honor restored, all of the Houses that were indebted to the House of Duras for whatever reason must now honor those debts. Hense why it was such a political boon for Jm'pok to reinstate Ja'rod so that now everything that was owed to the House of Duras, is basically owed to him so long as he and Ja'rod remain close.
We see Toral one last time in the DS-9 episode "The Sword Of Kahless" a few things are answered here as Toral asks Worf if he's now sorry he did not kill him when he tries to steal the sword from Worf and Kor.
It is quite ironic that the House of Duras has more standing than the House of Martok, currently. Ja'rod also seems to adhere more closely to traditional Klingon ideals than several of his ancestors - another irony being that he may easily end up being dragged down together with Jm'pok, who seems to be a bit shadier than Ja'rod (both in the ways it is implied he dealt with Martok and his son as well as him being responsible for annulling the Khitomer Accords).
I really think we're going to find out that Jm'Pok is either a Udine in disguise, or he's being controlled by the Undine somehow. I really don't think he's on par though.
Frankly I'd like to see Worf made Chancellor. He'd be fair enough to put the Empire's interests first without being an absolute tool and waging war for war's sake.
That said, it was the war that has exposed how widespread Undine influence was in the first place. The entire Gorn Hegemony seemed to be under their control already - at least from what we're being told.
But if Jm'pok is being manipulated somehow and it's not the Undine, maybe it's the same power that had enthralled Admiral Taris...?
As for Worf becoming Chancellor - meh, that'd just end the war with the Federation (which I still think makes an interesting story backdrop and a proper reason for PvP) and will see the Gorn leave the KDF.
Very good point. I'm all for the war continuing, but my main problem with it is the fact that Cryptic hasn't done anything about it. During the Starfleet story lines we learn that the Iconians are manipulating the Udine, whom are infiltrating the Alpha Quad - deep breath- ant and starting the war.
Whew.
Point is, Cryptic needs to do something with the war plot line. What keeps it going? Who is winning, who is losing? We need something. We need some sort of story here, some sort of narrative. If WoW can make Machina to tell stories, then so can cryptic. I mean hell, look at what they did with the Defari series.
I know they've got man power shortages, but it's just the sort of things I'd like to see personally. Give me a reason to fight.
Sadly true - that said, I'd not even need some fashionable machinima, I'd be content with them continueing the Path to 2409 and fleshing out faction descriptions on the website. There's so much potential still untapped, and they -do- have fans willing to soak up every little detail to put on a wiki or forum etc, so all they'd need to do is feed us.
Comments
But to answer your questions:
1. Toral's fate is unknown (far as I can remember), he was an abandoned puppet anyway; in all likelihood he is either dead or in exile in disgrace somewhere.
2. Duras's father betrayed the Klingon people to the Romulans and directly contributed to the fall of the Khitomer outpost, Duras himself continued that relationship and brought rampant corruption into the High Council while he was a member there, Duras's sisters worked with the Romulans to gain control of the Empire by starting a Civil War (with Toral as the puppet leader); and now Ja'rod's adoptive family has been discommendated for consorting with the Romulans. I think the Romulan connection is as strong as ever with those dishonorable targs.
3. Discommendation takes 7 generations to clear naturally, until then all members of the bloodline are dishonored. You can clear your name by challenging the accusations or performing a great service to the Empire.........or if you know the Chancellor and he needs you more than those that would object to your being reinstated.
4. Jm'pok did as a political move, he reinstated the House of Duras and allied his own House with them for the power that they wield.
5. His actions in uncovering the Undine were deemed to be exceptional and invaluable to the Empire, thus giving Jm'pok a leg to stand on in reinstating his family name and honor.
6. There is not an exact number known
7. With the House of Duras being reinstated and their Honor restored, all of the Houses that were indebted to the House of Duras for whatever reason must now honor those debts. Hense why it was such a political boon for Jm'pok to reinstate Ja'rod so that now everything that was owed to the House of Duras, is basically owed to him so long as he and Ja'rod remain close.
It is quite ironic that the House of Duras has more standing than the House of Martok, currently. Ja'rod also seems to adhere more closely to traditional Klingon ideals than several of his ancestors - another irony being that he may easily end up being dragged down together with Jm'pok, who seems to be a bit shadier than Ja'rod (both in the ways it is implied he dealt with Martok and his son as well as him being responsible for annulling the Khitomer Accords).
Ah, since the second part of the 6th question wasn't really addressed, allow me to add this:
http://www.coldnorth.com/memoryicon/iconlinks/klingon_preview_2.pdf
I found the description of the minor and greater Houses and their relations to be quite fitting!
Frankly I'd like to see Worf made Chancellor. He'd be fair enough to put the Empire's interests first without being an absolute tool and waging war for war's sake.
But if Jm'pok is being manipulated somehow and it's not the Undine, maybe it's the same power that had enthralled Admiral Taris...?
As for Worf becoming Chancellor - meh, that'd just end the war with the Federation (which I still think makes an interesting story backdrop and a proper reason for PvP) and will see the Gorn leave the KDF.
Whew.
Point is, Cryptic needs to do something with the war plot line. What keeps it going? Who is winning, who is losing? We need something. We need some sort of story here, some sort of narrative. If WoW can make Machina to tell stories, then so can cryptic. I mean hell, look at what they did with the Defari series.
I know they've got man power shortages, but it's just the sort of things I'd like to see personally. Give me a reason to fight.