The M'Calls are a clan of the Plainfolk Mutes belonging to the She-Kargo bloodline. In AD 2989 the M'Calls were the paramount clan of the She-Kargo, a position they claimed following their victory over the B'Nardino clan of the D'Troit at the epic Battle of the Black Hills. They maintained this position until their destruction at the hands of the Amtrak Federation during the Battle of Twin Forks in the summer of 2991.
The strength of the clan was ascribed to it possessing a wordsmith who was also a summoner, Mr Snow, and his apprentice, Cadillac, who was both a wordsmith and seer. Clearwater, a third member of the clan, was also a summoner. This amount of power concentrated in one tribe made them extremely powerful and also a sizable threat to the Federation.
Territory[]
The M'Calls area of operation was a vast swathe of southern Wyoming, extending from the western edge of the former state to the eastern. They had several traditional turfs in this territory, including high ground in the Wind River Range (a subset of the Rocky Mountains) and crop-planting fields in the south-east of the state near navref Laramie. This area immediately adjoined the Federation New Territory of Colorado, putting the M'Calls on the front lines once the Federation began to expand northwards into Plainfolk territory.
History[]
The M'Calls have a long and honourable history. They have been favoured with many wordsmiths over the centuries, and have fielded many famous warriors. In 2974 they defeated the B'Nardinos in a running engagement lasting more than a day near the Black Hills (in the former state of South Dakota) and claimed the position of the paramount clan of the She-Kargo, a position they continued to hold until their demise.
In 2989 the M'Calls were the first Plainfolk clan to challenge the might of the Amtrak Federation when the wagon-train known as the Lady from Louisiana invaded their turf with the intent of destroying their settlement and cropfields. In the Battle of the Now and Then River the M'Calls turned back the Lady after wiping out her air wing and inflicting heavy damage on the wagon-train. This won them great standing in the eyes of their fellow clans, although their losses were heavy, with some 250 (a third of the clan's fighting strength) slaughtered in the engagement. The M'Calls won further acclaim when they brought a large number of captured Tracker renegades to the trading post in May 2990. In return for this and other services, the Iron Masters gave the M'Calls powerful long sharp iron for use in battle.
In late 2990 several Mutes affiliated with the M'Calls wreaked destruction and chaos in Ne-Issan when they destroyed the Heron Pool and wiped out several powerful and high-ranking Iron Masters, including Lord Hirohito Yama-Shita. Furious, the Yama-Shita family forged an alliance with the D'Troit bloodline and plotted an ambush at the following year's meet at the trading post. Thanks to the quick thinking of Mr Snow, the M'Calls and their allies avoided destruction and wiped out the Yama-Shita fleet and most of the opposing Mutes at the Battle of the Trading Post in May 2991. Although this was an enormous victory and paved the way for closer cooperation between the Plainfolk before the coming of Talisman, the M'Calls' role in provoking the Iron Masters was not overlooked by some Mutes.
The M'Calls ambushed the Lady from Louisiana two months later, mistakenly believing it was Red River, the Federation flagship. In the resulting battle the Lady was completely destroyed and its thousand-strong crew wiped out, but the M'Calls were in turn exterminated by Tracker reinforcements from four additional wagon-trains arriving on the scene. The few survivors - Cadillac and Clearwater - were permitted to join the M'Kenzie clan.
Members[]
Elders[]
- Rolling Stone, the chief clan elder of the M'Calls.
- Air-Supply, a clan elder of the M'Calls, skilled in woodcraft. Assisted in the construction of the glider Blue-Bird.
- Buffalo-Head, a senior den mother of the M'Calls, in charge of food stores and supplies.
- Iron-Maiden, a clan elder of the M'Calls.
- Sting-Ray, a clan elder of the M'Calls.
- Three Degrees, a clan elder of the M'Calls, created Steve Brickman's crutches whilst he was a prisoner and helped in the construction of Blue-Bird.
Magic-wielders[]
- Mr Snow, clan wordsmith also blessed with summoner powers, killed at the Battle of Twin Forks.
- Cadillac, Mr Snow's apprentice, a wordsmith and seer.
- Clearwater, Cadillac's promised life-partner, a summoner.
Bears[]
- Average-White, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River.
- Burger-King, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River.
- Black-Top, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River.
- Blue-Thunder, a M'Call warrior who becomes paramount warrior of the clan following Motor-Head's death.
- Camp-David, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River.
- Curved-Air, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River.
- Death-Wish, a M'Call warrior, used as a messenger between Mr Snow and Clearwater during his journey to Twin Forks.
- Doctor-Hook, a M'Call warrior who helped Mr Snow apprehend a band of Tracker renegades in Nebraska.
- Fort-Knox, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River.
- Good-Year, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River but failed the test and was killed by Rolling-Stone.
- Gulf-Oil, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River.
- Henry-K, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River.
- Hershey-Bar, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River.
- Kid-Creole, a M'Call warrior who helped Mr Snow apprehend a band of Tracker renegades in Nebraska.
- Little Feet, a newly-raised warrior of the M'Calls, only fourteen years old, killed at the Battle of the Now and Then River.
- Manhattan-Transfer, a M'Call warrior and scout.
- Motor-Head, paramount warrior of the M'Calls until his death at the hands of Steve Brickman in 2989.
- Osi-Bisa, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River.
- Seven-Up, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River.
- Steel-Eye, a M'Call warrior who bit the arrow following the Battle of the Now and Then River.
She-wolves[]
- Night-Fever, a She-wolfe of the M'Calls who developed an attraction to Steve Brickman during his captivity.
- Snake-Hips, a She-Wolf of the M'Calls.
- Ultra-Vox, a She-Wolf of of the M'Calls.