Long-haired, light brown tom.
Patient, intelligent, and straightforward.
Interpreted moth’s wing sign to choose his new apprentice, despite her non-Clan origins.
Beautiful dappled-golden she-cat with large amber eyes in a triangular face, and a long pelt rippling with dark tabby stripes.
The daughter of a rogue cat, Sasha, and the former leader of ShadowClan, Tigerstar, Mothwing struggles for acceptance by her Clan.
Believes StarClan does not exist.
With Leafpool’s help, healed her Clan when kits brought traces of Twoleg poison back to camp.
ShadowClan
Blackstar on ShadowClan
Greetings. I am Blackstar. You must be brave indeed, to approach the territory of ShadowClan. Few are welcome here, in our world of secrets and darkness. We are a Clan of cunning and cleverness, a Clan well suited to the shadows and the cold north wind. No other Clan can walk the paths of night like we do. Other Clans may be faster or stronger, but we are the most dangerous warriors: fierce, proud, and independent. We are ruthlessly willing to do what it takes to protect our great Clan.
There won’t be any softhearted alliances here! ShadowClan will always be the dark heart of the forest.
Clan character: Battle-hungry, aggressive, ambitious, and greedy for territory. It is said that the cold wind that blows across the ShadowClan territory chills their hearts and makes them suspicious and untrusting.
Prey: Frogs, lizards, and snakes that live in ShadowClan’s boggy, peaty territory. A secret food source is the Twoleg garbage dump on the far boundary, although they have to be careful not to eat infected rats or crow-food.
Hunting skills: ShadowClan cats hunt by night better than other Clan cats and are skilled at skulking unseen through the undergrowth.
ShadowClan Forest Territory
(1) ShadowClan camp: A dark, well-concealed hollow, the camp is hidden deep in the shadows and is surrounded by brambles as prickly and fierce as the hearts of ShadowClan warriors.
(2) Carrionplace: Yuck! Smell that? This is an evil place where rats and disease lurk.
(3) Thunderpath tunneclass="underline" The ability of ShadowClan cats to move freely across the most feared border of the Thunderpath has enhanced their reputation for mysterious strength and invincibility.
(4) Burnt Sycamore: An ancient tree destroyed by lightning many moons ago. Apprentices are often trained here to hunt at night and stalk noiselessly through the undergrowth.
ShadowClan Forest Camp
My name is Boulder. Ah, I can see you’ve realized it’s not a warrior name. Well, I used to be a loner in Twolegplace, and proud of it. I caught prey for myself. I could look after myself. Then I met a cat from ShadowClan. He told me about the forest. He wanted me to give up my freedom and join his Clanmates! I nearly clawed off his fur. I didn’t need a leader or a Clan.
But he kept talking, and some of the things he said made sense. Like, what was I going to do when I was old and couldn’t catch my own prey? I’d never thought about that before.
I agreed to visit his camp. Follow me, and you’ll see what I saw on that day I first came to the forest. I’ve never left since.
I love the forest on this side of the Thunderpath. The soft carpet of pine needles under my paws. The fresh and sharp smell of the pines. The boggy soil is full of amazing smells; can you sense prey darting around under the leaves?
Through these brambles, that’s right. This tiny path—here, where my paws are—leads to a hollow. I know it’s not exactly grassy around here, but the ground is muddy and cool. Good for keeping fresh-kill fresh. Our leader sleeps over there, beneath the roots of that big oak tree. The warriors’ den is over there, underneath the bramble bush. I know it looks prickly on the outside, but inside it’s lined with pine needles and moss. I can tell you, it’s a lot more comfortable than any place I found to stretch my paws in Twolegplace.
The smooth boulder at the edge of the clearing is where the leader speaks to us. Do you see that other rock propped against it, creating a sheltered half cave underneath?
That’s where the medicine cat lives.
There are holes dug in the ground to keep the leaves and berries fresh, and sick cats can rest in the ferns that grow on the other side of the boulders. I never had another cat care about my injuries when I lived in Twolegplace.
The nursery’s over there, in that hollow shielded by a thornbush. You can smell the scent of milk from here—a new litter was born yesterday. I don’t spend much time with the tiniest kits—always worried I’ll step on them or something—but I like watching them grow into strong apprentices and loyal warriors.
Why do you keep staring at the fresh-kill pile? Oh, I see you’ve spotted a frog. I know they look pretty unappetizing—trust me, I was as reluctant as you to try them when I first came to the forest. But you should try them. Peel off the skin first—that’s very chewy. Underneath, it tastes like if you mixed rabbits and fish together.
Honestly! Well, okay, maybe leave it for one of the warriors.
Look, I know the other Clans think ShadowClan cats are strange and dark-hearted, but we’re loyal warriors, just like them. There’s no need to fear us.
Not all of the time, anyway.
ShadowClan Lake Territory
(1) ShadowClan camp: Much closer to Twolegs than forest home, but the camp is still well hidden and should be difficult for enemies to attack.
(2) Twoleg nest: Home to two aggressive kittypets. Don’t let them catch you out alone, or you’re kittypet food!
(3) Twoleg path: Steer clear of these during greenleaf. Twolegs tramp up and down these paths all season long!
(4) Greenleaf Twolegplace: Another place haunted throughout greenleaf by Twolegs, who put up small dens and build terrifying little fires here. On the plus side, sometimes they leave behind food like we used to find at Carrionplace.
ShadowClan Lake Camp
I never thought Blackstar would let you into the ShadowClan camp. He’s a little prickly mostly. But we like having a cat in charge who says exactly what he thinks.
I’m Tawnypelt, and I found this place—you’ve heard about that?
I tell you, by the time we found the camp, I was getting worried. The territory looked right—pine trees everywhere, shadows, and darkness. But the tree branches were much higher than we were used to, and there wasn’t much undergrowth.
It was getting dark when we came up this slope here. Did you see the pool down at the bottom? It’s close to the camp so we can fetch water for the elders and kits without having to go all the way to the lake. Here, follow me up these boulders until we get to that top one—it’s got the best view of the camp.
Great, isn’t it? You can barely tell there are so many cats down there, hidden below the tangles of brambles. And look at all these low-hanging branches all around and above us. You won’t catch us getting trampled by badgers like ThunderClan!