sierraclan - planning (wip - don't post)
Apr 20, 2019 15:01:15 GMT -5
𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗜𝗘〡𝑟𝑦𝑜 𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑘𝑎 𝑚𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 likes this
Post by owlspots on Apr 20, 2019 15:01:15 GMT -5
So as part of 𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗜𝗘〡𝑟𝑦𝑜 𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑘𝑎 𝑚𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 's Australian Clans roleplay, this is where I will form the basis of what is to be SierraClan. This will be my own personal planning page and will harbour a collection of thoughts, ideas and potential building blocks for this Clan, so I would appreciate it if, while anybody is welcome to read through my ramblings, you were to refrain from posting here!
sierraclan: arguably the most starclan-connected clan (although dustclan would fight them for that title), sierraclan, living in high altitudes without much interferance from twolegs, has the most clear vision of the night sky. they also believe they are the most connected to starclan due to their close location to the moon cavern. they have many legends and stories that they put up in constellations, in fact, they've practically deified the original four leaders of the clans and have constellations based on all four of them, plus other legendary mythological heroes and villains. moon phases are of absolute importance to them, and the even have their own form of astrology that both them and dustclan use. this "astrology" is based on the moon phases and the seasons. each cat is given a different "sign" based on the moon phase and the season they were born in. sierraclan takes it much more seriously than dustclan, believing even that some signs are luckier than others. they have many different religious customs and vigils, and they're probably the most superstitious of all the clans. all of this is not to say that they dont like to have fun though. they have many different "games" they like to play in their high-altitude territory. they can also be one of the most thrill/risk-seeking clans and many cats have tests and games they play in the more dangerous spots in their territory.
TERRITORY
^ general idea of SierraClan territory
SierraClan makes its home in the more mountainous region of the wider territory inhabited by the four Clans, and so the Clan itself has adapted over the seasons to cope with the high altitudes and the perilous terrain. Due to how quickly they were made to adapt, SierraClan's cats were made resilient; they boast great physical strength used to traverse the mountains and cliffs of their territory and to combat the vicious predators who also live there, such as dingoes and wild dogs, venomous snakes, and birds of prey.
CLAN HISTORY
SierraClan have been a peaceful Clan for many seasons, and each leader since Sierrastar has managed to maintain a reasonable level of peace with the other three Clans (with exceptions here and there, but SierraClan are largely very passive and pacifist). The Clan has little need to defend itself as the mountainous region in which they live is extremely difficult to traverse and navigate, and therefore defends itself in many ways. However, with tensions rising many young warriors are starting to believe that the old ways of peace and solitude are no longer the wisest choice and that moons of being left to their own devices has made SierraClan weak.
There was a period of time under Spiderstar where the Clan closed its borders and turned their mountain home into a fortress; many outsiders and cats from other Clans were severely injured and even killed by SierraClan warriors on the orders of their leader. Spiderstar was a warmongering tyrant and was highly unpopular within the Clan, and was overthrown and replaced by a cat named Prickletail who was keen to return SierraClan to its former state of pacifism and open the borders again.
GENERAL CLAN INFORMATION
SierraClan cats are, as a general rule, large with powerful muscles and big, sturdy paws for traversing the rockiest parts of their territory. They tend to have thick coats - although perhaps not necessarily long - to deal with their chillier climate and the high altitudes, but cats who are not of pure SierraClan blood may have thinner pelts and be smaller in size. The standard and arguably the most common pelt colours are grey and brown in varying shades and patterns (ticked, spotted, marbled, solid, etc), and black; tabby patterns are extremely commonplace and, while tortoiseshells with little to no white spotting aren't too out there or uncommon, mostly-white pelts are rare, and fully white cats are very few and far between (I think that, realistically, there'd only be 1 cat out of perhaps 20 or 30 who is fully or mostly white).
SierraClan are mostly pretty accepting of outsiders and are a tolerant Clan due to their peaceful nature. Many of the cats they hold in high esteem (ie. in constellations and legends) were not of Clan origins and came from outside their borders, so they believe that everybody can be accepted by StarClan.
LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
First came SIERRASTAR, once known as Sierra Sky. Sierrastar was a gentle and wise ruler who was greatly loved by her Clan and admired even by those from the other Clans. Her reign was the first of many for SierraClan, and was a time of peace and prosperity for the Clan. Upon her death she was deified, and her medicine cat's apprentice discovered a constellation in the sky after a dream from StarClan; this constellation was named in honour of Sierrastar and is almost always found right above the Clan's camp. She had two deputies in her time as leader: her first was Batfur, who served almost twenty moons as deputy before being killed by twolegs; her second was Orchidheart, who served only a short time as deputy and was her successor. Sierrastar died of old age and illness.
Then came ORCHIDSTAR. Orchidstar was as fair a leader as Sierrastar had been, with a kind heart, but his time as leader was short-lived. He held a powerful connection with the stars and was a devout follower of StarClan; he, too, had a constellation named after him upon his death. While his reign was not as peaceful as Sierrastar's, he tried his best to maintain good relationships with the other three Clans. His strong spirituality was viewed as weak by many of his warriors, who did not believe that he was truly worthy to succeed Sierrastar. He lost most of his lives in combat, but the cause of his final, ninth death remains uncertain - it is suspected that he was murdered by Spiderfang, who succeeded him despite not being the Clan's appointed deputy. Orchidstar had one deputy, Egretwing, who died of greencough before her nine lives ceremony. Spiderfang was Orchidstar's successor.
SPIDERSTAR's reign was a violent and bloody one; he was a twisted cat of wicked morals and he lacked any shred of compassion or empathy. A warmonger, Spiderstar plunged his Clan repeatedly into needless, brutal combat with the other three just to satisfy his own thirst for blood. He was known for his cruel training regime, which forced kits who were too young to be apprenticed into rigorous, pre-apprenticeship training to indoctrinate them. He desired only the most hardened and strongest cats as warriors and outcast many who were too old or too sick to serve a purpose in his tyrannical dictatorship, including his own father. Like Orchidstar, he lost most of his lives in combat. His final life was taken by Prickletail, who turned on Spiderstar when he attempted to attack a pregnant queen. Spiderstar had four deputies during his leadership: Bearscar, who died in combat; Ternflight, who died of an infection; Snakestripe, who died in combat; and Thistlecloud, who fell from a cliff fighting DustClan warriors in a border skirmish. Prickletail was Spiderstar's successor.
Following Spiderstar's reign of violence came PRICKLESTAR. Pricklestar was by no means a saint - he was very morally grey and made many harsh calls during his time as leader - but he was well-respected even if leadership did not come to him naturally. He worked hard to compensate for Spiderstar's misdeeds and eventually returned SierraClan to its original state as a peaceful Clan who believed in pacifism, following Sierrastar's example. It took him a long time to rebuild the Clan, but eventually SierraClan returned to its former glory. He opened the borders again and did his best to recover those who had been forced into exile by Spiderstar; he was largely successful but many, including Spiderstar's own father, Dingofur, did not make it. He returned their bodies to their rightful resting place in the Clan's ancestral graveyard, and they were buried with great honour. Pricklestar had a long reign, eventually losing his final life to pneumonia and named two deputies in his time. Stonetalon was a senior warrior when he was named, and grew too old to carry out his warrior duties anymore; he retired to the elders' den with the greatest honours bestowed upon him for his service, and he was replaced by Fennelflower. Fennelflower was Pricklestar's successor.
FENNELSTAR was a shockingly young cat when she was named as leader, having only just seen her first apprentice graduate to warriorhood before Pricklestar announced that she was to replace Stonetalon. As Pricklestar's niece, the Clan assumed her naming was a result of favouritism and bias on Pricklestar's part, and Fennelstar had secretly agreed. While inexperienced and still full of the recklessness of youth, Fennelstar proved herself to be a worthy leader; she relied heavily on the advice of her most senior warriors, her deputy and her medicine cat, but her compassion and her consideration quickly made her admired by many. It was during her reign that the most severe cat-culling incident in Clan history occurred, and many of Fennelstar's trusted council vanished, never to be seen again. To help regrow her Clan, Fennelstar took in many outsiders and was careful in her treatment of them, training them in the ways of the Warrior Code. One of these outsiders went on to become a medicine cat by the name of Ibiswing who, for her many years of loyal service and the good deeds they performed in life, was eventually deified alongside the leader who took her in. Fennelstar lost her final life saving an apprentice from falling to his death. She had three deputies over the course of her leadership: Gullheart broke his back falling from a cliff when the rocks gave way and Fernpelt died of greencough. Geckotail was Fennelstar's successor.
GECKOSTAR is the current leader of SierraClan. The seasons have not been kind to him, and although he was once handsome and strong he is now old, frail and ailing. He refuses to admit this to his Clan, and even to himself one might dare to suggest - he will not come to terms with the fact that he is dying. These past few moons, he has ignored the advice of his medicine cat and becomes enraged at even the slightest mention or suggestion that he is losing his grip on his Clan. Although nobody knows for certain how many lives he has left, as he has never confided in anybody, rumours throughout all four Clans claim that he is clinging to his final life and it will not be long before he dies. He spends most of the time in his den, isolated from his Clan and leaving them in the paws of his deputy, who has had to assume the role of leader around the camp. His first deputy was his brother, Leafclaw, but Leafclaw was killed by twolegs.
FENNELSTAR was a shockingly young cat when she was named as leader, having only just seen her first apprentice graduate to warriorhood before Pricklestar announced that she was to replace Stonetalon. As Pricklestar's niece, the Clan assumed her naming was a result of favouritism and bias on Pricklestar's part, and Fennelstar had secretly agreed. While inexperienced and still full of the recklessness of youth, Fennelstar proved herself to be a worthy leader; she relied heavily on the advice of her most senior warriors, her deputy and her medicine cat, but her compassion and her consideration quickly made her admired by many. It was during her reign that the most severe cat-culling incident in Clan history occurred, and many of Fennelstar's trusted council vanished, never to be seen again. To help regrow her Clan, Fennelstar took in many outsiders and was careful in her treatment of them, training them in the ways of the Warrior Code. One of these outsiders went on to become a medicine cat by the name of Ibiswing who, for her many years of loyal service and the good deeds they performed in life, was eventually deified alongside the leader who took her in. Fennelstar lost her final life saving an apprentice from falling to his death. She had three deputies over the course of her leadership: Gullheart broke his back falling from a cliff when the rocks gave way and Fernpelt died of greencough. Geckotail was Fennelstar's successor.
GECKOSTAR is the current leader of SierraClan. The seasons have not been kind to him, and although he was once handsome and strong he is now old, frail and ailing. He refuses to admit this to his Clan, and even to himself one might dare to suggest - he will not come to terms with the fact that he is dying. These past few moons, he has ignored the advice of his medicine cat and becomes enraged at even the slightest mention or suggestion that he is losing his grip on his Clan. Although nobody knows for certain how many lives he has left, as he has never confided in anybody, rumours throughout all four Clans claim that he is clinging to his final life and it will not be long before he dies. He spends most of the time in his den, isolated from his Clan and leaving them in the paws of his deputy, who has had to assume the role of leader around the camp. His first deputy was his brother, Leafclaw, but Leafclaw was killed by twolegs.
