For the living, two kinds of names exist
The names we're given
And the names we take.
Those that are given describe us as we once were
Those that are taken show what we hope we could be.
Moon of the Fading Darkness, 1st Sun
In the season of Leaf-Bare
Year 1, Clan-Time
"Hello, Lightning Strike," Holly Leaf mewed. "You seem worried. More than usual."
Lightning Strike shrugged his powerful shoulders. "That's one way of putting it, I guess."
Holly Leaf matched her pawsteps to his. "Well, maybe I can help you figure things out. I'm good at that."
"I don't think you can…" he began to argue, then sighed. "Oh, whatever. I'm sure the world won't end if I tell you."
Holly Leaf flicked her tail and listened.
"We're nearly at the end of our journey," the Prince said. "Drifting Snowflakes' friend—Chantame—says that, several hours ahead, there's a big waterfall with a path leading down a slope. Once you're past there, there's a small wood, and from there it's the flat barren lands. Then, our new home."
Holly Leaf didn't say anything, and merely dipped her head in acknowledgement.
"That's a good thing, yes. It's taken nearly a whole moon and many lives to get here, and I'm glad we've finally got through. But what's going to happen after that? A lot of cats have chosen mates from other Kingdoms. Like me." He looked over his shoulder to see Drifting Snowflakes talking with a group of Eastern cats. Though she didn't see him, he gave her an affectionate smile.
"I don't want to be apart from Drifting Snowflakes, but I can't leave my Kingdom, especially not with Thunder's Roar so sick. And I don't want to put Drifting Snowflakes in the position of choosing between me and her Kingdom. I'm not the only cat in that position. Everywhere, knights are talking about it."
Holly Leaf was about to speak, but Lightning Strike got there first.
"Who's going to lead us? The knights don't really follow us anymore, and I can understand that. How will we divide out the territory? I really want the moorland, but I know Broken Heart wants to live in the pine forest, whereas Hollow Tree's hinted to me a thousand times that he thinks we should get as far away from the Western Kingdom's lands as we can.
"Even if all that somehow works out—won't things just be like they were? With fighting and killing? In a few generations, our descendants won't remember this journey at all. So how will this home be any different from our last?" Lightning Strike shook his head.
"I can think of an answer to all that," Holly Leaf mewed quietly. Lightning Strike stared at her. "You can? How?"
Holly Leaf tipped her head up to the sky. "I've been thinking for a while now about why I, above all other cats, was sent here to guide you. Why not a cat of your own Kingdom? Anyway, I've thought, and I think I know now. You're not meant to be Kingdoms any more. You're meant to be Clans."
"Clans?" echoed the ginger tabby. "You've mentioned them before. Is that where you came from?"
"Yes. Sort of. Where I came from, there were four Clans. Actually, there were six, but one split from the rest of us long ago and the other wasn't…real, in the physical sense of the word. Anyway, four Clans. We had our own territories and leaders, just like you do. But we were also different. We were governed by a series of laws known as the warrior code."
"The warrior code," Lightning Strike said, tasting the words on his lips.
"Yes. First and foremost, be loyal to your Clan, and be prepared to defend it with your life. You can have friendships with other Clan cats, but nothing more than that. Secondly, don't hunt or trespass on another Clan's territory. Thirdly, elders and kits must be fed before warriors—"
"Elders?" interrupted Lightning Strike, not knowing the word.
"Elders are cats who have grown too old to be warriors—knights—or queens…maidens. They are respected by the Clan for their wisdom and they help pass on stories to the younger cats."
Lightning Strike thought this over. "Do elders hunt or fight?"
"No. I can see how this might be hard for you to understand, but it's considered an honour to care for these cats. It's like repayment for their lifetimes of service to the Clans."
Lightning Strike thought of Rain Cloud, of Eagle Wings, and of his own father. Yes, if he had a choice, he would prefer them to have spent their later days in quiet rest.
"Prey is only killed to be eaten. I know you do this already, but you also have to thank StarClan for its life. I'll explain StarClan in a moment—"
"No, wait," interrupted Lightning Strike. "Stop there. Let me gather all the other Kingdom cats. They should hear this." He drew to a halt, let out a powerful yowl, and all the Kingdom cats stopped walking and began to form a circle around him.
If cats could blush, Holly Leaf might have under the sharp eyes of all the cats watching her. She cleared her throat and briefly went over what she had just told Lightning Strike before picking up her thread of conversation again.
"Yes. Where was I? Rule number five. A kit must be at least six moons to be an apprentice. That's a mixture of a squire and a page."
"Six moons? That's young," remarked a cat. Lightning Strike looked over and recognized Fading Shadows, the Western tom who had fallen in love with an Eastern she-cat.
"Clan kits are used to a lot more prey than Kingdom kits," Holly Leaf explained. "They grow faster. Rule six—a newly appointed warrior must keep a silent vigil for one night after his ceremony. This is so that he can reflect on what his new position means to him.
"Seven: A cat cannot be made deputy without having mentored an apprentice first. A deputy is a leader's second-in-command. This rule was made to ensure that the deputy has already had experience in guiding other cats.
"Eight: The deputy will become Clan leader once the leader dies or retires."
"But what about the Princes?" mewed a duke.
"There are no royals in the Clan hierarchy. There is only one leader, and he or she chooses a deputy from the ranks of the Clan warriors. All warriors are equal to each other, though of course some are more respected than others. A queen serves her Clan in a different way, through raising kits. She is considered the equal of a warrior, and she may return to being a warrior when she chooses. Apprentices are lowest in Clan hierarchy, as they are only learning.
"Nine: After the death or retirement of the deputy, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh. This is to ensure that there is always a cat ready to take the leader's place."
"A lot of these rules sound like common sense," Hollow Tree said. Holly Leaf nodded to him. "They are, for the most part, but you'd be surprised how many cats don't follow them. Ten: At the full moon, all Clans meet in a gathering. During this gathering, there is a sacred truce—no fighting allowed. Eleven: Boundaries of the Clans must be checked and marked daily."
"We can't do that," Dark Night growled. "Our borders will be too large."
"In the Kingdoms, they were. But you'll undoubtedly have smaller territories as Clans. Easier to patrol. Twelve: no warrior may neglect a kit in pain or in danger, even if it's from a different Clan.
Thirteen: The word of a Clan leader is the warrior code.
Fourteen: Warriors do not need to kill each other to win their battles. We fight only to prove our strength and skill. You may only kill your opponent if they're evil, or if your own life is in danger." Holly Leaf paused, as if expecting an outcry, but many cats were nodding in agreement to the rule.
"Lastly—oh, never mind. I doubt you'll be needing that rule."
"Clans. Two Clans?" rumbled Dark Night. "That sounds lonely."
"It does," agreed Lightning Strike. "Which is why I have a proposal to make. I've been thinking, and wondering over why Mitternacht chose six cats in particular. Why not six Clans?"
Holly Leaf twitched her ears. "Six?"
"Why not indeed?" asked Rain Cloud. "Six Clans—it should keep our numbers and territory small and equal. A smaller number of knights—warriors—means that leaders will have to place more value on the lives of their cats."
"A Clan for each of us?" murmured Hollow Tree softly.
Lightning Strike nodded. "You've all proven yourselves to be worthy leaders. Rain Cloud, Broken Heart, Hollow Tree—I've seen how much the knights respect you and follow your orders." A general yowl of approval floated into the air.
"So, what would the names of our Clans be?" purred Drifting Snowflakes. "We can't exactly name them after directions—North-West Clan?"
Holly Leaf felt the conversation was getting slightly out of paw. "My Clans were named after their first leaders," she put in.
"Broken Heart Clan? North-West Clan sounds better," teased the tabby guardian.
"That's another thing," admitted the black she-cat. "Clan cats have different names to yours. Like my name—Hollyleaf. No pause between the words. Your name would be Brokenheart. You'd be Raincloud. You'd be Darknight, you'd be Hollowtree, you'd be Lightningstrike—" she said, gesturing to each cat in particular.
"What would I be? Driftingsnowflakes? Sounds weird," the silver Queen said.
"You would probably be called Snowdrift," replied Hollyleaf.
"The Clans…DarkClan, SnowClan, RainClan, HollowClan, BrokenClan…and ThunderClan?" Dark Night asked.
Hollyleaf actually flinched. "If you ask me, I think LightningClan sounds better," she mewed.
"Keeping with tradition and all."
Dark Night dipped his head. "So, no longer Kingdoms, but Clans," he murmured.
Hollyleaf hesitated, unsure of how to continue. She decided to just go for it.
"There's…another thing. Apart from the warrior code, the Clan cats all believe in StarClan. That's the tribe of our ancestors, who watch over us from the heavens. Every Clan has a medicine cat—what you would call an ameslari. These medicine cats heal the Clan and interpret omens and dreams from StarClan. They also provide advice to the leaders and serve as ambassadors between Clans."
"We don't have any ameslari," Drifting Snowflakes mewed. "And I'm not sure I want to believe in anything except the Snow Leopard, Mitternacht, and Felidae."
Hollyleaf nodded. "You don't have to give them up. They can co-exist with StarClan. What do you call your heavens? Svarga and Valta? Your ancestors already live there. If you have a medicine cat, they'll be given a voice."
She could tell they were still unconvinced, and decided not to press the subject. After all, the Tribe cats held different beliefs to her Clans, as did the wolves, owls, and deer. It would inspire them to be more peaceful if they believed in guardians of the warrior code, but she couldn't make those decisions for them.
After all, belief in StarClan was not a part of the warrior code.
Broken Heart stepped forwards. "All in favour of becoming Clans, and warriors?"
A general mew of approval rose up.
"Settled, then," mewed Hollowtree. "So—Lightningstrike, Clan leaders all, what do you believe we should do about the shadowbeast?"
Snowdrift turned her head to gaze at Fire Opal. "You know something about him, don't you?" she asked, quietly. "Can he be killed?"
Fire Opal breathed out slowly through her nostrils. "Yes. He can die just like the rest of us can. I just don't see how we can do that. He's too big for us to simply tear out his throat."
"If all of us attacked at once—" Darknight began.
"Then we would lose so many of our cats we might as well not left the Kingdoms at all," rasped Raincloud. "Think with your head, not your claws. How else can animals die?"
"Poison," suggested Hollowtree.
"He doesn't eat," pointed out Snowdrift.
"That means starvation and dehydration are out of the question, too," murmured Lightningstrike. "And he has no natural predators, or sicknesses. Well, then, how else do we die?"
It was Brokenheart who spoke next, softly. "Falling."
The Clan leaders slowly looked from one to another. "Chantame?" Darknight said, turning to the strange cat. "You said there was a waterfall ahead?"
"That's right, sir," agreed Chantame. "Not as tall as the one you've already passed, but quite a reasonable size nonetheless. Certainly high enough to kill."
"Even if the fall doesn't kill him, the rocks might," murmured Moonlight.
"How do we trick him into jumping off a waterfall?" queried Hollowtree.
Hollyleaf cleared her throat. "Once upon a time, my Clan was attacked by dogs. A dog is a smaller, stupider wolf. We thought of the same plan—forcing their pack leader off a cliff. To do it, we sent out a group of our fastest cats. The first got the dog's attention and ran towards a certain point, while the dogs were following. At the point, another cat darted out and took over, letting the first cat rest. This kept happening until the last cat dashed to the edge of the gorge and slipped aside at the last possible moment. The dogs fell off the edge."
"It worked?" Brokenheart asked.
Hollyleaf hesitated. "Well, no, but not because the plan failed. Another cat tried to stop them."
Lightningstrike shrugged. "We don't have a whole lot of options, do we? How do we find Cold Night?"
"That's easy," mewed Fire Opal calmly. "He'll come if I call for him."
The Clan cats turned to stare at her with questioning eyes. She met them until they all looked away.
Darknight flicked his tail to get the general attention again. "All right. The fastest cats…five should do it. Hollowtree, first. Then Shadowfade. Then Moonlight, Lightningstrike, and finally Snowdrift." He looked towards Chantame. "I'd like you to walk us over the territory around the waterfall while there's still light in the sky. We need to have this plan ready by nightfall."
"So soon?" replied Chantame.
"There's nothing to gain from waiting and everything to lose," agreed Raincloud. "The darkness will confuse the shadowbeast, so he won't realise that the cat he's chasing will be different." She sighed. "Snowdrift, you'll have the most dangerous task. You'll need to slip away at the exact second before the cliff. The darkness will work both for you and against you. The beast won't know the drop is there, but you'll need to remember where it is exactly. You won't get a second try."
"I know," replied Snowdrift tersely. Lightningstrike touched his muzzle to hers in the mildest of admonishments, and the beautiful tabby sighed. "Sorry."
"Tāḷme, Snowdrift," said Raincloud. "Your time will come in just a few hours. Give me a chance to worry for you."