Moorclan Info

[Dreamer]

'Kendra' by Peter Trimming, on Flickr
Moorclan

Although Moorclan was the last clan to form, their ancestors lived in the wilds far longer than those of the other clans. Much of the clan descends from several wildcats who were forced out of their own territories by the new clans and had to band together to establish their own clan. They expanded by welcoming in a few cats, mostly those who had been disgruntled and turned away by the other clans, but also by breeding outward and requiring every cat who can bear kits to have at least one litter. Even so they are usually the smallest clan, due to their shunning of faerie connections, and their harsh and somewhat barren territory. For Moorclan, everything is about survival, which encourages rivalry, but at the same time requires trust. Much of their code involves practical decisions made for their own sake and safety, and they are often considered barbaric by other clans standards.

Culture

Moorclan is a rough and tumble group of cats. They highly value cats with a strong sense of endurance and perseverance. With their life style there is little room for weakness, if a cat can't make it in the clan they are encouraged to either go to humans and see if they will take them in or go to Pineclan. Moorclan thinks Pineclan is too open and accepting, and they have successfully sent a spy or two into their ranks before. Moorclan has a very no nonsense attitude, and drama, particularly the kind that interrupts smooth clan running and activity is frowned upon. Interfering with the clans ability to function is considered a punishable offense, although the punishment varies based on the individual and what they did.

With their camp and territory being open fields, these cats learn from a young age to keep a careful eye on the skies, it's often an amusing tick to the other clans, as Moorclan cats will flick their eyes to the sky casually in the midst of a conversation. They are also more aware of air changes and winds, with a more refined ability to sense changes in air pressure that could signal a dangerous storm or wind. They nest in the hollows between the stony cairn which is their camp, and their nests are as practical as their lifestyle, padded Moorclan plants and grasses.

In order to survive, Moorland has had to learn to be flexible when it comes to outsiders. So long as the cat is strong or shows potential, Moorland will not turn them away, and healthy pregnant cats are enthusiastically recruited. Yet at the same time they are the ones who most fiercely defend their borders, and if a cat who is not part of the clan is on clan territory they will be escorted or chased out without discussion. Even though Moorclan would be considered fairly welcoming of outsiders, it is at a price. One does not half heartedly join Moorclan, and the process of joining Moorclan is far more involved and stressful than the other clans. Even adult and fully grown and named cats (or warriors wishing to join Moorclan from another) must go through a period of time as an apprentice, sometimes even on a lower level than the actual apprentices. They aren't treated badly or abused, but they are given no rest, no breaks, no mercy. These new cats must understand the struggles of Moorclan, and their loyalty must be tested.

However the biggest difference between Moorclan and the other clans is their strict avoidance of the Faerie realm. Long ago they formed a single pact with one faerie, and though the price was, and is, steep, their territory is mostly free of pesky wayward faeries, and the clan is protected. But their choice nearly completely alienated them from the other two clans and is a constant point of contention. To Moorclan it was necessary, to the other clans it was horrific.

[Dreamer]

Ranks

As usual these clans are not gender/sex specific.

-Leader-
The leader is the symbol of strength and connection to the earth of the clan. They take on the suffix -star in honor of their ancestors, and in honor of the freedom and vitality of the skies. After all, though Moorclan has a strong connection to the earth, they will always covet the freedom of the skies. The leader is meant to be the mediator between the two, to take his clans hopes, wishes, fears and needs, and measure them equally between the strength of the earth (and their special faerie) and the hope of the sky and their ancestors. Being leader is as much about managing the clan as it is about managing their spiritual lives, even if they are somewhat meeker than the other clans. For that reason, the clan has its Counselor to assist the leader, in order to help them better teach and guide the clan. But the leader also has their practical duties as well. They are the ones who assess each cats skills and abilities, to better assign them to their different roles, as well as know who best pairs between kits and warriors for mentors and apprentices. They also interact with queens, elders, and other cats on a day to day basis, assessing the clans state of mind, as well as helping to mediate disputes great and small, and stop any sort of nonsense or misconduct from happening to break the clan's rhythm. They are such an odd mixture of down to earth and set apart, that the other clan leaders are often confused by them.

-Second-
The Second's Trial is fierce and dangerous, yet at the same time, winning does not necessarily involve killing. Winning involves cunning, levering ones strengths against the other contestants. A Second is the claws of the clan, the vicious avenger and the seeker of justice. While the clan leader stays above the fray, it is the Second who puts themself in harms way for the clan. Although the leader is certainly aware of the popular mindset due to their many interactions with clanmates, it is the Second who knows it because they have experienced it. They enforce the leader's decisions, they mark the borders, they hunt, they fight. The roles are so different, yet at the same time intertwined. Which is often why, Seconds will succeed their leader, though not always. Seconds who learn from their situation, do not allow aggressive ideas or ambition to reign, will follow their leader. If not, the clan, particularly the elders and senior warriors, will elect another leader, with the Counselor as the deciding vote. Yet also because of their involved and front line positions, it is not uncommon for a leader to have at least two, or even three deputies during his leadership.

-Counselor-
The keeper of clan histories and lore, as well as the clan's link to the past and remotely to the faerie, the Counselor is the closest to regal and removed as Moorclan gets. In fact Counselors are forbidden from battle once they have achieved this status, even in self defense, as having blood on their paws dishonors their role as advisors and neutral envoys. Instead they have their own personal body guard, which happens to be their apprentice. THis apprentice, learning the ways of the Counselors, is also the protector of those teachings. They are tasked to ensure none of them are lost by the untimely death of a counselor, so that one day they can assume that role themselves. Thus Counselor apprentices are only chosen after they have become warriors and can adequately defend their Counselor.

-Herbalist-
The healers of the clan, there is only ever one full Herbalist at a time. They contain the sum of knowledge of their profession in the clan at that time. It is the cumulative knowledge of clan herbal remedies, with bits and pieces bought, stolen, or learned from other clans, as well as Moorclan's own traditions. They play the doctor to the clan, prescribing medications and treatments. Yet while in other clans, the knowledge does not spread beyond the healer and their direct apprentice, in Moorclan things are different. For starters, as part of each apprentices training, they must undergo a basic first aid course to help them identify dangerous plants to NOT eat, recognize venomous or dangerous bugs or creatures like adders, and what to do in certain cases of emergency, such as when a cat is passed out or has been bitten by something venomous. This helps avoid certain situations to begin with, as well as teaches kits and young apprentices the seriousness of herbs and the medicine den. Beyond that, each Herbalist also has assistants who function like nurses, three of them, who each specialize in one area of medicine: Relational/Mental, External, and Internal. Of course these often overlap, but the idea is, these three assistants, who help part time when needed, know more in one area without having to know every single thing. This also functions as a backup in case the Herbalist dies before completing the training of whichever chosen apprentice they may have. The Herbalist apprentice can either come in the form of a new apprentice, or in the form of one of the assistant medics stepping up to the responsibility. The spreading of knowledge allows for more cats with the knowledge and ability, as well as the chance for these assistant medics to live full lives that include, but are not limited to medicinal duties.

-Elder-
The rare older warriors of the clan. Moorclan elders tend to retire earlier than the others clans, and are rarer for sure. They usually retire around 90 moons instead of 100 like the other clans. But even though they are retired they still play an active part in the clan, as kit watchers and also as caretakers and eyes and ears for the leader.

-Warrior-
The everyday cat of the clan, warriors are what most cats become and stay for the rest of their lives. Warriors hunt, fight, raise kits, and live as full members of the clan. They dont have to worry too much about the finer details, that is up to their higher ranks, those cats who choose to take on the burdens of leadership for themselves. Of course, any warrior faces danger in every part of their day, from stray predators to birds of prey to infections to starvation and sickness. Moorclan warriors hold life very dear and near to their hearts. In order to become a warrior in Moorclan, an apprentice must pass their assessments, and then climb Eagle's Nest rock to retrieve a feather without falling or being attacked. Once an eagle feather is obtained, it is laid before the clan's leader as a pledge of loyalty. They are then named, and sent on their first patrol to mark the borders with their scent. Any food caught on the journey is allowed to be eaten, as a sign of gratitude from the clan.

-Nurse-
Unlike the other clans, every cat who is able to bear kits must do so at least once in their lifetime. If they wish for those kits to be raised by others, that is their choice, but unless the leader provides an exception they are required to at least bare them. That said, there is a need for caretakers. There is always at least one dedicated nursery worker when there are kits, either as a nursing mother or simply as a minder and educator, Moorclan highly appreciates their Nurse. After all these queens will be the ones to teach kits respect, as well as raise them to Moorclan standards. Warriors who wish to become nurses are carefully interviewed by the leader so as to ensure that the queens will do well, and the -flower suffix is highly coveted.

-Apprentices-
Beginning their training at six moons, they undergo a rigorous program of strengthening of the body and mind. Their tasks involve hunting, fighting, chores and physical training, but also mental training, including critical thinking skills on how to evade traps and outsmart an opponent. These skills are used to learn other ways to defeat predators, catch prey, or win a fight against other clans, and play into the famous Second's Trials. After an appropriate amount of training, usually between the moons 6-16, the leader will give them their warrior name, highlighting an aspect of their skills, persolity, or appearance. Personality suffixes are favorites, although the suffix -flower is respected.

-Kit-
Kits are the ultimate symbol of vulnerability in Moorclan. Due to sickness and lack of food, the clan loses many kits, and values their lives greatly. Kits are hidden as deep in the camp in the rocks as possible, and sheltered as best as they can be. Warriors will go hungry for them whenever necessary. Due to meddling birds, kits are kept close watch over, and taught from barely before they can talk how to hide in the stones and to watch the skies. Due to the personal involvement with his clan, the leader pays close attention to kits, and is usually familiar to them because of that, which helps to secure loyalty and admiration of course. Unlike the other clans which start their training at four moons old, Moorclan starts educating the mind without the body. Between 4-6 moons older kits participate in chores around camp and alternate between sittings with the elders and the counselor, and sittings with the herbalist to learn basic first aid. It teaches them discipline and exposes them to clan life while putting them in minimal danger.

[Dreamer]

Naming

Due to the high mortality rates of kits in Moorclan, they are not named until their naming ceremony at their first full moon (depending on when they are born the ceremony can happen any where from 3-6 weeks of age). Moorclan kittens do not have secret names, as their protection pact usually protects kits from being taken. As usual they are named for their pelts, but parents prefer names filled with energy and power, like birds, weather, and things like stone or other landscape features. The idea being that a kit will take on attributes or emulate their namesake to survive. Their naming ceremony involves the clan leader rubbing dust and herbs over kits head and back, in the hope that these kits will draw a connection from the earth and health from the herbs.

Unlike the other clans, warriors rarely specialize in skills to gain suffixes. Their suffixes are rewarded based on talent more often than not, and they are more fond of personality based names, which gives them two unique suffixes:

-Flight: A cat who is brimming with life and energy, different than -storm in that this suffix denotes a cat who is steadily optimistic, cheerful, and independent.

-Stone: A dependable down to earth cat known to be a bit conservative, also considered stoic and stubborn, unmoving. An unkind description would be a stick as a mud, but a better one would be a solid warrior who has strongly established patterns and loyalties.


Appearance

Although one would expect these cats to have bred to be more sleek and agile, their odd connection to the more prevalent wild cat genes has left them a bit behind on that scale. Many cats favor the stronger bones and build of the wildcat, with blunt rounded tips to their tails. However there are also many cats who have slowly begun to take on a more foreign appearance. Inheriting the ticked tabby of the wildcats has led to beautiful colors of reddish brown, grey and cream, and even creamy fawn colors. Ticked and thick-striped mackerel tabby are the most common patterns in the clan. There are a lot of browns and deep reds in the clans, due to the wildcat genes, and where there are dilutes, the colors are beautiful and unique. The clan has also developed a form of the charcoal gene from bengals, without the actual rosetting, which shades the pelts darker and gives very prominent facial markings and darkens the pelt around tabby markings.

Traditions


Moorclan has fewer traditions than the other clans, at least fewer with pomp and finesse. Their warrior assessment and birth ceremony are two of them, and other than that they two more major ones. The burial ceremony and the one holiday.

Their burial rituals are interesting. Since they are so heavily connected to the earth, they usually bury their their dead underground. They rarely have a vigil for their dead, instead it is replaced by the Last Steps, where the grieving follow the dead to the place of burial, which is often in small caves in the mountains or collapsed tunnels in the warrens. The Last Steps is a reference to how the deceased is making their final journey from the land of the living to that of the faerie. That is, if they can prove their worth to the great earth faerie. They believe that the closer the cat is to the earth, the more strength they will derive from it in their attempt to prove they deserve to enter the faerie realm.

Their one holiday is called the day of Remembrance. It is a very serious affair, held in the deep of winter, to mark the time when their founders fled the safety of the forest and the encroaching cats. Many died, and the day of remembrance is the only day on which the clan acknowledges and mourns the loss of all black pelted cats and kittens. It is said that if a litter is born on the day of remembrance with a black kitten, that that kitten may be spared. But no more than one. It is a day of fasting, of long discussions and deep thoughts, and hunting hard, so that that evening when the sun sets the clan may gather to feast in the darkness of the cave where they made their pact to end their suffering.

Laws

Moorclan is very particular when it comes to law breaking. Due to the presence of the counselor, who has memorized the history of clan law, there are particular ways which law is carried out. The clan has contingencies for every situation, and up to three possible options for punishment. These are usually blanket punishments, which means that the punishments arent specific to the cat, but the idea is that the punishments that have worked in the past are what will work in the present. Unlike the other clans, Moorclan punishes for relatively minor offenses, usually ones which disrupt clan life.