Post by Aphelyon on Feb 16, 2017 12:11:29 GMT -5
Our Legacy
The four ancient Clans- ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan- weathered many challenges throughout their long existence. More than once they were forced from one territory to another. More than once they were nearly destroyed by outside enemies, each other, or themselves. More than once they overcame these challenges and returned to their former glory as strong as ever. But as always, eventually there came a challenge they could not overcome, even together, and the four perished.
Many moons have passed since then. The last descendants of the ancient Clans have scattered across the land. Some do not remember their heritage, while others repeat the stories of their ancestors, and some still follow the warrior code as much as they can alone, with no Clan to support them.
It is the fourth generation since the Clans fell, and sixteen cats are guided by their dreams to a hilltop that once formed the center of the Clans' final territories. Storm, Sorrel, Finch, Cloud, Wendy, Night, Blaze, Pine, Tiger, Silver, Leaf, Seth, Bone, Duchess, Jester, and Jay- each descended from one of the ancient Clans, and each tasked with given them a form of rebirth. What once was never truly shall be again, but that does not mean the time of the Clans should end. Not entirely.
And so the sixteen cats decided to seek out other descendants, and return to the hilltop in four seasons' time. After 12 moons, they met again, this time followed by other cats who showed signs of being descended from the four great Clans. Now, they divided themselves once more, and each chose a territory that suited their needs and reflected the homes of their ancestors. Four of the sixteen became leaders, four deputies, four medicine cats, and four Seekers, and the Clans named themselves for the Clan from which they came. And for the first generation, in addition to warriors, cats would be chosen as Seekers- cats whose job was to travel across the land, finding more descendants to swell the Clans' ranks.
It has now been three years since the Clans were reformed. The last of the Seekers have returned, and the practice is retired. The Clans are strong. However, all is not as peaceful as it seems. Since their reformation, the Clans only allowed cats to join if there was significant evidence that they were descended from the corresponding ancient Clan. True rogues were never allowed to join, even if they showed skill and promised loyalty, and even descendants could only join the Clan that reflected their heritage.
There is tension between the Clans, disputes over territory, the warrior code, and other issues, and the Clans teeter on the edge of full-scale war. The Gatherings have stopped due to the hostilities, and obvious signs of StarClan's displeasure shows in the ever-present clouds that cover the moon each and every night. Beyond the Clans' borders, a group of cats gathers: those cats rejected by the Clans due to their lack of obvious Clan blood, or disallowed from joining the Clan they chose due to having different blood. They are determined to be part of a Clan, even if they must form it themselves, and they will prove their warrior blood even if they have to spill it across the ground. It has been three years, and cats are already left to wonder if the new Clans will survive much longer than that.
About DarkenClan
DarkenClan lives at the edge of the forest, in the ruins of an abandoned twolegplace that spills onto the plains. They stalk the shadows of this derelict place, hunting the rats and pigeons who make their nests in the crumbling walls and rotting rafters. DarkenClan cats are extremely sneaky, battle-oriented, and hostile towards the other Clans. Most of a DarkenClan cat's reputation and respect, inside and outside the Clan, stems from their prowess in battle, and as such, many DarkenClan cats will seek out unnecessary fights to prove their mettle. They often spar with each other to solve disputes as well, but unlike with outsiders, they will never intentionally hurt each other- not badly, at least. DarkenClan shares a border with all three other Clans; however, they are separated from them all by a river, making their territory isolated and relatively safe from intrusion or border disputes. Their territory is connected to GroveClan's by an old wooden twoleg bridge.
Main Plot
This roleplay takes place four generations after the original four Clans have ended, which is many, many years after even the last of the books. The Clans had been forced to move a few more times until a disaster tore them apart in a way they could not repair, and the Clans finally died. Four generations later, the remnants of StarClan guides several descendants of the Clans back to the last territory and tells them to reform the Clans by locating other descendants, which they do, forming four new Clans in the image of the old ones- all very similar, but not exactly the same.
As is to be predicted, the new Clans take StarClan's command of finding descendants to reform the Clans a bit too seriously, and reject any cat who is not an obvious descendant of their model Clan. As you would expect, this upsets many rogues and less-obvious possible descendants who would like to be a part of a Clan, and so these cats decide to take it upon themselves to create a more accepting fifth Clan- an idea that is not welcomed by the other four, and who do all they can to ignore the presence of the fifth forming Clan and push them away.
Meanwhile, there is a lot of strife within the four Clans, both within themselves and with each other. Many of the original leaders and deputies are getting on in their moons, and so this causes strife as cats try to gain power within their Clan to take the leader's place when they inevitably die, as well as cats who wonder if the Clans can even survive without their original leaders. Between the Clans, there is a lot of conflict over things like territory and certain aspects of the warrior code- after all, the code was only mostly copied accurately, and many aspects were misinterpreted, changed, or forgotten with the reformation of the Clans. The cats also chose their new territories somewhat on a whim, placing their borders and camps based on what they knew of the old Clans and what seemed ideal at the time, without having a good idea of what a Clan actually needed to support itself. Past this, the Clans seem to be having a lot of general bad luck- bad storms, sickness, few and weak kits, and that sort of thing.
Due to tensions within and outside the Clans, the Clans have stopped going to Gatherings due to the fact that every one of the last six Gatherings had resulted in a large-scale fight, and many of the previous ones had as well. Therefore, relations between the Clans are currently nothing but hostile, and obviously, this angers StarClan, who has stopped guiding and communicating with the Clans entirely, which leads to even more problems. To summarize, everything sucks and it remains to be seen whether the new descendant Clans can even survive past generation 1.
Clan Plot
Because it's borders are rivers, DarkenClan tends not to have much strife with the other Clans. Instead, DarkenClan's danger stems from within its own territory. A pack of dogs has roamed the area since before DarkenClan was formed, presumably descended from strays that once lived in the twolegplace. Up until now, they've presented little issue, the dogs usually content to leave the cats alone, and vice-versa. However, the pack has grown much larger over the past couple of seasons, and lately the dogs have been becoming more bold, even coming into the abandoned town and trying to steal cats' fresh-kill, or attacking and killing cats.
Roleplay Rules
- Follow all forum rules, as always. -
- No flaming, bashing, trolling, spotlighting, powerplaying, godmodding, etc. -
- No mary sues/"perfect"characters. Your character is almost never going to be the absolute best in the land at anything. Being very good at some things (not everything), however, is entirely acceptable. Your character will be bad at some things. They will have some flaws. They will lose sometimes. Similarly, though, please don't make your character so awful that they have no good aspects and are mopey and depressed and annoyingly flawed. Give them some space to develop and improve, but also let them develop and improve. -
- As always, keep things pg. So, no excessively graphic violence, language, or other inappropriateness. If you desire any of these things please take it to PM where it is legally out of my control. -
- Please try to be literate and original. Make your characters and their actions unique and meaningful rather than making them a cookie cutter with nothing personal going for them. Contribute to the plot and roleplay in a meaningful way that is enjoyable for everyone. Use good grammar, spelling, etc. At the same time, please don't write a novel every post. If you try to make things too long and complicated it gets boring and tedious. Find that comfortable middle where it's entertaining for you to write and entertaining for us to read. -
- Please keep characters realistic in appearance. This goes for Outcasts/rogues that you create, kits that are born during the roleplay, and details you add to a claimed cat when joining. Obviously things don't have to be 100% realistic- there are plenty of tortoiseshell toms, and somewhat unrealistic pattern combinations exist, such as gray and black spotted- but keep the cats believable. So no purple eyes, blue stripes, or perfect star-shaped marking on their forehead. -
- If you are gone for more than two weeks without prior warning, you will be suspended and your characters moved to the "inactive" slot. If you are gone for two weeks after this, your characters will be entirely removed. If you have any ranks- such as a leader, deputy, or medicine cat- then that character will be available for other people to claim, or (in some cases) the character may be killed off entirely. -
- I reserve the right to reject or remove people who are not literate enough, who do not contribute well to the roleplay, who are not active, who do not keep in the spirit of the roleplay, or who do not adequately follow the above rules. -
The Warrior Code
When the Descendant Clans were formed, the remnants of Ancient StarClan were weak and fading, unable to convey any but the most general details of what life had once been like for the ancient Clans. Therefore, the new Clans were left to piece together a new warrior code from what little StarClan had given them, as well as the broken and half-forgotten stories passed down from their parents' parents' parents. As such, the modern warrior code is quite a bit different from the original, missing some rules the original code had and adding some it did not, as well as rewording and misinterpreting others. This will be a plot point, as the Clans add to and refine their code. The Code currently consists of nine rules that the new Clans adhere to strictly, with sometimes harsh punishment if they are not obeyed.
- Your loyalty is to your Clan above all others, even yourself, and you may not take a mate or have friends outside of the Clan. -
- A leader's duty is to their Clan first, and so a leader may not have kits while acting as leader. -
- Medicine cats must remain impartial in the care of their Clan, and so are not allowed to take a mate or have kits. -
- Prey is killed only to be eaten; needless killing is a waste of resources. -
- Queens, kits, elders, and the medicine cat must be fed before warriors and apprentices.-
- Apprentices are responsible for care of the elders. An apprentice may not eat unless the elders have been taken care of, unless the apprentice has special permission. -
- No cat may trespass on another Clan's territory without permission for any reason. Trespassing cats are to be chased off without question. -
- The Clan leader's word is law to that Clan. -
- StarClan is to be obeyed above all else.-
News
In-Character
- DarkenClan is formed. Night becomes Nightstar, the leader. Duchess becomes Ravenfoot, the deputy. Tiger becomes Tigerpelt, the medicine cat. Jester becomes Crowwhisker, the Seeker.
- Russet (Russetwing) brings Cedar (Cedarkit) and Badger (Badgerkit) to the Clan.
- Amber (Amberleaf) is invited to the Clan by Crowwhisker, and becomes a Seeker.
- Thistle (Thistlefang), Smoke (Smokepaw) and Dusk (Duskpaw) are invited to the Clan by Amberleaf. Smokepaw is apprentied to Russetwing; Duskpaw is apprenticed to Ravenfoot.
- Fern (Fernpetal) and Dawn (Dawnclaw) come to the Clan.
- Mud (Mudpaw) is invited to the Clan by Crowwhisker and apprenticed to Amberleaf.
- Cedarkit and Badgerkit become Cedarpaw, apprenticed to Fernpetal; and Badgerpaw, apprenticed to Dawnclaw.
- Rat (Ratpaw) is invited to the Clan by Crowwhisker and apprenticed to him.
- Smokepaw and Duskpaw become Smokestep and Duskfeather.
- Mudpaw becomes Mudfeather.
- Raccoonkit is born to Smokestep and Dawnclaw.
- Cedarpaw and Badgerpaw become Cedarpelt and Badgerheart.
- Ratpaw becomes Ratbite.
- Thornkit, Bramblekit, and Crumblekit are born to Fernpetal and Mudfeather.
- Raccoonkit becomes Raccoonpaw, apprenticed to Smokestep.
- Mudfeather is killed by a dog.
- Thornkit, Bramblekit, and Crumblekit become Thornpaw, apprenticed to Badgerheart; Bramblepaw, apprenticed to Cedarpelt; and Crumblepaw, apprenticed to Ratbite.
- Thistlefang retires to the elders' den.
- Raccoonpaw becomes Raccoonfur.
- Stonekit, Pigeonkit, and Ashkit are born to Dawnclaw and Smokestep.
- Bloodpaw and Vulturepaw are born to Badgerheart and Ratbite. Thornpaw's mentor is changed to Raccoonfur.
- Stonekit, Pigeonkit, and Ashkit become Stonepaw, apprenticed to Amberleaf; Pigeonpaw, apprenticed to Tigerpelt; and Ashpaw, apprenticed to Crowwhisker.
- Stream (Streamstripe) finds and joins the Clan.
- Bloodkit and Vulturekit become Bloodpaw, apprenticed to Fernpetal; and Vulturepaw, apprenticed to Dawnclaw.
- Russetwing retires to the elders' den.
- Thornpaw, Bramblepaw, and Crumblepaw become Thornfur, Bramblefang, and Crumblestone.
- Firekit and Rainkit are born to Duskfeather and Cedarpelt.
- Stripekit is born to Streamstripe and Thornfur; Streamstripe dies during kitting.
Out-of-Character
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Relationships
♥ = mates
+ = had kits but are not currently mates
♦ = mentor/apprentice
♣ = littermates
♠ = siblings but not from the same litter
= = parent(s) of
[symbol] = adopted relationship
[colored name] = outside the Clan/of a different Clan
(symbol) = secret/unknown relationship
Ravenfoot ♣ Crowwhisker
Thistlefang = Duskfeather ♣ Smokestep
Russetwing = Cedarpelt
Smokestep ♥ Dawnclaw = Raccoonfur ♠ Pigeonpaw ♣ Stonepaw ♣ Ashpaw
Ravenfoot [=] Brindlepelt
Fernpetal ♥
Badgerheart ♥ Ratbite = Bloodpaw ♣ Vulturepaw
Duskfeather ♥ Cedarpelt = Firekit ♣ Rainkit
Brindlepelt ♥ Raccoonfur = ?
Thornfur ♥
Tigerpelt ♦ Pigeonpaw
Amberleaf ♦ Stonepaw
Crowwhisker ♦ Ashpaw
Fernpetal ♦ Vulturepaw
Dawnclaw ♦ Bloodpaw
Joining
This is, at least mostly, a claim-a-cat rp. All cats within the main four Clans must be claimed, not created, though I may RARELY allow a new OC Descendant to appear and join their respective Clan. For the most part, though, OCs will either be Outcasts or true rogues. Though much of the cats' information is already determined- age, basic appearance, familial relationships- you do have some control over them. With the exception of "the Sixteen," which have very basic personalities laid out, you will be able to create your cat's entire personality. You may also go as in depth as you want with their appearance, so long as you don't contradict anything that's already been given.
To find which cat you want to pick, go to the page of the Clan you wish to join and find an unclaimed cat. Then, copy its description and re-post it, along with any details you would like to add, its personality, and- optionally- its history. Please try to make a cat's finished, full description at least 6 lines long when posted with the default text (about 3 when posted to the allegiances). Please refrain from claiming more than two high-ranking cats at a time, and not of the same rank (so you can claim a leader and a deputy, but not two leaders or two deputies).