You might think that it was always this way, but it wasn't. The group was one of the groups of cats in the high mountains, no longer affiliated with the Tribe of Rushing Water. In the beginning, the Tribe of Rushing Water had been happy in the mountains, but soon, there was a rebellion. Some cats didn't like the current leader, so they rebelled and made their own group, taking some cats from the tribe and letting others that wandered through the mountains join too. They became a tight knit group, that soon grew larger, and larger, until they became the size of the Tribe they had left.
Now, you may believe that this group's history was peaceful, and they all lived happily ever after in the high mountains, but they sadly didn't. Not even close. The group became something the founders would have never wanted it to become. Violent, misogynistic, full of terrible power hungry cats. The group had fallen into a sort of Dark Ages, and this is what this story is about, how a few good cats were able to bring the group back to solidarity and peace.
But for now, you need a bit of backstory…
In the beginning, the group was part of the tribe. Three cats, Flying Fire, Snowy Night, and Soaring Bird had started to disagree with the ways of the tribe they had been born into. They felt that the tribe needed to be different, but after an uprising occurred, they were sent away with the cats that had fought with them. They decided they were going to form their own group based on their own ideals and morals, make their own rules. And they did.
They wandered far into the mountains, finding a small valley, a moorland within the mountains with a few small trees and shrubs. It was a hostile climate, and without lots of tribemates to help them hunt, they suffered during the first moons. Their wasn't lots of prey, and even though they had been raised in the mountains, things were different in this small valley. It was a huge change and it hurt them at first.
But they were able to adapt, and soon they had a small camp in the valley. They were quite isolated, the valley was edged by mountains and rocks and hills. They saw very few cats if any at all in the moons that passed. A few wanderers had joined them, and after awhile, they were almost as big as the tribe had been when they left. They prospered and everything was good, for a little while.
The group, who now called themselves the Tribe of the Valley, was set up kind of like the tribe. They had cats who learned how to fight and protect the group so they could fend off hawks and eagles and other things that would haunt the valley, while other cats learned how to hunt and provide for the group. They were called the protectors and providers, and each cat was sorted into the groups after they reached 5 moons so that each group will have cats suited for their job.
There was to be two leaders and a medicine cat. One leader was in charge and watched over the providers, while the other watched over the protectors. The medicine cat would be alongside both leaders and join them together, as the medicine cat cared for both groups and did not favor one part of the group over another. Each cat would be trained by several and/or all members of the group they are sorted into, and they will also learn skills from the other group so they would have more than one skill.
This worked for many, many moons, but soon their came to be ruled tyrant of a leader, who decided to rip and resew the fabric that had kept the group together for so long. His name was Hail. He felt that he needed more power, that the tribe would do better, so he banished the rule of two leaders, and he took out the role of medicine cat so that no cat could be more powerful than him. He felt that he could do more for the tribe if it was just him in power, and not more than one cat making decisions. He said it was for the good of the group and slowly he took all of the power away. He was in charge, and he made the rules. But these rules were not good ones, and he was no fair ruler.
Hail made sure that cats started to work and train for the tribe as soon as they could eat prey, he made them work hard and grueling jobs, and many young cats died from exhaustion, and without a medicine cat, the group was helpless and more susceptible to diseases and death. The group suffered. Once a very large group, now small.
There was a shortage of young cats, so Hail decided he was going to fix that. He made it so that she-cats only jobs were to bear kits and keep the camp clean. They were there to bear kits, and raise them. He made them the property of their mates, and toms were given control. Hail was aggressive and terrible.
Now, the she-cats of course did more than just bear kits, they learned some healing practices for their kits and they helped each other, but thanks to the society and the rules put it place by Hail, they couldn't do much. This soon became the way of life, and it was like that for a very long time. After Hail died, the older cats decided they were going to have two leaders again, but they would not have a medicine cat because no cat had the knowledge would not train kits as hard, and the rules would be more relaxed so that the group could function. But, they kept the rule about she-cats, and this rule is still in place today, reminding the old cats about a much darker time.
The she-cats were seen as objects up for trade, and they were not treated with respect. They were seen as kit-carriers. But this was the way of life for she-cats, so it was accepted as they didn't have the skills to fight back. They had not been trained. So they kept quiet, used their basic healing techniques, and had kits. And that was the way of life. It's the way it has been, and always will be… until it is changed.