|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Clan
Language and Government |
The Remembrance
| |
|
|
|
Clan Trials |
|
|
|
|
Nicholas was determined that civil war would not
claim his new society. Instead of banning warfare, which he considered part of
human nature, he created controlled conflicts through regulations and rituals.
Thus, the Six Trials of Combat were established. Each trial begins with the
batchall, the formal challenge, by which the aggressor announces to his
opponent his intentions, his goal, and his fighting force.
Trial of Grievance (Honor
Duel)
When disputes arise between individual warriors
that neither they nor their immediate superiors can resolve, both warriors must
petition to have their differences heard by the Clan Council (or the Grand
Council if the opponents are Bloodnamed or hold important rank). Until the
council rules, the disputants are bound by Clan law to avoid any unnecessary
contact. This may be carried to the point of one transferring to another unit.
If one takes aggressive action against the other before the council rules, or
if he disagrees with the council's decision, he or she has committed a breach
of Clan law punishable by expulsion into a lesser caste or out of Clan society
entirely.
The parties may also call for a Trial of
Grievance. The rules governing the trial are many and strict. If the combatants
are MechWarriors or fighter pilots of different weight-class vehicles, the
council must make the contest more even. Often, a vehicle type that is mid-way
in size is chosen, and the disputants have several weeks to become accustomed
to their new vehicles. If the disputants are from different branches of the
warrior caste, then some kind of a middle ground, such as fencing with Medusa
whips, is chosen.
The trial itself is judged by members of the
council, who ensure that trial and combat etiquette is strictly heeded.
This system of decisions and regulations is
designed to outlast the anger that sparked the trial, and that is usually the
case. Some records indicate, however, that sometimes the anger between two
warriors, or two sets of warriors, outlasts even the Trial of Grievance,
degenerating into what we would call a feud. The most notorious and
well-documented failure of the grievance trial system involved the Nicholas
Pride sibko and the Blue Devil sibko of Clan Smoke Jaguar. The Blue Devil
warriors maintained a grudge for several generations, based on an imagined
slight during a Smoke Jaguar Council ceremony.
Other tales suggest that many Honor Duels are
resolved less formally and more swiftly than official sources dictate. For
example, a Trial of Grievance between two sibkin rarely draws the attention of
the Clan Council. Instead, a Circle of Equals is drawn immediately and the two
fight under the supervision of a superior officer until one is knocked from the
circle.
Trial of Position
Trials of Position determine rank and honors.
The Trial of Position determines whether a cadet becomes a warrior as well as
whether a warrior deserves a promotion to the next level of training. The trial
is a combat situation in which the candidate usually faces selected superiors
one at a time with live weapons. The candidate's success determines how far he
advances in rank and responsibility.
The use of live weapons for what is essentially
an examination seems barbaric and wasteful of human life to those outside the
Clans. An accident can easily cut short a promising career or life. It is one
of the best examples of how little regard the Clans have for individual life in
their quest for social supremacy.
Even if the goal is worthy, is it worth the cost
in suffering and human life? When asked this question, a Clansman most often
reacts with a blank stare. The concept of individuality is as alien to the
Clanspeople as they are to us. Those who understand that it is a question of
balance can answer easily. The cause is worth everything, the individual,
nothing. If a warrior is unwilling to risk his life for the good of the Clans,
he cannot claim the status of warrior and is of no use to the Clans. His fellow
Clansmen would prefer to discover this in a test than in the heat of battle.
Therefore, they see no point in using powered-down weapons when a warrior is
training to face real weapons.
Throughout a cadet's training and a warrior's
career, he continually undergoes Trials of Position. From the sibko on, a
warrior must face many trials. The early trials would be familiar to us in the
Inner Sphere as simple exams. The trials grow progressively harder, however,
and the cadet's attitude and mental endurance is tested as well as his
knowledge of facts.
The Trial of Position is also a cadet's final
trial. During this test, two cadets face six front-line warriors with weapons
at full power. Each candidate faces three of the experienced warriors, who
attack one at a time. If a candidate attacks any of the warriors assigned to
another cadet, they are free to return fire, and the combat becomes a general
melee. To pass the trial, a candidate must defeat at least one of his
opponents. If he does so, he becomes a warrior and enters active service.
Defeat of two opponents earns the rank of Star Commander. Defeat of three, a
rare accomplishment, ranks the candidate as a Star Captain. Defeat of four
requires cooperation between the two candidates, in that one surrenders a
potential kill to the other. On only one occasion has a candidate defeated four
opponents in a Trial of Position. Natasha Kerensky accomplished this feat and
earned the rank of Star Colonel upon her recent return to the Clans. A warrior
can be required to repeat the Trial of Position at any time in his career,
especially when his continuing ability to perform is in question, as it was
with Natasha Kerensky's, or when he is in line for a promotion.
Trial of Position for entry
into Clan Burrock
The Trial of Position for entrance
into the clan is a trial where cadets who have completed their training are
given a chance to prove their worthiness to become warriors through a trial of
combat. This trial must be attended
by the Khan or the saKhan, at least one other blood named warrior to act as the
Oathmaster, and three trialing warriors.
The trial will take place on the
Clan Burrock capital planet Albion, in the artic section known as the Equinox or
the map which best tests the skill of the warrior– Team Destruction site,
where our warriors have trialed for generations. The rules of Zellbrigen (single combat)
will apply. This is a trial of
combat skill. Aside from single
combat, there are no restrictions to the engagement.
The cadet must meet three
requirements (proofs) to qualify for a trial of position for entrance to the
clan:
- The cadet must have been on the unit roster for at least two
weeks (proof of desire).
- The cadet must have been in at least five training/combat drops
(proof of experience).
- The cadet must have at least one training/combat kill (proof of
skill).
The trialing cadet may customize
any pure tech clan mech of his/her choice.
The weight class of this mech will determine the weight class of all
mechs used in this trial. The Khan
or saKhan will choose three warriors to fight the cadet. These three warriors will each choose a
stock clan mech from the same weight class as the mech chosen by the
cadet. The trialing warriors may
change the weapons groupings on the stock mechs but may not make other changes. After the cadet and the warriors have
selected and mounted their mechs the Khan or saKhan will order the Oathmaster
to begin the trial.
The Oathmaster will order the
cadet and the warriors to their drop points (drop point 1 for the cadet and
drop point 2 for the trialing warriors) and commence the trial. The trial will be a “cold
drop” and upon dropping all mechs will be powered up and ready. The cadet will call out the first
warrior he/she intends to fight using the traditional challenge, “I cadet (name) challenge (rank and name) to
single combat)”. Once
this announcement is made, both the cadet and the chosen warrior will
engage. If the warrior wins this
initial combat the trial is over and the cadet must return to training for two
weeks before he/she can trial again.
If the cadet wins the initial combat he/she will call out the next
warrior to fight. The cadet will
continue to fight in his/her mech as is, no repairs. Once this announcement is made, both the
cadet and the second warrior will engage.
If the cadet wins the second combat he/she will call out the last
warrior. Again the cadet must
continue to fight in the mech as is, no repairs. Once this announcement is made, both the
cadet and the last warrior will engage in combat.
If the cadet defeats the first
warrior he/she wins the right to join the clan as a Mechwarrior. If the cadet defeats both the first and
second warriors he/she wins the right to join the clan as a Star
Commander. If the cadet defeats all
three warriors he/she wins the right to join the clan as a Star Captain.
Trial of Position for
Promotion in Clan Burrock
The trial of position for
promotion is where warriors of the clan can win promotion to the next higher
rank through a trial of combat.
This trial must be attended by the Khan or the saKhan, and at least two other
blood named warriors, one to act as the Oathmaster and one as the trialing
warrior. Trials of position for
promotion will take place on the Clan Burrock capital planet Albion, in the
artic section known as the Equinox – Team Destruction site, where our warriors
have trialed for generations. The
rules of Zellbrigen (single combat) will apply. This is a trial of combat skill. Aside from single combat, there are no
restrictions to the engagement.
Mechwarriors must meet three
requirements (proofs) to qualify for the initial trial of position for
promotion to the rank of Star Commander:
- The cadet must have
been on the unit roster for at least five weeks (proof of desire).
- The cadet must have been drop commander in at least five combat
drops (proof of experience).
- The cadet must have won at least one combat drop as drop
commander (proof of skill).
*Combat
drops in which the mechwarrior was designated as “second in
command” and during which he/she assumed command of the drop after the
drop commander’s mech was destroyed may be considered at the discretion
of the Khan.
*Officers
may petition the Khan at any time for a trial of position for promotion.
The mechwarrior petitioning for
promotion must defeat a warrior of the Khan’s choosing in single
combat. The petitioning mechwarrior
will choose the mech weight class and both mechwarriors will customize clan
mechs of their choice. After the
warriors have selected and mounted their mechs the Khan or saKhan will order the
Oathmaster to begin the trial. The
Oathmaster will order the warriors to their drop points (drop point 1 for the
petitioning warrior and drop point 2 for the trialing warrior) and commence the
trial. The trial will be a
“cold drop” and upon dropping both mechs will be powered up and
ready. The Oathmaster will confirm
both warriors are ready and order them to engage. If the trialing warrior wins, the
petitioning warrior may not seek another trial of position for promotion for
two weeks. If the petitioning
warrior defeats the training warrior he/she is immediately promoted to the next
rank.
No warrior shall be granted a
trail of position for promotion within two weeks of any previous trail unless
ordered by the Khan.
Trial of Bloodright
The Clans have approximately 760 Bloodnames. The
name of each of the 800 warriors who joined Nicholas Kerensky and refused to
take part in the Exodus Civil War is considered a Bloodname, less the 40 names
removed when the "Not-Named Clan" was annihilated. Clan tradition
dictates that only 25 living Clan warriors may hold the same Bloodname, and
each must have a direct matrilineal link to the original progenitor.
Each Clan originally claimed rights only to the
Bloodnames of the 40 warriors Nicholas Kerensky assigned to that Clan. This
organization gradually blurred as Clans fought each other in Trials of
Possession for specific warriors' genes to enhance their individual Clan. Even
if warriors became abtakha (captured by another Clan), they still retained the
right to claim a Bloodname belonging to their former Clan. In this way, more
than one Clan could claim the same Bloodname. Additional cross-naming took
place when two Clans were disbanded and their Bloodnames spread among the other
Clans. There are still some Bloodnames, however, that are the exclusive property
of a Clan. The Kerensky and Ward Bloodnames, for example, are still held only
by warriors of the Wolf Clan.
Winning a Bloodname is a warrior's guarantee of
Clan immortality. Not only is he honored with the right to use the Bloodname as
his own, but he becomes eligible for high military and political positions.
Most important to Bloodnamed warriors is the fact that, barring any subsequent
action that would bring them shame, their genes will contribute to the gene
pool for the next generation. The remains of most Bloodnamed warriors are
returned to one of the 800 memorial chapels built by Nicholas Kerensky on
Strana Mechty to honor each of the original 800 warriors. There, the ashes of
each Bloodnamed warrior lie with the ashes of the other warriors of the same
Bloodname in the ornate tomb of their honored namesake.
When a Bloodnamed warrior dies, a Trial of
Bloodright is declared. The current Bloodnamed warriors of that name each
select one nominee from the pool of eligible candidates. The Bloodname's leader
nominates additional warriors to bring the number to 31 candidates. The 32nd
slot is reserved for all other eligible candidates, those who were not
nominated but who still wish to compete for a Bloodname. This group engages in
a Grand Bloodname Melee, with the survivor being awarded the 32nd slot. The 32
candidates then begin a series of one-on-one duels that eventually result in
one victor, who is awarded the Bloodname. This fulfills Nicholas Kerensky's
requirement that a Bloodname be won by defeating all others who make a claim to
that name.
Though winning any Bloodname is significant, it
is interesting to note that considerable prestige is attached to certain
Bloodheritages. Because lineage is traced matrilineally, each warrior is only qualified
to compete for one Bloodname. It is not uncommon for an ambitious warrior to
decline nomination for what he considers an inferior Bloodheritage, in hopes of
competing for a better Bloodheritage later on.
Trial of
Bloodright for Clan Burrock
This is a trial of combat for
the most sacred honor possible in the clan. The trial of Bloodright is where
warriors of the clan can win the right to wear one of the Clan Burock
bloodnames as their own through a trial of combat. This trial must be attended by the Khan
or the saKhan, at least one other blood named warrior to act as the Oathmaster,
and three trialing warriors.
The trial will take place on the
Clan Burrock capital planet Albion, in the artic section known as the Equinox
– Team Destruction site, where our warriors have trialed for
generations. The rules of
Zellbrigen (single combat) will apply.
This is a trial of combat skill.
Aside from single combat, there are no restrictions to the engagement.
The mechwarrior must meet three
requirements (proofs) to qualify for the trial of Bloodright:
- The mechwarrior must have been on the unit roster for at least
three months (proof of desire).
- The mechwarrior must have accumulated at least 20 combat kills
(proof of experience).
- The mechwarrior must have at least three incidents that mark
him/her as elite and deserving of a Bloodname (proof of skill).
*Incidents
can be anything that brings credit to the warrior and the clan. For example; being the sole surviving
warrior in a victorious battle, destroying two or even three enemy mechs in a
single drop, commanding a combat drop that destroys all enemy mechs without
losing a single mech to the enemy, etc….
The mechwarrior competing for a
Bloodname must defeat three clan warriors of the Khan’s choosing. The mechwarrior will fight a series of
three combat drops, first in light mechs, then in medium mechs, and finally in
heavy mechs. The Khan will decide
which of his warriors will fight in which weight mech. The mechwarrior competing for the
Bloodname and the trialing warriors will customize clan mechs of their choice
in the weight class assigned. The
mechwarrior competing for the Bloodname must have three clan mechs ready for
the trial (light, medium, heavy).
After the warriors have selected and mounted their mechs, with the
mechwarrior in his/her light mech, the Khan or saKhan will order the Oathmaster
to begin the trial. The Oathmaster
will order the warriors to their drop points (drop point 1 for the competing mechwarrior
and drop point 2 for the trialing warrior) and commence the trial. The trial will be a “cold
drop” and upon dropping both mechs will be powered up and ready. The Oathmaster will confirm both
warriors are ready and order them to engage. If at anytime one of the three trialing
warriors defeats the mechwarrior competing for the Bloodname the trail is over
and the competing mechwarrior must wait at least two weeks to retrial. If the mechwarrior competing for the
Bloodname defeats the trialing warrior in the light mech, a second combat drop
will be conducted with the medium mechs to continue the trial. If the mechwarrior competing for the
Bloodname defeats the trialing warrior in the medium mech, a third combat drop
will be conducted in the heavy mechs to continue the trial. If the mechwarrior competing for the
Blood name defeats the warrior in the heavy mech, he/she is immediately awarded
the Bloodname.
*During the combat drops the
Keshik, Khan, saKhan, Loremaster and the Oathmaster if not participating will
observe the battle in “camera mode”. Trialing warriors who have not yet
fought will not be allowed to observe the battle. The warriors of the defeated light and
medium mechs may observe the next battles in “camera mode”.
Trial of Possession
The fourth type of combat trial is conducted
when two or more Clans claim the rights to the same thing, be it territory, a
warrior's genes, or even supremacy in a conflict of opinion. Nicholas Kerensky
created this combat trial within a year of the end of the civil war. As a
reward for their loyal support, Kerensky decided that each Clan should receive
half of one of the colonized Clan worlds and small shares of the others. Strana
Mechty would remain neutral. The Clans had to determine among themselves who
would possess what area. If two or more Clans wanted the same piece of land,
their claims were subject to a Trial of Possession. This policy resulted in
many hard-fought battles to determine which Clans got the lion's share of the
better worlds and how the remaining lands were to be divided.
A Trial of Possession is initiated when the
attackers issue a formal challenge to the defenders. The attackers identify
themselves, state their objective, and ask the defender what forces he will
use. For example, Star Colonel Adler Malthus began the campaign against
Twycross with this challenge: "I am Star Colonel Adler Malthus of the
Falcon Guards. What forces defend this world?"
The challenge changes to fit the objective. If,
for example, the challenge is over the rights to genetic material, part of the
challenge might be stated in the following manner: "What forces defend the
spawn of Dan Kryla?"
The defenders then state what forces they will
place in defense of the objective. They also have the right to name the
location of the trial. The defenders may increase the stakes by demanding a
prize of equal or lesser value if they win. This option available to the
defender is largely unknown in the Inner Sphere, but explains why Hohiro Kurita
was able to bargain with the Clan commander at Wolcott.
The attacker's subcommanders then bid among
themselves for the right to engage in the trial. The subcommander who bids to
fight with the fewest forces wins the right and responsibility to make the
attack.
Clans can keep prisoners taken during such
trials to serve as "bondsmen" (laborers for the Clan), or else these
individuals may be sent back to their original Clan, with little honor lost.
Bondsmen must serve the Clan until the Clan Council decides to reinstate their
rights as a warrior. A Clan can formally adopt captured warriors if the Clan
Council considers them an asset to its forces. Once a warrior is officially
adopted into a new Clan, he regains his warrior status.
Bidding and Trials of Possession both favor
commanders who succeed using minimal forces. Nicholas used these methods to
prevent all-out war and the catastrophic loss of industry and civilian life
that inevitably accompanies it.
Trial of Refusal
The Clan Councils and the Grand Council, like
any legislative bodies, vote on laws and actions that affect the community.
Unlike Inner Sphere legislative bodies, however, any decision can be challenged
and reversed by a Trial of Refusal. These trials afford the losing side the
right to demand that the issue be settled by combat.
The forces used in a Trial of Refusal are
determined on a prorated basis. The side rejecting the vote declares what
forces they will use. The winning side can field a force equal to the ratio of
winning votes to losing votes. If, for example, the contested vote carried by a
three-to-one margin, those on the winning side of the issue can field a force
three times the size of the force of those challenging the decision. The
traditional bidding by subcommanders usually results in a smaller attacking
force, however.
If this trial process is taken to its logical
conclusion, it is possible that a subcommander might vote for a decision he
actually opposed, and then bid so low that the decision could be overturned. My
suggestion that a warrior might consider this course of action was met with shock
and frozen silence. One Loremaster refused any further interviews, and another
prohibited me from any contact with the warriors of his Clan. Such a breach of
honor is clearly unthinkable.
An interesting variation of the Trial of Refusal
is the Absorption Right. The Grand Council can vote to allow one Clan to absorb
another, but only by a unanimous vote (excepting the Clan being absorbed). The
council then determines which Clan will benefit from the Absorption. Naturally,
the Clan to be absorbed would demand a Trial of Refusal. The Clan chosen to
absorb the weaker Clan may also be challenged by others in a Trial of Refusal
even before battling the Clan to be absorbed. The resulting trials can last for
years. Wolf won the right to absorb Widowmaker in 2825, for example, but had to
defeat three other Clans for that right.
Trial of Annihilation
A Trial of Annihilation is the most extreme
punishment the Clans can declare. It goes beyond the question of right and
wrong. A Trial of Annihilation virtually guarantees that the warrior will die
and that his genes will be eliminated from the Clans' gene pool. This trial can
only be invoked by a unanimous vote of the appropriate council, and only for
the most heinous crimes against Clan society.
Trials of Annihilation have been declared
against warriors, Stars, and even Clusters, but only once has an entire Clan
suffered this ultimate punishment. Because any mention of the Clan involved in
this Trial of Annihilation is punishable by a Trial of Grievance, no Clansman
would reveal the name of the "Not-Named Clan." The details behind its
annihilation were also impossible to discover. However, careful research into
The Remembrance and artfully phrased questions point to the Clan Wolverine as
the object of this Trial of Annihilation.
Clan Wolverine
Nicholas Kerensky's new society, with its
formalized rules of combat was not completely accepted by all his followers. In
2823, Clan Wolverine rejected a Grand Council decision on the division of
equipment found in a Brian Cache in Wolverine territory, claiming that the
cache belonged to Clan Wolverine alone. They invoked a Trial of Refusal and
lost. They did not accept the ruling, but shocked the rest of the Clans by
declaring Clan Wolverine totally independent. IlKhan Nicholas Kerensky declared
that Clan Wolverine had become "tainted by the old ways of lust for
power." He urged the Grand Council to vote for a Trial of Annihilation
against the rebellious Clan. The resulting vote was swift and unanimous, and Clans
Wolf and Widowmaker won the honor of annihilating Wolverine.
Wolf and Widowmaker took the opportunity of the
Trial of Annihilation to expand their prestige, each at the cost of the other.
The long-time rivalry between these two Clans was fierce and bitter. The
bidding between the two Clans for the honor of destroying Clan Wolverine turned
the bitterness into hate. The Wolf Clan version of The Remembrance states that
Clan Widowmaker deliberately drove the bidding down to dangerous levels, then
withdrew, leaving the warriors of Clan Wolf facing the majority of Clan
Wolverine at very poor odds. Clan Widowmaker was pleased when Clan Wolf
suffered major losses in the battle, but their hatred was fanned higher by Clan
Wolf's eventual triumph over Clan Wolverine. The warriors of Clan Wolverine
were dead, and the Grand Council moved to purge its tainted ways from Clan
society. The Wolverine Bloodnames were eliminated from the gene pool, all
Wolverine lower-caste citizens were sterilized, and all mention of Clan Wolverine
was removed from Clan documents.
Rumors among the Clans say that some Clan
Wolverine warriors escaped and fled the Clan worlds. It is probably no
coincidence that the "Minnesota Tribe" that attacked the perimeter of
the Combine struck in 2825, a year after the annihilation of Clan Wolverine.
This tribe was reported as using brand-new 'Mechs, fighting in ways alien to
the Inner Sphere.
Tensions between Clans Widowmaker and Wolf
escalated into a bitterly fought battle that would mark the end of an era for
the Clans. Warriors from Widowmaker claimed Wolf had cheated in its victory
that annihilated the Wolverines. Clan Wolf responded by accusing Clan
Widowmaker of misusing the bidding system to deliberately place Wolf warriors
in hopeless situations. This animosity lasted through a decade marked by
vicious Trials of Possession that often skirted the limits of the Grand
Council's rules of combat.
Death and Absorption
It was during a Trial of Possession between
Clans Widowmaker and Wolf that the merchants of Clan Widowmaker lodged a formal
protest against their parent Clan with the Grand Council. The cause of the
tensions between the freebirth merchants and their Clan is unrecorded, but the
warriors' response is well documented. Mass arrests and the execution of the
protest's leaders were carried out with ruthless efficiency.
Emotions on both sides were running high, and
they reached a flashpoint when Khan Cal Jorgensson of Clan Widowmaker publicly
accused Clan Wolf of having agitated the Widowmaker merchants to rise against
their Clan. Khan Jerome Winson of Clan Wolf vehemently denied any involvement.
He countered by claiming that Clan Widowmaker's massacre of its own people
invalidated their right to govern. Clan Wolf demanded before the Grand Council that
Clan Widowmaker be absorbed.
Clan Widowmaker eventually lost the debate, but
immediately invoked a Trial of Refusal. Clan Wolf competed for and finally won
the right to defend the Grand Council's decision.
The trial took place on the Steitz Plains of
Ironhold. Widowmaker was defending with a Cluster of ten Stars against eleven
Stars from Clan Wolf. Off the battlefield, warriors from the other Clans
watched the trial through a system of monitors and satellites. The Khans of the
Grand Council, led by Nicholas Kerensky, officiated the duel to ensure that the
rules of this bitter battle were strictly enforced.
The initial exchange was fierce, with both sides
committing large forces to frontal attacks. Well into the battle, Khan Jerome
Winson and Khan Cal Jorgensson mutually declared a Trial of Grievance. As the
combat around them gradually died down, two Khans squared off. When it became
clear that Khan Jerome Winson was about to disable the 'Mech of Khan Cal
Jorgensson, a Star of Widowmaker BattleMechs leaped into the Circle of Equals
and attacked the Khan of Clan Wolf. Whether they attacked orders or on the spur
of the moment will never be known.
Nicholas Kerensky and the rest of the Grand
Council immediately moved to defend Khan Jerome Winson from this cowardly
action. A moment later, one of Khan Cal Jorgensson's large lasers discharged at
point-blank range into ilKhan Nicholas Kerensky's cockpit. There is no way of
knowing if the action was intentional. The melee came to an abrupt end as
technicians and medics tried desperately to extricate the stricken leader from
his 'Mech. By the time they reached him, ilKhan Nicholas Kerensky was dead.
In a fit of rage, Clan Wolf attacked Clan
Widowmaker full force. The battle, which lasted for three days, was marked by
uncompromising brutality. The Wolf Clan warriors, with the aid of the other
Clans, tracked down and captured or killed all warriors of Clan Widowmaker.
Clan Wolf emerged victorious and the Grand Council unanimously granted their
demand to claim all Clan Widowmaker's resources.
The Widowmaker symbol, a red hourglass against
the abdomen of a black widow spider, was removed from Clan records. It became
synonymous with disregard for Clan rules and traditions. The bandit caste
frequently uses the symbol as a sign of its independence. More recently, Khan
Natasha Kerensky has adopted the symbol as her own, not because she is
associated with the bandit caste, but because she believes that many Clan
traditions hinder rather than help the Clans.
Right of Forgiveness
Recent discussions with members of the Third
Battle Cluster revealed some curious insights into Clan honor from their
reaction to the Invasion vote. The Wardens in Clan Wolf, those who disapproved
of the invasion, were eager for the chance to show their extreme displeasure at
having been outvoted, which I understood. I found it surprising that the
Crusaders within the Clan, those who agreed with the idea of invading the Inner
Sphere, were just as eager to accept punishment as a way of atoning for their
Clan having dared disagree with the Grand Council's decision. This instance of
desiring to atone for disagreeing with authority was not unique. My research
into Clan literature has uncovered many poems, by warriors and lower castes
alike, describing the joy and pride with which the poet willingly endured
punishments that we in the Inner Sphere would consider beyond the realm of
human decency. All dissent is subject to the Right of Forgiveness. This holds
true from the highest level (Clan against Council) to the lowest (laborer caste
against warrior caste). In the latter case, however, proper atonement does not
guarantee that the warrior will spare the laborer's life. I am not aware of an
equivalent among Inner Sphere societies and governments for what the Clans call
Surkai, the Right of Forgiveness.