003. TRIBES, GANGS, AND COLONIES

[AUGUST !]

introduction.
to answer your questions.

these next few paragraphs clear up some things and skip through the confusing battles and political things and whatnot from the plot. if you totally understood the plot, it's not exactly that necessary to read this c:.

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this site, believe it or not, is somewhat derived from the warriors series from erin hunter -- although that series focuses around the four clans, starclan, etc. we focus in on the tribe which was mentioned in the warriors series. the clans cross paths and their histories intertwine occasionally, although, as said before, a lot of pieces are missed because, indeed, long stretches of time pass between the clans' meetings with the tribe. you know, stoneteller doesn't exactly mention every single little detail. he merely tells them the tribe is either doing well or... not so well.

we've asked many questions to ourselves: "what if this happened, what if that happened..." and i have thought deeply over several situations the tribe may have encountered. this lead me down a road which separated my mind from specifically thinking about the tribe of rushing water. i formed a whole history with cats that carried the blood of the tribe of rushing water and the ancient cats before. then i developed a reason and there you go! a whole site plot before your eyes.

you see, there was some sort of political thing going on with the tribe of rushing water, and about ten cats got "kicked out" as a result. that, of course, left the tribe in a wreck, so they shakily got back up to their feet as if nothing had happened. the ten cats? they held many grudges, but they traveled away and found many temporary nesting places. however, these nesting places never quite satisfied their longing for the mountains, so they continued on. eventually, it turned out to become from ten to twenty cats and so on until they were this huge group of pilgrims searching for a "better world." these cats searched on and on and on for years until, somehow, they found something. a little spark, a little piece of hope. an enhanced place where they became something else. they decided to settle here and the enchanted place seemed to... rub off on them. as the cats had kits and went on with their life, eye colors changed from classic amber genetics to bright red, electric blue, and black. soon enough, any and every eye and coat color was available to their species. to be sure, they remained feline, but they could have various appendages and coat textures and patterns that was not possible when they first began.

so now we have this whole enchanced, almost fantasy thing going on. the traveling cats soon disperse into their own routines and behaviors, such as going all out loner or kittypet (yes, by now, the humans of this enhanced world are used to the enchanted, strange cats). others remained loyal to their original "group" so they created a system extremely similar to that of the tribe of which they branched off from. in the beginning all went well and smoothly; however, there were just too many cats to handle in just one tribe. something clicked in a smart cat's brain, a few battles happened... you know. so then the tribe separated into two tribes and they lived on for quite some time.

so, now everything has seemed to be going on pretty well, except for the tension now taking place. most cats seem to just shrug that off though. along the years, many different types of groups have developed; they call themselves gangs and colonies. curious as to how they operate? keep on reading ;3.

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[AUGUST !]

tribes.
believing in the prophecies told.

these cats have very unique perspectives; unique everything, actually, even their names. instead of being a simple, say, leaf, it would be leaf that shudders in the breeze as their full name. this is a hassle to say so leaf that shudders in the breeze would be called just plain leaf. also, mothers do not merely say the name and that is the name. during birth, they are brought outside into the open air and the first thing they see the moment of each kittens' true birth is, indeed, the name. oftentimes names become very similar because of this. oh yes, and hierarchy names are slightly different from the rest of their tribe; for example, instead of just being called plain leaf all the time, they have suffixes to state their position; say, leaf would become "leafshudder."

the general "commoner" cats of the tribes are, strangely, separated into two groups: the hunters and the warriors. these names speak for themselves. the warriors and hunters can have several named jobs; for instance, a warrior could have the specific job of being a guard all the time, a gladiator (one on one challenge) all the time, a battlefighter all the time, and so on and so forth. the category the cat will be in is chosen from the very beginning by the prophet; each new litter he studies carefully for about a month or so. then he designates the categories of each kitten according to behavior and build. thereon the kittens go their separate ways, hardly ever seeing each other unless it is as bedtime, and even then they are exhausted so they go right to sleep. what do they do, you may ask? why, they go to different mentors; these mentors are their mentors until they graduate from being a trainee, and so deep bonds are often forged. when they are kits they do not fight or hunt, but they are taught several techniques and told many stories so it strikes interest for them in their future job. by the end of being a trainee, many siblings do not recognize each other or their scents.

prophet. this is the leader of a tribe; however, instead of waging war and leading cats into battle, the prophet is the peaceful one who seeks audience with the anicent ancestors of the past; they prophesy many things, passing on the words of the ones above. they also take the place of being a healer, tending to the wounds of the sick and fallen.

healers. this position is right below the prophet; they are learning the ways of healing. the maximum amount of healers is three, and oftentimes these are siblings. when the time comes for a new prophet to be chosen, however, the three are forced to fight to the death; this makes little to no sense at all, for prophets are supposed to be the peacemakers and for brethren to fight in such a way is, usually, in their customs, forbidden. it was foretold by the first prophet, however, that this should happen, so they merely follow the ceremonies.

captains. there is one captain that serves as the leader of the hunters, and one captain that serves as the leader for the warriors. these captains oversee their subordinates' patrols and training, making sure everything is in order. this task is the one that takes the most responsibility out of all of the tribe, for it holds the matter of the tribe's success or failure during both wars and the regular routine.

warriors. these are the fighters of the tribe; as mentioned before, they have more specific jobs such as guarding, battlefighting, et cetera.

hunters. these are the hunters of the tribe; as mentioned before, they have more specfic jobs such as pouncing, herb-collecting, et cetera.

trainees. these are the apprentices of the tribe; they follow and learn from their mentors which are chosen cats from the two general categories, warriors and hunters. obviously, a to-be hunter is given to an experienced hunter to mentor. even though verbal training begins at two months of age, they are still kittens then -- once a kitten is clearly ready (usually around five months of age), they begin physical training and are then called trainees.

queens. the mothers of the tribe; they are either bearing or expecting. this task does not last long unless a female wishes to stay in the nursery always to help newer mothers and to tend to the troublesome kittens.

kittens. kittens are generally still considered kittens from birth to five moons of age, although some kittens grow slower than others and graduate to a trainee around six to seven months. details are stated above.

ancients. these are the retired cats of the tribe who tell stories and pass on the important histories. being veterans of the tribe, they are given much deserved respect.

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[AUGUST !]

colonies.
creepily friendly and jumbled.

colonies are usually large groups of cats that consist of family and friends. they aren't nearly as organized as the official tribes and the mysterious empire, but you must still give credit to them, for what they work with is very small. colonies generally nest in barns, although colonies have also been found in the more wild places -- on rare occasions, one or two are found even in the cities! somehow, these friendly groups of cats are all connected, and each and every colony knows each other. there are many colonies and even more unknown colonies; still, the smaller and lesser known colonies are never neglected in this huge community. each colony's name is known by its founder; for example, say a tom named maple decided to create a colony. from thereon it would be known as "colony maple."

there are no specific ranks in the colonies, although they usually follow the classic guidance of leader, doctor, commoner, and so on and so forth. the rest is, generally, up to you to decide.

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[AUGUST !]

gangs.
ragged and tagged.

gangs, unlike the tribes and the colonies, are completely disorganized and usually do not last a very long time. most of them take place in the cities where the twolegs dwell. they are, indeed, ragged and tagged -- they are groups of rogues, and rather than being true, peaceful "nomads" or "loners", they wreck havoc everywhere they go. gangs can range from a huge, complicated, and torturing system like the olde bloodclan or a mere group of three cats hunting together occasionally. with gangs, it's where you can really improvise and create your very own positions. don't worry, nothing's official; just keep in mind that these gangs are created by city cats, who aren't necessarily the keenest of the felines, and they, for the most part, have no particular belief or interest in anything -- not even morals! many of them are just plain powerhungry, as well...

the leadership can be challenged at any time.

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[AUGUST !]

nomads.
searching for the purpose.

nomads are cats that wander the world alone, and many of them prefer this to be so, although every single one of them feels some sort of emptiness in their heart. nomads, otherwise known as loners, have no clue where their lives are going to lead them. that's why they are searching for that clue, for that purpose, to actually feel accomplished and to know that they are being led down the correct path. that's all nomads really want to know, whether or not they are aware of it, and when the nomads find out (if they ever do), it's their choice if they grab the opportunity to live their life to the fullest or to just continue on their dull seeking.

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[AUGUST !]

empire.
the divine ones.

there is only one empire and one empire only... this is the third of the main category groups.

the empire has a social structure very much of it's own, with few positions mimicking other groups. though there is a leader, the empire is really run by the elders and court, the base decision makers of the whole system. decisions are made final, however, by the leader, giving the reason he or she exists.

along with the normal positions, there are actual "divinities", or the religious figures (gods) of the empire. these divinities are in hiding, currently, though it's expected they'll come out soon, leading into a special plot of our own. please message frappe in order to apply for a divinity position, while they're still available.


make sure to read up on the history of the tuatha de danaan.


major divinities. there are three gods, each of which don't necessarily have a special element, they're just almighty and powerful. testing them isn't recommended, and actually encountering them is very rare. this position is difficult to achieve, and frappe isn't going to just give it to anyone.

minor divinities. there are sixteen sub gods, each having a certain element; soil, rock, river, ocean, lake, fire, air, food, trees, flower (spring), sun, moon, stars, autumn, snow (winter), and rain. each has features that matches their element. they aren't as important as the major gods, and not as rare. while frappe is willing to hand it out easier then the majors, don't expect it to fall into your lap.

elders.from the twenty three warriors that were chosen, four became the elders, along with morfesa and uiscias. they are just about as special and important as the major divinities. they are very wise, and over all the years they are the only immortals who have become really old, but they will never die.

court. the court makes most of the decisions for the empire, though the final word comes from the leader and elders. because there is so much diversity in personalities over the empire, the main female from each family goes to the court rock each week and holds discussion over the latest goings-on. so, the whole court is made up of females.

general families. the empire is made up of many different families, which are just that, families. each family is typically made up of the following; a mother and father, then their children. when their kittens grow up and get mates, they leave the house just like in real life, and they are no longer part of that family, technically, leaving their parents on their own. it is encouraged that parents make one litter, raise it, then make another soon after, so they are carrying on the empire throughout their whole life. some parents do choose not to have children at all, or only have one, which must be deemed acceptable by the court.

blue blood families. these are generations that have ties to the very beginning of the empire. there are very few, and they are made up just like old structures, having a queen, king and prince or princess. because they are tied very closely to the beginning of the empire, they are very picky when it comes to breeding. princes and princesses are paired with other princes or princesses from other blue blood families, which so far has actually worked in avoiding forced mate ties.

normal families. these are exactly that, normal families that reside in the empire. they can vary greatly with parent roles, so there can be single parents or mixed parents (gays). homosexual parents can request a female to have their baby for them, getting the choice in the two cats that will mate. in other words, it works very much like life.

guards. self explanatory, the guards defend the empire no matter what. they are chosen carefully, then trained all of their life to be the strongest, fastest, and greatest warriors.

generals. they are assigned a certain number of guards, who they control and are responsible for training and such.

feeders. the feeders are responsible for collecting the main food supply for the empire. though members of each family are encouraged to do their own hunting, it is necessary for a main supply to be available for things like celebrations.

members. this really shouldn't have its own category, but it should be said. members are pretty normal, they can have small powers like mind reading or predicting the future, but nothing extravagant like the divinities. there can be some members who don't reside in a family, though it is very rare and odd, as cats stay within their original family until they find a mate, then they move to their own new family.

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