Post by akri talon on Mar 5, 2014 1:49:18 GMT
naming guide
BASIS:
the four clans that rule the forest consider names to be a sacred birthright. generally, a cat is named as a kit, given a prefix that describes its appearance, and in some cases a deformity. their names describe a cats rank, spirit, and even clan. generally cats are given names by things that occur naturally in that clans surroundings. for example, a shadowclan apprentice could be named "toadpaw" while a windclan apprentice would be named "harepaw". PREFIX:
here on the vanishing point, we use the prefix section of a cats name to describe its physical appearance, size, colorization, pelt texture, or distinctive deformity. as kits are named at birth by the mother, they do not have a known personality, and so therefor a kit named "shykit" would be inappropriate. furthermore, only kits with birth defects should have names that require a specific suffix. so, a kit with a crooked tail would likely be called "crookedtail" later on in life.
there are many apt descriptions that can be used by the clans, so obviously it is easier to state which ones should not be used. thunder, river, wind, and shadow, as the names of the clans, are sacred and far too holy to use for a mere cat. the same goes for the prefix's of star, moon, and sun. prefixes relating to death, gore, blood, and bones are considered a bad omen, and are never given to kits.
one way a cat may have a prefix that is not typically appointed to kits is through a name change. if a cat suffers an extreme injury and survives, the leader of the clan may choose to honor said cat with a new name to honor their survival via a name change. and so, "lightpelt" could become "one-eye" and "blackfoot" could become "crookedfoot".
prefixes that should never be used are things found in twoleg society. this includes cars, metals, and gems. that means there should be now "fordpaw", "ironmask" or "diamondeyes".
SUFFIX:
a suffix forms the second half of a cats name. the suffix generally tells a great deal about the cat itself. for example, a watchful, calculating warrior could be known as "foxgaze".
the first thing taken into consideration is the individuals skills. these skills could be in hunting, battle, running, climbing, swimming, etc. however, if a cat is not particularly talented the next best thing is personality.
if the cat doesn't have any fitting of an individual suffix, they will typically receive the suffix -fur or -pelt. emotions tell nothing about a cats overall personality or skills, and are therefor never used as a suffix.
below you'll find a list of several traditional suffixes, with some not-so-traditional ones thrown in as well.
-stripe: a cat with distinctive stripes
-nose: a cat who is a good tracker and/or hunter
-foot: a cat that is agile and/or swift
-step: a cat that is agile and/or swift
-tail: a cat with good balance and/or climbing skills (or with an unusually long/short tail)
-claw: a cat who is a good fighter
-fang: a cat skilled in both hunting and fighting
-eye: a cat with notable eyesight
-ear: a cat with notable hearing
-face: a cat with distinctive facial features
-flower: a cat that is maternal or feminine
-storm: a cat that is temperamental or has mood swings
-gaze: a cat with distinctive eyes
-stream: a cat that is a good swimmer and/or graceful
-cloud: a cat with long fur
-leaf: a cat with green eyes or a skilled medicine cat
-flight: a cat that is swift or flighty
-wing: a cat that is agile or intelligent
-whisker: a cat that is sensitive
the first thing taken into consideration is the individuals skills. these skills could be in hunting, battle, running, climbing, swimming, etc. however, if a cat is not particularly talented the next best thing is personality.
if the cat doesn't have any fitting of an individual suffix, they will typically receive the suffix -fur or -pelt. emotions tell nothing about a cats overall personality or skills, and are therefor never used as a suffix.
below you'll find a list of several traditional suffixes, with some not-so-traditional ones thrown in as well.
-stripe: a cat with distinctive stripes
-nose: a cat who is a good tracker and/or hunter
-foot: a cat that is agile and/or swift
-step: a cat that is agile and/or swift
-tail: a cat with good balance and/or climbing skills (or with an unusually long/short tail)
-claw: a cat who is a good fighter
-fang: a cat skilled in both hunting and fighting
-eye: a cat with notable eyesight
-ear: a cat with notable hearing
-face: a cat with distinctive facial features
-flower: a cat that is maternal or feminine
-storm: a cat that is temperamental or has mood swings
-gaze: a cat with distinctive eyes
-stream: a cat that is a good swimmer and/or graceful
-cloud: a cat with long fur
-leaf: a cat with green eyes or a skilled medicine cat
-flight: a cat that is swift or flighty
-wing: a cat that is agile or intelligent
-whisker: a cat that is sensitive
WHAT NOT TO DO:
compound words used as names are not okay. this is because warrior names themselves are essentially compound words, and to use such a word as a name defeats the purpose. for example, single-word names like "rainfall" and "stormcloud" are not okay.
fit the habitat, don't have a forest-dwelling cat with the name "kangaroopaw". likewise, it doesn't make much sense to have a windclan cat with the name "treepaw" since windclan doesn't have many, well, trees.
if you have an questions regarding the naming of your cat, please feel free to ask. otherwise, simply be sure to give a good, detailed description as to why your cat was given its name within the premade bio format, and staff will take it from there!
fit the habitat, don't have a forest-dwelling cat with the name "kangaroopaw". likewise, it doesn't make much sense to have a windclan cat with the name "treepaw" since windclan doesn't have many, well, trees.
if you have an questions regarding the naming of your cat, please feel free to ask. otherwise, simply be sure to give a good, detailed description as to why your cat was given its name within the premade bio format, and staff will take it from there!