warriors
T E M P U S
shared account of rye and knightstorage
Somewhere lost in Washington, there is an alpine lake few know about. The banks are dry and rocky in the summer, and the tide rushes back in the spring, while autumn cools the air crisp just in time for the lake to freeze over in winter. The monarchs come in the summer to mate, meanwhile eagles perch in high trees to tend for their young in the spring. Year round, however, there are rustles in the bushes, splashes on the brooks, and clawmarks on the tree trunks. Cats prowl these lands in a surprisingly orderly fashion, and four colonies have formed in spite of each other.
Hidden in the tall trees and forming nests on the branches of towering junipers, firs, and alpines, the elusive Forestclan lives. On the rocky shores and small wading pools on the silent waters, residents of Lakeclan hunt for fish for their loved ones. In the small patches of untrimmed, damp grass among the sticky mud of the marshes, Moorclan keeps close eyes on the other colonies. Stoneclan, renowned for their calm collectives, is perched against the sheer mountainside that butts up against the lake, carefully watching the sky.
Everything is peaceful in the alpine; Even the twolegs who vacation there every summer tend to leave the clans alone, knowing better than trying to take them to some sort of home. In the winter, when the waterfall stops pounding the sharp stones of the mountain into smooth, curved pebbles, a crack is revealed in the smooth rock. Medicine cats and some others who are carefully selected make a short journey to the huge cavern, known as the Cotes, to sleep and dream around a vibrant engraving along the circular interior, said to have been carved out and decorated by the Ancestors, or the long forgotten founders of their societies. The runes and markings glow brightest for seven nights during summer, and is known as the quickest and easiest bridge between the material world and Starclan, though during the season the Cotes can be reached at any time and an attempt can be made to connect with the Ancestors.