Clan Blood Spirit

Clan Blood Spirit Logo

"The Grand Council, in arrogance, gave their decree: Blood Spirit, you must conform to the Way of the Clans. You have strayed from the Path; we will lead you back. The flash of the blade, the striking knife, the traitor's stab! On the Path our step is true, while the other Clans falter. We held out our hands, in the spirit of Kerensky's Dream, and our brethren chose to treat the gesture as folly. Isolation's embrace, we forsake all and live for the future."

The Remembrance (Clan Blood Spirit)

Passage: 42, Verse 7, Lines 5-12

Named for the esprit-de-corps that bound the original 800 Clan warriors, ironically, the Blood Spirits are the most isolationist and bitter of the Clans. They believe that the other Clans have abandoned the way set down by Nicholas Kerensky, little caring that they too are guilty of abandoning Kerensky's visions.

"For the first and only time, the Blood Spirits here bare their soul to the rest of the Clans. All know why we have kept ourselves apart from those who betrayed the Kerensky's vision. Here, amid the pages of history, military practices and a listing of our current strengths and weaknesses, you will discover why we have removed our shell, if only briefly."

Bayle Campbell, Loremaster, Clan Blood Spirit

History & Origins

Founded by Colleen Schmitt, the Blood Spirits set about living up to their name by creating the post of ilChi, ambassador/messengers assigned to each of the other Clans to smooth communications and foster good will. Their dream did not live long. The Blood Spirits had expressed some sympathy for Clan Wolverine, and the Burrocks called for the Spirit's annihilation, too. The motion foundered, but it was the start of a long feud.

The other Clans, predominantly the Burrocks and Mongoose, targeted the Spirits with near constant raids, and the Spirits eventually lost their holdings on Albion and Homer. Abandoned by the other Clans, the Blood Spirits chose to abandon their former comrades. The ilChis were withdrawn and over the years the sense of brotherhood was replaced by hatred.

Years of fighting had shattered the Spirits, but their isolation, small size and lack of any resources worth fighting over probably saved them from Absorption. They were surprised in the middle of the Golden Century when the Fire Mandrill Kindraa Smythe-Jewell approached them, offering OmniMech technology in exchange for land. Though wary, the Spirits took the deal and made a similar arrangement with the Snow Ravens a century later, trading a number of their little used WarShips for the bulk of the Snow Raven's second-line BattleMechs.

Although the Blood Spirits participated in the bidding for Operation Revival, they did so in a lackluster manner that ensured their failure to win a place in the trials, let alone the invasion force. Though they followed the Crusader philosophy, the Blood Spirits did not think the time was right for an invasion of the Inner Sphere. They derived some measure of satisfaction and vindication when the invaders faltered at Tukayyid.

In early 3059, the Spirits' long-time foe, Clan Burrock, became the target of a Trial of Absorption, and the Blood Spirit Khans made a rare appearance at the Grand Council to support the measure. The Spirits were horrified when the honor of Absorption went to the Star Adders and decided to take unilateral action; they launched their own attacks against the Burrock enclaves on Priori and Albion.

However, the Spirits underestimated the Adder and Burrock response. Though locked in a trial over the Grand Council's decision, the two Clans worked together to counter the interlopers. The Blood Spirits lost five Galaxies in the assault and gained nothing. They returned to the isolation, emerging only for the Great Refusal a year later.

Society

The Blood Spirits believe that everyone is important to society and there is little of the inter-caste bickering found in other Clans. All the castes are bound by common training, re-creating the sense of brotherhood the Clan once had with the others. However, this does not prevent the ubiquitous trueborn-over-freeborn bias, although if a freeborn warrior can prove his worth to society, the Clan does not place additional obstacles in his way.

To describe the Blood Spirits as insular would be a major understatement. They rarely take bondsmen, and often attempt bondsref rather than be taken in by other Clans. Those few taken by other Clans rival the Fire Mandrills in their lack of cooperation.

Their isolation restricts the Blood Spirits' access to modern technology, and what technology they have obtained has been acquired through a circuitous route. This hardly bothers them, because they see technology as a means to an end. They believe that their abilities alone are sufficient, without the need for a technological "crutch." In a similar vein, they shun the use of cybernetics and related systems. They believe such systems detract from the warrior's spirit, and while a few individuals have cybernetic prostheses, no Blood Spirit warrior had enhanced imaging (EI) implants (a neural network implanted in a MechWarrior that, along with a computer, provides the warrior with a virtual battlefield that can be viewed from any angle) prior to the Absorption War. Since then, a small number of more aggressive warriors have made use of the system.

Though they work together, all members of Clan Blood Spirit are protective of their privacy. Most have some form of hobby, often artistic, that they use as a distraction from the routine of their lives. The Khans and the caste heads have encouraged the practice, and it appears that by granting time to "be themselves" they have strengthened the Clan's internal bonds. Knowing the Clan respects them and their ideas, the individual Blood Spirits do their utmost to further the goals of the Clan.

And yet things appear to be changing in the Blood Spirits. Staunch believers in tradition, their actions in the Absorption War (as they call the action against the Burrocks and Star Adders) flew in the face of tradition and many have questioned Khan Schmitt's judgment. Furthermore, the Clan's defeat at the hands of the Genyosha in the Great Refusal on Strana Mechty has exacerbated their intense dislike of the Inner Sphere. What were once regarded as "uncouth barbarians" are now viewed as "rabid despoilers."

Further, the Spirits are horrified that the Inner Sphere has attained near parity with their Clan in technology, and may in fact be ahead in some areas. They cite the carelessness of the other Clans for this state of affairs, blaming them for the loss of the Great Refusal on Strana Mechty. The Spirits intend to exploit the potential of the ProtoMech, which they gained in a Trial of Possession on Huntress following the Great Refusal, as their best chance of fielding advanced technology with their limited resources.

Military

The Blood Spirits continue to follow the organizational doctrine laid down by Nicholas Kerensky (three 'Mech trinaries, on infantry trinary and on vehicle trinary per cluster) rather than the modified form used by most other clans. They deploy aerospace assets from the naval reserve as needed. Only Clan Hell's Horses makes such widespread use of conventional troops.

Training for Blood Spirit warriors is perhaps the toughest in the Clans, making up for the small number of graduates with their quality. However, while individual warriors are unparalleled in their abilities, Blood Spirit units suffer from lack of initiative. Star Captains and Star Colonels are too accustomed to acting on the orders of their superiors, leading to a rigidity that a wily foe can exploit.

The Clan has taken the unusual step of training all its personnel in basic combat techniques. This gives the Spirits a massive, if low skilled, reserve to fall back upon in the event of an attack on their capital (which, with the exception of their Strana Mechty enclave, is now their only territory). The reserve also serve to bind the civilian and warrior castes together, the bond of common training creating the espirit-de-corps they no longer have with the other Clans.

Allies & Enemies

The Blood Spirits have no official alliances with other Clans, but the continued posting of ilChis to Clans Fire Mandrill and Snow Raven forges a bond and makes those Clans de facto allies. In addition, the Blood Spirits have a tacit relationship with the Diamond Shark, using them as brokers and suppliers.

The Spirits regard most of the other Clans with disdain or hatred, but they single out three for particular attention. Clan Hell's Horses and Clan Coyote are regarded as treacherous for their joint assault that destroyed the Fire Mandrill Kindraa Smythe-Jewel, the association that gave the Spirits OmniMech technology. However, even this hatred pales into insignificance when compared to that they have for the Star Adders. The Adders absorbed Clan Burrock largely intact, and the Spirits have transferred their feud with that Clan to the Adders.

Possessions

The Blood Spirits have never held significant territory. At their greatest extent, they spanned five worlds, and for much of their history they have had only their enclaves on Arcadia and Strana Mechty, as well as dominant (but not absolute) control of York. Since the Absorption War, they have enacted a deliberate policy of isolation, taking the extreme step of withdrawing their people from Arcadia to York. Furthermore, they seized complete control of their capital, forcibly ejecting the Jade Falcons and persuading Clan Snow Raven to withdraw.

On Strana Mechty, their holdings have always been distinct from those of other Clans, isolated by distance from their neighbors. Since the Absorption War, the Spirits have enacted strict controls on passage through their territory, further reducing the already minimal contacts.