Long ago, feral cats were constantly fighting over territory and prey. Their conflicts eventually escalated into a great battle, which claimed many lives.
The exhausted survivors lay in despair, believing there would be no end to the bloodshed. To their astonishment, the spirits of the cats who'd died in the battle appeared before them with a message.
"Unite or die."
While initially confused, the cats eventually understood what the spirits meant. They would have to learn to cooperate with each other if they wanted to survive.
There were too many of them to manage in one group; so five cats came forward, each offering to form a colony of cats with similar skills and traits.
Thunder, the brave and strong, took his followers to the deepest part of the forest where their tabby pelts helped them blend in with the thick undergrowth.
River Ripple, the kind and clever, provided a home by the river for cats like himself who wished to conquer their instinctual fear of water and enjoy a bounty of fish.
Wind Runner, the swift and loyal, moved her group of lithe, long legged cats to the moors where they would chase rabbits and sleep under the open sky.
Tall Shadow, the cunning and stealthy, founded a colony of dark furred cats among the pine trees where she taught them to hunt in the shadows and become one with the darkness.
And Clear Sky, the fierce and independent, made his camp where the birch trees grew towards the stars; where his cats would climb and leap to snatch birds out of the air.
In time, these colonies came to be known as clans and were named after their founders; Thunderclan, Riverclan, Windclan, Shadowclan and Skyclan.
They agreed to follow a set of rules called the Warrior Code which decreed that each clan would hunt only on it's own territory.
While there were still conflicts between the clans; they no longer led to blood soaked battles, but organised skirmishes with the cats fighting to defend their own instead of killing each other.
As for the spirits who'd brought the clans together; they continued to watch over the living as Starclan. When a clan cat died, they went to join these spirits and resided among the stars.
Clan Terminology
Moon - Month
Quarter-moon - One week
Half-moon - Two weeks
Newleaf - Spring
Greenleaf - Summer
Leaf-fall - Autumn
Leafbare - Winter
Twolegs - Humans
Twolegplace - A town or city
Cutter - Vet; specifically referring to being spayed or neutered.
Thunderpath - Road
Monsters - Cars
Sharing tongues - Grooming each other
Greencough - A severe, sometimes fatal, chest infection.
Crowfood - Long dead prey.
The Warrior Code
The Warrior Code is a set of laws and rules that all clan cats must abide by.
It was formed over generations of the clans facing problems, finding solutions and implementing rules to avoid those problems reoccurring.
The code has gone through many changes over the years, with rules being added, amended or even removed; reflecting the clans' changing attitudes and circumstances.
Changing the code is by no means a simple thing. Any proposal must first be approved by both the clan's leader and medicine cat. They must then convince the other clans to accept the change at a gathering. Only if all the clan leaders agree will the change be implemented.
This is the Warrior Code as it stands now.
1. Defend the clans with your life. Each warrior's loyalty is to their own clan, but it is the duty of all clan cats to ensure that no clan falls.
2. Each clan's traditions and independence must be respected. No clan may get involved with another's affairs unless asked to, or they are directly affected by the issue.
3. A warrior is to avoid killing unless absolutely necessary. The clans fight to defend themselves; not to destroy others.
Under no circumstances are kits, elders or pregnant queens to be attacked.
4. Elders, queens, kits and any sick or injured cats must be fed first. Hunters may not eat their prey until it has been shared with the rest of the clan.
5. A truce is to be held every full moon for one night. During this time, fighting between the clans is forbidden.
6. All kits are to be protected, regardless of which clan they come from. No warrior is to ignore a kit in distress.
7. A kit must be at least six moons old before becoming an apprentice.
8. The deputy will succeed the clan leader following their death or retirement.
9. Following a deputy's death, retirement or promotion; a new deputy must be chosen before midnight.
10. Clan leaders are to be respected and obeyed. However, if a cat believes their leader is no longer acting in the clan's interest, they may challenge their leadership. If the majority of the clan agrees, the leader must step down. Deputies are exempt from challenging or voting.
11. A warrior may choose to switch their allegiance to a different clan; but they must complete three tasks chosen by the clan's senior warriors in order to be accepted. A warrior may only change clans once.
12. Prey is killed only to be eaten. All life is to be respected and prey must never be wasted.
13. Newly appointed warriors are to spend one night keeping a silent vigil after receiving their warrior name.
14. Only cats who have mentored at least one apprentice can be chosen as deputy.
15. Twolegs are to be avoided whenever possible. No clan cat is to accept food from twolegs.
16. Clan cats may only hunt on their own territory. They may not enter another clan's land without permission.
Any clan cat that breaks the code will receive a punishment decided by their leader. The severity of the punishment will depend on the seriousness of the crime.
Trespassing on another clan's territory or accepting food from twolegs will usually result in the cat being assigned unpleasant duties or being confined to camp for a time.
Disobeying their leader or eating prey before sharing it with the clan can see a warrior temporarily demoted to apprentice status; losing their warrior privileges until they have earned their leader's trust back.
The most serious crimes are murder and betraying one's clan. The punishment for this is exile. The offender will have until sundown to leave their clan's territory. Afterwards, they will be considered a rogue and killed if found there again.
