this thread contains a complete and comprehensive, chronological record of the history of the sites events, including pre-existing. mostly included for reference purposes.

the then
i. seasons upon season ago, before the formation of the clans, the cats of the forest received a prophecy from their ancestors. "night and ice shall wipe out the stars." though nothing happened for moons upon moons, the cats began to panic about what the prophecy foretold. though no cat chose to do anything about it, a dark warrior named rowanstrike was forming an alliance of his own, teaching cats how to kill in the midst of the night. soon, he began to preach that the cats were not safe as long as there were warriors with the names 'night' and 'ice' living among them.  slowly, cats from around the forest began to hear of his words, and the growing tension caused them to agree. one night in leaf-fall, rowanstrike and his gang slaughtered their prey- any cats with the aforementioned suffixes or prefixes. they had no boundaries when it came to what cats; elders, kits, and warriors alike were massacred.

ii. soon after the shock of the attack wore off, a band of the most respected cats of the forest formed a council to decide what to do with the traitors. they decided to drive them out- although they didn't have to. the traitors went peacefully, disgusted with the cats faith in their ancestors and unwillingness to join them. not long after they left, however, leaf-bare descended upon the forest.

iii. leaf-bare was exactly what the prophecy had foretold. two moons straight of harsh darkness and ice storms blew over the forest, wreaking havoc. many cats died from freezing to death, starvation, and accidents. the numbers of the cats began to dwindle, and those who did survive, named themselves the survivors.

iv. after the moons of leaf-bare were past, the cats decided to band together for good. they had seen how working in numbers during the harsh times had saved some of them who might have otherwise died, and thus, the clans were born. timbreclan was formed first- named in remembrance of the cats who had died, who resonated in their hearts. esperclan was formed second, named after the new belief that cats could be prophetic, thus birthing medicine cats. tristeclan was formed last, named for the mourning of the cats lost during the time of rowanstrike. although it took many moons after that to create boundaries and a warrior code, the cats did it, thus reaching the point where they are today.