Warriors: The Ultimate Guide

  The loners in the Clan, including Sharpclaw, were suspicious of the soft-furred kittypet, but Echosong was patient and loyal and proved her worth. She saved lives after the battle with the rats, and shared her Clanmates’ grief when it was too late to help the brave warrior Rainfur. It was Echosong who received the sign of dappled leaves to indicate StarClan’s choice for the leader of SkyClan, and she traveled with Leafstar to watch her receive her nine lives from their ancestors. Firestar knew that with these two cats, he was leaving the young Clan in the safest paws.

  SHARPCLAW

  WHEN FIRESTAR AND SANDSTORM first came to the gorge, Sharpclaw was a loner known as Scratch. Firestar only needed a chance meeting to realize that this cat had the SkyClan ability to jump, and the courage of a fully trained Clan warrior. Sharpclaw was more than willing to join the new Clan and learn how to defend its borders and stock the fresh-kill pile with enough prey to fill every mouth. But his zeal spilled over into arrogance, and he was dismissive of the former kittypets, claiming they could never learn to survive in the wild.

  His impulsive need to protect his Clan caused trouble when he leaped too quickly into skirmishes with passing cats, but his bravery and strength played the greatest role in helping his Clanmates to victory against the horde of rats. Leafstar didn’t hesitate to ask him to be her deputy; in his heart, Sharpclaw thought he deserved to be leader just as much, but his loyalty to the newly formed SkyClan made him equally committed to this supporting role.

  His impatience with kittypets spilled over when the daylight-warriors seemed too slow to keep up with Clan duties and too quick to return to their housefolk’s cozy dens at night. But Leafstar made him give these cats a chance to prove their worth while his growing closeness to the young warrior Cherrytail gave him a contentment and sense of purpose he had not known before. It remains to be seen what kind of leader he will make after Leafstar joins StarClan—perhaps SkyClan will be steady on its paws by then and able to withstand Sharpclaw’s tendency to aggression and battle. But for now, he is the ideal deputy, guiding the young Clan toward a secure and star-blessed future.

  TRIBE OF RUSHING WATER

  Introduction to the Tribe of Rushing Water: Stoneteller Speaks

  THE TRIBE OF RUSHING Water has been shaped by the mountains that are our home. We are lithe, quick-moving, and the color of stone, our pelts blending into the rocks. Even our names echo the stark beauty that lies all around us: the sharp peaks outlined against the sky, the dazzle and foam of the waterfall, the clouds that drift high above us or lie heavy on the summits.

  As the Teller of the Pointed Stones, leader and healer of all the cats behind the waterfall, it is my duty to share tongues with my ancestors, to read the signs of moonlight on the surface of the pools, in the drip of water and the wind that ruffles it. Clan cats look up to the stars for their omens; we look down into shining water, sheltered in our cave.

  The first cats to settle in the mountains came here from the lake. I wonder if the Clan cats know they have come full circle, for it was mountain cats who went to find a new home in the forest, where the Clans lived for so many warm and generous seasons. At first, we struggled to survive in the harsh and lonely mountains, persecuted by the endless wind and the tendency of our eagle prey to kill us before we could pluck them from the air. The cats began to divide according to their talents, the brave and quick fighters taking on the role of protecting those who were skilled at tracking what little prey there was. We named these cats “prey-hunters,” and the sturdy cats who protected them “cave-guards.” Our young we called “to-bes,” because they were to be cave-guards or prey-hunters one day themselves.

  In spite of everything, we carved out a life for ourselves and found a way to survive everything the mountains could hurl at us—until Sharptooth came, and we found ourselves helpless as prey, waiting for a silver cat to save us.

  TELLER OF THE POINTED STONES

  THE STONETELLER WHO THE four Clans met on the journey to the lake was an old, old cat who had led his Tribe through many harsh seasons only to face the cruelest enemy of all: a mountain lion named Sharptooth who seemed determined to treat every cat as prey. Stoneteller clung to the hope that his prey-hunters and cave-guards would protect them, but when a party sent out to kill Sharptooth failed to return, he began to despair. If every part of the mountains was set against them—from the snow and cold to the creatures that shared their home—then the Tribe of Rushing Water seemed doomed to extinction.

  Then the Tribe of Endless Hunting sent him a prophecy that a silver cat would save them from Sharptooth. When the six Clan cats first arrived on their way to the mysterious sun-drown-place, it seemed as if the prophecy had been fulfilled. The gray tom Stormfur was surely the promised cat! But when Stormfur’s battle tactics failed against yet another attack from the mountain lion, Stoneteller banished the Clan cats and Brook Where Small Fish Swim, the Tribe cat that had befriended them, from the cave behind the waterfall. Stoneteller was resigned to watching his Tribe perish in Sharptooth’s jaws, and he wondered why their ancestors seemed to have given up on them.

  But Brook and the Clan cats returned, bringing with them the exiled Tribe cave-guards, and this time it was another silver-furred cat, Feathertail, who killed Sharptooth. Stoneteller’s Tribe had been saved, and proud as he was, he acknowledged the debt he would owe the cats of the Clans for the rest of his life.

  When they visited again, having found a new home by a distant lake, Stoneteller had grown weary with age, and the leadership of the Tribe, with no medicine cat or deputy to bear some of the burden, had become too much for him. With the arrival of another group of cats in the mountains who stole the Tribe’s prey and fought them over every paw step of territory, Stoneteller had yet again lost his faith in the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Because of this, he refused to name his successor, wanting his cats to find a different way to survive.

  In the last moments of his life, he saw his ancestors standing around him, waiting to welcome him to the Tribe of Endless Hunting, and knew that he had been wrong. He watched, grateful, from his place in the stars as the ThunderClan medicine cat Jayfeather chose Crag Where Eagles Nest to be the next Teller of the Pointed Stones. The debt to these strange Clan cats, it seemed, was not over yet.

  BROOK WHERE SMALL FISH SWIM AND STORMFUR

  BORN IN THE CAVE of Rushing Water behind the waterfall in the mountains, Brook Where Small Fish Swim knew early on that she wanted to be a prey-hunter for her Tribe. Brook was fiercely loyal to her Tribe, and when the journeying Clan cats arrived on their return from their meeting with Midnight, she was the first to spot Stormfur and ask whether he could be the cat that had been prophesied to save them from Sharptooth. She invited the forest cats to hunt with her and taught them the Tribe’s hunting techniques. She became Stormfur’s mate when he decided to stay with the Tribe, and later gave birth to his kits, Lark That Sings At Dawn and Pine That Clings To Rock. Brook was a cat of great courage, who struggled for many seasons with the conflict between her love for Stormfur and her loyalty to her Tribe.

  Stormfur was the son of ThunderClan warrior Graystripe and RiverClan warrior Silverstream, and grew up in RiverClan. When his sister, Feathertail, was chosen by StarClan to make the journey to the sun-drown-place, Stormfur insisted on going with her—never imagining that this journey would lead to an eventual separation from the Clan life he had always known.

  Stormfur returned to his Clan in the wake of Feathertail’s death, but felt isolated. He finally admitted to himself that he wanted to spend his life with Brook, and when the Clans reached the mountains on the Great Journey, he stayed with the Tribe because he cared for Brook so much that he couldn’t bear to leave her.

  But Brook and Stormfur’s life together wasn’t easy. When a group of strange cats moved into the mountains, Stormfur persuaded the Tribe to fight against them, and in spite of their courage and the fighting skills he taught them, they lost the battle. Stormfur was blamed for the death of many Tribe cats, and exiled
from the mountains. He and Brook returned to RiverClan, but Hawkfrost, afraid that Stormfur would be chosen as deputy instead of him, cast doubt upon his loyalty and had him driven out. Firestar then invited Stormfur and Brook to join ThunderClan, but when the Tribe cats came to the lake to ask for help, Stormfur returned to the mountains and supported the Clan cats in persuading Stoneteller to use Clan methods to deal with the intruders. He was a strong and loyal cat who finally found a place for himself.

  CRAG WHERE EAGLES NEST

  CRAG WAS THE LEADER of the Tribe cave-guards and was particularly skilled at protecting the prey-hunters from eagles that would attack them on the mountainside. He was one of the first cats to meet Stormfur and the rest of the journeying cats when they first arrived in the mountains, and when Stormfur was made a prisoner, Crag escorted the other cats out of the Tribe’s territory and seemed to regret that there could not be friendship between them.

  Crag fought bravely against the strange cats who invaded the Tribe’s territory, but when the Clan cats returned to the mountains to offer help, he was reluctant to accept. He was afraid that the Tribe would lose everything that was important to them if they gave up their traditions to follow the ways of the Clans. But he helped to establish the new territory and took part in patrols.

  When Stoneteller died and Jayfeather had to choose his successor, he knew that he needed to find an experienced cat, one who had great courage and faith in his Tribe and was selfless enough to put them first and work with all his strength to secure their future. Crag was the cat he chose.

  Crag was astonished that he should be the cat to take on leadership of his Tribe. But he felt honored to be chosen and promised to serve his Tribemates for the rest of his days.

  THE EARLY SETTLERS

  Introduction to the Early Settlers: Half Moon Speaks

  THERE WERE ALWAYS WILD cats living in the territories between Highstones and the Twolegplace, in the woods, moorland, and riverside willow trees that later became the homes of ThunderClan, ShadowClan, SkyClan, WindClan, and RiverClan. But these cats were rogues and loners, living separately and independently, with occasional clashes over a particularly tasty piece of prey. They had favorite places to sun themselves or sleep, but there were no borders between hunting grounds, no sense that one area was more “home” to one cat than another.

  Until the cats from the mountains arrived, that is. These cats had left the rugged shelter of a cave beneath a waterfall in search of somewhere richer in prey and warmer to live. Scant generations before, their ancestors had abandoned their home beside a lake, finding refuge in snow-capped mountains where food had to be dragged from the sky on eagles’ wings.

  I was among those cats that had once lived beside the lake. My name then was Half Moon; by the time some of us left the mountains, I was the Teller of the Pointed Stones, leader of the cats that lived beneath the waterfall. We battled hard to survive among the rocks and the snow, but we brought too many hungry mouths to feed in a place that barely emerged from the cold season.

  When I had almost forgotten how it felt to have a full belly, and when my pelt hung loose on my jagged bones, I had a waking dream, a vision as clear as the mountains around me. I saw a soft and sheltering place, safe from the cruel winds that sharpened the mountain peaks, with room for many cats to live and raise kits. There was no chance of my old bones traveling farther than the eye could see from our rocky home, but I gave my blessing to those cats who were brave enough to leave in search of what I had seen. When these far-traveling cats reached Highstones, they looked down on moorland, forest, and winding river, and knew they had found their home.

  There were trees for the cats who loved to hunt by stalking and climbing, a broad shallow river for those willing to get their paws wet, and a large stretch of moorland for swift-heeled cats to catch rabbits out in the open. Of course, it took many seasons for the five Clans to emerge with distinct, hard-fought boundaries and the shared laws known as the warrior code. But the seeds of those Clans were sown in the personalities of the early settlers, in their differing preferences for hunting in trees or in open moorland, or risking wet fur in search of a plump fish. They fought and quarreled, shared loss and disaster, but every sunrise, every paw step, every blow struck and prey killed drew them steadily closer to the Clans they would become. And farther from their memories of the cats they had left behind. . . .

  HALF MOON, ALSO KNOWN AS STONETELLER

  HALF MOON WAS A white she-cat with green eyes, daughter of Rising Moon and Chasing Clouds, who lived beside the lake with the ancient cats. She was one of the first to suggest moving away to find a new place to live. When the cats cast their votes, she showed no hesitation in pushing her stone into the circle that meant “leave.”

  She loved Jayfeather (who she knew as Jay’s Wing) and was heartbroken when he didn’t follow them into the mountains, not knowing that Rock had forced him to return to his own time through the tunnels.

  When the ancient cats reached their new home in the mountains, Half Moon demonstrated her courage in learning new hunting skills, and when she first explored the Cave of Pointed Stones, she was able to read the signs revealed by moonlight in the water. She was delighted when Jayfeather reappeared in the cave behind the waterfall, but devastated when he told her that her destiny was to become Stoneteller. Despite her abilities, all she wanted was to be Jayfeather’s mate and raise his kits, not to lead the mountain cats. Jayfeather wanted that too, but he knew that fate did not guide their paw steps side by side. At last Half Moon accepted what Jayfeather told her and took on the burden of becoming her Tribe’s Healer.

  Later, as a very old cat, Half Moon received the vision of the Sun Trail, which told her that some of her cats should follow the path of the sun to find a new home. Jayfeather had told her that her ancestors would send her signs, and through all the seasons she still loved and trusted him. When Jayfeather left the mountains for the last time, he heard Half Moon’s spirit calling to him, telling him that she would wait for him forever.

  GRAY WING

  WHEN THE TELLER OF the Pointed Stones told the cats about her dream of a different place to live, the young tom Gray Wing made it clear he would not leave the mountains. He insisted that he belonged in the Cave of Rushing Water with his mother, Quiet Rain, and younger brother, Jagged Peak. But Gray Wing was courageous and loyal, and when Jagged Peak put himself in danger by following the departing cats, Gray Wing went after him.

  Having traveled almost to the edge of the mountains, Gray Wing and Jagged Peak caught up with the other cats and joined the quest to find somewhere else to live. Gray Wing’s best friend, Turtle Tail, who had cherished hopes of one day becoming Gray Wing’s mate, was overjoyed to see him again—unaware that Gray Wing was secretly in love with Bright Stream, who loved his brother, Clear Sky.

  No cat expected the journey to be easy, but snow, turbulent rivers, and hostile wildlife made every paw step a challenge. The lowest point came when Bright Stream died, snatched away by an eagle the cats were trying to hunt. Gray Wing, who was unable to save her, blamed himself for Bright Stream’s death, and for the death of her and Clear Sky’s unborn kits.

  When they reached their new home, the mountain cats settled on the moor. Gray Wing preferred having the sky above his head to tree branches, and was dismayed when Clear Sky and some of the other mountain cats left the moor for the denser forest. He grew close to a loner named Storm but she became Clear Sky’s mate instead, then left the forest when she was expecting his kits. Gray Wing went to look for her, finding her just as the abandoned Twoleg den where she had given birth was being knocked down. Gray Wing risked his life to rescue one of the three kits, but was unable to save the rest of the litter or Storm. Gray Wing named the surviving kit Thunder and took him back to the moor to raise him when Clear Sky refused to have anything to do with his son.

  Gray Wing was able to help both the moor cats and Clear Sky’s group escape a devastating forest fire, but was permanently weakened by inhaling the
smoke of that fire. After Tall Shadow stepped back from leading the cats on the moor to care for her injured brother, Moon Shadow, Gray Wing emerged as leader in her place. His heart ached when Thunder, now almost grown, decided to leave the moor and live with Clear Sky, but he found love with his old friend Turtle Tail and helped to raise her kits as if he were their father. Although Gray Wing eventually stepped away from leadership and never became a true Clan leader, his clear-sighted compassion and his gift for planning battles meant that future generations of cats would know him as Graywing the Wise.

  CLEAR SKY

  CLEAR SKY WAS ENTHUSIASTIC about the idea of leaving the mountains—unlike his littermate Gray Wing. He was in love with Bright Stream, who was expecting his kits, and persuaded her to join the group on their quest to find a new home. When Bright Stream was carried off by an eagle early in their journey, Clear Sky fell into a deep depression, blaming himself for her death.

  Clear Sky began to recover as the cats settled into their new home, and he took the lead in establishing a camp among the trees where his talents for leaping and hunting high in the branches served him well. Separated from many of the cats from the mountains who had chosen to make a home in a hollow on the moor, Clear Sky encouraged rogues to join him. Gradually he grew so obsessed with keeping his cats safe that he established boundaries and set cats to guard them. He and his guards attacked any cat who crossed his borders, and no other cat was permitted to hunt there—not even his old friends from the mountains or his littermate Gray Wing could visit him without trouble.