I just had a look at the timeline and something occurs to me... I quote from the timeline. Before the Empire, there were thirty-one tribes (Is 35). Although Kieron's army is called "The Army of All Tribes" (Y 39), it seems to have actually had only seventeen out of a possible thirty-one. What happened to the other fourteen tribes is not yet known. Dolivar is "good with irony" (Is 40). Dolivar shames Kieron & Dragons; he is expelled from tribe (J 114). Dolivar forms the Jhereg tribe (J 113). Surely if the there are 17 tribes now, then at least prior to the formation of the Jhereg the "The Army of all tribes" only had 16 tribes not 17.... And if I may be permitted a speculation, it may be that the Jhereg IS the remnants of the other 14 tribes, presumably after a number of generations of interbreeding they would have developed some genetic homogenity. Mark