The Ultimate Guide

Introduction to ShadowClan: Blackstar Speaks

WHEN WE LIVED IN the forest, the other Clans used to say that the hearts of ShadowClan cats had been chilled by the cold winds from the mountains, turning us cruel and cunning. But now that we live around the lake and share the breezes with all the other Clans, what excuse do they make for our skill in battle, our dedication to training as hard as we can, and our absolute loyalty to our Clanmates?

Back in the forest, our readiness to invade other territories came from a lack of prey inside our own borders—lizards and frogs can only fill so many bellies in leaf-bare, and it seemed unfair that our neighbors and rivals had rabbits and woodland birds in every season.

And if our leaders took us into battle, what kind of warriors would we have been to refuse?

ShadowClan cats are proud of who they are, proud to fight more bravely and tirelessly than any other Clan. Our first warriors were those who were most willing to take action to answer a complaint, to stand by the proof of claws and teeth rather than fine words. We settled on the outskirts of the forest because that gave us the independence we desired, the freedom to choose our own borders and pursue prey as far as we could run. Carrionplace was a bonus, supplying us with rats, though we had to learn fast how to tell if they had been tainted by Twoleg waste and would give us bellyaches.

Our Clan has stayed pure through all the seasons past; strangers are not welcome, and kittypets have no place inside our borders. Tigerstar was an exception, since he was born and raised in ThunderClan, but if our ancestors were willing to give him nine lives, that showed they wanted him to lead us. We have allowed some rogues to join us too, but only after proving their loyalty and courage.

Inviting Scourge and his cats of BloodClan into the forest may have been a bad idea, but ShadowClan emerged victorious from that battle. And now, beside the lake, we are still the most feared Clan, the cats who have the fiercest skills in stalking and fighting. These virtues have nothing to do with the wind; they are bred within us, and will endure for as long as the warrior code survives.

RAGGEDSTAR

RAGGEDSTAR WAS BORN IN ShadowClan to the warrior Featherstorm, but the identity of his father was always a mystery. Rumors that his father had been a kittypet followed Raggedkit from the moment he opened his eyes, and the taunts that filled his ears made him grow up all the more determined to prove his courage and skill in battle. He was sharp-tongued to the point of being cruel, and measured himself against punishing standards. It was no surprise that Cedarstar chose him to be deputy when he was still a young warrior, after his daring plan to trap rats at the Carrionplace.

Raggedstar, whose warrior name was Raggedpelt, was respected by his Clanmates, but not particularly well liked because of his prickly, defensive nature. Only Yellowpaw, who would one day be Yellowfang, saw through to the vulnerability that made him lash out. It was Yellowpaw who insisted they try to find Raggedpelt’s real father in Twolegplace, but when they went in search of him they met with nothing but hostility and denial. In fact, Raggedpelt’s father was a Twolegplace rogue named Hal who had no interest in claiming his Clanborn son. Moons later, an attack by Twolegplace rogues brought Raggedpelt face-to-face with Hal once more—and this time Raggedpelt killed him.

Yellowfang’s decision to become a medicine cat made Raggedpelt furious. He couldn’t comprehend why she would give up the future she had with him to follow such an isolated path. But it was too late to untangle their paths; Yellowfang soon revealed that she was expecting his kits.

Raggedpelt was overjoyed at the prospect of becoming a father, then outraged when Yellowfang said their kits could never know who their real mother was. Only one kit survived, an angry tom with a crooked tail who grew up to become Brokenstar.

Raggedstar raised his son to be fierce enough to fight back against the teasing that came from having no mother; Raggedstar knew how it felt to be rejected by a parent. He was desperately proud of Brokentail and made him deputy as soon as he could, after Cloudpelt was killed in a skirmish with WindClan. But even Raggedstar’s ambition and readiness to fight paled beside Brokentail’s desire for power. Too late, Raggedstar realized that his son was training cats to fight to kill. He confessed to Yellowfang that he had made a terrible mistake in appointing Brokentail to be deputy so soon and tried to tell Brokentail to train less fiercely. Days later, Brokentail ambushed and killed his father in a remote part of the territory, blaming WindClan trespassers for his death.

SAGEWHISKER

SAGEWHISKER WAS THE MEDICINE cat before Yellowfang. She served Cedarstar and then Raggedstar, but died before she had to witness the cruelty of Brokenstar’s leadership. Sagewhisker had a prodigious memory for herbs and a gift for listening to StarClan, but her greatest strength lay in observing the cats around her. She was the first to realize that the young she-cat Yellowpaw, who would one day be Yellowfang, had a unique sensitivity to other cats’ ailments and felt their pain in sympathy. Sagewhisker encouraged Yellowpaw’s curiosity about berries and herbs, secretly hoping that Yellowpaw would ask to be apprenticed as a medicine cat.

But Yellowpaw seemed intent on following the path of a warrior despite her talents and earned the warrior name Yellowfang. Close questioning after a clash with the Twolegplace cats confirmed Sagewhisker’s suspicions that, even though Yellowfang had escaped with hardly a scratch, she knew exactly where her Clanmates had been hurt. Yellowfang still had her heart set on serving her Clan as a warrior, not a medicine cat, but Sagewhisker was patient. She knew that this was a decision Yellowfang had to reach on her own, and although she let Yellowfang help with herbs and treatments, she made no attempt to change her mind.

Eventually Yellowfang could no longer bear to fight alongside her Clanmates when she could feel every blow that was struck, and she asked Sagewhisker if she could train as a medicine cat. Without gloating, Sagewhisker agreed and helped Yellowfang find a way to block out the pain of other cats.

Soon after Yellowfang became a full medicine cat, Sagewhisker realized the young she-cat was expecting Raggedstar’s kits, and she wondered if she had made a terrible mistake. But Sagewhisker believed that being a medicine cat was more important than anything else, and she persuaded Yellowfang to tell Raggedstar so that their kits would have at least one parent in the Clan.

Yellowfang took her mentor’s advice, and gave Brokenkit up to Lizardstripe as soon as he was born.

Sagewhisker kept Yellowfang out of the nursery so she was not distracted by the sight of her son and gave her herbs to dry up her milk.

Sagewhisker died in her den, midway through sorting herbs. She had fulfilled her duty to her very last breath and trusted Yellowfang to do the same.

RUNNINGNOSE AND LITTLECLOUD

RUNNINGNOSE WAS CHOSEN BY Yellowfang to train as a ShadowClan medicine cat. Weaker than his littermates due to his tendency to catch every passing sickness, he was nonetheless cheerful and keen to learn. Yellowfang never did teach him to cure his own sniffles, but he became a skilled and well-respected medicine cat, loyal to his Clan above all else, and patient with the most querulous elder or fractious kit.

His life became much harder once Yellowfang was forced out of ShadowClan, leaving Runningnose in the grip of Brokenstar’s bloodthirsty rule. As younger and younger kits were trained to fight, Runningnose had to patch up the tiniest bodies when they returned injured and scared out of their fur. His heart broke for every scrap of life that was lost in Brokenstar’s obsessive quest to conquer his rivals.

Even when Brokenstar was captured by ThunderClan, and ShadowClan was free to choose a new leader, Runningnose shouldered the heavy burden of knowing that Nightstar had not been granted his nine lives. Brokenstar still had his final life, despite no longer leading ShadowClan, and StarClan believed Nightstar was too old and frail to give ShadowClan the leadership it needed. Both Nightstar and his medicine cat were left to lie to the rest of the Clan about the ceremony. Runningnose must have wondered how his path had led him to this, hiding a terrible secret from his precious Clanmates while he struggled to keep Nightstar strong enough to lead them.

Littlecloud was Runningnose’s apprentice. Born during Brokenstar’s rule, he was forced into warrior training when he was just three moons old. After already being a warrior, he was inspired to become a medicine cat after being rescued by Cinderpelt of ThunderClan during ShadowClan’s Great

Sickness. Disease from the rats at Carrionplace brought a different kind of death to ShadowClan, and Littlecloud escaped with Whitethroat into ThunderClan territory. Cinderpelt took pity on them and kept them hidden from passing patrols while she treated their sickness. They were eventually chased back to ShadowClan, where Littlecloud turned away from his warrior status to become a medicine cat.

Cinderpelt’s kind deed was rewarded by a fair and peaceful medicine cat in ShadowClan for many, many moons. Littlecloud was always willing to share herbs and experience with ThunderClan and watched out for blind Jayfeather on his first independent journeys to the Moonpool. He was devastated when his apprentice, Flametail, drowned after falling through ice on the lake, but unlike his Clanmates, he didn’t blame Jayfeather for failing to save him. For Littlecloud, everything was a test of his faith in StarClan, and that never faltered throughout his long life.

BROKENSTAR

BORN IN SECRET TO the ShadowClan medicine cat Yellowfang and raised by Lizardstripe, a queen who had no wish to nurse an extra mouth at her belly, Brokenstar walked a twisted path from the start.

From the moment he opened his eyes, he was determined to prove to his Clanmates that he was stronger, braver, and more ferocious than they could ever be. Unflinchingly loyal to his Clan and the warrior code, he quickly became deputy to the leader, his father, Raggedstar—and then killed Raggedstar in order to become leader himself, despite knowing that he was sending his own father to StarClan.

When he stood at the head of ShadowClan, Brokenstar oversaw a reign of terror, unleashing attacks on WindClan and training the smallest kits to fight in the thick of battle. When Yellowfang could no longer bear to treat the wounds on cats who should still have been in the nursery, she spoke out against this practice and was exiled from the Clan. Brokenstar continued his bloodthirsty leadership, driving out WindClan and setting his sights on taking over ThunderClan territory too. But he overextended himself—and underestimated his neighbors—and ended up blind and captive in the ThunderClan camp. Yellowfang grudgingly cared for him, still without telling him the truth about his birth.

When Brokenstar plotted with Tigerstar to launch an attack on ThunderClan from within, Yellowfang took it upon herself to end her son’s bloodstained life. Feeding him deathberries, she told him exactly who had kitted him, and how he had brought his destruction upon himself.

Brokenstar continued to rage against the Clans from the Dark Forest, joining with Tigerstar to recruit discontented cats in their dreams. In the final, desperate battle, Yellowfang came from StarClan to obliterate her only son, breaking his neck and sending him out of the Clans forever.

NIGHTSTAR

AS A WARRIOR, NIGHTSTAR , then known as Nightpelt, was dedicated, thoughtful, and well respected.

Cedarstar appointed him as mentor to Brokenpaw, hoping that Nightpelt’s gentle approach would soften some of the angry young cat’s impulses. Brokenpaw had no patience with a warrior that he saw as weak and cowardly, and sought training from Raggedpelt instead. Nightpelt retired to the elders’ den soon after Brokentail became a warrior and prepared to live out his days peacefully. But Brokenstar’s bloodthirsty rule, and the death of kits too young to be forced into battle, stirred Nightpelt to action.

When Brokenstar was captured by ThunderClan, Nightpelt put himself forward as ShadowClan’s new leader. He went to the Moonstone with the medicine cat, Runningnose, where both cats were dismayed to learn that StarClan regarded Brokenstar as the ShadowClan leader still, and thus would not give Nightstar nine lives. It was perhaps Nightstar’s greatest moment of courage that he was prepared to lie to his Clanmates and tell them that StarClan approved of his leadership, in order to save them from any further influence from that dark-hearted cat.

Nightstar tried to steer his Clan into a time of peace and recovery, but age and ill health caught up with him and he died after just a few seasons. A bout of greencough stole his single life, leaving ShadowClan lost and leaderless, and ready for Tigerstar.

TIGERSTAR

TIGERSTAR WAS BORN IN ThunderClan, son of Pinestar and Leopardfoot. Soon after Tigerkit was born, his father left the Clan to take refuge in the life of a kittypet. The shame of this stayed with Tigerstar for all his life and beyond, and his pelt burned with the need to prove his own loyalty, with the warrior code running through his veins. Mentored by the cruel and ambitious Thistleclaw, young

Tigerpaw, whose warrior name would be Tigerclaw, wanted to be the greatest warrior his Clan had seen. A skirmish with a young stray kittypet—which Tigerpaw won easily—fueled his hunger for victory. In a clash over Sunningrocks with RiverClan, Tigerclaw saw his chance to kill the ThunderClan deputy, Redtail, and blame it on their rivals. Bluestar eventually made Tigerclaw deputy as he had hoped, but by then her attention had turned to the new arrival in the Clan, a former kittypet named Firepaw, who seemed to be taking the place in Bluestar’s confidence that Tigerclaw sought for himself.

As Bluestar declined into old age, Tigerclaw decided he had to hasten his promotion to leader.

He tried to lure Bluestar to the Thunderpath but a young apprentice named Cinderpaw came in her place and was badly injured by a passing monster. Increasingly desperate, Tigerclaw plotted with rogues that had once belonged to ShadowClan, and with Brokenstar, the former leader of ShadowClan now held captive by Bluestar, to launch a direct attack on the ThunderClan camp. The attackers were defeated and Tigerclaw was banished from the territory forever. He left swearing vengeance, and found it by joining up with rogues and then charming his way into ShadowClan, which was floundering under Nightstar’s leadership. Desperate for a strong cat to reassert their position among the other Clans, ShadowClan welcomed Tigerclaw, and when Nightstar died, he was the natural successor instead of the elderly deputy, Cinderfur.

Tigerstar began plotting against his former Clan at once, first laying a trail of dead rabbits to lure a pack of wild dogs into the heart of the camp, and then forming an ill-advised allegiance with Scourge and his violent cats from Twolegplace, BloodClan. Little did Tigerstar realize that Scourge was the young kittypet whom he’d fought all those moons before. At the moment when ShadowClan, RiverClan, and BloodClan were poised to leap into battle against their neighbors, Scourge turned on Tigerstar and ripped all nine lives from him with one terrible blow.

But for Tigerstar, death was no obstacle to his pursuit of revenge on Firestar and all of ThunderClan. He walked in the dreams of his sons, Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw, training them among the shadows of the Dark Forest and urging them to kill Firestar. Hawkfrost, a RiverClan warrior, was willing to do whatever it took to please Tigerstar, but at the last moment Brambleclaw realized his loyalties lay with his Clan leader, not his long-dead father, and he killed Hawkfrost instead.

Undaunted, Tigerstar walked in the dreams of more and more cats from the Clans, raising an army of warriors who were discontented, restless, or simply keen to learn more fighting skills. Finally he led an onslaught of warriors, dead and alive, out of the Dark Forest and into the living world of the Clans. Face-to-face with his enemy Firestar, Tigerstar struck the fatal blow that took the ThunderClan leader’s ninth life. But Firestar matched it with a strike that ended Tigerstar’s existence in the Dark

Forest, and put him beyond revenge, beyond influence, and beyond a warrior’s darkest dreams once and for all.

BLACKSTAR

BLACKSTAR HAD THE UNENVIABLE task of taking over the leadership from Tigerstar. ShadowClan was in ruins, awash with the blood of its own warriors and stained by the memory of inviting BloodClan into the forest. Blackstar took a dogged, loyal, and almost unnoticeable path to restoring the strength of his Clan. He had faith in the virtues at the heart of ShadowClan, the loyalty and courage that ran through the veins of every cat. He acknowledged the role of ShadowClan in bringing death to the forest, but refused to apologize for cats who no longer walked among his Clanmates. Instead, he looked to the future, spoke calmly and without challenge at Gatherings, and willingly let Tawnypelt—born in ThunderClan but now firmly part of ShadowClan—join the quest to find mysterious Midnight and learn the destiny of all four Clans.

Settled in their new territory beside the lake, beneath pine trees that reminded the ShadowClan cats of their former home, Blackstar became disillusioned with a life that seemed as difficult as ever for his warriors. Scarce prey, troublesome kittypets, even Twolegs that invaded the clearing at the edge of their territory, were all things he hoped to have left behind. When his medicine cat, Littlecloud, didn’t seem to be getting reassurance from StarClan, Blackstar began to question why their ancestors had brought them to this place.

Then a charismatic rogue named Sol moved to ShadowClan after a battle involving all four Clans.

Sol offered a different way of living to Blackstar, one in which cats took care of their own needs, hunted for themselves, and lived free from the burden of the warrior code. He told Blackstar that each cat was more powerful than StarClan because they could control their own destinies. The fact that Sol had predicted a recent eclipse of the sun convinced Blackstar that he should listen to this stranger.

ShadowClan stopped attending Gatherings, and Blackstar forbade Littlecloud from visiting the Moonpool. He returned to using the name Blackfoot and ordered all apprentice training to cease.

In despair at the disintegration of ShadowClan, Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Jaypaw schemed with Tigerpaw and Dawnpaw to create a false message from StarClan. Lying in wait for Blackfoot in a marshy part of the territory, they dug up saplings to fall onto the former leader and trap him while

Jaypaw pretended to be a StarClan cat with a dire warning to start believing in the warrior ancestors once more. At the last moment, Jaypaw was joined by two real StarClan cats, Raggedstar and Runningnose, who told Blackfoot that Sol represented darkness and the imminent loss of the warrior code. Stunned back into faith, Blackstar reclaimed his leader name and exiled Sol.

He led his ShadowClan warriors against the Dark Forest in the Great Battle, and survived. The oldest Clan leader by many moons, still proud of his warriors’ fighting skills and fearsome reputation, Blackstar would lay down every one of his remaining lives to defend the warrior code.

RUSSETFUR

RUSSETFUR WAS BORN TO Twolegplace rogues who gave her the name Red. She came to ShadowClan with Boulder after glimpsing the lifestyle of the proud and disciplined wild cats.

Cedarstar changed her name to Russetpaw to mark the beginning of her new life. Russetpaw trained harder than any other apprentice, and quickly earned her Clanmates’ respect and the warrior name Russetfur. Despite having left her kittypet life behind, Russetfur was devastated when Raggedpelt killed her father, Hal, in a skirmish. She never learned the truth that Raggedpelt was her half brother and that Hal was also his father. Russetfur dedicated her life to serving ShadowClan and was rewarded by Blackstar when he appointed her deputy.

She had a reputation throughout the Clans for a sharp tongue and a short temper, as well as fearlessness in battle and deep pride in ShadowClan. She played a vital role in helping establish the new territory beside the lake when she took on the troublesome kittypets who lived in a Twoleg den amid the pine trees. Even as she got older and more frail, Russetfur remained the ShadowClan deputy, keeping younger warriors in line with her brisk words and high expectations. She was killed by Lionblaze in a battle over the clearing between ShadowClan and ThunderClan; her death was a shock to everyone, and there were suggestions that such an old cat should not have been allowed to fight.

But it was the death Russetfur would have chosen for herself, bravely and in the midst of battle on behalf of her beloved ShadowClan.

BOULDER

THE SHADOWCLAN WARRIOR BOULDER was born and raised in Twolegplace. He first encountered cats from the forest when Yellowpaw and Raggedpelt visited Twolegplace looking for Raggedpelt’s father. Even then, Boulder was full of curiosity about the mysterious wild cats. Later, he took part in a skirmish with ShadowClan cats after one of their patrols caught Twolegplace cats stealing prey. The ShadowClan warriors were victorious, and Boulder had nothing but admiration for the way they had fought: in particular, the fact that the Clan cats could have killed their rivals, but chose not to. He was intrigued by this warrior code that brought with it honor, dignity, and fiercely honed battle skills.

With another Twolegplace rogue named Red, Boulder went to ShadowClan and asked Cedarstar to accept him as a warrior—and Cedarstar agreed. Boulder was given Mousewing as his mentor, but refused to change his name—a decision that was seen as a challenge by the warriors, but was due to nothing more than Boulder’s attachment to the name his mother had given him as a kit.

Boulder trained hard, proving himself to be a courageous and skillful fighter, and his origins were soon forgotten. He was an outspoken supporter of Tigerstar when he came to ShadowClan, seeing in the former ThunderClan deputy the bold and fearless leader that could restore ShadowClan to its former strength. And when Tigerstar announced his plans to take power over the whole forest, it was Boulder who suggested an alliance with the Twolegplace cats. Boulder visited Twolegplace on Tigerstar’s behalf to speak with Scourge, the new leader of the rogues and former kittypets. But Boulder was too trusting, and when Scourge came to the forest, he killed Tigerstar and took on all four Clans in battle.

Desperate to make amends, Boulder fought with the strength of a horde of badgers to defeat the BloodClan cats. He never mentioned his Twolegplace roots from that moment on and remained a loyal ShadowClan warrior until his peaceful death in the elders’ den, in his Clan’s new home beside the lake.

TAWNYPELT

BORN IN THUNDERCLAN, BRAMBLECLAW’S littermate and the daughter of Tigerstar and Goldenflower, Tawnypaw was a bright and confident apprentice, with a quickness of temper that sometimes led her into clashes with her Clanmates, especially when her loyalty was questioned. She was horrified to learn the truth behind her father’s exile, which had happened when she was still a kit, and insisted that her loyalty was to ThunderClan only, refusing her father’s continued requests to join him in ShadowClan once he became their leader.

When Tigerstar allied his Clan with RiverClan and started to drive out all cats with half-Clan blood, Tawnypaw found herself judged more and more harshly by her Clanmates for the crimes of her father. Pushed to the breaking point by Smallear’s comparison of her with Tigerstar because she seemed to share her father’s reluctance for clearing out the elders’ den, Tawnypaw left her home and went to find acceptance in ShadowClan. Even after Tigerstar’s death in the battle with BloodClan, Tawnypaw stayed with her adopted Clan, gaining her warrior name—Tawnypelt—and earning Blackstar’s trust.

Tawnypelt went on the quest to the sun-drown-place as the representative of ShadowClan, where her courage and willingness to look beyond Clan boundaries made the unlikely group of cats bond much more quickly. She was less hasty to dismiss Crowfeather because of his sullenness and quick temper, and encouraged Feathertail to see past his shy exterior to the qualities beneath. Given that Feathertail died saving Crowfeather from the mountain lion, Sharptooth, perhaps Tawnypelt regretted this later.

Tawnypelt was visited by Tigerstar in her dreams, just like Brambleclaw, but she refused to accept his offer of secret training because she knew her father would never help her achieve what she wanted most: security, peace, and loyalty to one Clan above all. Instead, she found this in Rowanclaw, who fathered her three kits: Flametail, Dawnpelt, and Tigerheart.

Tawnypelt proved that being loyal didn’t mean treating all other cats as enemies. She stayed friendly with Brambleclaw and other ThunderClan cats and raised her kits to have the same sense of fairness. While Brambleclaw never completely escaped the shadow cast by their father, Tawnypelt lived her life entirely free of Tigerstar’s influence and reputation, with an independence and sense of purpose that Tigerstar himself would have been proud of.

FLAMETAIL

FLAMETAIL WAS THE SON of Tawnypelt and Rowanclaw, and littermate to Dawnpelt and Tigerheart.

When he was an apprentice, but had not yet been given a mentor, Blackstar lost faith in StarClan and followed the advice of a rogue named Sol to let each cat choose his own path. Tawnypelt had no wish for her kits to grow up in a Clan that no longer listened to its warrior ancestors, so she took them to ThunderClan and asked for shelter. Flamepaw was particularly angry about Blackstar’s change of heart because he was on the verge of being apprenticed to Littlecloud the medicine cat, but all the same, he and his littermates were intrigued to meet Lionblaze, Jaypaw, and Hollyleaf, who were kin because their father, Brambleclaw, was Tawnypelt’s brother.

When Jaypaw came up with the idea to fake a sign from StarClan, Flamepaw and his littermates were keen to help. When Blackstar was trapped by the uprooted saplings, Flamepaw was rewarded by the sight of Runningnose and Raggedstar visiting the forest to speak with the ShadowClan leader.

This sealed his belief in StarClan and made him even more determined to become a medicine cat.

After the apprentices returned to ShadowClan, he was indeed apprenticed to Littlecloud.

He was faced with a lot of responsibility early on when Littlecloud became ill, but Flametail was confident in his skills and successfully treated his Clanmates after the battle with ThunderClan in which Russetfur died. On a visit to the Moonpool, Flametail was warned by Raggedstar’s spirit that a time of war was coming, and that the Clans would have to stand alone in order to survive. Littlecloud disagreed, refusing to believe that medicine cat allegiances across Clan borders could ever be threatened. But with Littlecloud confined to the elders’ den by his sickness, Flametail was able to convince Blackstar that they had to heed their ancestors’ warning and cut themselves off from the other Clans.

As well as Raggedstar’s dire prophecy, Flametail started to experience dreadful visions of drowning, being engulfed in black water and trapped by ice. Even slipping into a shallow puddle brought these images crashing into his mind. He interpreted it as yet more warning that a terrible time of darkness was rising up to overwhelm the Clans and worked harder to prepare for the battle that seemed inevitable.

Seeing that the young medicine cat was exhausted and haunted by his dreams, Dawnpelt and Olivenose persuaded Flametail to play a game of prey-stone on the frozen lake. The ice broke beneath

Flametail’s paws, sending him down to a cold, watery death. He was aware of Jayfeather diving down to help him, and another, hairless, unfamiliar cat nudging Jayfeather away, back to the surface and the air. Flametail was left to drown and was forced to watch his Clanmates battle against the Dark Forest from his place in StarClan.

Tigerstar’s Nine Lives: Starclan Makes Its Choice

RUNNINGNOSE REACHED THE DARK, yawning hole below the jagged peaks and stepped aside. “After you, Tigerclaw,” he murmured.

Tigerclaw walked past the gray-muzzled medicine cat and stood at the mouth of the tunnel. Dank shadows that tasted of stone lapped at his paws. Above their heads, a sharp wind hurled itself against

Highrocks, flattening the grass on the hillside and threatening to dash the few crows that challenged it back down to the ground. But Mothermouth was silent, waiting for cats to enter and have their lives changed beyond all measure.

Tigerclaw had been here before, as an apprentice in ThunderClan. But this time was different.

Now he came to claim his nine lives as the new leader of ShadowClan. He had arrived in the Clan after the death of their previous leader, Nightstar, who had left his cats confused, frightened, and still traumatized by Brokenstar’s bloody rule. If ever a Clan needed a strong leader, this was it. Tigerclaw bided his time, proved his value as a warrior and hunter, showed his adopted Clanmates that Bluestar had made him deputy of ThunderClan because she saw in him the skills of a future leader. The support of Blackfoot, Russetfur, and Boulder had been essential when it came to putting himself forward as Nightstar’s successor. After some tense discussion, the other cats were persuaded. And now, here Tigerclaw stood, on the brink of everything he had ever wished for. Leadership of a Clan.

Authority over all his Clanmates. The power to wage war on his enemies.

Sleep with one eye open, Fireheart. I am coming for you.

Behind him, Runningnose stirred. “Tigerclaw, the moon is rising,” he meowed.

Tigerclaw looked back at him, feeling his claws scrape against the stone. “StarClan will wait for me,” he growled. Of all the cats whose approval he had sought, Runningnose had proved the most difficult. Even now, Tigerstar wasn’t convinced of his loyalty. But medicine cats lived to serve their Clan, and Runningnose couldn’t oppose the wish of the majority.

“StarClan might, but dawn will not,” Runningnose muttered.

Tigerclaw let his front claws extend until they caught the moonlight. Runningnose blinked his rheumy eyes but stayed where he was. Tigerclaw snorted and turned back to the tunnel. He took a deep breath and walked into the shadows, letting the darkness wash over him like water until he was swallowed entirely. Now he was walking blind, using his whiskers to find the walls, setting each paw carefully on the cold, wet stone as the tunnel began to slope steeply down. He could hear

Runningnose padding behind him, the medicine cat’s rasping breath echoing around the tiny space.

Tigerclaw felt a flare of irritation. Who would trust a medicine cat who couldn’t cure his own sickness, anyway?

Suddenly the sound of his paw steps changed, the walls fell away from his whiskers on either side, and Tigerclaw knew he had reached the cave where the Moonstone stood. He walked forward more slowly until he felt his muzzle brush against the icy crystal. Runningnose moved closer, until

Tigerclaw could feel his hot breath on his flanks.

“Lie down and touch the stone with your nose,” the medicine cat instructed.

I know what to do, mouse-brain! Tigerclaw gritted his teeth and sank to his belly, wincing at the feel of the hard, cold floor. He rested his muzzle against the Moonstone and, in the same instant, a shaft of moonlight sliced through the gap in the roof, turning the crystal to dazzling white light.

Tigerclaw’s heart leaped. StarClan is here!

Runningnose settled himself beside Tigerclaw. The warrior tried not to recoil from the stench of old herbs on the medicine cat’s ungroomed pelt. “Don’t be alarmed,” Runningnose began, “if our ancestors do not come to you.”

Are you blind? The Moonstone is alight with them!

“When I brought Nightpelt here,” Runningnose went on, “things were… not as we expected.

StarClan did not approve of him as our leader because Brokenstar was still alive. It was a very difficult moment.”

Tigerclaw resisted the urge to claw the ears of the foolish old cat. Everything was different this time. “But we know that Brokenstar is no longer alive,” he meowed. “And ShadowClan themselves have asked me to lead them. Will their ancestors deny the wish of their living Clanmates?”

Runningnose whispered something that might have been a prayer, then mewed out loud, “StarClan knows our destiny better than any of us.”

And that destiny is my leadership! Tigerclaw was in no mood to continue debating with the fretful medicine cat. He closed his eyes and felt himself being tugged gently into sleep. Almost at once a cool breeze stirred his fur, scented with pine needles and a mustier tang of marsh water.

Tigerclaw blinked and looked around. He was standing at the edge of a forest thick with pines, lapped by a broad expanse of tussocky grass. “I’m… I’m in ShadowClan!” he gasped.

A cat stepped out of the trees. “Not exactly,” it purred. “This is our version of ShadowClan.”

Tigerclaw looked closer at the newcomer. He was a dark gray tom with a white belly and eyes the color of heather. His fur was shot through with starlight, and Tigerclaw could see the outline of tree trunks behind his misted flanks.

“I am Cedarstar,” meowed the StarClan cat. “Welcome.”

Tigerclaw let out a long breath, suddenly aware of the tension that had made his fur lift along his spine. StarClan welcomes me! “Are there others?” he asked. I need nine lives, not one!

Cedarstar gestured with his tail to the edge of the woodland. The shadows sparkled with light as, one by one, a long line of cats stepped forward and nodded to Tigerclaw. The warrior stood and stared. They have come!

A small, ginger she-cat padded forward until she was barely a mouse-length from Tigerclaw’s muzzle. He flinched when he realized he couldn’t feel her breath on his nose, then reminded himself that these cats no longer lived the way he did.

“We have waited a long time for you,” meowed the she-cat. “My name is Littlebird, and I died without being able to save my Clan from Brokenstar. Now my Clan can be strong again.”

Tigerclaw bowed his head. “If you will help me, then I will lead your Clan to greater victories than it has ever known before.”

“Victory isn’t everything,” Littlebird mewed lightly. “Sometimes peace brings greater rewards.”

Believe that if you wish. Once I am leader, I will use your former Clan to seek revenge on every cat who has ever wronged me.

Littlebird leaned forward and pressed her muzzle against Tigerstar’s head. She had to stretch on tiptoe to reach. “I give you a life for compassion,” she murmured. “Try to understand what is important to other cats, not just yourself, and let that guide your paws.”

In an instant, Tigerclaw’s mind whirled with countless images of cats in pain, joy-filled cats, cats wailing in terror or hissing with fury. He staggered, overwhelmed by the emotions that poured into him from all sides, and deafened by the noise inside his world.

“Be strong, Tigerclaw,” Littlebird whispered. “It takes more courage than you know to feel what other cats do.”

Tigerclaw straightened up. If I am the leader of my Clan, and my word is law, why should I concern myself with what my Clanmates think? My duty is to lead them; theirs is to follow. “Thank you, Littlebird,” he meowed out loud.

The ferns behind Littlebird stirred and a tiny shape slipped out. Not much bigger than a newborn kit, with a black-and-white pelt that glowed in the half-light, the cat trotted up to Tigerclaw and craned its neck to look up at him. “I am Badgerfang!” he squeaked.

Tigerclaw snorted. “Are you sure? You’re the smallest warrior I’ve ever seen!”

There was a flash of anger in the little cat’s eyes that belied his fragile size. “I died as Badgerpaw when I was four moons old. Brokenstar forced me and my littermates to fight in battles before we should even have become apprentices. But I fought bravely and gave my life to save my

Clan. Because of that, my mentor, Flintfang, said I could choose my warrior name.”

Tigerclaw nodded. “Fine. So what life can you give me?”

Badgerfang blinked. “Be patient,” he warned. “Your lives will come as we wish to give them, not as you wish to receive them.” He took a step closer and stretched up until his muzzle brushed Tigerclaw’s chin. “I give you a life for training your young cats wisely. Train them when they are

strong enough to survive their first battle, and encourage them to listen to many cats, including the elders, to learn the most from their Clanmates’ histories.”

Tigerclaw felt a rush of warmth flood through him, filled with the chattering voices of tiny kits.

He recognized his own eagerness to leave the nursery and start training, and he curled his lip with amusement. Oh, I will train my young Clanmates, he vowed. They will soon know they belong to the most powerful Clan in the forest and deserve nothing but victory in every battle!

Badgerfang trotted away, casting a shadow no bigger than Tigerclaw’s front paw, and another cat stood before him. Tigerclaw stared in disbelief at the tall, ginger cat who fathered him. “Pinestar!” he breathed.

The red-furred tom nodded. “Yes, although that is not the name I had when I died.”

Tigerclaw felt his claws unsheathe and sink into the soft earth. “Because you were a kittypet,” he snarled.

“That was my choice for my final life,” Pinestar agreed. “But I walk with our ancestors for tonight to give you a life for being aware of what goes on beyond Clan borders. There are good cats everywhere, Tigerclaw. Do not forget that.” He leaned forward and brushed Tigerclaw’s nose with his own.

A flurry of images flashed into Tigerclaw’s mind, of green fields, lazy swollen rivers, Twolegplaces made of hard red stone, crisscrossed with Thunderpaths and humming with the sound of monsters. He shook his head to clear it. “I will be loyal to my Clanmates above all others,” he growled.

Pinestar inclined his head. “The warrior code demands nothing less. But do not assume that every other cat is an enemy or unable to help you in some way.” He turned to leave, then looked back. “I am proud of you, my son,” he mewed. “When I left the forest, I thought I would never see you again. But here you are, leader of ShadowClan. Perhaps not the choice I would have made,” he added wryly, “but you have traveled a hard path to get here, and you deserve your reward.”

And I did it all without you, Tigerclaw hissed inside his mind. His pelt prickled at the thought that his father—the treacherous warrior-turned-kittypet—dared give him—loyal to the last, nothing but warrior blood running in his veins—one of his lives. I won’t mind losing that one in battle , he thought.

The next cat to face him was a small, pale gray she-cat that Tigerclaw didn’t recognize. As if reading his thoughts, she meowed, “You won’t know me, Tigerclaw. My name is Whitetail. I walked in these woods long ago, before you were even dreamed of. But if we had met before, would you have noticed me, I wonder?”

Surprised, Tigerclaw looked more closely at the she-cat. Her head only just reached his chest, and her pelt hung loosely on her bony frame. If he had encountered her in the midst of a battle, he would have flung her aside with a flick of his paw as if she was nothing more than a moth in his way.

Whitetail didn’t give him a chance to answer. “I give you a life for understanding that size isn’t everything. Strength does not always mean power, and you should respect your enemies, whatever they look like.” She touched her muzzle to his chest, and Tigerclaw felt a strange calm spread through him, cold and heavy like water on his fur. To his dismay, he started to shiver—not just from cold but from fear as well. What was he frightened of? He sank his claws deeper into the ground to hold himself still.

Whitetail looked up at him. “Beware the small cats,” she whispered, then turned and walked back into the shadows.

A long-legged, light brown tabby came next, introducing himself as Sedgestar, leader of ShadowClan when there were still five Clans in the forest. He was so old, Tigerclaw could clearly see the trees behind him through his misty outline. But his voice was strong and steady as he rested his muzzle on Tigerclaw’s head.

“I give you a life for pride in ShadowClan, knowing they can stand alone through any challenge.

ShadowClan needs no allegiances, no help from other Clans when times are hard. Your cats will always find a way to survive if you give them a chance, Tigerclaw.”

This life made Tigerclaw feel as if he was growing from the inside, taller than a fox, broader than a badger, filled with the certainty that ShadowClan was the strongest of all. Whatever happened in the forest, ShadowClan would emerge victorious!

A ginger-and-white she-cat with gentle eyes took Sedgestar’s place. “I am Flowerstar,” she meowed. “Like you, I was not the deputy to the previous leader of ShadowClan. That leader, Brightwhisker, died on her first night of leadership, before she had a chance to receive her nine lives and before she could appoint a new deputy. Our medicine cat, Redscar, found a sign from StarClan—the stalk of an early-blooming snowdrop—that showed our ancestors wished for me to become the next leader.” She leaned closer and pressed her sweet-scented nose to Tigerclaw’s cheek.

“I give you a life for placing all your faith in StarClan,” she murmured. “Trust your warrior ancestors, let them guide you when all seems dark, and honor them with your loyalty for all your lives.”

Tigerclaw’s pelt lit up with starlight, and he tingled all the way to the tip of his tail. There was fierceness in this life, but also the warmth of a mother’s belly fur, all shot through with sparkling light.

Flowerstar stood for a few moments more with her face against Tigerclaw’s, until a soft cough from behind made her step aside. A reddish-brown tabby pushed his way forward, and Tigerclaw winced when he saw the jagged scar that stretched from the tabby’s ear down the line of his jaw.

“My name is Redscar,” mewed the tabby. He looked over his shoulder to check that Flowerstar had disappeared back into the trees. “I am the medicine cat who told Flowerstar that StarClan had chosen her as our leader. But you need to know something: I faked that sign. I picked the snowdrop, severed the blossom, placed the stalk where I could find it in the middle of the camp and announced to everyone that our ancestors had spoken. We needed a leader, and I found them one.” His pale eyes looked hot and feverish as he shuffled forward to wedge his muzzle against Tigerclaw’s chin. “Listen to StarClan, but do not let that deafen you to your own senses. I give you a life for trusting your own instincts as well. StarClan will guide you, but only you, as leader, can steer the paws of your Clanmates.”

Tigerclaw nodded. At last, a life that makes sense! He felt a surge of confidence inside his chest, burning like fire and roaring like the wind. Only he knew what was truly right for ShadowClan! They were his cats now!

A dark tortoiseshell she-cat stepped up. Her eyes shone like yellow moons against the shadows behind. “I am Mossheart,” she announced. “I was a medicine cat long ago, at a time when cats died every day in needless battles against the other Clans. The forest ran with blood, and my herb stores went unused as cats died before I could do anything to help them. I joined together with the other medicine cats to create a new code, in which warriors do not have to kill their opponents to secure victory. What would become of the Clans if we let all our blood spill into the earth?” She touched Tigerclaw’s nose with his. “I give you a life for mercy, for knowing that victory can leave both cats standing. Your opponent may have been the lesser cat in this battle, but he deserves to live and have a chance to try again.”

What kind of victory is that, knowing you have spared your enemy for another attack?

Tigerclaw braced himself against the tide of heat that swept into him, hating the softness that lapped at his fur, closing his mind to the images of bleeding, maimed warriors that flooded behind his eyes. if they lose, they deserve to die!

He opened his eyes and saw Mossheart looking at him. “Mercy brings strength, remember that,” she murmured. Tigerclaw felt a stab of alarm. Did the old cat know that this was a life Tigerclaw didn’t want?

Mossheart padded away and the cat that had been standing beside Tigerclaw all this time stepped forward. “You have only one more life to receive,” meowed Cedarstar. “Are you ready?”

Tigerclaw nodded. One more, and I will be the true leader of ShadowClan!

Cedarstar let out a sigh. “I should never have appointed Raggedstar as my deputy,” he mewed.

“All this trouble goes back to that moment. If only I had known what lay ahead…” He lifted his head and placed his muzzle against Tigerclaw’s. “I give you a life for farsightedness, for understanding what the results of your actions might be, however distant in the future. It will be the hardest and most lonely part of your duty as leader, Tigerclaw, but essential to keep your Clan safe. Do not rush into anything. Look forward, and choose the path that leads to where you would want your Clanmates to be.”

The life was clear and sparkling like the light from the Moonstone. It danced through Tigerclaw’s fur, sharpening all his senses until he felt as if he could see right to the edges of StarClan. Something stirred at the back of Tigerclaw’s mind.

“But Cedarstar, where are my lives for courage? For strength in battle and revenge on my enemies?” He heard his voice go shrill with doubt, and winced.

Cedarstar looked calmly at him. “You bring enough courage, strength, and vengeance in yourself.

It is the duty of StarClan to give you lives for what you might lack, to make your leadership fair for all the cats in your care.”

Tigerclaw twitched his ears. if StarClan trusts me to win battles without their help, who am I to argue? “Thank you, Cedarstar,” he mewed.

“Welcome, Tigerstar!” Cedarstar declared, stepping back and raising his voice. “Lead

ShadowClan well with all of your lives!”

“Welcome, Tigerstar!”

“Tigerstar!”

“Tigerstar!”

Tigerstar bathed in the cheers of the StarClan cats. At last! This is what I have waited for my whole life. He looked around and saw a group of cats standing close together, watching with anxious, hopeful eyes. He recognized the former ShadowClan elders: Cinderfur, Tallpoppy, Darkflower, and Dawncloud. And beside them, Nightstar—or perhaps Nightpelt, here, because he had never been given nine lives? I will lead your Clan back to the glory it had before, Tigerstar promised them silently. Trust me.

The starlit cats began to fade in front of him. Runningnose appeared, making Tigerstar jump. “I have been here all along,” Runningnose meowed. “It is time to leave now.”

Tigerstar nodded. “I have a Clan to lead,” he declared.

Runningnose paused and looked at him. “With StarClan’s blessing,” he mewed. “Tigerstar, you must listen to what our ancestors have said to you tonight. If you do not respect what each life stands for, StarClan cannot help you.”

Tigerstar tensed. Was his medicine cat threatening him? “I heard nothing tonight that challenges what I want to do with my Clan,” he growled. “You are my medicine cat, Runningnose. You serve me before your Clanmates, before StarClan.”

Runningnose’s eyes darkened for a moment, then he dipped his head. “Of course, Tigerstar,” he murmured.

Tigerstar lifted his head and stared at the star-washed landscape. “ShadowClan is mine,” he whispered. “And I have nine lifetimes to make them remember me forever!”