Cinder

INTRODUCTION

Thousands of years into the future, in a decaying foreign universe, humans pilot biomechanical war machines known as vessels. Godlike beings command armies of pilots in an endless struggle for territory and resources.

The Gods once produced fully biological angels, but with their reservoirs becoming contaminated their bodies were emerging half-formed and mindless. Human pilots were implemented to operate the empty vessels - linked by mind and life force, these 'Inheritors' can control them as if they were their own bodies.

CHURCHES Each God reigns over their respective Church, enormous space stations which serve as their main base of operations. The Gods themselves are immobile, sealed deep within these structures in secure chambers.

HEVSPACE The Inheritor's universe. Though it bears many similarities to outer space, conceptually it is more akin to an ocean, saturated with invisible streams called hevcurrents which run at high speeds. The generators on their wings allow Inheritors to propel themselves through the void. The points of light are not stars, but 'splinters', scattered remnants of long-gone structures which have since eroded. These energy particles are small and bear some similarities to marine snow, though they become dangerous when swept into hevcurrent vortexes - colossal centrifuges which gather large amounts of splinters and spin them at incredible speeds, creating burning wheels of fire.

PILOTS

The active neural link between vessel and pilot is established when they connect the cord to their helmet. The only part of the vessel manually controlled by the pilot are the guns and tech systems. The rest is an extension of the pilots body - once linked, they can control it mentally. The passive link is always on in the background; pilots can sense minute changes in the vessel in their own body. They also experience any injuries to the vessel as intensely as if they themselves were injured.

The pilot is like a head connected to the rest of the body. One cannot survive without the other. Sigils All pilots are born with 'tattoos' which denote their Church and vessel type. These markings also act as RFID tags that store information about the pilot, as well as location and status.

DEVELOPMENT

Inheritor vessels are created in fabrication tanks. First the organic body is grown, encased in fluid and equipped with life support systems. Once it has finished maturing it is outfitted with engines, guns and final stage cybernetics. Until it is ready, cadets pilot disposable training vessels.

Every pilot is born via controlled external fertilisation, and develop in artificial wombs called pods. From the moment they are conceived they are tied to a vessel.

VESSEL TYPES Vessels are divided into four main categories, each specialised for certain tasks. A pilot's role in the army is determined by their classification.

Standard The vast majority of Inheritor armies are comprised of standard-class vessels. Built for sustained aerial combat but highly versatile.

Scout Scout-class vessels are optimised for stealth and speed. Usually deployed for reconnaissance and special operations.

Surgeon The smallest frametype, medic-class vessels have no guns but are equipped with tools essential for mechanical repair and magnets to latch onto other vessels.

The class symbol on their tail flukes mark them as noncombatants.

[Image ID's: Two images depicting the same set of digitally drawn cat headshots; the first only lists Warrior Cats-styled names and ranks, while the second includes "normal" names and abbreviated source material titles. /End ID's.]

Overall / Setting

I had a lot of trouble deciding on leadership for the clan among the characters I chose... none, I feel, would really want the position, but Blossomstar (Sakura) seemed more likely to step up in absence of other options.

Scrapstalk (Nick), as a mortal cat, is too old for a leadership position (and doesn't want one), but may be willing to act as deputy for a while (or, at least, he'd be more willing/able than the others).

Most of the characters are members of the clan, but some (Lee and Jaysneak (Jay)) I just can't see living like that.

Blossomstar (-swipe) / Sakura Ogami (Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc)

Since "Sakura" is synonymous with "cherry blossom", "blossom" as a prefix seemed like a good choice -- especially considering Sakura's canonical desire to be perceived as (more) feminine in DR:THH, while flowers are often associated with femininity. "-Swipe" as a suffix is meant to denote her status as an extremely strong fighter (and "-star" is obviously for her leadership role).

Blossomstar's design is a bit difficult to work with on an animal character, but I feel that a brownish tabby with high white spotting looks alright.

She'd have been in the clan her whole life, and trained to be the best fighter they (or any other clan) have.

Scrapstalk / Nick Valentine (Fallout 4)

Scrapstalk was a bit of a challenge to name, but I think "scrap" works alright for him, since (in FO4) he'd essentially woken up/come into existence in a pile of trash*. As for the "-stalk" suffix, I wanted something that highlighted his detective skills, which could translate into being a proficient hunter and tracker in the Warriors world (hence, stalking prey).

Scrapstalk is an old cat, with a significant number of scars. He is short furred and has minimal markings because I felt that it may be the best way to represent his design (allowing the scars/damage to take center stage, as it does with his FO4 design). In a full body design, I'd probably give him a dorsal stripe, or possibly even a saddle marking.

*Working with this, it'd be easy to have Scrapstalk start out as an abandoned (near apprentice-age) kit (just Nick?), separated from his brother (DiMA / Dima). From there, perhaps a member of the clan found him and brought him into camp (long enough ago that the individual isn't around anymore)?

Redpath / HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)

Redpath's name was hard to decide on, and I'm still not really happy with it. "Red" is related to his eyes (and the color of the AI's lens(es) in Space Odyssey), while "-path" is meant to represent guidance.

The color palette of this design is dark grey-red to match the color scheme of HAL as he's depicted in the movie (1968). The rectangular markings are meant to look like the memory banks as depicted in that adaptation, as well. Hal's scars cross through some of them as a way to represent Dave disconnecting his memory banks.

Redpath's one functional eye is representative of his singular (sometimes menacing) lens, as depicted in the aforementioned movie.

Redpath has had a rough time of it, here -- my thought for working in the general shape of his lore (true artificial intelligence gone rogue due to conflicting orders, then functionally killed) would be to have him start out as a member of a loner group (something like a coalition? He'd just be called Hal, here), wherein he'd be acting as something of a go-between for several leader-figures and the rest of the group. This would eventually involve an increasing number of serious contradicting orders from the leaders, until Redpath crumbles under the pressure and lashes out at some of his closest friends and allies. The conflict could turn into an all-out brawl, wherein Redpath kills two of his friends, panics further, and flees with serious injuries (inflicted by one of the friends). At this point, twolegs manage to capture him, and heal his wounds (+TNR), after which he is released, and ends up joining this clan.

Healer seemed like a relatively well-fitting role for Redpath, considering that he wasn't supposed to be able to harm anyone at all in Space Odyssey. Another factor was how ill-fitting the healer role would be with any of the other characters.

Ashsight / Gerard "Gerry" Keay (The Magnus Archives)

Since Gerry is sometimes called "book burner" in the Magnus Archives I figured I should work in some reference to fire for his name -- in this case, "ash" as a prefix. The "-sight" suffix is in service to his (semi-faux?) alignment to The Beholding.

Design-wise, I tried to replicate Gerry's poorly dyed black hair in a way that works for a feral cat... best I could come up with is regularly rolling in the darkest colored mud he can find, in order to cover up his coloration and markings. Rolling in soot was an alternate option, but I thought that'd have too high of a likelihood to cause lung damage (and thus not be worth it, if he's aware). Underneath the mud, he's a golden/yellow-ish tabby, which (for angst potential) could resemble his mother.

Ashsight has Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) wings tucked against/attached to his ears, and in a full body design, would have many more tucked into his fur (particularly along his spine and leg joints). These have markings that resemble eyes, thus representing his tattoos in a way that makes some sense for a cat.

Lore-wise... I'm not sure what to do with Ashsight, not sure how to convey the shape of his storyline in the Warriors universe. He can definitely still have a complicated relationship with his mother, but he needs some kind of driving factor. Perhaps a vendetta against (and encyclopedic knowledge of) all birds of prey? The moth wings' false eyes might work as a deterrent to them similarly to The Watcher's symbol with other entities.

Lambcry / Grace le Domas (Ready or Not (2019))

"Lamb", is meant to be evocative of the phrase "lamb to slaughter". The suffix of "-cry" is a nod to Samara Weaving's (the actress playing Grace's) absolutely guttural scream(s) toward the end of the movie (<- complimentary)!

I'm not particularly happy with how this design came out, but it works well enough. Since Grace's major design elements in the movie are clothes and blood, a base cat design for her just doesn't really pop the way I feel it should, but I don't know how else to convey all of that, so... here we are, pale yellow-ish with face-framing (makeup-like?) markings.

Lambcry's story is another one that's a challenge to adapt, but perhaps not as difficult as some of the others. A cult worshipping a dark forest cat (a former leader, maybe?) seems likely enough, if a bit lackluster (what can a ghost do for them, really, while they're alive?); Lambcry could start as a loner (just Grace at the time?), brought into the clan (not the clan depicted here) by her mate (Alex). Shortly thereafter, the clan would try to kill her, blocking off all exits from their camp/territory (they could live in a run-down building, maybe, doing the blockading with rubble or something like that) until she's forced to fight her way out, killing most (if not all) of them. From there, perhaps she runs into this clan's then-healer, accepts help, and eventually joins them?

Chargingclaw / Evan Myers (EverymanHYBRID)

"Charging" as in charging into danger, with "-claw" as a suffix denoting aggression and/or enthusiasm for fighting, which I feel fits Evan's earlier characterization in EMH as well as alluding to the danger HABIT presents.

I chose mostly grey-blue for his color palette because, in EMH, Evan seems to stick to clothes with greyscale and smallish pops of color. This is also as close as I can get to purple without making his coloration too unrealistic for a cat.

I tried to work a representation of the North Star symbol into his markings (while not making them too unrealistic)! You can also see a sliver of bright purple in his pupils.

HABIT, in the context of Warriors, would have to be something like a dark forest cat. Perhaps Chargingclaw had a near-death experience that allowed HABIT to (partially?) possess him (similarly to Ashfur possessing Bramblestar)? Either way, having a malicious entity copiloting your body (or fully taking over) is not ideal for obvious reasons.

The possession concept could bring in conflict with Lambcry (Grace), considering her own supernatural/dark forest trauma.

Lonelypaw (-skip) / Lonely Wizard (Inscryption)

"Lonely" as a prefix is an obvious choice, while "-skip" as a suffix is meant to invoke the Lonely Wizard's exuberant energy! I considered "-dance", but "Lonelydance" doesn't quite have the same feel to it.

Lonelypaw is a solid black short-furred cat because that's what seems closest to their in-game sprite (solid black with big eyes and a hat but no other details).

The leaf is representative of their wizard hat!

Lore-wise, Lonelypaw is pretty easy to fit in -- all that's really needed to achieve his characterization is isolation (a neglectful family and (former) mentor). May be currently mentored by Ashsight (Gerry) or Lambcry (Grace)?

Lee / Lee Scoresby (His Dark Materials)

Being a loner and former kittypet, Lee doesn't have a warrior name, and just "Lee" seems feasible enough for a realistic pet's name.

His markings are meant to be hare-like, since Hester (his daemon/part of his soul) takes the shape of a hare in HDM!

The collar is both a nod to Hester, again, and colored with a turquoise gem palette to represent a ring he has in HDM ("[...] a ring of silver and turquoise, a Navajo design, [...] he recognized it as his own mother's […]").

I can't really see a character like Lee settling in with a clan (or any stationary group, really), so he's relegated to loner status.

Jaysneak / Jay Merrick (Marble Hornets)

"Jay" is his prefix for obvious reasons, with "-sneak" as a suffix because. Well. He does do a lot of sneaking (however successful it may be).

The false eyes on Jaysneak's ears are meant to resemble the Operator symbol (an "x" over a circle)!

Jaysneak's color palette is mostly browns and greens because his clothing choices in Marble Hornets tends to be in the muted neutral and green ranges.

Jaysneak, here, would have started off as a kittypet (where he got the collar, and the name "Jay"), then joined a clan (not the clan outlined here) where the rest of the Marble Hornets cast was living. This would be where he got the name "Jaysneak". After about a year, the clan falls apart when a strange cat begins stalking the area*.

Another scene from The Hybrid Prince that really caught my attention was one of the final scenes, where Umber finds the eggs and meets Precipice spirit.