History of the Clans

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This article details the history of The Clans. For more information, see The Clans.

Fall of the Star League

Though the Star League officially disbanded in 2781, Aleksandr Kerensky would spend the next two years shuttling between the Great Houses in an attempt to salvage the situation. He finally abandoned this effort by August of 2783 and began work on a plan he hoped would at least preserve the spirit of the League. In February of 2784 he made this plan known to the rest of the SLDF: they would depart from the Inner Sphere and live in exile, denying the competing great houses the misuse of their military might during the coming conflagration which would soon engulf known space. Fully eighty percent of the SLDF agreed to this plan, and in November of that year they made their fateful departure. After years of travel coreward from the Inner Sphere, the massive flotilla of Star League refugees came upon five marginally habitable worlds, the so-called Pentagon Worlds (due to their nearly pentagonal relation to each other), in August of 2786.

Upon their arrival Kerensky's followers tried to return to life as they knew it and once again create a Star League. The early months and years of the colonization effort were tough - an estimated sixty thousand perishing due to the harsh environment and deadly new diseases - however by 2794 prosperity had taken hold and colonization efforts were directed to a group of nearby Stars, the Kerensky Cluster. Unfortunately, with this prosperity came greed, jealousy and other human failings, and soon old allegiances and prejudices began to rear their ugly heads. In 2800 the first of several small-scale clashes broke out on Eden between colonists of Capellan and Federated Suns origin; by May of next year full-scale rebellion broke out when the Capellan faction declared their independence. Kerensky proved unable to bring the colonists back in line, and indeed following the DeChavilier Massacre the violence spread to the remaining four Pentagon worlds. By June all-out war was raging on Eden, and Aleksandr was in the midst of planning an operation to end the fighting when, on 11 June 2801, he died of a massive heart attack at his command post. So began the Exodus Civil War, which would eventually encompass all five Pentagon worlds and last nearly twenty years.

Founding of the Clans

As Aleksandr's eldest son, Major-General Nicholas Kerensky, commander of the 146th Royal BattleMech Division, was his designated heir to take command of the exiled SLDF after his father's death on Eden in 2801.

Nicholas Kerensky

A majority of the senior SLDF officers, rejected him due to his lack of combat experience. These officers would later make their own attempts to assume command of the exiled SLDF. Realizing that a civil war was inevitable, Nicholas decided to not press his claim and took those loyal to him on a Second Exodus to Strana Mechty, one of the newly founded colonies in the Kerensky Cluster. Nicholas' forces includes exiled SLDF navy under Admiral Stephen McKenna, his own BattleMech division, the 146th, and 149th BattleMech Division. Over the next several months Nicholas' forces were able to evacuate nearly a quarter of the civilian population - roughly a million people - with the last transports leaving the Pentagon Worlds on 29th of January 2802. Along with civilians, they secured enough military and industrial resources to build another civilization on Strana Mechty. It was these people that went with him on the second exodus would form the foundation of the Clans.

Nicholas soon came to the conclusion that eventually his exiles would succumb to the same failings as had taken over in the Pentagon worlds, and became determined to remodel society from the ground up. He sought to create a new society which eliminated all previous cultural biases and rewarded merit and ability. He borrowed ideas from the medieval Mongol hordes, Shogunate Japan and twentieth century China to create the twenty Clans, each one a reinforced battalion of forty warriors. Of the thousands of troops which had joined his Second Exodus, rigorous testing was used to ensure only the best able, regardless of gender, race or any other quota, would have the honor of becoming among the eight hundred to join the Clans. Nicholas himself participated and passed the combat trials to prove his worth, and in June 2815 declared himself ilKhan, supreme ruler of the Clans. While the term Clans was originally supposed to refer only to the warriors, it would eventually encompass all of the civilians as well, an attempt to put a final end to old allegiances and affiliations.

Operation KLONDIKE

By mid-2821, Nicholas had judged the time was right and unleashed Operation KLONDIKE, the campaign to take back the Pentagon worlds. Success was finally achieved in May 2822 and at first the liberated populations were for the most part relieved: much of the civilian population was simply thankful for the devastating fighting to be over, while those who had exploited them were hunted down to be tried, convicted, tortured, and executed as an object lesson. However, the brutality of the post-liberation months prompted some within the Clans to begin questioning Nicholas' methods and even his leadership. Though the first rumblings of discontent would come from Clan Jade Falcon (whose Khans eventually purged themselves of this "cancer" in what became known as The Culling), opposition to the ilKhan's authority eventually coalesced around Clan Wolverine. This opposition came to a head in August 2823 when the Grand Council ordered the Wolverines to share their Brian Cache on Circe with the other Clans, an order they protested unsuccessfully first in the council and then in a Trial of Refusal in October. In her final Grand Council meeting, Khan Sarah McEvedy made the fatal error of not only insulting Nicholas, and by extension the other Clans, but declaring her Clan independent. The Wolverines' nuclear attack on Clan Snow Raven's genetic repository was the final nail in the coffin, and in the proceeding Trial of Annihilation Clan Wolverine ceased to exist; even their very name was stricken from the records, to be forever known as the "Not-Named Clan."

Opposition to his rule destroyed, the ilKhan set about restructuring society and laying the groundwork for future prosperity. New worlds were explored and colonized, industry rebuilt, and the population finally reached its prewar levels in 2832 thanks to the eugenics program. Tragedy struck just two years later however during a Trial of Refusal between Clan Wolf and Clan Widowmaker, refereed by the ilKhan and the other Clan Khans. When the duel degenerated into a melee the ilKhan attempted to step in, but was accidentally fired upon and killed by the Widowmaker Khan. Incensed by the death of their leader, the combined Clans laid waste to the Widowmakers, with Clan Wolf given the honor of Absorbing the remnants. A new ilKhan would eventually be elected, though through the years the position slowly lost its authority and prestige until ending altogether in 2947, and the remaining eighteen Clans would continue to develop and factionalize along different lines.

Elemental battle armor

Golden Century

The hundred years between 2830 and 2930 became known as the Golden Century, a time of immense prosperity and growth. The relaxation of social mores and taboos, which had been essential for survival during the early Second Exodus, became permanent fixtures in Clan culture. Much scientific and technological progress took place during this time, most notably when Clan Coyote fielded the first OmniMech in 2854, and with the introduction of battle armor by Clan Wolf in 2868. The period also saw the Absorption of Clan Mongoose by Clan Smoke Jaguar, and the beginning of many long-standing feuds. Without a strong ilKhan to settle them these disputes would intensify until finally they became wrapped up in an overarching drive which soon gripped the Clans: the Hidden Hope Doctrine and the return to the Inner Sphere.

Crusader/Warden Split

During the Political Century, Clan society coalesced around two competing viewpoints: Crusaders who believed it was their right to reestablish the Star League by force with themselves as leaders, and Wardens who thought it was their mission to protect the Inner Sphere from outside threats while maintaining their own distinct culture. The Jade Falcons were at the forefront of the Crusader faction, their role eventually taken over by the Smoke Jaguars, and were first to introduce a motion to the Grand Council to invade the Inner Sphere in 2980. Their motion was defeated by the heads of the Warden faction, Clans Wolf and Coyote, but the Wardens knew that public opinion was turning against them and it would only be a matter of time before the Crusaders could muster enough support to overrule them.

The debate would continue for decades, only interrupted in 2985 following the renaming of Clan Sea Fox to Clan Diamond Shark, and by 3000 the Clans were on the brink of invasion. Trying to buy more time, Clan Wolf succeeded in brokering the Dragoon Compromise, reasoning that the Clans needed a more accurate picture of the situation in the Inner Sphere. Comprised mostly of freeborn warriors, Wolf's Dragoons would present themselves as a mercenary force for hire while secretly reconnoitering the Successor States. Their mission started off to great success in the early years of the thirty-first century, painting an accurate picture of the many developments which had taken place in the Clans' absence. However, the apparent desertion of the

ilKhan Leo Showers

Dragoons around 3019 only agitated the Crusaders further. When rumors of first the Fourth Succession War and then the War of 3039 reached them, they put the invasion again to a vote, each time only narrowly defeated by the efforts of Clan Wolf.

Operation REVIVAL

In the summer of 3048 the Outbound Light, a ComStar exploration ship, appeared in orbit of the Smoke Jaguar capital world Huntress and was quickly seized. Khan Leo Showers, an ardent Crusader, now had the perfect opportunity to force through his agenda. Holding in his possession the only source of current information on the Inner Sphere, he manipulated it to his advantage, and on 21 November convinced enough members of the Grand Council to pass a vote to invade the Inner Sphere. A month later Showers was voted ilKhan, the first in a century, to oversee the invasion effort. One year later Operation REVIVAL officially began, first by conquering the worlds along the Periphery and then, on 7 March 3050, invading the Inner Sphere proper.

Ill-prepared for an assault of this scale from an unexpected direction, the Inner Sphere's defenses swiftly collapsed in the face of the Clan assault. While the Clans achieved spectacular successes in the first two waves of their invasion, it was marred by their failure to capture - or realize they had captured - the heirs to the Federated Commonwealth and Draconis Combine. Indeed, the escape of Hohiro Kurita from the Smoke Jaguars on Turtle Bay would lead to the infamous orbital bombardment of Edo by that Clan's flagship. As well, the cooperation between the invading Clans which ilKhan Showers had called for never materialized; the invasion soon degenerated into a race to see who could conquer more worlds quicker, hastening the pace of the proceeding waves. Reverses were suffered by the Falcons at the Battle of Twycross and the Jaguars at the Battle of Wolcott, but it would take the sudden death of ilKhan Showers on 1 November 3050 to actually halt the invasion.

Tukayyid

Main article: Battle of Tukayyid (3052)

The invading Clans realized they would need to elect a new ilKhan to lead the invasion, but such a process could only take place with a vote of all the Bloodnamed warriors, forcing them to return to their Homeworlds.

Aftermath of Tukayyid

This process took a year to complete and gave the Inner Sphere breathing room to rebuild and prepare. Now led by Ulric Kerensky of Clan Wolf, the fifth wave of the invasion began in November 3051 and again threatened to sweep through the Inner Sphere. However, it was also during this time that ilKhan Kerensky revealed to ComStar the goal of their invasion was Terra herself. Up to this point ComStar had been "neutral" in the conflict, even aiding the Clans in the administration of their conquered worlds. But with their seat of power threatened, Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht made a daring proposal. The Com Guards would fight the Clans at a neutral site to decide the fate of the invasion: if they won the Clans would agree to a fifteen-year truce, if they lost then Terra was theirs. The resulting Battle of Tukayyid was a resounding victory for ComStar and brought about an end to Operation Revival.

Refusal War

Main article: Refusal War

Though still allowed by the terms of the agreement to attack those worlds which lay "above" the treaty line (in addition to covert attempts to breach it, particularly by the Red Corsairs), the Truce of Tukayyid was a bitter pill for the Clans to swallow. Much blame was laid at ilKhan Kerensky's feet for the disastrous outcome, especially by those Crusaders within his own Clan. In the summer of 3057 they charged the ilKhan with genocide for denying their warriors the right to combat against the Inner Sphere. The ilKhan decided to bring these charges before the Grand Council, which by a narrow majority found him guilty. The result was the Refusal War, a conflict which saw both Clans Wolf and Jade Falcon devastated and the former split asunder, a Crusader-minded Clan Wolf and a Warden-minded Clan Wolf-in-Exile.

Each of the devastated Clans attacked their neighbors in a show of strength, the Jade Falcons penetrating into the Lyran Alliance as far as Coventry while the Wolves raided the Smoke Jaguars for more breeding stock. On 19 November 3058 the Clans met on Strana Mechty to elect a new ilKhan, Lincoln Osis of the Smoke Jaguars, who took it as his mandate for the resumption of the invasion. For the next six months, the Clans went about with their preparations - both the Jade Falcons and Wolves launching the Harvest Trials to rebuild their shattered forces - while the shocking discovery in February of 3059 that Clan Burrock had been allied with the Bandit Caste brought about the Burrock Absorption.

Operation BULLDOG and Task Force Serpent

Finally, the Clans were prepared to attack, only to receive disturbing news: the Successor States had rallied under the banner of the Second Star League and launched their own attack, Operation BULLDOG, intended to drive the Smoke Jaguars out of the Inner Sphere. Thanks to their skill at arms, Clan Nova Cat switching sides, and the neutrality of Clan Ghost Bear, the Second Star League succeeded in completely reclaiming all of the conquered Smoke Jaguar worlds in a matter of months.

The second of the one-two knockout punch came in early 3060 when Task Force Serpent, which had been launched simultaneously with Operation BULLDOG, appeared in orbit above Huntress. Battle raged across the Smoke Jaguar homeworld from the first landings on 2 March until final victory on 7 April, by which point the Star League had achieved their goal of utterly destroying a Crusader Clan, which they hoped would give the Wardens more political power. On 12 April the reborn SLDF sent a delegation to Strana Mechty and before the Grand Council called for a Trial of Refusal against the invasion of the Inner Sphere. IlKhan Osis agreed, but both himself and the rest of the Council was blindsided when Clan Ghost Bear declared they would not take part in the Trials, and indeed had switched their allegiance to the Warden faction. The rest of the Wardens refused to take part as well, leaving only the Crusader Clans and the tattered remnants of the Smoke Jaguars to face off against the Inner Sphere forces in the Great Refusal. By a score of five victories, two losses and a draw the Inner Sphere won, and the Clans were bound by honor to adhere to the original Treaty of Tukayyid.

After the Great Refusal

The Grand Council was left to absorb and debate what had happened in the preceding months during their meeting on 27 April. Due to their treachery in siding with the Inner Sphere, Khan N'Buta of Clan Star Adder called for the Nova Cats to be Annihilated, though the Wardens (led by Clan Ghost Bear) blocked that vote. Instead, Khan Ward of Clan Wolf called for their Abjuration, which achieved the necessary four-fifths majority, and the Nova Cats were given a month to evacuate their Clan holdings. It was also during this meeting that a startling truth became known: the Ghost Bears had in secret achieved a complete relocation of their Clan to their Inner Sphere occupation zone, renamed the Ghost Bear Dominion, with assistance from Clans Diamond Shark and Snow Raven. This revelation brought about another vote for Annihilation, this time brought forth by the Bears' old rivals Clan Hell's Horses, though this too was defeated by the Bear-Raven-Shark voting bloc.

What followed became known as the Wars of Possession, as all of the Clans proceeded to fight amongst each other over who would take over the now-unoccupied holdings of the Smoke Jaguars, Ghost Bears and Nova Cats (though for the Cats in many cases the other Clans did not bother to wait for their departure), with the conflicts lasting into 3062.

Wars of Reaving

Main article: Wars of Reaving

ilKhan Brett Andrews would engineer both the Wars of Reaving and his own Clan's demise.

Following the events of the Great Refusal, news would reach The Clans about the Second Star League's disbandment and expiration of the Truce of Tukayyid, they would vote to elect an ilKhan to handle matters on a renewed invasion. Fire Mandrill Khan, Garret Sainze was elected as ilKhan to handle the aftermath of a renewed invasion, however his rule was met with poor reception and was killed by Ariel Suvorov. He would later be succeeded by Brett Andrews, Khan of the recently ejected Clan Steel Viper. Under ilKhan Andrews' rule, he would turn his attention to the Invading Clans stating that in order to start a new invasion, The Clans must be purged of Inner Sphere taint from the contact of the Inner Sphere. IlKhan Brett Andrews would destroy Blood Chapels associated with Inner Sphere and sever communications between the Homeworld and Inner Sphere.

Many of the Invader Clans would also be abjured from Clan space during this civil war among the Clans as their assets would be claimed by the other Clans. A new Clan was forged from the remnants of the Hell's Horses who had never been to the Inner Sphere and Clan Burrock would make an attempted resurrection before their demise in 3074. However, for every Clan abjured, ilKhan Andrews and his Steel Vipers' days were being numbered. The Vipers' destruction would finally happen when the language of the Reavings were turned against them in 3075. The ilKhan would challenge the Star Adder Khan, Stanislov N'Buta, to a duel only to kill him dishonorably. This would cause his soon-to-be successor to beat him to death with the Star Adder ceremonial mask and oversee operations to eliminate Clan Steel Viper once and for all. The destruction of the Steel Vipers would end the Wars of Reaving with the remaining Viper assets and Bloodnames being spread to the rest of the Clan.

After the Wars of Reaving was over, Clan society became split as a whole on both sides stemming from resentment and territory. The Home Clans, feeling that the Invading Clans were irredeemably tainted by their contact through the Inner Sphere, would create the Bastion-Aggressor philosophies. Both philosophies espousing isolation until a new invasion was underway. The Invading Clans would still maintain the Crusader-Warden views (although not referring to themselves as either). Feeling similarity that Home Clans had lost their way to jealously and politics, the remaining Spheroid Clans would form the Council of Six and close off all contact from their homeworld counterparts.

Dark Age

The Chinggis Khan, Malvina Hazen would become the enemy of everyone, Clan and Inner Sphere alike during the Dark Ages.

After the Jihad Era, the Spheroid Clans enjoyed a relative peace during the early 3100's, as they recovered from the carnage of the Word of Blake. Some Clans settled in with their Spheroid neighbors and merged with them forming new nations, such as the Rasalhague Dominion and Raven Alliance, while others like Clan Diamond Shark reverted back to their original namesake. However, the events of the HPG Blackout and silence from this new era would change that. Following this change of events, different Clans experienced their own splinter groups, in an attempt to break away from their influence of the Republic of the Sphere, such as the Clan Wolf splinter factions like the Steel Wolves and Wolf Hunters mercenary unit and the Clan Nova Cat offshoot known as the Spirit Cats after their parent clans' destruction. Despite the Blackout, some spheroid powers and clans used this as an opportunity to weaken the Republic and to further their own ambitions. Clan Jade Falcon was no exception to this opportunity given to them. While the other clans were content with their status remaining aloof to Kerensky's vision, the Jade Falcons still remember the Crusader cause of conquering Terra and launched a desant into the Republic of the Sphere. After the death of Aleksandr Hazen from the Northwind Highlanders and the evidence that Khan Jana Pryde was using Malvina Hazen and her forces as cannon fodder, the latter would challenge (and win) against the former in a Trial of Position claiming all of Clan Jade Falcon as her own. This victory and its consequence would come back to haunt Malvina and her clan later on. Under Malvina Hazen's rule, Clan Jade Falcon became a tainted clan, known for terrorizing people under her interpretation of Clan Hell's Horses' Mongol Doctrine. In addition to her dishonorable actions, Khan Hazen has turned every other Clan and Inner Sphere nation against her, making her and the Falcons public enemy number one.

Aside from the Jade Falcon Clan, another major player was Clan Wolf. They too, have not forgotten their promise of claiming Terra to become the ilClan and had been making calculated moves to inch themselves closer to the world. One of these moves was to take their assets out of their Clan Occupation Zone and move into Lyran Commonwealth territory, forming the Wolf Empire. The Wolves had their hands tied in combating forces from the Lyrans and the Free Worlds League as they grew their territory. After the election of new Wolf Khan Alaric Ward, it was later decided that the time to claim Terra was right now as he recruited talented warriors from other clans to join his crusade. Alaric and his clan were successful in breaching the Fortress Wall and contacted Clan Jade Falcon to give them assistance to breach the wall as well, culminating in the Battle of Terra. A third party, Clan Hell's Horses finally decided to make their race to Terra, by creating Operation Stampede. This operation ensured two objectives: to make a path towards Terra and to punish Clan Jade Falcon for misusing their Mongol Doctrine following the aftermath of Operation NOYAN. Even though the Horses pushed through every world with haste, the Clan later found out that they arrived too late.

ilClan Trial

Main article: ilClan Trial

Alaric Ward, the creator of the ilClan Trial and newly declared ilKhan and First Lord of the Reborn Star League.

As the fighting between Clans Wolf, Jade Falcon and the Republic of the Sphere drew to a close on Geneva, Exarch Damien Redburn committed an act that would not only cost his life, but the Republic's as well. Redburn initiated Operation NIGHTHAWK, a false-flag operation that would not only confuse Clan Wolf and Jade Falcon to fight each other, but destroyed their leadership at the same time. However, the operation failed when Redburn was killed and the deception was revealed. After this dishonorable act, Devlin contacted Alaric and Malvina to discuss terms of surrender, ending the battle. As a consequence of the late Redburn's actions, Devlin Stone had no choice but to forcibly disband the Republic of the Sphere permanently. Remaining RAF personnel (along with the Fidelis) and their equipment were absorbed by Clan Wolf as isorla. With the Republic of the Sphere out of the way, Alaric proposed one final trial to Malvina: The ilClan Trial. Not only would the winner own Terra, but they would become the ilClan and the Khan would claim the titles of First Lord of the Star League and ilKhan. Malvina accepted the Trial and it took place on the plains of North America. ilClan Trial was brutal as both sides mauled each other similarly to the Refusal War of old. But the battle ended when Malvina was defeat in battle by SaKhan Anastasia Kerensky, claiming Alaric as the victor along with the titles of First Lord of the Star League and ilKhan of the Clans along with Terra under his possession. The Wolves and Jade Falcon spent months recovering and reforming as the ilClan was being created. With the deaths of Malvina Hazen, Devlin Stone, the manipulation and near-destruction of the Wolf's Dragoons complete and reformation of Clan Smoke Jaguar, the Dark Age Era ended with a new chapter of the ilClan Era opened.

ilClan Era

After the ilClan Trial concluded in 3152, delegates of every Spheroid Clan came to witness the inauguration of Alaric Ward as the ilKhan and First Lord of the Star League. While other clans acknowledged him and his victory, a furious Hell's Horses Khan, Gottfried Amirault accused Khan Ward of denying his clan the opportunity of competing in the ilClan Trial. But the new ilKhan Ward called him out by addressing the problems of his Operation Stampede and his Mongol Doctrine with logic-filled insults. Further angered by this, Amirault challenged Alaric, in which he declined flatly. As a result, the Horse Khans refused to acknowledge Alaric as the ilKhan and departed from the Inner Sphere, swearing revenge.

Outside of the Inner Sphere, the Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone was fragmented as a consequence of Malvina Hazen moving a majority of her forces to Terra. This zone was known as the Hinterlands, with some former Falcon worlds created their own governments like the Alyina Mercantile League and the Turkina Ascendancy, while Lyran defectors (Vesper Marches, Tamar Pact and the Arc-Royal Liberty Coalition) formed their own empires, a Jade Falcon Remnant faction was left holding onto their former territory. On top of that, Clan Hell's Horses turned their Operation Stampede into a source to vent their anger on by attacking the former Jade Falcon worlds until their defeat after the Battle of Sudeten.

In addition, Clan Wolf must now contend with an angry Wolf's Dragoons unit who was manipulated by the new ilKhan. They took their fury and anger out on the Wolf Empire, while at the same time, rebuilding their forces and reputation that was destroyed by their former comrades during the ilClan Trial.

Bibliography

• The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky
• Historical: Operation Klondike
• The Wars of Reaving