The following information was compiled by Jeff Moerdyke (The Marauder) and is greatfully acknowledged here for his many arduous hours of work. Thanks Jeff.
In June of 3057, growing tensions between the Crusader and Warden factions of the Clans led to a protracted Trial of Refusal between two of the most powerful Clans - the Wolves and the Jade Falcons. That conflict, the so-called Refusal War, produced several important changes in the Clans - changes that may hold great importance for the future of the Clans and the Inner Sphere.
First, the war left Clan Jade Falcon devastated. By the conflict's end, nearly two full Falcon Galaxies had been destroyed and saKhan Vandervahn Chistu had been killed. These losses severly weakened the Clan, leaving it vulnerable to attacks by other Clans and jeopardizing its place in the Clan invasion force.
The war nearly destroyed the Wolf Clan as well. Nearly two full Wolf Galaxies were decimated in the fighting, which also claimed the lives of two great Wolf leaders - former ilKhan Ulric Kerensky and Khan Natasha Kerensky. The war also led to a schism of the Wolf Clan. One faction formed the Jade Wolf Clan, a Crusader group that remained in the Clan fold. The second faction, under the leadership of Khan Phelan Kell Ward, was exiled from their Clan bretheren and have found sanctuary in the Lyran Alliance with the Kell Hounds.
Both the Wolf and Jade Falcon Clans were two of the strongest Clans in the invasion force, and so the weakening of both groups weakens the entire Clan invasion force as well - a development that bodes well for the Inner Sphere. However, the exile of the Wolf Clan, which had served as a bulwark of the Warden cause, has strengthened the hand of the Clans' Crusaders. And now the Crusaders' calls for a repudiation of the Truce of Tukayyid have grown louder and increasingly frequent, bringing ever closer the day the Clans renew their drive to Terra.
This document contains recently de-classified material relating to the Trial of Refusal fought between Clan Wolf and Clan Jade Falcon from June to December the year 3057.
Following the Truce of Tukayyid, tensions between the Warden and Crusader political factions increased sharply. The Crusader members of Clan Wolf saw an opportunity to take control of their Clan away from the Warden leaders. On June 10, 3057, the Loremaster of Clan Wolf, Dalk Carns, formally charged ilKhan Ulric Kerensky with high treason. The charges were that ilKhan Ulric deliberately collaborated with ComStar leaders to cause the defeat of the Clan military forces on Tukayyid, which would allow the Inner Sphere nations to rebuild their respective armed forces and set up defenses. A second charge was that ilKhan Ulric had allowed a known agent of the Inner Sphere to rise to the rank of saKhan of Clan Wolf. This agent, Phelan Kell, was captured as a bondsman and later became an ally to Ulric. The accusers claimed that ilKhan Ulric was provided with inside information about the Inner Sphere defenses by Phelan in return for a chance at a Bloodname and Khanship.
When the Wolf Clan Council met to hear the charges a month later, Ulric defended himself by pointing out that the Clan Grand Council had vindicated him of collaboration with ComStar before. In regards to the charges involving saKhan Phelan, Ulric reminded that Phelan had been taken in battle as a bondsman just like many of the Grand Council members, had earned his status as a warrior and his Bloodname according to the rules and traditions of the Clans, and that his elevation to the office of saKhan had been approved by the Grand Council itself.
All events seemed to be in Ulric's favor until Loremaster Dalk Carns announced a third charge against the ilKhan. This charge was of the most serious crime that a Clan or Clansman could commit, the willful destruction of the genetic materials. Khan Phelan called on the Loremaster to explain the charge immediately, or face a Trial of Refusal. The Loremaster replied, "Because of the Truce, we will have three generations of warriors who know nothing of warfare beyond exercises and the occasional raid. When the Truce ends, our command structure will be full of untested, untried, and inexperienced warriors. They will lead our young into combat and, as Ulric intends, they will die. They will perish, and the way of the Clans with them."
ilKhan Ulric stunned all when he bade the Loremaster to forward the charge to the Clan Grand Council, and agreed to meet the charges at the formal hearing in front of the Grand Council. Ulric took these actions for two reasons: one, her would not let the charges divide Clan Wolf against itself, and two, to use the time to devise a plan.
The Clan Grand Council proceedings began on August 8, 3057 on the planet Tamar to hear charges of genocide against ilKhan Ulric Kerensky. The gathering of Khans had already heard the charges and most had already decide their verdicts. As leader of the most powerful Crusader Clan, Khan Elias Critchell of Clan Jade Falcon claimed the right of prosecution. Believing that the trial would lead to the dissolution of the Truce of Tukayyid, Clan Jade Falcon had been stockpiling and preparing for a renewed offensive into the Inner Sphere. The Falcon Khans also believed that the warriors of their Clan would reach Terra in less than a year, ensuring their becoming the ilClan.
During the hearings, Khan Critchell laid out a tale of a conspiracy between Ulric, Khans Natasha Kerensky and Phelan Ward of Clan Wolf, and Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht of ComStar to re-form the Star League, placing Prince Victor Ian Steiner-Davion of the Federated Commonwealth as the new First Lord. He also tried to convince the Grand Council that the Clans and the young Crusaders had been betrayed by Ulric, and that the ilKhan intended to destroy the way of the Clans. Despite the defense by Khan Phelan Kell, Ulric was found guilty and stripped of his rank as ilKhan, demoting him to Star Colonel. The final vote was nineteen finding Ulric guilty, fifteen declaring him innocent. Ulric's response surprised the audience a second time. He declared a Trial of Refusal against Clan Jade Falcon. The Falcons had prepared for any outcome except this.
Ulric Kerensky knew the moment that the charge of treason was leveled against him that the Crusaders would find him guilty and nullify the Truce of Tukayyid. From that moment on Ulric had formulated a plan that would protect the Inner Sphere from a renewed offensive and preserve Warden faction of Clan Wolf, which he considered the best part of his Clan. The only way to ensure the prevention of a Jade Falcon offensive was to rip the heart out of Clan Jade Falcon armed forces and the Clan Wolf Crusaders. He did not see the other Clans as a threat to the Inner Sphere because they were too busy with Inner Sphere raids and rebellions in captured territory and the fact that their military forces were deeply hurt from the fighting on Tukayyid. The overall plan was to launch a two-pronged assault deep into the Jade Falcon Occupation zone, forcing the Falcons to split their strength. Khan Phelan was trusted with the mission of leading the bulk of Clan Wolf's Warden members, a third of the clan's equipment, and the complete genetic legacy to a safe haven in the Inner Sphere. Though Phelan desperately wanted to fight alongside his comrades, he was to participate in a few earlier battles and then head for the Inner Sphere. Khan Phelan's mission was essential to preserving Clan Wolf, should the forces led by Natasha and Ulric be destroyed. In the event that Phelan's mission should fail, Ulric made sure that Clan Wolf would survive by charging Star Captain Vlad with the responsibility of rebuilding the Clan with the Crusaders that survived the Refusal War. The purpose of the assault was to constantly bleed the life out of Clan Jade Falcon by destroying the Falcon's troops and equipment, eventually killing Clan Jade Falcon's Khans on the Falcon stronghold of Wotan.