sovereignty in our homeland

A fox traversed the lands of the forest cats on this night. She had come through ShadowClan, crossing through the swamps from some distant land. She knew the thunderpaths well. Now, at this most sacred boundary line, she pondered her next move. To the outskirts of Twolegplace, to feed on the stays? Or should she carry on, following the scent of moor-cats where she could chase them down on swift paws? A rustling startled her. She bore her discolored teeth, daring the strange being forward. Whether it was the unnatural glow of Badgerstar's yellow eyes that sank into her core, or the aura of his tormented spirit, it did not matter to him. He merely stepped forward, his tail lashing effortlessly behind him, before the vixen leaped and scampered towards WindClan. It was their problem now.

The triumphs of his motley crew in winning over the hearts of StarClanners had been few, but not lacking in intensity. Each of his contemporaries, though their principles were the only things that bonded them in agreement, shared a certain skill of persuasion. He valued his leaders, though he could not tell if he liked them. His newest initiate was a welcome surprise. Thornstar and Torrentstar's executions, though marvelously effectuated by Vixenstar and Brackenstar, did not serve to subdue the clans. They did not wake up to the song of the raven that StarClan now sang. It bemused him, these headstrong living ones. StarClan itself had been more easily won over... it was simply a matter of numbers and power of will. Raise enough loud voices, and you could not hear the mewls of compassion for vile sin. With time, the mewls would die down to a whisper, and then to a fleeting thought, and then to nothingness.

The forest cats required more persuasion than death for shock value, clearly. Rules needed to be put in place. The initiates would learn their place in the stars through the trials the leaders of the Righteous Few posed to them in the current moon. At the Fallen Oak, Badgerstar breathed in the mossy scent of his homeland. ThunderClan lay to the South. Another cat emerged from the undergrowth behind him with the same ethereal shimmer.

"Dear Ivylight," he purred to the newcommer. "Clanmate in life and death. How we weep for our successors. On this border, Marshpaw lives with two paws on either side. He denies his ShadowClan ancestry. He calls himself Oakstar. He dishonors our brother, Brackenstar, and he disgraces our clan of the undergrowth and trees. It's as if we stand on sky and look up at the trees above us... don't you agree?"

Frosty starlight glimmered in the paws of the shadow that matched the tom step for step, scowling at what her Clan had become. It was infected. Rogues, Half-Clans, kittypets... Her Clan was nothing like it once had been, pure and dignified. It's medicine cat was born a kittypet, and its leader was a ShadowClan cat. Even the deputy was half-Clan. How could a Clan survive when its leadership was rotten? This was her Clan. How had things changed so much since she'd breathed in air in the Clan of the living? The very heart of her Clan was tainted, impure. RiverClan and ShadowClan warriors dared to call themselves ThunderClan. Hah! Night-walkers and fish-pelts could never fit into the gentle woodland and undergrowth of ThunderClan territory.

The vixen fled quickly, with no fight, her discolored teeth snarled before she fled, as if a sign that ThunderClan's leadership was falling apart, as discolored and wrong as the fox itself.

"They mock us," She spat, "Giving positions of leadership to those whose blood runs with shadows. Hah! Marshpaw isn't worthy even of the name 'Marshstorm', let alone 'Marshstar'." Suddenly her voice softened to a sickly sweet melody, her eyes blazing. "I pity them, cowards who are too ashamed of their sins to face them! They shall pay for their crimes in blood, only then shall they realize their treachery."

Badgerstar had been her leader, her Clanmate, and he shared her sorrow. ThunderClan was not the Clan it used to be. What right did these living cats have to taint the blood of innocents? Kits torn between blood and Clan, loyalties divided by the choices of their disgraceful parents. It was unjust. But she would make it right, she was one of the Righteous Few, one of the cats who could bare no longer to wither in their sorrow of what had befallen the Clans. Blood would be spilled before the battle was over, and those who listened to stubborn pride and stupidity would die. Those who sought to cleanse the Clan of this impurity would thrive and be welcomed, for they shared the mindsets and virtues of the Righteous Few.

The Clans would be made right again. Thornstar and Torrentstar-- no, Thornbriar and Scorchclaw, had been meticulously executed. It was the first of many steps. Flintstar and Ivystar would make much better leaders, learning from the mistakes of the predecessors. Stormbringer and Ravenmist would serve as deputies well, and perhaps would be willing to join the Righteous Few in driving the traitors back. A rabbit cannot survive in the river, a fish cannot swim on the moor or woodland, a sparrow cannot find its way in the dark. Just as the fish needed the river, the blood of the river flows in the cats of the river. The moor would always belong to the hearts of the cats born there. Shadows would darken the pelts of all born in shadows, just as the sky forever would be loved by the cats of trees. The rustle of thunder and undergrowth would be heard no matter what to those kin to it.

It was a matter of blood. Those who were not born on the moor were not meant for the moor. Those in shadows were meant to be in shadows. A cat could not live with a paw in two worlds. "I agree, Badgerstar, it is time for the Clans to be purified." Ivylight mewed, tabby tail gently swaying as she gazed at her leader.

"Good."

Badgerstar said very little else. The burly tom swept his tail as he took in the sights of the forest. It had been so long since he had been in this place. It seemed that the Great Flood had washed away the pathways and prey-routes of old, leaving nothing as it was. He did not recognize the well-trodden dirt, nor the placement of the scent markings. It was another testament to his growing celestial age. ThunderClan was not what it once was. They could not control the folly of twolegs, nor the strength of a dam. These things would desolate the forest, leaving nothing but sprouts and saplings, until they grew up again to their former glory... never the same. It was time, now, for a kind of spiritual flood, for the folly of cat was greater than any rushing water. Beyond the new landscape, the new camp, and the new riverbank, there were new ideas of right and wrong, good and evil, that needed widespread purging. In this way, the broken Code would be washed away, leaving only the sanctity of the pure clans behind.

Treason was more terrible and any Earthly war, flood, or plague. So these cats would soon find out. Overcome with his own musings, Badgerstar cleared his throat. "Ivylight, you will be the dutiful guardian of these borders. You shall not interfere with the typical bickering of clan against clan. Challenging trespassers are their duties as warriors. My friend, you will protect these borders when they are left unguarded. They are not meeting places for kindly souls, they are firm lines that separate one's family from their foe. If they resist?" Badgerstar smiled, cruelly touched by the notion. "Make them understand."