The warrior code

The warrior code is a list of sixteen different rules that should be followed by all Clan cats. It is taught from the first moons of kithood to when an elder is faced with death. It is said that as long as the Clans follow the warrior code, no harm shall come to them. Please note this is the warrior code of SnowClan's Trial, and not the official warrior cat's code.
==History==
:After Lionstar's reign, the warrior code was put together by the Clan cats, in disregard to StarClan, who did not approve of some of the rules. The rules were invented to keep Clan life 'fair', and to prevent a reign like Lionstar's from happening ever again. Some of the codes were invented by specific cats after a specific event, for example, Smokestar had made the code so that prey could only be hunted in one's own territory. Additionally, Azurestar had made the code that you should defend your Clan, even with your life.
==The Warrior Code==
#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. Each Clan must ensure that no other Clan falls.
#Do not hunt or trespass on another Clan's territory.
#Prey is killed only to be eaten.
#A kit must be at least six moons old to become an apprentice.
#Newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their warrior name.
#The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires, or is exiled.
#After the death, retirement, promotion (to a leader status), or exile of the deputy, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh.
#A Gathering of all 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.
#Boundaries must be checked and marked daily. Challenge all trespassing cats.
#No warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if the kit is from a different Clan.
#The word of the Clan leader or medicine cat is the warrior code.
#An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win their battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or if it is necessary for self-defense.
#Cats may switch Clans or leave in order to be with their mates or family. 
===Additional rules===
The following rules are not specifically stated in the warrior code, but are expected to be followed:
*Cats shall not be mates with those of the same gender, or sex. 
*If a medicine cat dies, with no medicine cat to take their place, their apprentice shall travel to another Clan and receive training before returning to their own Clan.
*Medicine cats are not allowed to have a mate or kits. 
**Medicine cats are allowed to have kits as long as they have trained one apprentice. They may have to give their kits to the nursery queens if other priorities arise. 
*Medicine cats must heal all cats, regardless of whether or not they are in their Clan.
*Kits must stay in camp until they are apprenticed, and are not allowed to hunt.
*The safety of the Clan as a whole is more important than the safety of one cat.
*Certain poisons, such as Water hemlock are against the medicine cats' code.
==Breaking the warrior code==
===Example of breaking the code===
*Rule 1 was broken by Lakefrost, Blackflower, Lynxnose, Tawnypaw, Clawstar, Stoneclaw, Razorkit, Snowstar, Honeyfur, Crowtuft, Gnarledstar, Cryptstar and many other cats. As Snowstar had kits with Thornstar from ThunderClan, Gnarledstar and Cryptstar refused to help the other cats during a drought, as well as became one another's mates. Honeyfur had mated with Crowtuft, both of them breaking the 1st rule. Blackflower, Lynxnose, Stoneclaw, Clawstar and Lakefrost had mates from outside of the Clans, while Tawnypaw and Razorpaw created a close bond where they refused to fight.
*Rule 2 is very regularly broken and disregarded by many cats.
*Rule 3 was broken by Clawstar, Rosepaw and Hawkstar, as they only killed prey to raise awareness.
*Rule 4 was broken by Hawkstar, Clawstar and Lionstar, when they both forced very young kits to become warriors with no training or preparation, resulting in death.
*Rule 7 was broken by Clawstar and Hawkstar, as they refused to appoint a deputy after the deaths of Ivytail and Stoneclaw.
*Rule 8 was broken again by Hawkstar, as he forced his dogs to attack everyone during the gathering. It was also broken by Lionstar and Clawstar.
*Rule 11 was broken by many cats, as well as Blackstar, Leafstep, Vixenrun and Ravenclaw.
*Rule 12 was broken by Ravenclaw, when he murdered Aspennight. Hawkstar also broke this rule by murdering many innocent cats. This code was also broken by many others such as Gnarledstar, Cryptstar, Clawstar, Stoneclaw, Smallcloud and Rosepaw.
*Rule 13 was broken by ThunderClan and ShadowClan, when they refused to accept WindClan's apprentice, Loonpaw.
*Rule 14 was broken by Ravenclaw and Blackstar, as well as Ravenpaw who switched her gender and Vixenrun and Cloudleaf. This was also broken by Oakmask, when he developed feelings for Hawkstar. This rule was also broken by Duskpelt and Hazelbranch.
*Rule 16 was broken when Leafstep and Razorbite had kits despite being medicine cats.
==Punishment==
===General===
:These can be a scolding, giving a warrior apprentice duties, or giving an apprentice an unpleasant task.
===Losing their rank===
:Breaking the code can also result in a cat being stripped of their duties. Such as medicine cat, leader or deputy. Dawnpelt can be an example of this once she was demoted from her rank as deputy, once it was revealed she was mates with Razorbite. Leafstep also lost her rank as punishment, as well as Razorbite.
===Exile===
In severe cases, the cat may be exiled from the Clan. This has happened multiple times and some examples are:
* Twistedstar exiling Razorbite for having kits as a medicine cat.
* Lionstar exiling Battlescars for claiming to be a vessel for StarClan. 
* Sparkstar exiling Blackflower for murdering Lynxnose.
* Blackstar exiling Hawkflight for the attempted murder of Lemonleap.
* Claw and Owlstar were exiled from the lake and forest territories by Lionstar and Patchstar.
* Briarclaw being exiled by Cryptstar for not meeting Clan standards.
===Execution===
This is a rare type of punishment and one that many of the clans believe in. This punishment method was mostly used in RiverClan's Trial, as they were the ancients but it continued up to Patchstar's reign. Cats may be killed depending on the severity and half-hearted nature of the leader or executor. Some examples of executions in the series are:
* Swiftwing was executed for the attempted murder of Cryptstar.
* Leafstep was sentenced to death but not killed for having kits as a medicine cat.
* Aspennight was executed for the attempted murder of Birchpaw.
* Sparrowrun was executed for treason by Lionstar.
* Ivytail was executed by Hawkstar for refusing to kill Cloudleaf.
==References and notes==
Category:ReferenceCategory:Clan life