Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, but I do own the characters created for this story. Please don't steal any of them.
Chapter 25
That night, Rowanwind said good-bye to Thunderstripe, Gingerheart, and Stormypelt near the fresh-kill pile.
"I wish I could go with you," Stormypelt whispered as she brushed against him.
"This is just one of those things I have to do alone," Rowanwind told her. "I'll be okay, don't worry."
"Hurry back," Stormypelt said, giving his ear a quick lick.
"I'll try," Rowanwind replied. He waved his tail at his friends and mate in a last good-bye before trotting over to the tunnel entrance, where Frostflower was waiting for him.
"Ready, Rowanwind?" Frostflower asked.
Rowanwind nodded. "Of course."
They slipped out into the forest. Side by side, they padded away from their territory and up to where the Moonpool was tucked away in the forest. Rowanwind felt himself get more nervous as they drew closer and closer to the Moonpool.
"It's okay to be nervous, Rowanwind," Frostflower told him. "You aren't the first cat to be given nine lives by StarClan here."
"I know," Rowanwind replied. "It's just...when I receive my new name, so many new responsibilities are going to come with it. I'm not sure if I will be ready to handle it."
"Believe me, you are ready," Frostflower meowed. "Few cats as young as you get to be leaders, Rowanwind. You are certainly one of a kind."
They fell silent as the spiraling trail leading down to the Moonpool appeared. With Frostflower in the lead, they walked down the trail. Rowanwind could immediately feel the eyes of StarClan watching him. Unseen spirits brushed against him from all sides.
Together, Rowanwind and Frostflower sat beside the glowing water of the Moonpool. The moon was reflected on its surface, shining in all its glory.
"It's time, Rowanwind," Frostflower whispered.
With a deep breath, Rowanwind went and lapped at the cool water of the Moonpool. A chill spread throughout his entire body. He took a few paces back from the edge of the water, yawned, and curled up with his tail over his nose. As he drifted off to sleep, he waited for StarClan to speak to him...
For a moment, everything was cold, bone-chilling darkness. Rowanwind told himself that it would eventually go away, but after some time he began to panic. With a sudden pang deep inside him, his eyes flared open, revealing where he was.
Trees, with their leaves moving in the wind, circled a clearing of grass. The last time he had seen this clearing, it had been covered in blood. Now, warm sunlight beamed down from high above. His orange pelt was warmed by the sun's rays as they caressed him. He was on the island where the Clans came each full moon for their Gatherings.
There was a shimmer of light above him. He looked upward to see what appeared to be stars falling down out of the sky all around the clearing. As the shining dots of light touched the ground, the spirits of cats appeared. Rowanwind realized that they were cats from many moons before he'd been born. These cats were his ancestors from StarClan.
"Greetings, Rowanwind," a voice said. It sounded like the voices of all his lost loved ones, all speaking at once. "Are you ready to receive your nine lives?"
Rowanwind sat back on his haunches. "Yes. I'm ready."
A tom with glowing green eyes and a pelt of fire stepped forward. It wasn't difficult for Rowanwind to recognize Firestar.
"Congratulations, Rowanwind," Firestar whispered. "You've made it so far."
"Thank you, Firestar," Rowanwind replied.
The ginger tom turned and padded away.
A new tom came forward. Rowanwind recognized Goldenstar, his first leader. His amber eyes were full of pride.
"Hello, Goldenstar!" Rowanwind meowed.
"With this life, I give you courage," Goldenstar said. "Use it so that you can do whatever necessary to protect your Clan."
A sudden, searing pain sped through Rowanwind from nose to tail-tip. The pain was nearly unbearable. He squeezed his eyes shut, suddenly seeing blood splattering through the air. The faint sounds of battle cries and dying screams rang in his ears. As the pain subsided, his skin felt like it had been burned by a forest fire.
Was that how it felt to receive a life from StarClan? Was he going to have to bear that pain eight more times?
Goldenstar turned and walked away.
Another familiar cat walked up. It was Ashfang, his mentor, who he had lost during a battle against DarkClan. She was the reason Clawstar had made him deputy.
"Ashfang," Rowanwind whispered.
"With this life, I give you fellowship," Ashfang meowed. "Use it well to make friends that you will need."
A warmth spread through Rowanwind's body. The warmth pooled in his chest, growing deeper and warmer with each passing moment. He could hear Thunderstripe laughing and Gingerheart talking excitedly. He saw Cedarspirit and Cloverpelt, Darkeye and Silvermoon, Mistmeadow and Maggostripe...
When the visions passed, he opened his eyes to see Ashfang walking away.
Another ginger tom stepped forward. It was unusual to see him without the limp of pain Rowanwind was so used to seeing.
"Sprucebark," Rowanwind said with a purr.
"With this life, I give you heart," Sprucebark said softly. "Use it when your brain fails you."
Another feeling of warmth passed through Rowanwind, but this time it grew much hotter, much faster. He felt like he was being burned from the inside out. This time, he could see Stormypelt trotting toward him, hear her laughing, hear her purring...
The vision disappeared with a quick flash. Sprucebark had already walked away.
A tom with long, silver and gray fur and a dark gray tail walked forward. There was a happiness in Cottonbrave's yellow eyes that Rowanwind had never seen during his cousin's short life, but there was also something else in Cottonbrave's eyes that Rowanwind couldn't place. Worry? Regret?
"With this life, I give you justice," Cottonbrave mewed. "Use it wisely to tell the difference between right and wrong."
This time, there was no pain. Rowanwind simply felt like he could overcome any problem that arose.
Cottonbrave nodded to Rowanwind before turning and walking away.
A blue-gray tom came forward next. Rowanwind was surprised to see Icefur. He had hoped that Icefur would find his way to StarClan. This was clear evidence that his half sister's mate had.
"With this life, I give you forgiveness," Icefur said. "Use it for those who need it the most."
Rowanwind was filled with a sharp feeling of pity. He could remember feeling so angry at Icefur, for always being so grumpy, and then for abandoning his family and his entire Clan. Now, after forgiving Icefur for his mistakes, Rowanwind knew that sometimes, forgiveness was really all some cats needed.
As Icefur walked away, a white and cream she-cat walked up. Rowanwind immediately felt a sense of guilt at seeing Snowcloud, who had died because of poachers after learning that her mate, Oakpelt, had betrayed her with a she-cat from RiverClan.
"With this life, I give you loyalty," Snowcloud said, her soft blue eyes watery with tears. "Use it to forever watch over your Clan."
This time, Rowanwind felt a sense of loyalty he had never felt before for ThunderClan. He had always known that there was nothing he would ever do to betray ThunderClan, but now he had no doubts at all. The feeling reached all the way down to his toes.
Snowcloud turned away to allow a black and white tom with shining, yellow eyes to come up.
"Blackcloud," Rowanwind said, feeling sad that his best friend's father was here to give him a life.
"With this life, I give you determination," Blackcloud said. " Use it so that you may never give up in the face of danger."
Rowanwind felt like he was being torn in half by claws. He could see himself in battle after battle against unseen forces, never giving up. His body felt beaten and battered, but his heart and mind still raged on.
Blackcloud walked away, only to be replaced by Meadowlark, Thunderstripe's mentor and Ashfang's best friend.
"With this life, I give you truth," Meadowlark spoke. "Use it to know when cats aren't reliable."
A cold chill ran down Rowanwind's spine. The fur on his neck bristled. He felt suspicious of any and all strangers. Rowanwind closed his eyes and saw kittypets and rogue cats he didn't know walking through ThunderClan territory.
When he opened his eyes, a ninth and final cat was sitting in front of him. Light green eyes looked at him with a shimmer in them. The cat's gray pelt was shining with starlight.
"Clawstar," Rowanwind said. "I'm going to make you proud, Clawstar. I'm going to make all of you proud of me."
"With this life, I give you passion," Clawstar said. "Use it to know when something is important enough to you that you must act on it."
A cheery warmth spread through him. It felt like the sunlight was warming his insides as well as his pelt. Rowanwind purred.
"Thank you, Clawstar," Rowanwind whispered.
"I hail you by your new name, Rowanstar," Clawstar meowed. "Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants to you the guardianship of ThunderClan. 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."
"I will," Rowanstar said.
"Rowanstar! Rowanstar! Rowanstar!"
His new name rang out from all the StarClan cats around him. Ashfang came forward and pressed herself to him before running off. Sprucebark, Icefur, Snowcloud, Blackcloud, and Meadowlark all ran past him. Goldenstar and Clawstar each touched one of Rowanstar's cheeks with their noses before running off.
"Good-bye!" Rowanstar called to them as they became starlight again and drifted up into the sky. "Thank you!"
Cottonbrave, the only cat left, slowly padded up to him. The happiness had vanished from his eyes, replaced with that emotion Rowanstar couldn't place.
"I'm not supposed to be telling you this, but I thought you should be forewarned. Beware of a winded ghost, a flaming tiger, an eagle's feather, a fern of green, and a blazing moon!" Cottonbrave said.
"What? What does that mean, Cottonbrave?" Rowanstar asked.
"I'm sorry, Rowanstar. I can't tell you any more than that. I have to go." With those passing words, Cottonbrave turned and walked away. His entire pelt turned to starlight, and he disappeared up into the sky.
Rowanstar's eyes opened slowly. He looked around at the stone walls of the Moonpool. He turned to face Frostflower, who blinked at him in the darkness. Movement high up in the sky caught his eye. When he looked, he saw a star blaze across the sky, leaving a fiery tail behind it. Cottonbrave's words echoed in his head.
Beware of a winded ghost, a flaming tiger, an eagle's feather, a fern of green, and a blazing moon...
Rowanwind was left with only one question...
What could possibly happen next?
The End
Author's Notes
I can't believe the first half of my series is finally finished! I've gotten quite a few reviews that praise my work, so I guess I'm doing pretty well. I want to thank everyone who read my story, even if they didn't review. Like many authors, I love getting reviews telling me what my readers think about my story. It is great knowing that I have some readers who keep coming back to read more.
I'm sure some of my readers have tons of questions for me, so I invite anybody who has any questions to either ask them in a review or to send me a private message regarding their questions. If I get any questions from my readers, I will answer them on my profile page.
It's hard to believe that in a little over a year, I was able to finish three stories for a series. Most of my stories are started and never finished, so they sit collecting cobwebs on my computer. I have to give some credit to both my reviewers and the ladies who write the Warriors series; without them, I wouldn't have been passionate enough to finish the first half of my series in the first place. Every time I was having writer's block, I would read my reviews or one of the Warriors novels and my inspiration would come back. I'm sure it will be the same when I write the next three!
If I said that I didn't get attached to the characters I created, I would be lying. I even got attached to some of the characters who were only seen once or twice from the other Clans. Rowanstar (who will always be just Rowanwind to me) was such a great character to develop. His best friend, Thunderstripe, is modeled after the look of my own cat. (My own cat is a total kittypet, so in no way do they have similar personalities. Haha.) Oliver, one of the kittypets, was modeled after the look of one of my friend's cats. Smokey/Smokefrost, Stormypelt's brother, was modeled after the look of one of my neighborhood's cats that is the epitome of a kittypet. Most of the other cats were modeled after the look of cats in pictures I found all over the Internet.
I feel like I need to mention some of the cats that I fell in love with while writing this series...
ThunderClan: fierce and brave
Granitetail - The new deputy of ThunderClan! I just love him for his loyalty and unwavering sensibility.
Thornfur - Thunderstripe's uncle! I loved writing about him! He had such a strong bond with Blackcloud. I regret that I didn't show that bond more often.
Ashfang - How can I not love Ashfang? She was just so awesome! I totally cried when I killed her off.
Cloverpelt - Such a sweetie pie! She sort of reminds me of me in warrior form!
Stormypelt - She definitely reminds me of my best friend: unwavering determination and love, all the way!
Cottonbrave - Almost forgot to mention him! His often nasty attitude gave me a chance to spice things up in the camp every once in a while. Thanks for being a bit of a grump, Cottonbrave! That's why I love you so much!
RiverClan: clever and strong
Timberpelt - I don't know why, but she is my favorite RiverClan warrior. She's just so awesome! I wish I had made her appear more often.
Lionstorm - The other Twoleg turned cat! He is just so brave and strong, how can I not like him?
Ashwhisker - That pesky son of Featherstar! He sort of reminded me of a younger version of my little brother.
Maplerose - For one, I just absolutely love her name! I actually have a stuffed animal cat that I named Maplerose. Her love for Oakpelt was so strong, yet she gave him up because it was the best thing for both of them. That, and she had the strength to pass one of her kits off to ThunderClan, when she had all the right to take both of the kits and disappear from Oakpelt's life forever!
ShadowClan: Wily and Proud
Crimsonstar and Harmonyfur - Two sisters who have the same, grumpy attitude. I loved writing scenes when Crimsonstar was around...she always has to go against whatever anyone else says! She and Harmonyfur are extremely close, though that wasn't really shown at all.
Pips/Pineroot - After he became a ShadowClan cat, I thought I was going to lose all of my respect for Pips the kittypet, who loved Stormypelt more than she ever knew. However, I think I like Pineroot much better as a Clan cat!
Roguestripe and Furyclaw - As apprentices of ShadowClan, they were definitely the prideful ShadowClan cats they were being raised to be! Is anybody excited to hear that they will show up more often, in all their pride, in the next half of the series?
WindClan: swift and loyal
Angelstar and Graytail - I love both of their names! I felt terrible for killing off Angelstar, but I wanted Graytail to have a shot at being leader! We'll just have to see where that goes, won't we?
Rustclaw, Acornleaf, and Roseheart - Angelstar's kits! I love this trio of siblings. Rustclaw and Acornleaf showed up quite often because I liked them so much!
Archaicfrost - What happened to him after he went off to join DarkClan? Not even I'm quite sure! But, I have a feeling Sly killed him in his sleep one night...
Once again, thank you to all of my readers for reading! And thanks to all my reviewers as well! I had so much fun writing Warriors Descended! I hope you all stick around for the next three, called Warriors Descended A New Age! Keep an eye out for them in the future!
So, what's in store for the future of the Clan cats who live around the lake? A new generation brings with it a new prophecy! I can't give away too much now, but just know that the war against DarkClan was just the beginning! More adventures are coming in the future, so stay on the lookout for...
Warriors Descended A New Age 4: Journey of Knowledge
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!