TALLSTAR
THE CAT WHO WOULD grow to become Tallstar was born to a pair of tunneling cats, Sandgorse and Palebird, who expected their son to follow the tradition, unique to WindClan, of cats skilled in digging and hunting belowground. But Tallkit preferred running over the open moor with the wind in his fur and hated the thought of being trapped in the dark. Heatherstar realized this and apprenticed him to a moor runner, much to the disappointment of Sandgorse and Palebird. But when Sandgorse was killed in an underground collapse while showing a visiting rogue named Sparrow one of the tunnels, Tallpaw decided to train as a tunneler like his father. However, Heatherstar forbade her cats to go belowground again, and though Tallpaw earned his warrior name, Talltail, he was restless and angry with grief.
Swearing vengeance on Sparrow, Talltail left WindClan and set out to find him. He encountered a kittypet named Jake and struck up an unlikely allegiance, which deepened into true friendship when they traveled beyond Twolegplace to the rogues’ new home. Jake told Talltail that he could be a better cat by not taking Sparrow’s life in revenge; at the very last moment, with Sparrow poised on top of a cliff above a Thunderpath, Talltail recalled his friend’s words and decided to spare
Sparrow. But the tom slipped over the edge anyway, forcing Talltail to risk his life to save him.
Sparrow told Talltail that Sandgorse died saving his life from the collapsing tunnel. Humbled by his father’s final brave act, Talltail left the rogues, intending to carry on traveling with Jake. But Jake wanted to go home, back to his housefolk, and Talltail knew deep down that he was still a Clan warrior who belonged on the moor. When he returned to WindClan, he fought hard to win back the respect and trust of his Clanmates and was rewarded when Heatherstar made him deputy.
As Clan leader, Tallstar remembered his experiences beyond the moor and was always willing to make allegiances across his borders to protect his Clan. When a young flame-colored cat joined ThunderClan, Tallstar realized he was the son of his old friend Jake. He never let on to Firestar that he had known his father so well, but Tallstar always favored the ThunderClan cat, sometimes to the dismay of his own Clanmates.
Tallstar lived just long enough to make the Great Journey to the lake and died on the shore before the Clans had separated into their new territories. With his dying breath, Tallstar dismissed his deputy, Mudclaw, fearing he would lead WindClan too quickly into battle with the other Clans, and appointed Onewhisker to succeed him instead. Tallstar meant well, but he left Mudclaw to fester and rise up in rebellion against the new leader, while Onestar tried perhaps a little too hard to prove that WindClan no longer needed the friendship of the other Clans to survive.
ONESTAR
AS A WARRIOR , ONEWHISKER was loyal and courageous, but without the fierce ambition associated with most leaders. He befriended Fireheart, who would eventually become Firestar, after the young
ThunderClan warrior rescued WindClan from their temporary home by the Thunderpath, where they had fled after a particularly savage ShadowClan invasion. Their friendship helped both their Clans; Onewhisker persuaded Tallstar not to fight Bluestar when she falsely accused WindClan of theft, and Fireheart was more lenient to hungry WindClan warriors than other trespassers.
But when Onewhisker became leader of WindClan and took the name Onestar, he wanted to prove that WindClan could survive without the help of another Clan. The friendship that had supported him from across the border seemed like a burden, a debt of gratitude that ThunderClan would extract from WindClan until the lake ran dry. Onestar needed to win the respect of his own Clanmates as Mudclaw stirred up rebellion against him. His first challenge was to defeat Mudclaw and his supporters—helped by StarClan sending a bolt of lightning to crush Mudclaw beneath a falling tree. Then he began to reinforce the border between ThunderClan and WindClan more vigorously than Firestar ever anticipated. Onestar made it clear that there would be no favors owed, no ThunderClan cats tolerated on the wrong side of the scent marks.
When Onestar discovered the existence of tunnels linking the two territories, he recognized their potential as a means of attacking ThunderClan from deep inside its borders. He ordered his warriors to train underground, to hone their skills in fighting in dark and cramped spaces. Seasons upon seasons of tunneling still ran in WindClan’s blood, and the battle was ferocious. ThunderClan won narrowly, and Onestar’s hostility toward Firestar increased. But he was forced to unite with his old friend when the Dark Forest came, bringing all four Clans together to defeat their greatest enemy of all.
MUDCLAW
MUDCLAW WAS CHOSEN TO be deputy because Tallstar recognized the need for a warrior who was not afraid to show his claws to balance out his own gentler, peace-loving leadership. Mudclaw was fearless, fiercely loyal to his Clan, and determined to be a strong leader without having the bloodthirsty ambition that had polluted the paths of leaders in other Clans. When Tallstar dismissed him and appointed Onestar in his place, Mudclaw felt utterly betrayed. He saw no reason behind
Tallstar’s decision, except that the old cat had lost his mind just before losing his ninth life. A challenge to Onestar’s leadership seemed entirely logical, and Mudclaw was encouraged by a significant number of cats who shared his disbelief—not just from his own Clan, but ShadowClan and RiverClan too. His most determined supporter was Hawkfrost of RiverClan; ever keen to stir up trouble, Hawkfrost warned Mudclaw that Onestar’s reluctance to seize more territory beside the lake than WindClan had originally been given would leave the Clan hungry and weak come leaf-bare.
Mudclaw met his allies from the other Clans secretly on the island in the lake and one cold night, led them in a brave—perhaps even foolhardy—attack on WindClan’s new leader. They were defeated when Firestar brought ThunderClan warriors to fight on Onestar’s side. Mudclaw fled back to the island, where he was killed by a tree that had been felled by a bolt of lightning. The other cats took this as a sign from StarClan that Onestar’s leadership had their approval, and Mudclaw had been wrong to launch his challenge. The fallen tree provided a bridge, giving easy access to the island, so future Gatherings could be seen as Mudclaw’s dying gift to all the Clans.
CROWFEATHER
SHY, AWKWARD, DEFENSIVE CROWPAW, who would become Crowfeather, seemed an unlikely choice by StarClan to share the quest to find Midnight and learn how the Clans could be saved from Twoleg destruction. He was only an apprentice when he set out on the journey, but he fought as bravely as his companions against hostile kittypets and hungry foxes. Feathertail, the WindClan cat, saw past his shyness and sharp tongue to the brave, thoughtful, loyal warrior beneath, and found something to love.