Leader

A **leader** is a warrior who is highest in the clan hierarchy. The leader is responsible for everything that goes on in a clan.

## Description

Leaders are the head of their clan. Their personality is the same as their clan's and describes how their clanmates treat others. They have their own den, and are assisted by a deputy in their tasks. They are responsible for the whole clan, calling clan meetings, appointing cats to new ranks, and making the toughest decisions. Each clan has one leader, and their names end with the suffix *-star.* (Examples: Tallstar, Raggedstar).

## Qualifications

In order to become leader, a cat must meet these qualifications:

* Mentored at least one apprentice
* Selected by the previous leader to become deputy
* Must have been deputy at the time of the leader's death, retirement, or banishment (unless both the deputy and the leader die)

In order for a cat to become leader, the previous leader must also be deceased, have retired, have left, or been banished.

## Tasks

A leader has various tasks and privileges:

* Oversee the daily operations of the clan and give them orders
* Speak on behalf of their clan at Gatherings
* Lead the clan in battles
* Appoint new apprentices and assign them to mentors
* Appoint new warriors once they've finished their training
* Appoint a new deputy if the former deputy has died, resigned, or been banished
* Counsel with the deputy and the senior warriors and listen to their reports
* Solve conflicts between members of the clan
* Dealing with politics/conflicts that happen out of the clan, but can still threaten the clan
* Decide if a non-clan cat can join the clan
* Exile clan members who severely broke the warrior code or who present a danger to the clan
* A leader is also expected to occasionally carry out warrior tasks, such as going on patrols or mentoring apprentices should they assign one to themselves
* Call clan meetings if necessary for the good of the clan

If the leader cannot carry out their tasks (for instance, because of illness or injury), the clan deputy will substitute for them.

## Appointment

When the former clan leader dies or willingly retires, the current clan deputy is appointed as the new leader. They make a journey to the clans' sacred place (such as the Starhollow), escorted by the clan's healer, in a ceremony where the starreader can visit the Starwalkers for acceptance, in a dream at the Starhollow.

### Nine lives

Upon acceptance from the Starwalkers at their leadership ceremony, the new leader is granted nine lives by the ancestors. This does not necessarily mean they will live longer, but they can survive accidents or injuries that would claim the life of any other cat, at the cost of one of their nine lives. Each of the lives are granted by a single ancestor, usually from the same clan and whose life was meaningful to the cat, and a gift of an attribute.

## Demotion

Leaders usually serve until the end of their lives, but there are some exceptions:

### Retirement

A clan leader may resign if they wish to do so. This is approved by the starreader, and the current deputy can be appointed as the new leader. The former leader loses their leader name and the lives granted by the ancestors. If the leader doesn't give up all of their remaining lives then the amount they have left will be subtracted from the next leader's nine lives.

### Banishment

A clan can demote a leader if they consider them unfit for the position. However, this is not approved by the starreader, and the ancestors won't recognize a new leader and give them their nine lives as long as the former leader is alive. But in cases such, was still alive with *one* life left. When the new lead was granted nine lives, usually old lead would have given him one of the lives, but was not having gone to the Starhollow directly and stepped down. Therefore the new lead was only granted eight lives.

## Day-to-day life

The clan leader will take part in hunting, but usually leaves the actual organization of the patrols to the deputy. Most leaders take interest in all aspects of clan life, kits, elders, warriors, etc. They also listen to cats' personal problems and attempt to help, most likely to keep their clan tension-free. Their main job is to keep the clan running smoothly. When something is wrong in the clan, cats are to immediately tell the leader first. The leader also listens to recounts of patrols, making sure nothing threatens the clan.

## Trivia

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