[Image ID: Ripplestar from warrior cats sits against a harsh red background. He has a trail of ginger blotches across his face and down his arm. His paw is raised. A moon is behind his claws.]
Rest in peace you ferocious bastard you woulda LOVED Fire Alone
Ripplestar had heterochromia- one eye was a dull black-brown, the other was a bright amber. He was a mostly black tom with a distinctive "stripe" of broken orange ember spots on the colorful side of his body, right across the amber eye. He was thick for a WindClan-descended cat, with a very thick, plush pelt.
When SkyClan was exiled, not everyone agreed with the Leader’s decisions to just let them leave. The Clerics argued and staged a strike, lead by Larkstripe of WindClan. In response, a new law was passed to limit their power... and Ripplekit was taken from his vow-breaking mother, raised as a brother to Gorsekit and Spottedkit.
Birdflight, welcomed by ShadowClan, waited for years for her mate to send envoys to bring her and her kits ‘home.‘ They never came-- So she and her children realized something must be very wrong. If SkyClan hadn’t found a safe place to live elsewhere, then Ripplestar vowed he would make room.
These are the events of Ripplestar’s Rot.
Content Warning: Someone gets squished like a tomato by a falling tree and there is blood, but no gore
Ripplekit
Birdflight’s kits were too young to bring along on Cloudstar’s Journey. Dawnstar graciously extended an offer to take any SkyClan cats that wanted to stay behind. ShadowClan would always welcome helping claws.
ALL of the clerics were united in their fury at SkyClan’s exile. They knew better than anyone else the importance of keeping 1/5th of StarClan in place.
They kept arguing long after SkyClan had left that a mistake was made. It was a fearful time, with the cats of all Clans terrified that what befell SkyClan could happen to them.
The Leaders decided that since StarClan did not cover the moon on that fateful day, they had spoken. This was divisive; Clerics were the widely accepted interpreters of StarClan... but the leaders were correct about the moon.
And no one had a good answer as to what would be done if SkyClan DID return. Their territory was gone.
The argument almost died down... and then the 5th Oak Tree developed a spot of blight.
Larkstripe of WindClan (Larkwing FQ) organized a strike. They told their leaders, “Next time you get sick, we’ll just let you go to StarClan, so YOU can see what they say if you think you’re so smart.“
There was panic. Panic about the blight, panic about the infighting, panic about the human destruction.
Swiftstar, on his last life and dying of treatable disease, tested Larkstripe's resolve. She told him, "If you live, StarClan is telling me I am wrong. If you die, they will decide your fate. Listen or gamble, it is your newest choice, we will see if you made the right decision last time."
When deputy Dalerunner took power, he decided he must crush the strike.
So, the leaders took hard action and accused the clerics of hypocrisy.
Larkstripe had violated the “Cleric’s Vow” and taken a mate, nursing a single kit. In those days, it was a personal vow, taboo but not forbidden by law.
The strike fell apart after Larkstripe was made into an example. Dalestar accused her publicly, saying that StarClan was not speaking to her because of her violation.
The Cleric’s Vow was ratified into the Code, allowing the leaders to better control their medics.
Ripplekit, about 4 moons at the time, was taken from Larkstripe. Birdflight agreed to adopt him. He missed his mother terribly... but bonded with Gorsekit and Spottedkit.
The blight spread.
Ripplemoon
Larkstripe never got to reunite with her kitten... she died shortly before he became a warrior. Some say of a broken heart.
He had his eyes on leadership from a young age. Dawnstar was determined to allow the three kits to grow up to be loyal ShadowClan warriors.
His family used to speak about how Cloudstar would send warriors to fetch them... the fact they never came alarmed them.
His whole warriorship, Ripplemoon watched the blight climb up the fifth oak tree. Talking about it was taboo, even though it was visibly getting worse.
Ripplemoon was an honorable, thoughtful cat. NEVER afraid to defend his reputation, never refusing a challenge. This type of chivalry was important, in those days.
There was only one time he brought up the oak at a gathering. It descended into argument immediately, the clouds rolling over the moon. He thought it was fitting; that what remained of StarClan was a bunch of petty cowards who couldn’t handle reality.
Or a fight.
Being chosen for deputy was a matter of course. Dawnstar wanted a noble deputy to succeed her, someone who wasn’t afraid to stand up for himself... perhaps she regretted putting Larkstripe down so harshly for doing the same thing, so many years ago.
Ripplestar
He wasted NO TIME getting his bones in a row. Dawnstar was barely cold before that first gathering.
”Something has to be done. Five trees, five Clans. You will shuffle to make way, or I will carve it out.“
They Did Not Listen
It was BLOODY. Ripplestar pushed ShadowClan past the Thunderpath, crushing ThunderClan. WindClan took advantage of the fight and tried to push into ShadowClan. ThunderClan clawed for Sunningrocks and put pressure on RiverClan.
There were defectors from those Clans. Everyone had eyes; they could see the tree dying. Not everyone was loyal to the Clan of their birth. The conflict escalated.
...Gorseclaw saw this carnage. He couldn’t handle it anymore. He met the other leaders in secret, and told them about Ripplestar’s last plan... in exchange for safety, in ThunderClan.
Ripplestar never saw this betrayal coming. Gorseclaw was his brother.
The Full Moon Battle
Ripplestar planned for it to be a surprise blitz, for every gathered warrior to make their alliance known, for elders and apprentices to scatter from the battle... but the leaders only brought their most loyal supporters.
Three Clans against One.
Ripplestar attacked Dalestar at the top of the highrock, tumbling and threatening to spill over the side
Gorseclaw grappled with Spottedpelt, and with a fateful strike that would begin a cycle that haunts his bloodline to this very day, he ended her life and watched his golden-furred sibling fade away.
Just then, lightning crackled out of the sky, striking the 5th Oak at its blighted base. It tumbled forward, and Ripplestar kicked Dalestar off him just in time to realize it was coming right for him.
SQUISH
The oak cracked against the stone where it had killed Ripplestar. One snap at the stump, one snap across the trunk, in a distinct lightning-bolt shape. The same shape that would become Brokenstar’s tail.
Blood dripped down the side of the highrock on both sides, more than there should have been. The moon was red above them.
A horrible curse was laid that night.
The Four Clans would pay for what they’d allowed to happen to SkyClan; and ShadowClan would be rewarded for its harboring of Birdflight by becoming the eye of the storm.
No one else was killed by the falling tree. This was taken as a sign... the four Clans were to remain separate. Three more laws were added to the code, to encourage loyalty and prevent a rebellion like this from ever happening again.
