Site-Wide Plot Thingy

go kids go

What if it's not a bobcat, and instead it's a giant car-sized rat? It's unknown whether car-sized rats have powers of controlling the mist and teleportation, so it would follow real world rules but also seem magical and ominous from a normal cat's point of view in the clans? Giant car-mist-rats aren't something you see everyday, so it only makes sense for the mistwalker to be one.

lol, seer, that's realistic to what we're doing. "pepe evil"

Anyways, DaySteam, a giant car-sized-rat may be an option. I'm not sure because of the eyes. Their eyes don't really have a color. I don't think rats live in the mountains... but we can put that as an option.

We should focus on why it's catnapping cats. We have two theories:

1. It wants the tribe to live in the forest.

2. It wants to build a clan.

It can be one or two, maybe both, maybe neither. Both claims are supported. 1 is supported because it could drive them out, then catnap TC and RC first since they are threats. SC may be next. 2 is supported since they have a leader, MCA, warriors and apprentices. If anyone can add onto these two or make a 3, please do.

K, just a thought, why is it catnapping some and killing others? If they r building a clan, maybe if they accept they disappeared, and dont they r killed. Did the cats that were killed have stubborn personality? Just a thought.

All of these theories are extremely interesting, but I have to say I pretty heavily subscribe to the bobcat one.  The descriptions we are given seem to match up; but I don't think normal wild bobcats can produce mysterious, icy-cold mist ;)  It has to be something super natural, and so I propose that this bobcat, or whatever it is, is a powerful ghost.  This has already been mentioned, but I have a few other ideas.  When this came to mind, I instantly thought of Midnight, the badger from the New Prophecy arc (and a few other books after that).  It was established that she, along with Rock, has somehow been around since the beginning of time.  

The Warriors Wiki, on The Last Hope Prologue wrote:

When Broken Shadow shifts her paws, admitting that she didn't realize that the badger knew Rock, Midnight rumbles that she had known Rock since the dawn of Broken Shadow's time. The badger turns her head, and continues by claiming she had known Rock since the first cat put its paw beside water. Rock continues to recall the event, and Midnight adds to it by saying that the sunrise burst the water into flame, and in the reflection was the future of all cats.

It was confirmed by the Erins that Midnight is, indeed, a ghost; but it seems that she can take on some sort of physical form.  The cats can always see her just fine, but it is noted several times that it seems as if she had suddenly vanished after they looked away.  She obviously acts as a sort of messenger for StarClan in the books, but it's also shown that she had knowledge of the Tribe of Rushing Water (and the Tribe of Endless Hunting) along with knowing a bit about the Ancients.  She can also speak several languages; cat, rabbit and fox, possibly more.  With this knowledge, Midnight reminds of a prophet; and also the character Gentiana from Final Fantasy XV.  A supernatural being that convenes with the gods, aka StarClan in this case.

Now you may be asking, "Okay Rainy, that's all fine and good, but what does this have to do with the bobcat theory?"  I'll just start by saying; I don't think Midnight has to keep a physical form.  She can disappear yes, but if going with other usual ghost trademarks it might be possible for her to be invisible, or even posses other physical objects.  This isn't factually proven of course, but I do believe it's possible.  It even seems like she can transport herself to StarClan at will to speak with them; lots of times when she showed up the cats seemed a bit surprised.  So, if she has powers such as these, why shouldn't other ghosts of the same type have them as well?  (I'm not going to mention Rock any farther in this, because he was proven to be more of a spirit than a ghost, and likely the same rules do not apply to him.)  What if this mystery bobcat is able to appear and vanish at will, taking a physical form when needed?  It would explain that not all cats who were captured or killed noted seeing a pair of eyes or a large cat's silhouette; sometimes it was just the mist.  Concerning the mist, what if that is just another of the bobcat ghost's powers?  Maybe Midnight's skill of talking to ancestors and in other languages is unique?  I propose that this bobcat has the power to control the power of ice and temperature, manifesting his/her power inside of the Mist?  It's a solid case.

Now the fun part; why is this ghost capturing and murdering innocent clan cats?  It's actions have seemed purely vengeful, with no mercy for the young, old, or families.  I don't think it's a question that part of it's agenda is filled with evil intent, but the fact that it seems to be showing some form of mercy to SkyClan and WindClan, and avoiding the Tribe alltogether, definitely says something.  If it's supporting the Tribe, it would make sense that it would spare the cats who are harboring them, but then we also have to ask why those clans still have cats who were taken?  Crowstar and Racoonfang were taken intentionally by the Mist, so I have to ask why?  It's picking out it's victims with careful consideration for their location, so if it truly cares for those two clans why would it break it's MO and pose a threat to them?  My theory; it doesn't really care for the clans.  The only reason those two haven't gotten hit, and were saved from the fire, was because the Tribe was there.  If Fishstar and Leopardstar had taken in the Tribe instead I truly believe that SkyClan and WindClan would've been burned to the ground without mercy, like ThunderClan.  So, why does this ghost care for the Tribe's well-being?

It's been noted that the Tribe seems to be aware of this force's existence, so it's possibly it had been encountered, or even revered, in the mountains.  Maybe this bobcat was a legand like The Great Clans are to the original five; a large, supernaturally powerful creature that can control the biggest force that threatened the Tribe of Endless Skies; the cold.  Think about it, what made the Tribe leave in the first place?  An unbearably harsh winter.  So far it's only been shown that this creature can control a strange mist, but what about snow or cold winds?  What if....this animal used to be worshiped(?) by the Tribe, but when they stopped it became angry and sent a harsh winter to threaten them?  Maybe that was why StarClan sent the message that it was time for old SkyClan to return; they knew that the bobcat wouldn't stop until the Tribe revered it again.  When the Tribe left though, it followed; it's quest for worship was not fulfilled.

I think its goal, is to either drive all clan cats from the land so that the Tribe could live there in the Forest Territories, or lure the Tribe back to the mountains by proving to them that the area isn't safe.  The Tribe cats have only been here for a very short time; if they believe they are in danger they have no true loyalty to stay and defend the others.  With nowhere else to turn, they fall back to their mountain habitat and fulfill the wishes of the force; with the penalty of the clans loosing much of their number and the true decedents of SkyClan.

This would also tie in as an an interesting theory concerning the actual Warriors series; what if there are more ghosts like Midnight?  What if in the past a whole group of them existed, and over the years they branched out to watch over their respective species?  Midnight seems to have an certain affinity for cats, but does the bobcat?  I might only see cats as a weak, willing force to elicit worship and praise from, controlling them with fear of winter.  An interesting thought would be if this ghost turned rogue, refusing to look after his species and instead invading the lives of cats to fulfill his ambitious need for recognition.

Another thing; I don't think it's a bobcat.  Sure, bobcats are bigger than regular domestic cats and could be considered a 'monstrous' size, but I don't think a bobcat completely fits the theme and aesthetic it's displaying.  What wild cat do you think of alongside snow, is larger than a normal cat, and is native to Europe?  A lynx!  They are a similar large size, and can have yellow eyes as well.  I know I know, the Eurasian Lynx isn't native to the area where Warriors is hinted to take place....but it's pretty darn close.  It could be possible for one to wander out of it's habitat into the area, but a supernatural lynx doesn't really have to abide by those rules ;)  Besides, a North American Mountain Lion isn't supposed to live in the peaks of European mountains, but lo and behold, Feathertail got killed by one in the official books.

Also, an argument for why ThunderClan was hurt by the fire and terrorized by the mist, even though Shadowleaf is in their ranks; in a way she effectively left the Tribe.  She struck out on her own, chose to start a new life in ThunderClan, and took a new name.  Maybe the lynx considers her to be a lost cause at this point, and not worth sparing like the others.

THIS GOT REALLY FREAKING LONG MY GOD but here it is!  Have fun with this my friends ;D

Wow that makes a lot of sense and really theres a ghost in the books I have a lot left to read!

Wow Rainy, I like that theory! But why would it be taking those specific cats? Here's my idea.
I've noticed all of the taken topics are either family/friend topics, or cats feeling like they have no friends. Maybe if Rainy's theory is right, it gets angry when it sees cats having what it doesn't, or feeling the way that it does. In a roleplay I do with my friend, we have a character just like that, who accidentally killed the sister he was extremely close too, and then everybody started hating him because of it. After that, whenever he saw cats sharing the same thing he and his sister had, he attacked them. Or if he saw someone feeling the same way, he felt like they made him think about what happened, or feel they were overreacting and he had gone through more pain, and brutally attacked them as well. So maybe whatever controls the mist is the same way. And maybe why it catnapped cats instead of killing all of them is because its lonely. And maybe the Tribe is the only thing it has left to live for for whatever reason, and wants to keep it alive.
I know this is far fetched and that we don't know how Crowstar was taken, but I personally like this idea. It also goes paw in paw with the other theories, not making any of them incorrect, just adding to them.

(By the way Rainy, Rock is immortal, not a spirit. It has been confirmed by himself, the Erins, and the warriors wiki. He says, and I quote, "My curse is to live forever, knowing what has been and what has yet to be, powerless to change anything." Also, on the warriors wiki, it is stated that he is alive in all the books we see him in. I know this has nothing to do with the Mist plot, I just wanted to add that in there.)

Whew, lots has happened since I last viewed this topic. Because of recent events, I won't be able to update the document much tonight, but I'll try. If I don't get it done tonight, I'll be sure to do it tomorrow~

The Mist creature is a demon from the Mountains that the tribe cats ran from. The Tribe cats made a deal with the demon thing; we'll bring you to more cats but you stop taking us.

The demon thing is a bobcat. It is greedy.

All these plot theories are extremely interesting, and I'd like to branch off of what Rainy suggested. Suppose this really is a "spirit"? And like the spirits inhabiting StarClan, its strength was determined by its impact on the world. Cats in StarClan and the Place of No Stars often fade away as they are forgotten by the forest. What if this spirit shares this quality in that they must remain in the minds of cats to survive and stay as powerful as it wished? Taking cats would ensure this as a backup plan, while killing would spread their influence throughout the Clans, thus making it more and more powerful.

I know there's a question that still remains. "Why not attack WindClan and SkyClan more?" Well, if this thing needs to be in the minds of cats to survive, then perhaps it wants to first gain a lot of power (by eliminating clans like ThunderClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan), then take what's left of SkyClan and WindClan back into the mountains to prey upon for energy. Why SkyClan and WindClan?

Well, in book canon these two clans are the first to be created, if unofficially, and are therefore have more Tribe-related blood, which may yield more energy compared to the other three. In WCC canon however, SkyClan share little relations with the Tribe cats, and surprisingly, much of WindClan has traces of true SkyClan blood (RiverClan also has some because of Thistleblaze). Since the Tribe is staying with SkyClan though, the spirit cannot risk losing its strongest believers.

All I have to say on why it chooses to attack with mist and frost, well, those two things are extremely animated and easy to manipulate, as well as being fairly common in the mountain territories. It is only natural to choose those forces. "Mist" may seem a bit of a weak weapon, but in the mountains one wrong step can send a nonbeliever down to their deaths below.

i didn't think i'd type this much lmao i got no idea why the specific cats got chosen

Nice theory! You got my fav <3 Anyways, time for another episode of "Winterpaw throws out theories to look cool! (Is it working?)".

A lynx seems correct. It matches and is realistic. It probably is a spirit, and with midnights power to speak cat, rabbit, and fox, maybe the lynx has a power to speak cat, and maybe other creatures.

I did some poking around on the internet, and found bobcats are technically lynxes. There are 4 species of lynx. There's a Liberian Lynx, a Canada Lynx, A Eurasian Lynx, and a Bobcat. Bobcats live in North America, so scratch that (haha funny plz laugh). Only the Eurasian Lynx is found in Europe. It's the largest of the Lynx and the largest predator in Europe. They hunt during day, but are active at dawn and dusk. It's probably a dead lynx from Old SkyClan times, who's a spirit. If it wanted to bait the tribe back to the mountains, it'd take out SkyClan and WindClan first. It probably wants the tribe living in the forest and the clans StarClan most-likely-doesn't-know where. It might want to live alone in the mountains.

I agree with that- a Eurasian Lynx fits the description.
is there a certain time that the mist struck? Anything that had to do with dawn or dusk? I know that my cat, Sunpaw, was taken right before dawn. Anyone else?

Assuming that it is a Lynx Spirit, how would the cats get rid of it and how would they find the cats that were taken?

Is it even confirmed it's a lynx/bobcat? It was just spiritualistic, but from its "much larger form" that's described, it might be something even bigger. It could even be something like a bear! Bears were seen as very powerful and spiritual creatures in ancient Celtic and Frank cultures. It's possible it could be any large mammal indigenous to Eurasia.

Well nothing is confirmed besides the fact that the Mist is not a halluciantion.

Congrats to you guys, because there is something else that has been confirmed! We are getting places with this topic!