Warriors: Enter the Clans Read online

  INCLUDES

  WARRIORS FIELD GUIDE:

  SECRETS OF THE CLANS

  AND

  WARRIORS: CODE OF THE CLANS

  ERIN HUNTER

  CONTENTS

  Warriors Field Guide: Secret of the Clans

  DEDICATION

  THUNDER, WIND, RIVER, SHADOW, AND STAR: THE CLANS

  History of the Clans: How the Clans Came to Be

  ThunderClan: Fierce and Brave

  WindClan: Swift and Loyal

  RiverClan: Clever and Strong

  ShadowClan: Wily and Proud

  StarClan: Wise Ancestors

  TERRITORIES: HOMES AND HUNTING GROUNDS

  The Forest: Where the Clans Began

  The Lake: The Clans’ New Home

  BEYOND THE TERRITORIES

  CEREMONIES

  PROPHECIES AND OMENS: FORETELLING THE FUTURE

  MEDICINE: HEALING THE CLANS

  CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS

  BloodClan

  The Tribe of Rushing Water

  Rogues and Loners

  Kittypets

  OTHER ANIMALS: ANIMALS TO HUNT, FIGHT, FEAR, AND RESPECT

  MYTHOLOGY: LIONCLAN, TIGERCLAN, AND LEOPARDCLAN

  GLOSSARY

  Warriors: Code of the Clans

  DEDICATION

  THE DAWN OF THE CLANS

  THE WARRIOR CODE

  WELCOME TO THE WARRIOR CODE

  CODE ONE

  The Beginning of the Warrior Code

  CODE TWO

  Finders Keepers

  Hunting Fish!

  CODE THREE

  A Mystical Battle

  A Dark Path Chosen

  CODE FOUR

  Mouse Games

  CODE FIVE

  The Queens Unite

  The Smallest Warrior

  CODE SIX

  A Night of Listening

  Squirrelflight’s Words of Wisdom

  CODE SEVEN

  Second in Command

  CODE EIGHT

  Follow My Leader

  Too Late for Regrets: Tallstar Explains

  CODE NINE

  A Sign from StarClan

  CODE TEN

  The Vanishing Moon

  CODE ELEVEN

  Poppycloud’s Rule

  Who Goes There? Whitestorm Teaches Border Tactics

  CODE TWELVE

  A Loss for All Clans

  A Kit in Trouble

  CODE THIRTEEN

  Darkstar’s Law

  An Empty Prayer: Cloudstar Speaks

  CODE FOURTEEN

  The Medicine Cats Decide

  CODE FIFTEEN

  Pinestar’s Secret

  A Change of Heart: Sandstorm Speaks

  RULES THAT DID NOT BECOME PART OF THE CODE:

  Leafpool Speaks

  EPILOGUE

  Excerpt from Survivors: The Empty City

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Excerpt from Warriors: Yellowfang’s Secret

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  About the Author

  Other Works

  Copyright

  Back Ads

  About the Publisher

  DEDICATION

  Special thanks to

  Tui Sutherland

  For Cyd, because she loves cats, and for Rebekah,

  because I’m sure she will, too

  CONTENTS

  DEDICATION

  THUNDER, WIND, RIVER, SHADOW, AND STAR: THE CLANS

  History of the Clans: How the Clans Came to Be

  ThunderClan: Fierce and Brave

  WindClan: Swift and Loyal

  RiverClan: Clever and Strong

  ShadowClan: Wily and Proud

  StarClan: Wise Ancestors

  TERRITORIES: HOMES AND HUNTING GROUNDS

  The Forest: Where the Clans Began

  The Lake: The Clans’ New Home

  BEYOND THE TERRITORIES

  CEREMONIES

  PROPHECIES AND OMENS: FORETELLING THE FUTURE

  MEDICINE: HEALING THE CLANS

  CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS

  BloodClan

  The Tribe of Rushing Water

  Rogues and Loners

  Kittypets

  OTHER ANIMALS: ANIMALS TO HUNT, FIGHT, FEAR, AND RESPECT

  MYTHOLOGY: LIONCLAN, TIGERCLAN, AND LEOPARDCLAN

  GLOSSARY

  THUNDER, WIND, RIVER, SHADOW, AND STAR:

  THE CLANS

  The story of the beginning of the warrior Clans has been passed down by cats of all Clans, from elder to warrior, from warrior to apprentice, from queen to kit. The story is never the same twice, and parts grow uncertain, or they become suddenly clear in the telling. There are some cats who walk dimly, their names and deeds lost in the sweet fog of the elders’ den, for the warrior Clans have roamed the forest for moons beyond counting....

  HISTORY OF THE CLANS

  Many moons ago, the forest was a wilderness, untamed by territories. In the north lay sweeping moorland; in the south was dense woodland. On the edge of the trees, a tumbling river flowed out of a dark ravine.

  Cats came into the forest. They were drawn by the soft rustlings of small creatures, shadows under the water, and the sudden commotion of birds’ wings in the trees. These were not warrior cats. They lived in small groups, not yet Clans. There were no borders set down. And they fought constantly, fearful that prey might run out and that their overlapping territories were being threatened. It was a lawless, bloody time for the forest, and many cats died.

  One night, when the moon was full, the cats agreed to meet at a clearing in the forest surrounded by four great oak trees. They argued over stolen prey. Claws flashed; challenging yowls rang across the forest. A terrible battle followed, and soon the ground was wet with spilled blood.

  Many cats died that night. Exhausted by their wounds, the survivors slept where they had fought. When they woke they were bathed in moonlight. All around them they saw the spirits of their slain kin, no longer torn and bloodied but shining like fallen stars. They huddled on the ground, and, as the spirits spoke, they saw terrible visions of the future. They saw the forest drowned in blood, their kits stalked by death at every pawstep. And they knew that the fighting had to end.

  “Unite or die,” said the spirits.

  From among the living cats, a black female was the first to speak. She rose from the ground on stiff, battle-wearied legs. “My name is Shadow,” she mewed. “How should we unite, unless we have a leader? I can hunt in the depths of the darkest night. Let Shadow rule the forest!”

  “And you would lead us into darkness too!” meowed a silvery gray tom with green eyes. “I am River! I move through the forest along secret paths and hidden places. It is River, not Shadow, who should unite the forest!”

  “The forest is more than River and Shadow,” growled a wiry brown female. “Wind alone reaches its distant corners. I am as fast as the wind that blows from the high moors. I should be the ruler.”

  The largest surviving cat was called Thunder. He was a fiery orange tom with amber eyes and large white paws. “What good is any of that compared to my strength and skill at hunting? If any cat was born to rule, it is I.”

  A furious yowling broke out under the four great oaks, watched in silence by the spirit-cats. Dark clouds suddenly blew across the moon, and the living cats trembled in fear. On the top of a high rock, they saw a tabby cat, one of the fallen, her fur shining though there was no light in the sky. Her eyes flashed angrily at the cats on the ground.

  “You are all as foolish as ducks!” she meowed. “Can’t you think beyond yourselves for one moment? Think of your kits!”

>   The four cats—Shadow, River, Wind, and Thunder—looked up at the tabby, but none of them spoke.

  “The forest is big enough to feed all your families and many more,” she meowed. “You must find other cats like you, choose a home in the forest, and set down borders.”

  At that moment, the moon broke free of the clouds, revealing a circle of starlit spirit-cats around the edge of the clearing. A white tom stepped forward. “If you do this,” he meowed, “we will reward you with eight more lives, so that you may lead your Clans for many moons to come.”

  Next to speak was a slender tortoiseshell. She stepped forward and stood beside the white tom. “We will watch over you from Silverpelt,” she promised, and lifted her eyes to the crowded path of stars that swept across the night sky. “We will visit you in your dreams and guide you on your journeys.”

  “Once a month,” meowed the white tom, “at the full moon, you will gather together here, between the four great oak trees, for a night of truce. You will see us above you in Silverpelt and know we are watching. And if blood is spilled on those nights, you will know we are angry.”

  “You will be warriors!” yowled the tabby from the high rock.

  Thunder, River, Wind, and Shadow bowed their heads.

  “From now on, you will live by a warrior code. Your hearts will be filled with courage and nobility, and if you must fight, it will be not for greed, but for honor and justice.”

  There was a long silence. Finally Thunder nodded his broad orange head. “This is wise advice. I believe we can choose our territories and lay down borders fairly, in peace.”

  One by one, the other cats murmured their agreement. Then they returned to their homes and sought out cats like themselves, with similar strengths and abilities. River found cats willing to fish for their prey. Shadow gathered nighttime hunters with clever minds and sharp claws. Thunder found hunters who could track prey through the thickest undergrowth. To Wind came the fastest runners and cats who loved the open moors. Then they divided the forest so each Clan had enough prey to survive, and all the cats could live in safety. And when the leaders returned to the four great oaks for the first night of the full-moon truce, their starry ancestors gave them eight more lives, as they had promised.

  There was not always peace between the Clans, but that was to be expected—cats are born with claws and teeth for a reason. Still, as long as they lived by the warrior code, their fallen ancestors would watch over them and guide them through their lives.

  And so the age of the warrior Clans began.

  THUNDERCLAN

  FIRESTAR ON THUNDERCLAN

  I am Firestar. Welcome to ThunderClan—the Clan of courage and loyalty. I was not a forest-born cat, but ThunderClan welcomed me, and once I proved myself as a warrior, they grew to respect me. I have risen to become their leader and I would lay down all nine of my lives for my Clan, just as my Clanmates would lay down their lives for me and for each other. There is no other Clan in the forest so true or so brave. I respect and admire the other Clans, but my heart is here, with ThunderClan—the Clan of heroes, the Clan of compassion, the Clan of destiny.

  * * *

  Clan character: In peace, respectful of other Clans. In battle, fierce, courageous, and loyal. ThunderClan cats speak out for what is right and are not afraid to challenge the warrior code.

  Prey: Mice, voles, squirrels, the occasional rabbit, and birds such as starlings, magpies, wood pigeons, and thrushes.

  Hunting skills: Excellent stalking techniques. They keep upwind of their prey, creeping across the forest floor unseen and unheard.

  * * *

  THUNDERCLAN FOREST TERRITORY

  (1) ThunderClan camp: Sheltered at the foot of a sandy ravine and well protected by thornbushes, this camp is hard to attack and easy to defend.

  (2) Tallpines: Watch out for the Twoleg tree-eater! It makes the ground rumble and leaves deep gullies that fill with muddy water.

  (3) Great Sycamore: Its branches are thick and strong all the way to the ends. Young apprentices learn to climb here and dare one another to climb higher.

  (4) Owl-Tree: Halfway up the trunk is a hole that is home to a tawny owl that flies out at night. Legend has it that an early ThunderClan apprentice learned the secrets of night hunting from one such owl. Every night, as the moon rose, he would wait at the foot of the Owl-Tree. When the owl swooped out, he followed, like the owl’s shadow cast by the moon on the ground. Eventually this bold young apprentice became a great leader known as Owlstar. In the hunt, he was as silent and deadly as the tawny owl.

  (5) Sunningrocks: A warm spot in the sunshine. Keep a sharp eye out for prey darting between the cracks! Many moons ago, when the river was much wider than it is now, Sunningrocks was an island. Only RiverClan cats could swim out to it. Then the water dropped, and Sunningrocks became part of the forest shore, so ThunderClan claimed it. They did not allow RiverClan cats to cross their territory to reach it. Since then, many battles have been fought between the two Clans over these smooth, sun-warmed stones.

  (6) Snakerocks: Beware poisonous adders! Chervil grows abundantly here. The caves beneath the rocks provide shelter for dangerous animals, like foxes, badgers—and even dogs.

  (7) Sandy hollow: A training hollow surrounded by trees. Warrior apprentices are unlikely to hurt themselves on the soft ground.

  (8) Twolegplace: A maze of small Thunderpaths and Twoleg dens (see Other Animals, Twolegs). There are two different kinds of cats in Twolegplace: loners and kittypets (see Cats Outside the Clans, Rogues and Loners, and Kittypets).

  BRIGHTHEART SPEAKS:

  The Death of Swiftpaw

  It wasn’t fair that only Cloudpaw got to be a warrior. We were just as good and we tried so hard, but Bluestar ignored us and treated us like dopey kits.

  Swiftpaw said we should do something so brave that Bluestar would have to make us warriors too. None of us knew what had been eating the prey around Snakerocks, but Swiftpaw figured if we went out there, we’d find a trail to follow. It made sense, you know? We’d follow the trail, find out who was stealing our prey, and then come back to tell Bluestar. And then we’d be warriors!

  Swiftpaw knew a way out through the ferns behind the elders’ den, so we sneaked out just before dawn and headed for Snakerocks. My paws trembled as we raced through the leaves. I knew my mentor, Whitestorm, would be angry with me—apprentices are not supposed to leave the camp without permission. But he’d be impressed when I helped save the Clan!

  The smell near Snakerocks was strange—fierce and dark. I slowed down, but Swiftpaw kept running.

  “Swiftpaw!” I hissed as he scrambled over a fallen tree. “Be careful!”

  “Don’t worry!” he called back. “There’s nothing here!”

  Just as he said that, a huge shape flew out of the cave and fastened slavering jaws around Swiftpaw’s throat. It was a dog—the largest I’d ever seen. I wanted to run away more than I’ve ever wanted anything, but I couldn’t leave Swiftpaw behind.

  Swiftpaw wrenched himself around, snarling and twisting, but the dog shook him like he was a squirrel, and then threw him to the other side of the clearing. I ran over and saw that he was bleeding, but he managed to stand, turn, and fight. The dog came toward us, its head low, its teeth bared and gleaming. I crouched, waiting until it was a mouse-length away, and then I lashed out and raked my claws across its face. It jumped back with a yelp, and for a moment I thought, We’ll be okay. It’s just one dog, and there’re two of us.

  And then I saw the others.

  There were at least six dogs ranged across the clearing, all of them four times our size or bigger. They growled so loud it felt like the earth was shaking. “Pack, pack,” they snarled. “Kill, kill.”

  And then they sprang. I darted forward, jumped up, and sank my claws into soft underbelly. As I clung on, scratching and biting, I could hear Swiftpaw—spitting, hissing, and yowling in rage and defiance. The world turned upside down, and the air was knocked out of me. I remember du
st, a forest of legs, flying fur, blood. At one point I saw Swiftpaw break free from the pack and climb a tree. I prayed to StarClan that he would make it, but huge paws brought him crashing to the ground. Then blood filled my eyes, and I saw no more. I could still hear, though—and in among the growling and snarling, there were yelps too. I don’t know when the end came for Swiftpaw. I only remember him fighting like all of LionClan. That’s how I will always remember him.

  Then I was shaken loose. I felt light as air. I slammed against rock, and everything went dark.

  I woke up in Cinderpelt’s cave three sunrises later. Fireheart and Cloudtail had found me and brought me home. Cinderpelt said I had nightmares, calling out “pack” and “kill” in my sleep, but I can’t remember any of them now.

  The first thing I remember was the feeling of Cloudtail’s warm white fur pressed against mine. When I moved, he woke up instantly, as if he’d been waiting the whole time for me to awaken.

  I knew something was wrong right away. It wasn’t just the pain—my face felt frozen, and I couldn’t see anything on one side. I had lost an eye! When I saw what the dogs had done to me, I wished I had died fighting beside Swiftpaw. And when Bluestar gave me my warrior name, Lostface, I no longer knew who I was.

  I would not have survived that dark time if it weren’t for Cloudtail. He gave me another destiny, and I knew that no matter what I looked like, I would be all right. As long as Cloudtail loved me, I was no longer Lostface, but Brightheart.

  THUNDERCLAN FOREST CAMP

  Welcome to ThunderClan’s forest camp! I’m Sandstorm, a ThunderClan warrior. Firestar has asked me to show you around. Watch out, though. Some of the elders might be cranky if we disturb them while they’re having a nap.

  Can you see the camp entrance? Well hidden, isn’t it? Those brambles protect us from predators, but they don’t stop the sunshine from warming up the camp.

  Follow me down the ravine. Bluestar says it used to be a river a long time ago, but I can’t imagine that. It’s so dry and sandy now. Keep your head down—we’re going through this tunnel in the gorse. See the path under your paws? Hundreds of ThunderClan cats have been this way over many generations. Watch out for the prickles!