Word of Blake (in Exile)

The Word of Blake fractured even before the Jihad ended, with multiple factions within the organization going their separate way. The Rim Worlds Republic was very interested in the technological wonders of the Word of Blake and began courting those remnants with promises of bringing back the blakist dream to the Inner Sphere once they begin their actions together. Hatred of the Clans would have prevented a lot of the Blakists from joining, but adherence to the cult led many to follow the various Precentors and would-be-Primus to join with the Union.

The fact the Republic explained that they were using the Clans for their own mean was part of the reason a few joined as well. While the Blakists did not appreciate the secular Rim Worlds Republic, especially who was running it, they understood that allying themselves with this power, and maybe infiltrating it, would be a mean to reclaim their position within the Inner Sphere.

History

Early joining

It was the broken remnants of the Word of Blake after the Jihad which were courted by the Republic, often enough promising survival from the purges going on in the Republic of the Sphere and the Inner Sphere. While the more militaristic members of the Blessed Order continued to fight or began hiding in other reaches of the deep periphery, a promise of a place to rebuild, reorganize and recover was too much for some to pass up.

Conflicts with the Exiled Clans were frequent at first, but rarely turned into shooting fights. The Wolverines made it quite clear they were not “just another Clan” to the Word of Blake leadership, and that they would protect their “brothers and sisters” if things were to go south. Conflicts with the Amaris family could have escalated if the first Primus of the new order didn’t give a new edict claiming that Stefan Amaris had never done anything wrong to Jerome Blake, as opposed to other corrupt powers of the Inner Sphere. Illegal and “shadow wars” between the Blakists and other members of the Union were not frequent, but far from unheard of. While some people usually took the blame and ended up dead, this allowed military units to have better readiness and training.

Promises from the Republic were mostly kept, with the Blakists being provided ample resources, manpower and technological assistance. Exiles and refugrees from the Inner Sphere generally felt compelled to join the Blessed Order form 3090 onwards, leading to a growth in their “bloodborn” population.

ComStar comes by

The catastrophe of the 7^th of August 3132 finished off what was left of ComStar in the Inner Sphere. Without a source of income, the remnants of the Blessed Order would have withered away if not for the Wolverine Union. Many adepts were given the opportunity to join with the Word of Blake to rebuild their once powerful organization and follow in its holy mission. Many of those who refused were executed to maintain the secrecy of the Word of Blake’s renewed existence.

This influx of new personnel allowed the Word of Blake to expand its operation, but also led to internal tensions between the “new guard” and the “old guard”. Any form of secularism was harshly criticized by the establishment, same with any desire for moderation. The collapse of the HPG network in the Inner Sphere was viewed as an apocalyptic level event, and one which the Word of Blake used extensively as a propaganda tool to motivate the Rim Worlds Republic to act against the unbeliever. As neither the Rrpublican or the Blakist knew who was the cause of the Blackout, the belief in a religious intervention became common amongst the rank and file of both nations.

Recent development

With the White Light Event, the Word of Blake has seen their food production drop drastically. Being close to the quasar had them being affected earlier than many of the Exiled Clans, forcing them to increase trade with groups they do not quite appreciate. When Carolyne Amaris asked for volunteers to participate in strikes against the Inner Sphere, Precentor Martial Oracle DiNozzo made plans to attack the rim ward periphery powers while the Magistracy of Canopus would change hands due to one of the Republic ploys.

This did not quite go as planned, as the Rimward Alliance had now solidified and Ari Humphreys (internal) was making a push for the Canopian throne. Of the 4 Level IVs which had been sent, only 1 returned. The senior leadership of these Level IV were forcefully removed by both the Blessed Order and the Rim Worlds Republic, and a new plan had to be made for the strikes against the rim ward periphery.

Word of Blake Culture

The Word of Blake within the Rim Worlds Republic territory has completely taken over the planets which were reserved for them. They have “purity tests” to make sure new members are fully on board with the new ways, as an example. ComStar acolytes from the Inner Sphere funneled in generally find that the position of the Word is more drastic than what they expected. Blind devotion to the Word of Blake, especially with the edicts of the Primus, are mandatory. While there was numerous sects within the Word of Blake before, nowadays only the Sixth of June and Toyama faction really remain. The main tenet of the Word of Blake is the extermination of all “secular powers” within the Inner Sphere and the establishment of a Blakist utopia.

Vatgrowns

Vatgrowns are given no rights and only exist to serve the Blakist machine. They are not given implants unless necessary, and euthanasia is frequent on “non-productive individuals”. The Word of Blake has fully embraced Generation 3 vatgrowns, which are fully indoctrinated into the cult regardless. Blind devotion to the Word of Blake is primordial, even at that level of their society.

Word of Blake Military

As a lot of machines used by the Blakist already integrated C3 technology, once they made the bioroids available for combat, it was very easy for them to migrate their machines over to a new standard. Almost all “Word of Blake Militia” and “Shadow Divisions” machines were converted over and refit, while new production lines were setup for new machines. Refusing to go to the Republican or Clan standard for formations, the Word of Blake still uses the ComStar military structure. The separation between Shadow Divisions and Militia has basically melted away, mostly as no “standing military” is really required now.

The Word of Blake managed to bring a few WarShips from their exile and have setup a new construction berth for advanced JumpShips and new WarShips to bolster their force and the force of other Union members. The Word of Blake prefers not to sell equipment directly to the Clan members, but the sales usually go from them to the Rim Worlds Republic, which then resells the equipment to the necessary party.

Terrorist supporters

The Word of Blake has a whole other branch of its military which is deeply embedded in the Inner Sphere with numerous terrorist cells. Unlike many of the Union’s assets in the Inner Sphere, those terrorist cells act directly in unison with the will of the Primus and Precentor Martial. While not equipped with the latest and the best, funds and “base equipment” are brought to terrorist cells via Wolverine ships and affiliates, along with willing candidates for deep infiltration. One of the important role of these terrorist organizations is to setup supply depots and support network for the Wolverine Union.

Current National Data

Word of Blake Demographics
Affiliation: Wolverine Union
Population (Clan Space): 2.1 billion (3153) (counting vatgrown)
Population growth rate: 8.2 percent
Self-Sufficiency Index: 78 percent and dropping (food shortages)

Leaders:
Primus: Catalyna Romenskaya

Precentor Martial: Oracle DiNozzo
Military:
Level 4: 23
WarShips: 9 (6 Essex Block III, 2 Volga)

Controlled worlds:

Forward (Capital)

Future

Destiny

Currency: Republican Dinar