The Marauders

1. Defend your Gang, even at the cost of your life. You may have friendships with cats from other Gangs, but your loyalty must remain to your Gang, as one day you may meet them in battle.

2. Queens and Kits must be fed before Apprentices and Warriors. Unless they have permission, Apprentices may not eat until they have hunted to feed the Queens and Kits. Elders no longer contribute to the Gang and have accepted weakness by retiring, and so they must eat last.

3. A Kit must be at least 4 moons old to become an Apprentice. Apprentices may not participate in raids until they are 6 moons old.

4. Boundaries must be checked and marked daily. Challenge all trespassing cats.

5. The word of the Gang Boss is the Law.

6. A Marauder rejects the soft life of a kittypet.

7. A Marauder's word is their bond. To lie is a betrayal of not only those you lie to, but of yourself. Make no promises or oaths you cannot or do not intend to keep.

8. The Heir will become Gang Boss after the previous Boss dies. If the Heir is too young to assume leadership, the Underboss will become Gang Boss and train the Heir personally, stepping down as soon as the Heir is ready to take over leadership.

9. The Underboss will become Gang Boss when the Boss dies if an Heir has not been named. If the Underboss was not of the bloodline, they must choose a Consort of the bloodline.

The Marauders have no particular kit naming system. Traditionally, the mother makes the final decision regarding the naming of her kits, though many take the father’s wishes into consideration. In recent seasons, it has also become fairly popular to name kits after ancestors or especially accomplished family members. Kits are normally named within the first week after birth.

The Marauders have developed a unique way of training their apprentices. Instead of working in pairs, several mentors and their apprentices generally train together in groups of 3-4 mentor-apprentice pairs, as this is often how the cats will be working as warriors. Because this Gang specializes in raiding their neighbors’ lands for resources, mentors usually decide to focus specifically on fighting – both the physical demands and strategy – and as a result of such rigorous and relentless training, even the apprentices are a force to be reckoned with. However such prowess, born from hard work if not a natural inclination, does not negate the importance of other abilities in the eyes of these cats, and apprentices learn all the typical skills required of a competent warrior.

Just as training reflects warrior life as a Marauder, so does their warrior test. In order to count themselves a full member of the Gang, a group of apprentices must work together to lead a successful raid against another Gang. However these groups, which are organized in conjunction by the Boss and said apprentices’ mentors, are organized in such a way that forces those who dislike each other to work together. Everything involved in the raid itself is planned and run by the apprentices, who also receive a group of warriors to command. None of the warriors assigned to this group are the mentors of the apprentices taking the test to prevent bias, and each performs two roles: to provide experience and skill for the raid and to keep an eye on the apprentices to judge them in their test.

Competence is rewarded, and perhaps the most stressful aspect of the assessment is its pass or fail nature for the entire group – either everyone passes or everyone fails. To balance this out, apprentices are allowed to take the test however many times is necessary. Similarly, if the warriors discover one particular cat sabotaging the effort, that feline is exiled from the Gang instead of simply staying an apprentice and getting another chance later. The Marauders need to be able to trust their Gangmates, especially during raids, and they cannot afford to allow any potential traitors to remain among their ranks.

Once the apprentices pass their test by successfully raiding another Gang, they are allowed to become warriors. While the Marauders are not the most sentimental Gang in the city, they do have their traditions. After the apprentices pass their test, the new warriors cut one of their paws on broken glass and leave a bloody paw print on display on the glass of the old aquarium's exhibits in a ceremony known as the Blood Oath. Although this practice might seem revolting to some, it symbolizes both the strength of the cat and the loyalty that ties them together – it is as if they were all bound by blood. The Boss then grants each new warrior their Warrior Title, adding a short phrase onto the cat's original name that reflects a skill or trait they possess (Shadow the Silent, Umber Sharp Tongue, Reed the Red). Most Marauders still go by their original name after becoming warriors, using their full Warrior Title only with outsiders and during ceremonies (though newly made warriors often use their full Title for a few moons to show it off). Warrior Titles are not more than 3 words long.

The Marauders' leadership is based around a monarchy, where the Boss passes on their leadership to one of their kits, and so on, and so on. The idea is that blood runs strong and true, and the blood of a leader, or generations of leaders, will make strong leaders in future generations. This isn't to say leadership is just handed to any kit, however. Bosses don't name an Heir until their kits have reached warriorhood, so they might choose the kit with the most promise as a leader, after careful observation of their growth and ability. The Boss must name one of their own kits as Heir unless they have none. A new Boss without kits must name a sibling, cousin, niece, or nephew as temporary Heir until they have their own kits, in case they die before having them or being able to name a true Heir. The temporary Heir then becomes the Underboss.

Should the Boss not have any other kin to name as temporary Heir, they will choose an Underboss based on merit. Should the Boss die without naming a true Heir, the Underboss will ascend to the rank of Boss. If the Boss had kits before they died but never got a chance to name one as Heir, Marauder Law dictates that the new Boss must choose one as their Consort so the Bloodline will continue. The Consort is the Boss's official mate, and only kits produced by the Boss and their Consort can be considered for the rank of Heir. The rank of Consort is for life, and is most often chosen for their merit as a warrior, rather than any romantic feelings shared between the two (though there may certainly be romance between them, either before or after they're chosen).

As one might expect from their name, the Marauders are known for the raids they frequently conduct on the other gangs. Living in a world of concrete and cement, the gang has very little access to resources within their own territory, so they have taken to invading their neighbors’ lands to make up for what they lack. Time and practice have allowed members of this gang to perfect their technique, and the raids have become something to be feared, a sharpened weapon wielded by a competent opponent. Requiring each participant to trust that his gang mate will pull his own weight, these raids exemplify the true strength of the Marauders, for if there is one quality at which this gang excels, it is teamwork; after all, raids are among the main ways these formidable felines bond with each other.

Both the strongest warriors and apprentices make up the raiding parties – in fact, apprentices are required to participate in at least one raid before they can be named warriors, though most are involved in many by the time they receive their title – and they are planned by the best strategic minds in the gang. Generally, around ten cats split into two groups, who will attack their chosen target from two different directions. Knowing the wisdom of avoiding injury whenever possible, the looters will not necessarily go out of their way to fight, and if they can acquire their target without bloodshed, they will; that being said, each member of the raiding party enters foreign territory fully expecting and ready to fight if they must. More often than not, the raids end with unsheathed claws. While timing and strategy definitely have an effect on the outcome of the battle, victory ultimately rests on the level-headed flexibility and quick thinking of the participating warriors and apprentices. Because of rigorous training to prepare the future generations for what is a large part of warriorhood, the majority of the Marauders’ raids end in success, thus giving even the apprentices the reputation of being fearless members of the worst gang to meet in battle.

The Marauders give their fallen a watery send off. They carry their dead up onto the bridge overlooking their camp and drop them from it, into the river, in a ceremony called The Final Leap. When telling another about a Marauder who has died, the phrase "He took the Final Leap" is often used, rather than simply saying 'He died". After a Gangmate has died, the Gang usually spends the rest of the day celebrating life, showing off new stunts they've come up with, daring each other to take new risks, and having friendly brawls in which every cat unsheathes their claws, for if you can still bleed then you're still alive.