The Ivory Talons are a Clan that lives among the trees of the heavily forested southern region of the territories. They are a spiritual Clan, holding to the belief that the Celestial Canopy will return if the Clans are pious enough. Currently, they maintain that the Celestials’ delayed return is due to the Ridge Fangs’ heretical past and faithless present.

The Ivory Talons are more individualistic than the Ridge Fangs. They enjoy a diverse body of opinions from the Clan, often debating and talking through their Clan’s decisions before any action is taken. Due to their history of debate, frivolous wars are very rarely started by the Ivory Talons. Most wars started by the Ivory Talons have been a means of gaining advantageous territory, rather than stemming from ideological differences. Often, their pushes for territory involve taking areas that could feasibly hold a mine. While cats in the Clan favour their freedom, they do not abandon each other in times of need. Clanmates tend to form tight-knit social groups, typically with cats of similar interests and ideology. However, they have a habit of looking down upon those who they consider “weak links”, but are generally hesitant to disparage another cat directly to their face. It is not uncommon for cats to turn against each other for political gain. Since the Celestials’ disappearance, cats have become more willing to fall in line than in times past, but old habits die hard. Romantic relationships with Ridge Fang cats are considered wrong, and are thus disallowed, due to their extreme religious differences. Punishment for these relationships is at the discretion of the standing leader, though the resulting social ostracization frequently serves as consequence. Relationships with loners are considered strange, but are more less left unquestioned. They are very unlikely to exile cats unless they commit heinous crimes, but are particularly brutal towards those who are exiled; True Canaries found within their territory are treated with extreme and oftentimes lethal prejudice.

The Ivory Talons remain the only Clan who holds onto hope that the Celestial Canopy will return. They believe that all cats are granted a divine essence once allowed into the Celestial Canopy, and that the word of the Celestials is law. Each Celestial, while still retaining some individuality, has a clarifying divinity that removes the biases found within living cats. Celestials are not to be doubted, and all Celestials are to be respected and revered – even those from the Ridge Fangs. Faithless cats do exist within the Clan, but this skepticism is best kept close to the chest, as the Ivory Talons are more than willing to alienate non-believers. They look down upon the current Ridge Fang cats for abandoning their faith, and consider their previous faith to have been entirely performative. They also harbor a fierce jealousy over the Ridge Fangs’ ore resources, as their territory has proven more fruitful following the advent of metalworking.

The Ivory Talons’ Clan structure is much different than the Ridge Fangs. Instead of having one leader and one deputy, they have a leader, two deputies (a warrior and a forger each), and three chosen council members. Each of the council members are chosen by a leader, but remain on the council until they die, retire, or are forcefully removed. Every proposal that a leader makes must be approved by the council and the deputies, though any member of the group is allowed to make proposals. Individuals are not allowed to vote on their own proposal to ensure there is no potential for a tied decision. When the leader dies, the council must vote on which deputy will become leader. The deputy who is not chosen will retain their position unless circumstances demand otherwise. The leader, deputies, and council members are all susceptible to a vote of no confidence, in which all members of the leadership vote in secret on whether they think the member in question should remain in their position. Similar to any proposals, there is never the potential for a tied decision.

Historically, the Ivory Talons have been the more defensive Clan. Cats in this Clan prefer splitting their forces. One team strikes from higher ground, typically from the canopies of their territory. In the wake of this initial attack, a ground team will charge in, taking advantage of the resultant chaos. They prefer to wear or hold minimal metal, so as to avoid being weighed down when jumping between trees; they are highly skilled in moving around silently. In defense of their territory, they will employ the use of spears, dropping them straight down from treetops as “metal rain”. Crossbows are sometimes used for a similar method, but less often, given their cumbersome nature. The Ivory Talons try to limit direct and prolonged contact during fights, instead preferring to hit as hard as possible with first strike in the hopes of ending things quickly. If a battle does begin to drag on, their strategies ideally allow for rinse and repeat strikes between the arboreal and ground forces. With the introduction of weapons and the stark resource disparity, they’ve found themselves in a disadvantageous position. They are far more willing to resort to “dirty” tactics, such as using poison tipped claws or arrows. They don't view themselves as dirty fighters, however.

Due to their comparative lack of metal, the Ivory Talons have had to play catch-up when it comes to technological advancements in metalworking. To contend, they have honed an impressive espionage force. Spies are often deployed to take any new advancements from the Ridge Fangs’ forgers, so that they may be studied and recreated with their limited ore. Despite their efficiency in stealing information, their spies are caught more often, due to the Ridge Fangs' vigilance. This has earned the Ivory Talons a strong reputation for their espionage operations. The Ivory Talons maintain a rigorous protocol for handling Ridge Fang spies caught within their camp, rare as that occurrence may be. Caught spies are not immediately killed, but are instead treated well and allowed to move around the camp under supervision. They lavish their prisoners with faux kindness, often promising to stay their deadly hand and instead release them, so long as they offer up information about the Ridge fangs. They tend to follow through on these promises, knowing full well that spies who return to the Ridge Fangs are often harshly punished by their Clan for giving in rather than dying for the cause.

Funerals in the Ivory Talons take place south of camp, at the cliffside next to the fjords. Bodies are wrapped in ferns and given parting gifts, usually in the form of beautiful stones. These bodies are then tossed into the ocean by the oracles, while the gathered cats gently hum a song. When given enough gifts, the deceased properly sink and are ultimately consumed by ocean scavengers; this is seen as a sign a cat was beloved by their Clan. Those who are not given enough gifts will float upon the surface, signifying that they were not seen as a good Clanmate, as they were not particularly beloved by their Clan. It is thought that a cat consumed by an orca or epipelagic shark will be sent to the Infernal Forest. The Ivory Talons believe that a plentiful number of gifts serves to both comfort the spirit moving into the afterlife, and put in a good word to the Celestial Canopy.

The Ivory Talons’ territory is lush, mostly dominated by forests and wetlands. They lack a lot of the mineral deposits that occur within the Ridge Fangs’ territory, making metal especially scarce for them. Their primary mine is located at the cold edge of the fjords, making it exceptionally perilous to work in. As a result, many of their items are made of wood or clay, with metal only being used where it is absolutely necessary. Heavy rains fall upon the area, flowing down from the mountains. While the northern edge of the territory is warm, the waters of southern fjords are arctic in nature. On rare occasions, the southernmost fjords will have snow. With their diverse and dense flora, hunting can be more difficult than it would be in other regions – many dangerous animals dwell within their territory.

A duty that is unique to that of Ivory Talon oracles is tending to an ancient, ever-burning blue fire known as the Divine Kiln. It is said that the flame has never been extinguished ever since it was lit by the first oracle, Ambrosiagleam. The main fire is kept in a large clay pot in the middle of the oracle’s den. There the fire burns off of a liquid known as “burning water”. The creation of burning water is a complicated process, and requires two specially made clay pots. First, partially rotted fruit and water are placed into one round clay plot with a long, downward-pointing neck known as a retort. This still is placed inside a fire to boil the water within. At the end of the neck is another pot, which collects the newly distilled burning water. The burning water is then added into the Divine Kiln so that it may continue fueling the fire. When an oracle is given their full name, it is tradition for them to drink from the kiln. The head oracle serves the burning water in a wooden ladle, holding it high and tilting it forward into the new oracle’s mouth so that the flames extinguish as they're poured. The drink is said to make one's mouth burn, hence its moniker of “burning water”.

From an outsider’s perspective, the recent cycles have been treating the Ivory Talons quite well. They have held onto the contested territory in the Ironwoods, and there are rumours that they are planning on building a mine there, as the Ridge Fangs have not attempted to take back the territory in some time. Inwardly, however, there has been turmoil. A council member was murdered several moons ago, and although their killer was exiled, the event has left the Clan shaken up. They have started to increase patrols in the Ironwoods as well, becoming paranoid that their plans for a mine may cause the Ridge Fangs to attempt to stop them. This excessive vigilance shows a marked change from the previous leader, Heronstar, who was on guard but unaggressive.