When the Domorian emissaries had visited his clan, Skelock was wary of them in the first place. When they informed him they intended to form a clan out of the rogue vagaonds, he got angry. And when they told him that they would use the tenets of the previous Domorian clan, the one that nearly caused Sahar extinction (a fact of which they claimed to be completely unaware), he and a few of his largest cats chased them back to that icy hell they called home. Rumors of his actions flew throughout the clan like wildfire, and he could not control the veracity of the information, nor could he spread his own personal sentiments. So, sending runners to the outposts in the far reaches of the territory, Skelock called a meeting. It was not a pleasant occurrence; it was hot, and the oasis was very crowded. Skelock's fury, though, was hotter than the desert sun at noon, and even the youngest kittens could feel the rage of their king as he glared out at his clan of cats.
"We cannot sit idly by and let this happen! Our resources are limited enough, and we don't need those ice-lovers snitching into our territory. I know how it'll go. They'll set up shop on the border of the lands, then gradually encroach further and further, becoming adapted to the desert and learning our ways as they come. You can't trust the clanless cats to become a clan, you just can't!" His fur and whiskers bristled. He had ancestors who fought in the clan wars. He knew the stories. "I haven't forgotten just who those Domorians are. They are the ones whose ancestors instigated those wars. They paid the price for it, but it seems they haven't learned from their mistakes. And I haven't forgotten just what they did to our ancestors. The lush lands we held, the number of cats in the clan... I could tell you stories that have trickled down, stories about the cruel Northern warriors who swept through camps slashing with iron claws any cat, be it elder or kitten or fighter, that they could find. I could tell you of the documented cruelty with which they treated their prisoners; the life of a slavecat is never easy or pleasant, and they delighted in making their lives especially hard."
Flattening his ears and widening his eyes, he gesticulated to the crowd. "Any of you who don't wish to sit idly by and watch all we've worked for be destroyed, listen to my words. We will not start another war, and we will not allow another war to start." Lashing his tail angrily, Skelok narrowed his eyes as he stared at his clan. "What would you have us do, my people? What will we do as a clan to ensure our survival?"
"We cannot sit idly by and let this happen! Our resources are limited enough, and we don't need those ice-lovers snitching into our territory. I know how it'll go. They'll set up shop on the border of the lands, then gradually encroach further and further, becoming adapted to the desert and learning our ways as they come. You can't trust the clanless cats to become a clan, you just can't!" His fur and whiskers bristled. He had ancestors who fought in the clan wars. He knew the stories. "I haven't forgotten just who those Domorians are. They are the ones whose ancestors instigated those wars. They paid the price for it, but it seems they haven't learned from their mistakes. And I haven't forgotten just what they did to our ancestors. The lush lands we held, the number of cats in the clan... I could tell you stories that have trickled down, stories about the cruel Northern warriors who swept through camps slashing with iron claws any cat, be it elder or kitten or fighter, that they could find. I could tell you of the documented cruelty with which they treated their prisoners; the life of a slavecat is never easy or pleasant, and they delighted in making their lives especially hard."
Flattening his ears and widening his eyes, he gesticulated to the crowd. "Any of you who don't wish to sit idly by and watch all we've worked for be destroyed, listen to my words. We will not start another war, and we will not allow another war to start." Lashing his tail angrily, Skelok narrowed his eyes as he stared at his clan. "What would you have us do, my people? What will we do as a clan to ensure our survival?"
