#wc lore

Basic

-Shadowclan is the only clan that's actually nocturnal. They'll have a few warriors up during the day, but it's typically their half-clan/rogue cats that are awake. (Like Russetfur, Tawnypelt, or Dovewing.) I Imagine most- if not every- Shadowclan attack happens at night because of this. Always taking the other clans off guard.

-Windclan kept tunneling. Over the generations, they learned ways to make it safer and keep soil propped up with sticks and clay. The tunnels are their primary source of food in the winter.

-Riverclan decorates everything and anything. Their dens are dotted with shells. Their nests are lined with bright feathers. Flowers hang from roofs. Colorful stones line their camp. Everything is pretty.

-Skyclan lives in trees dammit. I REFUSE to take Thunderclan 2, Erin Hunter. These clans are going to be creative if you like it or not.

Opinions on outsiders

-Shadowclan is usually the most accepting of outsiders, even more than Thunderclan. They care more for numbers and genetic diversity more than anything else, so exiles, kittypets, and rogues are always welcome so long as they're willing to pull their weight. It's not uncommon for cats to join when trying to leave behind a sketchy past.

-Skyclan are descendant directly from kittypets and rogues. Outsiders are not a problem in the slightest.

-Thunderclan specifically used to be extremely hostile and prejudice to kittypets after Pinestar disappeared, but Firestar's leadership and his many kittypet descendants helped them to become more accepting.

-Windclan's acceptance of outsiders is near constantly fluctuating depending on the current leader. (Heatherstar was willing to invite rogues into her camp as friends. Tallstar was very relaxed with kittypets specifically becuase of Jake. Onestar's leadership shut this down immediately. To cover up his relationship with Smoke, he was pretty harshly against kittypets, rogues, and half-clans. Harestar is more kind because of his past, but isnt super accepting because he doesnt want to relive the mistake of trusting the wrong cats.)

Appreance Preferences

-Riverclan are very obsessed with their own beauty and image, so I image they're typically the least accepting clan. (This is relative to and changes with the leader, of course. Crookedstar's leadership was very kind, but it was clear during Leopardstar's lead that his time didnt really make an impact on their asshole behavior.) Outsiders might be welcome to join, but it's no doubt they have to put alot of work to truely be accepted.

-Bright fur (especially ginger) is considered attractive in Thunderclan. This trend was probably started by Thunderstar lmao. (Ex. Lionheart, Firestar, Squirrelflight, Lionblaze)

-Flat faces and fangs are considered attractive in Shadowclan ....You may hate the implications of Brokenstar being the hottest man in Shadowclan, but I refuse to change my mind. I said what I said.

-Riverclan finds silver and gray pelts attractive. (Ex: Rainflower, Silverstream, Stonefur)

-Windclan finds long tails attractive and short tails are cute.

General appearances

-Thunderclan cats are typically large and fluffy. Even short-furred cats have lots of undercoat. Thick tails are an iconic trait.

-Shadowclan cats are short and stocky. Flat faces used to be common. These traits aren't seen as often anymore though, because of all the outsiders who join and have kits.

-Tall Windclan cats are iconic, but I like how they're described in Squirrelflight's Hope. Windclan cats are small and it helps them to move faster. Their legs are long, but only relative to their small body sizes. Short tails aren't uncommon.

-Riverclan are plump and have thick, sleek coats. They're just as beautiful as they say they are. No competition for who's the most attractive clan.

-No specifics for Skyclan since they're all descendant from kittypets/rogues, but I always imagined they were cute in a dorky kind of way if that makes sense lmao. They're also tall.

View on scars

-Scars are common and valued in Shadowclan. They believe that scars make you strong, because you had a fight and survived it

-Opposite to Shadowclan, Thunderclan often find scars unsettling and bad luck, as TigerClaw's iconic feature was the scar across his snout.

-Riverclan are obsessed with beauty and image, so scars are typically kept hidden under thick fur. Cats like Crookedstar had a very hard time adjusting and growing up with such a harsh beauty standard.

ahhhh dovewing is genuinely one of the best written characters in the series i love her so bad

i’ve said this before i think but i really wish the effects of her being othered from a young age for the sake of a prophecy + general effects of being told you’re instrumental to saving the world as a kid. i think jayf and lionblaze were always somewhat distanced from her and held her up to the hollyleaf standard....someone she never even knew. like her being a chosen one completely demolished her relationship with her sister just to drag her off to a group that barely even wanted her

and in tandem with that let’s imagine the whole reincarnation angle meant anything and she also gets jayfeather type beat visions about the ancient cats. and she’s just very confused because it’s like. how much of her life is hers. is she anyone beyond what starclan has decided. is she to blame for that in itself. can she exist outside of what those cosmic beings have decided for her. jayfeather and lionblaze never seemed bothered but they’re not the ones who can hear the whispers of dead cats every time she heads outside...shes can feel her ancestors nearby like no other cat can and it’s exhausting for her

more generally. dovewing later moving to shadowclan and starting a family is like. such a good point in her arc i think of it as her reclaiming control of her life now that her powers are gone and the prophecy doesn’t matter. people do sadstuck shit about her having to leave ivypool or the rest of her family behind but i can’t think of her as anything other than forcibly detached from thunderclan. to the point where her leaving feels more like cutting ties with a place that used her and barely knew her in the end...she is a very lonely character to me

CLAN MYTHOS: RIVERCLAN

Thought it could be a fun exercise in creativity to create mythos for the clans!

Here’s our first creature of Riverclan mythology, the Mere.

Mere or the Mere toes the line between fish and feline, a fully aquatic legend that reaches far into the past of the cats by the lake. The Mere has a scruff of gills, webbed paws on stout legs and a large, powerful tail it uses to propel itself. It’s stout legs allow for better balance on the slippery boulders that litter the stream and mouth of the lake.

The Mere is rarely seen, if only by warriors on border patrol in the early morning. The Mere can be an indication of dangerous water, such as flash flooding or a storm.

Kits learning to swim for the first time often report feeling something slippery slithering around their paws; this is said to be Mere helping to teach the young kits, gifting the Riverclan cat’s their love of water.

The Mere loves gnawing on dried fish skin, and occasionally leaves the remnants of its victims skinned on the banks of the stream. Riverclan gives offerings of fish skin interwoven with reeds to help the snacks float on their journey. The skin must be rainbow trout, as any other fish skin has not resulted in the clan’s protection during dry and flooding seasons.

These jobs are less like subclasses and more like their own roles, like a warrior or a medicine cat.

Seers, at least in the future setting, are seen as one of the last living connections to Starclan. Starclan has pulled themselves away from the clans, no longer sending dreams or visions outside of the moonpool in an attempt to restore the barrier between them and the living world. A Seer, in which there is usually only one, is the only cat that starclan will directly speak to and only in the presence of the Moonpool. Thus when a Seer is discovered, typically when they reach either 6 moons and can take care of themselves, they are taken to the moonpool where they will spend the rest of their lives. New Seers are believed to be tethered to the spirit of the Seer before them and taught by them until they're skilled enough on their own. Seers are given a new name once fully trained, often being given Star- as a prefix with -seeker, -sight, or -watcher as a suffix, but sometimes they're given a suffix in remembrance of their old prefix.

(The Seer class is meant to be an extreme version of the canon medicine cat role. I may change some things that are a bit upsetting )

Meanwhile Mediators are the complete opposite of Seers. Mediators are raised by all the clans and each clan has 1 mediator, typically chosen around 4-6 moons and spend at least a year or so traveling around the clans learning about them. As adults mediators will often travel between their birth clan and the others on their own whims or by their leaders orders. Mediators are the least controlled by the clans travelling and inter clan relationship restrictions.

So apparently I had a dream involving some warrior cat kids, and I woke up at 2:40 am to write this

ok. my opinion is probably contrarian but i think harestar can really work if you think of his appointment being weird in-universe too.

once onestar finally became leader a lot of windclan never really grew appeased... obv the internal war never repeated in terms of full blown fights but certain cats were vocally dissatisfied with the way the guy ran things and would sometimes challenge his ruling. onestar grew more and more embittered with his entire clan in return...think bluestar in late tpb type beat. harespring got raised in this environment and it fucking sucked which made him see what the whole dark forest thing was about

solid motives aren’t really important point is he’s scornful about the way windclan operates and just desires any kind of change. he joins the dark forest fully genuinely. any time i mention the dark forest also please pretend it means a lot more than ‘i talk to dead cats and am miffed about real life’ the dark forest cats are way more manipulative and try to exploit younger warriors abt their quality of life in the clans. they keep their identities way more obscure and sometimes talk as if they’re part of starclan. certain trainees also serve assassin type beat roles where they have to silently take down living cats within the clans who hold significant roles, harespring probably had to pull some shit to like crowfeather or smth. he failed and nearly got exiled for it

once the battles over and ashfoot dies onestar pulls him aside and tells him he’s given up on managing the clan since ‘none of its ever trusted him anyway’. and very passive aggressively asks harespring to accept deputyship. harespring’s starting to catch up with the whole guilt thing wrt training in the dark forest and he’s like are you sure you want me in that position. onestar (bitterly) insists and goes out to announce harespring as his deputy. smth smth clueless guy gets forced into a position of authority that he never really aimed for its his way of getting back at tallstar. cosmically

there’s some outrage but harespring tries to prove he can fulfil his role properly. he starts form a new kind of resent toward onestar for barely helping him out as deputy but slowly tries to make up for his dark forest time and does his best to be dependable. he’s not Great at managing a clan but he at least cares which is more than mfers can say about onestar

potentially the most important concept to me is the whole “windclan is the closest clan to starclan” thing thats mostly just author-said and barely textual. they do the whole sleep on the moor thing and the only actual dens that get built are the leaders med cats and the nursery....otherwise outcrops, dens, small caves and stable parts of tunnels are used as dens in cold weather alone. they sleep outside to dream of their ancestors and their communication is fairly legitimate

windclans particularly superstitious and they tend to point to a lot of things as being signs from starclan no matter how small...dreams are often a point of discussion between clanmates, cats are quick to call stuff like missed prey bad signs, leaders may look to starclan to decide what warriors should mentor what apprentices or what to do about trespassing patrols, whatever

to continue that lattermost thread another important distinction is that med cats (which im calling seers from henceforth) are revered to a near-equal amount as the leader, if not more so. i tend to characterise seers as much more dedicated to starclan than they are in canon (omens are much more common and seers are appointed specifically because they can read the signs starclan sends to all cats more effectively, dreams seers get that arent visions almost always include conversations with starclan cats, prophecies tend to come in parts and require physical exertion to discover, seers themselves tend to deem oneself as an extension of starclan, you get the idea) and basically all those points become even more particular in windclan due to their focus on their ancestors. and already their unique physical ties. beyond medicine and communication seers are often consulted for major decisions within the clan and often keep close to both their deputy and their leader. its not uncommon to pull in a windclan seer and have them find some sign about how to solve a fight or whatever. in short seers are regarded as chosen interpreters who have a large amount of authority due to having a much more unbridled direct line of communication with starclan

due to the importance placed on seers and how culturally significant the position is windclan seers will wait a long time before they pick their apprentices and will only do so with heavy consultation from their ancestors. in windclan its very rare for young kits to be seers first thing unless a significant omen pops up but more often than not warriors get pulled aside to become seers later in life (the position is negotiable ultimately and its up to the cat themself but seers are a sacred position and the majority of cats do find honor in the role) furthermore remedies and cures and the general nature of healing is kept secret between mentor and apprentice - most windclan warriors are intentionally unaware of basic herbs/usage due to the art ‘belonging’ to seers

last points i wanna make about starclan, windclan cats are remarkably uncaring toward the concept of death or at least become desensitised. theyre the clan that most often shares tongues with starclan at night and hence death is equivalent to a kind of retirement. they still hold vigils and all that but its more about ensuring the deads travel to starclan is safe. they hold the belief that as long as there are enough living warriors to pass on their traditions the clan is fine. its also deemed very worrying if a recently dead cat refuses to appear in anyones dreams which does occasionally happen and often leads to infighting. theres also a kind of huge folklore angle to them ill briefly describe as them preserving prophecies and other important signs in songs or poems. this extends to noble cats who were part of prophecies receiving epithets related to their prophecy (ex. tallstars called the wanderer crowfeathers called the sunchaser. cant remember other wc warriors with canon prophecies about them so i cant give any more tangible examples lol -_-) these names are expected to be used instead of their regular names but in private this may be excused. said names are also often made up by seers and elders

cant really get into this but i hc all the clans having different systems for warriors and having distinct categories of them as to make them more structurally different from one another. in windclan thats moor runners and tunnellers with maybe some other shit? but once tunnelling got discontinued post-heatherstar the focus drifted to distinct moor runners sorted by stamina and speed