A Clan of the T'lan Imass

"Profound indeed,"  Ulag said.  "First Sword, they are T'lan Imass of a second Ritual.  The descendants of those who sought to follow Kilava Onnass when she rejected the first Ritual.  It was their failure to determine beforehand Kilava's attitude to being accompanied.  But when there is but one hole in the ice, then all must use it to breathe."

"My sister invited no one."

"Alas.  And so it comes to this.  These three are Bonecasters of the Brold T'lan Imass.  Lid Ger, Lera Epar and Nom Kala.  The Brold number two thousand seven hundred twelve.  The majority of these remain in the dust of our wake.  Our own Orshayn number six hundred twelve – you see them here.  If you need us, we shall serve."

Tools thoughts on these Bonecasters : The remaining three were wrong in other ways.  They were clothed in the furs of the white bear – a beast that had come late in the age of the Imass – and their faces were flatter, the underlying structure more delicate than that of true Imass.  Their weapons were mostly bone, ivory, tusk or antler, with finely chipped chert and flint insets.  Weapons defying the notion of finesse: intricate in their construction and yet the violence they would deliver promised an almost primitive brutality. (DoD)