Mudclan is best known as the clan of the night; its cats viewed by all as masters of darkness. Their territory is perhaps the most treacherous of them all, for it is riddled with a myriad of ever changing dangers and often cloaked in such gloom that it is impossible for a Daylighter to see what lies at their paws. The vegetation in their part of the valley is so thick that full sunlight can only be accessed in a few scant parts of their home, and as a consequence they have been forced to adapt to a shadowy lifestyle.

On the surface these adaptations are amongst the most subtle in the Valley, for they appear to be little more than a lengthening of whiskers, a darkening of pelts and a shortening of fur. However, when a Mudclan cat is seen alongside an outsider it swiftly becomes clear that the changes are more extreme than they appear. The most obvious difference between a Mudclanner and other Valley cats lies in their size; Mudclan felines are smaller, their adult’s head-and-shoulders shorter than other clan cats, and their apprentices typically bearing the sizing’s of kits half their age. Moreover, they are the only Valley Cats that appear to be totally unaffected by darkness, for many of their number have developed acute night vision.

These traits are ideal for the conditions under which they live, but they come with inbuilt disadvantages. For one thing, a Mudclan warrior can rarely hope to match their enemies in brute strength, and will typically find themselves in serious trouble should they be pinned by an outsider. This has forced them to abandon tactics that rely on power, and led to the development of a fighting style that focuses on speed and use of the local gloom; they must be as shadows: impossible to touch, but always in the right place to strike.

To most Valley Cats, a Mudclanner’s small size is their only issue, but in Mudclan itself every cat – including the kits – are well aware that it is the least of their problems. The truth is that their reputation as masters of the night is born not from choice but necessity, for the development of their night vision has coincided with an increasing incidence of light sensitivity. For the ‘lucky’ Mudclan cats – those seen at the borders during the day – this is a minor or even non-existent problem, though one that comes alongside a distinct lack of the night vision for which the clan is known. For many others – those seen only on the dullest of days - the pain caused by light makes it difficult to tolerate the sun found in thinner areas of the territory, and necessitates their confinement to the deepest parts of the swamp. But even they have it easy compared to the final group of their clanmates, for there are those who see perfectly at night but are blinded during the day, their eyes easily ruined even by the scant light found in the deepest regions of their territory. It is from these that Mudclan’s night-faring reputation arises, for these felines are nocturnal; seen only beneath the light of the moon.