Brief History

Founded by Colleen Schmitt, the Blood Spirits set about living up to their name by creating the post of ilChi-ambassador/messenger 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 The ilChis were withdrawn and over the years the sense of brotherhood was replaced by hatred.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 follow 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 their isolation, emerging only for the Great Refusal a year later.

Beginnings

Viewed by many as the weakest of all the Clans, centuries of conflict and broken promises have left the Blood Spirits with an isolationist position and a rabid hatred for all other Clans.

ilKhan Nicholas Kerensky gave the Clan its name for the espirit de corps, which binds all warriors together. Led by Khan Colleen Schmitt, granddaughter of Colonel Hanni Schmitt of the Royal Black Watch, the Blood Spirits spent many years fostering inter-Clan cooperation and unity. Their charity towards their fellow Clansman and cooperative attitude towards all ultimately led towards a series of savage battles that rocked the Clan to its foundation.

Clan Blood Spirit, like all other Clans, performed exceptionally well during the reclamation of the Pentagon worlds. The Spirits aided the Steel Vipers in the capture of several important cities on Arcadia with minimal losses for each Clan. This brought many honors to the Spirits and raised Star Captain Devin Boques to the rank of saKhan.

In the years following the Pentagon campaigns, the Blood Spirits continued their tradition of aiding their fellow Clans by sending ilChi, or State Messenger, to each Clan. The ilChi's job is to maintain open relations and fostering mutual aid between Clans. During this time, the Spirits began teaching new generations of warriors the need to maintain the bonds that had created the warrior society of the Clans

However, as time passed and each Clan began to develop its own personality, hatred began to flourish between the Clans and various leaders began reneging on promises and ignoring debts. Offers of help were dismissed out of hand and the ilChi's were often derided as "unClanlike" for their activities. Indeed, many Clans began to view the Spirits as soft and weak.

In the wake of the destruction of the Not-Named Clan, the Blood Spirits found themselves under intense scrutiny from the other Clans, particularly Clan Burrock. The Burrocks demanded a Trial of Annihilation for what they perceived as the Spirits violation of the Way of the Clans. The Grand Council dismissed the vote for the Trial, but, instead, censured the Spirits for failing to follow the Way of the Clans. Shocked by the reprimand, and Nicholas Kerensky's part in it in particular, Khan Schmitt realized the time for cooperation had passed. Shortly afterward, she recalled all ilChi.

In the years to follow, the Spirits were attacked constantly by the other Clans, particularly Clans Burrock and Mongoose. The Blood Spirits fought to their utmost, but the years of aiding other Clans had left their own military seriously depleted. The Spirits took many abtakha during the battles, but lost more warriors than they could afford to lose. The Sprits were eventually forced off two planets and fell back to their holdings on York and Arcadia. Subsequent battles nearly depleted the Spirits' touman, leaving it a pale shadow of its former strength.

Also during this time of hardship, ilKhan Nicholas Kerensky was slain in combat during the WidowMaker Trial of Annihilation. This more than anything else drove the Blood Spirits away from the other Clans. In their eyes, all of the other Clans were responsible for Kerensky's death. The Blood Spirits began distancing from the other Clans and showing contempt and open hatred during Grand Council meetings.

The advent of the new OmniMech created a serious problem for the Spirit Khans. They knew they lack the resources to win the necessary designs and were unable to design their own. To keep the Clan from being absorbed, the Spirit Khans took several steps to ensure their survival.

First, they instituted an extremely rigid sibko-training program. The new, more brutal, program often resulted in many fatalities and the failure of entire sibkos, but produced some of the best warriors in Clan space.

The second, more controversial, step involved the training of every member of Blood Spirit society as a warfare. Meant as a final defensive measure, this gave the Spirits an extra edge in case another Clan launched a major offensive against them.

Third, the Khans initiated a program allowing technicians, many of whom had failed warrior training, to continue their training. Those who performed his duties to a sufficient level would be allowed to participate in a Grand Melee once a year to earn a chance at a second Trial of Position.

Next, the Khans began an exploration and colonization program. This allowed them to colonize the world of Foster, which contained many vital resources the Clan desperately needed.

Lastly, the Khans revitalized the scientist caste. The scientist's duty was to improve the genetic program and maximizing usage of Clan resources.

Shortly after the implementation of these programs, the Blood Spirits received the last thing they were expecting - help from another Clan. In 2865, the Fire Mandrill Kindraa Smythe-Jewel proposed a way for the Blood Spirits to obtain OmniMech technology in exchange for minor genetic legacies and territory on the planet Foster. Suspicious at first of the offer, the Khans eventually realized the Fire Mandrills were sincere and agreed to the proposal. After a series of battles weighted in favor of the Blood Spirit warriors, both Clans got what they wanted.

Sometime later, the Blood Spirits were forced to abandon their holdings on Foster. Before they left, however, the Kindraa Smythe-Jewel gifted them with an armored battlesuit and the protocols for breeding Elementals. With the Kindraa's destruction by a combined Hell's Horses and Coyote attack, the Blood Spirits opted to maintain their contact with the Fire Mandrills. Towards the end of the twenty-ninth century, the Blood Spirits opened trade relations with Clan Diamond Shark.

For the next century, the Blood Spirits attempts to rebuild their military were blunted by nearly constant attacks by Clan Burrock. In 2977, the Clan made an unprecedented move. In exchange for large numbers of second-line mechs, the Spirits traded much of their WarShip might to the Snow Ravens. Over the next three decades, the two Clans secretively transferred numerous shipments of 'mechs and WarShips until the Blood Spirits had fully rebuilt their touman.

The forty years following the last shipments of mechs were relatively quiet for the Blood Spirits. Many of the other Clans simply ignored them and even Clan Burrock had reduced the number of raids it staged against the Blood Spirits. Like many other Clans, the Blood Spirits failed the Trials to be a part of the Operation Revival force. The Khans were unwilling to bid as low as the others and so failed during the first round. The subsequent defeat of the Clans at Tukayyid in 3052 proved the Khans' belief that the time had not yet come for the Clans to retake Terra.

Recent Events

In 3058, Clan Blood Spirit received news which rocked it to the core. Evidence provided by both Clans Cloud Cobra and Star Adder indicated that Clan Burrock had secretly been aiding the bandit caste for over a century. Worse, the current Burrock Khans were actively hiding evidence that linked them to the bandits. The Blood Spirit Khans were further stunned when Clan Star Adder won the right to Absorb Clan Burrock. This act enraged the Blood Spirits, who rightly claimed a grave injustice. They felt that they had earned the right to absorb the Burrocks because of the centuries of bitter fighting between the two Clans.

The Blood Spirits then launched a series of unsanctioned attacks against the Burrocks. Sending more than seventy percent of their forces into battle, the Blood Spirits hit the Burrock worlds of Priori and Albion, even as the Star Adders battled the Burrocks. The Blood Spirits surprise appearance initially gained them some small victories, but the tide turned against them when both the Burrocks and Star Adders combined forces to defeat the Spirit forces.

The battle cost the Blood Spirits nearly five full Galaxies and shifted their hatred from Clan Burrock to Clan Star Adder. Furious at what she saw as the Clans' final betrayal of her people, Khan Karianna Schmitt ordered the withdrawal of all Blood Spirit forces from all worlds except Strana Mechty and York. Only the Fire Mandrill and Snow Raven ilChi's and the trade agreement with the Diamond Sharks are the Clans contact with the outside.

Death of a Clan

With the defeat of the Smoke Jaguars in the Inner Sphere and on Huntress, the Clans found themselves with the unprecedented prospect of an Inner Sphere invasion of Strana Mechty. The Star League Defense Force soon challenged the Clans to a Trial of Refusal over the invasion. If the Inner Sphere won, the invasion was over and the invading Clans would retain the worlds they had conquered. If the Clans won, the invasion would resume. The Warden Clans refused to participate in the Trial, leaving the eight Crusader Clans to face the SLDF. As the Smoke Jaguars had only two Binaries of troops left, it was decided that each Crusader Clan would only commit two Binaries to the battle.

Khan Karianna Schmidt led her Binary into battle against Hohiro Kurita and elements of the First Genyosha. The battle was disastrous from the outset. Khan Schmitt chose a heavily wooded area as the Trial area which negated the Blood Spirits range advantage. This by itself caused many problems for the Blood Spirit force, but Khan Schmitt also underestimated the skill and courage of the Genyosha warriors. The Combine troops easily swept aside the Blood Spirits and claimed another victory for the SLDF.

Khan Schmitt has sworn vengeance against the SLDF, but in her Clans current weakened state it will be some time before the Blood Spirits will be able to follow through.