Callandra Witch

Callandra Witch
Profile
Profession	MechWarrior

Allegedly having defeated hundreds of warriors over the centuries, the Legend of the Callandra Witch refers to an apparently supernatural MechWarrior from the Callandra region of the Pentagon World of Babylon first encountered during Operation KLONDIKE.

History

The legend recounts Clan Sea Fox's encounters with a mysterious MechWarrior during their attempts to conqueror Callandra's nomadic "Mountain People" in the winter of 2821 to 2822. Supposedly as Khan Karen Nagasawa was preparing her troops for an assault against one of the numerous mountain cities in the region, she saw a mysterious figure in the distance, a dancing nomadic witch wearing ceremonial desert garb, replete with mystic jewelry made from human and animal bones, shaking a staff capped by a skull as if casting a hex on the Clan forces. Suddenly disappearing in a swirling cloud of dust, when it cleared the figure of the witch was replaced by a Thunderbolt decorated with human skulls and bones which led an Ostsol and Hunchback in a surprise strike against the Sea Fox forces. Disabling two Clan BattleMechs, the Witch and her fellows dragged one of them back into the desert before the rest of the Sea Fox warriors could come to their assistance. All four 'Mechs would disappear into another swirling dust devil, with the image of the witch again briefly visible before disappearing.

Throughout the first months of 2822 the Sea Fox forces would report further appearances and encounters with the Callandra Witch, sometimes leading a lance but other times alone, accounting for anywhere between a dozen to twenty-three Clan warriors and their 'Mechs. Many of these warriors would apparently wander back from the desert to the Sea Fox lines alive but Dispossessed, but the headless bodies of a number of warriors were found tied to the ground outside the Sea Fox camps as a dire warning to Nagasawa's warriors.

While certainly a good yarn, like many myths and legends, that of the Callandra Witch falls apart with only cursory investigation, most notably Karen Nagasawa was not yet Khan of Clan Sea Fox during the period claimed and that the Witch would have single-handedly accounted for destroying 25% to 50% of the Sea Fox's only Cluster during the fighting on Babylon if the volume of kills credited to her was accurate. But as with many legends it was inspired by an actual event during Operation Klondike, a sand-colored Thunderbolt piloted by an exceedingly skilled female MechWarrior taking part in multiple nomad raids, either on her own or aided by a small lance of elite warriors, her ultimate fate unknown.

That the real witch was never officially known to be captured or killed would also ensure her legend lives on, with numerous Clan warriors claiming to have encountered or witnessed the Callandra Witch and her seemingly indestructible Thunderbolt on-and-off during the Golden Century. With the increase in inter-Clan warfare in the wake of Operation Revival and the Great Refusal, sightings of the Witch swelled dramatically, the Callandra Witch apparently destroying some nineteen 'Mechs and three points of Elementals in the ten years preceding 3074 alone.

In 3132 a Thunderbolt matching the description of the Callandra Witch's 'Mech was seen on Twycross after destroying a Star of Clan Sea Fox 'Mechs.

Rules

The inspiration for the legend, the real Callandra Witch was a lethal and supremely skilled MechWarrior. Leading up to a single lance into combat, the Witch and her "unit" have initiative and overrun special abilities. All are elite warriors who receive a positive initiative modifier. The Witch herself also maintains a number of edge points for use in any battle she is involved in.

Bibliography

• Historical: Operation Klondike
• Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 15