Falconkit and Swankit, son and daughter of the noble Darkstar, are ready to become apprentices in the service of their Clan. But nothing is at it seems, and soon the two gorge Clans are faced with momentous choices and heart-stopping deceit. The two kits must find their own way through their lives amidst blood, lies, and confusion. But as secrets that were meant to stay so are revealed, one of the kits realizes that it has a destiny not even StarClan could have guessed.

SkyClan

Leader Darkstar – pure black she-cat with blue eyes; Swiftwind's mate

Deputy Tinyfern – small white she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice, Thymepaw

Medicine Cat Lightspirit – incredibly pale gray she-cat with amber eyes

Warriors (toms and she-cats without kits)

Swiftwind – dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Sparrowpelt – dark brown tabby tom

Cherrytail – tortoiseshell she-cat; Sharpclaw's mate

Bouncefoot – large ginger tom

Badgerclaw – black-and-white tom with amber eyes

Brownclaw – brown tabby tom

Apprentice, Elmpaw

Doveheart – tortoiseshell she-cat with brown eyes

Sunburst – flaming ginger tom with yellow eyes

Silverquest – silver tabby she-cat with bright blue eyes

Apprentices (kits more than six moons, in training)

Thymepaw – dark gray tom

Elmpaw – light gray tom

Queens (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Blueshadow – blue-gray she-cat, nursing Darkstar's kits Swankit (tawny-brown she-cat), and Falconkit (gray tabby tom with a brown dusting); Sagefrost's mate

Elders (former warriors and queens, now retired)

Patchfoot – grizzled black-and-white tom

Clovertail – light brown she-cat with white belly and legs

Petalnose – pale gray she-cat

Sharpclaw – dark ginger tom, former deputy; oldest SkyClan cat

Sagefrost – pale gray tom, retired early due to crushed hind legs

EarthClan

Leader Nettlestar – brown-and-white tom

Deputy Wolfclaw – gray tom with green eyes

Medicine Cat Stripedpelt – grayish-brown tabby tom

Apprentice, Smallpaw

Warriors (toms and she-cats without kits)

Greenear – silver she-cat with green eyes

Sootspots – brown tom with large black markings

Gingerpelt – splotched ginger-and-black she-cat

Ravencall – pure black tom; Jadetail's mate

Paleflower – pale ginger she-cat with amber eyes; Wolfclaw's mate

Apprentice, Hardpaw

Liverpelt – dark ginger tom

Dirtstep – muddy brown tom

Fishspring – silver she-cat with one black stripe; Nettlestar's mate

Apprentices (kits more than six moons, in training)

Smallpaw – long-furred black-and-gray she-cat

Hardpaw – large white tom, speckled black

Queens (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Jadetail – sassy gray tabby she-cat, incredible blue eyes, mother of Ravencall's kits Dewkit (blue-gray tabby tom) and Larkkit (gray she-cat with black masking on face)

Doveflight – silver tabby she-cat with amber eyes; mother of Stripedpelt's kit Lilykit (russet-and-white she-cat)

Elders (former warriors and queens, now retired)

Volefoot – brown tabby tom; former deputy

Birdwing – light brown she-cat, lost her mind after Sandstar died

Cats Outside Clans

Fable – tortoiseshell she-cat with white mask on face; loner

Magnus – ginger-and-white tom; rogue, Sharpclaw's son

Blackjack – black she-cat; rogue

Scat – brown-and-white tabby tom, green eyes; rogue

Scylla – long-furred gray she-cat with striped legs; Zed's mate

Zed – lightning-fast brown tom

Cotton – snowy white she-cat with blue eyes; partially blind kittypet

Indistinct shapes shifted, the night turning pelts and eyes to black. They were restless; the time had long passed when they were meant to meet.

"The ancient one is late," one voice rasped. The others said nothing.

In a burst of starlight, the cats were instantly illuminated. Stars sparkled in their fur. Any mortal cat that looked upon them would have been dazzled into awestruck silence, their nostrils burned by the scents of fire and ice.

An ancient cat, before the times of the Clans, stepped forward. The starlight barely glinted in his fur, and his eyes seemed dimmed. He had a detached air, as though realizing that, after seeing so many seasons, little mattered anymore.

"A new dawn is rising," he rasped. The cats around him listened, their ears pricked and their eyes gleaming. They were more interested then he in the fates of the Clans they had left such a short time ago, when compared to the ancient one. "Nothing will be as before, yet earth and sky may meet the challenge – and yet survive."

"In a blaze of glory, one bird will rise on high and make fire to its will."

A hush followed the ancient one's pronouncement. "What does it mean?" a gray-and-white tom asked, standing up. "Even we do not understand it. How are our Clans meant to?"

"It is for you to interpret, Cloudstar," the old cat murmured. "You have grown lazy during my travels across other skies. You have saved SkyClan once in your selection of Darkstar – can you do so again? I will watch anxiously to see. But know that not only do the cats in the gorge rely on the fulfillment of this prophecy, but those who make their homes far from here do as well."

Mist filled the clearing, and the ancient one disappeared. "What shall we do?" a hushed voice asked. A dainty pale gray she-cat stood beside a darker gray tom. "Trouble will come to my line once more; that much seems clear."

"We shall do as we always have," Cloudstar sighed. "We shall inform the medicine cats."

A pure black cat yowled softly from his place beside a starlit pool. "Come," he whispered, leaning intently towards the water.

The star-cats went to him and gazed into the water. In a snowbound forest, a she-cat strained, the soundless yowl echoing throughout the clearing. In a flash of lightning, it was gone.

"They have come," the black tom whispered.