by Erin Hunter
It was bold of StarClan to let Brambleclaw take her on the quest to the sun-drown-place—though I recall Squirrelflight gave him little choice and would have followed him regardless. But she proved herself a 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 been Leafpool’s little sister, the feisty apprentice with a habit of leaping paws-first into trouble. The quest proved she had the courage of her father, 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 the mischief and the fire, when Brambleclaw saw only a quarrelsome nuisance. And Ashfur, though he would have been loyal to the end, failed to appreciate the strength beneath her impulsive ways. Squirrelflight needed someone to match her fire, not contain it, and that cat was always going to be Brambleclaw.
Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw have gone through so much together. Squirrelflight is a good mother to Jaypaw, Hollypaw, and Lionpaw. I hope Squirrelflight is well rewarded for her devotion.
SQUIRRELFLIGHT
BRAMBLECLAW
THE SON OF TIGERSTAR was always going to walk a path of light and shadow. He must feel sometimes as if his whole life has been spent 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 hesitate to trust him, maybe his Clanmates should follow her lead. I don’t think even Firestar could have led the other cats on the quest to find Midnight; his curiosity, his generous spirit, would have distracted him, kept him helping those he met along the way. But Brambleclaw didn’t stop until he reached the cliffs, until he heard what Midnight had to tell him. Then he came back to the forest and repeated the journey, this time with his Clan and the other three Clans, seeking a new and safer home. What further proof do you need that this is a noble cat, a brave and 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 warrior. Is his heart really as pure as he wants us to believe? Can Tigerstar’s son 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 to destiny to unfurl.
BRAMBLECLAW
ASHFUR
YOU’VE HEARD HIS name before, haven’t you? Have the StarClan elders fretted over his destiny, about where his path will lead now that he has lost Squirrelflight’s affection?
It’s a shame Ashfur is most famous for quarreling with Brambleclaw over Squirrelflight. He really loved Squirrelflight, you know, even if he wasn’t the best match for her. He tried too hard to protect her, to stop her from jumping in with all four paws when sometimes that’s the only way 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 Lionpaw well, shaped him into one of the best fighting cats this Clan has ever known. Some might accuse him of being confrontational, too quick to argue when he doesn’t agree with a decision. But look at Dustpelt: he was never Firestar’s best friend, yet he is a courageous, trustworthy warrior who has earned his leader’s respect. Even though Ashfur and Brambleclaw were once rivals for Squirrelflight’s affections, there’s no reason Ashfur can’t be a loyal ThunderClan warrior. Be careful. If you listen too much to Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, it’s easy to dismiss Ashfur as a troublemaker out for revenge. But the other cats should listen to what he has to say. He has a story of his own.
ASHFUR
BRIGHTHEART AND CLOUDTAIL
I HAVE SOMETHING in common with Brightheart: cats shy away when they first see my face, too. Perhaps I have not always looked like this—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 that was so it was a long time ago, farther back than any of your ancestors can remember.
But Brightheart can remember what she looked like before Tigerstar’s half-trained pack of dogs attacked her. It breaks her heart every time she sees her reflection—why do you think she never goes down to the lake? She is brave to her Clanmates, hardly flinches when a newcomer or a kit shrieks at the sight of her scars. But her first warrior name, Lostface, echoes in her ears whenever she is alone. If only she could see inside herself, to the beauty that lies in courage and loyalty and devotion.
Cloudtail alone has never flinched. But then, he knows what it means to be different, not just because of his fluffy white pelt. He is even 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 kittypet life until StarClan, and Firestar, gave him a second chance by rescuing him. Even now he doesn’t believe in StarClan. But he does believe in loyalty and protecting his Clan, and the warrior code requires nothing more.
BRIGHTHEART
JAYPAW, HOLLYPAW, AND LIONPAW
THERE 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 in dread, not hope, because what would happen when kits were given a power even greater than StarClan’s? Now they have come, and Firestar can do nothing but watch and wait to see where their paths lead—and whether 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 beside him in the forest, training him and encouraging him to be ever more fearless. Would Lionpaw have been so strong and skillful without this cat of shadows?
Hollypaw is the thinker, the politician, sensitive and cunning and aware of all the different consequences that might come from a single action. For her, the warrior code is the root and reward of every choice a Clan cat has to make, and she would tread the hardest paths to defend it. Wit can be sharper than claws; remember that, little ones.
Jaypaw is the blind cat who sees in his dreams—and in the dreams of others, too. What else could he be but a medicine cat, with his memory for herbs and his instinct for StarClan’s portents? But dreams are private, and I would hate to have my sleep disturbed by a trespasser.
Three young cats, with starlight in their eyes and the whisper of an ancient wind in their fur. Just remember this: power is neither good nor bad, but its user makes it so.
JAYPAW, HOLLYPAW, AND LIONPAW
SHADOWCLAN
AH, THOSE EVIL CATS! Their hearts have been chilled by the wind that blows from the mountains, and every kit is schooled to share 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 are proud and fight well. Their territory is the least rich in prey—no rivers running with fish, burrows full of rabbits, or leafy trees hiding songbirds and squirrels. They share their territory with lizards and frogs, and the rats that feed on Twoleg waste in Carrionplace. Why wouldn’t they seize every chance to add something else to their fresh-kill pile?
They are the night hunters, because ferns and brambles don’t grow on their marshy ground. If there are no leaves and thorns to hide among, then darkness is their only cover for stalking prey. True, they use this skill to take their enemies by surprise as well, but does ThunderClan keep its hunting moves only for catching food? I think not.
No cat can deny that ShadowClan has been the cause of bloodshed more than any of the other Clans, in recent moons, at least. But the leader of the Clan is the cat who takes them into battle; you can’t blame the warriors and apprentices fo
r being loyal and running behind. They are trained to be fierce, proud, independent, ready to fight to defend their borders and their meager supply of food. If other Clans fear them, perhaps it is because ShadowClan are an enemy 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 was still alive, albeit a blind prisoner in the ThunderClan camp. Maybe old scores are not forgotten, even by our warrior ancestors, and ShadowClan will have to battle for a long time yet against the better-favored Clans.
TIGERSTAR
IT WOULD BE INTERESTING to know whether Tigerstar counts himself a ShadowClan or ThunderClan cat; he lived far longer in the Clan 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 forest where he walks now is not for me; nor should you try to find it, curious kits! This is far enough for you to wander.
I can hear your claws scratch the stone floor at the mention of Tigerstar’s name. Is his bloodstained history used to scare mischievous kits even in StarClan? From the moment he saw an opportunity to kill Redtail, his own deputy, Tigerstar’s path swelled the ranks of StarClan more than any other single warrior has done. Shall we list the memorable dead? Redtail, Runningwind, Brindleface, Swiftpaw and Bluestar, and Stonefur; and we can blame him for all the deaths in the battle with BloodClan, for it was he who brought Scourge to the forest. Foolish, proud Tigerstar, killed by his own ambition. He was the greatest warrior 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 he looks at the cat beside him, his purge of half-Clan blood as leader of TigerClan. They still whisper in the ears of kits who show the same promise they once did—fierce fighters with ambition and pride.
Lionpaw should be careful. These cats are not his allies.
TIGERSTAR
BROKENSTAR
IT’S ALL RIGHT, BLOSSOMKIT; you’re safe here. Brokenstar would not dare venture into these tunnels—for more reasons than a fear of the dark. For once the nursery queens are not exaggerating when they frighten kits with his stories. Even his birth was forbidden by the warrior code; StarClan’s hearts must have sunk when Yellowfang, the ShadowClan medicine cat, fell in love with the Clan leader, Raggedstar. Yellowfang made her second mistake in giving her kit to Lizardstripe, a queen who made sure that the kit with the crooked tail knew he was unwelcome in her den. Brokenstar saw only one way of making his Clanmates respect him. He killed Raggedstar, not knowing he was sending his own father to StarClan, and set out to prove that he was the strongest, most fearless warrior in the history of the Clans.
Your warrior ancestors could only watch helplessly as Brokenstar led his Clan against WindClan, driving them out of their home; next they turned on ThunderClan, jealous of their prey-rich trees, and Spottedleaf died in their raids. Even after he was blinded and taken prisoner by ThunderClan, spared after Yellowfang pleaded for mercy, Brokenstar plotted with Darkstripe and Tigerstar to attack the Clan that had given him shelter. It is fitting that he did not die a warrior’s death, struck down in battle, but was forced to eat deathberries by his own mother. Yellowfang avenged your death, Blossomkit, and all the deaths of kits forced to train as warriors too young.
BROKENSTAR
BLACKSTAR
SHADOWCLAN WILL HAVE TO go through many, many leaders to shake 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 would lead ShadowClan back to the days when they were feared and respected throughout the forest. No cat can envy Blackstar for having to follow in his paw steps, swimming with blood and with the Clan in tatters. He has done well to rally his Clanmates, to lead them on the Great Journey and build them a new home by the lake.
Blackstar never harks back to the days when ShadowClan won every battle, when it looked as if they really would take over the whole forest and make the other Clans serve them. He has made his Clanmates proud once more, confident that they deserve to be one of the four Clans around the lake, brave in battle and respectful of the other Clans at Gatherings. Mosskit, you can let your fur lie flat. If Blackstar has threatened the ThunderClan border, perhaps it is because, yet again, ShadowClan has been given the territory least rich in prey.
Blackstar has a long way to go before the other Clans forget ShadowClan’s battle-hungry past. But he should not be punished for having pride in his Clan.
BLACKSTAR
TAWNYPELT
THUNDERCLAN CATS WOULD find it much easier to hate and fear ShadowClan if one of their trusted Clanmates had not chosen to make her home with them! Perhaps they should respect her judgment more; Tawnypelt was no supporter of Tigerstar, but she was punished for his crimes when she lived in ThunderClan by her Clanmates’ lack of trust. Brambleclaw was willing to spend his whole life proving himself worthy to be part of ThunderClan; Tawnypelt preferred to find a place to live where she would be judged on her own terms.
StarClan chose Tawnypelt to represent ShadowClan on the journey to find Midnight, a choice that was perhaps meant to challenge ThunderClan, to show them that Tawnypelt had found her true home. The quest would have been less successful without her willingness to look beyond Clan boundaries. She recognized Crowfeather’s strengths before her companions did, and Feathertail would have fought much harder not to fall in love with the WindClan warrior if Tawnypelt hadn’t encouraged her.
Tawnypelt believes she can be a loyal ShadowClan cat without any darkness of heart or purpose. When Tigerstar summoned her to his shadowy forest in her dreams, she refused to listen to him. She knew he couldn’t help her achieve what she wants most: loyalty and security and peace. She will go into battle for ShadowClan, yet she never forgets her kinship in ThunderClan, either. She has proved that being loyal does not have to mean treating others as your enemy. You should be proud of Tawnypelt, Blossomkit. She and her kits could do much to salvage ShadowClan’s reputation.
TAWNYPELT
BOULDER
THE SHADOWCLAN CAT who was raised in BloodClan; the cat who led Tigerstar to Scourge and sealed the deadly pact that would bathe the forest in blood. The foolish, hapless warrior whose desire to impress Tigerstar made him forget the nature of his birth Clan, made him think Scourge would really be swayed by the promise of a few trees to hunt among. He’s not an evil cat, and never tried to serve any dark ambitions of his own. He just had too much faith in the warrior code. Boulder lived as wretched a life in BloodClan as any other young cat. When he met a forest cat who told him about how the Clans lived, with warriors and apprentices and well-defended borders, Boulder left BloodClan and went to live among pine trees and learned how to chase frogs. His memories of living in Twolegplace faded to nightmares, then dreams, then half-remembered images of red stone and stinking alleys and furtive conversations. What he did remember was the possible advantage of bringing a fierce, bloodthirsty group of cats to fight on his Clan’s behalf. Better to spill the blood of other cats than their own, especially cats who had made his early life a misery.
He paid a high price for his misjudgment.
BOULDER
LITTLECLOUD AND RUNNINGNOSE
RUNNINGNOSE TRIED SO hard to save your life, Blossomkit. You were the third kit he’d seen that day with fur ripped away, your pelt stained scarlet like a deathberry. He’d been trained as a medicine cat by Yellowfang, but all his knowledge of herbs could not stop your tiny life from melting away like a snowflake on a rock.
Runningnose must have regretted the day he asked to become Yellowfang’s apprentice. As Brokenstar’s medicine cat, he was forced to interpret omens that promised nothing bu
t success in battle for his bloodthirsty leader, and then tried to stop the lifeblood of the Clan from sinking into the ground as apprentices were taken from the nursery. Even after Brokenstar was captured by ThunderClan, Runningnose had more secrets to keep: this time, the fact that StarClan would not grant Nightstar his nine lives. His conscience must have weighed heavier than stone.
Littlecloud was Runningnose’s apprentice. He was inspired to follow this path by the ThunderClan medicine cat, Cinderpelt. She rescued him during ShadowClan’s Great Sickness, when disease from the rats at Carrionplace sliced through the warriors sharper than a badger’s claw. Cinderpelt was punished for raiding ThunderClan’s store of herbs to cure two ShadowClan apprentices, but ThunderClan has been rewarded by the presence of a fair and peaceful medicine cat in their rival Clan, who will never forget the debt he owes.
LITTLECLOUD AND RUNNINGNOSE
WINDCLAN
ARE YOU SITTING a little straighter, Adderkit? You should be proud of your birth Clan, whatever other cats might say about Brokenstar driving you from your home, or your Clanmates’ willingness to make alliances to protect their borders. There is a great difference between being weak—which your Clan is not—and being vulnerable, which is the price paid for living on the moor. Your Clan has spent many moons learning how to survive in the open, where speed and a sense of danger count for more than stealth and stalking skills. And they are nearer to StarClan, up on their hill beneath the open sky; perhaps that explains why their warrior ancestors have spared them many times over.
