→ ALL TRAINING (barring special circumstances) will be done by principle members of the nightclan staff. generally, this means that the leader, deputy, and loyal guard will be the only ones mentoring apprentices directly. these members of the clan are the most elite, and as such, they are the most qualified to teach the next generation.
→ sub point : this does not exclude normal warriors from training apprentices ! although the primary mentors do most of the leg work, they welcome any help from other nightclan members. primary mentors may directly request that a normal warrior take over a training session at any time. in the roleplay world, a request of a primary mentor to help train an apprentice is a request that cannot be refused. however, in a practical sense, feel free to reach out to any primary mentors if you'd like a shot at training, and primary mentors feel free to reach out to any other users in the group.
→ sub point two : warriors who engage in training even when they are not a primary mentor are strongly appreciated and looked highly upon. the training system is in place to produce the best possible nightclan warriors moving forward, and if your cat is actively engaged in the shaping of the next generation, aspenstar is going to look highly upon your cat.


→ THE APPRENTICE PAIR COMPETITION will take place once a month approximately halfway through ceremonies. this is one of the most exciting parts of being an apprentice, as it is a direct way to show the skills of you and your partner in comparison to other apprentices your age. the games played at this event will vary from month to month, but will require team building and ideally participation from both parties.
→ sub point : each successful completion of a training thread where at least 5 total posts are made (at least one per mentor/apprentice/apprentice, and the other two can be any combination) will earn the apprentice team a "power up" in the apprentice pair competition. normally, this will include information about what game will be played. sometimes, though, it can mean a special advantage.
→ sub point two : the primary mentors are known to also feel competitive towards other mentors. after all, this is a monthly event that puts their ability to train apprentices in comparison to the other primary mentors. they want to look the best in front of the audience.
→ sub point three : there must always be at least one primary staff member (leader/deputy/loyal guard) that does not have an apprentice pair. all staff members who do not have an active mentor pair are invited to be part of an impartial jury to decide the winner of the apprentice pairs. if there is no primary staff member without an apprentice pair, the elders are invited to be the jury.
→ sub point four : winning the apprentice pair competition gives your apprentice a status boost. in the rp world, this would mean your apprentice would have greater freedom and would be able to avoid the "dirtier" jobs of being an apprentice, like cleaning out dens or running errands for warriors. as such, all apprentices should want to win!

→ APPRENTICE PAIRS WILL BE PROMOTED TOGETHER. this will take some coordination on my part, and of course, there may be some real world reasons that this doesn't play out perfectly. however, the goal of this is that if one apprentice is ready to be promoted, both should be, as they work as a team to complete their training. this means that if one apprentice fails the apprentice test, both will.
→ sub point: in special circumstances where one apprentice is far ahead in skill than the other and that skill level cannot be reconciled, a training pair may be broken. however, this is considered to be an embarrassment for the individual who does not get promoted, their training partner, and the clan as a whole.

→ APPRENTICE TRIALS will occur approximately once a month or on an as needed basis. at the beginning of the activity check, i will reach out to each apprentice pair to determine if they are ready to promote their cats. if they are, they will be invited to an apprentice trial where anyone in the clan may watch them try to demonstrate their abilities as future warriors.
→sub point: these apprentice trials will happen in world in a very similar way as the apprentice pair competition, with an impartial jury deciding the success or failure.
→ sub point two: if your cats enter the apprentice trials, they will be promoted regardless of anything that happens in thread, unless you have communicated that you want differently for plot purposes.

→ TOP OF THE CLASS is an award that is given to one apprentice at each ceremony. this designation is incredibly important to nightclan cats, as it proves that they were the best in their training class. they were the most successful apprentice, and it is a significant status boost. it is also important for nightclan cats because almost all high ranking cats, be it the loyal guard or deputy/leader, were the top of their training class.
→ sub point : the top of the class distinction will be based primarily on activity. when a training pair is ready to enter the apprentice trials, i will ask each user to provide links to threads they replied to with their apprentice. i will then count how may times they replied to their threads. training threads and the apprentice games replies will count for 5 replies each. for example, if i replied to one thread with an apprentice, replied once to a training thread with the apprentice, and once to the apprentice games, i will have a total of 11 posts. plot threads in nightclan will earn two points per response. the apprentice with the highest number of posts will be named top of the class.
→ sub point two : if your apprentice is named top in their class upon graduation, they will have a special designation on the page. this designation has both status and practical implications. not only does it socially mean that your cat can brag that he or she was the best, but it also means your cat will be automatically considered for loyal guard positions and other high ranking positions in nightclan. when positions on the loyal guard open up, i will get into contact with members who have the elite designation to see if any of them are interested in the position and offer it to them. as such, there will be very few if any other chances to become loyal guard.
→ sub point two a : if you have an apprentice who was top of their class and you are offered a loyal guard position, you do not necessarily have to use the cat with the designation as your loyal guard member. this is preferred but not mandatory.