Lightningtail walked, trembling, towards the Moonpool. What will it be like? Will I see my parents? Will Firefeather, my medicine cat, see the ceremony? His mind was a whirlwind of questions. Firefeather seemed to sense his thoughts racing, and told him to calm down and that she'd done this before.
Firefeather instructed him to lie down beside the Moonpool and lap a bit of the water. Lightningtail laid down where hinge was, carefully tucking his tail around him, and lapped at the water. As he did, he felt lots of emotions: excitement, joy, anger, love, all coursing through him at once, but all these emotions, and more, were overwhelmed by the grief that he felt for Silverstar, the last leader.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he was standing in a grassy field with lots of tiny streams that made him think of home. Then he saw 9 cats with starry pelts standing in a circle around him, with Firefeather and many others farther back.
He gasped when he saw the cat standing in front of him, as Silverstar was standing there, but not as he had last saw her, wounded and bleeding. There she was, the leader he grieved for, perfectly healed and looking well-fed, even though in the Clans it was leaf-bare.
She stepped towards him carefully, and said to him, her voice barely more than a whisper, "With this life, I give you clear judgement of character and justice. Use it well to treat all cats equally, no matter where they come from or which ancestors they believe in." As she touched her nose to his, Lightningtail felt a slight tingle run through him, which built up to a fierce fire burning inside him to treat all cats fairly, no matter their background.
She stepped back, and another cat took her place. He recognized this cat as Mintpad, his mother. Quietly, she said to him, "You have done well, my son. I knew that one day, you would become leader." Then she raised her voice, " With this life, I give you a mother's love for her kits. This is the strongest bond within the Clans. Never underestimate a mother's fierceness if her little ones are in danger." When she touched his nose with hers, he immediately felt inside that he would defend the youngest members of the Clan or die trying, no matter how dangerous.
Then she stepped back, and was lost amongst the other StarClan cats. Two cats stepped in to take his mother's place, and he wouldn't have noticed them if one of them hadn't squeaked, "Lightningkit! You're all grown up now!" He looked down and saw his two dead littermates, Thistlekit and Oakkit. Thistlekit slapped his tail over top of Oakkit's mouth, "Be quiet! We're giving him a life, now a conversation!" Oakkit nodded, and Thistlekit removed his tail. "With this life, we give you truth and trust," his two littermates said. "Always tell the truth, no matter how bad it seems," Oakkit mewed, and Thistlekit added, "And trust your clanmates defend the clan against danger." He felt lighter than ever before, as though by telling the full truth to his clanmates and trusting them to do their part lifted a great weight off his shoulders.
A tom as dark as night stepped to where the kits had been, lightly pushing them towards their mother. "Oh, kits. I remember when you were one. I joined LeafClan just to watch you grow up. Now look at where we are." Lightningtail gasped, "Darkness! I never expected to see you here!" "With this life, I give you loyalty and pride. I was as loyal to your clan as I was proud of my rogue origins, and now I wish to pass that on to you." They touched noses, and Lightningtail felt water calm and still at first, becoming rough and forceful, and making him have to dig his claws into the ground harder to stay standing and not swept away.
Then, another kit stepped forward. "Tinykit! Oh, I've missed you so much, my kit," Lightningtail meowed "With this life, I give you love. You must love your clan to lead it. Love your clan and your kits, but most of all, love Leaftail. She will always be there to support you, no matter what happens," Tinykit mewed, then receded. Lightningtail felt a sense of peace spread through him, starting at his heart. He thought about his Clan, Snowpaw, Tansypaw, and Leaftail and how much he loved each of them.
A new cat that Lightningtail didn't know stepped forward lightly. "I am Leafstar, the founder of LeafClan, and I am a great aunt of Leaftail. I faced a lot of betrayal by the cats in my Clan when I was leader, but I always let them try to do what is right the second time," the cat spoke, "So with this life, I give you forgiveness and offering second chances. Use it well to let your clanmates try again and learn from their mistakes." "It's been an honor to meet you," Lightningtail meowed back softly, as she touched her nose to his. He felt like a leaf that fell from a tree and settled, but then the wind picked it back up and off the ground, giving it a second chance to choose where it landed.
Another cat that Lightningtail had never seen before stepped forward, "I am Bramble, a loner who acted as a messenger to bring your clans the Warrior Code. With this life, I give you the gift of the Warrior Code. Use it wisely to keep your clan safe and within the rules, for what is a clan without the Warrior Code?" the loner said, touching his nose to Lightningtail's. He felt strong and powerful, as though the Warrior Code was his life essence and, as long as cats followed it, he could live forever.
The next cat that stepped forward was an apprentice that Lightningtail knew all too well. "Blazepaw!" he exclaimed, "The clan hasn't been the same without you." "Yes, Lightningtail, former mentor. With this life, I give you mentoring. As leader, you are mentor to the whole clan, so always respect and reinforce the relationship between mentor and apprentice." Blazepaw lifted her head so that they could touch noses, and Lightningtail felt a warmth spreading through him that he'd felt only once before, when Blazepaw became his apprentice.
When he looked back, Blazepaw was gone, to be replaced by a cat named Ferntail who had been killed on the Thunderpath only one moon after she became a warrior. "Ferntail! It's so great to see you!" Lightningtail meowed, "We've all missed you." "I've missed you too, Lightningtail. With this life, I give you tireless energy, so that you can do the most for your clan without feeling exhausted," said the youthful she-cat. As Ferntail touched noses with him, Lightningtail felt as if he could run forever without ever stopping.
Then she stepped back, and Silverstar stepped forward once again, "I hail you by your new name, Lightningstar. Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of LeafClan. Defend it well; care for young and old; honor your ancestors and the traditions of the warrior code; live each life with pride and dignity."
Cheers of, "Lightningstar! Lightningstar! Lightningstar!" erupted from the clearing as the newly named Lightningstar's vision faded to black. When he opened his eyes again, he was in front of the Moonpool beside Firefeather. "Are you ready to go back to our clan?" Lightningstar asked Firefeather. With a faint smile, she meowed back, "Lead on, Lightningstar."