Please don't post here! If you want to make any comments about this collection, you're free to post about it on my profile or in DMs! I would just prefer for this thread not to be cluttered.

The Reins of Time is a wandering group of cats connected by two things: They are all Null Wind, and that they are absolutely, deathly afraid of storms. This comes from the (frankly unfounded) fear that they are constantly being followed by a storm that will wipe out worlds near and afar, a myth perpetuated by a poet and leader of the group Storm in the Distance a long, long time ago back in the Old City. This myth arose out of a severe storm that occurred a long, long time ago... but Storm in the Distance will never let this fear nor this myth go. They and their village- a large group of null cats connected by lonesomeness and fear- have now come to Not-Earth to seek shelter from the Storm... If that's even possible.

This lore will be told through many, many poems with a similar scheme: 8 syllables each line, except for the last 8 syllables in a poem, which is broken up into a 4 syllable line and 4 1-syllable ones. These poems are sorted into three groups:

1. The Mythos are poems that are written by Storm in the Distance, and serve the purpose of telling the story of the origins of the Reins of Time. Think of them sort of as the legends of the group... So take their statements with a grain of salt.
   
2. The Members are poems written by Storm in the Distance about the cats in the Reins of Time. These serve as introductions to the characters in the group, but again... They are written by Storm in the Distance, so what's written may not completely be truth. (In the future, I will be writing separate profiles for cats that will be listed on their biographies so people can get a more complete sense of their character!)
   
3. The Stories are poems that are not written by Storm in the Distance, but rather serve as stories of the occurrences in the group after returning to Not-Earth.

Table of Contents
Since this thread is sorted by publish date by itself, this Table of Contents sorts the poems by group!

The Mythos
A Storm Is Brewing

The Members
Storm in the Distance
Leaves in the Wind
Crow in the Nest
Koi in the Pond

The Stories
-

The Mythos #1: A Storm Is Brewing
A storm is brewing from afar.
We can't see it, but we know that
It seeks us, it haunts us, it sends
Warning of its awakening
As silent thunder, its shadow
Cast darkness on our pelts of light.
May we remain quite safe and dry
As we flee from the haunting storm.
We ride our horse of hope away.
We rest on its saddle of dreams.
We guide it with
the
reins
of
time.

_{(Note: Originally written 5/11/22)}

The Members #1: Storm in the Distance

Who else to start with but the cat
Who started it all, yours truly?
Storm In the Distance, the one poet
Whose flowers of truth grow strong in
Pawprints left in my very wake?
Long ago, in the Old City,
I was but a bean named Snowstorm
Lonesome and lost in spiraling
Streets, waiting for someone to come
Find me in ever-pouring rain.
My parents never found me, nor
Did anyone else in the storm.
Cursed to be forever lost
In this storm, the thunder screaming
In my small ears, deafening me,
My little body shook in fear
With every drop and sound it brought.
As I grew, I began to find
Not-cats like me, lost in the storm
That ravaged the Old City, with
Pelts of snow and nothing salvaged
From the storm's gruesome, bloody wrath.
I told these poor lost souls that there's
Another storm in the distance,
One infinitely worse than this
First storm that took everything from
Us without even a warning.
This new storm that lurks in our clouds
Will not just destroy cities, but
Worlds near and far, starting with the
One we called our beloved home.
They believed my every word, and
So I took them under my wing.
We formed our own little village
Of nomadic null cats all in
A close family of our own.
I gave them and myself new names
As we fled from the cruel storm.
And now with them by my side, I,
Storm in the Distance, will now and
Forever take the reins of time
And use them to guide us to our
New home that Nestor blessed us
With, and guide us to our shelter
From the storm that seeks destruction.
With their everlasting, pure trust
In my heart and in my poems,
I will lead them
to
safe
ha-
ven.

The Members #2: Leaves In The Wind

Leaves in the Wind, a youthful cat
Who was always chasing the wind
And the leaves in the Old City.
He was ever curious, he
Sought naught but to follow the wind
As it lifted the autumn leaves.
He was but a kitten when he
Chased the leaves and wandered too far
And found himself lost and alone.
And then a storm hit, and the small
Kitten was on his own, with not
A thing to keep him safe from the
Floods, hail, rain, lightning, and thunder.
Taking refuge on a roof is
Where I first found him, cowering
In fear, trembling from bitter cold.
We curled up together, huddling
To keep us warm in the storm that
Sought to take our remaining warmth.
Only when the storm went away
Did we finally scoot away
From one another and wonder
If we would ever see our pelts
Again as we walked different
Paths and sought our own destinies.
And yet, we found each other once
More years and years later, our fur
Now dry and our bodies all grown.
He was my first member, the first
To stand by my side and call me
Family that he'll never leave.
Forever I owe him for his
Dedication
and
love
of
me.

The Members #3: Crow in the Nest

Crow in the Nest, a curious
Soul with many a tragic tale.
It only wanted to learn the
Curiosities of the Old Earth
And it paid the ultimate price.
Back in the Old City, a young
Kitten sought out the hidden truths
Behind the clouds, rain, and weather.
It watched the clouds go by with two
Bright eyes and cheerful interest
Every day and night, and it tracked
The patterns of city weather.
When the storm ravaged the city,
It originally watched with
The same bright eyes as the many
Other times before, but it soon
Realized the horrific truth.
The storm was destroying all it
Knew and loved, and there was no way
For it to ever get those back.
It watched as the storm washed away
Its love of weather, all its joy
Now but a puddle on asphalt.
It fled to shelter, but then it
Decided nothing mattered, and 
And lived on its lonesome in a
Building near destroyed by the storm.
After Nestor knows how long, this
Is where I found it, and I held
My paw out and offered it a
Lovely home in the Reins of Time.
Without much else in this building 
It called home, it accepted and
Accepted its new life with grace.
And yet, its story serves as a
Reminder, one told many times
That curiosity is a 
Villain that can
kill
a
not-
cat.

The Members #4: Koi in the Pond

Koi in the Pond, a beautiful
Yet roughly average not-cat.
Born into a family of
Not-cats posing as housecats
For the free food, Koi was always
Spoiled by the human folk that cared
For her and her dear family.
Everything was happy and well
Until the storm struck, and all she
Knew was destroyed in a matter
Of hours that felt like millennia.
With her owners naught but corpses
And her family washed away
Into the night with the rain, she
Wandered the ruined city in
Lonesomeness for some months.
And then I found her, and offered
Her a place to stay in my group
And she accepted gratefully.
Now she is still somewhat spoiled and
Somewhat unremarkable, but
That is preferable to her
Being useless
as
a
house-
cat.