• • • The Story of the Coast Clans • • •

Long ago, there were four clans of wild cats that lived, hunted, and fought for territories centered around a glistening lake. They dwelled under the shade of the rustling trees and crept among the dry grasslands, never one to let a human hand upon their fur. These cats followed an ageless, sacred code which existed from the time they came together, countless seasons ago. They often fought, splitting skin with tooth and claw, filling the night sky with screeches of their trials. However, each Clan always recovered from their dark moments, and quiet peace always returned.

    One particularly bad year, the fighting became terrible. A drought in the blistering, dusty summer days resulted in famine with the arrival of brisk winter weather. Starving cats fought viciously for anything they could scarf down their dry throats. Blood was spilled over a meager scrap of prey. War commenced, and the code was forgotten along with the long days filled with warmth and happiness.

    All past alliances and friendships faded as Clanmate turned on Clanmate. Claws ripped and teeth tore over the smallest quarrels. Kits were neglected, elders forgotten. Leaders forsook their promise to StarClan, abandoning their Clan and killing their own for survival. Wails and cries of grief and agony echoed across the barren lake territories, as common as the cry of a well-fed vulture overhead. The land was in ruins, all greenery shriveled and dead from the drought, great trees fallen, the ground ripped apart from the search for food. Nowhere was safe. Every cat was on their own. Most cats died. Some at the claws of others, but most from slow, brutal starvation. The rest went mad. It is told that so much blood was spilled that the lake shone red.

    StarClan could do nothing but watch chaos and turmoil descend upon the living. They had sent countless signs, omens and prophecies of the destruction beforehand, but even they did not realize the significance of a mere drought.

    Thinking the Clans could not be saved, let alone salvaged and rebuilt, StarClan selected a few cats that had any spark of sanity left within them, including those with no Clan heritage. They trained the ragtag group of chosen ones in the ways of the Warrior Code, emphasizing its meaning and importance so that such devastation would never befall again. StarClan planned to lead these cats far from the terrors of the lake territories, rebuilding the Clans from scratch in uncharted land.

    Newleaf arrived and—miraculously—the four lake Clans survived. They were extremely weak and small in numbers, but they began to rise once more. The seasons drew new life from the ground in the form of greenery. The skies were swarmed with thick, dark clouds, resulting in the downpour of fresh, warm rain.

    StarClan celebrated the survival of the four Clans, returning to their dreams. They helped the four grow in strength and numbers until they were just as strong as before. The Clans had developed a newer, deeper respect for the Warrior Code, and honored StarClan for saving them.

    But where all good lies, there is darkness. After many moons of telling them how significant, vital, and respected they were, StarClan had abandoned the chosen cats. Upon realizing they had been forsaken, the few cats felt utterly betrayed. Still loyal to the Warrior Code and the spirits that walked the sky, they approached the living Clans, wanting to join them.

    After being cruelly rejected, with one of their own killed in a scuffle, the chosen cats became bitter. They wanted revenge on StarClan and their living descendants, but they were no where near strong enough to fight the Clans, who had recovered well.

    The chosen ones gave themselves a name–the Forsaken. The small group left the lake territories with an ominous promise: to one day return and annihilate the Lake Clans. No cat, not even StarClan, took the threat seriously.

    Little do they know, that they have grown quickly in numbers.

    The Forsaken traveled miles away until they reached the Sun-Drown Place. Even then, they traveled further, along the shore of the ocean. Once the chosen cats reached a suitable, wild land full of life and prey, they settled down and established a new set of laws. This new code opposed everything StarClan had taught them. The Forsaken twisted the original rules and even scratched some of them completely. It was a mockery of the Warrior Code.

    The Forsaken were very successful in beginning a new era, creating new Clans, and developing a new code. For years, the this group of cats grew and grew until they were full-sized, fierce Clans, bound by a strict law. Once the original cats of the Forsaken died, they walked the skies above the earth and sea, still watching over their sons and daughters. They called themselves MoonClan. The dead also gave the living a new name to go by collectively—the Coast Clans.

    But they still wait.

    Every cat, from the day of its birth to the time their heartbeat ceases and they ascend to MoonClan, knows that the Lake Clans will die under their claws.

    But they still wait.

    They wait until the foretold night when the moon shines upon the earth with the color of blood. Then, they will be ready for their revenge. MoonClan has promised it will come, and so the Coast Clans wait.

    They wait to demolish the Lake Clans.

•••
The New Warrior Code

1) Defend your Clan, and fight with your life in battle. Those too weak or cowardly to risk themselves will be punished.

2) All cats born with a disability or permanently crippled at any time will never serve the Clan as a full warrior.

3) The leader is fed before all cats in the Clan. After the leader has eaten, the deputy may follow, then the warriors, queens, elders, kits, and lastly, apprentices. Queens and elders must participate in Warrior duties if they wish to eat with the warriors. Otherwise, they will eat what is leftover at the end. The superior rank may eat as long or as much as they wish before allowing the succeeding rank to eat.

4) Prey must be killed to be eaten. Any warrior wasting prey will be punished.

5) A kit must be three moons old at minimum to be apprenticed.

6) Any resistance or disloyalty to the leader of the Clan is strictly prohibited and will be heavily punished.

7) A cat cannot be eligible for the position of deputy without having mentored at least one apprentice and surviving at least three battles.

8) The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires or is exiled.

9) After the death or retirement of the deputy, a new deputy should have already been selected by the leader to succeed the position. This cat will be called the lieutenant, and they may be hidden or revealed to the Clan's knowledge at the leader's preference.

10) A moment silence of all four Clans shall be held on the night of the full moon at the Glade. This time will be spent in thought and reflection on the past moon. There shall be no speaking or fighting at this time. Any cat who breaks the vigil may be sentenced to death. Afterwards, the gathering may commence.

11) Boundaries must be checked and marked daily.

12) No warrior is permitted to aid a kit in pain or danger if the kit is from a different Clan. Likewise, a kit must be formally accepted into the Clan's ranks before shelter or sustenance can be received.

13) The word of the Clan leader is the warrior code and is to be treated as so.

14) A warrior must strive to kill their enemy in battle. Those that succeed will be honored and respected for their achievements. Those caught showing mercy will be submitted for Trial.

15) An apprentice must pass one of their warrior assessments. They will have two choices: to hunt or fight. If the first assessment is failed, they will take the second assessment. If an apprentice fails both tests and has used both options and is still alive, they will never be a warrior.

16) Any form of excessive mourning over a lost Clanmate or anything else is unacceptable. A warrior should die a brave, noble death; they will not leave our world remembered by sorrow. Any cat who's grieving distracts them from their duties will be punished.

17) An oath made on the name of MoonClan must be kept on pain of death.

18) When a warrior has committed a crime that a leader believes is punishable by death, the warrior may be put on Trial. MoonClan themselves will deem whether the warrior is unworthy of life. The final choice of the Trial may not be overruled.