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Official Herd Name: The Unmei Zenchō Clan (Ominous Oracles Herd)

Unofficial Herd Name: The Doom Herd, The Oracle Herd

The herd will be lead by a High Priestess based on an Absol/Ninetales fusion.

Playing off of this, they will live somewhere remote, high up on a forested mountain or cliff shrouded in mist overlooking the ocean.

They'd be able to predict natural disasters with uncanny accuracy due to their abilities to study and read the signs. Honor-bound to warn neighboring herds and wandering Soqs about the impending disaster, they'll be seen as (and called) the Doom Herd by most outsiders (though some may call them the Oracle Herd).

They'd have a "shrine maiden" vibe to them, with High Priestess being the leader and then various titles going on down the line for their ranks/positions in the herd.


Positions usually held by females~
High Priestess: Leader of the herd
Priestess(es): Those who are adept at reading the signs and with other useful skills, such as healing/etc.
Shrine Maiden(s): Those in training to become a Priestess, their role is to assist the Priestesses in various duties, including ceremonies.


Positions usually held by males~
Samurai: Guardians of the herd's territory
Ronin: Those in training to be Samurai; may sometimes accompany either a Samurai on patrol or an Envoy.
Priest(s): The male counterpart to the Priestess(ess), they share similar duties.
Monk(s): The male counterpart to the Shrine Maiden(s). Their role is similar in that they are to assist the Priests.

Genderless positions~
Shinobi: What these guys get up to is anyone's guess. >w>
There can be "Warrior Priestesses" and "Warrior Monks" as well.

Positions usually held only by Minis:
"Keepers/Tenders": Minis who tend to the many gardens of Shrine at the "center" of the Clan's territory. They also try to keep up the maintenance of the Shrine itself, with the aid of their familiar(s). Inevitably they end up working closely alongside the Shrine Maidens and Monks.
Will work on a better title for this position.


Envoys: Those who go outside of the territory to warn others of impending doom and gather information from the outside world. They usually have a Ronin escort; the Ronin(s) in question may be ready to become Samurai and this mission would be seen as a "rite of passage".


Certain individuals who wish to break with the traditional roles for the positions of the Clan may, after proving themselves worthy, attain the position they are after. For example, a "Shrine Maiden" can become a Ronin, and then a Samurai. Minis can, through effort, prove that they can hold the same position as their regular-sized clansmen.


Ambassadors: The only "rank" given to non-clan members.
Outsiders permitted within the clan's territory on a regular basis after having earned the trust of the entire Clan; they are given a "talisman" of sorts to carry by the Head Priestess herself. If the Soq granted this talisman were to give it to anyone else, they'd be permanently banned from the territory and the "impostor" wearing the talisman would have it forcibly removed from them if they do not pay homage and surrender it to the Clan.
The talisman acts like a "travel pass" and shows that the individual wearing it has earned the trust of the Unmei Zenchō Clan. Each talisman is unique for each individual.


Belief ideas:
They have a belief that the stars in the sky are the spirits of their ancestors and the moon is the lantern that lights the way for the spirits of the fallen to join the ranks of their ancestors in the sky.

Festival ideas:
Festival of the Moon
Held on nights of the full moon, they honor the deceased with prayers, incense, and floating lanterns sent down the river to the bay.

Festival of the Sun
Where they honor the longest day of the year.

Festival of the Cold Moon
Where they honor the longest night of the year.

Open to suggestions/ideas/interested parties!

I'm totes in. Let me eat and get caffinated and then we can talk XD

Though both Alolan Ninetales and Absol are mountain-dwellers so that might also make sense too!

Interested in this >w>

I used to live in Monterey, California and it was a mountainous area on a bay, and due to the positioning of the mountains next to the ocean and the round bay, it was a wooded area that constantly was foggy/misty and mysterious, but with clear views of the ocean. It was a pretty cool place XD Watching the fog roll down from the top of the mountains was cool. That could be the sort of place they live?

Omg yes! That'd be perfect!

I like the idea of playing off of having the herd's name be storm-based. o:

As I said in the thread i'm interested in this