#marshstar

Sure! He's a supporting character in Ripplestar's Rot, and becomes leader of ShadowClan after the Great Pancakening at the Battle of the Gathering.

I wrote about him and every leader post-Ripplestar over here

Marshpaw was a little older than Ripplekit when he was brought to the Clan, just newly apprenticed. Their apprenticeships overlapped and they were teenage friends.

Marsh has always been a sort of quiet dude, he's never been a go-getter. More of a steady, practical guy.

He was friends with Spottedpelt and Gorseclaw too, him and Gorse were the more "level headed" people in the group.

His first name was Marshtail. "Scar" is an Honor Title.

Him and Ripplemoon were young warriors when they became mates. Marshtail could tell you that he liked his passion and drive, but, it would be a half truth. He can't really pick anything in particular that is his favorite trait

He could spend a day stuck in a tree hole with him and it would be enjoyable. He just likes his vibe, he likes to be with him.

There's not much to say about him before the ending of Ripplestar's Rot, because he's a mild guy. His ideal life would have been being a background character who goes on patrol a lot lmao

But at the death of Ripplestar and Spottedpelt, suddenly he was thrust into power he NEVER wanted, in the middle of mourning the loss of his mate and his extended family, and the end of a war he'd given everything to.

His heart broken, he had to clean up what Ripplestar left behind. The other three leaders blamed ShadowClan for everything, and the war had taken a chunk out of the population.

Especially in ShadowClan, with a ton of their warriors being slaughtered at the Gathering. Because of Gorseclaw, they'd seen the attack coming and prepared by only bringing their strongest warriors.

In fury, Dalestar of WindClan and Birchstar of RiverClan exiled many of the outed rebels within their ranks

So, Marshstar was dealing with the other Clans baying for a severe punishment of ShadowClan, adding a flood of new commandments to the code, and also a political refugee crisis

This was a mess. An exhausting, painful mess

It didn't get better, either. No matter what Marshstar did, someone was going to be furious. He couldn't appease the other Clans while maintaining ShadowClan, so, they started exacting revenge by attacking constantly.

(And, mind you, this was the age of Kit Stealing and pillaging. These attacks were high-stakes)

Eventually he stopped apologizing or even negotiating at all. ShadowClan became a sort of secluded, defensive nut that shared very little news, and even skipped Gatherings a few times.

But even that didn't please his warriors. They wanted the Gatherings. They wanted their own revenge. Even as the population recovered, Marshstar refused to do anything else.

The rest of his life felt like he was just biding time. 9 long lives without Ripplestar felt like a curse.

He did do one thing though-- when Houndfang was young, she was a goddamn punk. Little rebel without a cause, the Clan used to be frustrated that she was given such a ferocious name; she could have used a name to calm her down instead :/

She reminded Marshstar of a casual discussion about warrior names he had with Ripplestar, once. About how he liked names that simply made sense, and didn't need to be defended with prose. A Hound and its Fangs

He took a shining to Houndkit, in his melancholic way. She liked bothering him, he wouldn't snap at her or push her away. He would even sometimes enable her-- telling her little tricks for sneaking past the big warriors or giving her advice on how to persuade them to do what she wanted.

So the habit only got "worse." She had absolutely no fear of him as an apprentice and would just announce her opinion to his face.

thinking about it, Marshstar probably took her as an apprentice towards the end of her time as Houndpaw, after getting in too many fights with her mentor and the mentor trying to appeal for a delay of her assessment until she learned respect.

"Hm. No. I don't want her spirit broken. I think the other Clans deserve some hell, actually."

Houndfang didn't have ambition as a kid, she didn't know what she wanted. Marshstar gave her an outlet and it became electricity in her veins.

She quickly took over the Clan when she became deputy, and was more of a leader than he ever was. He just let her start running it.

I feel like he cast his name off, just before he died. He did not want to be Marshstar, he wanted to return to Marshscar, so he held a renaming ceremony for himself and passed on leadership officially.

ShadowClan was reignited in a way it hadn't been in years when Houndstar took power. In the passionate cheering of the crowd, Marshscar slipped away.

No one ever saw him again after that. He was probably sick and went somewhere he could pass away in solitude. Cat behavior

His heart remained with Ripplestar for the entirety of his long life, and for him, it was a relief when it was finally over.

When he got to StarClan, they tried to put him on trial. He got frustrated shortly into it. Ripplestar and Spottedpelt are not here so Literally Why Should I Care?

And they're going to throw this big bombastic ballyhoo, why? To posture? For who? This is pointless and quite frankly embarassing.

He actually interrupted the court proceedings with an Excuse Me. I Don't Want This.

"Thank you for your time. This has been a waste of mine."

It's kind of funny to think that if Houndstar knew about what her mentor did here she would flip her shit at him lmao.

The Founding Leaders of the Clans. GorgeTail of GorgeClan, MarshStalker of MarshClan, Moor-Runner of MoorClan, and ValleyHeart of ValleyClan

And silly boy Lynx, the not abusive boyfriend of GorgeStar

Marshstar

It all started with six cats. The cats were called Beckon, Spire, Echo, Twig, Splash, and Crimson. They received the same mysterious dream on the night of the full moon.

A cat, seemingly made of stars, appears in front of you in a clearing of ferns. The moon glows bright above you. The celestial cat walks closer until it is standing right in front of you. It touches it's nose to your forehead. Suddenly, the light of the galactic cat grows until it's blinding and you can only see the light.

The light fades and you're in front of a strange abandoned structure. Something in your head tells you it was once called a church. Suddenly you're zooming through the church, down some dark stairs, through a glowing tunnel, into a strange place flooded with water, then through a hole in the wall, into a glowing watery cavern, finally coming to a stop in front of a glowing waterfall.

The waterfall's glow intensifies until it's blinding, just like the cat made of stars.

When the six cats woke from this dream, the moon was high in the sky. The stars and moon shone much brighter than normal. The strange dream left each cat with an unusual sense of loss and a deep longing for the place they had seen. They felt compelled to find it.

So each set off to find the place. They all arrived at the same time. There was a bit of hostility at first but once they discovered they were there for the same reason, they got over it and set forth to find the waterfall together.

The journey through the underground workings of the abandoned church was strange, to say the least. It felt like it took moons to make it, but it was only an hour.

They reached the cavern and swam across to the waterfall. They drank from the falls and fell asleep and into another dream.

They opened their eyes to see the same clearing of ferns as last time, except all six were here. They were confused at first but the cat made of stars appeared and spoke to them.

"Do not be afraid." She said in a melodic, echoing voice, "You are not dreaming. You are in the Spirit Realm, the place where a cat's spirit lives on in peace after it dies. I am Night Sky. The ruler of the Spirit Realm. I summoned you all here for a reason."

She looked to the moon shining above her, then looked back at the six mortal cats gathered before her. "But first, I must tell about the Place of Spirits." she said, "The Place of Spirits is the abondoned church you traveled to to get here. It is the bridge between the Mortal Realm, your world, and my Realm. Any cat who travels it's underground catacombs and drink from the Spirit's Tears Waterfall, like you all did, will be allowed to communicate with the Spirits and walk in my Realm."

"Now. Twig. Splash. Spire." She looked to the three in question, "Come closer."

So they did. Twig, a stocky brown cat. Splash, a lithe cream tabby cat. And Spire, a large grey cat.

"You three have the makings of great leaders. So that's what you'll be." Night Sky smiled down at them, "You'll each lead a clan of cats in your own separate territories." She went on to tell them of the purpose of the Clans, the Warrior Code, what it meant to be a respectable cat to earn their place in the Spirit Realm.

Then she addressed the three separately.

"Twig." She looked to the brown tom, "You are kind at heart, accepting, and strong-willed. As well as adaptable and dependable. These should be the values you carry on to teach your Clan."

She bowed her head to him. When she looked up again, her eyes where glowing and so were Twig's. "You will lead Marsh Clan and reside in the marshes."

Twig was seeing visions of the territory and his Clan's future through Night Sky's power.

"I have faith in you." She said as their eyes returned to normal. He bowed his head.

"Splash." She smiled at the cream colored molly, "You are quick-witted and a good problem-solver. As well as swift and durable. You will teach these trait to your Clan members."

She bowed her head to the molly and when their eyes met again, they were glowing white. "You will lead Dune Clan and live among the dunes on the sea shore."

Through Night Sky's power, Splash was receiving visions of her territory and Dune Clan's future.

"I believe in you." Night Sky spoke, and their eyes fades back. The cream molly bowed her head.

"Spire." She spoke as she turned to the grey shecat, "You are strong with a fiery spirit. Natural-born fighter and protector. I expect you to teach these things to your Clan."

Then she bowed her head to the grey cat and lifted it, both with glowing eyes. "You will lead Stone Clan and make your home in the stone ruins past the shore."

Spire was looking at visions of the territory and her Clan's future with Night Sky's power.

"I expect great things from you." The celestial cat told her as the visions faded. The large grey cat bowed her head.

Then the galactic cat spoke to all three again.

"When you return to the Mortal Realm, travel to your new homes and begin building your Clans. On the next Full Moon, return to the Place of Spirits and visit me again. On that day I will grant you the name and nine lives of a true leader, but only if you've done well."

With that, she turned to the other three cats and walked to them. Echo, a tall black cat. Beckon, an elegant cinnamon tabby cat. And Crimson, a striking calico cat.

"Echo, Beckon, and Crimson." She spoke to them. "You will be known as Spirit Walkers and you'll make the Place of Spirits your home. You will be able to see the Spirits when they visit the Mortal Realm and travel freely to the Spirit Realm. As well as communicate with the Spirits. You'll act as guides and messengers of the Spirit Realm. And as peacekeepers for the Clans."

At last, she turned to address all six again.

"Go now, and live your destinies." Night Sky bowed her head to them all and dissipated into the air.