BLITHECLAN && sign-ups && OPEN

blitheclan

home of the true warriors

HISTORY.

TERRITORY.

The territory is mostly temperate rain forest with the exception of a beach, leading to the sea which is East of the Home Tree. The forest which surrounds the Home Tree is a very spiritual place for the clan as it is a symbol of life in itself. It is abundant with life and greenery.

The Home Tree: Right in the middle of the territory of Blitheclan, lies a giant tree called the Home Tree. It's trunk is covered in intricate branches which can be easily climbed. A little ways up the tree lies a clearing called the Whelve, where the branches have parted to reveal the top of the trunk which has been shaped into a bowl-like shape. It is here the clan-cats come to for their gatherings. A giant branch juts a little ways out into the space which is called the Watching Branch, from which the King or Queen makes their announcements at clan gatherings. At the beginning of each gathering the King or Queen will call out: "Gaia: The Earth our Mother," to which the clan must repeat in unison.

There is an opening at the base of the Home Tree which leads to an intricate honeycomb of caverns beneath the ground.

The Latibule Cavern: The cavern which holds the Mother Roots. Here the Brahmins hold their meetings. The Priest and the Priestess sleep here.

The Mother Roots: It is Blitheclan's equivalent of the Moonpool. Deep beneath the home tree lies a small cavern called Latibule. There the roots of the Home Tree are bare and intertwining. To stand on the earthy floor, is to look up at what makes the Home Tree a living thing. The great roots are blood red and glitter softly with bioluminescent glow worms.

The Mother Den: a small cave beneath the home tree, situated in close proximity to the Latibule and the Abditory, which is dedicated to holding the nests of the mothers and the mothers to-be.

The Abditory: think of this small cavern as the medicine cat den. The Healers and the Reiki work and sleep here, a small opening at the back of the cavern leads to the Greenery which is where the Reiki grow their herbs and such.

The Royal Chambers: the King, Queen and their children sleep here.

The Vagary: this is where the Kshatriyas make their nests and go to sleep.

The Matutine: Vaishyas sleep here, not including the Mothers which have their own den.

The Odium: Is where the Workers are kept when they are not being used. It is very dark and wet, and is usually guarded by one of the Marathas.

BELIEFS && TRADITIONS.

BELIEFS: The cats of Blitheclan are not follows of Starclan. They are follows of Gaia and the ancestral spirits that ran along beside her in the roots of the trees. Gaia is the personification of Earth and the creator of all, she is the ultimate Mother. The Earth is a living, divine spirit, all started from it and end to it. The clan heavily follows the belief of how precious life is and how it must be protected.

THE AFTER LIFE: Blitheclan believes that in death you take on the wings of your ancestral guide and fly to the afterlife to lay beside Gaia for eternity. The path from life to the afterlife is treacherous, and if you don't have wings to fly above the challenges presented down below, then you will have to walk the path. But to walk the path is seen as a certain failure, the journey is lit by fire and death. Thus, the feather/s worn by the clancats are very important to them. To loose them or have them ripped from them is a great loss, to be buried without them is seen as the greatest horror to the clan because it means that cat cannot fly to Gaia. BIRDS ARE SACRED TO BLITHECLAN AND CANNOT BE KILLED, they are not prey and thus they are not hunted.

The Ritual of Life: The Priest will be given a vision from Gaia, telling him which she-cat is now carrying kits. With that knowledge, the she-cat is told to join him in the Latibule where she will sleep beneath the Mother Roots and be given the names of her kits. Once she awakens, the Priest will engrave her Toska with the rune of life (which is Gaia's rune). She will then be given a blood red Mother feather, which was once a pure white feather of a dove and then stained with dye made from the Mother Roots. This feather will be worn for the rest of her life behind her right ear.

The Mother's Tears: a ritual in which if one of her children dies, the tip of her mother feather will be dyed black. If all her children dies the whole feather will be dyed black.

The Celebration of Mothers: the creation of life is incredibly important to Blitheclan, thus a mother is just as important seeing as she has the gift of Gaia, to give life. Thus the birth of a litter is celebrated heavily. After the birth of a mother's litter, her babies are celebrated for a whole day where the clan provides the queen with gifts usually in the form of flowers to decorate her nest and fresh kill to nourish herself so she can nourish her babies. The kits are revealed to the clan by the Watching Branch. The Queen or King will hold each kit up for all to see and then pass the kit to the Priest, whereby he or she will call out the name the mother chose for it and the clan will chant it out three times. The Priest will take each kit to the Latibule where he will lay them beneath the Mother's Roots. The mother will pull off a part of the Heartwood which is a particular root that has splintered and cracked into many smaller roots. With this smaller root, which is called the Toska, the Priest will engrave with his claw the rune of beginning and the kit's name. The kit's Toska will be kept in the Latibule, where there is a wall full of small holes in which a Toska can be slotted into.

The Rite: there are two rites in Blitheclan. The first being when a kit becomes a Tyro and the second being when the Tyro becomes a fully fledged Kshatriyas. The to-be Tyro will have to endure the ritual of Mahvan Gortsarany. The initiation in which they must consume a liquid made from the Mother's Roots by the Priestess. There they will lie beneath the Mother Roots and delve into a deep slumber in which they must pass three tests. The first - facing the thing manifested from their darkest fears. The second - all the skulls of the cat's ancestors are displayed on the ends of the roots of the Heartwood, there they must choose their ancestral guide (a skull they are drawn to), once chosen, their guide will come to them in the form of a bird. The third - they are tortured by having great pikes driven into their legs, a test of the endurance of pain, whereby they must offer their heart to Gaia who will come to them in the form of their own mother and take their heart from their chest. Their heart belongs to the Mother now, and when they die, they will lie to rest with her forever... If the cat awakens the Priest will engrave their Toska with the rune of passage. If they do not awaken, their soul will be given to Nowhere (purgatory) for eternity. Upon awakening, they are officially a Tyro, whereby they must join the King or Queen on the Watching Branch and their new name will be announced, and which Kshatriyas they will belong to. Immediately after, they are instructed by the King or Queen to enter the forest whereby they will come across a feather on their path that comes from the same bird as their ancestral guide. The Rite for a Tyro becoming a Kshatriyas is the same as kit to Tyro, except after they have endured Mahvan Gortsarany (this time they do not choose an ancestral guide, instead they are visited by them and given a message from Gaia about their future) the Priest will engrave their Toska with the rune of belonging and the King or Queen has named them before the clan, they must enter the forest to find a second feather.

[THE FEATHERS ARE GLUED to the fur/skin behind the ear with a sticky compound made by the Priestess, it is incredibly painful to remove but is barely noticeable to the clan-cat when worn]

The Ending Ceremony: the Priest will be given a vision by Gaia if an elder is to pass. Thus the clan celebrates their life for a whole day, where the feast and sing and dance. As the elder's time comes to and end, the Priest and Priestess will lead the elder to the Latibule cavern with the Healers and the Reiki following behind, chanting the story of how Gaia created the world. The Priest will help the elder to rest beneath the Mother's Roots, and the Priestess will give him the same liquid given in the ritual of Mahvan Gortsarany. The elder will enter a deep slumber, in which he or she will be confronted by Gaia, who will come to them in the form of their ancestral guide. He or she will be tested and the result will mean that they will either lie to rest with Gaia or will be exiled to to Nowhere (which is the clan's version of purgatory). After the elder has passed, they will be buried by the Mother Roots, whereby the Priest will engrave their Toska with the rune of blessing, which will then be buried with them along with their feathers.

The Joining Ritual:

effectively this is a marriage. The Priest joins two clan-cats together for life with the blessing of Gaia. In the ritual, the she-cat is to give her mate her warrior feather, and the tom is to give her his. The Priest will later engrave in both cat's Toska the binding rune and the mate's name next to the rune. Mateship is incredibly important to the clan as it promises the result of kits. After the ritual they have permission to build their nest, and have two days without duties to perform, where they are to leave the camp and reside else where for the time being (like a honeymoon of sorts).

Funerals:

in the event of death from illness or injury, the passing clanmate is given a funeral where they are buried beneath the Home Tree with their Toska and feathers. It is not a ceremony as is the Ending Ceremony which is like a celebration, it is tragic and painful. Their Toska is given the same rune as the elders when they pass.

The Coronation:

The event which marks when the eldest child of the previous king and queen becomes the new ruler along side their current mate, who they name before the whole clan. Each clanmate gifts the new king and queen with freshkill and flowers. The commanders must speak before the whole clan, and clearly state before all that they pledge themselves to their new king and queen. Both King and Queen are given the rune of power on their Toska. The Priest gives them a feather dipped in purple dye, which is known as the Queen and King's Feather.

The Ritual of Gaia: whereby a new priest is chosen by Gaia. The current Priest will know exactly when he is to die, whereby he will enter a dream beneath the Mother Roots and Gaia will give him the name of the new Priest. The Priest Toska's are engraved with a the rune of sight.

THE FEATHERS && HOW THE CLAN CATS ARE NAMED.

BRAHMINS [feathers are worn behind right ear]

• All Brahmin have three feathers (with the exception of the Priestess's tyro). Their Tyro Feather, The Kshatriya Feather, and their individual Brahmin Feather.

The Queen - Tyro Feather, Kshatriya Feather, The Queen's Feather (dipped in purple dye), Mother Feather

The King - Tyro Feather, Kshatriya Feather, The King's Feather (dipped in purple dye)

The Eldest - Tyro Feather, Kshatriya Feather, The Eldest's Feather (when a Queen's litter is born, the first kit to arrive is given a feather dipped in blue dye)

The Priest - Tyro Feather, Kshatriya Feather, The Priest's Feather (feather dipped in green dye)

The Priestess - Tyro Feather (dipped in yellow dye), Kshatriya Feather, The Priestess's Feather (feather dipped in yellow dye)

The Priestess' Tyro - Tyro Feather (dipped in yellow dye)

KSHATRIYAS [feathers are worn behind left ear]

• all wear Tyro Feather and Kshatriya Feather

VAISHYAS [feathers are worn behind left ear]

• Tyro's wear the single Tyro Feather
• Mothers have three, Tyro Feather, Kshatriya Feather and Mother Feather. Although the first two are behind their left ear, their Mother Feather is worn behind their right
• Elders wear the Tyro Feather and Kshatriya Feather

SHUDRAS [NO FEATHER IS WORN]

NAMING SUFFIXES:

• Kittens = Prefix[feather] - e.g. Amberfeather
• Tyro = Prefix[flight] - e.g. Amberflight
• Kshyatriyas = Prefix[suffix] - either the prefix or the suffix is to have something to do with birds e.g. Amberdove
• Queen/King = Prefix[crown] - e.g. Ambercrown

The names of the Blitheclan cats heavily revolve around birds. So keep that in mind when naming your character, BUT THAT BEING SAID, your cat does not have to have a bird-like name if you do not want to, it's totally up to you. Names like Shyoak, Seastone, the normal clancat names are also perfectly acceptable. It's just traditional to have a name revolving around birds.

CURRENT RANKS && MEMBERS.

The are four classes within Blitheclan. They are:

• the Brahmins
• the Kshatriyas
• the Vaishyas
• and the Shudras

BRAHMINS

When a king or queen dies, their eldest child will take their place. Which ever did not die (either king or queen) becomes an elder effectively immediately. The eldest child that takes the place of the parent chooses another cat to be their king or queen, and the two become the knew leading couple. So, if a king dies, then his queen is demoted to elder, and his eldest child (in this example the eldest child is female) will become the queen and she will choose a king. BUT in this case, the queen is now more powerful than the king because she is the daughter of the past leaders. So the most powerful out of the king or queen depends on which of the two's parents were royalty on which was chosen into power.

The Queen [1] - in modern times, the current queen of Blitheclan had royal parents. Thus she is the ultimate power, what she says goes, and her mate the kings holds little power. Her decisions can be swayed by other Brahmins.

The King [1] - he holds little power as he is but the mate of the Queen, but others tend to follow his orders in fear of angering the queen. The eldest child of the current king and queen is male, thus the next ruling pair will be lead by a king.

The Eldest [1]: The eldest child of the King and Queen, will take the place of the royal who dies. Their parents are involved with the training of their child. A lot of work goes into preparing them. They are expected to accompany their parents everywhere and pay close attention. They have little say in what happens, but do act as an advisory.

The Priest [1] - the priest is the spiritual leader of the clan. Although he cannot control the clancats the same way the king or queen can, he is a guide in the choices the leaders make.

[The Priest's Tyro] - He does not have one. The Priest will be given the name of the future Priest by Gaia, and shortly after, the current Priest will pass away and the new one will take over.

The Priestess [1] - the priestess is the mate of the spiritual leader. She does not take part in the same roles as her mate, as she is not a spiritual guide. The Priestess is both Healer and Reiki - she is also their teacher and their leader. No one has the same power the Priestess has over the Healers and the Reiki. They answer to her and only her.

[The Priestess' Tyro] - The Priestess will choose a she-cat she believes is best for the role of Priestess. The Priestess' Tyro is who will take her place when she dies, all of her teachings goes to this one she-cat. She does not choose a Reiki to take her place because she needs someone who's cup is empty, rather than take on a Reiki whose cup is already full. Both the Reiki and the Healers are also involved with this she-cats teachings, as she as seen as a prodigy that must be shaped and tended for. Thus she is very precious to healers and Reiki alike.

The Priestess' Tyro is also to be the mate of the future priest. She does not have any choice about it, as it is Gaia's will. The current Priestess did not choose the Priest to be her mate, but he is hers regardless. For this reason, Gaia never chooses a tom cat who already has a mate.

KSHATRIYAS

The Healers [3] - The Healers are in charge of tending to the injuries of the clanmates. They can ONLY BE MALE.

The Reiki [3] - The Reiki are in charge of tending to the illness' of the clanmates, they also grow and cultivate herbs, whilst knowing all of their medicinal properties, and are also well versed in poisons. They work alongside the Healers. They can ONLY BE FEMALE.

Healers are allowed to become Joined to another she-cat, just as the Reiki may be Joined with another tom. The Healers and the Reiki are also permitted to be joined together if they so wished. The Reiki are allowed to have kits, BUT that being said, it is very rare and not regarded highly by the other Brahmin. It is frowned upon very heavily, and if it does happen, only one Reiki may fall from the line of duty to give birth, she is expected to work every day leading to the birth of her kits. After the birth, she is expected to go straight back to work and give her kits to suckle from a current Mother. If there are no Mothers, then she is permitted to let her kits suckle. Reiki Mothers are not treated in the same way as the Mothers, they are not given the same luxuries.

[Princes && Princesses] [3] - the children of the queen and the king. They hold the same power as the Kshatriyas, and are ranked as either Marathas, Shikari or Shufti. They will stay in said ranks till such a time as their father or mother dies, the eldest daughter or son taking their parent's place.

The Echelon [1] - in command of the Marathas. The best warrior of the clan.

Marathas [∞] - Warriors

The Mogul [1] - in command of the Shikari. The best hunter of the clan.

Shikari [∞] - Hunters

The Cicerone [1] - in command of the Shufti . The best scout of the clan.

Shufti [∞] - Scouts. In charge of border patrols and are sometimes used as spies.

VAISHYAS [Tyro's have one feather. Mothers have three with their mother feather behind their right ear, elders have two. All are worn behind the left ear.]

The Tyro [∞] - apprentices of Blitheclan. On the day of their naming ceremony the king or the queen (depending on who is in power) places them in the Kshatriya group they will belong to for the rest of their life. The commander of the Kshatriya group will decide which cat will mentor the new Tyro.

The Mothers [∞] - SEEN AS VERY HOLY TO THE CLAN, which is why they get a special feather. The spend the entire duration of their pregnancy and birth with one of the Reiki. So one of the Reiki is chosen by the Priestess to be the mother's shadow right up until birth whereby the Reiki and a Healer will be there for the process. She-cats who enter a pregnancy, continue through to birth and the upbringing of the kits. They are expected to be a mentor of sorts to the kits, before they are made a Tyro. So a kits first teachings come from their mother.

The Elders [∞] - self explanatory.

SHUDRAS [has no feathers]

CURRENT RELATIONS.

KEY:

AFFECTIONATE AFFILIATIONS:

MOTHERS && KITS:

KSHATRIYAS && THEIR TYRO:

FORM.

THREADS && RULES.

Sign up thread && you are here

RP thread && coming soon

Plotting thread && coming soon

RULES:

1. You should already know the basic rules, no being rude in ooc, no stealing characters, I don't need to remind you of this stuff. All FF rules apply.

2. No more than 2 characters. If you find you can't RP anymore for some reason, try find someone to take on your characters, otherwise I'll have them killed off (unless you wish something else to happent o them)

3. At least a paragraph per post.

4. Please don't ask for recaps unless you've been gone for ages and there's a billion new pages, that's fine if you need catching up then. I expect you to read through, it's just respectful to everyone else who has put effort into writing.

4. Must be active to semi-active, advanced to semi-advanced. I want to keep the story rolling, need people who are willing to do so.

5. Don't disrespect or betray the Brahmins, you will be reverted to a Worker. Any rule breaking ic and ooc will result in the deletion of your character or your character will be made a Worker, depending on the severity of what you've done.

6. You may have only one character who is a Brahmin.

7. Plot ideas are to be run past me, and I want plot ideas please, they are very welcome.

8. Please, not only read through the rules, but the territory, the traditions, the roles and such. To RP without reading them first is like trying to walk without legs, I expect everyone who posts in the RP knows what's what and where everything is.

9. Feel free to talk to me if you have any inquiries, I love a good chat.