StormClan is a Clan descended from all five lake Clans, as well as some of their many non-Clan neighbors. While the names of those first warriors who chose to leave their homes by the lake are lost to the whims of history and the strain of travel, StormClan still teaches and remembers the tale of a band of brave and righteous cats who, amidst a dire crisis, banded together across borders and put their principles and their legacies before the fraught politics of their time. The travelers saw many places together, loved, lost, and in time founded a Clan of their own over the course of their long journey. They named it for the way a rolling storm evokes the names of all five of their old Clans - the rumble of thunder; the shadow of heavy clouds; the howling winds; the rains which draw rivers past their banks; their domination of the very sky.
And like its namesake, StormClan traveled, even after establishing itself as a Clan, until the day a prophecy called them north - to Tallrock. Petalstar was the cat who led them there, and now he is worshiped as the patron of travel and sometimes death, a spirit whose blessings guide one safely to their journey's end.
In Petalpelt's time, an ending to StormClan's travels was desperately needed, despite the unrest this idea stirred among the ranks. The Clan had grown tremendously since its founding, both in number and in its capabilities - advancements in medicine and technology meant StormClan cats were living longer, growing older, having and raising more kits. To force these cats and their kin to choose between risking their lives for their Clan and leaving their families and friends for good was no choice at all, fundamentally opposed to StormClan's central ideal that no cat should suffer alone.
A dying elder imparted a prophecy to the Clan in this uncertain time: In mountain and meadow, the storm will fall.
Fear surged through the Clan like lightning; the consensus was that settling would destroy the Clan. So their journey continued, and StormClan began to fracture along the way. Petalpelt's appointment as a deputy was with this strain in mind, a gentle deputy to guide and comfort a troubled Clan. He was an excellent mediator, albeit a bit passive. His work continued into his leadership, his life a relentless slog through departing after departing as StormClan's travails seemed to only intensify the longer they continued to wander.
By the time that Tallrock was visible in the distance, StormClan was desperate for a reprieve. Petalstar, acting on a sliver of hope and curiosity, guided his Clan to the mountain where, sure enough, they found meadows and moors coloring the landscape all around it. And, more importantly, they found the Fallen. The last part of the prophecy clicked into place in Petalstar's mind; this was where StormClan was meant to be, peacefully collaborating with the Fallen in the Tallrock territories, learning to live as they did. So StormClan fell, in a way, and recovered with the help of the Fallen.
Under Petalstar, life was good for StormClan. It was a time of learning and innovation, with cats from both groups moving freely together throughout the Tallrock territories; StormClan cats who needed it could always find a home with the Fallen, the Fallen with StormClan. The peace, however, was not to last. As StormClan became comfortable with its new lifestyle and more confident as inhabitants of Tallrock, some cats' anxieties about the Fallen and their unfamiliar traditions hardened into distrust and hate. When the first half-Clan litter was born and their Fallen Ba insisted that they be raised by their kindred across the border, these whispered tensions exploded into the forefront of Clan politics. After the kits and their parents moved to kindred territory, there were schemes and secret meetings, and a plot was enacted. A warrior orchestrated a false abduction, stealing full-blooded StormClan kittens from their nest and framing the Fallen for the act.
It didn't work. Petalstar dishonored the culprit with the name Adder once they were caught and the kittens safely returned, and he gave them an impossible choice of their own as punishment: stay in StormClan and live the rest of their days as a prisoner or live in exile - suffer alone. Adder chose the latter.
In some ways, however, Adder's actions - the actions of their co-conspirators, the interests of their ideology, for Adder was only a symptom of StormClan's festering hate - worked exactly as they were meant to. Distrust took StormClan like a plague, as warriors found themselves doubting everyone, their neighbors, their Clanmates. The Clan was a powder keg ready to blow, and it was only a matter of time until another extreme act - the disappearance of the half-Clan kittens - ignited it. StormClan warriors escalated with the Fallen, and the Tallrock territories descended into war.
This is what tarnished Petalstar's legacy and imparted to him the domain of death. He was a leader who had spent his entire life working for peace; he was not prepared to protect his Clan through conflict at this scale. While he agonized and deliberated over the least costly choices for both sides, cats suffered and died. More combat patrols meant fewer hunting and gathering patrols, and as StormClan's numbers dropped, the survivors began to starve, including Petalstar himself. By the end of his life, most of the Clan - Rimestar most of all - believed that he had fulfilled the prophecy of his youth by leading his Clan into the grave.
Posthumously, Petalstar is a more sympathetic character in StormClan's stories. He was an excellent navigator, and for as gruesome as the war with the Fallen became, he did guide them to their current home. Plenty of cats in more recent generations agree that the cost of the Tallrock war was not entirely Petalstar's fault, though his association with death as a patron persists all the same. Today most cats will pray for his gentle deliverance in times of hardship, for his guidance on long journeys, and for a kinder end when death looms. Many believe that he personally guides the sick and hungry to StarClan when it's their time, either as an atonement for his mistake or as a comrade to those facing the same departure that he did. He, too, is why StormClan cats will place flower blooms or scatter petals over their dead before burial, to guide the departed into his embrace.
In Better call Mapleshade AU, if Petalstar had survived and completed her destiny, would she have welcomed Firepaw into Thunderclan? And would she have trusted Tigerclaw as deeply as Bluestar did? Also, if she did survive does Bluestar keep her kits?
(Hypothetical Petalstar is a shared concept between Bonefall Rewrite and the BCM AU! So I worked with the rewrite framework for this one)
If Petalstar had become leader, it would have meant that the kits were never exiled to drown in the river, and Mapleshade's Vengeance wou have happened
Which would make a huuuuge ripple effect
No Darkstar's Commandment means no Crusades, which means no BloodClan. Volepelt also becomes Volestar because of his role supporting Darkstar-- RiverClan's succession went to Spiketail instead. Meanwhile, in ThunderClan, Beetail may have not died in a crusade.
So Petalstorm became the deputy of Beestar, and her opposition would have been Spikestar. No Crusades means the entire Chivalric Period goes differently-- Heatherstar's landgrab of the Mothermouth Moors may have been something Petalstorm opposed (even if it was just over frustration that it was causing ShadowClan to trespass)
No extra pressure from Oakstar means Pineheart had a much less stressful life, AND had Frecklewish alive to rely on. He was a father to Tigerkit; Thistleclaw was also not nearly as lauded for his aggression, ergo probably not picked to mentor him
(Or, if he was, Pineheart would have been there to protect him and possibly even demand his mentor be swapped)
Petalstar would have become leader around the time of the Great Hunger, replacing Pinestar, and never defecting. Because she rules longer, Sunstar's lives would have lasted longer as well.
Thistleclaw not having an apprentice may have barred him from deputyship at all, causing Bluefur to, yes, keep those kits.
But Fire Alone may not have happened, at least, not in the form it was in. Things would look VERY different.
and now for our leader, made by you guys! there are LOTS of mentions in this be warned!!:
the prefix of our leader is Petal, and therefore Petalstar! This was chosen by the lovely @milos-journal. their suffix, as a warrior, was eye! chosen by @adrianexists. funnily enough, you and milo both had Petal as a prefix!
Now we have our name. Petaleye/star. The sexuality of our kitty is Aroace, chosen by @braincloggedwithcats! @nightly-ruse is the winner of the cats gender, who is unlabelled with she/he/they.
@cricketchirps-stuff won the coloring of the character! Petalstar is a dilute tabby point. @wander-wren won petalstar’s eye color, with purple. @cloudwickpup won the cats age, who is four years and six months. there wasn’t a section for how many lives were left in the response, so ill just say he has 6 lives left. @autisticassassinbird said our cat was lithe for the body type! @weedcloud chose the injuries, with nicked ears and a few pelt scars. @trashgremlendoesart chose our character’s first positive, which makes them a great public speaker! and @quaelgeist333 has our second pro, with great perception and they care a lot for the clan. but our cat has flaws of course! @larkmouse has petalstar’s first flaw, in which she is very stubborn. and @copperskies has the second! Petalstar is very biased and plays favorites in his decisions.
@skotty2298 says petal is respected in her clan because she’s good at her duties, but she is frustrating because of her flaws.
and for a TLDR: Petalstar, once Petaleye, is a unlabelled (she/he/they) aroace, lithe dilute tabby point with purple eyes and nicked ears. he is four years and six months old, and has six lives left. petalstar is a good public speaker and is very perceptive, however he is very biased towards certain members of SabreClan.
overall, a great start to SabreClan. Be back soon with the Deputy submission poll!
and boom, here is the official document for SabreClan
SabreClan – a clan that takes place in the cloud forest of Costa Rica, constantly wary of the many animals that inhabit the rainforest. The
So I got pretty bored and wound up making a pretty advanced (by my standards) ref sheet for Petalstar, idk if i’m gonna do this for any other character but here have it as a treat
More OCs, this time from ShadowClan! Petalstar, Snakestar’s trans sister who left ThunderClan. Also Sparrowleap and her kits, Crowkit, Bramblekit & Leafkit.
Petalstar is guarded and quite rough around the edges. She can be very aggressive and fierce at times. While she cares immensely for her clan, she still struggles to open up to even her closest confidant. After the lose of their well-respected medicine cat, she has once again closed herself off from her clan, often leaving many angry. This isn't the best quality in a leader, but she makes up for her lack of social skills with her loyalty and passion for Rainclan. Her snippy mouth leads many to be wary of her, which she doesn't mind.
backstory
Petalstar was first named Shellkit when first born to Nightmask and Shell, a kittypet-turned-loner. Rainclan deeply values bloodlines, and absolutely mistrusts kittypets and loners. Because of this, Shellkit was originally a loner. But Nightmask could not part with her clan for long, and eventually grew homesick. Her and Shell had many heated arguments before Nightmask took Shellkit back home to Rainclan to disapproving clanmates. Galestar took pity on his daughter, and allowed Shellkit and Nightmask to remain living in the clan, as long as Shellkit's name was changed. Nightmask renamed her to Petalkit, after her late mother. But Nightmask began to resent Petalkit, for in her mind, her kit represented a heated affair with the tom that ruined her life, and she took it out on Petalkit.
relationships
Nightmask - Petalstar hates her mother, and still remembers the verbal abuse she suffered from her resentful mother. When Nightmask died from sickness, the young warrior, Petaldusk, didn't attend the burial.
Shell - Petalstar barely remembers her father. What she does remember is shouting and yelling. She wonders where he is now, and if he even misses his daughter.
Galestar - Petalstar's grandfather. Her most trusted companion. When days were tough with her mom or with her warrior training she would reach out to her grandfather for comfort. When Galestar appointed her as his deputy, she cried tears of joy for the first time in her life.
Bramblingheart - Petalstar's only apprentice. She's quite fond of the skilled warrior, and is very pleased her mentoring resulted in a fine fighter and hunter. Bramblingheart soon became one of Petalstar's most trusted friends.
