Widowmaker Totem:

The Black Widow spider was 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. The spider uses the shadows to enhance its camouflage, remaining completely motionless, often for days at a time, remaining acutely aware of its surroundings all the while. Attacking its prey with speed and stealth.

Nicholas Kerensky chose this seemingly shy spider as the namesake for one of his Clans for more than its deadly prowess. He also admired its mating habits. Mating then killing the weaker mate, then caring for its many offspring represented the clan birthing program.

Clan Widowmaker was absorbed by Clan Wolf in 2834. Clan Widowmaker long had an adversarial relationship with Clan Wolf, most notably expressed during the run-up to the Trial of Annihilation against Clan Wolverine, when the Widowmakers forced the Wolves to bid below the accepted cutdown. In the summer of 2834, the Widowmakers took brutal actions against their own civilians, leading Khan Jerome Winson of Clan Wolf to question their right to rule. The Grand Council agreed with Khan Winson and gave the Wolves the right to absorb them.

The Trial of Absorption, staged on Ironhold, had unforseen and tragic consequences. When members of the Widowmaker Touman intervened in a duel between Khan Winson and Khan Cal Jorgensson of the Widowmakers, the referees--led by ilKhan Nicholas Kerensky--intervened. Whether by design or by accident, Khan Jorgensson killed ilKhan Kerensky, sending the Wolf Clan into a frenzy of vengeance. The subsequent attacks, a virtual Trial of Annihilation, left few Widowmaker warriors alive.

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. 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.

Clan WidowMaker was absorbed by Clan Wolf in 2834. Clan WidowMaker had an adversarial relationship with Clan Wolf, most notably expressed during the run-up to the Trial of Annihilation against 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.

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 Posses- sion that often skirted the limits of the Grand Council's rules of combat.

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 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 uncomprmising brutality. The subsequent attacks, a virtual Trial of Annihilation, left few WidowMaker warriors alive. Clan Wolf emerged victorious and the Grand Council unanimously granted their demand to claim all Clan WidowMaker's resources.

Bloodnames

General Bloodnames
Conners

MechWarriors
Vickers
Sender

Pilots
Leroux
Rhyde