⇷ OVERVIEW
BarkClan is a Clan aligned with the sun and the plant zodiacs, known for its deadly ritual practices. They are associated with the goddess Solis, who is the focus of their worship and prayers. Cats in BarkClan consider the daemons Orionis, Ceti, and Delphine as associated with their territory. The remaining pantheon members are still viewed as divine but are simply less revered, though any association with the deities of the Dark Forest is considered heresy, and causes isolation from Clanmates.
Traditionally, only those born under a plant zodiac are allowed to take leadership positions in BarkClan. The Clan places a strong emphasis on collectivism, for the Clan is only as strong as its weakest link; however, they also place strong emphasis on falling in line with what their leader tells them. The outward appearance of strength is an extremely important mask to keep up around other Clans, no matter what. BarkClan is an extremely close-knit Clan, especially compared to the others; cats within it are fiercely protective and supportive of one another. Their rituals and traditions are focused around shows of strength and duty to their Clan, even at the cost of one’s own life. The word of the Warrior Code is akin to the decree of a god; the only exception BarkClan carves out is allowing their oracles to take a mate, so long as their mate is the deputy or the leader – akin to the relationship between Solis and Lunae. The leader and deputy are cats to be respected and followed, even when one does not agree with their choices. Spirituality is important, but much less emphasized compared to other Clans. However, pure strength is not the only important part of their culture – strategy is just as emphasized, to avoid excess loss of life. Critics of BarkClan’s culture point out their lack of empathy for other Clan’s members, othering them for the sake of engaging in war for BarkClan’s benefits.
Warriors in BarkClan are all taught the basics of herbs, for the use of healing their Clanmates during or after battle. This tradition arises from their neighbor MarrowClan’s particularly brutal battle tactics, necessitating either quick medical attention on the battlefield, or aiding overwhelmed oracles afterwards. The leader in BarkClan trains with the oracles to become just as skilled as they are in medicine, and are often consulted by oracles for spiritual insight. Especially strong warriors and senior warriors in BarkClan are also rewarded for their insights – when leadership changes happen, an unofficial council of the best of BarkClan (senior warriors, and those who are champions in ritualistic combat) gathers to influence the choice of next deputy or leader. Only senior warriors who are considered respected are allowed into this council (lazy warriors are not invited to share their insights). Once warriors retire, they remain on this council until they excuse themselves. Senior warriors are just as respected in BarkClan as oracles are.
The body is seen as extremely temporary, and something that must be formed into immortality, rather than given it outright. BarkClan views trees (especially sequoias) as holy, due to their everlasting nature. They bury their dead in the peat of their fen, as a way to forever preserve the body of the cat among the roots of the Earth. The dead are carefully sewn back up, and dug deep into the layers of peat when the water levels of the fen are low, to ensure they are not disturbed by any animals. Many cycles later, especially revered leaders are often dug up and have a piece of them removed, as a relic to hang from the branches of the Dawn Sentinel. Evil cat’s bodies are thrown into the ocean to be consumed by those beneath the waves, and worn into nothing by the tides; this is seen as severing their ability to be truly immortalized.
Death is viewed as the true end for BarkClan cats. Joining StarClan symbolizes an end point of their body and soul, thus much care is taken to preserve the body in the mortal plane for as long as possible – ideally, forever. Being forgotten and beginning to fade from StarClan is seen as especially horrifying to BarkClan cats, as to them, that cat will disappear forever. Many of BarkClan are sure to remember their ancestors by passing down stories, and can trace back their family for many generations.
BarkClan’s camp is a series of caves within a mountainside known as the Canopy Peaks. The camp is fortified by nearby creeks, though this causes the camp to occasionally flood during heavy rainfall. The camp is further fortified by brambles that are cared for and tended to by the warriors. Common decorations throughout the camp are flowers, ferns, tree branches, and other plant life. Peat is traditionally collected from the nearby fen and used to create torches that provide a light source, as well as warmth. Their leader’s den is a large crag with pillars carved atop it, aligned with the oracle’s den; during the Summer solstice, the pillars create a singular beam of light that illuminates the opening of the oracle’s den.
HISTORY ⇸
BarkClan was formed many moons ago, when Arumstar of DewClan and Swampstar of NectarClan mutually agreed to unify their Clans, making Arumstar the first leader of BarkClan. This united all Clans that were aligned with plant zodiacs together. The unification was done in response to MarrowClan’s formation – the two combined their Clans for the sake of strength, to avoid potentially being taken over by their larger neighbor. Despite this, BarkClan is typically the more aggressive of the two, though they are less reckless with their combat style.
While BarkClan is historically warlike, they are often careful with each of their attacks; they would much prefer to resort to “dirty tactics” than to lose a Clanmate. Sabotages, ambushes, and hit-and-run attacks are all common. Camouflage by coating their fur in mud and plants is also a common tactic. One notable example of their strategies in war is the use of poisoned claws carefully collected from Manchineel trees, which have in the past been used to kill off MarrowClan’s entire leadership ranks. Poisoning water supplies with the bark of Manchineel trees is also not unheard of. Their knowledge of plants and familiarity with deeper wetlands is used to their advantage when warring with their neighbors – they will use anything and everything to get ahead of their enemies.
However, despite their territory being used to their advantage in some ways, it is a detriment in others. Long periods of rain can easily and dangerously flood their territory, leading to historical famines, which often spark wars to gain more territory from MarrowClan. They are also reliant on waterfowl and shorebirds as a main source of food, which can be devastating for the Clan during years of sickness within these bird populations. BarkClan warriors historically try to avoid environmental disasters with their wetlands by managing what plants grow and placing large rocks, mud and logs in strategic locations to try to quell flooding.
There is a long culture of reverence for their leaders within BarkClan. Even leaders that are seen as weak are not to be challenged in the Clan’s culture, but instead to be guided in the right direction. This had led to particularly bad leaders – whether they be too weak, or too cruel – to remain in power for many moons, despite not having the backing of the majority of the Clan.
Most recently, BarkClan has been overall stable in their leadership, but is slow to recover from the previous war. Plumstar was a harsh, traditionalist leader, and did everything she could to try to regain the Star’s Fall when MarrowClan took it under her watch. She failed to ever regain it, and lost many Clanmates in the process (though MarrowClan suffered similar losses). After her death, her deputy, Laureltuft, became leader. Although they were jaded with leadership, Laurelstar led their Clan as well as they could during a period of chaos for the Clans; however, their lack of faith in StarClan became controversial as time went on, leading to rare murmurs of discontent and discussions of rebellion through the traditionalist cats within BarkClan. Rumors circulated that they were aligning BarkClan against StarClan and instead with the Dark Forest, further fueled by them fighting against StarClan cats during the Battle of the Stars. They were killed during that battle, as they fought against the spirit of Plumstar, killing both of them. Their deputy, Cypressthorn, steps down after the battle. In the aftermath, many of the older warriors were unwilling to take the reins of leadership, and the duty fell upon the warrior Tidebreaker. BarkClan as a whole is still going through minor internal strife over their direction as a Clan. Tidestar is the current leader.
⇷ TRADITIONS ⇸
The Summer Solstice is the largest celebration in BarkClan, and is observed through ritualistic fighting. Before the festivities start, the Clan sets up a large-scale feast, most often of waterfowl, that continues until the celebrations are over. Those who are not participating, or have lost, often watch the fights and cheer on the cat they are rooting for; it is common for cats to make bets, formal and informal, with one another over who wins. Oracles will oversee the formal bets to be sure the winner is given their due.
At sun-high, the oracles of the Clan act as judges as those who wish to compete organize themselves into brackets, and spar one another; once one cat has a clear advantage over the other, the sparring is to stop. Apprentices are not allowed to participate in the true competition, but they often organize themselves into mock brackets to simulate the festivities. The leader and the deputy are free to join in the festivities, and most of the time do so.
When a cat is crowned winner, they are thought to have Solis’ favor in the coming seasons, and are allowed to join the council of senior warriors that help choose the next leadership. There are no restrictions to joining despite winning the previous solstice; often, a winner from one solstice will continue winning.
The Spring Equinox is a smaller scale celebration in BarkClan, and is observed by a Clan-wide hunt at the tidal marsh of waterfowl and shorebirds. As this celebration falls during the migration season, large amounts of shorebirds and waterfowl alike flock to BarkClan’s wetlands, especially the tidal marsh. As such, cats go out during high tide when most birds are feeding - typically around midday.
Cats are separated into different groups to most effectively hunt. Fast and skillful hunters are the ones who catch the birds, while stealthy cats act to get close to their nesting areas and flush birds out. Cats with especially keen scent skills are typically the ones directing these hunts, to ensure the maximum number of birds are located and caught. Apprentices in these groups play the role of carrying the prey and protecting it from aggressive scavenging birds, such as gulls.
After the hunt is over - typically once the sun begins to set - the groups will bring their kills to the Willow Fen. They will be buried in the peat layer of the marsh, deep enough that scavenging animals will not bother to reach them, and left until leafbare. The prey that is buried during this celebration acts as a cache for periods of low prey, to prevent any cat from going hungry.
All cats of warrior age in BarkClan have the option to engage in the Laces of Vitality for ritual purposes, but it is not common for oracles to partake. Chewing the leaves of the lace of paradise – a flowering shrub found only on the edges of the tidal marsh – is said to give warriors a burst of strength and alertness that lasts for about a day’s length, but leaves them almost incapacitated after its effects fade. It is said this effect is a blessing from Solis himself, and is consumed specifically at sun-high, after a silent vigil in the morning. Warriors will often complete this ritual before battles or extremely important hunts. The side effects of use afterwards are extreme fatigue.
When an oracle apprentice is ready to receive their full name, they are to undergo a secretive ritual known as the Trial of Malady. During the sunhigh of the half moon, the oracle apprentice and their mentor make the trek to the top of the Canopy Peaks together, with no other cats as witnesses.
Their mentor is to present them with a small piece of multiple poisonous plants - which plants are up to the mentor, but they all must be deadly poisons. Nine pieces are to be given to the apprentice: one for each of the zodiacs. The apprentice must eat them all, though they are allowed to prepare in advance – no herbs can be brought to the trial, but they can consume a concoction beforehand. Surviving this ritual is shown as “proof” they are worthy of their position and to commune with StarClan. Apprentices may die during this ritual, but they are not looked upon negatively posthumously.
Once a deputy is to become leader in BarkClan, they are to complete the Trial of Silence before they receive their lives. The cat is to fast throughout the day, and venture out towards the Balebright in the dead of the night - when Solis’ light is farthest. They are to venture alone to the edge of the mire, at the base of the Sun’s Wrath, and retrieve a single flower from the fern growing there; as ferns are gymnosperms, the flower is magical and considered sacred.
The trek into the Balebright at night is especially treacherous. The mire is known for its shifting expanse, making it easy to be engulfed into the boiling hot water; the ground is pitch black, making it difficult to see where one is stepping; lava occasionally flows through the area; the smell of sulfur inhibits any scent related tracking; and wisps of light are said to rise out of the waters at night, seeking to trick those who are foolish enough to wander in into falling to their death.
The deputy is considered dead if they do not return to the camp by the day’s end. If this happens, the council of warriors in BarkClan chooses the next leader, and they are sent out on this ritual next. Deputies who die in this ritual are looked upon as weak, and retrospectively considered unfit for their previous duty.
Apprentices in BarkClan must complete a ritual known as the Trial by Toxin in order to gain their warrior name. Depending on the amount of cats looking to become warriors, apprentices are either sent alone or in pairs into the Canopy Peaks. While there, the apprentices are expected to bring back the stem of a wild carrot, which grows in the upper elevations of the mountain range; however, this is a harder task than it seems, as wild carrot appears extremely similar to the deadly wild hemlock.
The apprentices are expected to look for tripinnate leaves and hairy stems to differentiate the carrot from hemlock; hemlock sometimes have purple down its stems, and carrot sometimes have a dark flower in the center of its umbels, but neither of those characteristics are reliable for telling the two apart. Once the apprentice has decided they found a wild carrot, they are to pick the stem and bring it back to camp.
Sometimes apprentices will die when completing this ritual. It is considered a necessary evil, and a way to ensure all warriors in BarkClan have adequate knowledge of plants. Apprentices who die this way are not judged posthumously.