#theful

The primary character filling the niche of “no, I swear, my mentor’s sister told me he’s real” is Theful, known best as the shepherd of the clouds and the personification of the wind. It’s not exactly clear to scholars what he is supposed to look like - some cats claim he’s the color of the clouds he chases through the sky, with others arguing for him being invisible or even as bright blue as the daytime sky. The description doesn’t seem to matter within stories or an explanation of how the wind works to wide-eyed kits, at least. 

Theful is a very “expressive” entity; as the wind, his job is to clear the sky of clouds, herding them south of the Clans into the Aulmir. The speed and temperature of the wind, when it cares to grace the land, is a good indicator of his mood and of the weather he’ll be dealing with in the very near future. Where the clouds bearing rain or snow come from in the first place is not clear, only that Theful will guide them south as quickly as he can. For some, not quickly enough, but he’s doing his best.

The main point cats bring up when debating his existence is that, if he is indeed the one dealing with clouds the most, he would ostensibly be responsible for covering the moon on Gathering nights when the Clans are arguing amongst themselves. However, the common belief is that this is Suriin’s job, and to take this from her is blasphemy. Some try to explain this as Theful only being in charge of getting the clouds moving at all, with Suriin being the one to direct them to where they go and what sort of weather effect they drop. Others negate Theful altogether, calling this too blurry of a line to be valid.