Khan Karianna Schmitt

[2ndAcr]

Everything I can find says she was born in 3026. Yet in 3048, during the Revival Trials she was Khan of the Blood Spirits. At age 22? They could not find anyone better suited than a wet behind the ears, fresh from the sibko's to lead them?

I can see a 3006 birth date or even a 3016 birth date. I am going to go with a 3016 birth date, cause that has got to be a typo.

[Wrangler]

Everything I can find says she was born in 3026. Yet in 3048, during the Revival Trials she was Khan of the Blood Spirits. At age 22? They could not find anyone better suited than a wet behind the ears, fresh from the sibko's to lead them?

I can see a 3006 birth date or even a 3016 birth date. I am going to go with a 3016 birth date, cause that has got to be a typo.

Could it be a earlier Khan had the same name?  It's fairly common one.

[GreekFire]

Something is certainly wrong with her timeline, and something somewhere will need errata.
I'll throw up a question about it in Ask the Writers.

[five_corparty]

I dunno.

on one side, concur: this seems like a typo, and putting her as Khan at 32 seems pretty average on the bell curve.

On the OTHER:

When I thought, "well, who was famous at 22?" my mind IMMEDIATLY went to Taylor Swift's song "22" and, yeah:
The Blood Spirits have been going through some rebuilding decades, and If a Taylor-Swift-like Clan Warrior rose to Galaxy command with an absolute one-in-a-million combination of brains, charisma, talent, business savvy, general "je ne sais quoi" AND could kill Blood Adder 'Mechs like they were going out of style, I could 100% see the Clan saying "eh, what the heck, let's give the kid a shot!"

What've they got to lose at that point?  ;) ;D

(edit: it's just that the Clans play by different rules, you know?  And I can see this going either way: typo, or her being an absolute wunderkid.  Would be intresting to see what TPTB say.

I'm hoping for "ruthless Clan Taylor Swift," myself.  ;)

[Stormlion1]

Maybe she tested out with a lot of kills and gained a bloodname quickly?

[Wrangler]

Entirely possible.  Spirits could been in flux at the time she ascended.   Clan Wolf & Jade Falcon don't need have monopoly on young talented MechWarriors & leaders.

[2ndAcr]

 Well, at least I am not the only one that finds it somewhat strange. If she was that brilliant, then she slipped and hit her head somewhere because sticking her nose into the Burrock deal was pure stupidity.

[Arkansas Warrior]

Could it be a earlier Khan had the same name?  It's fairly common one.

Seems unlikely.  Naming some new baby after a Khan would be a real roll of the dice.  What if she washes out? What if she’s marginal, has a short career and never rises above Star Commander?  Seems like you’re really playing with fire there.  Even if she earns a blood name, now you’re potentially mixing up the reputation of a khan with a decent but perhaps unexceptional Bloodnamed because they have the same names.  Do we know of any cases of two Bloodnamed sharing a name?

[Wrangler]

Well, at least I am not the only one that finds it somewhat strange. If she was that brilliant, then she slipped and hit her head somewhere because sticking her nose into the Burrock deal was pure stupidity.

I would put that off as being brash and young, eager to jump into Clan politics thinking they know what their doing.  She is young.

[Kojak]

If Myndo Waterly was Precentor Dieron at 18, I don't see why the Clans, a culture known for their warrior caste's obsession with relative youth, couldn't have a 22-year-old Khan.

[GreekFire]

Yeah, I don't see a problem with there being a 22-year old Khan. It's bound to have happened a few times in Clan society.

[Middcore]

I must agree that apart from the fact I don't think there are any canon instances of the Clans reusing personal names (since this is probably, from a Doylist perspective, just to prevent confusion for readers), naming a baby after a recent/living Khan seems unlikely for the reasons Arkansas Warrior described.

However, I love the idea of Karianna Schmitt as Taylor Swift, and I think she's even described as being blonde. Look what you made me do!

[five_corparty]

However, I love the idea of Karianna Schmitt as Taylor Swift, and I think she's even described as being blonde. Look what you made me do!

Blood Spirits use red in all their interior decorating, Taylor's best album was "Red," it's meant to be!   ;) :D ;D


(PS: YMMV on her best, it's MY personal fave but her discography is diverse enough that every has an opinion, and they're all correct from a certain point of view.  8)

[Stormlion1]

The other thing to think about. What age do Blood Spirit warriors test out? For all we know she was a tested warrior at age 14.

[2ndAcr]

I show Myndo Waterly as Precentor Dieron at 24 and Primus at 28. Both way too young in my opinion. But better than 18. I find a birth of 3001, Precentor in 3025 and Primus in 3029.

 Either way, both are too young for that posting they held.....for my purpose, Schmitt will have a birth of 3016 or a better choice 3006.

[Kojak]

I show Myndo Waterly as Precentor Dieron at 24 and Primus at 28. Both way too young in my opinion. But better than 18. I find a birth of 3001, Precentor in 3025 and Primus in 3029.

There's a line in Warrior: Coupe, spoken by Myndo in August of 3029, where she says she's been Precentor Dieron for ten years, so since 3019.

[Kerfuffin(925)]

The other thing to think about. What age do Blood Spirit warriors test out? For all we know she was a tested warrior at age 14.

Everything points to all clans having the sibkos final test at/around their 20th birthday. 14 isn’t even half way through puberty (despite whatever the scientists have done, I don’t think they messed that hard).

22 is very young for anything like that even for the Clans. People lost their minds when Natasha K got her bloodname at 22, and the Phelan disaster at 20 caused an even bigger stink.

[Walrus Gumboot]

Something is certainly wrong with her timeline, and something somewhere will need errata.
I'll throw up a question about it in Ask the Writers.

I disagree. Karianna Schmidt being seen as a possible genetic reincarnation of Colleen Schmidt and the Blood Spirits going spoony over her is a very strong building block in the Clan's narrative. There being indicators that this might have been a dire mistake (a somewhat more inappropriate leadership cadre than would be otherwise possessed even for test-result obsessed youth-worshippers, at an important moment in history) strengthens it. Keep it as it is.

Everything I can find says she was born in 3026. Yet in 3048, during the Revival Trials she was Khan of the Blood Spirits. At age 22? They could not find anyone better suited than a wet behind the ears, fresh from the sibko's to lead them?

I can see a 3006 birth date or even a 3016 birth date. I am going to go with a 3016 birth date, cause that has got to be a typo.

They're desperate fundamentalists flailing about in the middle of the prophesized end-times, and they know it. She's a holy maid and if she won her trials there would be no stopping her.

[GreekFire]

I disagree. Karianna Schmidt being seen as a possible genetic reincarnation of Colleen Schmidt and the Blood Spirits going spoony over her is a very strong building block in the Clan's narrative. There being indicators that this might have been a dire mistake (a somewhat more inappropriate leadership cadre than would be otherwise possessed even for test-result obsessed youth-worshippers, at an important moment in history) strengthens it. Keep it as it is.

I should have clarified what I found wrong with her timeline.
You can find the post here: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/ask-the-writers/karianna-schmitt-age/

Personally, I think her becoming Khan at the age of 22 is completely fine. It was bound to have happened at least a few times in Clan society.

[Hellraiser]

Seems unlikely.  Naming some new baby after a Khan would be a real roll of the dice.  What if she washes out? What if she’s marginal, has a short career and never rises above Star Commander?  Seems like you’re really playing with fire there.  Even if she earns a blood name, now you’re potentially mixing up the reputation of a khan with a decent but perhaps unexceptional Bloodnamed because they have the same names.  Do we know of any cases of two Bloodnamed sharing a name?

There are multiple "Vlads" in the Clan Wolf roster at Tukayid.

Also multiple "Katya"s IIRC too.

Been a while but I do recall duplicates as there are only SO many first names.

I'm not saying any of those are even from the same house let alone having a blood name at the same time, just saying its not at all impossible or implausible.

[Nibs]

Given the likelihood of meshing the details together, I would say that Karianna's age must be an internal error. If, as GreekFire noted on the Ask the Writers board, Cassius N'Buta had implied that she had been Khan since at least 3035, then it's clear that there was a miscommunication when publishing details on her.

That being said, I enjoy the hypothetical that she could have become Khan at 22. While it is stressed elsewhere that even earning a Bloodname that early is almost unheard of, the relative isolation of the Blood Spirits could have hidden the success of young Karianna as Khan from written record.

Nonetheless, the easiest fix is to say that her birth year (spawned from the iron vats?) is 3006, not 3026. That would settle all accounts.

[Rncavenger]

Phelan Ward became a saKhan at the age of 21.
Boyle Grimani became a saKhan at the age 22-23 , and khan at the age 24-25.

[Hellraiser]

If the 3035 date is the "latest" she could have been Khan based on the Cassius quote, then 3006 is pretty plausible as that would be late 20's still.

The question then becomes, if 3006 is birth age it makes her QUITE old when she finally died,  by clan standards.

[Wrangler]

The question then becomes, if 3006 is birth age it makes her QUITE old when she finally died,  by clan standards.

I have agree with that. Nova Cats Khans had knack living a while but they were exception to the rule.

[Walrus Gumboot]

This all may be based on a slight miscomprehension- Cassius had been Khan for 13 years in 3048. That could explain his phrasing?

[Foxx Ital]

If the 3035 date is the "latest" she could have been Khan based on the Cassius quote, then 3006 is pretty plausible as that would be late 20's still.

The question then becomes, if 3006 is birth age it makes her QUITE old when she finally died,  by clan standards.

 Explains why her back broke so easily ;)

[Valaska]

Entirely possible.  Spirits could been in flux at the time she ascended.   Clan Wolf & Jade Falcon don't need have monopoly on young talented MechWarriors & leaders.

Spirits had a really tumultuous leadership structure too, I think? So things are even more rampant and hectic in their ranks. But these are really good questions... I hope they start putting more focus back in the 3025-3060 timelines and start fleshing out some of the questions and stories that have been left hanging.

[Tyler Jorgensson]

Boyle Grimani became a saKhan at the age 22-23 , and khan at the age 24-25.

Yeah but promotions during an Annihilation are kinda sudden and almost meaningless as to their qualifications.

[Arkansas Warrior]

There are multiple "Vlads" in the Clan Wolf roster at Tukayid.

Also multiple "Katya"s IIRC too.

Been a while but I do recall duplicates as there are only SO many first names.

I'm not saying any of those are even from the same house let alone having a blood name at the same time, just saying its not at all impossible or implausible.

Are they from the same Bloodhouse?  Multiple Vlads in Clan Wolf isn't a big deal.  No one's going to confuse Vlad Kerensky, Vlad Ward, and Vlad Fetladral.  Multiple Vlad Wards, or one Vlad Ward and several unblooded Vlads of the Ward house would be.

[Wrangler]

I would have thought in coded a personal "social security" number in their codex. Too many people with one name would lead to chaos.