WELCOME
To Blood and Stars
You have three rules, and three rules only.
- Serve - Obey - Trust -

Welcome one and all to Blood and Stars! This is a Semi-Literate/Literate RP, based roughly off of the Warriors series. None of the canonical characters from the books, nor the clans, exist in this particular universe.

I was very inspired by a good friend, Peachie #121220, and parts of this RP will be run similarly to how she ran her threads. It is a plot heavy RP, and I place a very high value on developed and thought-out characters. There will be a low character limit set for the purpose of keeping each character used and developed more effectively.


RULES
- All Lioden rules apply -
- A minimum of 5 sentences is required for each post -
- No godmodding or powerplaying -
- No excessive romance or gore. Use fade to black as needed -
- Activity is expected! Try to post at least 3 times a week, or inform me if a hiatus is needed -
- Characters are limited to 2 at the moment! This will allow for everyone to get a piece of the plot -
- No more than 1 of your characters can have a conflicting view to the clan -
- Keep the drama in the RP! Remember, a player is not their character -
- Character Sheets should be posted on the Character Sheet Page. Wait for me to accept before RPing -
- Do post here before creating a character, that way I can be sure to let you know when they’re accepted -

ROLES
As I stated in the introduction, this is NOT your run of the mill warriors RP! Most of the positions that were found in the books are different here, for reasons explained in the ‘plot’ section below.

Chief and Chieftess -
Those who are in charge of the camp, the rulers, Chief and his mate
The Guards -
This clan’s equivalent of deputy. There are a total of three members, two chosen by the Chief and one by the Chieftess
Shaman -
The medicine worker of the clan. They may have up to 1 apprentice, and do not take mates
Warriors -
The general working class of the clan. Expendable, often oblivious to the state of the clan.
Apprentice -
The young in training. Most are apprenticed to Warriors, though the occasional promising prospect is assigned to a Guard.
Milkgivers -
All pregnant and nursing mothers
Elders -
The oldest and weakest of the clan. There are rarely elders in this particular clan, though those who make it are viewed with utmost respect.




PLOT
Serve
Your clan to your dying breath
Obey
Your superiors without pause
Trust
Your superiors to do the best for the clan

These are the morals to which the toms and she-cats of PineClan are raised to follow. To serve is an honor, one must do whatever they can to help the clan, from the time they are apprenticed to the time they die. To obey is to serve, when an order is given it should be finished before it is finished being spoken. To trust is to obey, and the Chief and Chieftess always know best.

To most, this is trust to the utmost power. They follow like sheep, there is no right or wrong in their minds. To kill is their greatest honor, as it is protecting their clan.

And yet, some are beginning to question the morals of the clan. Losing almost a warrior a week, the clan numbers are dwindling. With no gods or spirits to look up to, faith is failing and morale is shrinking. The cats know their place, they do not speak these opinions, but as time goes on, more and more cats are beginning to wonder.

The powerful will not listen, and the underlings are too afraid to fight.

It is your job to determine the fate of PineClan.

Will their history be written in blood, or will it be written in the stars?


TERRITORY
PineClan territory is a vast evergreen forest, consisting primarily of pine trees. Full of life, the forest is by far the best ecosystem in the neighboring areas, most of which consists of coverless grassland. PineClan is a elevated a few hundred feet above the surrounding areas, which is part of why their evergreens grow so thickly.

Around the territory, small meadows can be found. There are roughly three of these meadows, spaced rather evenly in a triangle around the camp. These are used for training, the soil softer and springier than the outside forest detritus. The grass is minimal despite being more open.

There are very hazy borders around PineClan territory. This leads to patrols that last from a rather short period of time, to rather long ones. Certain patrols, particularly ones led by Guards, will spend more than half the day reaching the farthest edges of the treeline, and sometimes further.

Their inner camp is the center of the territory. The Chief and Chieftess have a single den, nesting in a hollow below the roots of an exceptionally large pine tree near the center of camp. They also use one of the lower branches of this to give announcements that require their presence. During announcements, the guards sit around the base of the tree, blocking the entrance to the Chief and Chieftess’ den. Around the main tree, there is a thick wall of ferns and tangled berry bushes. These act as both dens for all of the other cats, but as defenses in the case of attack. The medicine cat’s den is the second most protected, going into the bushes up against the base of another pine tree. It’s slightly burrowed into the ground, where the nests rest, but the herbs are stored in small shelves on the trunk of the tree. Guards sleep in the very center of the Warrior’s Den, surrounded by the rest of their clan. The Warrior’s Den is next to the Apprentice’s Den, which is smaller in size, which is in turn next to the Nursery. The Nursery is large, and the surrounded by the most ferns. That helps keep it warm through the winter. The Medicine Den comes next, and then the Elder’s Den, which is also ringed by ferns, before looping back to the Warrior’s Den.



BACKSTORY
Long, long ago, PineClan was a very simple group of loners and rogues living in the forest. An older mollie was met in her dreams by a spirit, who explained to her the warrior way and how the formation of a clan could be done. This mollie took the name of a leader, and formed PineClan from the lost and wandering of the land she knew.

They believed in their ancestors forever watching over them. The dead were called ‘StarClan’, a clan of their ancestors amongst the stars. When the first of their clan died, StarClan blessed them with a gift.

The knowledge of fire.

Using particular stones, the warriors were able to spark a small flame into a massive pile of wood, atop resting the body of their dead clanmate. As they burned, the massive swirling cloud of smoke reached up and up, towards the stars. Many reported they could see an opaque spirit racing up the spiral, leaping up to join the stars, once again granted their youth.

Now is over a hundred generations later. Corruption spread throughout the higher ups of PineClan, their ancestors and codes forgotten. There was some pushback, but within ten generations, their entire culture was lost.

The simple ideals dreamed up by the power holders became the truths that the warriors of PineClan know today. Serve, Obey, Trust, the three morals of the clan. When a cat dies, they are buried beneath the earth at the very edge of the treeline, where they can forever see into the distance. There is no afterlife, and there is no one above to grant them counsel in their times of fear. Instead, they turn to their Chieftain and his mate to protect them and grant these counsels.

A sort of paranoia gripped the clan in the recent five generations. No one is alive from the time when this paranoia wasn’t present, though some are now beginning to question it.

The rogues and loners that have been the cause of this paranoia are most often cats who have simply passed the ‘border’ without realizing it. There are some, however, who have created a band. These cats are a mix of cats bred from the warriors of PineClan generations ago who lived with the traditional culture, and escaped Turnclaws of PineClan. They have been sending certain special lieutenants to wreck havoc across the borders whenever they feel the clan needs to be driven back. These cats are particularly skilled in areas not commonly used by PineClan, such as tree climbing and running through to branches, or surveillance. Their jobs are not to kill, but simply to observe and learn. Those who are closest to turning are the ones they confront the most often, doing their best to bring them realization.

ABOUT the CLAN
Rogues and loners impinge on the territory regularly by accident, because of the lack of a solid border. Patrols are given a single command.

Any intruder is to be killed on sight.

This is a clan constantly at war against an unseen enemy. There are a few reappearing cats, each on responsible for a multitude of injuries and even deaths amongst the clan. It is theorized that they are sent to weaken PineClan for a final, ending strike, but this has never been proven. Almost every cat in PineClan kills their first loner before they are granted a warrior name.

Those who speak out against the clan’s actions are dubbed “Turnclaws”, or traitors. Upon the discovery of a traitor, their entire family is interrogated. Children of the Turnclaw are given the harshest treatment. If they are young enough, they are removed from their mother (if the Turnclaw is a male) and given to another queen. If they are older, they will be killed in their parent’s place if the cat manages to escape. Turnclaw’s are always sentenced to death. Close family are interrogated as well. In the very rare case that a child of the Turnclaw is dubbed to be still pure of mind, they are always discriminated against and tormented by the clan. They walk on eggshells their entire life. Most do not take mates or bear their own kits, silencing the Turnclaw’s direct bloodline. They must do the most to prove their worth, and seem to be unable to do anything wrong. Chiefs and Chieftesses, as well as their Guards, will go out of their way to find any slip up made by a Turnclaw’s offspring, and bring down wrath upon them. They are the only cats in the clan that will ever be physically harmed for a screw up. Never fatally, but a slap across the face or a scratch down their shoulder.

Turnclaws and any rogues or loners killed are not buried. They are left in the grasslands for the carrion feeders to gather.

CHARACTERS and NPCs
NOT ACCEPTING ANYMORE: Milkgivers and/or Kittens (exempting Shadowstorm's kits); Turnclaw's Kin (these are still relatively rare); Elders (also relatively rare)

Chief -
Timberstar: Large ruddy brown tom with off white markings and brown eyes [Razz]
Chieftess -
Mottledstar: Black and ginger tortoiseshell mollie with green eyes, nursing [Nate]
The Guards -
Rooktalon: A lithe black and white tom with long claws and sharp green eyes; Timberstar's Chosen [Mutt]
Umbraclaw: Lithe black mollie with amber eyes; Mottledstar's Chosen [Katia]
HOLD
Shaman -
Poppynose: Mostly black calico mollie with green eyes [Mutt]
Warriors -
Bucknose: Large fawn colored tom with yellow eyes [Hans]
Coalwhisker: Oddly marked black tom with white vitiligo and gold eyes, savannah cat mix [Crowned Insanity]
Fallowstep: Tall brown and cream mollie with bright green eyes [Ladyseer]
Frostheart: White and brown mollie with blue eyes; Turnclaw's kin [Peachie]
Hollowsong: A blind pale classic brown long furred tabby tom with white irish markings. [Typhon]
Icefang: Grey and white tom with blue eyes [Lightqueen]
Pantherclaw: Pitch black mollie with yellow-green eyes [Kuma]
Sagestep: Dark grey and white tom with green eyes [Pistachio]
Thundercloud: A massive muscular fluffy gray she-cat with white toes and deep green eyes with two fangs poking out from her upper lip. [Kago]
Turtledove: Chocolate and cream/ginger tortoiseshell with blue-green eyes [Razz]
Applemoon: Ginger and white piebald mollie with green eyes [NPC]
Blacktooth: Brown tom with white undercoat [NPC]
Chirptooth: Lean, spotted tabby she-cat with light brown fur and lime green eyes [NPC]
Croakjaw: Aging black mackerel tabby she-cat with swamp-green eyes [NPC]
Fincheye: Green-eyed, skinny tom with dark tabby fur [NPC]
Foxsplash: Dark ginger tom with blue eyes [NPC]
Greywind: Dark grey and white tom with blue eyes [NPC]
Harestep: Solid black she-cat with wiry, coarse hair and amber eyes [NPC]
Lionpelt: Dark orange tabby tom with white undercoat [NPC]
Mothclaw: Pale cream and white bicolor tabby she-cat with yellow eyes [NPC]
Quaildawn: Slim, mottled brown tom with dark orange eyes [NPC]
Ratclaw: Pitch black tom with amber eyes [NPC]
Rowanfeather: Dark chocolate and orange tortoiseshell she-cat [NPC]
Sandclaw: Brown tabby she-cat with white undercoat [NPC]
Apprentices -
Dawnpaw: Snowshoe mollie with pale blue eyes [B r o k e n R u i n s]
Mentor ~ Umbraclaw
Fernpaw: Small white and cream tom with amber eyes; Turnclaw's Son [Zero]
Mentor ~ Frostheart
Shadepaw: Light grey smoke tabby mollie with blue eyes [Ladyseer]
Mentor ~ Rooktalon
Silverpaw: Silver smoke tabby with green-yellow eyes [Sharkdog]
Mentor ~ Icefang
Milkgivers and Kits -
Shadowstorm: Pitch black mollie with green eyes, expecting [Dysfunctional Wolf]
Dustkit: Brown and black she-kit [Dysfunctional Wolf]
Hawkkit: Dark tabby tom-kit [Lightqueen]
Ravenkit: Pitch black mollie with deep green eyes [Smew]
Stormkit: Week old grey tom-kit [NPC for now]
Elders -
Adderfang: Old, grizzled brown tabby with a bobbed tail, intense scarring, and yellow eyes [Peachie]
Twignose: Elderly brown longhaired mollie with yellow eyes [B r o k e n R u i n s]
Swallowpelt: Dark grey and brown tabby mollie with yellow eyes [NPC]

Commonly Appearing Rogues/Loners -
Eros: Small amber tabby with dark copper eyes [NPC]
Juno: Black, grey, and white mollie with a missing eye [NPC]
Rick: Dark brown and cream tom with nicked ears and green eyes [NPC]

LINKS
Roleplaying Thread

CREDIT
The image used as a part of the dividers was found here. The art and editing was done by me.