Worldbuilding Hell

[my-cat-clans]

Bumbletail

You’ll  notice the art is wildly different. Thats because I free handed instead of tracing a random google cat

Not sure where he fits in the clans

[catsnotdiscourse]

[my-cat-clans]

I'm going to use this as an art ref

[my-cat-clans]

and this is skyfang, leader of leopardclan. the clouds constantly move and change like real clouds. prefers they/them pronouns

[my-cat-clans]

this is silverflower, another cat god and the one who took lightmanes eye and got her own eye taken in turn

anyway lightmane and silverflower are the respective leaders of lionclan and tigerclan. next up is the leopard clan leader god

[my-cat-clans]

one of the gods for my cats, Lightmane. he lost his eye in a fight with the moon god, who lost an eye in the same fight

[askowlheart-blog]

Worldbuilding December #23

What are gatherings like? How often do they happen and when do they happen? Why do they happen at the time they do? How did they first start? Is their significance now the same as it was originally? Is it religious? What activities happen at gatherings? Where do gatherings take place? Does the location vary? If so, why? How do cats mingle at gatherings? What news or conversation takes place then? Are any ceremonies held? Are gifts exchanged? What do cats celebrate there, if they celebrate anything at all? What is the true purpose of the gatherings? How has this changed over time?

[my-cat-clans]

gatherings happen every full moon because it marks the beginning of the month/moon and its used to ‘start fresh’ by hashing out the past moons issues and conflicts with the other clans in an effort to keep the peace in the forest.

the main point of the gathering is for leaders discuss any inter-clan conflict or to warn of things that may threaten the other clans, such as a wolf pack moving through or a fox kitting on a border.

conversation generally involves gossip or stories of the gods and spirits. gifts might be exchanged between friends in separate clans or between a cat that has moved to a new clan because of arrangement and their original clan

the purpose of the gathering is to relax, share information, and keep the peace.

[askowlheart-blog]

Worldbuilding December #22

If your clans have magic/powers/reincarnations, how do they work? What limits govern magic? Can gods bless the cats, and for how long/what reasons? Do the powers fade after they are “needed”? Who can receive powers? Are there side-effects? Can cats be cursed? How do they cure curses? Do gods have “champions”? How strong are powers? What kinds of powers can they have? When a cat is reincarnated do they have prior memories? Why are they reincarnated? Are all cats reincarnated? How does a cat know if they are reincarnated? What happens when a reincarnated cat dies?

[my-cat-clans]

usually only seers have magic because its a skill that is learned because thats actually how magic works (source: im a witch). for a human, magic can be as simple as ‘i really want you to step on a lego (yes that counts if you truly believe in magic)’ to an entire ritual involving candles and herbs and chanting to ask for the blessings of whatever that witch believes in (i believe in the universe and that it manifests beings of pure energy that present themselves as various gods/spirits/demons.).

the cats obviously dont have candles. the most complex rituals involve herbal concoctions and prayer, but usually a seer, when using magic, deals in simple blessings and curses.

a truly nasty curse usually only comes from a being that can directly manipulate the universe, like a spirit. mortals can only ask those on the immortal plane to affect the universe for them.

so far there has been no champions or reincarnations, nor has a mortal cat had ‘powers’ beyond the seers ability to ask the universe ‘hey maybe help this cat not die please?’ (the cats cant conceive of the universe, thats just how im explaining it. weather or not magic works for the mortal cat is up to the whims of whatever spirit or god they’re asking for help, and the help is not always immediate or obvious, just like real magic.)

listen, i need you guys to understand that real magic is really subtle and not easily understood and is in no way like how its portrayed in media. practical magic is a movie that gets pretty close though. for my cats, im using elements of real magic but adding in some fantasy stuff in regards to the spirits and whatnot

[askowlheart-blog]

Worldbuilding December #21

How do your clan(s) track time? Do they have hours? Days? Weeks? Months? Do they have a calendar? How do they follow it? How do they name their months? How do they name their seasons? Do different clans have different methods of this? Is special significance tied to certain days, months, or seasons? How can/do the cats count in general? Do they have a limit to the numbers they can reach? If they have a number system or time system, how did it develop? How has it evolved?

[my-cat-clans]

the cats don’t have a completely solid concept of time, having only recently learned how to shove a stick in the ground and watch the shadows so they know that there’s 24 hours. they mark the start of the month with the full moon and call months ‘moons’. so theres 12 months/moons. they know there’s roughly 30 days in a month but thats about as high as most cats can count, so they dont know how many days there are in a year. this all just developed with observation of the sun and moons movements and how the shadows moved throughout the day. its still pretty new and hasn’t evolved past that. they dont name their months/moons

there are no specific days that a holiday falls on, but a celebration of life is held at the start of spring and a day of fasting is held when the first snow falls.

[askowlheart-blog]

Worldbuilding December #20

What are battles like, if there are any? Are they mostly physical fighting, or verbal debates/taunting/posturing? Do the clans hold duels to settle disputes? Do they duel among themselves? What are the duels like? Are they to the death, to first blood, or do they have a different qualifier? Do cats fight over mates? Do they fight over territory/prey/herbs? What is the most common source of conflict among your clans? Has this changed over time? What qualifies a cat to earn a suffix denoting great battle skill? Has this changed over time? Do different clans have different fighting styles? How did these develop? What important battles/duels/fights have there been in history? Are they remembered accurately?

[my-cat-clans]

actual fights between clans are extremely rare, most problems being solved at the gathering place through discussion. emberclan will sometimes seek to claim small parts of pineclan territory across the river so that they have a safe place to wait out the worst fires. these conflicts are usually always solved with posturing but have been known to break out in actual fighting. deaths in these fights are almost always accidents and are great tragedies for both sides.

every spring, the gathering place has a new purpose; friendly duels between the clans to celebrate the forests return to life. the duel ends at first blood.

an apprentice who wins the duels amongst the other apprentices is almost guaranteed to earn the claw suffix, otherwise the suffix is earned if the mentor sees how well the apprentice performs in training, smaller duels within the clan, and how well they handle posturing and fighting with the other clans.

[askowlheart-blog]

Worldbuilding December #19

How do your cats age? Do they have a “normal” lifespan of 5-8 years in the wild? If not, what would be considered an average lifespan? Why is this so? When do cats consider retirement, if they ever do? What is “retirement” to your clans? Are cats promoted to elder because of wisdom and experience, or are they shunted there once they age too much to do much physical labor? How high is the rate of death among the clan(s), usually? Do many kits die? Do many apprentices die? What’s the most common cause of death? Does this vary among clans? Why?

[my-cat-clans]

the average lifespan is actually 8-12 years, just because they have primitive medicine that real wild cats just... you know... dont....

to become an elder, you either need to be so injured you cannot perform normal duties, or you can decide to join the ranks anytime after you reach 9 years

the death rate isn’t too high, kits usually survive to become apprentices and apprentices usually make it to warrior status. for emberclan, the main cause of death is fire, for breezeclan its falling, and for pineclan its other predators like foxes.

[askowlheart-blog]

Worldbuilding December #18

Do your clans use healing herbs? Do the herbs actually have healing properties in real life? Are they harmful to cats in real life? If yes, why are they different in your world? How did the clans first discover how to use them? Where are the best herb-gathering patches found? Who is in charge of the healing herbs? What would happen if one clan ran completely out? If clans trade herbs, how does the bartering work? Are the cats anthropomorphized to the point they can grow their own herbs? Have the cats discovered any new herbs recently? How do cats test herbs?

[my-cat-clans]

the clans do use healing herbs but i have no idea what those herbs are yet because im gonna do RESEARCH to find out what they could reasonably use. i mean, the best herb patch depends on the herb, ya know? pineclan has the advantage of a particular twoleg cabin that has an herb garden so they trade for harder to get stuff with the other clans. the cats believe ash from the stone wood holds protective properties, making that emberclans main ‘export’. breezeclan has access to herbs that only grow high up in the mountains

a seer tests herbs themselves. their position gives them insight into what could work or not, but its still risky so new concoctions are rarely experimented with, the cats preferring to stick with what they already know

the first use of herbs was before the clans formed when a sympathetic god gave a mother the knowledge needed to save her dying kits. the mother passed on this knowledge to her kits and it kept going like that until an official position for medicine was created. the seers now pass on knowledge between each other and their apprentices, but warrior apprentices are expected to learn basic first aid type stuff

[askowlheart-blog]

Worldbuilding December #17

Has the terrain of your clan(s) territories drastically changed over time? Have floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, landslides, or other disasters greatly altered the land? How has this impacted the clan(s)? Has it created splinter groups? Wiped out groups? Prevented conflicts by dividing territories? Forced absorbance by other groups?

[my-cat-clans]

wildfires are constantly changing the landscape of emberclan, causing them to continuously move their camp around, never putting their camp in a permanent spot.

while rare, avalanches and rockslides have been known to happen in breezeclan. its never happened near camp... so far...

[askowlheart-blog]

Worldbuilding December #16

What are the weirdest stories your clan(s) have, and why? What is the strangest phenomena they have encountered and why? Are any of these things truly magical, or do they simply defy the cats’ understanding?

[my-cat-clans]

the weirdest stories always involve demons because demons have a general lack of self preservation and large amount of narcissism. the strangest phenomena is caused by the gods, but its strange in that its rare. actually strange stuff is caused by demons.

most shit is totally natural but some stuff really is magical. its just easier to blame all the bad stuff on demons

[askowlheart-blog]

Worldbuilding December #15

How realistic or anthropomorphized are your cats? Can they see colors like humans? Do sires and dams have natural behaviors regarding kittens or are they relaxed/indistinguishable? Will a sire be hostile towards kits they haven’t sired? Do cats fight constantly or settle disputes through posturing displays? Are they crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), diurnal, or nocturnal? Do they learn information through scent? Do they use body language as a primary means of communication? If they are very anthropomorphized, have they always been this way or did something cause them to “evolve”? Why?

[my-cat-clans]

in most ways, the cats are pretty anthropomorphized. they’re generally crepuscular but extend their activity into the night, spending most of the day resting. dams will be overprotective of their kits, only allowing the father to see them once the kits open their eyes. sires generally aren’t hostile though. most disputes are settled through posturing but its not uncommon to break out into a real fight. they vocalize more than normal feral cats (not necessarily at a volume or frequency people can detect) but mostly communicate through scent and body language.

[askowlheart-blog]

Worldbuilding December #14

How are apprenticeship ceremonies handled? Does any special counsel precede them? Does it involve any ritual objects or places? How are mentors selected? Do the apprentices or mentors perform special tasks? Are any blessings given? What words are recited and why? How were these ceremonies begun? If you clans have different ranks such as healers/hunters/fighters, do the apprenticeship ceremonies for each differ? Who heads the ceremonies and why? Have the ceremonies evolved over time?

[my-cat-clans]

after consulting with the elders and the parents of the young cat, a leader will choose the most appropriate mentor. the ceremony takes place where the clan leader makes announcements, but there’s no special objects or anything. a mentors special task is teaching the apprentice and the special task for an apprentice is just learning...

the leader will call the clan to gather with the new apprentices in front and the assigned mentors standing by the leader. the leader will welcome the apprentice(s) and offer them the blessings of lionclan (courage), tigerclan (silent paws), and leopardclan (loyalty). they will then call forward the (first) apprentice and say a good thing about the mentor and ask that they pass on this quality. the clan then chants the name of the new apprentice. the ceremony is finished with a request that the three god clans smile upon them

ex: “cats of emberclan, it is my honor to welcome three new apprentices to the clan. May lionclan bless them with courage, may tigerclan bless them with silent paws, and may leopardclan bless them with loyalty. Whitekit, please step forward. Darkstripe is a dedicated warrior and knows the dangers of our territory well. may he pass on this knowledge and everything it takes to be a warrior onto you, Whitepaw.” [the clan chants ‘whitepaw] “charkit, please step forward. Amberfang is an exceptional hunter; may she pass on that skill along with all the others needed to be a warrior to you, charpaw.” [the clan chants ‘charpaw’] “cinderkit, please step forward. Honeywhisker is known in this clan as both the best hunter and best tracker. you will be her first apprentice. may she pass on her skills and confidence to you, cinderpaw.” [the clan chants ‘cinderpaw’] “may the great three look down and smile upon us!”

[askowlheart-blog]

Worldbuilding December #13

When a cat dies, what happens? Is there a special ritual for disposing of the body? Is is left for animals to take care of? Is it buried? Why? Does the manner of death or the rank affect what happens? What do the clan(s) believe happens after death? How does this compare/contrast with what really happens in your world? Why do the cats believe what they do? Where do cats go after death?

[my-cat-clans]

most cats are let into starclan upon death, but if they did enough wrongs, they’re barred entry and forced to wonder alone until they either fade into nothingness or become a demon 

the bodies are surrounded by feathers to make the spirits journey to starclan easier and guarded for a night. afterwords, the body is dragged far from camp for nature to take its course.

they believe this stuff because the leaders and seers can commune with starclan, who are the spirits of their ancestors. the feathers and guarding dont actually do anything though, its just a ritual that happened because grief and ‘hey birds can fly thus they’re closer to the spirits so maybe these feathers will help the spirit fly to its new home’

[askowlheart-blog]

Worldbuilding December #12

What sacred locations reside within your clan(s) territories? Or are sacred locations only located on neutral ground? Do different clans have different sacred locations? Do they all share one? What is the reasoning behind this? How was each place discovered? What does it represent? What actual power does it have (if any)?

[my-cat-clans]

Broken Wolf - a rock formation that looks like the torso and head of a wolf howling at the sky; the corpse of a demon; where seers and leaders go to commune with starclan (all true)

The Gathering Place - a clearing with a large tree in the middle where the clans gather once a moon (there’s nothing inherently spiritual about this place but when everyones gathered, starclan pays close attention)

The Under Water - a large underground lake located in Breezeclans mountains. they keep it closed off, believing it to be a prison created by starclan to house a large number of demons and that the demons whisper from its depths to those who get too close, tempting them to drown themselves or perform dark deeds. (the truth: ancient home of the spirits of bears. the mortal bears have abandoned this place, and the spirits moved on as well, making it truly devoid of presence. the sheer loneliness of this area is what drives the cats to madness)  

The Stone Wood - a section of Emberclans forest where all the trees are petrified stone. demons get confused and lost among the stone trees. emberclans seers periodically cleanse the area to drive away any lost demons. herbs found among the stone wood are believed to be extra powerful. (the truth: yeah the demons get lost here, but the herbs aren’t any more powerful than anywhere else)

The Circle - a large perfectly circular dip in the earth where nothing grows (its a meteor crater that a person could walk the diameter of in a few hours). believed to be where the gods rest when they decide to visit the mortal plane. (the truth: its just a crater, but i guess something from the immortal plane could use it as a resting spot if they wanted to)