Jesper the Imp Devlog

Idea: Wild imps having a shared, sacred place called the Grove

Okay, so I had a thought so intense earlier that I had to come running and jot down some skeletal ideas. It's kind of ripping off of something else, but I'm at the point in life I don't really care. I'm calling it inspiration.

In the Warrior Cats series --- and yes I'm going to butcher this whole concept because I'm an outsider --- there's a place called the Moonpool. It's a body of water that I think gets its name from the reflection of the moon at night. Not only does it have a kickass name, but I believe it's a shared, neutral territory between the clans where they can contact Starclan (kitty heaven).

I was thinking how cool it would be for the wild imps to have a place like this. First off, the name Moonpool is cool enough... But also the little guys have developed to become just spiritual enough that a place like this might serve multiple purposes. For the sake of simplicity, the wild imps believe in Satan --- although the name might be different, and is less connected with real life Christianity, and more of just, conceptually, a large deity that resides over a spiritual realm that they will return to in death. Whether or not that's true, I have no idea. But they believe it.

Anyway, I was thinking about the focal point of this place not being a body of water (albeit having one, let me get there), but instead a tree that was struck by lightning and burned for quite some time. The tree itself is mystical in appearance, and surrounded by a dark, quiet pond. The area is tucked away far from where a normal human traveler would go, and is in a location central to most of the local imp dens.

I was thinking of names, and the only thing that comes into mind is referring to it as "the Grove", or perhaps even, shoutout to an old World of Warcraft character, giving it the name "the Whitegrove", perhaps a hint to the white bark exposed on the tree from the lightning strikes. It's something that has existed for a couple generations, so a few imps have seen the tree's aftermath of having been struck and burnt, and the establishment of it becoming a place of congregation.

This is something specific to the surrounding wild imps, and others in further areas may have their own version or customs. This is also a place of neutral territory (although the imps do not compete against each other), and is considered a sacred place for use for spiritual rituals, funeral send-offs, meetings, and den negotiating. (By negotiations, I'm referring more to, trading and offering food and supplies, or even members to a cluster who may need these things or help.)

This could become important in a few different ways: