The Warrior Code and other Clan Information

Note: All information copied directly from the Warriors Wiki.

WARRIOR CODE

1- Defend your Clan, even with your life. You may have friendships with cats from other Clans, but your loyalty must remain to your Clan, as one day you may meet them in battle.
2- Do not hunt or trespass on another Clan's territory.
3- Elders, queens, and kits must be fed before apprentices and warriors. Unless they have permission, apprentices may not eat until they have hunted to feed the elders. If any warrior or apprentice is sick or injured, they may eat while the elders, queens, and kits are eating.
4- Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give thanks to StarClan for its life.
5- A kit must be at least six moons old to become an apprentice.
6- Newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their warrior name.
7- A cat cannot be made deputy without having mentored at least one apprentice.
8- The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires or is exiled.
9- After the death or retirement of the deputy, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh.
10- A Gathering of all four Clans is held at the full moon during a truce that lasts for the night. There shall be no fighting among Clans at this time.
11- Boundaries must be checked and marked daily. Challenge all trespassing cats.
12- No warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if the kit is from a different Clan.
13- The word of the Clan Leader is law.
14- An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win his/her battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or if it is necessary for self-defense.
15- A warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet.

Additional Rules

1- Medicine cats may not have a mate or kits.
2- Kits must stay in camp until they are apprenticed, and are not allowed to hunt.
3- The safety of the Clan is more important than the safety of one cat.
4- Clans must not unite together to drive out another Clan.
5- Clans must not force another Clan to share territory.
6- Enemy patrols must not attack cats if they are on a mission all four Clans agree on.

Clan Hierarchy

Leader
A Clan leader is charged with the responsibility to watch over and manage an entire Clan, maintaining discipline, order, and protection. Leaders are normally granted nine lives and a new name with the ending "-star" in a ceremony where nine StarClan cats come to them in a dream at the Moonstone/Moonpool. However, a leader may not receive all nine lives if the previous leader of his or her Clan is still alive; in this instance, a leader will have a life taken off the original total of nine for every life the previous leader still possesses. Sometimes StarClan will not accept a leader, if this happens then the Clan is usually thrown into turmoil.

Deputy
The deputy is the second-in-command to the leader, and may be considered an apprentice to the art of leading the Clan. They serve in the leader's place in situations where the leader is unable to fulfill their duties. They are in charge of organizing patrols and they are often called on by the leader for advice, but other than that, they retain the normal duties of a warrior.
To become a deputy, a cat must have trained at least one apprentice.
Upon the leader's death, they become the leader and go to the Moonstone/Moonpool so StarClan can grant them nine lives. Deputies may also retire and give up their place as deputy if they wish.

Medicine Cat
The medicine cat serves the Clan as both their spiritual leader and healer, making them akin to the idea of a 'medicine man' in a tribal society. In addition to their responsibilities to their Clan, they have responsibility to one another and StarClan. They carry out their responsibilities to StarClan once every half-moon, meeting together to discuss matters privately and share dreams with StarClan. Clan leaders often rely on them to carry messages from StarClan, as medicine cats have a link no other cat has to the deceased.
As a healer, they gather herbs and dispense them as an apothecary would. They handle diagnosis and treatment of both illness and injury for all the cats in the Clan.
In their role as spiritual leader, they teach the code, interpret omen and prophecy, and generally serve the Clan as a conduit between the earthly cats and their ghostly counterparts.
As a medicine cat, they are not allowed to have a mate or kits, but this rule has been broken by certain medicine cats. Medicine cats also exist outside of typical Clan rivalries in order to treat all cats fairly.

Medicine Cat Apprentice
A medicine cat apprentice is the cat that is being trained to follow in the pawsteps of the medicine cat. They learn healing and spiritual lore from the medicine cat. Medicine cat apprentices also accompany their mentors in their visit to the Moonstone/Moonpool every half-moon to receive dreams from StarClan.
Frequently, a medicine cat apprentice who has full training will be given a warrior name ("-paw" replaced with another ending); however, medicine cat apprentices remain apprentices even when fully trained so long as the current medicine cat is still practicing the arts.
At the time the old medicine cat either dies or steps down, the medicine cat apprentice becomes a full medicine cat, somewhat like the leader/deputy relationship. When the apprentice becomes the full medicine cat then she/he can have an apprentice of their own.

Warrior
A warrior is a cat trained in the arts of fighting and hunting. Warriors make up the bulk of a Clan, and provide that Clan with the protection and food supply that keeps it safe and well-fed. Typically, a cat is made a warrior at or over the age of twelve moons. In their oath to become a warrior, they promise to "uphold the warrior code and protect and defend their Clan, even at the cost of their life."
Warrior dens are very often near the front of the Clan, where they can protect the rest of their Clan from attacks.
There are also senior warriors, older, respected warriors, mentioned to have a good bond with the Clan's leader.

Queen
A queen is a she-cat nursing or expecting kits. Their primary task during this time is the raising of their kits.
Some queens stay in the nursery after they have kits. They are thought to do this because they feel they can help the nursing queens. Some queens, do not feel suited for Clan life aside from helping the other queens. They most often help other queens when no milk is available, or when the mother is ill/dead.
Kits are protected from attacks and the nursery is often situated at the back of the camp, away from the entrance.

Elder
An elder is a retired warrior, deputy, queen, medicine cat, or leader who is too old or not in suitable shape to continue with their duties. Elders are taken care of by the whole Clan, and are given respect for the time they have served as warriors. They are responsible for taking the body of a dead cat out to be buried.
Some cats don't become an elder only because of old age; if there is ever a condition which prevents the cat from fulfilling their duties to their Clan, it usually leads to the cat's decision of retiring.

Apprentice
An apprentice is a cat in training to become a warrior. Their names end in the word "-paw" (e.g. Tawnypaw, Bramblepaw, Firepaw etc). Most usually are at or over the age of six moons. They have a mentor appointed to them at their ceremony and most days are taken out battle training or hunting. They are also given the task of cleaning out bedding and removing Elder's ticks and fleas. Apprentices are not allowed to have a mate or kits, likely because of their young age or not to interrupt their training.

Kit
A kit is a cat who has not been made an apprentice yet. Their names always end in "-kit" (e.g. Dovekit, Lionkit, Blossomkit). Most often, they are under the age of six moons. Though sometimes they are held back from being an apprentice for a certain amount of time, sometimes due to injury or misbehaving.
They stay in the camp and are forbidden to leave it, unless accompanied by an older cat, such as a warrior, a medicine cat, or any kind of apprentice.

Terminology

Crowfood or crow-food – A dead prey animal that has begun to rot;can also be used as an insult.
Cutter – A veterinarian, specifically, though not always, referring to one that spays or neuters cats.
Dirt - Feces.
Fresh-kill – A recently killed prey animal caught for the purpose of consumption. Fresh-kill is hunted by warriors and apprentices, and placed on the fresh-kill pile or brought to the elders. Elders, kits, queens, and sick cats eat first, then warriors and apprentices. Extras stay in the fresh-kill pile.
Fourtrees - A place located in the forest territory, where the territory's corners would meet, in which four oaks stood and the Clans would gather in peace every full moon.
Gathering – The monthly meeting of all the Clans when the moon is full.There is a truce on this night, and no fighting is allowed.
Greenleaf Twolegplace – A place frequented by Twolegs during summer, such as a resort or camping spot near the lake.
Halfbridge – A boat dock.
Horseplace – A place where horses are kept, such as ranches and stables.
Hunting Patrol – A group of cats hunting for fresh-kill to bring back for their Clan to eat. May fight if there are trespassers.
Kittypet – A domesticated pet cat.
Loner – A cat that lives by itself and doesn't defend its territory.
Making dirt - Defecating.
Monster – A vehicle operated by humans. Often described when cats are near Twolegs/the Thunderpath Motorboats are sometimes referred to as "water-monsters."
Moonpool – The place near the Lake where medicine cats and leaders share tongues with StarClan.
Moonstone – The place in the Forest where medicine cats and leaders shared tongues with StarClan.
Mothermouth - The opening to the cave where the Moonstone is/was located.
Rogue – A usually hostile cat who does not have a permanent home, roams around, and does not care about crossing Clan boundaries.
Sharing tongues – Cats grooming each other while sharing the latest gossip. A cat lies on the ground, talking, while the other grooms their fur, listening.
She-cat - A female cat.
She-kit - A female kit.
Silver boulder - A boulder that, when the silver disc is pulled off, holds Twoleg rubbish. To Twolegs, they are just trash cans/bins.[25]
Silverpelt – The large swath of stars in the sky[26] (believed in fandom to be the Milky Way). These stars are a direct representation of StarClan.
Silverthorn - Barbed wire.
Smooth boulder-thing - Twoleg ball.
Snowmelt - A term used to describe slush or dirty, melted snow.
Soft boulder - A pillow or cushion.
Sun-drown-place - An ocean to the west of the Clans' territories.
Tree-eater – A bulldozer.
Thunderpath – A paved road with an extremely acrid smell that cars often go across.
Tom/tomcat - A male cat.
Twoleg – A human.
Twoleg kit – A human child.
Twoleg nest – A human's house.
Twolegplace – A town, city, or village where Twolegs live.

Clan Meetings

It is the privilege of the Clan Leader to convoke a meeting. However, sometimes other Clan cats do it; for example if they feel that an important information or question must be brought to the Clan (such as Mousefur calling a meeting in Sunset), or if the leader is not available (such as when Fireheart called a meeting in A Dangerous Path).
To begin the meeting, the leader climbs to a high place (such as the Highrock in the ThunderClan Forest Camp) where all cats gathered below can see and hear them well. He or she opens the meeting with the words "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highrock (or Highledge) for a Clan meeting". This type of call has only been verified for ThunderClan. RiverClan's call is: "Let all cats old enough to swim gather to hear my words!". ShadowClan and WindClan's calls have not been revealed yet. Though not revealed, it is sometimes thought to be "Let all (insert here)Clan cats gather for a meeting". On the rare occasions of Clan meetings in the Dark Forest, a leader calls out with these words: "Let all cats old enough to kill their own enemies gather here!" Once having the attention of all cats, he or she passes the message or performs the required ceremony.

Clan Meetings have no fixed dates; a meeting can be called at any time, whenever the leader feels the need to do so.

Battle Techniques

Back Kick - Explosive surprise move to catch opponent from behind. Judge opponent's distance from you carefully, then lash out with your back legs, taking all weight on your front paws.

Belly Rake - A fight-stopper. Slice with unsheathed claws against the soft flesh of the opponent's belly. If you're pinned down, the belly rake quickly puts you back into control.

Front Paw Blow - Frontal attack. Bring your front paw down hard on your opponent's head. Claws sheathed.

Front Paw Strike/Forepaw Slash - Frontal attack. Slice downward with your front paw at the face or body of your opponent.

Killing Bite - A death blow to the back of the neck. Quick and silent and sometimes considered dishonorable. Used only as a last resort.

Leap-and-hold - Ideal for a small cat facing a larger opponent. Spring onto opponent's back and grip with unsheathed claws. Now you are beyond the range of the opponent's paws and in position to inflict severe body wounds. A group of apprentices can defeat a large and dangerous warrior in this way. Watch for the drop-and-roll counter move, and try to jump free before you get squashed.

Partner Fighting - Warriors who have trained and fought together will often fall instinctively into a defensive position, each protecting each other's back while fending off an opponent on either side. Slashing, clawing, and leaping together, battle pairs can be a whirlwind of danger for attackers.

Play Dead - Effective in a tight situation, such as when you are pinned. Stop struggling and go limp. When your opponent relaxes his grip, thinking you are defeated, push yourself up explosively. This will throw off an unwary opponent and put you in attacking position.

Scruff Shake - Secure a strong teeth grip in the scruff of your opponents neck; then shake violently until he or she is too rattled to fight back. Most effective against rats, who are small enough to throw. A strong throw will stun or kill them.

Tail Yank - Grab your opponent's tail and yank it with such force your opponent is thrown off balance.

Teeth Grip - Target your opponent's extremities- the legs, tail, scruff or ears- and sink in your teeth and hold. This move is similar to the leap-and-hold except your claws remain free to fight.

Upright Lock - Final, crushing move on already weakened opponent. Rear up on back legs and bring weight down on opponent. If opponent does the same, wrestle and flip him under you. This makes you vulnerable to the belly rake, so it takes great strength and speed.

Half-Turn Belly Rake - Turn onto your side, slip under the opponent's belly, rake it with your claws, then swiftly turn back onto all fours out from under your opponent.

Badger Defense: Leap over opponent, turn on your back legs and bite opponent's leg. Used only when fighting badgers.

Duck and Twist: Simple defensive move. The cat ducks then twists around, rolling over onto his/her back, and then springs to their paws.

Ceremonies

WARRIOR CEREMONY
An apprenticeship usually lasts six moons or more. Once the mentor is satisfied with the apprentice's progress and skills, he or she recommends them to the leader of the Clan. Then, the apprentice must pass an assessment, when their abilities as a warrior are checked. In cases when the apprentice has just made an important contribution to the Clan, the leader may decide that there is no need for an assessment .If the Clan Leader is satisfied, he or she calls a Clan Meeting and calls the apprentice. The following words are used, by tradition:

Leader: I, (Leader), leader of (Clan), call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. (He/she) has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend (him/her) to you as a warrior in (his/her) turn.
Leader: (Apprentice), do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?
Apprentice: I do.
Leader: Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. (Apprentice), from this moment you will be known as (new warrior name). StarClan honors your (virtues), and we welcome you as a full warrior of (Clan).
The leader rests his or her muzzle on the apprentice's head, and he or she licks the leader's shoulder. The rest of the Clan then greets the new warrior by calling him or her by their new name. The warrior will sit a silent vigil guarding the camp that night, except if that is not possible (such as Squirrelflight's ceremony, when the Clan did not have a camp, and the task of exploring the lake was assigned).

APPRENTICE CEREMONY
The Clan Leader calls a Clan Meeting to appoint a new apprentice and assign a mentor to him/her. The following words are used, by tradition:
Leader: (Kit), you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as (new name, ending with "paw"). Your mentor will be (name of warrior or medicine cat). I hope (name of warrior or medicine cat) will pass down all he/she knows on to you.
The leader calls up the warrior he/she has chosen as a mentor.
Leader: (Warrior), you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from (former mentor), and you have shown yourself to be (quality) and (quality). You will be the mentor of (apprentice), and I expect you to pass on all you know to (apprentice).
The mentor touches noses with the apprentice, and the Clan greets the new apprentice by calling out his/her name. After this, the apprentice will usually go greet their family, or go see to their mentor.

DEPUTY CEREMONY
The leader calls a Clan Meeting, and performs the ceremony by announcing these words:
Leader: I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors (or former deputy name) may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of (Clan) is (warrior's name).

ELDER CEREMONY
An aging warrior, queen, or medicine cat may retire as an elder due to own initiative, when they feel they cannot help the Clan efficiently any more . A cat may also retire if they are hindered from serving their Clan through old age.They report this to the Clan Leader, who calls a Clan Meeting and addresses the warrior.
Leader: (Warrior), is it your wish to give up the name of a warrior and go to join the elders?
Warrior: It is.
Leader: Your Clan honors you and all the service you have given to us. I call upon StarClan to give you many moons of rest.
The Clan will call out the retired warrior's name and then he or she will go to the elder's den.
Usually, an elder ceremony is held only when a cat retires due to old age. If they are forced to retire because of a severe injury, there is no ceremony.

LEADERSHIP CEREMONY
The new leader goes to the Moonstone (or Moonpool) with the Clan's medicine cat. After touching the stone (or drinking from the pool), the new leader cannot move for a short period of time, because their old life is being ripped away so they can receive nine new ones. Upon awakening, cats of StarClan come down from Silverpelt. Nine cats, normally ones who were significant during the new leader's life, although this is not always the case, give them their nine lives with these words:
Life-Giver: (Touches nose to the top of the new leader's head) With this life I give you (gift). Use it well (to, in, as, for, etc.) (use of gift).[5]
When all of the lives have been given, the previous leader says these words:
Previous Leader: I hail you by your new name, _____star. Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of ____Clan. Defend it well; care for young and old; honor your ancestors and the traditions of the warrior code; live each life with pride and dignity.
Just as the forest-cats would call a warrior by their new name, the StarClan cats acclaim the new leader. After the ceremony, the new leader is not allowed to tell any cat what happened during the ceremony.
Getting nine lives does not necessarily mean that a leader will live longer, but they can survive certain accidents or injuries that would claim the life of a cat. However, they cannot survive if they have major injuries such as the injuries Scourge gave Tigerstar. If a leader does not lose a life, they will die of old age nine times.

If a leader no longer wishes to be the leader, they must go to the Moonstone/Moonpool to revoke all but one life, so their deputy may have their full nine lives.

MEDICINE CAT CEREMONY
Apprenticeship for medicine cats usually lasts much longer than those for warriors. The cat must learn about all available herbs and remedies, and the treatment of diseases and injuries.
Once the Clan's medicine cat is satisfied with the apprentice's knowledge, they go to the Clans' sacred place (such as the Moonstone or Moonpool). This is the only ceremony that is not performed by the Leader. The following words are used, by tradition:

Medicine Cat: I, (name), medicine cat of ___Clan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. (He/she) has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help (he/she) will serve (his/her) Clan for many moons.
Medicine Cat: ___paw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?
Apprentice: I do.
Medicine Cat: Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your true name as a medicine cat. ___paw, from this moment you will be known as (new name). StarClan honors your (virtues), and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of (Clan).
The medicine cat rests his or her muzzle on the apprentice's head, and he or she licks the mentor's shoulder. The other medicine cats greet him or her by their new name.