History of Abyssclan - 1st Draft

[Longstorm]

Author's Note: The following text is the modified version of posts by many members: The Stolens Have Arrived

"Are you paying attention? Good: hello, I'm Loveless, the only male Servant of Abyssclan. What, you don't know much about Abyssclan? Well, most don't. See, if they did... Well, I'll have to tell you the whole story, won't I.
"I remember when I told the whole story to a young she-cat named Joy (though most know her as Joyless). She had just been brought into Abyssclan by a raiding party, and she when she met me, she asked me and my friend, Grace, why it was the way it was..."

Some Four Moons Back...

The air was cool and crisp, rain was falling lightly and many cats had warm beds in Abyssclan. Funny. It almost seemed normal.

Into the Abyssclan camp stumbled Charmless, a servant of Abyssclan, a cold kit in her mouth. She set the kit down as gently as she could, bowing to Woebringer, the Protector of Abyssclan.

Shade, a Choosing, walked into the camp, Charmless, Loveless, and Graceless behind him.
These other three cats were Servants, and nothing more.
Shade set down the kit he was holding, as did the Servants, and counted them.
"One, two, three.... Nine, ten, eleven - thank Those Above, they're all here."
The kits sat down, exhausted. Shade looked around and spotted Woebringer, quickly stood, and dipped his head to him.

Loveless and Graceless gently set down the kits they were carrying. They felt so cold, the poor things were trembling.
The two named Servants drew back as the bracken tunnel rattled as a large white pelted she-cat, Cunningheart, padded into the camp. The black markings on her legs were stained by the blood of the dead thing she held in her mouth - it was a small she-cat.
Cunningheart spat the dead cat out and purred a 'hello' to Shade, who ducked his head in embaressment.
Cunningheart lay down to hold the dead she-cat and to groom it like it was a piece of prey.
Loveless watched her as she looked over the little stolen kits then fixed her stare on a small brown tom. She stood, approached it, murmured something and carried it off like a queen would her kit, snagging the dead she-cat and dragging it along.
Loveless looked away, kinda grossed out by Cunningheart's actions, and turned his attention back to the 'Stolens'.
He noticed that Bloodclaw, clan member, had joined the group and was instructing Charmless and Luckless to carry the kits to the Nursery. The two complied, and Bloodclaw asked Cunningheart something but she shook her head and he dipped his own to her.
Normal Mender-to-Warrior respect there.
Loveless turned when he heard a small hiss. He saw that it was a small silver she-kit with (gulp) blue eyes.
Loveless wasn't the only one to hear the hiss - Shade cuffed the little she-kit over the ear and hissed,
"Be quiet! You'll find no joy here!"
Woebringer strode up to Shade, nodding to him and saying something about his Warrior Ceremony. The calico tom looked at the she-kit and spat, the word 'blue eyes' could be heard all over the clearing. After a time of glaring at the kit he stalked off, leaving everyone to their business.
Loveless watched the small she-kit with mild interest as he passed another kit off to Charmless.
The silver she-kit glared at Woebringer's backside and became very interested in the dead white she-cat. Surprisingly, she took one of the dead cat's teeth, tucking it into a tangle in her fur.
Before Loveless thought to stop her, the she-kit had made her way out of the camp.
Loveless looked around, wondering if anyone else had seen that. His task was completed (minus the silver she-kit) and the other Servants were returning to the Den. He followed, wondering about the she-kit.
Loveless thought to go after her but thought better of it, thinking that the Warriors could handle it.
Sure enough, he could hear Despairingcall, a highly respected cat of Abyssclan say,
"Put her with the Servants. No need to let her be with the other kits."
Shade appeared outside of the Den, tossing the kit inside.
The silver she-kit landed with a 'PLOP', but she glared at Shade while unsheathing her tiny claws, jumping at Shade's face. She didn't get his face, but she tried to claw through his thick leg fur. At best, Loveless thought, she nicked him. The she-kit spun around and glared at him and the Servants, hissed, and ran right into the muscular leg of Shade.
Shade, annoyed, picked up the small kit, shook her roughly, and pitched her into the den.
As the she-kit slowly stood, Loveless whispered to Graceless,
"She must be old enough." The she-kit hissed, tired, and fluffed out her fur while walking up to the entrance.
Loveless quickly (though gently) snagged her tail and pulled her back in. He whispered into her ear,
"Don't go out there! The Warriors play with the hides of younglings like you! My sister once continued to venture out as such, and my own father," he hissed the word, "killed her!" He now met her gaze, his amber eyes looking into her blue ones.

TBC

[Runfast]

Enter story mode - Booya!

"Long ago, after the Victory of Bloodclan, Scourge, The Slayer of Forest Stars, made a new kingdom for Bloodclan. He realized that the way he had been living was wrong, and changed his ways. He was still strong, still mighty, and still feared; but he was now loved by all who were under his rule.
The Bloodclan cats of the forest were a force that no one dared compete with, and they reigned for seasons upon seasons - until one day..."

Loveless paused.
Loveless smiled and continued, looking slightly serious.

"One day, a great host of Monsters" he hissed the word, "Came off of the Great Thunderpath. The cats of the Kingdom of Bloodclan had never seen such Monsters before! Their teeth were greater, they ate the trees, drained the rivers, and destroyed all dens!" Loveless shivered for effect.
"Scourge led his brave, loyal Subjects against the Terrible Twolegs that came from the bellies of these Monsters, but Twolegs, in great numbers, are stronger than cats.
Many died defending their mates, kits, litter mates, and fellow Subjects... Many died... Including..."
Loveless watched Joy's expressions to the story.

Joy dug her claws hard into the ground as she listened to this roler coaster of events.
"Did Scourge get away?" she mewed curiously "and why did he change his mind about his past and did they have servants like this?" she sat quit ears flicking for every sound and eyes intent for facial detail.

Loveless held up his tail. "They'll be a time for questions, but the time is not now. Now, where was I..." His eyes sparkled with the rare amusement.
"Ah, yes."

"Many died, including the Loyal Protector, Bone." Loveless bowed his head for a moment.
"Scourge himself was injured. What's worse... The Terrible Twolegs captured loyal Subjects. Scourge did his very best to defend his cats, but he was captured as well... But to all cat's surprise, the Twolegs didn't kill any of them!"

Loveless stretched a bit and continued.

"The Twolegs put them in a great Monster, a Monster with great prisons inside. All cays were separated from one another, put in separate prisons. The brave Scourge was set at the bottom of them all, injured, his wounds becoming infected... The journey in the Monster was long, and with each passing Sunrise, Scourge became sicker and sicker... He knew that his death was coming, so he revealed to his remaining cats a great secret..."

Joy looked in awe as he carried on with the story, The drizzle outside evolved into a spray with the vapour.
Its going to be cold tonight she thought listening to the reign of Scourge.
She blinked as silver droplet fell onto her nose and shuffled further in.

Loveless and Graceless shuffled back a little as well, fluffing up their fur against the cold. Loveless continued:

"The Great Secret of Scourge -"

"There were two Great Secrets, Loveless," Graceless interupted.

"I know that, Graceless," he replied. "I was gonna say, but you butted in!"

Graceless dipped her head, apologizing.

Loveless nodded and started again:

"Yes, The Great Secrets," he gave Graceless a look, "of Scourge. With his final breath nearing, he told his loyal Subject," Loveless mimicked Scourge's eerie high-pitched voice,
" 'Loyal Subjects, my friends, my kin... I know I'm dying... But I have Two Secrets that will change how you see things forever... I don't know if you'll all believe them, but I hope you do..' "
Loveless cleared his throat - speaking in a such a voice was tough.
" 'I know many of you wonder why I choose to change the ways of Bloodclan, though none of you ever ask. I know that you have all been afraid that I would change it back.' "
Loveless switched voices and said, "The Subjects of Bloodclan ducked their heads since what Scourge was saying was true."
"Scourge then said, 'I don't blame you. But the First Secret that I am going to tell you has much to do with why Bloodclan has changed - though much of the Change has had to do with the loyalty and honor of all of Bloodclan, from the smallest kit to the seasoned elder...' "

Loveless cleared his throat again, lapping up a little water that had pooled in the front of the cave. "Right, I can't talk in his voice..."

Graceless chuckled softly.

"What Scourge told them changed their lives forever - Scourge revealed to them that, like the Forest Cats, Bloodclan had warrior ancestors."
Loveless let it sink in.
"Warrior Ancestors! The Bloodclan cats didn't know what to think! They'd always scorned the thought of dead cats being able to speak. But Scourge went on to explain that long ago, a short while after the Victory of Scourge, Scourge and Bone explored all the territories the Forest Clans had called theirs. In their travels they came across a great cave, and in that cave was a long, dark tunnel..."


Joy blinked and her heart skipped a beat as he went on, she felt like she was in her own secial den with her uncle going on about one of his silly stories but this one was different, She thought about when mama would walk in a shake her "Nonsense is what my kit will live on," she would say but Joy was to intent on what happened next...


Loveless was glad to have such an enraptured audience - the other Servants stopped listening a while ago.

"Scourge and Bone had wondered what had been so special about this cave, so they went down the dark tunnel. The tunnel was so dark that not even their superior night vision could see - they relied on their whiskers and wits to keep going.
It seemed to them that the tunnel of darkness would never end, when suddenly, the ground fell away! Scourge and Bone tumbled head-over-tail. When Scourge awoke, he found that Bone was not with him. What's more, he found that he could see!
He was in a small cave that was lit up by a strange, silvery light.
When Scourge looked for the source of the light, he saw that moonlight was shining in through a hole in the ceiling, and the moonlight was reflecting off of pieces of broken stone. Curious, he touched one of the stones - and something amazing happened."

Not waiting for any prompting, Loveless continued.

"When he touched the largest piece, Scourge fell asleep. When he opened his eyes he found that he was in a great, broken forest. It looked as though there had been a great battle, one that was a thousand times greater than the Battle For the Forest. From the shadows, cats that Scourge had once known appeared. Scourge expected a fight, but the cat's claws were sheathed, there ears pricked forward...."


Joy looked exitedly... "cats of starryclan...?"
She hushed her self and put her paw over her mouth to let him carry on.

Loveless shook his head.

"No, these cats were different. They called themselves, 'Those Above'. They told Scourge that whenever a cat of Bloodclan died, those of a good heart joined them. Those Above also told Scourge that when Scourge defeated the Forest Clans, They came and defeated the cats of Starclan, driving them out of the Silver Forests. Those Above said that Scourge coming to the Broken Stone was destiny, and that They had a message for him:"

Loveless's voice became lower, spookier:

" 'Change your ways,' They said, 'and we will grant you nine lives. Rule your cats fairly and you will find love and loyalty - and at the end of these lives, you will join us here so that you may always watch over your clan.' Scourge thought about this and asked,
'What if I don't?' Those Above answered,
'Then you will join Those Below.' A whisper of fear spread through the ancestors like leaves in the wind."

Loveless shivered to demonstrate.

"Scourge didn't know why, but he felt afraid too. After much thought he agreed with Those Above, saying that he would try their ways, and if he didn't like it, he would change it back."

"Of course, he didn't," Graceless chimed in.

Loveless gave her a look and said, "Well, DUH. If he had then we wouldn't be here!" He gave out an exasperated sigh, giving Joy a silly look to show that he wasn't upset at Graceless.

Joy gave a little bounce of happiness.
"Wow!" she purred "I bet Bone was strong and brave too..."
She charged and boled a leaf over, I wan't to fight and meet 'Those Above'
I'll serve them," she mewed diving at it.
She sat up and mewed jumping around "Why would they call you Loveless?" she mewed confused, The cat she saw in front of her was kind and strong.

Loveless had purred, a thin noise, at Joy's happiness, but his face fell when she asked him about his name.
"That's not really a part of the story, now, is it?" He said, changing the subject.
"This is about what happened to Bloodclan, isn't it?"

Loveless cleared his throat and asked, "Don't you want to know what the second secret is? Or what happened to Bloodclan after Scourge's death?"

Joy spun around from her shredded, mangles "prey" and shuffled in front again. She lay flat out on her body with her silvery blue eyes looking up at Loveless. She used to lay flat out when her uncle told stories, The interesting ones. This was a trate from Bone to blood something Bones bloodline did, Perhaps it was his muscular build.

Joy tilted her head waiting...


Loveless nodded.
"Right, then."

"The cats of Bloodclan wondered if they should believe their Leader - some did, other weren't too sure. Perhaps in His final moments, their Leader wasn't thinking right? Maybe... but he seemed to believe it.
Scourge felt in his heart that it was true, and he hoped that his Subjects would at least consider it. But there was still something..."

"The Second Secret," Graceless supplied.

Loveless nodded.

"Yes. The Second Secret." Loveless continued;

"Scourge wasn't sure how to tell his Subjects so he just told them: he had a mate.
She had given birth to his kit, a blue-eyed tom.
Scourge knew that since Bone was dead, he would need someone to take over his role as Leader.
Scourge asked his Subjects to train his eldest son in the ways of Those Above, in the ways of the Kingdom of Bloodclan so that his son would lead them as well as he had. In his final breaths, he asked that Bloodclan never break apart, that the bond by Blood, by kin and friends alike would never fade, that they always treat each other fair - and that they love and care for his son like they had for him."

Loveless bowed his head, silent for a few moments, as was Graceless.
The tom looked up to continue:

"Scourge died in a Twoleg Prison. His body was taken away and never seen again."

Loveless clawed the ground but went on.

"The remains of Bloodclan were brought to a great Two-Leg Place, filled with more prisons. Many cats were brought into the Place, but there were a few who escaped. These three cats snuck into the Two-Leg Place in the dead of night, releasing as many cats as they could - it wasn't easy, but it was done (no one is quite sure how they did it). It turned out that some of the Bloodclan cats had been taken to a room and never came back..."

Graceless sighed deeply as Loveless continued.

"The three cats who helped Bloodclan to escape and recover the cast who had been taken by Twolegs were names the Saviors; three toms with golden eyes. It would seem that they were part of the Secret Circle of Scourge...
Anywho, the remains of Bloodclan escaped, including Scourge's only son, who's mother was taken to the room and never returned...
The son's name was Scar, for the scratch along his left flank.

Bloodclan made a home in the strange new Twolegplace, inviting other cats to join, promising protection and equality - excuse me, fairness to all.
Though some cats joined, it would seem that it was not meant to be... Alliances were formed, the cats ceased to have a solid bond between each other."
Loveless sighed sadly. "It was a dark time for Bloodclan."

"But that's not all," Graceless came over and she continued the story.

"Bloodclan did try to make a new home, yes, but the cats around them were very untrusting - and devious, much like the Bloodclan of old. Scar, the son of Scourge hung around with these City Cats, listening to their words, agreeing with their scorn to Those Above - he no longer listened to his Mentors."

" 'Why should I do it like my father did?' " Loveless spoke now. " 'Obviously, he was too weak to keep his own cats in order. Look - she-cat's ordering around toms? The stronger upholding the rights of the weak? Obviously toms are stronger. And the strong shouldn't care about any but the strong.' "

"Scar thought about what only a few things that his mentor had said - ruling the cats, having nine lives, living in the forest - and decided he should do something about it.
He went to the three Saviors, they who were thought of as wise. He spoke to them about Those Above, but was far more interested in Those Below - naturally, I mean, why would Scar be interested in the cats that want him to act how he didn't want to?
Whatever the Saviors told Scar changed him forever. When his mentors said that they had no more to teach him, Scar took over Bloodclan."

Loveless paused for a breath and some more water.

"The changes were obvious when Scar took over Bloodclan. The locations of dens changed. Kits were taken from mothers for early training. Servants were mistreated and downtrodden. More cats died of sickness and hunger then ever before. The Subjects of Bloodclan weren't sure how to react - they knew what Scar was doing, but they couldn't go against their leader or the force of personal Warriors he had gotten."

Loveless didn't look upset by this, just accepting how it had been.

"After a time of ruling with an unsheathed claw, Bloodclan fell into a time of tyranny, fear, and pain. It was much like how it had been before the Victory of Scourge, only worse.
Scar realized that living in the City held too many problems - dogs, Twolegs, rogue cats, kittypets - so on and so forth. So Scar sent out his personal warriors to find the strongest and the most obedient of the toms and she-cats."

Interuppting, A pale tabby she-cat slowly padded into the Servant's Den, her tail, whiskers, and ears drooping. She was sopping wet.
She walked to the back of the cold cave and lay down heavily.

Joy turned heer her head and gave a faint hiss expecting this cat to rip her away from Graceless and Loveless, She turned her head back and looked at the two cats infront of her. She blinked and mewed a word of disrespect to Scar.


"Hey, hush now," Loveless mewed gently. "Her name's Charmless... and there isn't much point to curse the dead - they're dead."
Loveless nodded to the exhausted she-cat and went back to the story, his voice quieter now.

"As I said before, Scar realized that his Bloodclan couldn't always survive in the City. He sent out his Warriors - well, they were really his thugs - to find the strongest who were the meanest, and the weakest who were most obedient.
After this task was completed, after all of these cats had been gathered to Scar, he took them to a great abandoned Two-leg nest, abandoning all other Bloodclan cats. He warned them,
'If any cat other than my personal Warriors or Servants come near here, they will die.' Bloodclan was outraged. They couldn't believe their leader would turn on them like this! Scar, son of the Great Scourge, lead Bloodclan from a point of luxury, where no other cat could reach him? Cowardice!" Loveless half-spat the word.

"The line of Scourge lived in the two-leg den for some seasons," Loveless continued. "The descendants of Scar being trained by him to rule with an unsheathed claw and an uncaring ear, and their descendants being trained the same way. The situation became more horrible than anyone could imagine..."
He sighed. "I... don't know much about what happened to the cats out side of the two-leg den... No one of importance was around them enough to remember it, and when they were, they didn't really care..."
Loveless shook his head.
"The descendants of Scar lived on in the great abandoned Two-leg nest long after Scar, his son, and his son's son, had died. Scrap, fifth descendant of Scourge, decided that even though he didn't live close to the city his cats could still be infected by sicknesses scrawny City Bloodclan cats carried (yes, he was a little paranoid). So he made an amazing choice: He gathered up all of his Warriors, Queens, and Servants to him and declared:
'We will go to the Forest.' His Subjects were more than willing to follow their leader anywhere - except for one. On the eve of the morning Scrap and his 'inner circle' were due to leave for the forest, a young tom went out to tell the other cats..."

Joy's ears flickered and she nodded to the she cat to apologize...
her fur stood on end at the treachery involved and stories her
uncle had told her finally pieced together, "treachery and blood,"
she whispered it thoughtfully digging deeper she looked back up
and waited for the next "chapter".


"The tom went to his kin, telling them of what the 'inner circle' planned: to abandon them completely and leave for the forest. This caused an outrage, and , furious, a she-cat named Shira stepped forward, saying that the cats of Bloodclan needed to stand up for themselves and stop the madness that was Scrap.
Many cats agreed with her and followed her to the great Two-leg nest.
As the great host sat outside of the two-leg nest, a Warrior of Scrap, Silkvoice, came out to greet them. He sat in front of them, claws sheathed, tail wrapped around his paws and said:"

Loveless's voice became deeper and smoother;

" 'I know why you are all here. I know what you're all thinking - Scrap, your great leader, abandon you? Well, Subjects of Bloodclan, I stand before you to say this: You have been lied to.' This caused a whisper of uncertainty to rustle through the ranks of Shira as the tom kept talking -
'This tom here,' he pointed to the one that told Shira what Scrap was planning,
'Would see you all dead. He would see your kits drowning in a pool of blood as he turned all of us against one another. He has always hated Bloodclan, always hated our way of life, our food, our protection - our great Leader. He would have all of you die, and only for the reason of him wanting to lead us!'
Now, the cats who stood behind him and Shira began to hiss. Even Shira herself was doubting him, though she knew none of this was true - Silkvoice wasn't named so for no reason."

Loveless shivered and fluffed up his fur some more, moving away from the cave entrance.

"Many cats of Outer Bloodclan were believing Silkvoice, forgetting that the tom was one of there own. Some cats began to nip at the tom's heels, Shira flattening her ears at him.
'I was sent out to find as many cats as I could who wanted to come with Scrap to the forest. There you will find fresh-kill, and your kits will rarely go hungry. Great rivers - you'll never be thirsty again. Wide open spaces, where you wouldn't have to worry about dogs or two-legs again. But this tom doesn't want you to have any of that. He wants all of you to stay here, in the hunger, thirst, filth, and sickness... Scrap does not.' The cats were listening to Silkvoice intently. A place away from two-legs? No dogs or hunger?
'Scrap is different from his ancestors. He's different from Scar! Will you come with us to the forest? Will you come with me to ease?' The cats definitely wanted to come with him.
'What do we have to do to come with you?' they cried. Some of the Queens ran away to gather their kits and younglings, to tell them of the great Forest that would save them.
Silkvoice expected such questions and grinned.
'Kill those who would keep you here. Kill those who follow him,' Silkvoice looked at the tom."

Loveless paused, eyeing Joy and mewed,

"Let's skip the battle, hmm? In the end, a few of those that had followed the tom escaped, but many who had followed Shira had died. Silkvoice had turned them on each other, weeding out the weak in the best way he knew."

Loveless paused to catch his breath and relax his jaw.

Joy's eyes widened up to the part where Loveless said of how Silkvoice was so sneaky and clever, though she didn't like how he was using his "Talent". Joy flicked her tail and looked sympathetically at Loveless, She didn't want his jaw to drop off, but the story was at its prime in this moment...

"Of course, Scrap had put him up to it. Who else would be so dark hearted and devious?
After the horrible battle, Scrap and his cats came out of the two-leg den. Scrap looked as smug as anything as he mewed,
'All who have survived, follow.' The cats who had survived were severely injured or dying, but Scrap didn't care. He and his cats went into the dark forest, traveling at break-neck speed. Scrap only wanted the strong."

Loveless stretched, his story winding down to the end.

"After three sunrises of traveling, Scrap and his forces came across a wide, shadowed land. It was near to the City, and nearer to a swamp. They made their home there, turning Queens into Servants, taking their kits from them and beating them when they tried to refuse. They trained them to be warriors, harbingers of death, ruthless and merciless, without any love in their hearts. The forest was not their salvation as it could have been. Scrap lead wars against the remaining cats in the City. Cats seemed to die every day, and the name of Bloodclan was a word said in scorn. It was to be Blooclan's doom - it would have been, if not for Scratch, son of Scrap.
He murdered Scrap, ending the was between Bloodclan and the City. He took the cats of Bloodclan further into the forest until they found a new home. It was on a sloping hill where they could look out on the other territories - they had discovered there was three other groups of cats there. It seemed that they knew the name of Bloodclan, so, as for the safety of his clan, Scratch changed the long-honored name of Bloodclan."

Loveless looked at Joy and asked,

"Can you guess to what?"

Joy looked up to Loveless and suddenly remembered is question.
"Abbysclan," she muttered.


"Yes. If you want a name for inspiring fear, then why not after the myth-y place of the other clans? Black Forest, I think it's called, or something like that... Beyond my long tale,"

He flicked his own tail,

"There's not much more to say... Two long generations later, and after a raid on the descendants of those who followed that tom, here we both are. Here ends the history of Abyssclan..."

Loveless looked over to Graceless who shrugged, then he looked out at the pouring rain and murmured,
"Where is Cunningheart and Despairingcall?" He looked back at Joy and said,
"Now, you had questions? "You did ask about the Servants of the Kingdom - and yeah, it was a lot different then..."
He looked over at Graceless who nodded.
"The Servants of the Kingdom were Servants voluntarily. It was kind of a family thing. Servants didn't have to do much, since they didn't really have Masters. They went around and did a little bit of everything - help in the Nurseries, help the elders, clean out dens, train with the warriors, help the Menders - they just really liked helping..." He fell silent when he realized that he was rambling.

Graceless's whiskers twitched in amusement. Loveless had always been a talker.