Post by Rolo on Jun 3, 2011 11:02:23 GMT -10
When the Forestclan cats left the evil claws of Brownstar behind, they had always believed they'd left the trouble behind them. The new clans, they said, would be just like their old can before the influence of the corrupt leader; peaceful, accepting and faithful. They would be joyous again, living by the code with the cats of Starclan watching over them.
And for some time, for Fogclan things were just as they'd hoped they'd be, and they were content. Faithful and code-abiding, they had honoured Starclan's name. However, none of them had expected that the thing they held dearest, Starclan itself, would be the cause of the strife that took grip of Fogclan.
Initially run by a faithful but relaxed she-cat, Fogclan was only without conflict for a few moons before things began to fall apart from within. The devout believers of the clan were unhappy, believing the clan was falling into sinful ways. Taking issue with Owlstar's leadership, Mistpelt used her influence as deputy to gather followers and launched a verbal attack on the leader, convincing the rest of the clan she was unsuitable to lead. Owlstar, innocent of all crimes but ignorance of her deputy's nature, left shamed with a group of followers. These cats, after a plea for other clans to take them in, left the clan territories and were never seen again.
Miststar took up leadership of Fogclan, taking a cat called Volepelt as her deputy and, although this was never public knowledge, her mate. Slowly but surely, she turned the clan to corruption in Starclan's name, guided by Volepelt who was raised himself under a dictatorship in a previous life. Led by her belief that not only must a cat be pure but an entire clan for every cat within it to have a hope to get into Starclan, believing in Starclan became a requirement and not a personal choice. She employed her oldest and most trusted followers as her 'council', a set of cats to police the clan and punish any percieved offence. Every paw put wrong, major or minor, would be punished with 'confessions', which were a public event where the sinner must stand below high rock and apologise for their actions. Furthermore, she added the 'Faith test' to Fogclan, requiring every apprentice to prove their faith in Starclan to progress to warriorship, and, worse for most, started demoting any warriors she saw as tainted to 'apprentices'. And all of this, she thought, would help them earn their purity, safeguarding their personal place in Starclan.
This all took a turn for the worst when Volepelt, unhappy with the lack of progress in Fogclan, convinced Miststar that the only way to clear their clanmates souls was by physically punishing them. The marks created by this act were called 'sinwounds' and were not permitted to be seen to by a medicine cat (if a cat died from them, it was deemed 'Starclan's will').
But, even though her regime was strict, there was always an element of care in her actions. The clan, she felt, were her children, and she took the role of the mother who exposed her kits to tough love to ensure they kept upon the right path.
Some time into her reign, a mysterious event occured. Volepelt, who regularly slept beside his leader awoke to find that his beloved had disappeared without a trace, the place where she always slept filled with soft sunlight. Volepelt ordered an immediate search, getting the clan members to search every inch of the territory and to ask all the other leaders whether the she-cat had been spotted on there. For a short time, there was suspicion that she might have been kidnapped and was being held hostage by Pineclan, but this theory proved false when Gingerstar, concerned about the hostility this idea might cause, allowed Fogclanners to search the camp personally. The truth was stark: Miststar had either left the clan territories or had succumbed to an even worse fate.
Volepelt was devestated by this idea. His love, the only cat who had made him feel safe and secure, had disappeared without a trace. Volepelt, in honour of Mistpelt, took up leadership of Fogclan without complaint, running it with an iron claw. However, Volepelt was certain that this would only be temporary. Something about the ambiguity of the situation, something about the way the light touched where she lay, something in his heart told him that Miststar was still alive. Driven mad by grief, he soon became convinced that Miststar had been sent by Starclan on a mission outside the clan territories, and that one day she would return to him, stronger and taintless than she had ever been before. Therefore, Volepelt rejected the idea of taking his leader lives and name.
Obsessed by this idea, Volepelt now runs the clan with impossible zeal. Determined to make the clan worthy for Mistpelt's return, he maintains an aura of calm emotionlessness to his clan, while falling apart beneath the surface.
Needless to say, the path ahead looks difficult for Fogclan.
And for some time, for Fogclan things were just as they'd hoped they'd be, and they were content. Faithful and code-abiding, they had honoured Starclan's name. However, none of them had expected that the thing they held dearest, Starclan itself, would be the cause of the strife that took grip of Fogclan.
Initially run by a faithful but relaxed she-cat, Fogclan was only without conflict for a few moons before things began to fall apart from within. The devout believers of the clan were unhappy, believing the clan was falling into sinful ways. Taking issue with Owlstar's leadership, Mistpelt used her influence as deputy to gather followers and launched a verbal attack on the leader, convincing the rest of the clan she was unsuitable to lead. Owlstar, innocent of all crimes but ignorance of her deputy's nature, left shamed with a group of followers. These cats, after a plea for other clans to take them in, left the clan territories and were never seen again.
Miststar took up leadership of Fogclan, taking a cat called Volepelt as her deputy and, although this was never public knowledge, her mate. Slowly but surely, she turned the clan to corruption in Starclan's name, guided by Volepelt who was raised himself under a dictatorship in a previous life. Led by her belief that not only must a cat be pure but an entire clan for every cat within it to have a hope to get into Starclan, believing in Starclan became a requirement and not a personal choice. She employed her oldest and most trusted followers as her 'council', a set of cats to police the clan and punish any percieved offence. Every paw put wrong, major or minor, would be punished with 'confessions', which were a public event where the sinner must stand below high rock and apologise for their actions. Furthermore, she added the 'Faith test' to Fogclan, requiring every apprentice to prove their faith in Starclan to progress to warriorship, and, worse for most, started demoting any warriors she saw as tainted to 'apprentices'. And all of this, she thought, would help them earn their purity, safeguarding their personal place in Starclan.
This all took a turn for the worst when Volepelt, unhappy with the lack of progress in Fogclan, convinced Miststar that the only way to clear their clanmates souls was by physically punishing them. The marks created by this act were called 'sinwounds' and were not permitted to be seen to by a medicine cat (if a cat died from them, it was deemed 'Starclan's will').
But, even though her regime was strict, there was always an element of care in her actions. The clan, she felt, were her children, and she took the role of the mother who exposed her kits to tough love to ensure they kept upon the right path.
Some time into her reign, a mysterious event occured. Volepelt, who regularly slept beside his leader awoke to find that his beloved had disappeared without a trace, the place where she always slept filled with soft sunlight. Volepelt ordered an immediate search, getting the clan members to search every inch of the territory and to ask all the other leaders whether the she-cat had been spotted on there. For a short time, there was suspicion that she might have been kidnapped and was being held hostage by Pineclan, but this theory proved false when Gingerstar, concerned about the hostility this idea might cause, allowed Fogclanners to search the camp personally. The truth was stark: Miststar had either left the clan territories or had succumbed to an even worse fate.
Volepelt was devestated by this idea. His love, the only cat who had made him feel safe and secure, had disappeared without a trace. Volepelt, in honour of Mistpelt, took up leadership of Fogclan without complaint, running it with an iron claw. However, Volepelt was certain that this would only be temporary. Something about the ambiguity of the situation, something about the way the light touched where she lay, something in his heart told him that Miststar was still alive. Driven mad by grief, he soon became convinced that Miststar had been sent by Starclan on a mission outside the clan territories, and that one day she would return to him, stronger and taintless than she had ever been before. Therefore, Volepelt rejected the idea of taking his leader lives and name.
Obsessed by this idea, Volepelt now runs the clan with impossible zeal. Determined to make the clan worthy for Mistpelt's return, he maintains an aura of calm emotionlessness to his clan, while falling apart beneath the surface.
Needless to say, the path ahead looks difficult for Fogclan.
