There was once a barren scrubland in the middle of a desert with little to nothing in it. Apart from little shrubs and the occasional hare, the red-brown flatlands were almost as barren as the cloudless, pale blue sky above. If anything were foolish enough to journey through the scrublands, they would find absolutely nothing to relieve them of the exhaustion of travel and likely succumb to the unbearable heat or dehydration. Fortunately, miles into the desert was a vast network of canyons carved out by an immense river that twisted through the rocks like a rattlesnake, supporting the growth of various small trees and shrubs. However, plants weren't the only living organisms that the river encouraged to flourish in the surrounding area. Lizards, hawks, snakes, and even deer made their homes in the canyons and grazed and hunted amongst the rocks and small grasses.
In one particular section of the great canyon there lived a fairly large feral cat population that inhabited the land from the edge of the river delta to the rocky karst deposits to the top of the river up north. Due to their numbers, many of the feral cats decided to establish themselves as the dominant predators of the ecosystem.
However, it was this decision that caused tension amongst the population. While some cats decided to immediately take action and launch multiple attacks on the other predatory creatures to rid them off of "feline territory," others reasoned that the other predators in the canyon were far too dangerous, and attempting to rid them of their homes would cause more deaths than the predators would cause through predation or any other lethal actions. Besides, predators would always live where prey lived, so what was the point? The idea was simply unrealistic and far too costly.
Then, the focus of the conflict shifted from safety to gender. While cats of both genders sided with each of the two views, more toms appeared to support immediate action against predators and more she-cats tended to support staying put and not risking precious lives. This sparked even more conflict and began to generate stereotypes between the sexes. Toms came to believe that she-cats were too weak and emotional to see logic, more concerned with the safety of kits than with the future of every other cat. She-cats, on the other hand, believed toms to be too barbaric and careless to see logic, foolish enough to throw their lives away and act like senseless, moronic dogs.
Tensions between the two genders rose to a point where both sides found themselves unable to cooperate, and thus decided that they must be separated. From this decision came the creation of two clans: DeltaClan, the clan of she-cats, and KarstClan, the clan of toms. As their names suggested, DeltaClan took the territory from the top of the river delta to the end of the marshlands, and KarstClan took the rocky territory of the karsts to the beginning of the interior of the canyons.
As different as the two clans were, they soon reached the issue that they would need each other in order to continue the livelihood of their clans, however much they disliked it. Essentially, the two genders were a "necessary evil" to one another. The two leaders of the original clans, Deltastar and Karststar, decided that once every year the toms and she-cats of age in the clans would meet to be paired together in order to breed. However, to avoid any relations between the paired cats, the leaders would purposely match the toms and she-cats least compatible with one another.
At two moons of age, the kittens spawned from the temporary partnership would be divided in the camp, seperated by gender. At six moons of age, the clans would meet once more and the kits would become apprenticed. Tom 'paws would depart from DeltaClan and be transferred to KarstClan, where they would live the rest of their days.
This basic level of cooperation between the clans proved successful, as the clans managed to thrive in the canyons for generations upon generations. No conflicts had spurred between the clans since then, as they were able to survive and deal with their affairs individually. But the harmful stereotypes of the two genders remained at large, despite the seemingly peaceful relationship between the two. They were "equal but unequal," as one early medicine cat put it. To the clans, the world was divided by gender, and it was intent upon staying that way. Change was bad, after all, and organization existed for a reason. Tom and she-cat were two entirely different yet similar beings, both different in the mind and body, but similar in species and reliant upon one another for survival.
And anyone to challenge that delicate order was to face the harsh consequences.
Allegiances
DeltaClan
Leader: Mallardstar - big tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with dark blue eyes and white paws
Deputy: Snakestripe - skinny, light brown tabby she-cat with prominent dark stripes and pale golden eyes
Medicine Cat: Cloudspeck - white tabby she-cat with gray flecks and green eyes
Sandpaw - light brown tabby she-cat with big ears, a white chest, muzzle, paws, and light golden eyes
Warriors:
Lilyfern - pale tortoiseshell she-cat with long fur and pale green eyes
Redstone - red tabby she-cat with long legs, darker paws, and amber eyes
Apprentice: Frogpaw - dark brown she-cat with black flecks, a white chest, and green eyes
Doestep - pale brown she-cat with white legs, a white belly, long whiskers, and green eyes
Nutcreek - ginger-brown tabby she-cat with pale amber eyes
Marshfin - dark tortoiseshell she-cat with black paws and gray eyes
Apprentice: Geckopaw - ginger-and-black she-cat with a long tail and pale yellow eyes
Yellowgorse - cream-colored she-cat with dark stripes and light amber eyes
Rowanberry - dark ginger she-cat with long fur and yellow eyes
Nightstripe - black-and-white she-cat with a long stripe running down her back and pale blue eyes
Apprentice: Shadowpaw - strong black tabby she-cat with piercing amber eyes
Jaggedcloud - black-and-gray tabby she-cat with spiky fur and bright yellow eyes
Sheepfur - tan-and-white she-cat with short fur and pale green eyes
Lizardtail - dappled, light brown tabby she-cat with yellow eyes and a long tail
Queens:
Falconstreak - gray tabby she-cat with marbled, distinctive black stripes and bright green eyes, mother to Skyshade's kits: Silverkit (silver tom-kit with sleek fur and amber eyes), Stormkit (dark blue-gray tom-kit with blue eyes), and Frostkit (white tom-kit with blue eyes, hard of hearing), Tortoisekit (dappled, dark brown tabby tom-kit with black stripes, a pale brown belly, and green eyes)
Breezewind - light gray-brown she-cat with long fur and blue eyes, mother of Adderthroat's kits: Minnowkit (gray she-kit with a long tail, darker-tinged fur, and blue eyes), Russetkit (dark red-brown tabby she-kit with yellow eyes), and Ferretkit (tall, gray-and-cream tabby born-tom with light amber eyes, non-binary)
Elders:
Stonefall - old gray tabby she-cat with matted fur, a light muzzle, and sea-green eyes
Firestorm - flame-colored she-cat with long fur, a silver muzzle, and yellow-green eyes
KarstClan
Leader: Boulderstar - large, pale gray tom with a white belly and gray eyes
Apprentice: Condorpaw - muscular black tom with white legs and dark amber eyes
Deputy: Smokewind - dark gray tom with long fur, long legs, a white belly, and blue eyes
Medicine Cat: Haretail - brown-gray tom with a stubby tail, white chest, and light amber eyes
Warriors:
Marblestripe - silver-and-black tabby tom with black paws and pale amber eyes
Skyshade - gray tom with dark-tinged fur and clear blue eyes
Apprentice: Mudpaw - dark brown tom with a dappled coat, lighter paws, and golden eyes
Adderthroat - tall dark brown tabby tom with black stripes, a ginger throat, and amber eyes
Apprentice: Rattlepaw - dark ginger-and-brown tabby tom with sharp amber eyes and a white-tipped tail
Blueriver - dark blue-gray tabby tom with a strong build and dark blue eyes
Ashmuzzle - gray tabby tom with a darker muzzle, dark stripes, white paws, and gray-blue eyes
Foxrunner - ginger-and-gray tom with thick fur, a lean build, and sharp amber eyes
Coyotefang - small ginger-brown tabby tom with a pale brown belly and bright yellow eyes
Scorpiontail - dark red-brown tabby tom with light yellow eyes and a bushy tail
Lionclaw - big, lean ginger-brown tom with a dusty pelt, a short tail, and yellow eyes
Elders:
Shrubpatch - patchy gray tom with clumps of fur missing and light green-yellow eyes
Duststone - dusty brown tabby tom with big ears and amber eyes
Lizardbelly - brown-and-black tabby tom with a white belly and pale blue eyes