Post by RK9 on Feb 28, 2009 12:21:32 GMT -5
Long ago, when the Daltorre Mountains were uninhabited, a group of cats who had recently lost their forest home came and decided to settle down. They hadn’t much choice, for they hadn’t the strength or the will to go on any further, and harsh as the conditions of the mountain were, there was prey in abundance and plenty of other things to meet their basic needs. The group split up, each choosing their own territory, and set down boundary lines that they crossed freely, for they remained friends even though they lived all over the mountain. Every moon, they met to exchange news on themselves and their families, and would strengthen the bonds of friendship between them.
Rock was the massive tom who led his family and a small group of other cats who were like him in what is EarthClan territory today. Zephyr was the matriarch of her family in AirClan’s lands, and for WaterClan, there was River, who had lost her mate Aqua along the way to the mountains. Finally, Flame led his family and closest friends to FireClan territory, for he loved the woods and was most at home here where the most trees were. So the cats lived and grew in number, and there was peace and harmony amongst the four groups.
Then came a young cat, Rock’s son Pebble, the youngest and smallest runt of the litter, and the black sheep of his family in that he wasn’t like his brothers and sisters. Cunning and prone to deception, he was a sneaky creature who hid his true nature from his trusting siblings, who, upholding virtues like honor and trustworthiness and reliability, had no idea of their brother’s dark nature, for to their eyes he seemed like any normal cat. But in truth, Pebble had broken one of the rules that all the four groups had agreed to keep – that no cat should ever venture to the top of the mountain except for Gatherings, in order to keep that land peaceful and sacred in a way, for it had been dedicated to their warrior ancestors, whom the cats believed called themselves HeartClan, and watched over them from the stars above.
Pebble went up at first only to play on his own, away from his family who were so different from himself, but then, becoming braver, he began to explore. And at the pinnacle of the mountain, he found a great rock, and within it, a great treasure – eight gems that held strange and mystical powers within them, magical stones that could give the one who wielded them great power: an emerald, a diamond, a topaz, a ruby, an opal, a rose quartz, and amethyst and a lapis-lazulli. Pebble didn’t know any of that at first – but he was entranced by their shininess and beauty, and so he collected them and wrapped them in a leaf to hide them, and brought them back to his home.
He hoarded those gems, which he came to see as his personal treasure, and guarded them jealously by hiding them just outside of camp, where he could hide them until he wanted to see them again. He began drifting away from his family – though he’d never been particularly close to them anyway. Little by little, he let his possessiveness over the gems consume him, until eventually, an argument with his parents and siblings made him run away, taking the stones with him. Only his older brother Earth saw him go, but he thought that Pebble would return – though he did wonder what was in the package of leaves that Pebble took with him.
Pebble raged by himself in the heart of HeartClan territory, and took out his treasures to look at them and cheer himself up – but to his horror, the stones were all dull and pale, ugly things that no longer shone. They had been getting paler and paler with each passing day, but Pebble hadn’t really noticed – he’d been too busy gloating over their beauty and feeling superior about his treasures that his family would never see. Their magic had faded – for Pebble’s dark personality had clouded the purity of the stones, and now worst of all, he had brought deception and treachery and deceit to a family of cats who were of an ancient line, and for whom such things were not part of their nature… he had corrupted his family name, and that of his ancestors, and the magic of the stones and land was reacting to this terrible act of corruption.
Bit by bit, the mountain began to die. The stones had been one of the sources of its prosperity and strength, and now they had been stolen and corrupted, and Pebble refused to give them back. He took them off the mountain, and the Clans came together to discuss what was happening to their new home.
A cat named Flare, Flame’s beloved daughter, happened upon the stone where the gems had been, and with Earth and two other friends – River’s youngest son Brook and Zephyr’s young cousin Gust, they began to investigate, drawing the stone to the attention of their families. It became obvious that the stone had once held something important, and then Earth recalled seeing the package that Pebble had been carrying. It was terrible, and incredibly difficult for the honorable young tom to contemplate – that his baby brother could have stolen something and caused the destruction of their land. But it had happened, and eventually he told the others what he had seen. Flare received dreams from her ancestors in HeartClan – and she told them that whatever Pebble had taken, it was causing the mountain’s death. So the search for Pebble began… but slowly, the four Clans were beginning to become less and less united, and age-old friendships were slowly breaking down. The magic that had been keeping them peaceful and united was breaking down, and with it, the cat’s belief and trust in each other.
The four Clans were born out of need during a time when friendship was weakened, and things like trust and faith weren’t present. The only cats who held on stubbornly to their friends and refused to acknowledge this new idea of four separate Clans who lived their own lives on separate territories and could only come together in peace during the monthly Gatherings, were Earth, Flare, Brook and Gust – and long after the Clans gave up hope and prepared to die along with the mountain, they kept on looking, and eventually caught up with Pebble in a gang of rogues not far from the foot of the mountain. Because they were still strong in friendship, they overpowered the rogues and faced down with Pebble, who by now had faded into a mere shadow of the cat he had once been. Now merely a shade whose only goal was to keep himself and his treasure safe, Pebble fought them all, using what remained of the power within the stones to defeat Gust and Brook – and later, to critically injure Flare. But not so his brother. Using the true spirit of honor and nobility and reliability imparted down to him and his family over the generations, Earth defeated and killed Pebble – and in doing so, released his brother’s tormented soul and freed him to an eternal peace, hopefully in an afterlife where he could regain his honor and remove the stain from his name.
HeartClan spoke to the four brave young cats, telling them of the stones and what they represented, and informing them that each Clan was now to hold two stones each and keep them safe, and at each Gathering, to remind them of what had transpired, they needed to perform a starting ceremony where they would place the stone back in place in the large rock that had initially held them. Their actions in defeating Pebble and overcoming all the odds with integrity and faith and hope, not to mention brotherhood and faith in each other, had purified the stones, and their power had been returned once again. So they returned to the mountains and told the Clans, and in time, Flarestar became the leader of FireClan, Earthstar the leader of EarthClan (named for him and his bravery by his father), Brookstar became the leader of WaterClan, and Guststar became the leader of AirClan – and they learned to live together under the new rules in peace and harmony once again, protecting the stones as assigned to them by HeartClan.
EarthClan, noble and reliable and trustworthy, received the emerald, which represented honor, and the diamond, the stone of purity and strength.
FireClan, loyal and true of heart, received the ruby, the stone of happiness, and the opal, the gem of hope.
AirClan, ever-curious seekers of knowledge, received the rose quartz which represented wisdom and knowledge, and the lapis-lazulli, the heavenly stone.
And finally, WaterClan, the calm, cool masters of strategy, received the amethyst, stone of truth, and the topaz, the stone of faith.
And together or separately, they face the future.
For more info, read:
Auditions for high positions are already ongoing. Do join!
Rock was the massive tom who led his family and a small group of other cats who were like him in what is EarthClan territory today. Zephyr was the matriarch of her family in AirClan’s lands, and for WaterClan, there was River, who had lost her mate Aqua along the way to the mountains. Finally, Flame led his family and closest friends to FireClan territory, for he loved the woods and was most at home here where the most trees were. So the cats lived and grew in number, and there was peace and harmony amongst the four groups.
Then came a young cat, Rock’s son Pebble, the youngest and smallest runt of the litter, and the black sheep of his family in that he wasn’t like his brothers and sisters. Cunning and prone to deception, he was a sneaky creature who hid his true nature from his trusting siblings, who, upholding virtues like honor and trustworthiness and reliability, had no idea of their brother’s dark nature, for to their eyes he seemed like any normal cat. But in truth, Pebble had broken one of the rules that all the four groups had agreed to keep – that no cat should ever venture to the top of the mountain except for Gatherings, in order to keep that land peaceful and sacred in a way, for it had been dedicated to their warrior ancestors, whom the cats believed called themselves HeartClan, and watched over them from the stars above.
Pebble went up at first only to play on his own, away from his family who were so different from himself, but then, becoming braver, he began to explore. And at the pinnacle of the mountain, he found a great rock, and within it, a great treasure – eight gems that held strange and mystical powers within them, magical stones that could give the one who wielded them great power: an emerald, a diamond, a topaz, a ruby, an opal, a rose quartz, and amethyst and a lapis-lazulli. Pebble didn’t know any of that at first – but he was entranced by their shininess and beauty, and so he collected them and wrapped them in a leaf to hide them, and brought them back to his home.
He hoarded those gems, which he came to see as his personal treasure, and guarded them jealously by hiding them just outside of camp, where he could hide them until he wanted to see them again. He began drifting away from his family – though he’d never been particularly close to them anyway. Little by little, he let his possessiveness over the gems consume him, until eventually, an argument with his parents and siblings made him run away, taking the stones with him. Only his older brother Earth saw him go, but he thought that Pebble would return – though he did wonder what was in the package of leaves that Pebble took with him.
Pebble raged by himself in the heart of HeartClan territory, and took out his treasures to look at them and cheer himself up – but to his horror, the stones were all dull and pale, ugly things that no longer shone. They had been getting paler and paler with each passing day, but Pebble hadn’t really noticed – he’d been too busy gloating over their beauty and feeling superior about his treasures that his family would never see. Their magic had faded – for Pebble’s dark personality had clouded the purity of the stones, and now worst of all, he had brought deception and treachery and deceit to a family of cats who were of an ancient line, and for whom such things were not part of their nature… he had corrupted his family name, and that of his ancestors, and the magic of the stones and land was reacting to this terrible act of corruption.
Bit by bit, the mountain began to die. The stones had been one of the sources of its prosperity and strength, and now they had been stolen and corrupted, and Pebble refused to give them back. He took them off the mountain, and the Clans came together to discuss what was happening to their new home.
A cat named Flare, Flame’s beloved daughter, happened upon the stone where the gems had been, and with Earth and two other friends – River’s youngest son Brook and Zephyr’s young cousin Gust, they began to investigate, drawing the stone to the attention of their families. It became obvious that the stone had once held something important, and then Earth recalled seeing the package that Pebble had been carrying. It was terrible, and incredibly difficult for the honorable young tom to contemplate – that his baby brother could have stolen something and caused the destruction of their land. But it had happened, and eventually he told the others what he had seen. Flare received dreams from her ancestors in HeartClan – and she told them that whatever Pebble had taken, it was causing the mountain’s death. So the search for Pebble began… but slowly, the four Clans were beginning to become less and less united, and age-old friendships were slowly breaking down. The magic that had been keeping them peaceful and united was breaking down, and with it, the cat’s belief and trust in each other.
The four Clans were born out of need during a time when friendship was weakened, and things like trust and faith weren’t present. The only cats who held on stubbornly to their friends and refused to acknowledge this new idea of four separate Clans who lived their own lives on separate territories and could only come together in peace during the monthly Gatherings, were Earth, Flare, Brook and Gust – and long after the Clans gave up hope and prepared to die along with the mountain, they kept on looking, and eventually caught up with Pebble in a gang of rogues not far from the foot of the mountain. Because they were still strong in friendship, they overpowered the rogues and faced down with Pebble, who by now had faded into a mere shadow of the cat he had once been. Now merely a shade whose only goal was to keep himself and his treasure safe, Pebble fought them all, using what remained of the power within the stones to defeat Gust and Brook – and later, to critically injure Flare. But not so his brother. Using the true spirit of honor and nobility and reliability imparted down to him and his family over the generations, Earth defeated and killed Pebble – and in doing so, released his brother’s tormented soul and freed him to an eternal peace, hopefully in an afterlife where he could regain his honor and remove the stain from his name.
HeartClan spoke to the four brave young cats, telling them of the stones and what they represented, and informing them that each Clan was now to hold two stones each and keep them safe, and at each Gathering, to remind them of what had transpired, they needed to perform a starting ceremony where they would place the stone back in place in the large rock that had initially held them. Their actions in defeating Pebble and overcoming all the odds with integrity and faith and hope, not to mention brotherhood and faith in each other, had purified the stones, and their power had been returned once again. So they returned to the mountains and told the Clans, and in time, Flarestar became the leader of FireClan, Earthstar the leader of EarthClan (named for him and his bravery by his father), Brookstar became the leader of WaterClan, and Guststar became the leader of AirClan – and they learned to live together under the new rules in peace and harmony once again, protecting the stones as assigned to them by HeartClan.
EarthClan, noble and reliable and trustworthy, received the emerald, which represented honor, and the diamond, the stone of purity and strength.
FireClan, loyal and true of heart, received the ruby, the stone of happiness, and the opal, the gem of hope.
AirClan, ever-curious seekers of knowledge, received the rose quartz which represented wisdom and knowledge, and the lapis-lazulli, the heavenly stone.
And finally, WaterClan, the calm, cool masters of strategy, received the amethyst, stone of truth, and the topaz, the stone of faith.
And together or separately, they face the future.
For more info, read:
Auditions for high positions are already ongoing. Do join!