two Clans where there used to be four. Then lion and tiger would meet in battle.
I had no way of knowing about BloodClan, of course, until Tigerstar revealed his alliance with Scourge. That’s when I discovered our real enemy. LionClan and TigerClan had to unite to drive out Scourge, or else Blood really would rule the forest.
Luckily I had something Scourge did not—faith in StarClan.
With my nine lives and my warrior ancestors fighting beside me, I defeated BloodClan.
In the end, peace, not blood, ruled the forest.
This prophecy came to me, Brambleclaw, not to a medicine cat or a leader. Bluestar, the former ThunderClan leader, told me in a dream that I had to meet with three other cats at the new moon and listen to midnight.
Have you ever heard anything more peculiar? Who were these cats, where were we supposed to meet, and how could midnight tell us anything?
I learned the full prophecy later, after much traveling and danger.
“Darkness, air, water, and sky will come together and shake the forest to its roots. Nothing will be as it is now, nor as it has been before.”
Can you guess what this meant? It meant that four cats from each Clan would come together. ShadowClan was darkness, WindClan was air, RiverClan was water, and ThunderClan was sky. We did shake the forest to its roots, but we had no choice. The Twolegs were destroying our home with their monsters. There was no safe way for cats to live in the forest anymore. Tawnypelt, Crowpaw, Feathertail, and I were chosen to lead our Clanmates to a new home.
That’s what StarClan meant when they said, “Nothing will be as it is now, nor as it has been before.” From the moment we set paw outside the forest, with the cats of all four Clans following us, I knew that wherever we went and wherever we settled, nothing could ever be the same.
This prophecy came to me on our first night in the new camp, in a dream. I am Leafpool, the ThunderClan medicine cat. In my dream, I was gazing at the stars reflected on the lake when the water turned bloodred. Then I heard a voice whisper, “Before there is peace, blood will spill blood, and the lake will run red.”
I knew it meant that there would be bloodshed before there could be peace. But what could I do about it? And when would it happen?
When Mudclaw and Hawkfrost rose up against Onewhisker, I wondered if that was the event in the prophecy. Later, I thought it might be the badger attack. But the prophecy kept returning to my dreams.
I knew that Brambleclaw was meeting his father, Tigerstar, in his dreams, and, of course, I was afraid of where that might lead. So when I heard that Firestar was in mortal danger, I thought he had been betrayed by Brambleclaw. I blamed myself for not having warned my father in time.
But I was wrong.
Brambleclaw’s brother, Hawkfrost, had set a trap for Firestar.
Brambleclaw had fought and killed Hawkfrost to protect his leader.
That’s what the prophecy meant by “blood will spill blood”—the death of Hawkfrost at the paws of his brother.
As Hawkfrost’s blood spilled into the lake, turning the water red, I knew that I could never fight a cat of my own blood. I couldn’t imagine how Brambleclaw must be feeling.
At least now, I thought, there can finally be peace.
Medicine
Medicine Cats
“Leafpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from the rivalry between Clan and Clan, and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?”
“I do.”
“Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Leafpaw, from this moment you will be known as Leafpool.”
No Clan could survive without a medicine cat’s knowledge of healing herbs and compassion for the sick. In addition, these cats have a spiritual responsibility. Their unusually strong connection to StarClan allows them to receive and interpret visions that can guide the Clan through dark times.
Most medicine cats are born to their destiny. From a young age, these special kits are drawn to the medicine cat den. They are fascinated by the herbs and often have strange dreams of their own. A medicine cat can spot which kit would make a good apprentice. If the kit agrees, he or she is brought to the sacred space (the Moonstone or the Moonpool) and initiated into the ranks of medicine cats through a secret ceremony.
The life of a medicine cat is not easy, but it is very rewarding. Although medicine cats cannot have a mate or kits, they are beloved and respected by the whole Clan. They devote their lives to protecting their Clanmates in a way that ordinary warriors cannot. And they know that there is a special place waiting for them in StarClan.
I knew I wanted to be a medicine cat from the time I was a small kit.
I watched Cinderpelt taking care of sick cats and checking on my mother in the nursery. I wanted to be that gentle, kind, and intelligent. I wanted to know how to heal and how to read the signs from StarClan. I couldn’t imagine anything more important.
I knew that medicine cats can never have kits. But I didn’t think about what that would mean for me. I didn’t ever expect to fall in love.
Cinderpelt let me help her in her den even before I was an apprentice. My sister was disappointed that we didn’t get to train together as apprentices, but she understood how important this was to me.
Cinderpelt took me to the Moonstone for the initiation ceremony when I became an apprentice. It’s a secret ritual involving the medicine cats of all the Clans and also StarClan—I’ve never felt closer to StarClan than I did then… It was amazing. There’s another ritual when we earn our full medicine cat names. I really wish I could tell you about it, but I have not the words. In truth, my experience of these ceremonies is not that of every medicine cat, and for this reason we are forbidden to talk about it. Perhaps it’s true that there are some secrets that should never be told.
That’s the best and also the scariest thing about being a medicine cat. Knowing all the herbs and helping my sick Clanmates is wonderful too, but more than that, I know that StarClan is depending on me. I am the one who has to bring their messages to the Clan. I have to understand what they want us to do or else terrible things could befall us. I am my Clan’s guardian, in a way.
My friend Mothwing is RiverClan’s medicine cat, but she doesn’t believe in StarClan. It makes me sad for her—she’s missing the most important part of this life. And for a while StarClan had no way to communicate with her, which placed the whole Clan in danger. But now she has Willowpaw, her apprentice. StarClan can speak to her, and so the line of wisdom passed down from our ancestors can con-tinue unbroken.
We get a lot of respect in our Clans, but there is a lot of responsibility too. If I make a mistake, a cat could die. This is why you too have to be careful with your own cat friends. I’m showing you this list of our medicines, but you mustn’t try using them yourself. You are not a medicine cat. Out in the forest, we have to use whatever we find, but kittypets have something called a veterinarian to look after them. My friend Cody told me about this. The veterinarian is like a Twoleg medicine cat, as far as I can tell. They heal cats, but they have many more medicines to work with than we do. Don’t try giving any sick cats these herbs—either come find me, or take them to the veterinarian. Trust me, they’ll thank you for it!