The Blackberries
Crow, and the founding of the Blackberries
The taiga was, and is, the biggest trade route between the colonies. There's a permanent market set along the route, and the place acts as a kind of shared territory between the colonies. The bustling economy naturally led many strays and wanderers to the place, where they began to form a culture of their own. Eventually, a cat named Crow decided to form a trade coalition which morphed into the Blackberries. Though their actual history dates back much longer, the Blackberries were officially founded a few years yesteryear.
Crow's founding, and announcement thereof, was met with a lot of backlash, especially from the Raspberries. The skirmish between the two was mainly due to religious differences. The Blackberries are a much more lax sect of the religion. The biggest thing that got cats up in arms was Crow itself. Unlike colony cats, Crow had been named by its mother, and refused to choose a new name for itself despite the other colonies' rallying against this. Likewise, there is no strict rule governing that cats in the Blackberries must choose their own name.
Due to the Raspberries refusal to view them as a legitimate colony, the Blackberries refused to allow the Raspberries passage through the woods, effectively cutting most-all trade to and from the Raspberries. The bout was eventually settled, and an agreement made after an especially harsh winter, during which the tundra and the shoreline were utterly inhospitable, and the Raspberries completely stranded without access through the forest.
The agreement was mostly bargained for by Crow and Meadowsweet of the Raspberries. Robin acted as a figurehead to help push an agreement throughout the Raspberries.
Blackberries Territory
The Blackberries territory is a large swath of taiga and rolling hills to the northern edge of the Island. Their land is very valleyed and steep. Many major rivers also run through their territory, culminating in the largest lake of the Island. There is an old hollow-way and hunter's cabin to the very north-western edge of the land. Other than the cave system running below the Island, the woods have the most cover from winds.The Blackberries' camp lies in a shallow ravine. Their camp is separate from the main marketplace, which is along the lakeside.
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