The Ultimate Guide

Introduction to SkyClan: Cloudstar Speaks

SKYCLAN HAS THE DISTINCTION of being the very first Clan in the forest. Our founder, Clear Sky, came from the mountains and chose not to stay with the others on the moor, clinging to an environment that reminded them of home; instead, he saw the potential in the prey-rich woodland, in the dense undergrowth that could offer shelter and secrecy. He took with him the cats that were most skilled at leaping into the air to bring down eagles. This talent was easily turned to climbing trees in pursuit of squirrels and smaller, easier-won birds.

The moorland cats became jealous and resentful, but Clear Sky knew he was sowing the seeds of a group that would grow strong and proud, and last forever.

And perhaps it would have. But Clear Sky could not have foreseen what the Twolegs would do to his precious territory. By the time I became leader, many, many seasons after Clear Sky had gone to walk among the stars, our beloved trees were being torn down to make way for new Twoleg dens.

For the first time, SkyClan was the most vulnerable of all the Clans. We appealed to the others for help, for enough of their territory to survive the bitter cold of leaf-bare, but it seemed our history, our place in establishing the very grounds of the warrior code, meant nothing. Cast out, I led my

Clanmates on a long and dreadful journey until I found a gorge carved out of sandy rock that offered shelter and prey and a chance to rest.

SkyClan thrived in its new home, nurturing the flickering flame of the warrior code, until rats came and stole our prey and killed our kits and terrorized us until there was no one left. SkyClan could not suffer two defeats. The cats scattered and the gorge lay empty until Firestar was sent by Bluestar to restore what had once been a noble and important Clan. Firestar and Sandstorm rebuilt our Clan, tracking down our descendants who still showed an echo of our tree-hunting skills, and inviting other cats to join and uphold the warrior code. There were still rats to defeat and the challenge of teaching so many cats at once to live according to the ways of our ancestors, but the heart of SkyClan had never truly died. Maybe we lived apart from the other Clans, maybe some of our cats had not completely cast off their kittypet connections, but SkyClan thrived once more.

CLOUDSTAR AND SKYWATCHER

CLOUDSTAR WAS WELL AWARE of the significance of his Clan’s place in the history of the forest, and he took as much pride as his Clanmates in SkyClan’s strength and reputation. When Twolegs started to destroy the territory to build new dens, Cloudstar trusted his rival Clans to help him survive.

Instead, each leader protested that sharing their territory would be impossible, that SkyClan would not be able to catch different prey, that if there were only four Great Oaks in the hollow, perhaps StarClan only ever intended for there to be four Clans.

To his horror, Cloudstar realized that his Clanmates’ only chance of survival lay in finding a new home. His mate, Birdflight, stayed behind in ThunderClan with their newborn kits. Numb with grief, Cloudstar found somewhere to rest in a sandy gorge, far upriver from the forest. His faith in StarClan had been shaken so deeply that he gave little heed to the warrior code. Food and shelter, that was all his Clanmates needed. Other leaders came after him, but a savage horde of rats drove out the remaining cats, and from his place in the stars, Cloudstar watched his beloved Clan dwindle to dust.

Skywatcher was the last descendant of SkyClan living in the gorge when Firestar and Sandstorm arrived. His mother had told him tales of their ancestors who watched the full moon from the rock jutting out over the gorge, and who lived in different sandy dens according to their role in the Clans.

Skywatcher lived alone, his thoughts muddled with age and loneliness, spending most of his nights on a rock that jutted from the top of the gorge, staring up at the stars. For this reason, the cats who knew him called him Moony and jeered him for his peculiar, absent ways.

But Firestar recognized the truth in his ramblings of long-ago cats, and when the new SkyClan rose from the dust, Skywatcher was welcomed as an honored elder. He lived just long enough to see his mother’s distant memories reignite the gorge, and then died, taking his place among his ancestors.

But Skywatcher never forgot the debt he owed to Firestar, and it was he who was chosen to deliver the greatest prophecy of all to the ThunderClan leader: “There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws.”

LEAFSTAR

LEAF WAS A LONER in the woods near the sandy gorge when Firestar first approached her and told her about the cats who lived there long ago. Leaf was happy as she was, hunting for herself, occasionally sharing tongues with her friend Scratch. But she was curious enough about what Firestar said to come to a meeting of cats in the gorge. His tales of StarClan, and of cats that helped each other survive the harshest leaf-bares, drew Leaf in, and along with several others—loners and kittypets alike—she agreed to join the new Clan.

With the warrior name Leafdapple, she learned fast from her ThunderClan mentors. She was given an apprentice of her own, Sparrowpaw, and she helped her Clanmates set border markers around the gorge, protecting the territory that belonged to them now. She fought as fiercely as a lion to defeat the rats that had begun to torment them, just as the old SkyClan had been tormented so many moons ago.

A vision of leaf-shadowed sunlight in the midst of leaf-bare prompted the new medicine cat, Echosong, to speak with Firestar, who realized that this must be a sign for him to choose a leader. At first, Leafdapple resisted taking on so much responsibility when there was still much to learn, but faith in her newly discovered ancestors gave her courage, and she became Leafstar.

With the support of her mate, Billystorm, and her deputy, Sharpclaw, she led SkyClan through its turbulent early seasons, fending off attacks from foxes and hostile cats, as well as negotiating a new kind of Clanmate, a daylight-warrior, part-kittypet and part-Clan cat. Leafstar knew this would not be accepted in other Clans, but she was wise enough to recognize that things were very different for SkyClan. They had to exist alone, and they needed to swell their numbers by any means in order to stay strong and well-fed. Some questioned the loyalty of the daylight-warriors, and some daylight-warriors proved inadequate, but Leafstar’s decision was the right one, and SkyClan flourished.

Leafstar had her own litter, Firekit, Stormkit, and Harrykit, and rescued them when a well-meaning elderly Twoleg took them to her den. Her mate, Billystorm, realized how much his family meant to him after this and decided to stay in the gorge forever. Perhaps the only fatal mistake

Leafstar made was sending away the would-be warrior Sol; fatal not for her Clan, but for the Clans far away that she had never met.

ECHOSONG

CHOSONG WAS PURE KITTYPET, with no hint of SkyClan in her long, fluffy coat and delicate paws. But she dreamed of cats with the light of stars in their fur, and when Firestar and Sandstorm came looking for new warriors in Twolegplace, Echosong was expecting them. Already made restless by her strange dreams, Echosong was willing to leave her housefolk and go live in the gorge. Her sensitivity to the stars and her quick knowledge of herbs, thanks to Sandstorm’s patient teaching, made her an obvious choice for SkyClan’s new medicine cat.

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.