The New Prophecy
Warriors
Midnight
Erin Hunter
For Chris, Janet, and Louisa Haslum Special thanks to Cherith Baldry
Allegiances
THUNDERCLAN
FIRESTAR—ginger tom with a flame-colored pelt
GRAYSTRIPE—long-haired gray tom
CINDERPELT—dark gray she-cat
APPRENTICE, LEAFPAW
MOUSEFUR—small dusky brown she-cat
APPRENTICE, SPIDERPAW
DUSTPELT—dark brown tabby tom
APPRENTICE, SQUIRRELPAW
SANDSTORM—pale ginger she-cat
APPRENTICE, SORRELPAW
CLOUDTAIL—long-haired white tom
BRACKENFUR—golden brown tabby tom
APPRENTICE, WHITEPAW
THORNCLAW—golden brown tabby tom
APPRENTICE, SHREWPAW
BRIGHTHEART—white she-cat with ginger patches
BRAMBLECLAW—dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes
ASHFUR—pale gray (with darker flecks) tom, dark blue eyes
RAINWHISKER—dark gray tom with blue eyes
SOOTFUR—lighter gray tom with amber eyes
APPRENTICES (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)
SORRELPAW—tortoiseshell and white she-cat with amber eyes
SQUIRRELPAW—dark ginger she-cat with green eyes
LEAFPAW—light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes and white paws
SPIDERPAW—long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes
SHREWPAW—small dark brown tom with amber eyes
WHITEPAW—white she-cat with green eyes
GOLDENFLOWER—pale ginger coat, the oldest nursery queen
FERNCLOUD—pale gray (with darker flecks) she-cat, green eyes
FROSTFUR—beautiful white she-cat with blue eyes
DAPPLETAIL—once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat, the oldest cat in ThunderClan
SPECKLETAIL—pale tabby she-cat
LONGTAIL—pale tabby tom with dark black stripes, retired early due to failing sight
SHADOWCLAN
BLACKSTAR—large white tom with huge jet black paws
RUSSETFUR—dark ginger she-cat
LITTLECLOUD—very small tabby tom
OAKFUR—small brown tom
APPRENTICE, SMOKEPAW
TAWNYPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes
CEDARHEART—dark gray tom
ROWANCLAW—ginger she-cat
APPRENTICE, TALONPAW
TALLPOPPY—long-legged light brown tabby she-cat
RUNNINGNOSE—small gray-and-white tom, formerly the medicine cat
WINDCLAN
TALLSTAR—elderly black-and-white tom with a very long tail
MUDCLAW—mottled dark brown tom
APPRENTICE, CROWPAW—dark smoky gray, almost black, tom with blue eyes
BARKFACE—short-tailed brown tom
ONEWHISKER—brown tabby tom
WEBFOOT—dark gray tabby tom
TORNEAR—tabby tom
WHITETAIL—small white she-cat
MORNINGFLOWER—tortoiseshell she-cat
RIVERCLAN
LEOPARDSTAR—unusually spotted golden tabby she-cat
MISTYFOOT—gray she-cat with blue eyes
MUDFUR—long-haired light brown tom
APPRENTICE, MOTHWING—beautiful golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes
BLACKCLAW—smoky black tom
HEAVYSTEP—thickset tabby tom
STORMFUR—dark gray tom with amber eyes
FEATHERTAIL—light gray she-cat with blue eyes
HAWKFROST—broad-shouldered dark brown tom
MOSSPELT—tortoiseshell she-cat
DAWNFLOWER—pale gray she-cat
SHADEPELT—very dark gray she-cat
LOUDBELLY—dark brown tom
CATS OUTSIDE CLANS
BARLEY—black-and-white tom that lives on a farm close to the forest
RAVENPAW—sleek black cat that lives on the farm with Barley
PURDY—elderly tabby tom that lives in woods near the sea
Map
Prologue
Night lay upon the forest. There was no moon, but the stars of Silverpelt shed their frosty glitter over the trees. At the bottom of a rocky hollow, a pool reflected the starshine. The air was heavy with the scents of late greenleaf.
Wind sighed softly through the trees and ruffled the quiet surface of the pool. At the top of the hollow, the fronds of bracken parted to reveal a cat; her bluish gray fur glimmered as she stepped delicately from rock to rock, down to the water’s edge.
Sitting on a flat stone that jutted out over the pool, she raised her head to look around. As if at a signal, more cats began to appear, slipping into the hollow from every direction. They padded down to sit as close to the water as they could, until the lower slopes were filled with lithe shapes gazing down into the pool.
The cat who had appeared first rose to her paws. “A new prophecy has come!” she meowed. “A doom that will change everything has been foretold in the stars.”
On the opposite side of the pool, another cat bowed his tawny, bracken-colored head. “I have seen this too. There will be doubt, and a great challenge,” he agreed.
“Darkness, air, water, and sky will come together, and shake the forest to its roots,” the first cat went on. “Nothing will be as it is now, nor as it has been before.”
“A great storm is coming,” meowed another voice, and the word storm was taken up, repeated and passed around the circle until it seemed that thunder rumbled through the ranks of watching cats.
As the murmur died away a lean cat with a glossy black pelt spoke from near the water’s edge. “Can nothing change what is about to happen? Not even the courage and spirit of the greatest warrior?”
“The doom will come,” the blue-gray cat replied. “But if the Clans meet it like warriors, they may survive.” Lifting her head, she let her luminous gaze travel around the hollow.
“You have all seen what must befall,” she meowed. “And you know what must be done. Four cats must be chosen to hold the fate of their Clans in their paws. Are you ready to make your choices before all of StarClan?”
As she finished speaking, the surface of the pool shivered, though there was no wind to disturb it, then was still again.
The bracken-colored tom rose to his paws, starlight turning the fur on his broad shoulders to silver. “I will begin,” he meowed. He glanced sideways to meet the gaze of a light-colored tabby with a twisted jaw. “Crookedstar, do I have your permission to speak for RiverClan?” The tabby bowed his head in agreement, and the first cat went on, “Then I invite you all to see and approve my choice.”