Razorback Cliffwalker

The Cliffwalker clan of Demaria received its name many generations before the present day when the ruling house of the time turned their rich farmlands over to another house. The Cliffwalkers were banished into the mountains along with whatever retainers wouldn't renounce their ties to the clan. For a time, they were considered to be bandits, collecting 'tolls' from any who would dare the mountain passes. At the same time, however, they were beginning to cultivate their new homeland. Somehow, the minor family made good on their tiny mountain holdings, growing whatever crops could cling to the sparse soil. By the 27th century, they were no longer considered to be banished, but still remained up on the cliffs that had given them their name. In 2651, Redpaw Cliffwalker was the head of the clan and a member of the Demarian Senate. He was also known to have a taste for primate meat. Throughout their history, the Cliffwalker clan had worked side-by-side with their retainers, knowing that their survival depended on a certain level of cooperation. Redpaw changed all that. Arrogant and self-important, he abandoned the ideas of 'noblesse oblige' that his forefathers had held to. It was Redpaw who supported the Senate's decision to bomb the village of Pansheera. When his complicity was discovered, however, he committed suicide, to avoid dragging the clan through his dishonor, leaving his son Silverfang in leadership. Silverfang did not have his father's vainglorious arrogance. In fact, he was so different, that Redpaw had hoped to turn rule of the clan directly over to his grandson Razorback, who was born in 2632. Razorback's relatively young age prevented this, however. Silverfang brought the Cliffwalker clan to its original ideals, believing himself to be the protector of his vassals, rather than their owner. Though he claimed authority, he also saw a great responsibility in this position. Silverfang had married young to Cloudcoat, the daughter of a minor noble of the much larger and more influential Sandwalker clan. This had been an attempt by Redpaw to forge an alliance with the more powerful family. The couple had four kits: Razorback, the eldest son, Lightmane and Goldeye, their daughters who, though born in the same litter, were as different as the shades of their fur, and Browncoat, the youngest son. Razorback had been groomed for the leadership of the clan from an early age, both by his father and his grandfather. One of the family's retainers, a grizzled old warcat named Blacktooth Firebringer, was given the responsibility of the young kit's training. Academics, hunting, survival, hand-to-hand combat, and the family trade, farming. The youth took to each well, active in body and mind. The family held to an old custom that ranged weapons were for commoners so there was little focus on such forms of combat, concentration mostly being on the spear and the blade, tooth and claw. As his grandfather was occupied mostly with world politics, he learned how to run the estate from his father. In this, he gained his father's sense of responsibility to those under his rule. He also gained his ancestors' love of the land and the works of their hands. When the Kretonian invasion took place, Silverfang was faced with a choice: hold onto the land and be annihilated, or let it go and survive. He chose to liquidate the clan's assets so that the better part of them would be able to get passage on Sanctuary. When the colony ship returned the family set up in Gleaming Star, dismissing all but their closest retainers in order to preserve what was left from their diminished wealth. Silverfang managed to accept the change in Demaria's culture with typical good grace. Razorback, however, did not. Next in line for leadership of the clan, he took the deposition of the nobility almost as a personal affront. Believing that the new Demaria no longer desired his presence, the young felinoid left home with several like-minded friends when Stumppaw Sandwalker set off for Pansheera. When that goal evaporated, the now-rudderless Demarian began to wander from world to world, anywhere that was not Demaria. He took odd jobs as they came, his training not suiting him for much commercially.His sister, Goldeye, tried to keep in touch with him and her letters caught up with him periodically. When war with the Nall reared its ugly head in 3005, Browncoat, the youngest of the Cliffwalker siblings, joined with the Militia. Against his father's wishes, he used the family's waning influence to aquire command of a starship, a position he was not entirely ready for. Feeling that her younger brother was making a fatal error, Goldeye wrote to Razorback in desperation, pleading with him to come home and stop Browncoat from going to war. There was never a response to the letter and Browncoat was killed when his ship was boarded during the battle. A short year or two later, Razorback was rumored to be in the employ of Blackjack Salvage aboard the IND Jackal. Rumor also had it that he was romantically involved with the vessel's first officer, pilot, and later, commander, Swiftfoot Starchaser. On occasion, Razorback would venture out into the Sand Mother desert to keep his combat, survival, and hunting skills honed. He did not return from one of these excursions, however, and his partially decomposed body was discovered by a hunting party some weeks later, apparently trampled by Padraki Desert Bumblers.