#burrowclan

For @cccdiscord event back in April! Oops! Just got around to posting it!

he can also talk to horses and dogs. the former isn’t really that important but the latter is and he eventually teaches his new clanmates the dialect

Originally, many generations ago, Burrowclan had been Meadowclan– a large, unbroken expanse of territory characterized by its gorgeous green grasses, its expansive fields of flowers, its long, flowing rivers, and its overhanging, sheltering trees. 

However, inexplicably, after many seasons of contentment for its cats, a new creature forced its way into the meadow’s fragile ecosystem— Twolegs. Initially their noisy thunderpaths, strange, cubical dens, and large, shiny monsters took up residence far enough away that the cats mistakenly believed they were of little concern. But eventually, they expanded so aggressively unto Meadowclan’s territory that its cats were forced to seek refuge underground. Thankfully, the rabbits, mice, and moles that had once been a staple food for generations of cats had also become the very reason the cats could shelter beneath the grass. With some ingenuity and careful mud-maneuvering, the cats of Meadowclan— which would later be declared Burrowclan, as a testament to the resilience of its cats in the face of strife— learned to expand the tunnels in which their prey once lived in order to achieve a partially subterranean lifestyle. Given the fear of potential collapses or flooding, however, many cats— particularly nursing queens, elders, medicine cats, and their patients— choose to remain above ground, where the undergrowth and the forest are thickest and provide the most cover from Twolegs barring the underground. Kits are taught from birth how to navigate the territory’s tunnels, what each underground chamber’s purpose is, and methods of burrowing expansion. From chambers housing warriors to food and medicinal storage, apprenticeship is a period defined by learning the navigational tactics necessary to be a Burrowclan warrior. Vibrational communication has also become a notable aspect of Burrowclan culture. Cats will thump their tails against the walls of the tunnels in order to silently transmit messages, should there be a twoleg or some other aggressor in the area.

Meetings are traditionally held above ground. The leader will scale the largest of the sheltering trees atop the burrows— The Great Tree—  and stand atop its largest looming branch. This branch was christened the Highbranch, and the clearing beneath it is where the cats of Burrowclan will gather to listen for the guidance of their leader.

Cats communicate with Starclan via the Moonspring— an opening in the rocks near Burrowclan territory that feed its plentiful, babbling rivers. Though controversial considering these very rivers are home to the fish that Burrowclan warriors have also adapted towards eating, it is peculiar that the body of water the Moonspring directly feeds into rarely ever sees any of these fish. 

Burrowclan’s current leader is Softstar, a large, aging white tom heralded not for his might or for his claws, but for his kindness and his inclination to put Burrowclan first above all. 

I've changed EarthquakeClan's name to EchoClan, to reflect their home in the caves. KrakenClan stays at a shipwreck site at the beach. HalfClan takes the deeper forest parts of the map. BurrowClan seeks refuge in the plains' tunnels

All these clans - except KrakenClan - descend from TreeClan. TreeClan was founded after a great war amongst the previous clans that lived in the territories, but no cat remembers theirs names. Its founders believed that if they joined forces, there would be a lasting reign of peace. These predictions proved to be correct and TreeClan ruled all of the clans territories for many many years, and grew to have a culture of acceptance and multiculturalism

There are currently no survivors amongst those that remained alligned with TreeClan to the very end. Its members have been terminated either during the three divisions or due to the redcough epidemic, followed by a food shortage

EchoClan was the first clan to be formed. Its first leader, Pikestar, was visited by a StarClan cat in his dreams and told that it was his destiny to found a new clan and that he should leave his own to seek for members. At the time, StarClan was not aware of the redcough epidemic that would ruin TreeClan; all they knew was that Pikestar was destined to save many lives. EchoClan operates as a monarchy, with the exception of a brief democracy period after Pikestar and Petaleye's deaths, followed by a couple of years under Lynxstar's tyranny. It inherited TreeClan's culture of acceptance and allows for kittypets, rogues and halfclan cats to live in its territory; it has also gained a culture of believing in redemption and the betterment of people ever since Asterstar, son of Pikestar and apprentice of Lynxstar, came to leadership

The next big divison came during the crisis. BurrowClan was founded by Floodstar, who escaped TreeClan territory during one of the initial waves of disease. He took a couple of cats with him, but many of those he invited decided to remain loyal to TreeClan. Floodstar and his followers first lived in the abandoned burrows of rabbits before they decided to improve those burrows to allow for a small colony of cats. They are currently the newest clan in my game, so there isn't much more History to add, but they operate similarly to the canonical governing way of Warrior Cats and value compassion and generosity

The last big division happened after the crisis. Darkstar took a few of the healthy members of TreeClan and left to found HalfClan. As she blames the overpopulation for the destiny of those close to her, she adopted a strict policy of not taking in any cat that is sick or injured, and follows the relationship of her clan closely to ensure there will be no unplanned kits. Every time a new cat is born at a time she deems to be unnecessary, she waits until they are well trained and of age and exiles them which, in turn, makes small colonies of rogues a common sight in nearby territory. HalfClan does not encourage forming bonds with members from other clans, and occasionally not even within HalfClan if you are planning to start a family

A new surprise! The newest Gathering has revealed Aspenfrost and her Collectors attempting to act like a Clan- for what reason remains unclear.

A quiet night is shattered as the once-MeadowClanner gives a dark tale about the birds that have been haunting the Valley. This has all happened before- but something is very, very wrong.

"Well then, if no one else is gonna start," Aspenfrost meowed, standing tall on her chair. A thin line of blood went down her muzzle from Antlerstar's whack. "It's not exactly a small walk home, you know."

Brown growled low in her throat.

"No need to thank me, dear," she said with a smile. "We've come tonight in peace. I know you lot area bit leery of us, so I'm here to give you something very special."

Your surrender? Antlerstar signed.

"Your head?" Brown prompted.

"Information," Aspenfrost replied. "You Clan cats all go around thinking you're better than the riffraff of the Twolegplace. But here's what you don't get. The average kittypet lives longer than your oldest elder. They know stories about the Clans that have been wiped from your history."

She curled her tail around her paws. "And they've got one hell of a story about a flock of crows."

"It's said they came so many seasons ago, some of the trees were still lil' acorns. A chilly summer heralding more crows than mice in the forest. Odd types, y'see. Didn't caw, didn't fight for space or nothing. Just… sat along the electric whiskers. Seemed a lil' too big fer crows, but they sure as shit weren't ravens."

She licked a paw and drew it over her ear, reveling in the attention.

"That Leaf-fall, all the birds cleared out. All the birds 'sides the crows, I mean. And when Leaf-bare came, it was the worst snows any townie had ever seen. Big monsters tried to give little monsters their Thunderpaths back, but it would choke back up in days. Loners and rogues froze to death long 'fore they could consider starving." She chuckled mirthlessly. "Can you imagine freezing to death? Buncha sissies."

"Lemme guess," Brown grunted, but her voice was wobbly. "The crows just sat and watched?"

Aspenfrost smiled. "At first. 'Till they fell off the wires. One of the housecats I spoke to said that they was rotten from the inside out. It was impossible to say how long they'd been dead. One touch and they withered away like burnt weeds. So, if ask me…"

She slowly swung her head down to gesture towards Pecanstorm, currently rooted in his spot.

"Whatever those things are, he just made them more powerful. And now they're mad."

All Roles and Clans (alongside the Collective) are open!!!