[Abyss]

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DEVELOPMENT

As the new clans begin to develop their own styles and ways of life, Gorgeclan too finds itself adapting to their new territory. A primary feature of the territory, as well as their name-sake, the large gorge that runs deeply through the heart of Gorgeclan land is a very new sort of terrain to trek for a large majority of the clan, even those once from the rocky plains of Stoneclan. While the wooded gorge is a source of beauty and intrigue, it is also a place of secrecy and danger. Anything could lurk around every corner, anything could be hiding in the small crevices and tiny caves within the walls, anything could be hidden away in the cliff-grown trees basked in shadow.

As a cat whose mind constantly takes his surroundings into consideration, both for the clan's sake and for his own, Whitestar knows that the gorge is dangerous and that they need to be cautious of it. But, after the Nest in the Gorge event occurs, White and many others realize just how dangerous the gorge can actually be when it isn't checked consistently.

After the event, White will begin to brainstorm ways that they could better monitor the gorge and better learn how to travel it. With some discussions with Elders and Senior Warriors of the clan, White comes to the idea that they could form a brand new rank, one who specializes itself within the gorge. He works with many others to flesh out the idea for this new rank, and they all agree upon a general set of duties and traits required for the rank.

OVERVIEW

Summarized Gorgerunner Description: Specially-trained Warriors who spend most of their time inside the gorge. Their primary duties consist of patrolling the gorge, keeping an eye on any cave systems, hunting, ensuring that no predators or other clans try to sneak in through the gorge, finding new secure ways of ascending and descending the gorge, and serving as a "rescue team" when anyone gets trapped inside the gorge or along the walls.


Trait Requirements

• Cats of this new rank would be chosen specifically based on their skills in endurance. strength, and good-eyesight, with creativity being an additional bonus.
• Gorgerunners, or Runners for short, must be able to easily ascend and descend the gorge, requiring strong legs and builds, as well as travel the length of the gorge when needed, stemming from endurance and stamina.
• Runners must also have very keen eyesight, for far less light reaches the bottom of the gorge and points of importance are often basked in shadow. In addition, many predators, including other cats, will try to take advantage of the darkness in order to sneak in. And Runners must be able to spot any of these dangers with ease, even in pure darkness.
• Creativity acts as a bonus based around the ability to come up with or find new unique ways to climb the gorge that are different than just the regular 'use small cliffs or rock piles and trees as stairs'.

Duties

• Patrolling and marking the gorge
• Hunting/Keeping an eye on gorge-dwelling prey
• Watching out for any new or old cave systems that could be used by the clan or by predators
• Keeping an eye out for any predators or signs of the other clans
• Finding new ways to ascend and descend the gorge walls safely
• Making plans for if there should ever be any sort of attack against the clan from the gorge, whether by predators or other cats
• Acting as a rescue team if any dangerous situations should occur, from minor things like someone getting stuck on a ledge to major things like cats being trapped beneath a collapsed portion of the gorge wall

Head Gorgerunner

• After much deliberation, one cat is chosen to oversee Gorgerunner patrols and tasks, almost like a mini-Deputy. This cat is chosen based on their skills and abilities, as well as their personality as White gets to know them.
• Said cat, named the Head Gorgerunner, would be considered a pseudo-HR, or a cat who holds importance within the clan and has duties to carry out but is not required to participate in HR checks. This cat will have smaller responsibilities, such as reporting any major gorge finds to Whitestar, overseeing all Runner training, seeking out potential new members for the rank, and holding the Gorge Trials.
• As this new rank is presented to the clan, Cinderstream becomes the very first of the Gorgerunners and is announced as the very first Head Runner.

INITIATION

The process of choosing candidates in the beginning would primarily be volunteering and assessment done by Whitestar, Cloudtail, and the Head Runner. Cats who volunteer and/or are chosen and offered the role will all come together and train collectively with the Head Runner in the gorge to hone in on their required skills and get some cats into the rank who will be experienced before the official method of training new Runners is put into place.

After the role has gained enough members who are experienced in the role, the option of new cats becoming Runners will open up. Whitestar and Cinderstream work together to figure out how their system of training new Runners should work, and they come up with a system they feel will be beneficial to the success of the rank.

Promotion to Apprenticeship and Warriorhood. As all young Kits do, Kits promoted into Apprentices will be given to a regular Warrior mentor and will train through the whole of their required Warrior training. When the time comes and they have proven their skills and abilities, they will be promoted into Warriors.

Volunteering or being chosen. Just before becoming a Warrior, a cat may approach either Whitestar, Cloudtail, or Cinderstream and express interest in becoming a Gorgerunner. On the flip side, if any older Apprentices are assessed and any of the three believe that said Apprentice could potentially make a good Gorgerunner, they will approach the Apprentice themselves and offer the position to them.


The Gorge Trials. After an Apprentice interested in the role, or offered the role and agrees, becomes a Warrior, during the ceremony Whitestar will announce that any newly promoted Warriors may approach himself or the Head Runner to sign up for what will be known as the Gorge Trials. The Trials will be a full day dedicated to the assessment of potential new Gorgerunners, in which the young Warriors will all be tested in 3 different trials to test their abilities, held by Whitestar and the Head Runner.

Trial 1: Climbing. As the ability to climb is such a primary and important duty in being a Gorgerunner, this trial is the most important straight away. Those participating in the trial will be required to both ascend and descend both a steep wall of the gorge and a tree within the gorge. They will be given free creativity to climb them however they wish. As long as they do both successfully and without any miss-steps, they will pass and move on to the next trial.

Trial 2: Stamina. Another important and primary trait required in a Runner's job is endurance and stamina. This trial will consist of the young Warriors all being lead together as a group by Whitestar and the Head Runner to the Redshade Rift. On his mark, the whole group, lead by the Head Runner, will begin to run at a steady (but not too-harsh) pace from the starting point all the way to the border of Galeclan found within the gorge. Along the way the Head Runner will keep an eye on all of them. If anyone begins to fall behind, they will either encourage them to keep going or will instruct them to go back atop the gorge and meet with Whitestar, who will be trotting along the top edge of the gorge in case anyone does fall behind. Those who keep pace with the group and make it to the end will pass the trial and proceed to the final trial.

Trial 3: Scavenger Hunt. The final trial to complete, this trial is to test the eyesight of those who have made it this far. This trial, unlike the other 2, will be held at night within the gorge. Whitestar and the Head Runner will take all of those who have made it into the gorge as the sun sets and tell them the rules. In the early morning before the trials officially begin, each young Warrior will be given a shiny stone found within the gorge, each with a different color to differentiate what stones belong to who. They must remember what their stone looks like throughout the day, but they will not see these stones again until they reach the final trial. As night sets in, Whitestar and the Head Runner will inform them that the final trial is a test of eyesight. Each young Warrior must venture into the dark gorge and find their assigned stone and bring it back to White and the HR. The stones could be hidden anywhere, from in a crevice along the bottom of the wall, a ledge along the cliffs, a nook within the trunk of a tree, anywhere. They are not hidden to the point where one would need to dig or unbury them; all you must do is look closely and pay attention. Every Warrior will be given 2 chances to bring back their assigned stone. If you bring back the wrong stone once, you will be instructed to take it back to exactly where you found it and go look for yours again. If the second time you bring back the wrong stone again, you will fail the trial and will stay with White and the HR until everyone else has returned. If you bring back the correct stone that is definitely yours, either the first or the second time, you will pass the trial. The next morning Whitestar will call the clan together for a very brief meeting and he will announce that the Gorge Trials have been completed, and that -Warrior names- successfully passed all three trials and will now be on the path of becoming a Gorgerunner.

TRAINING

All Trainee Gorgerunners will not be given a singular GR mentor, they will be trained collectively by all of the older and most experienced Runners. They will train for a minimum of 4 moons and a maximum of 8 moons. During their training they will consistently learn how to ascend and descend the gorge using a variety of methods and resources, hunting in dimly-lit terrain, balance, further stamina and endurance training, the act of rescuing others and yourself should you or anyone else get stuck on or in the gorge, and how to use the gorge's terrain to your advantage should you ever face against a predator, or worse, an attempted sneak attack from another clan. When they have gone through the length of the training and are assessed by the HR, if they have done well and have succeeded in building their skills, a ceremony will be held announcing that the Trainees have worked hard in their training and that they have gained the skills to become a proper Gorgerunner. Their names they gained when they became a Warrior won't change (unless you want them to), but it will be similar to becoming a Warrior. "You have trained hard to understand and conquer the ways of the gorge, and you have proven yourself skilled enough to traverse its harsh terrain. From this moment forward you are now an official Gorgerunner."

POTENTIAL CANDIDATES

If you believe that any of your characters would either volunteer or would show potential to be a Gorgerunner, you may either post said characters here in this thread or you may tag me [Abyss] on Discord in the Gorgeclan channel to let me know. For now, only cats who are new Warriors or older may volunteer. No Warriors in the beginning will have to go through the Gorge Trials. We intend to wait until we have a good amount of relatively experienced Gorgerunners already before we start putting the Gorge Trials into place. An announcement will be made when they do start being implemented.

• Timberfrost
• Ashtail
• Wrenbelly
• Wingfeather
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