While not an organised group, “Canaries” has become a catch-all term that the Clans use for any loners. It originated within the Ivory Talons, borne from a still-practised banishment method that now sees use in both Clans. In this method, the offending cat is told that they will be welcomed back into the Clan only if they manage to extract enough metal ore from the lower levels of the Brimstone Mine and return with it. These cats are given an item known as the “Canary’s Claw”, an iron hook-like claw that is inserted and fused into the first digit of the paw after their original nail is removed. This tool is said to help with mining in the Brimstone Mine (as the Clans will not part with real mining tools), but it is not removable without removing or mutilating the digit, and in truth serves more so as a mark to identify criminals. For the Ivory Talons, this practice serves as both a false promise to the damned, and a desperate, bloodless grasp at faith for those who remain. They truly believe that any cat who successfully retrieves metal from the Brimstone Mine is blessed, though no one has managed the feat thus far. For the Ridge Fangs, the practice is purely practical. They care much less about the false promises, and instead focus on the marking of a criminal, ensuring that no Clan cat will ever cross their path and be deceived.
Many cats see the mission as the execution that it is, and prefer to try living as a loner instead. The Clans do little to hunt down those who escape punishment, generally believing that the struggle of living outside of the Clan’s will serve as punishment or execution enough. Cats who have been exiled in this fashion are referred to as “True Canaries” so as to differentiate from regular loners. Life as a loner is difficult due to the terrain, but not impossible. Most loners who aren’t banished from a Clan end up joining one.
The extreme banishment method used for Canaries stemmed from an Ivory Talons leader, Lambstar, who was deemed unfaithful. Fearing that nonbelievers would only serve to keep the Celestials away, this council of cycles long past – consisting of Rootwhisper, Coldspring, and Brittlethorn – plotted to cast their leader out. They turned to Coldspring’s mate, a talented forger by the name of Wolfsnap, to create a signifier of guilt, so that the forsaken leader could not easily start a new life elsewhere. She then crafted a long metal hook that would sit long enough on the paw so as to always be noticeable. It was to be fused to Lambstar by removing the first knuckle of the digit, placing short rods of metal into the skin, and then cauterizing the area to melt the metal onto the skin. For practicality purposes, it was made of the lowest quality metal. Attempting to remove the claw would mean mangling the paw even further.
Lambstar was soon chased out and given the first Canary’s Claw in a public spectacle, with her council demanding that she repent and prove her faith by successfully bringing metal from the depths of the Brimstone Mine, far beyond where any cat had safely gone. Had she proven successful, it would have been taken as a sign that the Celestials were still present, and that they held the disgraced leader with divine favor and forgiveness. The Canary’s Claw, they argued, was to help Lambstar successfully extract ore. In reality, the claw would almost certainly break if she attempted to mine with it. Lambstar’s deputies turned a blind eye to this, knowing that earning favour with the council was their best shot at power. Unsurprisingly, Lambstar failed to survive the lethal depths of the mine, but the punishment remained in place, growing to be used on cats outside of leadership positions. Even the Ridge Fangs, faithless as they were, adopted the practice, though all religious aspects were quickly discarded.
Canaries are not welcome in any of the Clan’s celebrations, and thus, do not participate. True Canaries may still find ways to celebrate, such as by attempting to organize hunts with other True Canaries for Noctiluna.