History Literature / TheColdMoons

* AnimalReligion: Badgers bury their dead. They also hold religious beliefs and have a concept of the afterlife. The badgers {{God}} is named Logos, their {{heaven}} is called "Asgard", and their {{hell}} is "Sheol"; those who are BarredFromTheAfterlife go to "Gehenna". "Elysia" is a short-hand for "heavenly pastures" and it literally refers to the pastures of heaven.

After Bamber delivers his message, it switches to the badgers of the Cilgwyn forest, a large and advanced community of several hundred badgers, as they try to escape doom.

The book is based on actual events that occured in 1970s and 1980s Great Britain: There was an outbreak of tuberculosis amongst cows (and to a lesser extent, other mammals including humans). Badgers were considered the cause, though there was little-to-no evidence that they were. This led to a mass genocide of badgers that pushed them to extinction in Great Britain.

''The Cold Moons'' is a 1987 novel by Aeron Clement about somewhat anthropomorphic badgers in the British wilderness. It begins with Bamber, an aging male badger as he goes on a journey to find other badgers to live with and warn about what happened to his home. After Bamber delivers his message, it switches to the badgers of the Cilgwyn forest, a large and advanced community of several hundred badgers, as they try to escape doom.

The book is based on actual events that occured in 1970s and 1980s Great Britain: There an outbreak of tuberculosis amongst cows (and to a lesser extent, other mammals including humans). Badgers were considered the cause, though there was little-to-no evidence that they were. This led to a mass genocide of badgers that pushed them to extinction in Great Britain.

* AnimalTalk: Downplayed. It's mentioned that characters talk to one another, but none of the dialogue is shown.

* BookEnds: The story begins with an old couple named Bamber and Dainty who are preparing to have their last litter of cubs. The story ends with a [[PuppyLove blossoming couple]] named [[spoiler:[[DeadGuyJunior Bamber and Dainty]].]]

* ShowWithinAShow: There are several chapters featuring fictional newspaper clippings from ''The Sunday Tribune'', ''Daily Chronicle'', and ''Daily News''.

* MyNameWasMyName: Averted. Humans refer to [[spoiler:Titan and Rowley]] as "Romulus" and "Remus".

* OffscreenChildDeath: Most of the cubs die off-screen, though there are a few who aren't.

* AnimalReligion: Badgers bury their dead. They also hold religious beliefs and have a concept of the afterlife. The badgers {{God}} is named Logos, their {{heaven}} is called "Asgard", and their {{hell}} is "Sheol"; those who are BarredFromTheAfterlife go to "Gehenna". They also believe in a paradise called "Elysia".
* AutomobilesAreAlien: The badgers refer to helicopters as scentless trained birds.

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Beaufort has been in love with his wife Corntop since he was a yearling cub.

* {{Microts}}: Badgers do use standard terms for seasons, but they usually call spring "the birth time", summer "the warm time", autumn "the time of falling leaves", and winter "the time of cold moons" ("cold times"/"the cold time" for short). Units of measurement are vague units, like "badger steps". Days are counted in suns (for example, "forty suns") and a month is "a complete life of the moon" (or just "a moon").

* SnowMeansDeath: The story starts in early spring. It's so early that there's still some frost and snow. This is when the humans come and start killing badgers.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: This is explored with the in-series newspapers. ''Daily Chronicle'' is sympathetic towards the badgers and features stories calling the termination attempts barbaric.

* FamilyFriendlyDeath:

* AnimalReligion: Badgers bury their dead. They also hold religious beliefs and have a concept of the afterlife. The badgers {{God}} is named Logos, their {{heaven}} is called "Asgard", and their {{hell}} is "Sheol". They also believe in a paradise called "Elysia".

* {{Microts}}: Badgers do use standard terms for seasons, but they also sometimes call summer "the warm time", autumn "the time of falling leaves", and winter "the time of cold moons" ("cold times" for short). Units of measurement are vague units, like "badger steps". Days are counted in suns (for example, "forty suns") and a month is "a complete life of the moon" (or just "a moon").

** Not all the cubs survive the trek out of the Cilgywn forest. Even before the voyage begins, Fircone lost his two three-month old daughters to humans.

* TheLeader: Cilgwyn has a large community of setts that is lead by one badger. This badger is usually elected by male badgers over four years of age, though some exceptions exist (such as how Eldon was granted leadership because his father Jason was so beloved).

* {{Microts}}: Badgers do use standard terms for seasons, but they also sometimes call summer "the warm time", autumn "the time of falling leaves", and winter "the time of cold moons" "cold times" for short). Units of measurement are vague units, like "badger steps". Days are counted in suns (for example, "forty suns") and a month is "a complete life of the moon" (or just "a moon").

** Buckwheat is killed when he falls into a river in chapter five.

* AnimalReligion: Badgers bury their dead. They also hold religious beliefs and have a concept of the afterlife.

* DiurnalNocturnalAnimal: A justified example occurs in ''The Cold Moons''. Bamber sometimes walks around during daytime because he's fleeing for his life and can't afford to spend much time sleeping. Other badgers are nocturnal.

** Unlike his father Buckwheat, Beaufort is uninterested in politics and prefers to passively listen to others rather than make decisions himself.

* MarriedAnimals: Badgers are described as spouses to one another.

* {{Microts}}: Badgers do use standard terms for seasons, but they also sometimes call summer "the warm time", autumn "the time of falling leaves", and winter "the time of cold moons". Units of measurement are vague units, like "badger steps". Days are counted in suns (for example, "forty suns") and a month is "a complete life of the moon" (or just "a moon").

* SnowMeansDeath: The story starts in early spring. It's so early that there's still some frost and snow. This is when the humans come and start killing badgers.

* DecoyProtagonist: Bamber dies five chapters in. His long journey left the already aging badger too worn. He survives long enough to give other badgers his message of danger before passing two days after arriving in the forest.

* SketchySuccessor: Jason was a beloved leader and is considered one of the best badgers to grace the Cilgywn forest. His son Eldon on the other hand is lazy and prefers to let other make choices for the group.

One early spring morning, a duo of badgers bask in the idealistic splendor of their glades. After eleven years living together in Yellow Copse, Bamber and his mate Dainty have just had what is likely their last litter of nestlings. Their peaceful existence is suddenly ruined when humans arrive and spread poison throughout the are. With badgers dropping dead within moments, Bamber attempts to flee with his family. His mate doesn't make it but Bamber does. With that, the flees for the unknown.

* DiurnalNocturnalAnimal: A justified example occurs in ''The Cold Moons''. Bamber sometimes walks around during daytime because he's fleeing for his life and can't afford to spend much time sleeping.

''The Cold Moons'' is a 1987 novel by Aeron Clement about somewhat anthropomorphic badgers in the British wilderness. It stars Bamber, an aging male badger as he goes on a journey to find other badgers to live with and warn about what happened to his home.

* DiurnalNocturnalAnimal: A justified example occurs in ''The Cold Moons''. Bamber walks around during daytime because he's fleeing for his life and can't afford to spend much time sleeping.

* {{Microts}}: Badgers call summer "the warm time", autumn "the time of falling leaves", and winter "the time of cold moons". Units of measurement are vague units, like "badger steps". Days are counted in suns (for example, "forty suns") and a month is "a complete life of the moon".
* PartiallyCivilizedAnimal: The characters are mainly normal badgers living in the woods, but they can communicate with one another, can use {{Healing Herb}}s, have religious beliefs, and have developed a small society with its own parliament called "the Cadre".

* AnimalTalk: Downplayed. it's mentioned that characters talk to one another, but none of the dialogue is shown.

* MissingMom: Dainty is killed a day after giving birth.
* PartiallyCivilizedAnimal: The characters are mainly normal badgers, but they can communicate with one another, can use {{Healing Herb}}s, and they have religious beliefs.
* SeldomSeenSpecies: Many obscure animals are namedropped, including yellowhammers, linnets, and chaffinches.

** Bamber's mate was killed by poison. His cubs perished from the poison as well. As they were only newborns, they wouldn't have been able to survive without Dainty anyway. The rest of the badgers in the settle, including Bamber's brother Oatear, also died during the incident.

* PartiallyCivilizedAnimal: The characters are mainly normal badgers, but they can communicate with one another, can use HealingHerbs, and they have religious beliefs.

One early spring morning, a duo of badgers bask in the idealistic splendor of their glades. After eleven years living together in Yellow Copse, Bamber and his mate Dainty have just had what is likely their last litter of nestlings. Their peaceful existence is suddenly ruined when humans arrive and spread poison throughout the are. With badgers dropping dead within moments, Bamber attempts to flee with his family. His mate doesn't make it but Bamber does. With that, hhe flees for the unknown.

''The Cold Moons'' is a 1987 novel by Aeron Clement about badgers. It's based on actual events that occured in 1970s and 1980s Great Britain: There an outbreak of tuberculosis amongst cows (and to a lesser extent, other mammals including humans). Badgers were considered the cause, though there was little-to-no evidence that they were. This led to a mass genocide of badgers that pushed them to extinction in Great Britain.

* Badgers call autumn "the time of falling leaves" and winter "the time of cold moons". Units of measurement are vague units like "badger steps".

* AnimalReligion: Badgers bury their dead.

* EyeScream: Tendril is missing one eye. Seven years ago, her family was attacked by hunting dogs. One of the dogs grabbed her by the face and its tooth pierced her eye

** Bamber's mate was killed by poison. His cubs perished from the poison as well. As they were only newborns, they wouldn't have been able to survive without Dainty anyway.