#moon 0 valleyclan

[valleyclan-gen]

MOON ZERO

The Story of a Falling Star

“Please, gather ‘round, dear travelers,” Honeyspark purred, taking his stage on the fallen tree in the center of camp. His white patches glowed nearly as orange as the rest of him, illuminated by the campfire below. “Scoot in tight now, watch for tails and tots.”

Beside him Daystar stood tall, her gilded eyes watching over the camp with rigid precaution. It’s not every day that this many strange cats visit them, and although WanderingClan had been a welcome guest to these valleys for many generations, their return always brought about a certain… tension.

Like where the muddy spring creek water meets the glacial rivers, there was a clear separation of the two clans, however friendly. Valleyclan sat together around the fire below, surrounded in every direction by a sea of strange smelling cats. Unlike them, the travelers were practically naked, rarely adorning themselves with soot or bone. Many of them were terrified of the camp’s many flames, having never seen domesticated fire before. They held little understanding or use for tools or baskets, as they couldn’t carry those things with them on their long journeys. And yet despite their apparent simplicity, they arrived with twice as many members than last newleaf. A good sign for WanderingClan, surely, but nonetheless distressing for the hosting leader of Valleyclan. Feeding their guest's kits and elders alone had taken nearly half of their preserved prey. More fresh kill would need processing for bareleaf now. Daystar made a mental note to tell Scrubshade to assign more hunters to next morning patrol.

“I’ve waited for moons to be able to tell this story again. I see many new muzzles here who perhaps haven’t heard it yet. I am honored to be the storyteller to bring this history to you.” Despite their differences, all cats listened with perked ears to Honeyspark begin his story. He cleared his throat. “This is the story of Fallenstar, founder, guide and clan mentor. May his light find us all.”

In the center of the crowd the Valleyclan cats echoed Honeyspark, “May his light find us all.” Many of the visitors looked around in silent bewilderment, tails tucked tightly around themselves.

“It was the harshest seasons the clan had ever faced,” he mewed. “Our leader at the time, Troutstar, was in a perilous situation. The greenleaf sun was harsh, baking the fields and setting fires that drove out cats and prey alike. Smoke turned the skies orange, and hid the night stars. Many elders passed of lung infections from the dirty air, and no medicines grew to treat them. That leafbare was no better, brutal and unforgiving. Kits froze in their nests, and the rivers turned solid. Troutstar believed he had done something to anger the ancestors, and begged them to end their excessive cruelty. Instead, they led his only kit into the teeth of a two-leg trap meant for bears.” Anxious murmurs drifted over the crowd. Nodding, Honeyspark continued, “The teeth were so strong that they didn’t trap her, but ate her paw whole. She barely survived, and was later named Oddpaw.” Somewhere a kit wailed, and a queen soothed it.

“One night Troutstar was visited in a dream by the ancestors. They gave him a warning. There was a cat coming, ordained by the stars, to take Troutstar’s final life. They were to become the new leader of what remained of the once thriving clan, leading them back into safety and prosperity. The ancestors warned him, no matter what actions he took, there would only be one outcome. He was to die.”

“Kits, Honeyspark. Kits,” hissed Daystar under her breath. The medicine cat gave an annoyed flick of his ear as acknowledgment.

“Troutstar waited for a sign from the ancestors, meeting with each remaining clanmate to see if they sparked any interest to the spirits as the new successor. One by one he interviewed them, waiting a night between each to see if the ancestors would gift him another dream. Finally he sat with the last cat, his daughter Oddpaw, lamenting his prophecy. Although he was on his last life, he was young, and planned to cherish every moment of it with his loved ones. To leave them in the paws of a stranger felt like an impossible ask. Yet Starclan still had yet to give him a sign for any of his own clan or kin. Just then, as the pair sat at the entrance of their den, the night sky lit up with all the colors of life.”

Grabbing a sachet from his hip, the spotted tom threw it into the fire below. It erupted into a beautiful rainbow of sparks and flames, sending small sparkling embers high into the sky above them all. Kits and warriors alike chirped and cheered at the dazzling display.

“Scrambling to their paws, they ran out to see what the whole camp saw. A star, falling right out of the sky.” The stars behind Honeyspark were twinkling in full force now. The ancestors were listening.

“They watched as the star shot straight at them, getting bigger and bigger until some cats swore they could see the star itself. Until….” With a flick of his tail, he queued Crowflame and Bonepaw from where they sat in the trees, high on the hillside behind the gathering. Together they tipped their heavily laden baskets of stones onto the rocky cliffs below, creating thunderous echoing booms that sent shock waves through the paws of their nearby guests. “CRASH!” yowled Honeyspark. The visiting cats pinned their ears, apprentices puffing up like kits. “The star slammed right into the top of this very mountain!”

“Did it hit the clan?” It was a Valleyclan kit who interrupted first, followed by concerned mews of agreement from the others.

Honeyspark’s eyes glittered, looking up at the top of the mountain as if it were his own memory he was sharing, despite it being a very old story. “No, it didn’t hit Troutstar or the other cats. But it did spark a fire. In the middle of the snowy mountain top, all the cats ran to see that a lone pine tree was struck by the shooting star, catching the roots at its core on fire. At first the cats thought they should run from it, but Oddpaw saw something the others didn’t. Daring to get close, she saw a cat at the base of the tree, fur scorched and whiskers melted. She tried to pull him from the flames, but it was too dangerous, singeing her muzzle.

Looking from his daughter to the cat that fell from the heavens, Troutstar knew what he must do. Without saying goodbye, knowing his daughter may try to stop him, he used his last life to rescue the cat from the fire and was the first of us to use the Ancestral Fire’s flames to cross over. Now he’s there,” Honeyspark pointed with his tail to a star that hovered just above the mountain’s peak, “watching over us with the ancestors.”

Looking over the crowd, Honeyspark finished his story with his head held high. “And that is how Valleyclan was blessed with Fallenstar, our savior. After being treated, Fallenstar awoke and told the clan of his journey from Starclan to get to them. He was the only cat to ever return from the other side, and brought us back the wisdom we needed to thrive both here and in the afterlife.”

“Is Fallenstar still alive? Can I meet him?” A visiting kit mewed.

“Who was deputy after Troutstar? Did Oddpaw help?”

“But why do you guys wear bones?”

“Is that why you have fires in your camp?”

The questions poured in all at once.

“Now, now,” Daystar stepped in, cutting Honeyspark off from another series of long stories. “There’s a lot of history between then and now. No, Fallenstar is no longer with us. But his bloodline lives on. I am his kin, as my future kits will be, and we carry on his teachings and wisdom with each generation."

"I’m afraid some things are private, only kits from our clan need to worry about things like the Ancestral Fire or Fallenstar's blessings. For tonight’s purposes, I encourage our guests to take from this story only a sense of our pride in Valleyclan’s history. As for our own kits,” Daystar looked to the wide-eyed bundles of fur beside Burnpelt, Brightkit, Moonkit, Flintkit and Emberkit, “Your questions will be answered by your mentors, when you’re ready.”

The cats settled in for the night, sharing tongues and stories. Some Valleyclan cats were eager to be rid of their unusual guests and get back to their daily lives, but others stayed up late into the night, knowing the Wanderingclan cats would have to continue their journey in the morning.

[risingclangen]

MOON 0

Part 1… It was quiet and early Newleaf still meant that there was a chill hanging in the air that made most of the cats want to stay in their dens. Not that this was a problem for Bristledream, the less able to see the better as he crept towards the leader's den, spotting his right hand cats, Sleetsight and Heathersmoke, waiting nearby. Quickly, the tom lunges into the burrow-like den, claws grasping at his leader Emeraldstar as he dragged her out and the shocked molly yowled for help. The fought, and while he had hoped for more support it became clear that this was going south as more cats woke, the deputy Chartooth quickly clashing with Sleetsight and other warriors rushing in to help.

Soon they knew it was either they flee or they die and with a snarl and slash to the leader's face, Bristledream called to his supporters to follow him and they fled into the early morning, leaving a disgruntled and shocked Valleyclan behind…

This comic uses the Dark Forest challenge and allows questions!

[valleyclan-cg]

INTRODUCTION POST

WHAT IS VALLEYCLAN?

Valleyclan is my Clan Generator clan, and a sort of means of storytelling for me (@npdhollyleaf). This is my public clangen blog, so you may see me talking about other ones that I do in my private time. These clans I'm running in the background are not related to Valleyclan unless otherwise stated. These clans can also only be found on my main blog.

WHAT IS THE SETTING FOR VALLEYCLAN?

Valleyclan is set in a fictional version of Yellowstone National Park, and Valleyclan itself is a very distant alternate universe, when, after the battle with the dark forest in the main series, almost every cat was lost and driven away, and the remaining cats travelled for a generation before settling in the park.

The current story of Valleyclan is set many many years past this point, without a trace of any old cats we may know or come to know in the main series. It's a completely clear slate. Most cats within Valleyclan are distant descendants of both Thunderclan and Windclan.

WHO IS THE MAIN CHARACTER?

( MOON 0 - MOON 6)

Currently, our main character is Silverbright, a lonesome and unusually strong deputy. He may be a little awkward but he is good at what he does. He serves under Iciclestar, who was only recently appointed leader after a bount of redcough swept over the clan.

(MOON 6 - MOON 11)

Our temporary main character is Milkpaw, who has been the ears and eyes whilst Silverbright was out of commission. Milkpaw has a very deep and personal connection with the dangers of the dark forest, and is an ambitious and fierce apprentice...

(MOON 11 - MOON N/A)

Silverbright has taken back over as our MC, having recovered and is ready to carry the story on his own again, with some new faces to support him this time.

START THE STORY FROM THE BEGINNING, MAY OUR ANCESTORS LIGHT YOUR PATH.

YEAR ONE: ✅

Newleaf (1) | Greenleaf (1) (2) | Leaf-fall (1) (2) | Leafbare (1)

YEAR TWO: ❌

Newleaf | Greenleaf | Leaf-fall | Leafbare

CREDITS:

ICON / BANNER / POST BANNER

[risingclangen]

MOON 0

Part 2

It's later that day when dusk has settled over the lands when the rest of those who had sided with Bristledream sneak out of the camp of Valleyclan, taking with them an apprentice and a kit. Bristledream meets with them outside their former clan's territory as they all decide to move up to the cliffs that overlook the namesake valley below. Those that left are warriors Leoparddapple and Sunburst alongside Nettlepaw and Ripplekit. They discuss who should do what now that their attempt to overthrow their homeclan has failed and if they are better trying to join another clan or, as the idea floats around, found their own...? After a long talk amongst the adults they settle on the idea of establishing themselves in the cliffside as a new clan.