Kynes the Umma as a possible threat to his own standing Following Stiigar s victory on STILGAR 476 the killing floor Forad-Naib and leader of the sietch-welcomed him into the tnbe, pointing out to any other would-be combatants that the newcomer had proven his right to join them Stilgar's place at Sietch Tabr was further anchored when Pardot Kynes arranged for Stilgar's Wood-brotherhood with tile young Liet-Kynes a year later For his first seventeen years at Tabr, Stilgar followed the usual pattern for Fremen males he worked at the plantings, he fought Har-konnens and their allies, and he met the other men of the sietch in practice knife combat, where he coujd be compared with and e>aluated by his peers That he was often meeting good friends in practice combat did not seem incongruous to Stilgar, nor to any of the other Fremen The burda (leadership) of s stetch was passed from one man to the next by challenge and a fight to the death, so it was best to know how friends fought The practice served the double purpose of educating the likely in how to win and convincing the unlikely not to offer challenge, ail while keeping the young men's hand-to-hand skills sharpened Stilgar married twice during this same period, in 10160 to Misra and in 10168 to Tharthar, both women of Sietch Tabr Hts first son, Atir, was bom m 10165, Misra was also delivered of a daughter (stillborn) in 10169, while Tharthar gave birth in 10170 to a surviving daughter, Kala In 10175, Stilgar's position changed Pardot Kynes' death m a cave-in at Plaster Basin left the nineteen-year-old Liet-Kynes to take over leadership of the tribes This accident was the signal in several sietches-Tabr among them-to reexamine their leaders The older naibs like Forad were seen as relics from the days before Kynes, better replaced by younger men in whom the Umma's dreams and ideals had been instilled since birth It came as no surprise to Forad when Stilgar, already hav ing proven himself many times as the best fighter of his group, Called him out a few weeks after the death of Pardot Kynes Nor did Stilgar's victory over the older, slower man startle anyone at Sietch Tabr What did surprise the Fremen community was Liet-Kynes1 timely and unannounced arrival, riding m on a sandworm and striding onto the killing floor only moments after the watermen earned Forad's body away Misra paused in bandaging the slash wound Stilgar had received on his right side during the fight, and the sietch held its collective breath, waiting to see if I ict-Kynes now intended to challenge his blood-brother J The new naib, still flushed from the exer tion of the combat, also waited While he did nothing to betray his feelings at the time, Stilgar later described the moment as "more fearsome than facing a legion of other men alone I was terrified that my brother would call me out, and whether more from fear of killing him or of being killed, I cannot say The agony was bnef, happily ending when