I had an Image in my head of the average body types for each Sect and had to draw it.
Windi
- Based on oriental cats
- The tallest of the Sectish, with the longest tails/legs and largest ears
- long bodies and faces
- lots of boxy shapes
Riverish
- Based on maine coons
- The fluffiest of the Sects and with the largest paws
- Has two layers of fur- outer layer is thick and water-repellent, inner layer is soft and downy
- Tufted ears are very common
- Rotund
Thunderian
- Based on birman cats
- Shortest tails & thickest legs of the Sects, but itty bitty paws
- Oval/rectangle shapes
Shadower
- Based on singapura cats
- Tiniest of the Sects; scrawny babies
- Sharp, thinner shapes
- Basic cat silhouette (but smol)
LEADER
The Shining Lapwingstar — A tall black and white tom with a long tail.
> His former Heart-Name, tail, meant adaptable, agile, and reliable. His canon counterpart is Tallstar.
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DEPUTY
Hollyhockwing — A black tom with a twisted paw and clovers in his fur.
> His Heart-Name means wise and prudent. His canon counterpart is Deadfoot.
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ADVISOR
Barksight — A short-tailed brown tom with a greying muzzle.
> His Heart-Name means an advisor skilled in interpreting omens. His canon counterpart is Barkface.
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HISTORIANS
Hickorynose — A dark brown tom with a heart-shaped patch on his nose.
> His Heart-Name means clever, hard worker, and skilled tracker.
Meadowslip — A grey molly with white spots.
> Her Heart-Name means cautious, adaptable, and tough.
Larkspring — A chestnut brown calico molly.
> Her Heart-Name means playful and curious. Her canon counterpart is Larksplash.
Aphidfall — A white and grey spotted tom.
> His Heart-Name means bold, adaptable, and enthusiastic. His canon counterpart is Aspenfall.
Harebelly — A scrawny pale brown tom.
> His Heart-Name means generous, honest, and kind. His canon counterparts are Hareflight and an unnamed tom.
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NURSE
Baileyseed — A brown and white tabby molly.
> Her Heart-Name means a permanent nurse. Her canon counterpart is Bailey.
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HEALERS
Rushberry — An elderly creamy-brown tom.
> His Heart-Name means a healer skilled in diagnosis. His canon counterpart is Rushtail.
Poolleaf — A grey spotted tom with a leaf-shaped mark on his nose.
> His Heart-Name means a healer skilled in quick medicine. His canon counterpart is an unnamed tom.
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WARRIORS
Ryefield — A grey tabby molly with a white muzzle.
> Her Heart-Name means altruistic, confident, and level-headed. Her canon counterpart is Ryestalk.
Doespring — A light brown molly.
> Her Heart-Name means playful and curious.
Stagleap — A dark brown tom.
> His Heart-Name means confident, agile, and decisive.
Sorrelshimmer — A dark grey and brown calico molly.
> Her Heart-Name means nimble, charismatic, and sincere. Her canon counterpart is Sorrelshine.
Lilacflight — A dark grey tolly with white patches.
> His Heart-Name means curious and adaptable. Their canon-counterpart is Pigeonflight.
Oatwhisker — A broad-shouldered golden tabby tom.
> His Heart-Name means adaptable, clever, and cooperative.
Hawkstripe — A brown tom with dark stripes.
> His Heart-Name means steadfast and well-rounded. His canon counterpart is an unnamed tom.
Sunpatch — A dark tortoiseshell tolly.
> Their Heart-Name means well-rounded and generous. Their canon counterpart is an unnamed cat.
Wrenwing — A dusty brown molly.
> Her Heart-Name means wise and prudent. Her canon counterpart is Wrenflight.
Rabbityip — A fluffy pale brown molly with a white belly.
> Her Heart-Name means enthusiastic, good-humored, and good hearing. Her canon counterpart is Rabbitear.
Bristlefur — A spotted dark-furred tom.
> His Heart-Name means well-rounded and adaptable. His canon counterpart is Bristlebark.
Flytail — A snowy-white tom with black patches.
> His Heart-Name means adaptable, good balance, and graceful.
Mudclaw — A brown-furred tom.
> His Heart-Name means skilled leader and fighter.
Briarpelt — A plump dark brown molly. She is currently waiting for the arrival of her litter.
> Her Heart-Name means well-rounded and dependable. Her canon counterpart is an unnamed molly.
Thrushhiss — A wiry grey tabby tom with a torn ear.
> His Heart-Name means decisive, honorable, and good hearing. His canon counterpart is Tornear.
Morningflower — A pale brown tortoiseshell molly. She is currently nursing her first litter, Gorse, Heather, and Granite.
> Her Heart-Name means skilled caretaker.
Ashfoot — A dark blue-grey molly.
> Her Heart-Name means confident, resolute, and skilled navigator.
Littlewhisker — A brown tabby tom with long whiskers.
> His Heart-Name means clever, loyal, and skilled tracker. His canon counterpart is Onewhisker.
Tansywhistle — A brown and white spotted tabby molly.
> Her Heart-Name means confident, determined, and musically skilled. Her canon counterpart is Melody.
Many cats have specialties- a job that a cat does often and well. Specialties come about for a variety of reasons; out of enjoyment of a specific task, simply because a cat does a task very well and therefore keeps getting assigned to do it, or because they have specific skills and/or abilities that make them great at some tasks and not-so-good at others. Specialties are like unofficial sub-ranks. There is no ceremony, but everyone in Thunder Sect knows that Commonclaw is a patrol specialist. A cat can specialize in numerous things at once; there's no limit to how many specialties they can have since it's all about their skills.
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Multi-Rank Specialties
Mentoring
Some cats gravitate towards teaching. They spend more time with kittens, teaching them history or the codes, and they often volunteer to take on another apprentice or teach a Clanmate's apprentice when they're sick or injured.
Camp Keeping
Camp keepers are the cats who spend time building dens and nests, keeping the camp clean and organized, and making sure the camp is well-defended.
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Warrior Specialties
Patrolling
Patrol specialists are cats with high stamina who know how to pace themselves.
Hunting
Hunting specialists are particularly skilled at stealth. They excel at the hunt itself instead of or alongside setting traps.
Messaging
Messengers are the swiftest of the swift, and they're the ones who are most likely to be sent across the territory with important information.
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Healer Specialties
Medic
Medics are healers who excel at thinking on the fly with limited medicinal supplies. They're often taken on patrols in case of border skirmishes or encounters with predators, and they're a great amount of help on battlefields.
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Sect-Specific Specialties
Trapping • Warrior Specialty • Shadow, River, & Wind Sects
Trappers are skilled at both creating and setting traps. Thunder Sect believes that trapping is undignified and undermines the natural skill cats have in hunting; you will never catch a Thunderian making or setting any traps.
Gardening • Multi-Rank • Thunder Sect
While almost all Thunderians garden, some seem to have a particular skill in it.
Swimming • Warrior Specialty • Shadow Sect
As the Shadow Sect makes their home in a marsh, swimming is a skill that all Shadowers have at least a basic understanding of. Some Shadowers even enjoy swimming, and employ this specialty to hunt things like turtles!
Fishing • Warrior Specialty • Shadow Sect
Fishing isn't a popular specialty in the Shadow Sect. Whereas in the River Sect it's a part of daily life, Shadowers tend to prefer other prey, like birds and lizards.
Artisans • Multi-Rank • River Sect
Artisans are Riverish who are particularly skilled in pottery. They know where to find the best clay, how to mold it into the shape they want, how to paint and carve images into the pot, and where the sun dries it out the best.
Diving • Warrior Specialty • River Sect
Divers can hold their breaths for a long time and are the ones who collect river oysters, clams, and mussels.
Land Hunting • Warrior Specialty • River Sect
Land hunting is a relatively rare skill to find in the River Sect. While all Riverish have the basic knowledge on how to hunt on land, it's not often needed, as the river is large and plentiful.
Gardening • Healer Specialty • River Sect
The garden specialty in the River Sect is very different from the one in the Thunder Sect. To the Riverish, gardening is reserved for healers and advisors and is only done with medicinal plants.
Weaving • Multi-Rank • Wind Sect
A specialty most often found among those who find themselves with long stretches of time with nothing to do. Weavers sew, dye, and embroider blankets and tapestries using a variety of materials, including long grasses and rabbit hides.
Tending • Warrior Specialty • Wind Sect
The only Sect to develop animal husbandry, the Wind Sect has cats who spend most of their time tending the animals they care for
Shadow Sect - Tense
Relations between Thunder and Shadow have always been somewhat tense due to their cultural differences. Thunder Sect values loudness, brashness, and bold fighting prowess; Shadow Sect values observation, stealth, and sneak attacks.
River Sect - Tense but amicable
Things are almost always tense between Thunder Sect and the River Sect due to the Sunning Wars. For the first time in a long while, things are friendlier between them. This is because of the friendship between Thunder Sect's deputy, Blueflood, and River Sect's leader and deputy, Squallstar and Woodheart.
Wind Sect - Peaceful
Thunder Sect and Wind Sect rarely encounter each other due to the positioning of their territories, so tension doesn't often develop between them. This also means that ally-ship doesn't develop often either. Thunder Sect is curious and displeased with the Wind Sect's disappearance, but not particularly motivated to go looking for them.
The Parklanders - Distant disdain
Thunder Sect is vaguely aware of the Parklanders, but they don't have much of a relationship with them. There's a sense of disdain for them, that they're a group who avoids fighting and worship the idea of being pampered by beings long-dead.
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Twisting Shadow Sect
River Sect - Relatively indifferent
The Shadow Sect doesn't see much of the River Sect beyond gatherings, so there's not very many chances for any relationships to develop.
Wind Sect - Indifferent
Why should the Shadow Sect feel anything towards a Sect they've successfully driven out? Even before the attack, they were mostly indifferent. The Wind Sect was simply in the way of territory they needed, nothing more.
Thunder Sect - Tense
Relations between Thunder and Shadow have always been somewhat tense due to their cultural differences. Dreamstar considered driving the Thunder Sect out first before targeting the Wind Sect, but he ultimately decided that the Wind Sect was smaller and would be an easier first attack.
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Glittering River Sect
Wind Sect - Indifferent
Despite the closeness of their territories, the Wind Sect and the River Sect don't interact often. Though Squallstar forbids his warriors from hunting on the abandoned land, not all of them listen to him. After all, what use is it to the missing Sect?
Thunder Sect - Tense but amicable
Things are almost always tense between Thunder Sect and the River Sect due to the Sunning Wars. For the first time in a long while, things are friendlier between them. This is because of the friendship between Thunder Sect's deputy, Blueflood, and River Sect's leader and deputy, Squallstar and Woodheart.
Shadow Sect - Distrustful
The Shadow Sect has been making moves recently. Though Dreamstar has offered both the River Sect and the Thunder Sect usage of the Wind Sect's lands (and some Riverish have taken him up on that), there's a silent understanding that the relative peace between the two Sects won't last forever- probably not for very long, either.
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Howling Wind Sect
Thunder Sect - Indifferent
Thunder Sect and Wind Sect rarely encounter each other due to the positioning of their territories, so tension doesn't often develop between them. This also means that ally-ship doesn't develop often either.
Shadow Sect - Intense hatred
Prior to being driven out of their territory, things were fairly tense between the Wind Sect and the Shadow Sect. Ragweedstar kept making grabs for territory, and after her death, Dreamstar did the same. Things escalated to downright hatred on the Wind Sect's end after being driven out.
River Sect - Indifferent
Despite the closeness of their territories, the Wind Sect and the River Sect don't interact often. A gorge filled with dangerous rushing water separates them, after all, and there's not much of a reason for either Sect to try crossing it.
The Flock - Peaceful admiration & respect
The Wind Sect has always held the Flock in high regard, and the guidance they have given the Sect after being driven out has elevated that respect.
