PEPPER'S GLARING
Leader: Pepper – bony shorthair ebony tom with rheumy orange eyes. Father of Creek and Mist.
Successor: Flora – shorthair black queen with white tuxedo markings, a lithe build, and yellow eyes. Pepper's sister.
Hunters
Pine – brown mackerel tabby tom with white paws. Father of Bracken and Rosemary.
Birdie – blue molly with white cap and saddle markings and orange eyes. Flora's daughter.
Creek – low-contrast blue mackerel tabby tom with broad shoulders and hooded blue eyes. Celeste's mate.
Mist – sturdy blue shorthair molly with small white splotches on her cheeks and blue eyes
Celeste – flame point queen with blue eyes. Mother of Apple, Burdock, Daffodil, and Juniper.
Luna – pretty molly with a peculiar blue-black calico coat and round gooseberry green eyes
Bracken – brawny pale cinnamon mackerel tabby tom with massive white paws, and yellow eyes
Rosemary – longhair brown tabby molly with a white muzzle and hazel eyes. Bracken's sister.
Apple – longhair white molly with a distinctive red tabby tail vaguely marbled with chocolate
Burdock – shorthair red mackerel tabby tom with broad shoulders and hazel eyes
Daffodil – hulking cream tabby tom with a scraggly shock of white whiskers and round orange eyes
Juniper – petite molly with dilute tortoiseshell fur (mostly pale blue with a few faint cream patches)
DUSK'S GLARING
Leader: Dusk – wiry lilac queen with glassy golden eyes and short, lustrous fur. Mother of Holly and Briar.
Grebe – brown tabby tom with a stumpy tail, a white muzzle, and hazel eyes
Dust – brown tabby tom with long and soft fur, broad shoulders and orange eyes. Grebe's brother.
Snowflake – scrawny white tom with downy fur, disproportionately large ears, and copper eyes
Evening – substantial dark orange tabby tom with a white muzzle, white forepaws, and copper eyes
Rush – brown tabby tom with an unctuous shorthair coat and copper eyes
Marzipan – cream tabby molly with high-grade white spotting
Champagne – plump cream tabby molly with a white muzzle and tail tip. Evening's mate.
Dawn – shorthair dark red classic tabby molly with white mask and mantle markings and yellow eyes
Rabbit – handsome black tabby tom with a white muzzle and locket, a white tail tip, and hazel eyes
Brindle – small torbie molly with a white muzzle, white paws, and orange eyes
Holly – semi-longhair chocolate molly with long legs and hooded copper eyes
Briar – enormous chocolate tom with short, lustrous fur and orange eyes
STORM'S GLARING
Leader
Storm – molly with a sturdy build, long blue fur, and emerald eyes
Warriors
Spook – meagre black tom with hooded yellow eyes
Noel – petite white molly with a slender frame and round orange eyes
Skunk – small black tom with a peculiar white dorsal stripe and emerald eyes
Joseph – longhair blue lynx point tom with a cobby build and deep blue eyes. Himalayan.
Karen – skinny orange mackerel tabby queen with hazel eyes
Bluebell – longhair blue queen with white mitts and gooseberry green eyes. Icicle and Cobalt's mother.
Samson – burly brown mackerel tabby tom with orange eyes and a plumy tail
Frances – handsome tom with wavy brown tabby fur and white paws. Former housecat.
Honey – orange tabby molly with white underparts and round orange eyes. Daisy's sister.
Seth – shorthair orange tabby tom with broad shoulders and yellow eyes
Leo – stout cream classic tabby tom with hazel eyes. Seth's brother.
Buckthorn – wiry black molly with a distinctive wedge-shaped head and hooded orange eyes
Icicle – longhair white molly with round green eyes
Sykes – large brown mackerel tabby tom with tufted ears and hooded hazel eyes. Buckthorn's mate.
Phoebe – shorthair brown mackerel tabby molly with hooded hazel eyes. Sister of Harley and Sykes.
Queens
Daisy – yellow tabby queen with white van markings, a pink nose, and pale yellow eyes
(Mother of Samson's kit: Pollen – a mostly yellow torbie molly with a white muzzle)
Towhee – sturdy calico queen with a "split face" and gooseberry green eyes
(Mother of Joseph's kits: Weevil – a semi-cobby brown tabby tom with white paws, Turtle – a semi-cobby tortoiseshell molly with some white, and Beaver – a semi-cobby black tom with a thick coat)
MYRRH'S CLOWDER
Myrrh – longhair mostly orange torbie molly with torn ears, a scarred body, and hooded orange eyes. Cherry's sister.
Speckles – fawn spotted tabby queen with rheumy hazel eyes and a muzzle silvering with great age
Cherry – queen with a noticeably brindled chocolate tortoiseshell pelt, a torn ear, a white chest, and hooded orange eyes
Birch – muscular blue tabby tom with broad shoulders and round orange eyes. Cherry's current mate.
Gray – blue tabby molly with white harlequin spotting, widely spaced hazel eyes, and a strikingly pink nose
David – red mackerel tabby tom with a plumy tail and orange eyes. Son from Cherry's first litter.
Acorn – scrawny cinnamon tom with orange eyes. Specklefur's grandson.
Bush – scrawny fawn tom with golden eyes. Specklefur's grandson.
Holly – longhair black molly with a scratched muzzle, and orange eyes. Daughter from Cherry's second litter.
Thorn – skinny longhair brown tabby tom with a white flash on his chest and yellow eyes. Son from Cherry's second litter.
Deer – skinny shorthair black and white tabby tom with orange eyes. Son from Cherry's second litter.
DARK'S GLARING
Leader: Dark – enormous yet docile black tom with a visibly gaunt frame, a muzzle flecked with white furs, frazzled white whiskers, a long tail, and rheumy yellow eyes
White – white tom with dishevelled fur, scarred broad shoulders, and orange eyes
Marigold – orange classic tabby tom with yellow eyes
Storm – leggy black molly with a white diamond on her chest and hooded orange eyes
Elm – lanky blue tabby tom with a white muzzle, white whiskers, and hazel eyes
Sparrow – small shorthair torbie queen with a light frame, white paws and underparts, a thick tail with a blunted tip, large ears, and hooded yellow eyes. Mother of Owl and Teal. Elm's mate.
Twig – chocolate molly with a ruddy undercoat, a wedge-shaped head, and a snub muzzle
Wren – chocolate tabby molly with white mask and mantle markings
Vole – chocolate tom with a wedge-shaped head, a slightly snub muzzle, and copper eyes
Mint – tom with blue fur, a distinctive wedge-shaped head, and gooseberry green eyes
Spirit – shorthair chocolate silver shaded tortoiseshell molly with foreign features and golden eyes
Snow – lovely white molly with a small frame, a downy coat, and orange eyes. White's kit.
Owl – enormous brown tabby and white tom with hooded yellow eyes
Teal – dilute torbie molly with a white muzzle, white paws and whiskers and green eyes
Rain – blue spotted tabby molly with white mask and mantle markings and blue eyes
Ash – longhair blue mackerel tabby molly with a white muzzle and chest
HAIL'S CLOWDER
Hail – blue and white spotted tabby tom with yellow eyes. Frog and Minnow's brother.
Frog – brown spotted tabby tom with a white chest and copper eyes
Duck – brown tabby tom with protruding teeth and yellow eyes. Minnow's mate.
Fern – brown mackerel tabby molly with long fur and yellow eyes. Duck's sister.
Minnow – blue and white spotted tabby queen with yellow eyes
(Mother of Duck's kits: Heron – a blue and white molly, and Beetle – a dark brown tabby tom)
NETTLE'S CLOWDER
Nettle – longhair blue tabby molly with hazel eyes. Sister of Indigo and Cinder.
Cinder – molly with short, glossy blue fur and orange eyes
Indigo – blue molly with a white chest, white forepaws, and emerald eyes
INK'S CLOWDER
Ink – queen with fur as dark as an inkblot, long limbs, ears with a subtly flared base, and hooded gooseberry green eyes
Tiger – stocky tom with tufty, snarled brown tabby fur, bow-legged forelegs, a triangular nick on the outer edge of his right ear, and hazel eyes. Bat's mate.
Dash – skinny blue tabby tom with a white dash on his chest and hazel eyes. Tiger's brother.
Leaf – low-contrast cinnamon tabby molly with white mask and mantle markings and hazel eyes
Bat – black queen with thick fur, torn ears with a subtly flared base, and emerald eyes
(Expecting Tiger's kits)
UNAFFLIATED
Twister – dark blue tabby tom with a white muzzle and chest, southern forest dweller
Redbud – longhair low-contrast red mackerel tabby molly with a white chest and amber eyes, meadow dweller
Pine – blue mackerel tabby tom with broad shoulders and copper eyes, southern forest dweller
Sycamore – tall grey-brown tabby and white molly with hazel eyes, southern forest dweller
Blizzard – longhair white tom, southern forest dweller
Harley – large longhair chocolate tom with hooded orange eyes, northern forest dweller
Murphy – large yellow mackerel tabby tom with long fur and a white dash on his chest, wanderer
Cobalt – longhair blue tom with white paws and blue eyes, wanderer
EMBERCLAN (ALL DECEASED)
Nasir – substantial longhair brown mackerel tabby tom with yellow eyes. EmberClan's first shaman.
Sunlight (Sun) – beautiful shorthair cream mackerel tabby queen with white forepaws, a white chest, and flammeous eyes. Created StarClan. Nasir's mate. Reincarnated as Redbud.
Emberstar – tortoiseshell molly with red mackerel tabby patches, a white chest, white forepaws, and orange eyes. Protected Clan in dark time; Clan now named for her.
Lionfang – small ginger and white mackerel tabby tom with striking blue eyes. Former EmberClan warrior.
Rainstar – blue and white spotted tabby queen with blue eyes and a strikingly pink nose. EmberClan's final shaman.
Gingerwhisker – orange tom with white mask and mantle markings, long fur, and pale blue eyes
A/N: A molly is a female cat that has not borne kits, whereas a queen is a female cat that has borne kits (whether they are now dead or alive).
PROLOGUE
Two cats, pelts bristling and ears flat, scrambled abreast of one another across a large colony of hillside blueberry plants. Fetid, sulphurous breath billowed against their tail tips and leathered paw pads. Ferocious snarls emanated from their rear, punctuating wheezes from both fleeing cats. One cat, a slender cream mackerel tabby with long legs, pulled ahead as her companion found one of his massive forepaws snared in a bramble tendril. No more than three long strides later did she realize what occurred and slued about. Translucent beings blackened like soot converged on her companion. Paws armed with menacing, hooked claws erupted from bodies seemingly crafted of smoke. Four pounced on the cream tabby's companion, tearing past his dense brown tabby pelt into soft flesh.
"Get away from him!" yowled the cream tabby. Before the ferric scent of his spilled blood entered her nostrils, she tackled one being and clamped down her jaws below the giant foreign-shaped feline head. A sulphur yellow liquid oozed into her mouth, an unpleasant flavour.
Another, meanwhile, diverted its attention and slashed her narrow flanks. Releasing her initial victim, the cream tabby lashed out with her back legs, scoring her hindclaws down that being's seven eyes. It howled and blundered into the forest. The cream tabby turned and saw her companion, who presently delivered a sharp blow between his opponent's ears. As he too scratched the being's eyes, the cream tabby bounded over to assist him.
Upon seeing her approach, the dark being retracted its legs into its amorphous body. Moments elapsed as seven hooded crimson eyes, glowing like embers within a dying fire, met theirs with constricted white-hot pupils. Both cats, wanting this encounter to conclude, decided on a final display of aggression. Twisting back their ears and flattening their tails, the cream tabby and the brown tabby released identical hisses. Then, the being dissipated.
Both cats relaxed their posture, then surveyed their surroundings. "They've all gone," reported the brown tabby.
"Right. Then the next thing to do is check wounds. How badly did they get you?" inquired the cream tabby as she approached her companion, nostrils flaring minutely. "I thought I might've smelled blood earlier." She gasped when she noticed a gash along his left side.
"I'm fine." Nudging his companion away, the brown tabby sighed.
"No, you're not," the cream tabby retorted drily. "We've got to clean your wound before it gets infected, so start licking it while I listen for water nearby. We've got to be near that creek by now." Silence descended upon the pair, save for the tentative lapping of the tom's tongue against his torn flesh. All birdsong had ceased, but the gurgle of the shallow creek remained constant. "There!" she exclaimed with her quivering tail held aloft.
"Lead on," grunted the brown tabby as he paused in washing. He then hobbled forward a single pace, drawing abreast of her.
Noticing her companion's physical impairment, the cream tabby suggested, "Lean your right side against my left, Nasir."
Nasir again hobbled forward. As he did so, the cream tabby pressed against his uninjured flank. "There we go." They plodded on for two stunted strides until they stood before a fracture in the earth. Blocks of white quartzite and an assortment of weeds flanked a spring where clear water jetted from underground to form an oblong, shallow pool. Its course then meandered over the leaf mulch and widened into a creek downstream. "Get into the water," commanded the cream tabby.
Nasir waded into the spring and watched the blood fall away from his torn flank. "It's cool," he reported. Summer nights like this one offered some relief from the oppressive daytime heat but often paled in comparison to nearby water sources. Rather than comment or respond, his companion stood transfixed by the cloudy heavens. "Sun?"
"Cool as the night and bright as the moon," Sun murmured. Then, she faced Nasir. Startled by her sudden pivot, Nasir arched his back. Like twin flames, her round orange eyes reflected some invisible light. "Nasir," here, the pitch of her voice soared, "what if there could be good spirits too? Ones that protect us against the evil spirits?" Speechless, Nasir listened to the words volleying from her mouth. "Spirits below the earth, hear me! From this moment forth, you will torment living cats no longer!" Wind dramatically lashed tree branches; thunder pealed overhead as if in an effort to drown out her protest. "When all respectable cats die, they will become stars that protect the living. From this moment forth, you must fight against them instead!"
Once she uttered the final word, the clouds cleared and the night became much brighter than before. Sun and Nasir raised their gazes to the inky sky, stippled with innumerable bright stars. They remained there for a mere moment before plummeting toward Nasir and Sun. As they neared, Sun realized each star appeared as an individual cat. Stars delineated each form; a large, radiant white star replaced each pupil. Among the spirits were her deceased sister, Mulberry, and Nasir's deceased brother, Kabir.
"We are StarClan, your ancestors. Unite and follow in our ways." Collectively, the spirits spoke in susurrated tones as they encircled Nasir and Sun, both of whom gaped at the sight. The mere presence of StarClan chilled the air until Sun and Nasir found their breaths billowing before them in a white cloud.
Sun witnessed the cloud pulsate and transmit peculiar images in rapid succession. What she saw was the progression of time from the next moment until seven cats united to assault deadly spirits. All of this vision occurred in about a moment. When Sun returned to reality, the star-stippled spirits retreated to their original positions. Was all she foresaw destined to occur? Some events she witnessed troubled her; two scenes stubbornly remained in her memory.
One began with hisses and anguished cries that resounded in her pricked ears. Many traumas, she knew, had occurred to this Clan. Its collapse was imminent; generations of disunity would follow. "EmberClan, stay with me!" An image of a blue spotted tabby and white molly scurrying after retreating Clanmates persisted in her mind. Before the remainder of the vision unfolded, Sun had wondered whether all their efforts had been for naught.
The second began with Sun amongst stars. "It is your destiny to tell them about StarClan." Garbled though it was, Sun realized Nasir spoke to her. "You must return." Then, she plummeted downward as the StarClan cats had done mere moments ago, returning to earth. Rather than appear translucent, however, her red paws appeared as real as her white paws appeared now…