Araltum was a haughty and pompous squirrel styling himself "Squirrelking" over a band of squirrels native to a small grove of trees two leagues west from Salamandastron. He had a wife called Idga, upon whom Araltum bestowed the title "Drayqueen". They had a son named Roopert, upon whom they bestowed the title "The Crown Prince". All three were extremely fat, lazy and selfish. Araltum gathered power mainly by hiring mercenaries. He would use feasts and shows of generosity to entice these traveling warriors to pledge their blades to him with and then refuse to release them from his service even after they saw him and his family for the arrogant, self-centered creatures they really were. It was to Araltum that Rakkety Tam MacBurl and Wild Doogy Plumm pledged their blades when they came south