Warden Clans
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The Warden Clans were those Clans who adhered to the Warden ideology in Clan politics. The essence of the Warden ideal was that Aleksandr and Nicholas Kerensky had never intended for the Clans to reestablish the Star League by force or conquer the Inner Sphere, but to remain aloof from its corrupting influence while standing ready to intervene should the Inner Sphere require saving from an existential threat.
The Wardens succeeded for decades in preventing the Crusaders from spearheading an invasion of the Inner Sphere until an unforeseen event in 3048 finally resulted in a Crusader-led assault upon the Great Houses. The ultimate failure of that invasion, eventually defeated in accordance with the Clans' own laws, left the Wardens temporarily triumphant before events after 3060 saw the Crusader-Warden divide rendered moot by a permanent rupture between the Home and Invading Clans.
Home and Invader
Continuing with the Warden belief of protecting the Inner Sphere, many Wardens in the Clan Homeworlds who espoused this viewpoint rose up to challenge the Crusaders. This group would become known as the Home Wardens, as their goal is to either weaken the Invading Clans to their non-invasion status or to oppose the Home Crusaders who aim to replace their Invasion counterparts who aim to return to the Inner Sphere.[1]. As for the Invaders, the Clans who took part in the Operation Revival did have a change of heart and vowed to protect the Inner Sphere. So they would come together and call themselves the Invading Wardens, who's goal it was to keep the Invading Crusaders from harming the Inner Sphere. Clan Wolf pre-Refusal War and their exiled counterparts and Clan Ghost Bear-post Great Refusal are the main practitioners of the Invading Warden philosophy.
Membership
Though its membership changed over the years, Clans Wolf and Coyote led the Warden bloc from its beginnings until after the Refusal War, when the Wolves were split between a reborn Crusader-dominated Clan Wolf and the Abjured Clan Wolf in Exile who continued to support the Warden cause. Clan Goliath Scorpion traditionally supported the Warden cause as well, while the majority of Clan Cloud Cobra's cloisters were inclined towards the Warden philosophy.
While nominally Warden, Clans Snow Raven and Steel Viper were in reality fence-straddlers. The Ravens would support Crusader motions that suited their goals, while the Vipers agreed with the Crusader aim of returning to the Inner Sphere and restoring the Star League under Clan leadership.
Clans Diamond Shark and Nova Cat, while pro-Crusader for much of their history, were motivated by benevolent intentions towards the Inner Sphere and so moved into the Warden camp after the Battle of Tukayyid. The Ghost Bears were also Crusaders until some time prior to the Great Refusal, when they officially announced their shift to the Warden stance.
While considered a Crusader Clan, some of Clan Fire Mandrill's Kindraa were supporters of the Warden philosophy. During the 3050s and early 3060s, the rank and file of Clan Hell's Horses were pro-Warden despite their Clan's staunch Crusader leadership. After 3063, the Horses would effectively shift to the Warden camp.
List of Warden Clans from c. 3050 to c. 3067
- Clan Cloud Cobra
- Clan Coyote
- Clan Diamond Shark (Crusader prior to Tukayyid)
- Clan Ghost Bear (Crusader until Great Refusal)
- Clan Goliath Scorpion
- Clan Hell's Horses (Crusader until Khan Malavai Fletcher's death in 3065)
- Clan Nova Cat (Crusader before Operation Bulldog)
- Clan Snow Raven (officially Warden, opportunistic supporter of Crusader policies)
- Clan Steel Viper (shared some Crusader goals)
- Clan Wolf (Crusader after Refusal War)
- Clan Wolf in Exile (extant after the Refusal War)