#murdlore

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A short animation test for my Middle Ground Guy!

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Flint and Kindle are definitely going to have an interesting relationship. It’s not the healthiest that’s for sure.

Kindle is one of the Accursed ancestors! Flint is his brother. When I made them they were the turning point of my Warrior clan AU idea. Throwing the story back in time and really adding to the whole curses and murders theme.

Kindle is a main villain character, so he plays a large role in the story overall. Without going into any spoilers that is. So I’ve thought quite a lot on his character, but I hadn’t touched too much on Flint’s. Until tonight, listening to a song and day dreaming about the two brothers relationship before [horrible event] occurs. It made me actually very sad. It also makes me want to write the story and share the sad with others. Hence this vague post that I can’t dive deeply into details without giving away too much.

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More Murdlore!

There’s actually some more offscreen stuff going on in the story that may not end up being written down. For example:

There’s this one cat who’s cheated death and has been around for centuries. This lad isn’t the nicest and acts as one of the antagonists for the main story. This guy also happens to be the fellow who messed up the original clan cat structure!

Clan cats were originally instinctive, feral, and tuned into the world around them. Including the two magic sources. Instead of taking sides, the clans found a balance between the two magics and each clan was blessed with a great skill.

Mister Evil Butt shows up one day and as a huge disciple of Heights. Is Disgusted by this impure magic and Ruins Everything. Via serval schemes, he managed to, well, colonize the clans and have them focus their magic more towards the Heights.

But Mister Evil Butt gets a big head and eventually declares himself the true god of all these cats and [Redacted] happens which leads to the forming of the Citadel.

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So there’s a few cat group names being used here:

Citadel: the main characters home group

Clans: the very original group of cats

The Colonies: Mister Evil Butt’s version of the Citadel

Rainer Party: a currently secret group I haven’t talked about hmmmm but it does ruin the C group names which works perfectly considering [even more redacted]

The Circus: another mysterious group!

More general group names that don’t signify a group with a select magic system.

Colony/Clowder: often used by outsider cats but in a loose sort of way

Chosen: used by breeder/show cats to brag about how they were chosen by the humans

Crew: groups of tough stuffs tend to use this. Like rogues.

Caravan: groups of traveling cats that don’t care to stay in one place, but prefer the company of others instead of living the life of a loner

Coal Coats: sometimes called Coals. Are groups of cats that live on the railway.

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To add on to the cat written language here’s some more fun facts about how language works for these guys!

When talking face to face, cats will use a mix of body language and meows.

Some cats, like the Hunter Sector, have omitted the use of noises entirely in favor of silent communication. Cats who are deaf often use this language form.

The Tracker Sector also have their own language. A series of chirps and whistling sounds that mimic the natural calls of birds. Allowing the Trackers to travel in various directions or length and still know where the other members of the Sector are located. The sounds travel farther than a meow and are subtle enough not to draw attention from predators.

Naturally, cats from one section of the world have a differing accent to cats from other parts of the world. This includes tones and body languages: a friendly purr to one group can be mistaken as a threat to another.

There are three kinds of written language! The Ancient Marks, the Civil Marks, and the Rural Marks.

Ancient Marks would be the original form of the language. It’s only used now by the Heights Kin, the Depths Kin, and Salvation. These marks are used to write down records of history, laws/rules, and even some magic spells are hidden in the marks!

Civil Marks are more common place. Educated cats (such as the breeder cats used for cat shows or the cats of the Citadel) use these marks as a means of communication. Sometime messages are brought from one cat to another by this means. Most of the time the marks are used for trivial things. The Soldier Sector uses these marks to write their names on stuff or how many times they’ve won a fight.

Rural Marks: are more a group of symbols than letters. This is the most common among traveling, town, or small group cats. Using the marks to warn travelers of dangers ahead or to inform them of a soft place to sleep.

While most cats believe the Ancient Marks were developed first, the truth is that the Rural Marks actually were. But the Rural Marks developed and changed over time to a much simpler system.

Citadel cats don’t know how to read the Rural Marks! Despite knowing the Civil, the Rural looks like silly drawings to them and not actual messages!

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Sleepless Days of Watching

Short haired red mackerel tabby molly with yellow eyes and a large scar from her shoulder to the back of her hind leg.

Sleepless is the only molly soldier. Sleepless was originally trained as a healer and was an active member of the Healer Sector for a good while. It was during this time that she fell in love with a tom (who I haven’t named yet, whoops) and the two hoped to be paired together in mateship. But an early winter led to one of the Citadel’s many travels and so the Journey of Talons took place. During this time many cats were lost to birds of prey. It was a horrid morning when Sleepless learned of her love’s fate. Stolen by an eagle and vanished into the air, his body never to be found again. Enraged Sleepless declared that if she had been there she would’ve been able to protect him and to have stopped the eagle.

For when Sleepless was young, she had dreamed of becoming a Soldier. Stronger and more agile than even some of the acting soldiers at the time, it only seemed natural that Sleepless would be chosen to join their ranks. Instead, Salvation chose for her the path of a Healer. It was natural then for Sleepless to believe Salvation had wronged her and caused the death of her loved. After her declaration she decided to prove her true skills.

When the next eagle attacked, Sleepless was ready for it. Throwing out of the way the original targeted cat and instead becoming the prey herself, many of the cats thought she too would die the same death of her beloved. But when the eagle and Sleepless began to plummet to the ground and only Sleepless stood tall - it was clear that she had been destined to be a soldier after all. The only scar she gained in that fight is the one along her entire body.

Once the Citadel was settled again, new mates were to be decided. It was then that Sleepless realized that all the toms were fawning over her, wishing to take her as their mate. The idea of being with anyone but her true love horrified her and so, during the mateship ceremony, declared that she would take Sable, the Sham Soldier, as her mate. To pass on the mark as a duty to the Citadel and for the fact alone that when a cat has born a litter with one of the Marked, they are considered tarnished and ruined. No other mate would dare to have them out of fear of having the curse pass on to their family lines. Salvation had to agree that Sable and Sleepless would make for some powerful kits and it was so.

Sleepless bore Bat and Silk Worn By Man. Sleepless had believed that perhaps if she bore these kits she could have what she had always wanted, she could love them as if they were from her true love and not from an accursed cat. After their birth, something in Sleepless truly cracked. While she often acts with a strong and joyous manner, mimicking the rough and tough behaviors of the other soldiers, sometimes she can be seen staring into the distance. Perhaps waiting for her love to return to her or wondering about the family she could have had and the cat she could have been.

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The Heights, The Midsts, and The Depths

Three groups of magic and afterlife. The Kin of the Heights believe that when cats die they become the stars. The Kin of the Depths believe that the cats become the sparks upon the water’s surface. Both believe that when a cat is evil and rejected by the Heights or the Depths, they are left to the Midst where their are destined to be forgotten.

For now the most that needs to be known about these groups is that The Heights and The Depths are both acting as Starclan while they see The Midsts as the Dark Forest.

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Outsiders and Ancestors

Outsiders are often cats who live in their own groups, as loners, or with humans. The Citadel often looks down on the Outsiders, for these cats are following their instinct and are no better than a wild bird. While the Citadel cats often feel they are slowly growing more human each and every day.

The Ancestors are cats that are either responsible for the marks on the Accursed or are cats effected by the curse causers. They exist at a time before the Citadel, when there were four clans and a land of paradise.

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The Trackers and The Frost Guides

The Tracker Sector is in charge of guiding the Citadel to a safe home. Often taking the lead and finding the safest path. When the Citadel isn’t on the move, the Trackers either aid the Hunters in locating prey, the Healers in finding herbs, or the Soldiers in finding their targets. Trackers have the strongest sense of smell and are able to tell the difference between a rabbit and a hare without even having to lay an eye on it.

The Frost Guides are the Tracker Sector’s Accursed. Those with this mark are born without fur, but still with the great sense of smell. Often times the Frost Guides can act as a normal Tracker, even with the missing fur, but when the winter begins to churn and threaten the Citadel. The Frost Guides must guide the Citadel away from the chilling winds. Thanks to the missing fur, they can sense the change in weather faster than any of the other cats.