#maggiemaggiemagpie

[clanborn]

More about Alaska clans?? 👀👀

Currently trying to make little infographic posts/comics about them but progress has slowed since school started. I’ll give an overview about them for now though thats hopefully not too long winded lol.

The clans are located in a fictionalized version of the area around Seward, AK and Resurrection Bay.

This map is a bit of an unpolished rough draft, but gives a general idea of the area. I believe the distance between the Iceclan and Oceanclan camps (via traveling around the mountains) is around 13 miles, might have to double check.

Unlike the book clans, the cats in these clans aren’t really in a battle cult and refer to themselves as “denizens” rather than “warriors”, and infighting amongst themselves is rare. The existence of separate groups mainly serves to prevent resource draining and diversify the food sources available to the cats, along with religious reasons (I’m still refining the details of their religion so I’ll probably elaborate on it in a later post). Though separate physically, the four groups essentially function as one large “clan” and coordinate resources and cats accordingly. Cats are able to change between clans with ease if they find their talents are suited elsewhere, and this usually is not a source of drama or conflict. However, though the clans do work as one unit, they do differ slightly in culture, and some clans are more accepting and flexible than others. For example, Oceanclan sees the lowest retention rate in denizens, and few cats switch to this clan, due to their specialized hunting methods and a sort of “hazing” culture for cats who seek to live there. The largest clan is Brookclan, followed closely by Stoneclan, since these clans live in less extreme environments with more opportunities for cats of differing skillsets. Iceclan is the smallest clan, but is the most tight-knit—very few cats born there choose to leave it.

The roles in these clans differ from their book counterparts. Medicine cats are simply referred to as doctors, and their sole job is to heal. Instead, leaders serve as both political and religious leaders, and are responsible for reading signs and attending half-moon meetings. Deputies perform similar duties as in the books, but are chosen differently. I’ll go over these positions later on in more detail.

Communication between the groups is important for the well-being of the clans, in order to be aware of threats and transport food and medicine, and is also important to individuals who may wish to have contact with friends and family in different clans. To facilitate this communication, there exists a Courier role. Clans will have at least two couriers (often more), usually the fastest cats in the clan with the endurance to travel long distances over rough terrain. These cats duties include reporting weather and animal sightings, delivering herbs from other clans, and transporting news and messages between various parties.

Though the clans’ culture doesn’t revolve around battle and aggressive defense of territory like those in the books, they still possess their own set of flawed beliefs. Generally, these clans see survival as a game, a challenge from nature and from their gods. They feel called to prove their worth by thriving in the harshest conditions possible, even when it isn’t necessary. Death is common, and though these cats grieve for those they’ve lost, it is viewed less as a tragedy and more of an unfortunate gamble. Living is a game of chance, and some cats—inevitably—are unable to beat the odds. To live as long as possible, to take whatever hardships the stars throw next, is the ability to gaze at them in defiance and ask: “Is that all you’ve got?”

Some cats can’t handle living this way, and choose to live the risk-defying, danger-seeking life of a clan cat. Cats who leave are sent off with honor, but are unable to return as a denizen. They forfeited the game—and there are no rematches. Some clans are respectful of those who leave (such as Stoneclan), but some tend to look upon them with permanent disdain (such as Oceanclan).