Athamestone

 Athamestone on the surface seems like a generally promising young warrior. He is quick-witted, and excels in stealth, hunting and tracking. While fighting isn’t his forte, he doesn’t necessarily shy away from it. He is quite level-headed, and extremely patient, especially with younger cats such as kits. However, he can be quite mischievous, willing to play pranks on his Clanmates or get himself into trouble through sheer curiosity.

Though Athamestone is friendly towards anyone, but seems to hold everyone at arm’s length; he lacks any especially close personal friends. His quiet nature, rarely revealing his own personal opinions on a matter without prompting or generally his past, often makes him come off as mysterious. This is compounded by his strange markings, piercing gaze, and elegant demeanour. He seems to take great pride in his looks and takes strongly into account how others perceive him. His opinions are only given, should he be asked, and should he believe it will not change the cat’s view of him.

Underneath his exterior, however, Athamestone is a cunning cat. He understands how to work his way into good graces, and will use it to his advantage. He is extremely calculating, thinking out each of his moves and their consequences before he makes them. When focused, Athamestone will stop at nothing to complete his goals. His friendly and quiet demeanor is simply a facade for the anger that can easily bubble up inside of him, and his level-headedness is a cover for the fact he is willing to kill if it should suit him.

His twisted religious views are not something he tends to share. A follower of Vis, he sees an early death as a sign of divine judgement, and an unnatural death even moreso. He feels no sympathy for cats who have died, in any circumstance. He believes in himself as a true arbitrator of justice, as is the Dark Forest; StarClan simply lets them exist so they can carry out the good deeds that require an evil to commit.

Despite his alignment with the Dark Forest, Athamestone will not do evil for the sake of it. If he does not think his actions will lead to a better outcome, he will not do it. Evil deeds done not for the sake of the greater good are simply evil, and should be punished harshly. He believes, if he has done wrong, then the Gods will stop him; and they have not, so clearly they are square.

✦ ✦ ✦

 Athamestone was born to a strongly religious mother, Brokenshard, who had eloped with an unknown father. Without a second thought, he was abandoned to be cared for by the other monarchs in the nursery; from then on, he strove to regain his mother’s favour, and stand out to her as a worthy son. However, no matter what he seemed to do, she never seemed to care, and carried on as though she had never had him. He became a warrior with a strong sense of religion and sense of mischief, and with still a need to make himself stand out to his parent. 

 While training as a warrior, Athamestone became a particularly adept hunter. On the side, however, he was being trained by another: Dreamlure of the Dark Forest. Lured in with promises of regaining his mother’s affection, Athamestone was willing to be trained within his dreams by the mystery cat. When the Battle of the Stars occurred, Athamestone fought alongside the Dark Forest as secretly as he could, but admittedly was conflicted between his upbringing and his second mentor. However, if this was the way to get what he had wanted his whole life, it was worth it. 

 His mother seemed to see through his StarClan abiding facade, however. In a private moment outside of camp, she accused him of siding with the Dark Forest and against the will of the Gods, and threatened to expose him to the entire Clan. Athamestone being born a Wolf zodiac only added to her theory, as she still believed it was evil. At that moment, he no longer cared that he had worked his whole life for her attention… it was clear to him now that she was the truly evil one here, and that she should then be purged from the Clan. He killed her there on the black sand beach, her blood staining the dark sand red. He threw her into the ocean without a second thought… and swiftly disposed of a cat who had caught him in the act as well. 

 It was then it occurred to him that, to rationalize his violent burst of anger, should he have done wrong, the Gods would have struck him down by now, or protected his victims. They were sinners, and their death was a judgement. Perhaps the Dark Forest was a necessity in doing good in the world, and he was now a part of that, having trained there. The Gods had allowed Vis and Hyd to exist, after all… Some goods could not come to fruition, should an evil not precede it. 

 Athamestone never spoke of what he did. 

 Now, as a warrior, he acts as any would: loyal, determined, and willing to protect his Clan at any cost. Recognition is not what he strives for, but instead his own sense of justice.