Post by Aphelyon on Dec 23, 2018 12:39:43 GMT -5
The Survivors
It wasn't so many moons ago that our five Clans were strong in this forest, each Clan proud and thriving in its territory. Though we were separate, we stood together when needed, facing and defeating our enemies as one. That is how the Clans survived for so many, many moons. But all things must eventually come to an end, and eventually there came an enemy that even our spirits united under StarClan could not overcome.
It began one harsh leafbare, when cats began to fall ill to a strange sickness that the medicine cats had no knowledge of and no herbs to cure. Many cats died in that snowy season, and though newleaf brought hope, the sickness remained. More and more cats fell ill, and the medicine cats, and those warriors who still had strength, traveled far for answers, but there were none. And they prayed to StarClan for a sign, but there, too, were none, and it seemed that our warrior ancestors had forsaken us. Some cats abandoned their Clans, fearful of catching the illness themselves, but most remained with their dying kin, hunting for them and fighting for them with some hope of deliverance until they too fell ill, and they too died.
It has been only seven seasons since the illness began, and each Clan has dwindled in numbers until it can hardly be called a Clan any longer. As leafbare approaches once more, it seems obvious that those of us who remain will not be able to survive alone. Between all five Clans, we are left with only two leaders and two medicine cats- one only half trained- and perhaps four or five members per Clan, if not fewer. Thus, we are left with a difficult choice: perish as five, or survive as one.
And as we've come to find out.... we are survivors.
It began one harsh leafbare, when cats began to fall ill to a strange sickness that the medicine cats had no knowledge of and no herbs to cure. Many cats died in that snowy season, and though newleaf brought hope, the sickness remained. More and more cats fell ill, and the medicine cats, and those warriors who still had strength, traveled far for answers, but there were none. And they prayed to StarClan for a sign, but there, too, were none, and it seemed that our warrior ancestors had forsaken us. Some cats abandoned their Clans, fearful of catching the illness themselves, but most remained with their dying kin, hunting for them and fighting for them with some hope of deliverance until they too fell ill, and they too died.
It has been only seven seasons since the illness began, and each Clan has dwindled in numbers until it can hardly be called a Clan any longer. As leafbare approaches once more, it seems obvious that those of us who remain will not be able to survive alone. Between all five Clans, we are left with only two leaders and two medicine cats- one only half trained- and perhaps four or five members per Clan, if not fewer. Thus, we are left with a difficult choice: perish as five, or survive as one.
And as we've come to find out.... we are survivors.
About
As the introduction suggests, this roleplay follows the cats who remain from the original five Clans as they struggle to survive after a devastating sickness with decimated their populations. They must decide whether they will try to continue to survive in separate Clans, or whether they will band together- even temporarily- until they have recovered from the illness and built their numbers back up. Or, perhaps they will merge permanently into a single Clan; it all remains to be seen, and is entirely up to the characters to decide.
This roleplay takes place far in the future of the Clans, when SkyClan has rejoined with the other four (mostly for the sake of having a bit more character diversity). In this version of things, SkyClan settled in the horseplace, making their camp in the fields beyond the pastures and hunting near the twolegs and barn cats, with whom they are closely tied (to the degree that the other Clans sometimes call them kittypets).
Though your characters in this roleplay will be entirely your own, there will be "character slots" you will have to fit them into. These slots are designed to cause conflict between the characters and the Clans, and to make sure that characters are reasonably diverse. Of course, more characters may be allowed later, as there may very well be non-Clan cats who wish to join, as well as cats who abandoned their Clans who wish to return. This will be later, though.
This roleplay takes place far in the future of the Clans, when SkyClan has rejoined with the other four (mostly for the sake of having a bit more character diversity). In this version of things, SkyClan settled in the horseplace, making their camp in the fields beyond the pastures and hunting near the twolegs and barn cats, with whom they are closely tied (to the degree that the other Clans sometimes call them kittypets).
Though your characters in this roleplay will be entirely your own, there will be "character slots" you will have to fit them into. These slots are designed to cause conflict between the characters and the Clans, and to make sure that characters are reasonably diverse. Of course, more characters may be allowed later, as there may very well be non-Clan cats who wish to join, as well as cats who abandoned their Clans who wish to return. This will be later, though.
Roleplay Rules
I'm going to keep this fairly simple for this roleplay. Primarily, follow forum rules and use common sense. Don't control other peoples' characters, be nice, don't make Mary-Sues, and so on. This roleplay should be a minimum of semi-literate, which means you should be able to write at least a decent-sized paragraph every post (scenes that are action or dialogue heavy excluded), and you should have very good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. I'm not so picky that I expect you to use perfect punctuation always, and honestly I don't even care if you use the right your/you're every time as long as your posts are easily legible, and you are contributing to the story in a fun and meaningful way. On the other side of the same coin... please don't write a novel every post, and don't make us have to go to a dictionary for every third word you write.
Also, activity is a biggie. Not expecting everyone to be on constantly, but at least once every other day or so (sometimes more, sometimes less) should be a good minimum. However, I do hope you'll be willing and able to make more than one post a day, even if they're only a few sentences. Of course, occasional absences for a few days at a time is acceptable, as are longer absences so long as you provide fair warning and don't trap other peoples' characters/plots. Obviously, the more plot relevant or higher ranking your cat is, the more I'll expect you to be available (even if you're not on all the time, you should be able to do at least quick responses in a timely fashion when needed).
Also, activity is a biggie. Not expecting everyone to be on constantly, but at least once every other day or so (sometimes more, sometimes less) should be a good minimum. However, I do hope you'll be willing and able to make more than one post a day, even if they're only a few sentences. Of course, occasional absences for a few days at a time is acceptable, as are longer absences so long as you provide fair warning and don't trap other peoples' characters/plots. Obviously, the more plot relevant or higher ranking your cat is, the more I'll expect you to be available (even if you're not on all the time, you should be able to do at least quick responses in a timely fashion when needed).
Character Slots
THUNDERCLAN
Leader - a fairly young cat who only became leader within the last few moons, after the previous leader's demise to the sickness. (open)Deputy - (open)
Warrior - (open)
2 Apprentices - (both open)
RIVERCLAN
Deputy - (open)Medicine Cat - an elderly medicine cat not long for this world, grieving for the loss of their apprentice. (Aphelyon )
2 Warriors - (both open)
Apprentie - (open)
SHADOWCLAN
Medicine Cat Apprentice - a very young medicine cat apprentice with only a few moons of training. (open)Senior Warrior - an experienced warrior seeking to establish leadership of what's left of their Clan, but unable to do so without the guidance of StarClan. (open)
3 Apprentices - (Aphelyon , 2 open)
WINDCLAN
Queen - a queen who fled her Clan with her newborn kits to protect them from the sickness. (open)Apprentice - an apprentice who left with the queen to help her hunt, fight, and care for her kits. More than ready for their warrior name but unable to recieve it without their Clan leader. (open)
3 Kits - young kits who have lived their first moons outside of the Clans. (Aphelyon , 2 open)
SKYCLAN
Leader - an experienced but elderly leader of a poorly-respected Clan. (Aphelyon )Warrior - (open)
Elder - (open)
Blind Kit - a newborn kit left weak and blind from being gestated with sickness, though the Clan doesn't yet know their disability. Littermate to the deaf kit. (open)
Deaf Kit - a newborn kit left weak and deaf from being gestated with sickness, though the Clan doesn't yet know their disability. Littermate to the blind kit. (open)
Joining
Name - appearance/personality [1-2 sentences each]. relationships [including deceased]. age [in moons].