Ravenwish -- Prophet
Former wanderer, tentatively paired with Ailig
Born with a rare ability to communicate with the ancestors and receive omens, Raven was a special cub, but her family didn't see it that way. They tried to ignore the signs at first. Unfortunately, after one incident when Raven spoke with her deceased grandparents in the middle of a family gathering, her parents declared that she had been possessed by evil spirits. They chased Raven away from their home, and from that point on, she was little more than a wanderer.
Raven grew up alone in the wilderness; despite the loss of her family, she wasn't necessarily lonely. The ancestors still spoke to her, and more than that, she had been having visions of a black lion with golden stripes. She finally found Hallowsun after years of wandering. This was him; the lion destined to do great things. Raven was honestly shocked that he didn't immediately dismiss her, and even more so that he seemed to believe what she said; no living cat had listened to her visions before. The two of them (though she would never take credit for it) founded Clan Vanguard several days later.
From then on, Raven became Ravenwish, and served as the Clan's spiritual guide. She watched for omens and frequently advised the king, especially regarding decisions that could shape the Clan's future. Their numbers grew, and things were peaceful; over the years, Ravenwish watched Hallowsun change lives for the better, over and over. Until the fateful day he brought home a tiny primal cub. The prophet looked upon young Thrushkit and saw nothing but blood. Then she blinked, and it was just a cub again, albeit one with a tiny tail and long teeth. Shocked, she didn't tell Hallowsun about what she'd seen. There was no mistaking what the omen meant, but Ravenwish couldn't bring herself to deny Thrushkit his second chance at having a home and a family. She knew too well what it felt like to be abandoned. So she did not speak of it, telling herself that she would take action if Thrushkit started to become problematic.
But life got in the way of her keeping an eye on the primal cub; he grew into Thrushpaw and then Thrushflame, all while Ravenwish had her mind on other things. She was getting older, now, and the Clan noticed this; they were concerned that she might die without naming a successor to her role. Yet none of the cubs born into the Clan had ever shown signs of having the curious power she did. Somewhat worried, Ravenwish asked the ancestors for help, and she was granted a vision that night; she saw herself traveling to the distant lands of another king, and bearing his cubs. Certainly she'd never considered becoming a mother, but her path was clear; she set off on the journey and returned after nearly two months, settling into the nursery instead of returning to her prophet's den.
Her litter of two cubs were spoiled beyond belief once they were born. Yet it was mostly the other members of the Clan doting on them; Ravenwish herself was slightly distant, not wanting to influence the cubs too much at this delicate age. If they had inherited her gift, it would reveal itself in time; better to wait than to make the cubs feel like they had to have powers even if they were perfectly ordinary. So Ravenwish's two daughters grew up without her around very often, and when she was, she treated them like any other cubs. Nothing manifested during that first year; part of her knew this might be normal, and the other part wondered if she had made a mistake. But as the two became apprentices and started truly developing into individuals, it seemed she had a choice to make.
One of her daughters was a polite young lioness; respectful and obedient despite her underlying prideful tendencies. The other, though... she was mischievous, often rebelling against her elders. Ravenwish was quick to take action. She would not allow one of her own children to take a darker path, not after what she had allowed Thrushflame to become. The prophet took her daughter aside for a long talk, and she was shocked at how the young lioness refused to listen to anything she said. Their conversation devolved into an argument; Ravenwish ended up stalking away
