High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

**occultation** · #**13298** May 15th, 2024, 03:31 PM

High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

As Fadingsun began to speak, all of the anger deflated out of his body. Nothing but pure exhaustion remained. He was sick of it. Sick of this Clan, sick of tragedy after tragedy after tragedy. Maybe the forest would be better off if RiverClan broke apart and faded into obscurity.

"By now, I'm sure many of you have heard the news that was revealed at the Gathering. Fallownose was murdered by Dusklion for reasons that weren't made clear. On top of that, two RiverClan warriors were responsible for torturing a WindClan apprentice. I'm sure I don't need to tell those of you who weren't there that the sentiment from Twilightstar was nothing short of scathing and hell-bent on destruction.

"I spent the walk home from the Gathering debating on what to do about Dusklion. My initial inclination was to demote her, but after thinking it over more I do not know if that is the best course of action for RiverClan at this point. Before you all get your pelts up in a bunch, let me explain.

"At this point in time, every single one of us is guilty of contributing to the horrific, disgusting state this Clan is in. If you didn't directly participate in some sort of act that antagonized another Clan, you're not free from guilt. You're guilty of failing to hold one another accountable. You're guilty of inciting, encouraging, participating in, and tolerating in-fighting and ridiculous arguments instead of healthy discussions about how to fix this stars-forsaken Clan. Every single cat here, except for the kits and our youngest apprentices, is responsible for what this Clan has become, and for the war looming.

"If I demote Dusklion, I might as well demote this whole god damn Clan, myself included. Clearly I was negligent; I could've done more to encourage Birdsnow to hold our warriors accountable. I could've been at the WindClan border more often, ensuring it remained secure. At this point, demoting Dusklion won't fix anything. WindClan is still going to attack us, and likely try to eradicate us completely, and it's for many reasons more than just Fallownose. It's for the apprentice who was tortured. The three buffoons of ours who invaded their camp. Beanstar's actions. Every other goddamn thing this pathetic Clan has done over the past season-cycle.

"None of us have any moral high ground to stand on here. We barely have the right to call ourselves warriors. I'm choosing not to demote Dusklion because we need a deputy right now. I do believe she cares for this Clan, and that her act was one of reckless stupidity rather than an intent to incite war. I encourage you all to recall how efficiently she dealt with Fogmuzzle, and every other threat that has faced this Clan. She has risked her life time and time again for RiverClan. She will face repercussions for her decision, but I do not believe that weakening our Clan by stripping us of a deputy and of a capable, loyal warrior is the right move to make when we're about to have hell rain down upon us.

"However, I want to provide an opportunity for you to share your thoughts. If you're in support of my decision and believe that Dusklion should be allowed to remain deputy, I want to hear you. If you believe she should be demoted, I want to hear it. If you want to abstain, that's fine too."

With that, he curled his tail around his paws and waited for the chaos to begin.