The language of the Clans is based on what is known of Star League
Standard English, but they have added many words unique to their culture. Some were
adapted by the Kerenskys from the Russian language and military terminology. All these
words represent the Kerenskys' efforts to express concepts they felt were lacking from
Star League Standard English. The following list includes terms used by the warrior caste
and other useful explanations of Clan concepts. This list is not exhaustive, and does not
reflect the many differences in terminology existing between the various Clans.
Clan military unit structure is as follows:
- Point - 1 'Mechs or 5 infantry
- Star - 5 'Mechs or 25 infantry
- Binary - 2 Stars
- Trinary - 3 Stars
- Cluster - 4-5 Binaries/Trinaries
- Galaxy - 3-5 Clusters
- Nova - 1 'Mech Star and 1 infantry Star
- Supernova - 1 'Mech Binary and 2 infantry Stars
An abtakha is a captured warrior who is adopted into his new Clan as a
warrior.
The batchall is the ritual by which Clan warriors issue combat
challenges. Though the type of challenge varies, most begin with the challenger
identifying himself, stating the prize of the contest, and requesting that the defender
identify the forces at his disposal. The defender also has the right to name the location
of the trial. The two sides then bid for what forces will participate in the contest. The
subcommander who bids to fight with the least number of forces wins the right and
responsibility to make the attack. The defender may increase the stakes by demanding a
prize of equal or lesser value if he wins.
The history of the Bloodnamed warriors of a particular Bloodright is
called the Bloodheritage.
Blooding is another name for the Trial of Position that determines if a
warrior cadet will qualify as a Clan warrior. The candidate must first demonstrate
physical prowess in personal combat by defeating at least one of three successive
opponents. If he defeats two, or all three, he is immediately ranked as an officer in his
Clan. If he fails to defeat any of his opponents, he is relegated to a lower caste. If the
candidate is successful in the trial, a complex ceremony takes place. He or she must be
ritually defended by several Clan warriors when challenged by other representatives of the
Clan, or else face those representatives in mortal combat.
Bloodname refers to the surname of each of the 800 Warriors who stood
with Nicholas Kerensky during the Exodus Civil War. These 800 are the foundation of the
Clans' elaborate breeding program. The right to use one of these surnames has been the
ambition of every Clan warrior since the system was established. Only 25 warriors, which
corresponds to 25 Bloodrights, are allowed to use any one surname at one time. When one of
the 25 Bloodnamed warriors dies, a trial is held to determine who will assume that
Bloodname. A contender must prove his Bloodname lineage, then win a series of duels
against other competitors. Only Bloodnamed warriors may sit on the Clan Councils or are
eligible to become a Khan or ilKhan. Most Bloodnames have gradually become confined to one
or two warrior classes, but certain prestigious names, such as Kerensky, have shown their
genetic value by producing excellent warriors in all three classes (MechWarrior, fighter
pilot, and Elemental).
Bloodnames are determined matrilineally, at least after the original
generation. Because a warrior can only inherit from his or her female parent, he or she
has a claim to only one Bloodname.
A specific Bloodname lineage is called a Bloodright. Twenty-five
Bloodrights are attached to each Bloodname. A Bloodright is not a lineage as we define the
term because the warriors who successively hold a Bloodright might be related only through
their original ancestor. As with Bloodnames, certain Bloodrights are considered more
prestigious than others, depending largely on the Bloodright's history.
Clans can keep prisoners taken during combat. These are called
bondsmen, and are considered members of the laborer caste unless and until the capturing
Clan releases them or promotes them back to warrior status. A bondsman is bound by honor,
not by shackles. Custom dictates that even Bloodnamed warriors captured in combat be held
for a time as bondsmen. All bondsmen wear a woven bracelet called a bondcord. The base
color of the bondcord indicates to which Clan the individual is now bound, and the
striping indicates which unit captured him.
Clan slang for the eugenics program of the warrior caste. It can also
refer specifically to the artificial wombs.
Clan society is rigidly divided into five castes: warrior, scientist,
merchant, technician, and laborer. Each caste has many subcastes, which are based on
specialties within a professional field. The warrior caste is based on a systematic
eugenics program that uses the genes of prestigious, successful current and past warriors
to produce new members of the caste (see Sibko). These products of genetic engineering are
known as trueborns. Other castes maintain a quality gene pool by strategic marriages
within each caste.
Anything or anyone who challenges the Clan caste system is considered a
chalcas.
During the fall of the Star League, General Aleksandr Kerensky,
commander of the Regular Star League Army, led his forces out of the Inner Sphere in what
is known as the first Exodus. After settling beyond the Periphery, more than 1,300 light
years away from Terra, Kerensky and his followers settled in a cluster of marginally
habitable star systems near a large globular cluster that hid them from the Inner Sphere.
Within fifteen years, civil war erupted among these exiles, threatening to destroy
everything they had worked so hard to build.
In a second Exodus, Nicholas Kerensky, son of Aleksandr, led his
followers to one of the worlds of the globular cluster to escape the new war. It was there
on Strana Mechty that Kerensky first conceived and organized what would one day be known
as the Clans.
The codex is the each warrior's personal record. It includes the names
of the original Bloodnamed warriors from which a warrior is descended. It also records
background information such as the warrior's generation number, Blood House, and codex ID,
an alphanumeric code noting the unique aspects of that person's DNA. The codex also
contains a record of the warrior's military career. See also Master Codex.
ComStar, the interstellar communications network, was the brainchild of
Jerome Blake, formerly Minister of Communications during the latter years of the Star
League. After the League's fall, Blake seized Terra and reorganized what was left of the
communications network into a private organization that sold its services to the five
Successor Houses for a profit. Since that time, ComStar has also developed into a powerful
secret society steeped in mysticism and ritual. Initiates to the quasi-religious ComStar
Order commit themselves to lifelong service.
A contract is an agreement between the commanders of two units that
allows the commander of one to include the units of the other in his bidding for rights to
a battle or trial. During the invasion of the Inner Sphere, Cluster commanders within
Galaxies frequently made contracts to allow greater, and often more extravagant, bidding,
while still maintaining a good mix of BattleMech, Elemental, and fighter combat units.
The minimum force necessary to win any trial for which there has been
bidding. Bidders who can push their opponent into making a bid below the cutdown are
considered clever. Commanders who win with a force smaller than the cutdown are greatly
honored.
A fighting unit that disgraces itself is known as a dezgra unit. The
name also refers to the ritual whereby that unit is marked and punished. Any unit that
refuses orders, panics in the face of the enemy, or takes dishonorable action is
disgraced.
Elementals are the elite, battle-suited infantry of the Clans. These
men and women are giants, bred specifically to handle Clan-developed battle armor.
Freebirth is an epithet used by trueborn members of the warrior caste,
generally expressing disgust or frustration. If a trueborn warrior refers to another
trueborn as a freebirth, it is a mortal insult.
An individual conceived and born by natural means is freeborn. Because
the Clans value their eugenics program so highly, a freeborn is automatically assumed to
have little potential.
This is the sample of DNA taken from a warrior who died with great
glory in combat. The giftake is considered the warrior's best DNA sample and the one most
likely to produce improved warriors.
Victorious Clan warriors sometimes extend the courtesy of hegira to
defeated opponents. Hegira allows the opponent to withdraw honorably from the field
without further combat or cost.
The spoils of battle that warriors can claim as their right, including
bondsmen, are known as isorla.
Each Clan elects two leaders, or Khans. One serves as the Clan's senior
military commander and bureaucratic administrator The second Khan's position is less
well-defined. He or she is second-in-command, carrying out duties assigned by the first
Khan. In times of great internal or external threat, or when a coordinated effort is
required of all Clans, an ilKhan is chosen to serve as the supreme ruler of the Clans.
A kurultai is a Clan war council. A Grand Kurultai is a war council of
all Khans of the Clans. Only the ilKhan can convene a Grand Kurultai at any time or place.
A normal Grand Council, on the other hand, may only be convened by petition of three or
more Clans, and must be held in the Hall of Khans on Strana Mechty.
The Loremaster is the keeper of Clan laws and history. The position is
honorable and politically powerful. The Loremaster plays a key role in inquiries and
trials, where he is often assigned the role of Advocate or Interrogator.
The Oathmaster is the honor guard for any official Clan ceremony. The
position is similar to that of an Inner Sphere sergeant-at-arms, but it carries a greater
degree of respect. The Oathmaster administers all oaths, and the Loremaster records them.
The position of Oathmaster is usually held by the oldest Bloodnamed warrior in a Clan (if
he or she desires the honor), and is one of the few positions not decided by combat.
This is a term of respect reserved for someone of higher rank.
Powless is the vulnerability that a warrior, particularly an Elemental,
feels when forced to fight without his accustomed weapons. The word is probably derived
from "powerless."
This Clan expression is placed at the end of rhetorical questions. If
an affirmative answer is expected, quiaff is used. If the answer is expected to be
negative, quineg is the proper closure.
Clan custom dictates that a warrior who has been successful at his
Trial of Bloodright may be rewarded with a gift by the Clan. Depending upon the warrior's
success during the Trial, the ransom might range from the right to choose what type of
weapon he will use as a warrior to the right to command a special unit. At the time Khan
Natasha Kerensky returned from the Inner Sphere and then underwent her second Trial of
Bloodright, ilKhan Ulric Kerensky awarded her a ransom of the right to form the Thirteenth
Wolf Guards.
One of the many forms honor takes in the Clans, a rede is an
honor-bound promise. Breaking a rede may be punished by death.
The Remembrance is an ongoing heroic saga detailing Clan history from
the time of the Exodus from the Inner Sphere to the present day. The Remembrance is
continually expanded to include contemporary events. Each Clan has a slightly different
version reflecting their own opinions and experiences. All Clan warriors can quote whole
verses of this marvelous epic from memory, and it is common to see passages from the book
lovingly painted on the sides of OmniMechs, fighters, and even battle armor.
This term refers to a particularly gifted warrior on his or her way to
high position. It is probably derived from the expression "rising star."
A Clan council may cast a veto, or satarra, to settle or postpone
disputes between castes within their jurisdiction. Satarra is invoked only when
negotiations seem at an impasse and/or threaten to disrupt the work order of the Clan. It
seems to be more a ritual than an act of legislation.
A Clan epithet.
This word is the ritual response voiced in unison by those witnessing
solemn Clan ceremonies, rituals, and other important gatherings. No one is sure of the
origin or exact meaning of the word, but it is uttered only with the greatest reverence
and awe.
A sibko consists of a group of children produced from the same male and
female geneparents in the warrior caste eugenics program. The members of the sibko are
raised together, then begin to undergo constant testing. As various members of the sibko
fail at each test, they are transferred to the lower castes. A sibko consists of
approximately 20 members, but usually only four or five remain at the time of the final
test to become warriors, the Trial of Position. These tests and other adversities may bind
the surviving "sibkin" together.
A Clan epithet, probably a combination of the Clan words stran, meaning
independent, and vagon, meaning birthing.
The surkai is the Right of Forgiveness. The Clans honor uniformity in
thought and belief above all else in their society. When warriors disagree, when a Clan
disagrees with the Clan Council, or when a member of one caste offends a member of another
caste, surkai is expected. It is a matter of pride that the offending party freely admit
his wrongdoing and request punishment. Those who show great surkai are held up as examples
to others for their willingness to accept the consequences of their independent thoughts.
Those who do not show surkai when it is expected of them are viewed with suspicion.
The Rede of Forgiveness, or surkairede, is the honor-bound agreement
between the majority and any dissenters. According to the surkairede, once a dissenter
accepts punishment for having disagreed with the majority, he should be allowed to resume
his role in society without suffering any further disgrace for having spoken out.
The term given to the fighting arm of a Clan.
A series of one-on-one, single-elimination contests determines who wins
the right to use a Bloodname. Each current Bloodnamed warrior in that Bloodname's House
nominates one candidate. The head of the House nominates additional candidates to fill
thirty-one slots. The thirty-second slot is fought for by those who qualify for the
Bloodname but who were not nominated. The nature of the combat is determined by
"coining." Each combatant places his personal medallion, a dogids, into the
"Well of Decision." An Oathmaster or Loremaster releases the coins
simultaneously, so that only chance determines which coin falls first to the bottom of the
well. The warrior whose coin lands on top chooses the manner of the combat ('Mech versus
'Mech, barehanded, 'Mech versus Elemental, and so forth). The other warrior chooses the
venue of the contest. Though these Bloodname duels need not be to the death, the fierce
combat and the intensity of the combatants often leave the losing candidate mortally
wounded or dead.
The Trial of Position determines whether a candidate will qualify as a
warrior in the Clans. To qualify, he must defeat at least one of three successive
opponents. If he defeats two, or all three, he is immediately ranked as an officer in his
Clan. If he fails to defeat any of his opponents, he is relegated to a lower caste.
This trial resolves conflicts in which two or more Clans claim the
right to the same thing, be it territory, a warrior's genes, or even supremacy in a
difference of opinion. This trial uses the formal challenge of the attacker and the
response of defending forces, and favors those commanders from the attacking Clan skillful
enough to bid minimal forces.
The Clan councils and the Grand Council vote on issues and laws that
affect the community. Unlike Inner Sphere legislation, however, any decision can be
challenged and reversed by a Trial of Refusal. This trial allows the losing side to demand
the issue be settled by combat.
The forces used in the Trial of Refusal are determined on a pro-rated
basis. The faction rejecting the decision declares what forces they will use. The side
defending the decision (the attacker) can field a force equal to the ratio of winning to
losing votes. For example, if the contested vote carried by a three-to-one margin, the
attacking forces can field a force three times the size of the force challenging the
decision. Bidding usually results in a smaller attacking force, however.
Used formally, this term refers to members of an extended sibko. Less
formally, a warrior will use the term trothkin when referring to someone he considers his
peer.
A trueborn is a product of the warrior caste's eugenics program.
This is the Clan word describing the body of rules used to regulate and
ritualize duels. Zellbrigen means that combatants engage in one-on-one duels, even if both
sides have many warriors. Those not immediately challenged are honor-bound to stay out of
the battle until an opponent is free (meaning he has defeated his enemy). To attack an
enemy already engaged with an opponent is a major breach of Clan code, usually resulting
in at least loss of rank.
|
