Commander

Commander (also known as Heda in Trigedasleng) is the title given to the leader of the Coalition who takes on The Flame. The Flame is a cybernetic artificial intelligence chip invented by Becca Franco which is used by the Grounders to pass experience and wisdom from one Commander to the next. The Grounders believe that The Flame is the "spirit of the Commander" and that it helps find and guide the next commander.

When a commander dies, the Flame is removed from their body and kept safe by the Commander's spiritual leader known as the Flamekeeper until a new Commander is found. Since the Flame is only compatible with Nightbloods, only Nightbloods can become true Commanders. The process of selecting a new commander is known as a Conclave.

Becca Franco was the first Commander. The current Commander is Madi Griffin, who is a leader of Wonkru.

Origin
After inventing A.L.I.E. 2.0 (the Flame), Becca Franco was the first one to use it and therefore the first Commander. The title "Commander" originated from the badge on her spacesuit when she descended to Earth from Polaris two years after the first Nuclear Apocalypse. After her death, she became known as Bekka Pramheda ("Becca, the First Commander" in Trigedasleng).

Following Becca's death, the Grounder's established a tradition in which whoever took on Becca's spirit (the Flame) became their new Commander.

Coalition Era
One of the most notable commanders is Lexa of Trikru. Under her leadership, Lexa united all the twelve Grounder clans to form a coalition and work together under the one true Commander. Lexa also led the process of adding Skaikru as the thirteenth clan into the coalition. Following Lexa's death, the Grounders were unable to find a Nightblood to become the new Commander.

Wonkru Era
With the Second Praimfaya approaching and without a Commander, each of the 13 Grounder clans selected their own champion to fight to the death for the Second Dawn Bunker. Octavia Blake won and invited all the clans to share the Bunker. Under her leadership, Octavia united all the clans into one clan - Wonkru. However, Octavia was not considered to be a true Commander because she's not a Nightblood and couldn't take on the Flame. Instead she was given the title, Blodreina (Red Queen).

Wonkru lived without a true Commander until Madi - the last born-Nightblood joined them years after the second Praimfaya. The Flamekeeper, Gaia gave Madi the Flame in order to unite the Grounders and lead them in the Shallow Valley peacefully. Madi is still the current Commander.

Conclave
The Conclave is Grounder tradition, held upon the death of the Commander in which a Nightblood successor for the role is selected. The Flamekeeper (or Fleimkepa in Trigedasleng) is responsible for retrieval of the Flame from the previous Commander's corpse and overseeing the Conclave for the selection of the new Commander.

The Flamekeeper uses scouts to find Nightbloods. When a Nightblood child is discovered, they are sent to Polis to begin training for their Conclave. For each group, or "class", of novitiates, a Conclave is held when the last Commander dies, during which the Nightbloods fight to the death. The survivor then becomes, or, "ascends" as the next Commander. The belief among Grounders is that the Commander's spirit (in fact the A.I. chip of A.L.I.E. 2.0) "chooses" its successor through this process.

Once the victory horn is sounded, the victor is taken to the throne room, where the Flamekeeper performs the Ascension Ceremony in which the victorious Nightblood becomes the Commander. The Flame from the old Commander is implanted into the neck of its new successor, and with it, the new Commander is endowed with the spirits of all the past Commanders. As part of the rites of Ascension for a new Commander, they are required to recite the lineage of past Commanders. If they are incapable of doing so, they are considered illegitimate.

Through the flame, the new Commander gets dreams / flashbacks and hears voices of the past commanders. The commanders use these to gain knowledge and wisdom on how to lead their people. The Flamekeeper helps teach the new Commander how to control the past commanders' voices in their head.

Known Commanders

 * Becca Franco - the first commander; creator of the Flame.
 * Lexa - the commander who brought all the Grounders clans under one coalition.
 * Madi Griffin - current Commander
 * Sheidheda - the Dark Commander

Notes and Trivia

 * While Octavia became the leader of Wonkru during the Second Nuclear Apocalypse, she was not considered a true commander because she is not a nightblood and could not take on the Flame.
 * Following her massacre at Mount Weather, Clarke is given the title of Wanheda ("Commander of Death") but is not an actual Commander for the grounders.
 * In Sanctum, the Primes use a process similar to how the Grounders pass on the Flame to the next commander. However, instead of just passing on wisdom and experiences to the next host, the Primes use the Mind Drives to replace the host's mind with the Prime's entire consciousness.

Gallery
TBA