Without too much aggrandizement, one could call Khan Phelan Kell the best known Khan in the last century. A freeborn Inner Sphere warrior, made bondsmand to Clan Wolf, he possessed ancestral ties to the Ward Bloodline that allowed him to compete for the prestigious Ward Bloodname. He won his trial of Bloodright, garnering the additional honors of being the youngest warrior ever to earn a Bloodname and also the youngest Khan, elected to the post immediately following the awarding of his Bloodname at the age of twenty-one. In the wake of the Refusal War, Phelan Kell led a viable portion of the Wolves into the Inner Sphere, thereby ensuring his adopted Clan's survival.

As Khan, Phelan Kell has proved himself worthy by keeping his Clan alive and thriving in a hostile region of space. His leadership is unquestioned among his followers, much to the chagrin of Khan Vlad Ward. The long-standing rivalry between Khan Phelan Kell and Khan Vlad Ward, in which Phelan has most often been the victor, likely contributes considerably to the schism in Clan Wolf, and also likely prevents any serious attempt at reconcilliation in the near future.

Phelan Kell is the son of Morgan and Salome Kell. At the beginning of the Clan invasion, while the mercenaries he was with was fighting pirates on a mission on a Periphery planet named The Rock, they were attacked by Clan Wolf, and the young Kell Hound mercenary Phelan was taken Isorla by Vladimir of the Wolves. His captors at first refused to accept that this freebirth had any worth except to perform the lowliest tasks of a bondsman, but his obvious skill, intelligence, and knowledge of the Inner Sphere militaries soon brought him to the attention of Wolf Khan Ulric Kerensky, who used the young Kell Hound as an asset in order to push his Clan out ahead of the other invaders. Using his authority, Khan Ulric Kerensky later took Phelan from Vladimir. Phelan was trained in hand to hand combat and 'Mech combat by Evantha and Ranna, Vladimir's sibkin.

Comstar Precentor Martial Anastasius met Phelan on the Wolf Flagship the Dire Wolf. In a secret message, he later told the Kells back home that Phelan was still alive.

Phelan adjusted quite well to Clan life, and eventually he was given a Trial for warrior status. He succeeded in the Trial. Phelan soon proved his worth and returned to the life of MechWarrior, this time for the Clans, and with great skill and determination and would later win a coveted Bloodname and command position. As a Wolf, Phelan conquered Gunzburg alone, helped set up Clan authority there, and averted great losses to Free Rasalhauge civilians. Phelan supported Ulric Kerenky with the plans for the attack on Tukayyid.

Cyrilla Ward committed suicide so Phelan could fight for her Bloodname slot. In the end, Vlad and Phelan battled over it. Phelan won in 'Mech combat, and became Phelan Ward.

Phelan Ward rose in ranks in Clan Wolf, and held to the Warden side. He and Ulric Kerensky met continual and increasing opposition and beligerence from the Crusader faction. During the long bitter Refusal War against the Jade Falcons, the Wolves were also plagued by internal strife from their own Crusader versus Warden conflict. The Crusader faction gained critical strength against the Wardens and also accused the Warden supporting Wolf Khan Ulric Kerensky to Trial with accusation of him trying to make genocide on the Crusader faction by sending them to battle (against fellow Crusaders, the Jade Falcons), in the heavily costly and life shedding Refusal War which took also the life of Khan Natasha Kerensky when she was killed in a duel on Twycross by the Jade Falcons.

Phelan was now Khan and Ulric the IlKhan, both were dealing with most of the Crusader Wolf faction and the Jade Falcons desiring their death, Ulric sent Khan Phelan, along with the best and brightest of the Wolf Wardens, warriors and other castes alike, to shelter with the Kell Hounds on their home planet of Arc-Royal.

Clan Jade Falcon spearheaded the effort to unseat Ulric Kerensky by accusing him of highest treason-deliberately conspiring to destroy the Clans' genetic heritage by agreeing to the truce of Tukayyid and therefore denying coming generations the opportunity to hone their fighting skills against the enemy-Ulric devised a plan to save Clan Wolf and the Inner Sphere and at the same time cripple the most rabid invading Crusader Clans.

In 3057, as the culmination of his plans, Ulric sent Khan Phelan, along with the best and brightest of the Wolf Wardens, warriors and other castes alike, to the Innser Sphere to shelter with the Kell Hounds on their home planet of Arc-Royal. Knowing that the Clans would strip Phelan of his rank, name and authority for running to the Inner Sphere, ilKhan Ulric used the privilege of his rank to create the Bloodname of Kell and award it to Phelan. He further charged Khan Phelan Kell with preserving the best of the Clan Wolf way and continuing to protect the Inner Sphere from the worst ravages of the Crusader Clans. On Arc Royal, Phelan Kell Khan of the Exiled Wolves built the Arc-Royal Defence Cordon.