Post by LaurelTree on Oct 17, 2016 14:16:46 GMT -5
Time Progression
As many Warriors fans know, there are four seasons in the Warriors world just as their are in reality. We have New-Leaf for Spring, Green-Leaf for Summer, Leaf-Fall for Fall, and Leaf-Bare for Winter. In The Starless Clans a season will transpire over the time of one month in reality. This means that one year in the roleplay will be completed every four months in reality. The big question most people want to know is, "How many days or weeks is a Moon?". To answer that question, seven to ten days in reality will equal one Moon, or month, in the roleplay.
Now, technically speaking, if a character ages one moon every seven days, then they will have aged about seventeen moons in the time span of twelve. Due to this, we ask that you try to only age that quickly with kit and apprentice characters, and maybe elders if you are eager to have them kick the bucket. Everyone else should strive to age one moon every ten days, making it three months in every season, and four seasons to a year.
For the Mathletes that want to check my numbers: 1 year is 12 months. 4 seasons are in a year. 12 divided by 4 is 3. The average month is 30 days. 30 divided by 3 is 10.
Ageing
Kits are 0-6 moons old. At 0 moons, they have just been born. Their eyes are closed, bodies are feeble, and do little more than crawl, eat, poop, sleep, and cry for the first two weeks. At two weeks old, their eyes open, revealing dark blue irises, and they have some mobility, allowing them to stumble around on wobbly legs. They are not nimble, skilled, show much distinct personality, and are just learning to speak. At 1 moon old (4 weeks), they are being a little more adventurous and trying to do what mommy kitty does, such as grooming themselves and each other. Their personalities are starting to show, and though they are still rather unbalanced, playing around is starting to become a popular thing. Between 2 and 3 moons old, their eye colors are developing and mommy kitty will begin introducing other foods and sometimes begin the weening process. However, some cats have been known to nurse their kits until 4 and 5 moons of age. At 6 moons old, the kit is approximately 1/2 to 3/4 the size of the average adult cat and will have the mentality of an 8th to 9th grader.
Apprentices are 6 moons old at the youngest and 24 moons at the oldest. The earliest an apprentice can become a warrior is 12 moons, having only just now gained the mentality of an 18 year old and can, at best, be considered a young adult in some standards, but are technically still a juvenile. For an apprentice to obtain their warrior name before 16 moons old, they must have completed an impressive feat beyond the average cat such as performing above and beyond in a battle. The average age in which an apprentice gains warrior status is between 16 and 20 moons of age. If an apprentice's training exceeds 20 moons, it likely means the apprentice is having trouble grasping a certain aspect or was hindered from continuing their training at one point or another due to illness, injury, or an irresponsible mentor. However, medicine cat apprentices train under their mentor for an indefinite amount of time, usually until the current medicine cat dies or retires. Although, there are instances when a medicine cat apprentice gains their full medicine cat name while their mentor is still fulfilling their duties.
Young warriors are between 12 and 29 moons of age. They are not likely to obtain an apprentice during this age unless they have shown great prowess and gained favor in the leader's eyes, or there is a shortage of older, more experienced warriors to take on the upcoming kits.
The average warrior is between 30 and 49 moons. This is the time in which they are likely to have an apprentice or two and make their name known. By now, they have probably already had at least one litter of kits and might even be watching them train under a fellow Clan member to become a great warrior themselves. This is usually the youngest a cat is when becoming a deputy, needing to have trained at least one apprentice until warriorship.
Senior warriors are 50+ moons and go until they retire. They will have likely trained a few apprentices and may even still be training them now. Their greatest asset and gift to the Clan would be their knowledge and experience, offering their leader and deputy advice when needed. Cats of this age and maturity are likely to be the first choice when when looking for a new deputy, however, it isn't uncommon for senior warriors to decline the offer on account of their age.
Cats usually retire to be an Elder at 70 to 80 moons old. And while they can and do retire at any given age before then, this is usually the cap for even the most resilient of warriors. 8 years, or 96 moons, is the oldest most wild cats live to be, and that's usually only if they're lucky. If a feline lived out the first half of their life as a house pet, it is possible for them to live a little past this, but usually only if their breeding permits it. So, for example, an oriental shorthair (non-albino/seal point) has few health concerns and could easily live in the wild, while a persian or sphynx would encounter many health issues despite the extra time they would have gained by being pampered in a home. They are not made to live in the whid and their life would likely end before even retiring.