Table of Contents
Physique and Personality
CanyonClan cats are unusually short and stout, with coarse, thick pelts to keep out wind, rain, and sun. Their paws are relatively large and spread out, with very thick pads and an excess of fur in between the toes. Though their claws are as strong as other cats, they are also thick and slightly curved, better for climbing up rocks. They also have webbed paws.
Cats of CanyonClan tend to be darker in color, either gray, black, or red. Outsiders who joined CanyonClan have brought in pale colors (white and pale ginger), though they tend to not be as high-ranking as the other cats.
The secluded lifestyle of CanyonClan has led to haughtiness and a deep disdain for outsiders. They view themselves as a sterling example of perfection that other Clans should strive to imitate. While they come off as rather arrogant and can make other Clans dislike them, many cats are actually very genuine and tender – they’ve just been instilled with just outrageous pride since birth and don’t see the problem in it. Due to a rough change in leadership, CanyonClan also has a penchant for being startlingly cruel and quick to punish others.
Territory
CanyonClan resides on the lower side of the alpines near a series of cliffs, waterfalls, and rivers. Though water is an important part of CanyonClan’s life, due to the elevation there’s rarely any flooding. Unlike most parts of the mountains, CanyonClan territory is unusually woody. Pines, spruces, larches, and cedars dominate the territory, though elms and maples are also scattered throughout the area.
The camp of CanyonClan is situated in a sizable clearing among a copse of larch and elm trees. A pair of large waterfalls (called the Skyfall and the Littlefall) dominates the area and ends in a large pool known as the Starpool. A cavern is hidden behind the Littlefall where medicine cats go to communicate with StarClan.
Due to the overwhelming amount of water in their territory (alongside fierce competition from lynxes, hawks, and stoats for other forms of prey), CanyonClan usually relies on fish as their main source of food. They also regularly eat birds and marmots as well as the occasional beaver when they can get lucky.
Traditions
CanyonClan treasures their water and has a firm belief that StarClan entrusted the safety of the sacred waterfalls and pool to them due to their unwavering faith. As such, they take much care in ensuring the water is clean and tidy. After every storm, they spend days clearing debris and ensuring the banks haven’t deteriorated, then make offerings in the form of the smoothest, roundest stones they can find. The stones are placed along the edges of the river to stabilize it.
Bones are also important to CanyonClan. They gather bones of predators and the deceased (never prey bones, though) and place them in cairns around their territory. Each cat also has a special cairn of their own in the Littlefall Cavern where they collect bones they think are important or interesting.
Once a CanyonClan cat dies, their body is left in a secret location known only by the medicine cats and the leaders. After three moons the bones are retrieved, placed among the bones the cat had gathered in life, and the cairn is moved to a much larger network of caverns where CanyonClan honors their dead. In the event that a kit dies and was unable to create their own cairns in life, they are placed with the mother or father’s cairn.
Trial By Combat
CanyonClan has a unique but brutish tradition of settling disputes through combat. If a cat feels wronged or angry, they will go out and find the claw or tooth of a predator (beaks and talon also work in the case of hawks, falcons, and eagles) and throw it at the paws of the cat who they have a grievance with. Once the challenge is issued, the cats have until sunset to prepare themselves.
A large circle of trodden ferns and sand just outside of camp, where apprentices usually train, is used for the purpose of these combats. The rules are simple: one cannot kill their opponent, one must throw their opponent out of the ring or make them forfeit, and one may not go for the eyes or tongue.
The trial is overseen by the leader or, in cases where the leader is in the trial, the deputy. In the case that the grievance is between the leader and deputy, the eldest warrior will oversee the battle. Once begun, the battle may not be stopped until one cat loses. The only way the battle may be stopped otherwise is if StarClan sends a sign to the medicine cat through the Starpool.
Whichever cat wins the trial is considered “correct.” In the past, cats have used this as a way to determine who is deputy (if a warrior is angry at the choice of deputy), determine if a cat is suited to be a mate (generally parents or littermates will challenge the mate), or when cats have general grievances. Occasionally, warriors will also challenge the leader for their leadership or demand certain cats are exiled for crimes.
Though technically allowed, many cats look down on those who use underhanded tricks to win. The most recent example is Searingstar’s challenge of Opalstar. Though not as strong as Opalstar, Searingstar was intelligent and feigned attacking Opalstar’s eyes to force him to step back out of the ring. Opalstar was forced to step down and Searingstar became leader, much to the ire of the Clan. His mate and kit were subsequently exiled.
Apprenticeship
CanyonClan has a harsh, brutal method of training. The first day a kit becomes an apprentice, they are tossed into a river to learn how to swim. Though most mentors will swoop in to save the apprentice if they don’t grasp the basics of swimming in time, it’s not unheard of for apprentices to drown on their first day.
From then on, apprentices are taught hunting and fighting in equal measure, though some mentors will ignore the former to focus on the latter. It’s common for apprentices to earn many scars and injuries during this time, as they haven’t yet been able to develop the skills needed to defend against their mentors and older apprentices. Though it seems cruel, this method produces outstanding warriors, though their hunting skills are usually subpar.
Once a mentor determines that their apprentice is ready to become a warrior, the apprentice will find a particularly special bone (skulls, teeth, and antlers are the most common) and bring it to their cairn. They’ll sleep the night at the cairn and pray to StarClan. Then, just before dawn arrives, they and their Clan will trek to the Skyfall.
There the apprentice will allow themselves to be swept over the edge and into the water below. If they survive, they will be allowed to have their warrior ceremony. Some apprentices will choose to swim the river until they get to the Littlefall and allow themselves to be swept over that one as well. This is seen as both courageous and admirable, though more than a few cats think it’s outrageously foolish to risk themselves multiple times like that.
Mating Ceremony
CanyonClan doesn’t have any romantic views on mating. Though many cats will stick with one mate their entire life, it’s not uncommon for cats to pair up just to have kits.
Toms and she-cats who are unmated and don’t wish to take a mate generally make their feelings known early on in life (they are free to change their minds, but most don’t). These cats are then sometimes sought out by cats who wish to have kits but cannot find a mate of their own. If the two agree to pair up and have kits, the one who wanted the kits will raise them and the other will be free to continue their duties (see Kit Rearing). It’s not uncommon for kits not to know who one of their parents is.
Kit Rearing
Kits are considered commodities in CanyonClan, and though it may come off as cruel, it’s just their way of life. The parents of kits are free to choose who will mentor the kits and thus sometimes will make deals with other warriors for one thing or another.
Queens in dedicated relationships (those who decide to raise their kits) will often nurse the kits of she-cats who wish to immediately return to warrior duties. Those she-cats generally forfeit the parental rights of the kits and oftentimes kits won’t even know who their real mother is.
Fathers rarely take care of the kits and it’s very unusual if the tom is the one to raise his litter. While it’s acceptable for a father to take his own kit as an apprentice, many cats scoff if the tom decides to act as the queen in the rearing of the kits.
Fighting Style
CanyonClan has a brutal way of fighting. They attack head-on, offer no mercy, and will use every trick they can muster in order to defeat their opponent. If they cannot win through brute force alone, CanyonClan cats will use their environment to trap, injure, and kill their opponents. A favorite trick of many CanyonClan cats is to hide among the rocks and, once the enemy has strayed too close, they knock away some of the loose stones and cause the pile to collapse on the cat.
The signature move of CanyonClan was actually designed by one of the first medicine cats of the Clan, Russetleaf, and is called Nettle Blinding. Because CanyonClan cats have very thick fur and spend a lot of time climbing through nettle, they’ve gained a partial tolerance to it. Apprentices are taught early on how to shut their eyes against the small spines and move through the shrub without sight. The cat will lure their enemy into a chase, then lead them into a nettle bush. Though it looks like the CanyonClan cat is moving without injury, they’re just ignoring the irritation. The enemy cat will plunge in without thinking and cause themselves to be blinded, itchy, and irritable by the nettles. While the enemy is off-kilter, the CanyonClan cat will attack.
CanyonClan Legends
Brightflame’s Envy
Before Searingstar and Opalstar, there was Thrushstar. He was a prideful old cat who served CanyonClan for many years. Though age began to show in every part of his body, he was hale and hearty, and stoutly refused to retire. His Clanmates secretly rolled their eyes and complained, but Thrushstar was a powerful warrior, even in his old age, and no one would dare say something disrespectful to his face.
Thrushstar had many kits, but of them all, he only claimed one: Brightflame. The tom was one of the finest warriors CanyonClan had ever produced. Intelligent, powerful, and fearless, Brightflame was the cat every apprentice dreamed of becoming. However, he had one glaring flaw – he knew he was great and he loved to show it off. Many she-cats would swoon over him and many toms would ask to train with him, but very few cats actually liked Brightflame.
That’s why, when Opalheart arrived in the Clan and Brightflame threatened him, many cats watched in silent glee as Opalheart beat him roundly in a trial by combat. Brightflame became bitter and hateful – he was always talented so he never worked to improve himself. This was why Opalheart had no difficulty defeating him, but Brightflame convinced himself the tom had cheated in some way.
The animosity grew until one day it exploded into violence once more. Erminepelt, a lovely she-cat who Brightflame was convinced loved him, bore Opalheart’s kit. This was the wave that broke the dam. Brightflame was filled with such rage that he attacked Opalheart without even issuing a challenge.
Within a few heartbeats, Opalheart had slammed Brightflame into the ground and forced him to surrender. Cats now laughed at Brightflame, openly jeering at him for cowardice, and turned to Opalheart like he was an old friend.
Defeated for a second time, Brightflame turned to more cunning methods. He went to his father and casually began to spread poison about Opalheart’s loyalties. After all, he was the brother of CrystalClan’s leader. He was probably a spy! Thrushstar was a wise leader, but he was old and ailing, and he loved his son. Slowly he began to listen to Brightflame and came to distrust Opalheart.
Eventually, the rivalry between Opalheart and Brightflame came to a head when Brightflame’s mate – who he chose as a second choice and made it known he wasn’t satisfied with her – decided that Opalheart would mentor their son, Smokepaw. Brightflame demanded that Opalheart be removed and, to the Clan’s shock, Thrushstar agreed willingly.
Opalheart didn’t hesitate to challenge Thrushstar to battle. Though some cats murmured about the leader being too old for a fair fight, most of them acknowledged that Thrushstar had brought it upon himself. The fight lasted until dawn due to the old tom’s unwavering tenacity and Opalheart’s reluctance to seriously harm him. In the end, though, Thrushstar admitted defeat.
Though it was Opalheart’s right to demand leadership of CanyonClan, he simply told Thrushstar to exile Brightflame instead. Thrushstar, bound by the rules of the Clan, was forced to exile his son. When the deputy, Emberflight, retired, Opalheart was named as her replacement due to his mercy, strength, and intelligence.
While Smokebee fully supported his former mentor, Searinggaze, his sister, was angry. She plotted for moons until it was time to seize the leadership of the Clan.
Spottedmask’s Insanity
Long ago, there was a medicine quite unlike any other. She was full of unrestrained fury and casual violence, and it was said the slightest argument could turn her into a wrathful monster.
Russetleaf was her name. Many cats assumed StarClan had forced her into the medicine cat life to curb her temper, but in truth, she couldn’t be bothered to hunt and fight. She liked lazing around and only needing to tend to herbs, and didn’t care for having a mate or kits. Her position also offered her authority and respect that others would otherwise never give.
Despite the contempt and scorn Russetleaf’s Clanmates held for her, there was one cat who looked upon her and saw only beauty. Spottedmask was a highly-respected warrior, skilled and loyal as well as handsome. Many she-cats swooned over Spottedmask and asked him to be their mate, but he turned them all down. To the Clan, he seemed to be a calm and intelligent tom.
However, underneath the exterior, insanity festered. Spottedmask was consumed by his love for Russetleaf and would injure himself just to have her heal him. He convinced himself that the medicine cat loved him too and plotted a life together. However, when Spottedmask finally approached Russetleaf and told her of his plans to flee, she rebuffed him instantly. Her words were cruel and callous, unwilling to budge on the matter no matter how hard Spottedmask pleaded with her.
Miserable and broken, Spottedmask retreated to the warrior’s den and plotted. For many moons he waited, distancing himself from Russetleaf and becoming closer to a she-cat. His heart still solely belonged to the medicine cat, but for his plan to work he needed to pretend the she-cat was his beloved Russetleaf instead. While his imagined reality went on, the she-cat bore a litter of four kits – Barkkit, Snakekit, Sloekit, and Hawkkit.
Once Russetleaf had finally believed Spottedmask’s insanity had faded, he struck. Following her to the far reaches of their territory, he revealed himself and told Russetleaf that he was unable to live without her, and he’d make sure they’d be together in StarClan. But Spottedmask miscalculated his attack. He loved Russetleaf too much and his make-believe life with her had clouded his judgment, making him unwilling to kill the “mother” of his kits.
Russetleaf held no such reservations. Her rage had always been legendary and her claws were sharp, always ready for a fight. With a few quick and merciless moves, she disfigured Spottedmask’s face with terrible scars. Blinded by pain, he fled into the night. Infection quickly set in and he feverishly wandered out of the mountains and all the way to the desert, where he disappeared from CanyonClan memory.
The moons passed, but Spottedmask’s insanity had not left CanyonClan. His four kits grew into fine warriors, but each had their father’s obsession in their hearts. For Barkstrike and Snakewatcher, they were obsessed with fighting and defeating opponents. It was they who began the tradition of trial by combat, and eventually, Snakewatcher was killed in a duel against his own brother.
Sloesong was the only daughter of Spottedmask, but her fixation was on leadership. Using every tactic she could muster – from coercing her Clanmates to turn on rivals to having her brothers “accidentally” kill enemies – she eventually became leader. Her reign was both good and bad – she instituted many rules that made CanyonClan strong, but her callousness and cruelty persist even to this day.
Hawkshade was the last kit and by far the most like his father. He was well-liked and intelligent, falling in love with only one she-cat (who thankfully returned his affections), and was known to be a stellar example for his Clanmates. However, his obsession lay with Russetleaf – or rather, killing her. He loved his father and watched as Spottedmask followed the medicine cat out one night, never to return. He knew with certainty that it was her fault Spottedmask disappeared and plotted his revenge constantly.
The night came when Hawkshade was finally to get his vengeance. Russetleaf was old and ailing, but many cats ignored her. She was unliked by most of the Clan due to her violence and unwillingness to help, so she spent many nights wandering the mountains alone.
Hawkshade followed Russetleaf and revealed himself to her once they were far from camp. His body was lit by the moon from behind, creating a ghostly visage. The tom had always resembled his father in both body and mind, so it was unsurprising that Russetleaf thought he was Spottedmask. She sneered at him, ridiculed his love for her, and said told him she was glad he had been forced to leave.
Filled with fury, Hawkshade finally slammed into Russetleaf, sending her plunging over the edge of a cliff. Her body was dashed against the ground below and, because Hawkshade covered her body with rocks, her spirit was trapped and unable to return to StarClan.
Spottedmask’s bloodline still runs in CanyonClan to this day and it’s said that, if a cat becomes cruel and volatile, it’s his spirit coming back to spread his insanity once more.
Legendary Cats
Thrushstar – Former leader of CanyonClan, grandfather of Searingstar. Strict and resolute, but a good leader
Brightflame – Thrushstar’s son and father of Searingstar. Exceptionally talented but arrogant
Spottedmask – Once a warrior of CanyonClan, he was obsessed with Russetleaf and was disfigured by her, forced to flee to the desert
Russetleaf – Once a medicine cat of CanyonClan, she was merciless and violent
Barkstrike – Son of Spottedmask. Alongside his brother, created the trial by combat tradition
Snakewatcher – Son of Spottedmask. Alongside his brother, created the trial by combat tradition
Sloestar – Daughter of Spottedmask. Became leader through underhanded methods and is said to have turned CanyonClan merciless
Hawkshade – Son of Spottedmask. Killed Russetleaf