Holy Practices

SunClan worships sidewinder snakes as their ancestors. It’s said that when a cat dies, if they needed a second chance in life, they would become a snake to guide SunClan in order to redeem themselves. As such, killing snakes is an act punishable by death (if you kill a snake before they fulfill their purpose, it would damn their souls to The Place of No Stars). Sidewinder snakes with a specific type of band on their necks, in particular, are SunClan cats. Only SunClan’s medicine cat knows which snake has a cat soul inside of them. 

The Den is SunClan’s place of worship. It’s deep into a small stone cave underneath the sand where snakes gather to drink at an underground pool. SunClan medicine cats will lay beside the pool and let a snake bite them (these particular sidewinder snakes aren’t as venomous and, paired with the fact that SunClan cats have a high tolerance to venom, it only causes dizziness and hallucinations). While under the effects of the venom, they’re able to see their ancestors in StarClan. 

When getting their nine lives, the SunClan deputy will come to the Den and give five things to the snakes as offerings: a young mouse whose eyes have yet to open, the egg of a burrowing owl, the skull of a raven, the tooth of a sand fox, and one of their own claws ripped off their paw. They represent the sacrifices the desert makes to the Clan: the mice who feed them, the owls who create burrows to hide from the sun, the ravens who signal to cats that food was nearby, the foxes who showed the cats what to hunt. Their own claw is to prove that the leader is willing to maim themselves for the good of the Clan. 

At night, when the desert is cooling down, SunClan cats will gather underneath the sky and begin chanting one of five different songs chosen by the medicine cat. Each song reflects what the Clan needs – rain, food, protection in battle, healthy kits, or guidance. If there happens to be clouds in the sky, SunClan will instead chant for the clouds to become water and soothe the arid earth. 

Rain

Lullaby of rain,

Come soothe the burning desert 

StarClan hear our call

Prey

Our prey runs swiftly, 

Give us swift paws to catch it.

StarClan hear our call

Protection

Our enemies rise, 

Surround us with your safety, 

StarClan hear our call

Kits 

The future comes soon,

Let them be bright and healthy.

StarClan hear our call

Guidance 

We are lost tonight,

Help us know what we must do.

StarClan hear our call

Clouds

Clouds high in the sky 

Turn to water and come down

We need you below. 

Silverpaw and Sunstar

When Silverpaw, the apprentice to Barkbreath, discovered the Den, he was suffering from heatstroke and staggered into the cave. He collapsed and thought he was going to die. However, a sidewinder moved under him, shifting the sand until he was close enough to the water to drink. As he drifted into sleep, he saw the snake curl up and die. Its spirit rose and turned into a cat, who climbed into the sky and met him in StarClan. The cat, an ancient spirit named Blackspring, thanked Silverpaw and told him that she had been trapped as a snake for many seasons, awaiting the day she could redeem herself. 

Silverpaw brought Barkbreath and Sunstar to the Den, where they met with Blackspring. She told them that she, and any cat they helped redeem, would join the ranks of their ancestors and watch over the Clan. Barkbreath and Silverpaw were delighted, but Sunstar was bitter. She wanted the ancestors of MangroveClan to travel to new hunting grounds in order to stay with them.

While Barkbreath and Silverpaw conversed with Blackspring, Sunstar crept out of the Den and searched for the snakes that the cats spoke so highly of. She tracked four of them down and killed them mercilessly, dragging their bodies back to camp. When the medicine cats returned, they were horrified. Sunstar openly mocked them for trusting Blackspring, telling them that they had been fooled. 

Then, as if appearing from thin air, an osprey dove from the sky. It struck Sunstar in the neck and broke it instantly before picking up the leader and carrying her away. Though the SunClan cats searched for days, they eventually only found bones. From then on, SunClan wouldn’t dare to harm a snake, knowing they could forsake the spirits of noble cats. 

Apprenticeship 

When kits reach six moons, they will travel to the Den with their parents and select a natal burrow. Once the kit has selected a burrow, they’ll try to catch one of the hatchlings. If they are unable to, they will be sent back to camp and forced to wait another moon to try again. Kits who can’t catch a snake by the third time are sent into the desert, never to be seen again. 

Kits who successfully catch a snake are brought back to camp where they become fully-fledged apprentices. The first thing they and their mentor do are go into the desert and find a suitable place to hide their snake. Only the apprentice and mentor are supposed to know where it is (though oftentimes apprentices will show their denmates, or mentors will ask their friends to help keep the snake alive). 

Apprenticeship in SunClan is harsh and fast-paced. The first moon of training is spent learning which plants and animals will kill you (often by ingesting or fighting said things) and then from then on the apprentices are expected to traverse the desert to find prey. Every day, apprentices are expected to go out and find a suitable amount of food before they return. When they return, they’re allowed a quick meal and then are taken out for training with their mentors. Apprentices who cannot find anything in time aren’t permitted to eat or even enter the camp. 

If an apprentice’s snake goes missing or dies, they are stripped of their apprenticeship and forced to live alone in the desert for an entire moon. At the end of that time, they spend a night and a day in the Den and beg StarClan for forgiveness. If StarClan forgives them, they are forced to restart their apprenticeship. If not, they’ll be exiled from the Clan. 

Becoming a Warrior

To become a warrior, each apprentice will bring their snake to the Den and ask StarClan to bless them. Then they must undergo six grueling and extremely dangerous tasks that take them across the island and into each biome. Their mentor will accompany them to make sure everything is done properly, but are unable to help in any of the tasks. 

Apprentices will always start out in the desert. Their task is to travel to the ancient ruins and steal one of the precious gems guarded jealously by a flock of greedy ravens. The ravens are naturally vicious towards any thieves and will chase the apprentices all the way back to camp, sometimes even waiting for days and days until they can get ahold of their precious gems again. After a couple of days of fending off the ravens, when the medicine cat approves, the apprentices will toss the gemstone back and allow the ravens to return it to their hoard. 

The next task is traveling to the forest and finding their way to the Lightning Tree. Though finding the tree is hard on its own, the real challenge is to fend off the souls of cats who are caught in purgatory. Without sidewinders, cats who died in the forest become guardians of the tree and must keep away interlopers at all costs. Therefore, the apprentices must journey to the tree while keeping themselves safe from the guardians who try to repel or kill them. Once there, they must take one of the small stones painted with blood that medicine cats leave there and bring it home. The medicine cat will then take it back.

After the forest comes the swamp. Apprentices must travel deep into the swamps in order to find the den of an alligator. They must use their wits, cunning, and physical ability in order to obtain one of the alligator’s eggs. Once the egg is obtained, the apprentice must carry it back to camp without it breaking. If an apprentice breaks the egg or otherwise loses it, they must go back and find another one. Other apprentices may only take the egg if they’re still inside the swamp – taking it from a Clanmate when they already made it back is forbidden and will result in the immediate termination of the warrior quest. 

Once the swamp quest has been completed, the apprentices are required to make the journey to the far side of the island in order to get to the west coast. There, they must find the tooth of a shark and use it to cut each of their paw pads. Carrying the tooth in their mouth, they must walk along the shore, down to the south of the swamp, and back up to the eastern coast. The entire time they may only walk with their cut paw pads in the ocean brine, only stopping to sleep or hunt. Once they make it back to the desert, they’ll present the tooth to their mentor who will bring it to the Den and offer it to the ancestors. 

Apprentices will then head to the alpines, where they’ll have to seek out the nest of an eagle. After climbing inside the nest, the apprentice will have to find the downy feathers of a chick and bring it back to their Clan. Generally, the eagles will be extremely territorial. However, if the apprentice is unlucky enough to find a nest that still has chicks in it, then they’ll likely be attacked by the eagle. Mentors are unable to help protect their apprentice, so they will have to use whatever tactics they can think of to defend themselves. It’s often safer to find an abandoned nest, but typically SunClan cats look down on this as cowardice. 

The final quest a SunClan apprentice must take is the most dangerous one. They must travel deep into the icy tundra, fighting off any beasts or rogues that happen to live there, to find the Star Flame. While there, they will dream of StarClan and receive their judgment. If the apprentice is ready and honorable, StarClan will send a sign to the medicine cat before the apprentice arrives back home and they will officially become a warrior the moment they step paw inside camp again. If StarClan denies the apprentice, they’ll be expelled from the Clan for a moon in order to understand what they did wrong. Afterward, they may return and try again. 

Courtship

SunClan cats take more pride in their family than their mates, generally setting mating rituals aside to focus on kits and apprentices. 

When two cats wish to officially become mates, they’ll each go out and find something precious to them. Whether it’s a feather, a bit of shell, or a tuft of fur, as long as the cat finds some meaning in it they can use it. They will take this precious item and meet their mate just outside the Den at the Lover’s Rock.

The Lover’s Rock is a pair of boulders that look almost like cats leaning against each other. At the paws of the cats is a small bowl-like area where cats will set these special items and then spend the night in silent contemplation. In the morning, if the cats still wish to become mates, they’ll leave the precious item there and go find their mate. Cats who choose to not become mates will take their item back and store it safely. 

Rogues used to use the stone themselves but often used it to commemorate mates who had passed away. Many who joined SunClan brought the tradition with them and it evolved over a few generations, turning from commemorating the deceased to asking for their blessing and then, as it is today, turning into proving their love for their mate and contemplating on what it means to be in a relationship. 

The items in the paws of the Lover’s Rock are thought to be almost sacred and it’s considered extremely taboo to take the item another saber placed in the paws. However, it’s not unheard of for scorned lovers to take an item that wasn’t theirs out of the rock and try to hinder the relationship of that cat. Elders will often tell kits that, if you purposefully take someone else’s item in order to sabotage their romance, they’ll be cursed to never find their true mate. 

Stonegaze and Mistbreeze

Though SunClan cats claim to not be as romantic as other Clans, the favorite story of many young cats tells the tale of Stonegaze and Mistbreeze.

Many cats say that Stonegaze and Mistbreeze were once a single star that had fallen apart as it crashed to the ground. Whatever the case may be, they were known far and wide for their undying love and loyalty for one another. If one was hurt, the other would stay by their side until they were better. They fought, hunted, and raised their kits side by side, partners in everything.

This is why it was particularly devastating when Mistbreeze was struck with a terrible illness. The sickness had no name and no cure, and every cat whispered that Mistbreeze’s death was inevitable. Stonegaze refused to believe this. He traveled deep into the icy tundra and to the Star Flame, where he demanded StarClan tell him of a cure. 

StarClan knew of no cure. They lamented their lack of an answer for hours until, from far beyond StarClan’s hunting grounds, came the spirit of a cat. He didn’t say his name, only told Stonegaze of what he must do to find the rare flower that would cure Mistbreeze’s mysterious illness. 

The cure wasn’t found anywhere near their home. Stonegaze would have to travel across the water to a desolate volcanic island where no one but the birds could survive. Without hesitation, he agreed and headed to the western coast. 

At the coast, cats called Stonegaze a fool for trying to cross the raging sea, but he ignored them all and only spoke of his undying love for Mistbreeze. Eventually, a few cats approached him and taught him how to swim in the briny waters. Many were amazed at how quickly he learned – what took moons for apprentices to learn he mastered in a few days. When asked, Stonegaze told the others that he had to learn quickly, or else his mate would perish. 

Once Stonegaze learned how to fish and swim, he set off along a chain of small boulders where kittiwakes and fulmar would perch. At times he could walk along the rock and others he had to swim in the churning waves, yet he continued on without complaint. 

When Stonegaze made it to the edge of the boulders, he realized he would have to swim for a full day just to reach the volcanic island. He rested for the night on the final rock and watched the stars. His heart was heavy and his body was sore, unable to be soothed by the grooming of his mate. 

When daylight broke, Stonegaze miserably stood and slipped into the water. He grimly swam on, never taking his eyes off of the volcano ahead. The sun beat down on him like a vicious enemy, trying to kill him, but he pushed on nevertheless. Soon, the sound of shorebirds faded into the whisper of wind and waves. He was truly alone now. 

Never alone. Stonegaze told himself fiercely. I’ll always have Mistbreeze with me. With that thought, the tom swam on with determination fueling his body. 

It was nearly sundown when Stonegaze realized his deadly mistake. The volcanic island was much further than he had originally thought and, though he was slowly becoming more and more exhausted, the volcano didn’t appear any closer. 

Desperation filled Stonegaze’s heart as he thought of his beloved Mistbreeze. With a cry of sheer despair, he vented his frustration and anger into the world. Just as his legs were beginning to refuse to move, something hard brushed his paws. Terror jolted through his body at once – could this be a shark come to end him?! 

Yet, the hard thing soon became a small platform and, when Stonegaze looked down, he was shocked to see the largest animal he’d ever seen. It was bigger than his entire camp twofold! The creature hummed a song that shook Stonegaze to his very core: it spoke of something ancient and loving and gentle, and it wanted to help him. 

Soon, the massive creature had brought Stonegaze to the shore. He raced to the volcano and climbed the still-hot sides, scalding his paws along the way. There, at the top of the volcano, was the flower he sought. With the utmost care, he took one of the delicate blooms and returned down to the shore, trembling with pain and exhaustion. 

The creature was waiting for Stonegaze and together they swam to the shores of his home once more. Stonegaze bid goodbye to his friend and raced back home, never stopping to rest or hunt. He returned just in time – Mistbreeze was slowly dying. He laid with her as his paws recovered – though they never fully did – and the volcano’s flower began to cure the mysterious illness. 

Though the story ends there, the legacy of Stonegaze and Mistbreeze lives on. When Stonegaze perished many moons later, Mistbreeze followed him in her sleep. It’s said that their spirits crystalized into the Lover’s Rock, where they can be with each other forever and help others find their true loves. 

Kit Rearing 

Toms don’t have much interaction with their kits, often preferring to focus on apprentices or their duties to the Clan. Instead, queens will collectively take care of the kits, often nursing and raising the kits of their denmates. It’s not uncommon for certain queens to decide they don’t want to stay in the nursery. If that happens, other queens will nurse the kits alongside their own, allowing the mother to return to her warrior duties. 

It’s common knowledge that once a kit becomes an apprentice, the parents will often move on to more kits or treat them like just another Clanmate. At this time, the mentor becomes the surrogate parent to the apprentice and takes over the parental duties. Oftentimes, the mentors of littermates become co-parents to the apprentices. As such, leaders will typically assign cats who are already close to mentor littermates together.