A/N- This was an idea i had after finishing Outcast! Yay! Anyway, it suddenly occured to me that it said something, somwhere, in one of the Power of Three books, that there had been more tribes than just the Tribe of Rushing Water and the ones that had lived on the Moors with cats like Fallen Leaves. So anyway, here's my attempt to provode you with a story about what the other tribe is up to now. Set about the same time as Power of Three.
Disclaimer- I don't own Warriors!
THE TRIBE OF THE SUNLIT MOUNTAIN
HEALER- Reader of the Sacred Rocks (Rockreader) - old grey tabby tom with large white paws
CAVE GUARDS-
Star Shine on Glittering Pool (Star) – large thin furred silvery she-cat with a white belly and legs
Dark Stripe of Dying Moon (Stripe) – muscular ginger tom with black stripes
Sand That Lies By Bank of River (Sand) – muscular dusty-brown she-cat, sister of Stripe
Flame That Burns in Heat of Sun (Flame) – large ginger tabby tom
Bramble Bush That Grows by Pond (Bramble) – creamy-brown tabby tom with dark brown stripes, brother of Flame
Pink Stripe of Sky in Water (Pink) – broad white she-cat with ginger stripes
PREY HUNTERS-
Silver Shine of Ice on Lake (Silver) – thin silvery tabby tom with white paws and ice-blue eyes
Orange Glow of Oncoming Night (Orange) – ginger tabby she-cat with white stripes, white paws and amber eyes
Wild Roar of Raging Wind (Wild) – dark brown tom with leopard-like markings
Stream of Water at Dawn (Stream) – slender golden brown tabby she-cat with white paws
Fade With Coming of Day (Fade) – thin grey tom with blue eyes and darker stripes, brother of Silver
Leaves on Long Bush (Leaves) – broad but agile dark brown she-cat with dainty paws and long fur
Sun That Warms Earth (Sun) – pale ginger tabby she-cat
TO-BES-
Black Sky After Dusk (Black) – black tom with green eyes- cave guard
Grass That is Dry and Brown (Grass) – slender brown tabby she-cat- prey hunter
Cave That Shelters From Storm (Cave) – grey tabby tom- cave guard
Mole Scrabble Under Ground (Mole) – black tom with amber eyes, brother of Black- prey hunter
Shimmer of Snow on Earth (Shimmer) – slender white tom with brown tufts on ears, missing end of tail- prey hunter
Mist Around Lake in Cold-Time (Mist) – small but muscular silvery she-cat with dainty white paws- cave guard
QUEENS-
Light From Brightest Star (Light) – white she-cat with bright blue eyes, has 3 older kits, all to be prey hunters- Flower That Grows By Stream, Petal of Purple Flower, Strike of Swiftest Eagle
Mud From Depths of Lake (Mud) – broad white she-cat with brown paws, has 2 young kits, all to be cave guards- Shaft of Sunlight in Dark Shadow, Shade of Rock on Ground
Snow Fall on Bright Day (Snow) – muscular white she-cat, sister of Light, kits not yet been born
ELDERS-
Hawk Circling Overhead (Hawk) – large old grey tom with pale spotted markings, former cave guard
Mouse Caught in Snowstorm (Mouse) – large white she-cat with black claws, formerly a cave guard
Shadow of Flying Bird (Shadow) – thin black tom with white belly, brother of Light and Snow, retired early due to sever injury to back legs, former prey hunter
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Prologue-
It was the cold-time, but Claw of Diving Eagle did not feel the cold. He was making his way to the Cave of Grave Choices, to spend a night there and become a prey hunter. By dawn, he would no longer be a to-be. His mother, Leaves on Long Bush, had been forced to leave him and his sister, Sun That Warms Earth, at the edge of the Tribe Plateau, across the stream, whilst they made the journey to the cave.
Claw was familiar with the territory he was currently in. It was the Prey Hunting Lands, an area he had frequently visited to train in, and a place he would visit daily in the future, to hunt for his tribe.
A few moments later, Claw and his sister reached the bottom of the sloped lands, and reached the Barren Lands. The Barren Lands was a place that a tribe cat would only ever visit once, to travel to the Cave of Grave Choices for their ceremony. The area was devoid of all prey and vegetation, with not a single place growing amongst the sandy soil. The sand was cold during this time of the year, and it chilled Claw's paws just to walk on it.
Tentatively, Claw and Sun made their way across the Barren Lands. They stopped a long way across, as soon as they saw the cave.
If the territory the Tribe of the Sunlit Mountain occupied could by seen from a bird's perspective, one might ask that wouldn't it be quicker to go the other way, down past the lake, down the steep gorge, instead of heading in a loop around the whole mountain? The answer is this: that the gorge is far too steep for any cat to make it down without falling, and far too deep for any falling cat to survive the drop.
In fact, living near it was perilous in the first place, and many a wondering to-be or a prey hunter leaping after a flying bird had fallen to their deaths in the part of it that looped around the whole northern side of the mountain. That is why the cats had been forced to travel west, to the Prey Hunting Lands, then south down the slope, and finally, east across the Barren Lands to reach their goal.
Claw and Sun nervously entered the Cave of Grave Choices, and saw before them a vast cavernous space, only a few foxlengths wide, but many, many foxlengths high.
"It's as high as the eagle flies!" exclaimed Sun.
Claw hushed his sister and stepped forwards into the cavern. He padded forwards until he saw the dark shaped that had previously loomed before him, a massive jet-black stone, about three foxlengths high and one tail-length wide.
Claw's sister padded up to his side and as if guided by some unknown force or instinct, she touched her nose to the stone and lay down. Claw copied her and prepared to meet his ancestors.
Claw opened his eyes to find himself in the Cave of Moonly Gathering, and turned to see his sister sitting next to him. He looked ahead and saw row upon row of starry cats. He gave a small gasp and sat up straighter.
A cat stepped forwards towards them. He was a small grey tom with darker stripes and bright green eyes. Claw knew he was the father of Fade With Coming of Day and Silver Shine of Ice on Lake, but he did not know his name.
"I am Glow of Setting Sun on Water. I am here to test your skills and grant you the position of prey hunters of the Tribe of the Sunlit Mountain."
Claw's excitement grew. He was almost a prey hunter!
Beside him, Sun sat calm and attentively, observing the dead cat closely.
"Your skills in hunting have already been proved to the Tribe of Endless Hunting, but your minds have not. A cat must be both skilled in their duties, but they must have a sharp mind as well as sharp claws."
Claw hissed in annoyance. This wasn't what he'd been expecting! He was going to be a prey hunter, not the Tribe's Healer!
"You will therefore be each asked a question. Get it right, and you shall be prey hunters. But get it wrong, and you shall never return from this cave."
A shiver ran down the spine of both the to-bes.
"Sun That Warms Earth, you shall go first."
Sun looked patient and observing, but Claw could see in his sister's eyes that she was afraid.
"I may be in the air, or on the ground. Wherever I am, then sleep hangs around. What am I?"
Sun looked puzzled for a moment, but then purred and answered,
"You're a nest. Birds nest in trees or high on the mountains, but in the sky, and everything sleeps in a nest."
Glow nodded curtly, then moved on to Claw.
"And now it is your turn, Claw of Diving Eagle. I am many, but I am one. Though death may take me, I will never truly die. What am I?"
Claw saw Sun's eyes widen in alarm at such a difficult question, but she kept her mouth shut. Claw looked puzzled for a moment, but then his eyes turned to fear as he realised he couldn't work it out. He had never been good at using his head, and had relied on his skills in hunting to earn respect and the chance to be here. And now he was going to die in a cave because of it!
A few moments later, he meowed quietly,
"I don't know the answer."
Glow nodded gravely and then replied,
"I am afraid you can never be a prey hunter, Claw. You do not have the skills the Tribe of Endless Hunting requires you to for being one. I'm afraid you can never leave the cave. You have failed."
Claws eyes widened as Glow unsheathed his claws and plunged straight at him. The to-be was only that, a to-be, and as such had not been trained to fight. He was easily overthrown and Glow sank his jaws into the living cat's throat. Sun was still screaming as her brother fell to the starry cave floor, dead.
In the Cave of Grave Choices, blood began to pour from the sleeping Claw's body, the wounds appearing as if from nowhere. It gave a small convulsion and then died, as the spirit of Claw died in the Tribe of Endless Hunting's world as well.
A few moments after that, Sun awoke from her sleep and shot bolt upright, then raced over to examine her brother. Upon finding him dead, she began to wail loudly, but by dawn, she had returned back to her tribe, leaving her brother's body buried in a corner of the cave, never to leave.