hello ! as a mini update, im working on chapter 6 of 22 / 23 chapters (not sure if i’ll combine 6 and 7 if 6 ends up being too short) n as a general idea of how long each chapter is, the average word count is around 4k which ends up being around.. 12 or 13 pages in google docs ? looking at the actual into the wild book, i believe thats just a little under average for those chapters, which makes sense since my planned outline has fewer chapters planned than the original (but that may change as i get into the more plot heavy chapters :> ).
in the meantime, id thought id share what the roles are in the clans n how theyv changed in this rewrite !
the leader position hasnt changed much. they still get their nine lives when they get their star suffix n lead the clan n have a lot of respect in their clan. but there is a change in how active they are in battles. because they have nine lives n are supposed to put the clan above themselves, leaders will often participate in battles, whether they be small border skirmishes or not. if a battle breaks out and the leader is not present, its required that someone leave to go fetch them, as once they enter the battle, they fight with everything they have because they can afford to lose a life, and so victory is basically assured to the clan whos leader shows up first.
a leader with only one life remaining is a bit different. because they just have the one life like any other cat, how they change what they do in battle situations depends on what kind of cat they are. someone who puts loyalty to the clan above everything else will carry on as usual and usually die in a fight which they deem noble and fitting. another cat who maybe has a family to think about may instead send out more warriors even tho that may increase the chance of someone dying. another cat may go with the first route n keep fighting as usual, but lie to their clanmates about it being their last life so they wouldnt try to change their mind about it. there are many possibilities, but the most common is to avoid fighting as much as possible while preparing their deputy to take command once theyr gone
starclan will not give a leader their nine lives if they force themselves into that position, usually by killing the leader before them, but they cannot force them to step down from the position. only a clan uprising or help from another clan can accomplish this, and other clans will usually only get involved when threatened
the deputy still has most if not all the same duties as in the books; assigning patrols being the main one. but because the leader is the one most likely to fight in all battles, the deputy is strongly advised to not fight at all because of the rare chance both the leader and deputy die in the same fight, which makes an unprepared warrior suddenly become leader. so, when a fight breaks out, it is usually the deputy who is sent back to call the leader then guards the camp while the leader is out fighting.
( note ! while these additions to the leader n deputy roles have a lot to do with fighting n battles, because mates between different clans are allowed and families can stretch across borders, there isnt many big battles between clans. smaller fights may happen when two clans disagree on something, but battles are usually avoided by everyone involved. these traditions on battles have been in place since before the ban on different clan mates was lifted many generations ago )
how a deputy is chosen is determined by which warrior is the most experienced. this means that deputies are usually the oldest warrior, and its common for them to step down n retire to the elders den if they feel like theyr lacking in their duties. this makes the line of succession easy to figure out, but sometimes a warrior will decline the position because they do not see themselves fitting of being deputy or leader. if the warrior chooses to do this, then they must either move to the nursery to become a caretaker, or go to the elders den in retirement. becoming an elder means they give up their warrior life for good n cannot go back to it, but there is still the possibility for caretakers to return to warrior duties. those who do not want to become deputy, still want to be a warrior, and do not like caring for kits will often become a caretaker for a moon before returning to their warrior duties, repeating the process until they officially retire to the elders den once theyre ready
any attempt of getting rid of a deputy or leader so that you could be in that position is a crime punishable by exile. the accused will receive an exile scar (a clean swipe of claw marks somewhere visible, usually the face) to mark them as exiled, and they will have their suffix stripped. if they are caught on any clan territory again, they will be killed
formerly called medicine cats in the official books, healers take on the role as the most important cat in the clan (yes, they are even above leaders in regards to respect). this is because they are chosen by starclan to speak for them and are vital for keeping the clan alive by healing wounded or sick cats
healers are picked within their first moon of becoming apprentices. after a kit becomes an apprentice, at the time of the next half moon, they along with their assigned mentor join the healer in their journey to the moonstone. the mentor waits outside mothermouth while the apprentice follows the healer into the tunnels and sleeps next to the moonstone. if they dream while sleeping, then that means starclan has chosen them to be a healer for their clan and they switch from their warrior mentor to the oldest healer as their mentor and become healer apprentices. apprentices make this journey even if there is already a healer apprentice in their clan despite knowing that there can only be one healer apprentice for the experience of the journey and getting as close as they can to starclan while alive. there is no limit to how many healers a clan can have outside of the apprentice limit, but when one clan has no healer due to untimely death, a healer from a clan with multiple will permanently move to that clan so that no clan is left without one
a healer drops the paw suffix and gains their full name when they receive their first vision from starclan away from the moonstone. because the moonstone is the place closest to starclan, healers always have visions when visiting it. to have a vision when sleeping in camp means that the apprentice has fully connected to starclan, even if theyre medical training hasnt been completed yet. this usually happens around half way through their training and even tho they have their full name, they are still considered apprentices.
healers are so respected for their connection with starclan, they are held in high regard even in other clans. they cannot fight or hunt outside the very small amount of training they did receive before their first trip to the moonstone, so they are well taken care of by their clan. no one is allowed inside the healer den except when they are being treated, and that’s usually only when what theyre getting treated for is serious
killing a healer is a crime punishable by death
the warrior position hasnt changed. they hunt for the clan and patrol the borders and fight when needed and take mates and have kits n etc etc.
apprentices are also the same outside the mandatory journey to the highstones to see if they are a healer apprentice. they make sure the elders and queens are taken care of by changing their moss and removing ticks n fleas n all that. they are not allowed inside any den besides their own without permission and cannot go outside camp alone (with another apprentice is fine only if they inform a warrior where they are going and why)
if an apprentice was born from cats of two different clans, they will spend half of their training in one clan and half in the other. when it is time for them to become a warrior, they will chose which clan they wish to stay in. usually, this is clan is the one they were raised in, but it isnt uncommon for cats not to chose it. this is the same process for healer apprentices, unless there is an unbalanced amount of healers in which case they will go to the clan with the least healers.
apprentices are assigned the most experienced warrior without already having an apprentice as their mentor. deputies are at the top of this list while leaders do not take on apprentices because it would distract them from their duties
queens are also basically the same except they can be anyone regardless of their usual position including a healer. if a healer is a queen and they are the only healer in the clan, they can request a healer from a different clan to be called upon when they go into kitting to make sure everything goes all right. if one so desired, a queen could keep doing their duties up until the kitting happens, though a healer will usually tell them to move to the nursery if they see they are working themselves too hard
after kitting, a queen is usually confined to the nursery for around a moon so that they can recover from the kitting and make sure their kits stay healthy. if the queen is a leader, the deputy will take over their position until they return. if the queen is the deputy, a temporary deputy will be put in place. if theyr a healer, then the healer who had overseen the kitting will stay for a while (this healer must have another healer staying in their own clan)
after that moon, queens are free to go back to their duties as long as there is a caretaker living in the nursery to look after their kits while they are away, and they come back to the nursery to sleep at night.
an added position for the cats staying in the nursery taking care of kits while the queen either needs a break or has returned to their duties. they can be cats who cant have kits of their own but want to take care of them, or a former queen who loved raising their kits so much they decided to stay. they can be anyone regardless of former position, even former apprentices. an apprentice who becomes a caretaker gets their full name, but if the former apprentice wishes to not be a caretaker anymore, they must take back their paw suffix and continue their training where they left off.
for kits who have lost their parents, the caretakers raise them as theyre own. kits raised by caretakers will consider them their parent, but kits who were only taken care of them while their parent was out will usually only think of them as their caretaker, tho there are some excepts, such as if their parent is neglectful of them
going from a warrior to a caretaker is not looked down upon because cats know that without them, the clan would not be as strong as it is
the kit role is the same. stay in the nursery and only go out in the camp if someone is watching and they Absolutely cannot go out of camp whatsoever even if a warrior is with them for their own safety.
although most kits come into the clan because they were born in it, there are some kits that arent born in the clan n instead taken in. this happens when a loner hears about the clans and either doesnt want their kits or cant provide for them. so, they drop their kit off by a clan camp and a patrol finds them. most times the kit is sick and malnourished, but with the help of a healer, many survive to be raised by a caretaker and become apprentices
killing a kit is a crime punishable by death
elders are the same, being retired cats that are mostly warriors with the occasional deputy. healers and leaders cannot retire, especially if the leader still has multiple lives left. they are responsible for passing down the stories of old to the kits and apprentices. they are the most respected in the clan behind healers and leaders because of their wisdom
