Nicholas Kerensky named the original Clans after beasts, entities,
or attributes he felt would inspire his warriors. Each exemplifies some worthy feature
that he wished his warriors to reflect. Wolves, for example, were admired for their
cunning and stealth.
Seventeen Clans remain of the original 20. Two of the missing Clans
were absorbed by other Clans through trials and Grand Council rulings. The third Clan is
spoken of only as the "Not-Named Clan," the reasons for which are discussed in
the main body of this text. Suffice it to say that the crime committed was considered so
heinous that all mention of the Clan was purged from the official history of the Clans.
Following is a list of the original 20 Clans and the origin of their names.
This name honors the esprit de corps that held together the 800
Bloodnamed warriors during the horrors of the Exodus Civil War.
This Clan is named for the burrock, a large invertebrate indigenous to
Eden. The burrock is capable of burrowing through solid rock. It excretes a powerful,
acidic mucous which allows it to move through rock.
The cloud cobra was introduced to Arcadia and adapted quickly to its
new environment. It evolved to prey on fauna in the planet's misty jungles.
This Strana Mechty carnivore descended from coyotes found on the North
American continent on Terra. This coyote is larger and apparently much more intelligent
than the Terran species, perhaps because of genetic engineering.
This name is taken from a primate introduced to Eden whose
aggressiveness and fire-red fur were admired by warriors.
The Clan is named for the arctic bear that inhabits Strana Mechty's
southern hemisphere. It is admired for its strength and cunning.
The large Babylon arthropod for which this Clan is named uses lethal
poison to kill its prey. Many of the early settlers lost their lives to this creature. It
is admired for its suicidal defense of its nest.
In an attempt to genetically adapt horses to life in the deserts of
Circe, Clan scientists bred carnivorous horses of uncontrollable aggressiveness. The
prototypes of these horses were intended to be terminated, but a tender-hearted warrior
set them free to live and breed in the deserts. These horses have a peculiar fascination
for Circe's many caves. The Clan has embraced the aggressiveness and hardy stock of its
namesake.
Even though this cunning pack predator of Hector's snowy mountains
preyed on the first Clan explorers, it was admired for its lithe shape and blindingly
white fur.
The jade falcon is a large bird that was genetically altered from a
Terran peregrine to live in the jungles of Eden. It has a distinctive, shimmering,
emerald-green plumage and an ear-piercing cry.
One of the absorbed Clans, the Mongoose was named after the sinuous
predator found on the planet Shadow. It stalked and killed that world's large, dangerous
venom worms, which endeared it to the Clan.
The Dagda feline whose mane stands on end (like a sudden nova) whenever
it is alarmed was the inspiration for this Clan name. Its mane is tipped with barbs
containing a substance poisonous to most creatures. The nova cat is admired for its alert
response to danger.
This Clan takes its name from the seal-like reptilian predator of
Strana Mechty's freshwater oceans. The sea fox appears to honor its prey by bellowing and
then bowing, as though in respect for its kill.
Smoke jaguar is an altered Terran jaguar let loose in the jungles of
Strana Mechty, so named because its fur looks like grayish smoke. Nicholas Kerensky held
up the smoke jaguar as the epitome of unadulterated aggressiveness, citing as proof the
animal's ferocity and its habit of springing on its prey from above.
This Clan name was inspired by the huge ravens inhabiting Strana
Mechty's southern tundra. The warriors honor the creature's unwillingness to waste
anything the tundra offers them, the sign of a true survivor.
The star adder is a genetically altered adder that was released into
the northern steppes of Strana Mechty to control the disease-carrying crana, a
rodent-sized insect. The snake's shimmering black scales, peppered with white spots, might
be reason enough to call it the star adder. The real source of its name, however, is its
nightly rearing and swaying in response to almost constant stellar displays resembling the
aurora borealis.
This clan name refers to the tenacious Arcadian snake that coils around
its victims in a solid grip, then slowly releases a poison. The word steel refers both to
its unyielding embrace and the rigidity of its victims once they have been thoroughly
poisoned.
The second absorbed Clan was named for the black widow spiders
accidentally released into the jungles of Eden, where they grew to three times their
Terran size. Their aggressiveness and the strength of their poison increased at the same
rate.
Though nearly twice the size of their progenitors, the Strana Mechty
wolf is otherwise identical to Terran wolves. Wolf packs roam both the northern and
southern continents, and the Kerenskys considered them the epitome of the warrior spirit.
Wolverines were introduced to the forests of Strana Mechty, where they
flourished, growing in size and ferocity. They were admired by warriors because they stood
their ground against any intruder, no matter what its size or strength. The Wolverine Clan
is probably the Not-Named Clan, which was annihilated.
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