CATS of theClans

E R I N H U N T E R

For India Holmes Coulson—welcome

CONTENTS

dThree Lost Travelers 2ThunderClan 4

Firestar 6Bluestar 8Graystripe and Millie 10Sandstorm 12Yellowfang 14Cinderpelt 16Leafpool 18Squirrelflight 20Brambleclaw 22Ashfur 24Brightheart and Cloudtail 26Jaypaw, Hollypaw, and Lionpaw 28

ShadowClan 30Tigerstar 32Brokenstar 34Blackstar 36Tawnypelt 38Boulder 40Littlecloud and Runningnose 42

WindClan 44Tallstar 46Onestar 48Mudclaw 50Crowfeather 52Nightcloud and Breezepaw 54Heatherpaw 56

RiverClan 58Crookedstar 60Leopardstar 62Graypool, Mistyfoot, and Stonefur 64Silverstream 66Feathertail 68Stormfur 70Hawkfrost 72Mothwing and Willowpaw 74

Cats Outside the Clans 76Ravenpaw and Barley 78Princess and Smudge 80Brook Where Small Fish Swim

and Talon of Swooping Eagle 82Teller of the Pointed Stones 84Cloudstar and Skywatcher 86Leafdapple, Echosong, and Sharpclaw 88Scourge and Bone 90

AcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorOther Books by Erin HunterCreditsCoverCopyrightAbout the Publisher

The Forest

The Forest

The Lake

The Lake

THREE LOST TRAVELERS

Who’s there? Come forward, into the moonlight. Three kits,smelling of stars and the night? You’re a long way from StarClan,little ones. Did you stray too far into the shadows at the edge of

your territory? You must be surprised to end up here, far beneath theground, with such a strange-looking cat to welcome you. I doubt myname, or this place, is spoken of in StarClan.

Hush, don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you. I’ll show you the path homewhen day breaks, when there is light to see your way. Lie down—thefloor is more comfortable than you may think. See how smooth it isunderpaw? I would not exchange it for all the prickles and ticklingthings that line your nests. I have long forgotten how I ever slept amidsuch rustling. It is always silent here, apart from the echo of the water.

What did you say your name was? Mosskit? Of course, Bluefur’s kit,Mistyfoot and Stonefur’s little sister. And the underfed tom beside you?Adderkit, yes, from WindClan. You were very young to go to StarClan,weren’t you? And named for the snake that . . . Yes, I know you too,

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Blossomkit! Your white fur is unusual for a ShadowClan cat. Brokenstarmay have promised you that you’d be a warrior before any other kit inthe forest, but I don’t think he ever imagined you going into battle. Youdied too young, but trust me, you were saved from even greater horrors.

Three little kits who didn’t live long enough in the forest to learnabout your Clanmates, their friends, and their rivals. There is a price tobe paid in being a kit forever.

If you settle down—yes, even you, Mosskit—then I’ll answer yourquestions about the cats you left behind. Ha, the night is not longenough to tell you everything I know! There are so many cats, manymore than you know about. You would be here a moon and more tohear of them all. But I shall tell you about the ones I remember mostclearly, and the ones I watch still. Oh, yes, I have watched them all, fromas far back as any cat in the Clans can remember, and farther. And notonly the four Clans that live beside the lake now. Much as they mightwish to think they are the center of this world, there are cats of equalworth—or more—far beyond their fragile borders. Cats reviled forbeing loners and rogues, simply because they do not wish to live in ahive of chattering voices: poor beleaguered SkyClan, driven out becauseof their fellow Clans’ selfishness; the Tribe of Rushing Water, who clingstubbornly to the mountains like the moss that grows beside the water-fall—I know them all. And BloodClan, who are not worthy of the nameof Clan, and who will fade into the stuff of nursery tales once they haveconsumed themselves with their hunger for battle and bloodshed.

Who am I? I am Rock, the keeper of the world beneath the oneyour former Clanmates walk.

The watcher for more moons than you can dream of. And the seer of all the moons to come. Now, be still and listen.

THUNDERCLAN

I’ll begin with your mother’s Clan, Mosskit. To many this is thenoblest Clan, the Clan of heroes. But I take no sides; all Clans havetheir strengths and weaknesses, which differ according to whose

story you listen to. ThunderClan cats are impressive hunters; I’d even say I envied them

their skills, but a life enclosed in rattling trees and wind-whisperingleaves would not suit me. They have the skills to make themselvessilent and invisible so they can hunt the little creatures that scuttlethrough fern and fallen leaf. You’ve heard of the hunter’s crouch,when they gather their strength into their hindquarters before mak-ing the final leap? That is a ThunderClan trick; you’ll not find it usedby any other Clan.

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ThunderClan has always been the fiercest guardian of the warriorcode; if another Clan breaks it, you’d think every ThunderClan war-rior bleeds from the wound. No cat could accuse them of being afraidto fight, as long as they believe the fight is truly justified—unlike oth-ers I could name, who seem to love the rip of fur beneath their clawsand need no other excuse for battle. Hush, Blossomkit. Did I mentionShadowClan’s name?

ThunderClan have had their fair share of border trouble. Back inthe forest they quarreled with RiverClan over Sunningrocks almostevery season. When the Clans first came to the forest, this little hillof stones was an island and belonged to RiverClan because they werethe only cats that could reach it, by swimming. But when the riverchanged course the rocks were joined by dry land to ThunderClan’sterritory, and both Clans have laid claim to them ever since.

By the lake ThunderClan has faced a constant threat fromShadowClan on their shared border. For now Firestar has grantedBlackstar’s Clan hunting rights on the exposed stretch of grass whereTwolegs come in greenleaf; a wise move, some cats say, because thereis little prey to be found there. And another reason for ThunderClanto proclaim how fair and generous they are. I wonder how longShadowClan will be satisfied with this addition to their territory?

Firestar

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Yes, Adderkit, I know the ThunderClan leader was born a kitty-pet, but it makes no difference to me where a kit gulps his firstbreath. Mind you, Firestar has given his Clanmates precious little

chance to forget his kittypet roots. He is the champion of all cats whoare not Clanborn. No cat could argue that Cloudtail is not a worthywarrior, or that Daisy does not serve the Clan well in the nursery. Butyou can see how other Clans are suspicious of Firestar’s willingness towelcome loners and kittypets into the warriors’ den.

What was your mother thinking of, Mosskit, when she brought thistoo-brave, too-curious kit into the forest? Was Bluestar blinded by thecolor of his pelt, knowing he fulfilled the prophecy that fire would saveher Clan? StarClan wanted him as much as Bluestar did. Poor Firestar,he scarcely seems able to close his eyes without some farsighted dreamfilling his mind. But he has handled this burden well, lived up to all ofStarClan’s expectations. Maybe it took more than a Clanborn cat to dis-cover Tigerstar’s treachery, or to bring WindClan home after they weredriven out by ShadowClan. See, Adderkit, you should be grateful toFirestar for helping your Clanmates. Blossomkit, they did not deserveto be chased out of their home!

Even Sandstorm came to forgive Firestar his kittypet roots—andshe is a cat whose opinion is worth a moon of prey.

I wish Firestar nothing but peace, and a long life. Ha, empty wordsfrom me, who knows how every one of Firestar’s nine lives will end.

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firestar

Bluestar

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Your mother was a great leader, Mosskit, even if the price shepaid for it was higher than she ever dreamed. She gave you up onthat snowbound night, you and your littermates, so that she could

become ThunderClan’s deputy instead of Thistleclaw, who would havesliced through the forest until the paths ran red with blood. You shouldbe proud of her for such loyalty to her Clan. Proud of your father,Oakheart, too, for raising your brother and sister to be strong, respectedRiverClan warriors.

Was Firestar a replacement for the kits Bluestar never saw grow up?An interesting question, little one. She was an excellent mentor to thekittypet, and trained him to be a wise and confident warrior. She sawhim as the savior of her Clan from the moment the sun struck hisflame-colored pelt. Spottedleaf had told her that only fire could savethe Clan, so Rusty must have seemed like a gift from StarClan.

It’s too easy to say Bluestar went mad during the last moons of herlife; you have only to think about what she gave up—including you,Mosskit—to understand how far she thought she had failed. Don’t for-get that she gave up her ninth life to save her Clan from the dogs,throwing herself into the gorge to lead them to their deaths. Stonefurand Mistyfoot found her on RiverClan’s shore, so her final momentswere spent making peace with her surviving children before she came tojoin you in StarClan.

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bluestar

Graystripe and Millie

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Does Graystripe have any enemies, I wonder? Don’t bristle,Blossomkit; not even ShadowClan is the foe of every living cat.He was the first to make friends with Firestar, when he was no

more than a lost and curious kittypet. He and Firestar share the samefoolish generosity: could you imagine any other pair of cats catchingfood for RiverClan when the river was poisoned, or traveling far fromthe forest to rescue WindClan?

But Graystripe’s life isn’t just a tale of friendship and heroics. LikeBluestar, he fell in love with a RiverClan cat, Silverstream, and hefathered her kits. It tore him apart to leave his Clan—and his bestfriend—when he took his motherless kits to their mother’s Clan, but hebelieved it was the only place where they’d be truly welcomed. I thinkhe was right; for all ThunderClan’s noble gestures, they are not alwayskind to half-Clan cats. Graystripe came back when he realized that hisloyalties were not to his kits’ Clan, but to his own.

Now Graystripe has a new mate, Millie, a kittypet that he met whenhe was captured by Twolegs. I don’t think ThunderClan realizes howmuch they owe Millie for the safe return of their leader’s best friendand deputy. It was her determination that got them out of Twolegplace,her encouragement that helped Graystripe follow the Clans all the wayfrom the forest to the lake. I hope he never forgets how much she hasgiven up for him, and how far she has traveled from her home, in moreways than one.

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Graystripe and Millie

Sandstorm

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Firestar’s loyal mate, a good mother to Squirrelflight andLeafpool, she’s the cat that won Firestar’s heart after Spottedleafdied . . . Is this how Sandstorm will be remembered? She deserves

more than that, in my opinion. If it weren’t for her, Firestar might nothave led his Clanmates into battle against BloodClan at all. I see yourears prick up, little kits. In spite of StarClan’s prophecies and Firestar’sdetermination to save the forest from Scourge, Sandstorm was the onewho made Firestar believe he was doing the right thing by fighting thecats from Twolegplace. He trusted her because she loved him above all,and would never sacrifice his life for the good of the Clan. She knowsFirestar better than he realizes—better even than Spottedleaf, for allthe medicine cat’s murmuring in Firestar’s sleeping ears.

Sandstorm isn’t just Firestar’s shadow, either. Her courage matchedhis on the journey to rebuild SkyClan. She took on the role of medicinecat to help the scattered Clanmates, and she matched Firestar blow forblow in the battle against the rats, even though she had only a single lifeto lose.

I hold Sandstorm in higher esteem than I do almost any other Clancat. She has traveled far from the days when she and Dustpaw tor-mented Rusty the kittypet. I hope Firestar appreciates her journey asmuch as she deserves.

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Sandstorm

Yellowfang

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You know Yellowfang, don’t you? She walks among the starsnow. Mosskit, if she’s grumpy then it’s your fault for disturbingher! She deserves more respect than you realize. And remember

that she was once your Clanmate too, Blossomkit.Yellowfang’s troubled life took her from ShadowClan, where she

was born and trained as a medicine cat, to ThunderClan, where shedied in a fire, helping her adopted Clanmates escape. She was cranky,stubborn, impatient—and the most loyal cat you could ever meet. Herwhole life was a quest for loyalty—first to ShadowClan, to her role astheir medicine cat, to the son that she bore in secret. His father wasRaggedstar, leader of ShadowClan. Foolish Yellowfang! She knew med-icine cats aren’t supposed to have mates, and especially not kits. Whenher kit Brokenstar became ShadowClan’s leader and made the forestrun with the blood of kits too young to fight, Yellowfang’s loyalty towhat she knew to be right sent her fleeing across the border toThunderClan.

She blamed herself for Brokenstar’s brutality, you know. Why elsewould she persuade Bluestar to let him live in the ThunderClan camp?I can’t imagine what agony Yellowfang felt when she discovered he hadplotted against the Clan that had given him food and shelter. Agonyenough to kill her ungrateful son, I know that much. Brave, loyalYellowfang, who fought enough battles for nine lifetimes.

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Yellowfang

Cinderpelt

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The cat who should have been a warrior, and the cat who wasgiven a second chance. No, Mosskit, StarClan did not plan forCinderpelt to be struck on the Thunderpath instead of Bluestar.

Your warrior ancestors were as horrified as any of the forest cats whenCinderpelt ended up in Tigerstar’s trap, and had her warrior pathsnatched from her.

She was a good medicine cat; there’s no doubt of that. She shouldhave been, given Yellowfang as her mentor. But StarClan did not whis-per in her ear as clearly as they have done to other medicine cats.Remember the fire-and-tiger prophecy, the burning blades of grass thatshe interpreted as a warning that Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight wouldunite to destroy ThunderClan? She was wrong. Their quest to the sun-drown-place saved the Clan by finding them a new home.

But StarClan did not blame Cinderpelt for that. She should neverhave been a medicine cat; they knew that right from the start. They gaveher one more test before deciding to give her a second chance: they toldher when she would die, and then let her live with that knowledge eventhough her apprentice, Leafpool, was on the brink of leaving the Clanto be with Crowfeather. Cinderpelt lived in the shadow of her owndeath with such courage, such dignity, resisting the temptation to begLeafpool to stay, that she proved herself worthy of a second life, plung-ing back into the forest as one of Sorreltail’s mewling kits.

I hope your ancestors watch over her more closely this time.

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Cinderpelt

Leafpool

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This is a cat who was never destined to be anything but a med-icine cat. I see your eyes shine, Blossomkit; is this the path youwould have wished to follow? From the moment Leafpool and

Squirrelflight were born, each always knew where the other was, andwhat they were feeling. StarClan fostered this link because they knewSquirrelflight would be journeying far, far from the forest—farther thanany Clan cat had been before—and they needed a cat back home to beaware of what she was going through. For a while it seemed that, youngas she was, Leafpool knew what lay around every corner and over everyhorizon. She knew the Clans had found their new homes when theyreached the lake; she knew that Brambleclaw would make a strong andloyal deputy for ThunderClan. She even knew that blood would spillblood before the Clans were truly settled around the lake—and shewatched with her own eyes as Brambleclaw killed his half brother,Hawkfrost, to save Firestar.

But the one thing Leafpool did not foresee was falling in love—andwith a WindClan warrior, at that. Yes, Adderkit, I’m sure WindClanwarriors are the best warriors of all, but Leafpool was a medicine cat!Everything about their relationship was wrong, according to your war-rior code. How could their love lead to anything but misery and ill for-tune? Even now it echoes among the Clans, coloring their future in waysnot even Leafpool can see.

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leafpool

Squirrelflight

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If Leafpool is like water, calm, deep running, reflecting the stars,then Squirrelflight is fire. She has energy to scorch every tree in theforest, and a tongue that could leave scars in beech bark. I would trust

Squirrelflight with my life simply because she is incapable of doing any-thing but what she believes to be right. No, Blossomkit, this is not thesame as always telling the truth. Even Squirrelflight has her secrets.

It was bold of StarClan to let Brambleclaw take her on the quest tothe sun-drown-place—though I recall Squirrelflight gave him littlechoice and would have followed him regardless. But she proved herselfa valuable companion many times over, and returned a better cat for it.If she had stayed in the forest I think she would always have beenLeafpool’s little sister, the feisty apprentice with a habit of leapingpaws-first into trouble. The quest proved she had the courage of herfather, Firestar, and the quiet determination of her mother, Sandstorm,which isn’t always appreciated in ThunderClan.

Stormfur loved her first, you know. He saw something behind themischief and the fire, when Brambleclaw saw only a quarrelsome nui-sance. And Ashfur, though he would have been loyal to the end, failedto appreciate the strength beneath her impulsive ways. Squirrelflightneeded someone to match her fire, not contain it, and that cat wasalways going to be Brambleclaw.

Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw have gone through so muchtogether. Squirrelflight is a good mother to Jaypaw, Hollypaw, andLionpaw. I hope Squirrelflight is well rewarded for her devotion.

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squirrelflight

Brambleclaw

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The son of Tigerstar was always going to walk a path of lightand shadow. He must feel sometimes as if his whole life has beenspent trying to prove his loyalty to ThunderClan. He was the first

cat chosen to go to the sun-drown-place, and if Bluestar didn’t hesitateto trust him, maybe his Clanmates should follow her lead. I don’t thinkeven Firestar could have led the other cats on the quest to findMidnight; his curiosity, his generous spirit, would have distracted him,kept him helping those he met along the way. But Brambleclaw didn’tstop until he reached the cliffs, until he heard what Midnight had to tellhim. Then he came back to the forest and repeated the journey, thistime with his Clan and the other three Clans, seeking a new and saferhome. What further proof do you need that this is a noble cat, a braveand loyal cat who would stop at nothing to help his Clanmates?

And yet, and yet . . . he let his father, Tigerstar, walk in his dreams,mentor him in the pursuit of power; he even schemed with Hawkfrost,which showed extraordinary lack of foresight for an experienced war-rior. Is his heart really as pure as he wants us to believe? Can Tigerstar’sson ever truly step out of the shadows? You’re looking at me round-eyed, all three of you, as if I know the answer.

I do, but now is not the time to share. Some things are best left todestiny to unfurl.

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brambleclaw

Ashfur

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You’ve heard his name before, haven’t you? Have the StarClanelders fretted over his destiny, about where his path will lead nowthat he has lost Squirrelflight’s affection?

It’s a shame Ashfur is most famous for quarreling with Brambleclawover Squirrelflight. He really loved Squirrelflight, you know, even if hewasn’t the best match for her. He tried too hard to protect her, to stopher from jumping in with all four paws when sometimes that’s the onlyway Squirrelflight learns anything. But Ashfur is a strong, brave warrior,one I’d want on my side in a battle.

Any cat in ThunderClan would say that he has mentored Lionpawwell, shaped him into one of the best fighting cats this Clan has everknown. Some might accuse him of being confrontational, too quick toargue when he doesn’t agree with a decision. But look at Dustpelt: hewas never Firestar’s best friend, yet he is a courageous, trustworthy war-rior who has earned his leader’s respect. Even though Ashfur andBrambleclaw were once rivals for Squirrelflight’s affections, there’s noreason Ashfur can’t be a loyal ThunderClan warrior. Be careful. If youlisten too much to Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, it’s easy to dismissAshfur as a troublemaker out for revenge. But the other cats should lis-ten to what he has to say. He has a story of his own.

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ashfur

Brightheartand

Cloudtail

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Ihave something in common with Brightheart: cats shy away whenthey first see my face, too. Perhaps I have not always looked likethis—perhaps once I had fur as thick and soft as yours, and my eyes

were clear and could see more than shadows and moonlight. But if thatwas so it was a long time ago, farther back than any of your ancestors canremember.

But Brightheart can remember what she looked like beforeTigerstar’s half-trained pack of dogs attacked her. It breaks her heartevery time she sees her reflection—why do you think she never goesdown to the lake? She is brave to her Clanmates, hardly flinches when anewcomer or a kit shrieks at the sight of her scars. But her first warriorname, Lostface, echoes in her ears whenever she is alone. If only shecould see inside herself, to the beauty that lies in courage and loyaltyand devotion.

Cloudtail alone has never flinched. But then, he knows what itmeans to be different, not just because of his fluffy white pelt. He iseven more conspicuous than you, Blossomkit! Firestar’s kittypet sister,Princess, gave her firstborn kit to be raised as a ThunderClan warrior,as if becoming a forest cat were as easy as putting on a Twoleg collar.Cloudtail struggled from the start—he even went back to the kittypetlife until StarClan, and Firestar, gave him a second chance by rescuinghim. Even now he doesn’t believe in StarClan. But he does believe inloyalty and protecting his Clan, and the warrior code requires nothingmore.

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brightheart

Jaypaw, Hollypaw,and

Lionpaw

dHERE WILL BE THREE, kin of your kin, who will hold the power of the stars in

their paws.

Firestar waited a long time for these kits to be born—waited indread, not hope, because what would happen when kits were given apower even greater than StarClan’s? Now they have come, and Firestarcan do nothing but watch and wait to see where their paths lead—andwhether his Clan will survive their destinies.

Lionpaw is the warrior, a hunter and fighter as brave as Tigerstar.But then, he should be, since Firestar’s old enemy has walked besidehim in the forest, training him and encouraging him to be ever morefearless. Would Lionpaw have been so strong and skillful without thiscat of shadows?

Hollypaw is the thinker, the politician, sensitive and cunning andaware of all the different consequences that might come from a singleaction. For her, the warrior code is the root and reward of every choicea Clan cat has to make, and she would tread the hardest paths to defendit. Wit can be sharper than claws; remember that, little ones.

Jaypaw is the blind cat who sees in his dreams—and in the dreamsof others, too. What else could he be but a medicine cat, with his mem-ory for herbs and his instinct for StarClan’s portents? But dreams areprivate, and I would hate to have my sleep disturbed by a trespasser.

Three young cats, with starlight in their eyes and the whisper of anancient wind in their fur. Just remember this: power is neither good norbad, but its user makes it so.

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T

Jaypaw, Hollypaw, and Lionpaw

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SHADOWCLAN

Ah, those evil cats! Their hearts have been chilled by the windthat blows from the mountains, and every kit is schooled toshare his Clanmates’ hunger for battle, for more territory, for the

warmth of blood running beneath their paws.All right, Blossomkit, put your claws away. I’m only repeating the

tales told in nurseries of the other Clans. ShadowClan warriors areproud and fight well. Their territory is the least rich in prey—norivers running with fish, burrows full of rabbits, or leafy trees hidingsongbirds and squirrels. They share their territory with lizards andfrogs, and the rats that feed on Twoleg waste in Carrionplace. Whywouldn’t they seize every chance to add something else to their fresh-kill pile?

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They are the night hunters, because ferns and brambles don’tgrow on their marshy ground. If there are no leaves and thorns tohide among, then darkness is their only cover for stalking prey. True,they use this skill to take their enemies by surprise as well, but doesThunderClan keep its hunting moves only for catching food? Ithink not.

No cat can deny that ShadowClan has been the cause of blood-shed more than any of the other Clans, in recent moons, at least. Butthe leader of the Clan is the cat who takes them into battle; you can’tblame the warriors and apprentices for being loyal and runningbehind. They are trained to be fierce, proud, independent, ready tofight to defend their borders and their meager supply of food. Ifother Clans fear them, perhaps it is because ShadowClan are anenemy no cat would wish to have.

Sometimes it even seems that StarClan share the forest Clans’fears: they let Raggedstar die at the claws of his own son, Brokentail,and refused to grant Nightstar his nine lives because Brokenstar wasstill alive, albeit a blind prisoner in the ThunderClan camp. Maybeold scores are not forgotten, even by our warrior ancestors, andShadowClan will have to battle for a long time yet against the better-favored Clans.

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tigerstar

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It would be interesting to know whether Tigerstar counts him-self a ShadowClan or ThunderClan cat; he lived far longer in theClan where he was born; yet I’ve not known him to walk in the

dreams of any ShadowClan cat, apart from his daughter, Tawnypelt,who wouldn’t listen. But I won’t be the cat to ask him; the shadowy for-est where he walks now is not for me; nor should you try to find it, curi-ous kits! This is far enough for you to wander.

I can hear your claws scratch the stone floor at the mention ofTigerstar’s name. Is his bloodstained history used to scare mischievouskits even in StarClan? From the moment he saw an opportunity to killRedtail, his own deputy, Tigerstar’s path swelled the ranks of StarClanmore than any other single warrior has done. Shall we list the memo-rable dead? Redtail, Runningwind, Brindleface, Swiftpaw and Bluestar,and Stonefur; and we can blame him for all the deaths in the battle withBloodClan, for it was he who brought Scourge to the forest. Foolish,proud Tigerstar, killed by his own ambition. He was the greatest war-rior the forest has ever known, and the bravest in battle.

Now he walks a forest of shadows with his half-Clan son,Hawkfrost, for company. I wonder if Tigerstar remembers, when helooks at the cat beside him, his purge of half-Clan blood as leader ofTigerClan. They still whisper in the ears of kits who show the samepromise they once did—fierce fighters with ambition and pride.

Lionpaw should be careful. These cats are not his allies.

tigerstar

Brokenstar

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It’s all right, Blossomkit; you’re safe here. Brokenstar would notdare venture into these tunnels—for more reasons than a fear of thedark. For once the nursery queens are not exaggerating when they

frighten kits with his stories. Even his birth was forbidden by the war-rior code; StarClan’s hearts must have sunk when Yellowfang, theShadowClan medicine cat, fell in love with the Clan leader, Raggedstar.Yellowfang made her second mistake in giving her kit to Lizardstripe, aqueen who made sure that the kit with the crooked tail knew he wasunwelcome in her den. Brokenstar saw only one way of making hisClanmates respect him. He killed Raggedstar, not knowing he wassending his own father to StarClan, and set out to prove that he was thestrongest, most fearless warrior in the history of the Clans.

Your warrior ancestors could only watch helplessly as Brokenstarled his Clan against WindClan, driving them out of their home; nextthey turned on ThunderClan, jealous of their prey-rich trees, andSpottedleaf died in their raids. Even after he was blinded and takenprisoner by ThunderClan, spared after Yellowfang pleaded for mercy,Brokenstar plotted with Darkstripe and Tigerstar to attack the Clanthat had given him shelter. It is fitting that he did not die a warrior’sdeath, struck down in battle, but was forced to eat deathberries by hisown mother. Yellowfang avenged your death, Blossomkit, and all thedeaths of kits forced to train as warriors too young.

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brokenstar

Blackstar

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ShadowClan will have to go through many, many leaders toshake off the echoes of Brokenstar’s and Tigerstar’s deadly reigns:Nightstar, Brokenstar, and now Blackstar. Blackstar was

Nightstar’s deputy, and then Tigerstar’s, and after Nightstar’s timid,tortured leadership, Tigerstar must have seemed like the cat who wouldlead ShadowClan back to the days when they were feared and respectedthroughout the forest. No cat can envy Blackstar for having to follow inhis paw steps, swimming with blood and with the Clan in tatters. Hehas done well to rally his Clanmates, to lead them on the Great Journeyand build them a new home by the lake.

Blackstar never harks back to the days when ShadowClan wonevery battle, when it looked as if they really would take over the wholeforest and make the other Clans serve them. He has made hisClanmates proud once more, confident that they deserve to be one ofthe four Clans around the lake, brave in battle and respectful of theother Clans at Gatherings. Mosskit, you can let your fur lie flat. IfBlackstar has threatened the ThunderClan border, perhaps it isbecause, yet again, ShadowClan has been given the territory least rich inprey.

Blackstar has a long way to go before the other Clans forgetShadowClan’s battle-hungry past. But he should not be punished forhaving pride in his Clan.

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blackstar

Tawnypelt

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ThunderClan cats would find it much easier to hate and fearShadowClan if one of their trusted Clanmates had not chosen tomake her home with them! Perhaps they should respect her judg-

ment more; Tawnypelt was no supporter of Tigerstar, but she was pun-ished for his crimes when she lived in ThunderClan by her Clanmates’lack of trust. Brambleclaw was willing to spend his whole life provinghimself worthy to be part of ThunderClan; Tawnypelt preferred to finda place to live where she would be judged on her own terms.

StarClan chose Tawnypelt to represent ShadowClan on the journeyto find Midnight, a choice that was perhaps meant to challengeThunderClan, to show them that Tawnypelt had found her true home.The quest would have been less successful without her willingness tolook beyond Clan boundaries. She recognized Crowfeather’s strengthsbefore her companions did, and Feathertail would have fought muchharder not to fall in love with the WindClan warrior if Tawnypelt hadn’tencouraged her.

Tawnypelt believes she can be a loyal ShadowClan cat without anydarkness of heart or purpose. When Tigerstar summoned her to hisshadowy forest in her dreams, she refused to listen to him. She knew hecouldn’t help her achieve what she wants most: loyalty and security andpeace. She will go into battle for ShadowClan, yet she never forgets herkinship in ThunderClan, either. She has proved that being loyal doesnot have to mean treating others as your enemy. You should be proud ofTawnypelt, Blossomkit. She and her kits could do much to salvageShadowClan’s reputation.

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tawnypelt

Boulder

d

The ShadowClan cat who was raised in BloodClan; the cat wholed Tigerstar to Scourge and sealed the deadly pact that wouldbathe the forest in blood. The foolish, hapless warrior whose

desire to impress Tigerstar made him forget the nature of his birthClan, made him think Scourge would really be swayed by the promiseof a few trees to hunt among. He’s not an evil cat, and never tried toserve any dark ambitions of his own. He just had too much faith in thewarrior code. Boulder lived as wretched a life in BloodClan as any otheryoung cat. When he met a forest cat who told him about how the Clanslived, with warriors and apprentices and well-defended borders,Boulder left BloodClan and went to live among pine trees and learnedhow to chase frogs. His memories of living in Twolegplace faded tonightmares, then dreams, then half-remembered images of red stoneand stinking alleys and furtive conversations. What he did rememberwas the possible advantage of bringing a fierce, bloodthirsty group ofcats to fight on his Clan’s behalf. Better to spill the blood of other catsthan their own, especially cats who had made his early life a misery.

He paid a high price for his misjudgment.

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boulder

Littlecloudand

Runningnose

d

Runningnose tried so hard to save your life, Blossomkit. Youwere the third kit he’d seen that day with fur ripped away, yourpelt stained scarlet like a deathberry. He’d been trained as a med-

icine cat by Yellowfang, but all his knowledge of herbs could not stopyour tiny life from melting away like a snowflake on a rock.

Runningnose must have regretted the day he asked to becomeYellowfang’s apprentice. As Brokenstar’s medicine cat, he was forced tointerpret omens that promised nothing but success in battle for hisbloodthirsty leader, and then tried to stop the lifeblood of the Clanfrom sinking into the ground as apprentices were taken from the nurs-ery. Even after Brokenstar was captured by ThunderClan, Runningnosehad more secrets to keep: this time, the fact that StarClan would notgrant Nightstar his nine lives. His conscience must have weighed heav-ier than stone.

Littlecloud was Runningnose’s apprentice. He was inspired to followthis path by the ThunderClan medicine cat, Cinderpelt. She rescued himduring ShadowClan’s Great Sickness, when disease from the rats atCarrionplace sliced through the warriors sharper than a badger’s claw.Cinderpelt was punished for raiding ThunderClan’s store of herbs tocure two ShadowClan apprentices, but ThunderClan has beenrewarded by the presence of a fair and peaceful medicine cat in theirrival Clan, who will never forget the debt he owes.

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Littlecloud and Runningnose

WINDCLAN

Are you sitting a little straighter, Adderkit? You should beproud of your birth Clan, whatever other cats might say aboutBrokenstar driving you from your home, or your Clanmates’

willingness to make alliances to protect their borders. There is a greatdifference between being weak—which your Clan is not—and beingvulnerable, which is the price paid for living on the moor. Your Clanhas spent many moons learning how to survive in the open, wherespeed and a sense of danger count for more than stealth and stalkingskills. And they are nearer to StarClan, up on their hill beneath theopen sky; perhaps that explains why their warrior ancestors havespared them many times over.

It’s not always easy to befriend a WindClan cat—they have become

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like the rabbits they chase: suspicious and quickly startled, fiercelyprotective of their Clanmates. But they know that they are in lessdanger from allies than enemies, which is why they have a reputationfor being a peaceful Clan, the least likely to invade another Clan’s ter-ritory for food or power. Since Firestar came to the forest he haswatched them join with RiverClan, then ThunderClan, and even fallunder the thrall of ShadowClan when that seemed the only way toprotect themselves against a worse attack. Whatever their enemiessay, this farsightedness is a strength, and it is a mistake to thinkWindClan cats are ever truly loyal to any but their own Clan.

They suffered most when the Twolegs made the Thunderpath inthe forest wider. They watched huge yellow monsters turn their terri-tory to rabbitless mud, then became prey themselves as the Twolegstried first to poison them, then rounded them up and imprisonedthem. They showed great courage in not fleeing the forest long beforethe other Clans made up their minds to leave. For as long as there arecats living by the lake, WindClan will be among them, swift pawedand watchful, clinging to the warrior code like moss to a rock.

Tallstar

d

Tallstar killed the snake that bit you; did you know that,Adderkit? He spent nine long lives fighting for his Clan, defend-ing the borders, forging alliances that would grant his Clanmates

one more moon of peace, and battling the creatures within his territorythat wanted to harm his kits. Some cats thought he was too quick tomake friends with other Clans, too willing to let another leader takeresponsibility for the safety of his Clanmates. But what was he supposedto do when Firestar and Graystripe risked their lives to bring his Clanhome from the Thunderpath? Gratitude and respect for two braveyoung warriors is not the same as rolling over and showing the soft partsof your underbelly.

Tallstar fought as fiercely as a lion when he needed to, but he pre-ferred not to watch his Clanmates bleed scarlet onto the grass. WhenBluestar tried to lead her Clan into battle against him, believing his catshad stolen prey from ThunderClan territory, Tallstar trusted Firestar’swarning that Bluestar was mistaken, and refused to fight.

He gave up his ninth life at the end of the Great Journey, knowinghe had led his Clan safely to their new home. And with his last breath,all his wisdom, all his farsightedness, deserted him. Suspicious of hisdeputy Mudclaw’s ambition, he made Onewhisker his deputy instead,thus cheating Mudclaw of becoming leader. Foolish Tallstar. He shouldhave known that Mudclaw would harbor a grudge in his heart like a poi-sonous thorn. He must have watched in dismay as his final decisionnearly destroyed the Clan he had struggled for so long to protect.

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tallstar

Onestar

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This cat could tell you a tale or two about the loneliness ofpower. He was a good friend to Firestar from the moment theymet on the journey back from the Thunderpath; the two young

warriors recognized in each other a sense of fairness and ambition toserve their Clan. It was partly thanks to Onewhisker that Tallstaragreed not to fight Bluestar over her accusations of theft; andWindClan cats were treated generously more than once when theycrossed the border. Firestar believed he could depend on their friend-ship forever, and was only too pleased when Tallstar changed his deputyat the end of his ninth life.

But Onestar could not be the leader of his Clan as well as Firestar’sloyal ally. Suddenly the friendship that had supported him from acrossthe border seemed like a burden, a debt of gratitude. Onestar knew theother Clans called him Firestar’s kittypet, ready to roll over and have hisbelly tickled when it suited the ThunderClan leader.

He needed respect from his own Clanmates, too, many of whomhad supported Mudclaw’s claim. The only way to do this was to makehis Clan independent, confident they could face challenges withoutrunning to ThunderClan. There were no favors owed or expected, notolerance of border crossing or friendly patrols. It was a hard lesson forFirestar, but harder for Onestar. He missed his ThunderClan friend,especially in the early days, when he struggled to convince himself hehad any right to be WindClan’s leader. At the time when he mostneeded an ally he had to walk alone, and watch a long friendship ebbaway.

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onestar

Mudclaw

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Mudclaw was WindClan’s most senior warrior, made deputybecause even Tallstar recognized that his own peace-pursuingleadership needed the support of a warrior not afraid to show his

claws. Tallstar’s decision to replace Mudclaw with Onewhisker was aterrible betrayal of Mudclaw’s loyalty. Would Mudclaw have made sucha dreadful leader? Yes, he was ambitious—but his ambition was tobecome leader of his Clan, and no cat can doubt that he would have sur-rendered all his lives to defending his Clanmates and the Clan’s bor-ders.

He wasn’t the only cat to think he’d been cheated. He had support-ers in RiverClan and ShadowClan. And while Mudclaw sought to takeback the leadership that he’d waited for for so long, another cat saw anopportunity to divide the Clans from within and seize power over all ofthem: Hawkfrost, goaded on by his father, who walked in his dreams.

Mudclaw had no idea what Hawkfrost was doing. As far as he wasconcerned it was a fair battle, and his quarrel was not so much withOnewhisker as it was with Tallstar, who had not honored the debt owedto a loyal deputy. The attack failed, and Mudclaw was killed by a fallingtree. Was this StarClan making their loyalties known once more, mak-ing it clear they wanted Onewhisker to be the new WindClan leader?Or a lucky strike of lightning that got rid of a troublesome cat andformed a bridge to the Gathering place at the same time? Little kits,there are some questions even I cannot answer.

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mudclaw

Crowfeather

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What made StarClan pick this inexperienced, reserved, defen-sive apprentice to travel to the sun-drown-place on WindClan’sbehalf? He was the only cat in the prophecy who was not a full

warrior, and the only one without an old friend on the journey. Mosskit,you may well say he was grumpy and unhelpful, but he agreed to go,didn’t he? Crowfeather never once tried to turn back, fought as bravelyas the rest against hostile kittypets and hungry foxes, and facedMidnight side by side with his companions, knowing he had a right tohear her message too.

Feathertail saved him, in the other cats’ eyes, because she saw pasthis shyness and his sharp tongue and found something to love. He lovedher too, with a quiet fierceness that nearly split him in two when hewatched her die in the cave behind the waterfall. He chose his own war-rior name to honor her memory, you know.

When Crowfeather fell in love again, this time with Leafpool, theThunderClan medicine cat, I wondered if StarClan had forgottenabout him completely. Or perhaps they were punishing him for somemisdeed he hasn’t yet done? It was always bound to end in disaster. Itwasn’t only Leafpool’s loyalty to her Clan that brought them back to thelake; Crowfeather was the one who said they had to return to saveThunderClan from the badger attack. He loved Leafpool too much toforce her to abandon her medicine cat duties. By letting her go, did helose any hope of happiness for himself?

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crowfeather

Nightcloudand

Breezepaw

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If Nightcloud were a gentle, loving cat like Leafpool, or feistyand warmhearted like Squirrelflight, it would be easier to feel sorryfor her. After all, Crowfeather took her as his mate to prove that he

was loyal to WindClan in spite of trying to run off with theThunderClan medicine cat. But she’s a difficult she-cat to like, with hershort temper and her possessiveness over Crowfeather and her son,Breezepaw.

Don’t hiss, Adderkit. I speak only the truth as I see it, and whatsome might call the love of a she-cat for her kits I call jealousy and arro-gance. Nightcloud should trust her son to prove his own worth, withoutleaping in to defend him first. And maybe she should remember that ofall Crowfeather’s mates, she is the one StarClan have spared to live sideby side with him.

Breezepaw shares his mother’s arrogance, but perhaps we can for-give his readiness to draw blood in defense of his Clan. He has heard thewhispers about his father, the doubts that Crowfeather is truly loyal toWindClan, and the rumor that he has a weakness beyond the borders.Breezepaw doesn’t know this weakness has a name, but he will not lethis Clanmates think the same about him. He is what Onestar needsmost: a fierce, brave warrior loyal to WindClan and with complete faiththey can win every battle. But Breezepaw needs to learn that a battle isunfair from the start if there are secrets waiting in the shadows, and ifthe cats around him have left a legacy of mistakes and ill judgment thathas not reached its end.

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Nightcloud and Breezepaw

Heatherpaw

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Heatherpaw was here once, little kits. Just like you she sat belowthis ledge, imagining places and cats far away. But for her it wasonly a game, and the cats were members of DarkClan, which she

and Lionpaw conjured up when they played in the tunnels. To Lionpawshe seemed like the bravest, most devoted companion he could wish tomeet this far under the ground; but what made Heatherpaw so deter-mined to meet her ThunderClan friend in secret? Did she think thewarrior code would not apply to her? She insisted they weren’t doingany harm, but Tigerstar and Hawkfrost saw the danger in Lionpawteaching a WindClan apprentice their best fighting moves. I don’tthink Heatherpaw was guilty of anything but selfishness; she stayedloyal to her Clan, although luckily she never had to face her friend onthe other side of a battle.

You could argue that Heatherpaw showed great courage in enteringthe tunnels to look for the lost WindClan kits, but would they havefound their way down if they hadn’t followed her first? Seven lives werenearly lost that night, seven more scratches to go uncrossed on myrecording branch. StarClan had no power to save them down here. Theriver spared them, that’s all.

Don’t worry, little ones. It’s not raining tonight; the river won’t rise.You’ll be safe till morning comes.

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heatherpaw

RIVERCLAN

You could swim that river if you tried, Mosskit. Are youdrawn to the rushing black water? Can you guess how it wouldfeel sliding over your fur? You are half RiverClan, remember,

and those cats are born with a love of water not shared by any otherClan. This means that they alone can take prey from lakes and rivers,so they go sleek and well fed even in leaf-bare, when other Clans gohungry. They’re not so willing to share prey, either; they were quick toaccept Firestar and Graystripe’s woodland fresh-kill when the fish inthe river made them sick, but I can’t imagine the favor being returned.Although they let ThunderClan shelter from the fire on their side ofthe river, so perhaps I am doing them an injustice. I just find theirpride too close to smugness; they say their territory is safe because the

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other Clans fear and respect them, but surely it’s a matter of the otherClans not knowing what to do with one end of a fish? Rabbits, voles,and birds can be found on the fresh-kill piles of the other Clans, butthey don’t hunt for prey in the lake even though they all have territorythat runs down to the shore.

The price RiverClan paid for living by the river in the forest wasthe invasion of Twolegs every greenleaf. They lived in little dens madeof flapping green pelts that were planted in the field next to the water,and they filled the river with bobbing boats that scared away the fish.Did you know that more RiverClan cats were stolen by Twolegs thanfrom any other Clan? For no more sinister reason than to be kept askittypets; Twoleg kits would see a RiverClan cat sunning itself on theshore and want that handsome, glossy-furred warrior to live in theirown nest. What’s that, little ones? You’ve never heard this before? I’mnot surprised; RiverClan keep quiet about it, even now, becausehardly any of the warriors came back.

Crookedstar

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Crookedstar was the leader of RiverClan when Firestar cameto the forest. When he was a kit RiverClan won back the rights toSunningrocks, and the cats used to swim across the river and

stretch out whenever the sky was clear, just to taunt their ThunderClanrivals. Crookedstar and his littermates played too roughly on the rocksone day and he fell and broke his jaw, giving him his warrior name. Fromthen on he had to fight more fiercely, catch more fish, and defend hisClan more loyally to earn the respect of his Clanmates; a less than per-fect cat is not welcome in RiverClan.

Crookedstar knew that a united Clan, even if it contained half-Clan blood, would always be stronger than a Clan that quarreled withinitself. He knew who Mistyfoot and Stonefur’s mother was from themoment Oakheart came to him with a tale of finding two kits lost in thesnow. It was obvious from the color of their fur and the scent that clungto them. Crookedstar also knew that raising Bluestar’s kits would pro-vide two more strong warriors for his Clan, and give the ThunderClanleader a weakness when it came to launching an attack across the river.So he chose to be publicly ignorant about where the kits came from.

He was less welcoming when Graystripe crossed the river withFeathertail and Stormfur. Graystripe’s mate, Silverstream, wasCrookedstar’s daughter, and Crookedstar wanted to have his kin in hisown Clan. But there was no place in RiverClan for a warrior whoseheart lay on the other side of the river, and Crookedstar did nothing tostop his Clanmates from making it clear they could never trustSilverstream’s former mate. It was this cunning, this confidence andfarsightedness in dealing with his own Clan, that made Crookedstarone of the strongest leaders the Clans have ever seen.

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crookedstar

Leopardstar

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Leopardstar was Crookedstar’s deputy, and became leader whenCrookedstar lost his ninth life. She shared his pride and his ambi-tion for their Clan, but she lacked his wisdom and tried too hard to

defend herself against the other Clans. She couldn’t see Crookedstar’sattitude to half-Clan blood as anything but a weakness, which turnedher against Firestar and his Clan of kittypet warriors. When Tigerstartook over ShadowClan and offered a way of making the forest pureClan, with no petty fighting over boundaries because all cats wouldbelong to one supreme Clan, Leopardstar formed an alliance that wouldnearly lead to the destruction of every cat.

She realized her mistake when Tigerstar combined their Clans intoTigerClan and made himself leader, then made half-Clan cats fight tothe death. Whatever Leopardstar had hoped for, this was not it. But shewas trapped by her pride and couldn’t speak out against Tigerstar—notbecause she was scared for her own safety, but because she couldn’t facelosing the respect of her Clanmates by admitting she was wrong.

Leopardstar saved her Clanmates by agreeing to join LionClan onthe eve of the battle with BloodClan; thanks to Firestar she ended upon the winning side. But she has never forgotten how close she came todestroying her Clan, and if she seems hostile and defensive when deal-ing with the other Clans, it’s not because she doesn’t trust them; it’sbecause she no longer trusts her own judgment, and fears for the safetyof her Clan if she makes another mistake.

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leopardstar

Graypool, Mistyfoot,and

Stonefur

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Your littermates, Mosskit! You should be very proud of them;they grew into strong, loyal warriors who served their father’sClan well. Yes, you would have made a fine warrior, too. It is

RiverClan’s loss that they didn’t get the chance to raise you with them.Oakheart gave his remaining kits to one of the oldest queens inRiverClan, Graypool. He knew she would recognize their scent, but hetrusted her to keep quiet. Mistyfoot and Stonefur never questioned thatGraypool was their mother; they had similar-colored fur, and shetreated them the same as any of the Clan’s kits, so why should they? Ittakes two to make a lie: one to tell it and the other to believe it.

All three of you inherited your father’s strength and courage, andyour mother’s good sense and fighting skills. Leopardstar madeMistyfoot her deputy, and they mentored Stormfur and Feathertail. Butwhen Bluestar revealed the truth about their birth, they became thething Leopardstar hated most: half-Clan cats. When Tigerstar tookcontrol of RiverClan, Mistyfoot fled across the river to her mother’sClan, but Stonefur was captured and killed by Darkstripe and Blackfooton Tigerstar’s command. Mistyfoot returned to her Clan after the bat-tle with BloodClan. She’ll succeed Leopardstar one day, which means a half-Clan cat will become leader. But it would be a foolishThunderClan cat who thought Mistyfoot had any loyalty except to theClan that raised her and her brother.

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Graypool, Mistyfoot,

and Stonefur

Silverstream

d

Silverstream was Crookedstar’s only daughter, and the strengthof his leadership earned her the respect of her Clanmates beforeshe had caught her first fish. She was as dismayed as any of them

would have been when she fell in love with a ThunderClan cat. Shesaved Graystripe from drowning not because she had been struck by hisgood looks from across the river, but because RiverClan were not in thehabit of letting dead cats pollute their source of prey. Silverstream didnot want to be in love with a ThunderClan cat; when they met in secret,it felt as if she were walking on thorns, and fish stuck in her throat whenshe returned to her Clanmates at the fresh-kill pile. But loyalty and loveare two very different things: all my life I’ve chosen loyalty, which hasmade my path much simpler. Love makes cats risk everything for thesake of a few stolen moments, ears pricked for the sound of anapproaching patrol even when one cat is on his own territory, andshould be among friends.

In the end Silverstream paid the highest price of all, bleeding outher life on Sunningrocks as she gave birth to Graystripe’s kits.Silverstream would always be a RiverClan cat, like her father, whileGraystripe was rooted in the forest as deeply as the oaks.

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silverstream

Feathertail

d

Born on the edge of ThunderClan but raised in RiverClan,Feathertail and her brother, Stormfur, were obvious targets whenTigerstar brought his obsession with pure Clan blood across the

river. They were imprisoned in an old fox den with Feathertail’s men-tor, Stonefur, and were forced to watch him die in a savagely unfair fightwith Darkstripe and Blackfoot. Firestar, Graystripe, and Ravenpaw res-cued them and took them to ThunderClan, where they joined theirClanmate Mistyfoot; like her, they chose to go back to RiverClan whenthe battle with BloodClan was over. StarClan chose Feathertail to go onthe quest to find Midnight. Stormfur went with her; these two cats hadbeen through too much to let themselves be separated.

Feathertail was known as a gentle cat, but she had the courage of afull-grown warrior as well as loyalty to her Clan and a firsthand knowl-edge of what it felt like to be persecuted. Perhaps this is why the Tribeof Endless Hunting made her the subject of their prophecy: that a silvercat would save the Tribe of Rushing Water from the mountain lion thatpreyed on them. The prophecy came true, but it cost Feathertail herlife, plunging from the roof of the cave with the shard of stone thatkilled Sharptooth. A short life, then, but one that deserves to be pre-served in the Clans’ memory for many moons to come.

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feathertail

Stormfur

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Stormfur came too close to losing his sister to Tigerstar’s pure-blood madness; there was no way he would let her go on the jour-ney to the sun-drown-place alone. So he ended up watching her

die in a shadowy cave far from the forest, as part of a prophecy belong-ing to some other cats’ warrior ancestors. You might think that wouldgive him reason to hate the Tribe cats forever, but instead he found anew home in the mountains, with the help of a Tribe prey-hunter calledBrook. It seems too easy, doesn’t it? Swapping a sister for a mate, andadopting a completely different way of life with cats whose troubles hadkilled Feathertail?

But nothing is ever that simple. Stormfur was already suited to themountain life because he had the ThunderClan talent for stalking andleaping after prey. More than that, he could not forgive his Clanmatesfor betraying him to Tigerstar, and although he would have fought inany battle for RiverClan, he was loyal to the warrior code more than tothe cats who shared his den.

But he was born a Clan cat, far from the mountains, and hisadopted Tribemates couldn’t forget that. Only Brook was willing totrust him, but we’ve already seen what pitfalls love can bring. Forced outby the Tribe, they followed the Clans to the lake, but RiverClan waseven less accepting of non-Clanborn cats, and only ThunderClanwould take them in. It was only a matter of time before the mountainscalled them back.

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stormfur

Hawkfrost

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The son of Tigerstar and a lone she-cat called Sasha, Hawkfrostwould never be looked upon favorably by StarClan. Sasha broughther kits to RiverClan because she was too weak to care for them

herself, and although the life of a Clan cat didn’t suit her, she hoped itwould give her children a better chance of survival than if they were leftin the wild. She came back for them when she learned that the Clanswere being forced out of the forest by Twolegs, but by then Hawkfrostand his sister, Mothwing, were warriors, loyal to the code they sharedwith their Clanmates.

Even before he knew who his father was, Hawkfrost wanted to takeLeopardstar’s place. He trained harder than any other apprentice, prac-ticed catching fish over and over, even though the skill didn’t run in hisblood as it did in his Clanmates’, and was rewarded by being madedeputy when Mistyfoot was captured by Twolegs. He was clever enoughto know that being Leopardstar’s favorite did not mean he wasrespected by his Clanmates. For that he needed something more . . .such as a sister who was the Clan’s medicine cat. So he tore the wing offa moth to convince Mudfur that his littermate was the right choice forhis apprentice.

Tigerstar must have jumped for joy when he saw that one of hissons shared his hunger. He began visiting Hawkfrost in his dreams, andencouraged him to support Mudclaw in the rebellion against Onestar.It was Tigerstar’s idea that Hawkfrost should plot with a ThunderClancat who was already an enemy of Brambleclaw’s to lure Firestar into atrap. But Tigerstar underestimated Brambleclaw’s loyalty to his Clanleader; as Leafpool predicted, blood spilled blood, and the lake turnedred when Brambleclaw killed his half brother to save Firestar’s life.

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hawkfrost

Mothwingand

Willowpaw

d

You must know Mothwing’s secret already, little kits. I shouldimagine she is a constant puzzle to StarClan, a medicine cat whodoesn’t believe in them. Yet they have let her stay, because they

can see that she has studied hard and has only the welfare of herClanmates at heart.

Unfortunately for her, knowing which herbs treat a stomachache isnot her only responsibility. Hawkfrost’s threat to reveal her secretmeant he was able to force her to make false prophecies, such as the taleabout troublesome stones in the river that led to Stormfur and Brookbeing driven out. When she was unable to receive warnings fromStarClan, she didn’t know about the Twoleg poison on RiverClan terri-tory that started killing her Clanmates, and her warrior ancestorscouldn’t tell her where to find catmint when greencough struck.Terrified that her lie might be destroying her Clan, Mothwing confidedin Leafpool, who began speaking to Mudfur in dreams on her behalf.

StarClan found a better solution in Willowpaw, the RiverClan catwho showed an interest in becoming a medicine cat while she was stilla kit. She became Mothwing’s apprentice and was visited in her dreamsby Feathertail and Leafpool for the StarClan part of her training.Willowpaw accepts Mothwing’s lack of belief in their warrior ancestorsbecause she respects her in every other way—and well she should. Foronce I believe StarClan has acted in every cat’s best interests.

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Mothwing and Willowpaw

CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS

Does it surprise you how many cats there are who don’t livein Clans, little ones? The cats you and your Clanmates watchover often act as if there could be no other way to survive except

by the warrior code, but how short their memories must be if theyhave already forgotten the Tribe of Rushing Water, or BloodClan, orthe contented rogues and kittypets they have encountered.

For the Clan cats, the warrior code has served them well, providedthem with food and shelter and well-defended territories, as well asneighbors to turn to in times of greatest need. But the forest is not lit-tered with the bodies of loners and rogues who have starved to deathor been killed like prey, and kittypets do not swarm from Twoleg nestslike bees to join the fabled Clans. There’s more than one way to skin

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a mouse—some start with the tail, some with the nose, though it’sbeen so long since I saw one I think I’d keep it in one piece and eat itwhole, fur and all.

What’s that, Adderkit? You can’t figure out the differencebetween loners and rogues? Let me think how best to explain. . . .Loners are cats who live on their own, not as kittypets, and don’t trou-ble the Clans. Rogues also live on their own, but they cause problems.That’s how the Clans make the distinction, anyway.

Ravenpaw and

Barley

d

Ravenpaw’s luck ran out the day Bluestar chose Tigerstar to behis mentor. That warrior was never going to appreciateRavenpaw’s love of peace, or his sympathy for the different sides

of an argument. Tigerstar saw his apprentice’s reserve as nothing butfear, and ended up making Ravenpaw scared for his life. AfterRavenpaw saw Tigerstar kill Redtail and lie about it to the rest of theClan, he was in very real danger from the cat who was prepared to killto get what he wanted. Firestar persuaded Ravenpaw to leave the forestand live on a Twoleg farm with Barley, a loner who had a good life in acozy barn with as many mice as he could eat. Here Ravenpaw foundpeace, and the chance to learn about himself without a warrior breath-ing down his neck, ordering him to pounce, strike, catch, and hide.Ravenpaw would still fight to the death for his friends, and he’s helpedthem many times with food and shelter, but he is happier not followingthe path of the warrior.

Ravenpaw’s companion, Barley, also found sanctuary on the farm.Barley was born in BloodClan, where he broke Scourge’s rules by livingwith one of his littermates, Violet. When his secret was discovered, hewas forced to watch Violet being beaten up by two of Scourge’s follow-ers—who also happened to be Barley and Violet’s other littermates.Violet survived and was taken in by a kittypet who promised his house-folk would care for her; Barley fled Twolegplace and came to the farm.

1 78 2

Ravenpaw and Barley

Princessand

Smudge

d

Stop fidgeting, Blossomkit. Don’t you think you should hearabout kittypets, too? Are they less important than Clan cats justbecause they don’t hunt their own prey and let Twolegs pet them?

Having food and shelter doesn’t take away an honest heart or courageor loyalty to their friends. Smudge was Firestar’s nearest neighbor backwhen he was a kittypet named Rusty. He was a plump, lazy cat who toldtales of the wild cats in the woods who ate bones, and he couldn’tunderstand why Rusty would want to live among such dangerous crea-tures. But he never forgot their friendship and was brave enough tocome looking for Firestar when he started dreaming of the SkyClancats. Loyalty, courage, and respect: would you expect any more from aClan cat?

Princess is Firestar’s littermate who went to live with differenthousefolk. When she learned her brother was the leader of a Clan offorest cats, she gave him her firstborn kit, Cloudtail, believing he wouldhave a nobler life as a warrior than as a kittypet. It was perhaps not thewisest decision—Cloudtail didn’t take naturally to life in the Clan—butit showed a rare degree of trust and hopefulness. Princess was a goodfriend to Firestar when ThunderClan lived in the forest, and she stillsits on the fence and stares into the trees, wondering where he is and ifhe is safe.

1 80 2

Princess and Smudge

Brook Where Small Fish Swim

and Talon ofSwooping Eagle

d

It’s just as well Tribe cats have no allies; they’d take until the nextfull moon to introduce themselves at a Gathering. According to tra-dition, they are named for the first thing their mother sees when they

are born, although to my mind that would lead to a lot of kits beingcalled Roof of Cave or Wall of Cave or Floor of Cave.

Brook met the Clan cats on their journey back from the sun-drown-place, when it seemed that Stormfur was the cat who had beensent by the Tribe of Endless Hunting to help them defeat Sharptooth.From the beginning Brook saw Stormfur as a special cat, one withenough courage and skill to fight the mountain lion that had killed theTribe’s best cave-guards.

Brook came to love Stormfur for real when she taught him how tohunt hawks and eagles, using mice as bait. She loved him for his readi-ness to try new skills, and for his refusal to treat her differently becauseshe didn’t come from a Clan. And she shared his grief when his sisterdied fulfilling the prophecy that a silver cat would kill Sharptooth.

Brook’s brother, Talon, was less accepting of the visitors, but whynot? Five cats had crashed over the waterfall like oversize raindrops,bigger and heavier than Tribe cats, with different ways of talking anddifferent warrior ancestors. He came to accept Stormfur because Brookloved him, but it was less easy for cats who weren’t her kin.

1 82 2

Talon of Swooping Eagle

Teller ofthe Pointed Stones

d

Or Stoneteller, as he is known less arduously. The Tribe ofRushing Water doesn’t have a leader, a deputy, and a medicine cat,like the Clans; instead, it has a Healer, one cat fulfilling all duties.

The Healer is always called Stoneteller because that is part of their role:to go into the chamber filled with pointed stones at the back of thecaves and interpret the messages in the fall of moonlight on the rocksand in the puddles on the floor. Herbal skills are less important thanthey are in the Clans, but that’s because there are fewer herbs andberries to be harvested in the mountains. The Tribe cats have survivedwithout these supplies this long because they had no enemies at theirborders, ready to wound and scratch.

The Stoneteller encountered by the Clans on the Great Journey isa proud cat, keenly aware that his Tribe clings to life in the mountainsby the merest cobweb. There is scant prey, and what they can catch canalso catch them, especially eagles, which are always hungry for a kit.Leaf-bare is long and cold enough to freeze bone, and even the eagleskeep to their nests. In the Tribe’s territory, a missed paw step leads tocrashing death many, many fox-lengths below; another reason whyhealing herbs are rarely needed. It’s not hard to see why the mountainlion made Stoneteller desperate to find the silver cat who would save hisTribe—desperate enough to take Stormfur prisoner when he fell overthe waterfall. Feathertail and the other cats came back to rescue him,and Feathertail killed Sharptooth. Stoneteller was not too proud to begrateful to this faraway cat who had given her life for the Tribe. Heburied her above the waterfall, with the honor given to the noblestcave-guard or prey-hunter.

1 84 2

Teller of the Pointed Stones

Cloudstar and

Skywatcher

d

Inever thought SkyClan would be driven out of the forestwhen they asked the other four Clans for help. Unseen, I watched indisbelief as each Clan gave their reasons why they could not share

their territory—mostly because SkyClan were not able to catch theirprey. Could they not have been taught? If kittypets like Firestar canlearn how to stalk mice and thrushes, surely forest-born cats can pick upthose skills? But no, the four Clan leaders insisted they could do noth-ing to help, and SkyClan, the fifth Clan in the forest, was forced toleave.

Cloudstar was their leader at the time, and although he stayed withhis Clan, leading them all the way to the gorge, where they scratched anew home out of the sandy cliffs, he lost everything when he left theforest: his home, the borders he had patrolled for so many moons, hisfaith in StarClan, and worst of all, his mate, Birdflight, and their kits.They promised they would wait for each other, but it was not untilFirestar and Sandstorm rebuilt their scattered Clan, countless seasonslater, that they were able to keep their promise.

Skywatcher was the last descendant of SkyClan living in the gorgewhen Firestar and Sandstorm arrived. His mother had told him tales oftheir ancestors who watched the full moon from the rock jutting outover the gorge, and who lived in different sandy dens according to theirrole in the Clans. The cats around him scorned him for being mad, buthis madness became reality when SkyClan arose from the dust.

1 86 2

Cloudstar and Skywatcher

Leafdapple, Echosong,and

Sharpclaw

d

These are the cats who became the leader, medicine cat, anddeputy of the newly rebuilt SkyClan. Leafdapple was a kittypetwith the SkyClan talent for leaping into trees, a sign of her ances-

try that made Firestar invite her to join the Clan. She was also wiseenough to realize that cats without her bloodline would need to be wel-comed to swell the ranks, and strong enough to win their respect.

Echosong was pure kittypet, with no hint of SkyClan in her long,fluffy coat and delicate paws. But she dreamed of Firestar andSandstorm before they arrived, knew strange cats would one day needher help. SkyClan’s warrior ancestors had all but faded away when therewas no Clan left to remember them, but they had enough voice left tocall to Echosong; this and her quick learning when it came to healingherbs made her the clear choice for medicine cat.

Sharpclaw used to be a rogue called Scratch, with the SkyClan abil-ity to jump and the courage of a fully trained Clan warrior. He will makea strong leader one day, but he has much to learn from Leafdapple, whomight spill less blood as she builds her Clan.

No, Mosskit, you wouldn’t have seen the SkyClan warrior ancestorsamong StarClan. They stopped watching over the forest when theirClanmates were driven out, and they walk in different skies now. Butthey have made their peace with StarClan, and the lessons have beenlearned.

1 88 2

Leafdapple, Echosong,and Sharpclaw

Scourge and Bone

d

Maybe I shouldn’t have saved these two for last; you’re gettingsleepy, little kits, and there’s not long before dawn. I don’t wantto give you nightmares for what little rest you can have before it’s

time to go back to StarClan. But I’m sure you’ve heard of Scourgealready, the self-appointed leader of BloodClan, which was only ever arabble of stray cats roaming in Twolegplace. No warrior code for them,no honor or loyalty to anything except themselves and finding theirnext meal. Scourge united them in terror, and made the alternative toobeying him much worse with the help of sharp-clawed followers suchas Bone.

Scourge’s greatest strength was his lack of any sense of right orwrong; without a code to tell him when to stop, he saw no harm in car-rying on until his hunger for power was satisfied. But this was also hisgreatest weakness, because without a belief in StarClan, he had just onelife to lose. Firestar took that life from him in the battle with BloodClanafter Scourge killed Firestar’s greatest enemy, Tigerstar, and Firestarcould only watch helplessly as the ShadowClan leader died, losing allnine lives one after another.

Bone died in the battle, too, killed by a swarm of apprentices afterhe took Whitestorm’s life. You would have fought alongside them, allthree of you, if you had known that wise and gentle ThunderClan war-rior.

Now, settle down and go to sleep, little ones. I’ll be here when youwake. I have enjoyed recalling old friends and past enemies. They alldeserve to be remembered.

1 90 2

Scourge and Bone

Special thanks to Victoria Holmes

acknowledgments

ER I NHUNT ER

is the author of the bestselling

Warriors series as well as a new

fantasy series, Seekers. She is

inspired by a love of cats and a

fascination with the ferocity of the

natural world. In addition to having

great respect for nature in all its

forms, Erin enjoys creating rich

mythical explanations for animal

behavior, shaped by her interest in

astrology and standing stones.

Visit the Clans online and playthe Warriors Quest game at

www.warriorcats.com, where thewarrior cats rule the wild!

About the Author

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for

favorite HarperCollins author.

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WARRIORSBook One: Into the Wild

Book Two: Fire and Ice

Book Three: Forest of Secrets

Book Four: Rising Storm

Book Five: A Dangerous Path

Book Six: The Darkest Hour

WARRIORS :THE NEW PROPHECY

Book One: Midnight

Book Two: Moonrise

Book Three: Dawn

Book Four: Starlight

Book Five: Twilight

Book Six: Sunset

WARRIORS MANGAThe Lost Warrior

Warrior’s Refuge

Warrior’s Return

The Rise of Scourge

WARRIORS FIELD GUIDE: Secrets of the Clans

WARRIORS SUPER EDITION: Firestar’s Quest

Credits

Typography by Larissa Lawrynenko

Jacket art © 2008 by Wayne McLoughlin

Jacket design by Hilary Zarycky

Copyright

WARRIORS: CATS OF THE CLANS. Text copyright © 2008 by Working Partners

Limited. Series created by Working Partners Limited. Illustrations copyright

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