Эрин Хантер - The Ultimate Guide

Stoneteller to use Clan methods to deal with the intruders. He was a strong and loyal cat who finally found a place for himself.

RAG WAS THE LEADER of the Tribe cave-guards and was particularly skilled at protecting the prey-hunters from eagles that would attack them on the mountainside. He was one of the first cats to meet

Stormfur and the rest of the journeying cats when they first arrived in the mountains, and when Stormfur was made a prisoner, Crag escorted the other cats out of the Tribe’s territory and seemed to regret that there could not be friendship between them.

Crag fought bravely against the strange cats who invaded the Tribe’s territory, but when the Clan cats returned to the mountains to offer help, he was reluctant to accept. He was afraid that the Tribe would lose everything that was important to them if they gave up their traditions to follow the ways of the Clans. But he helped to establish the new territory and took part in patrols.

When Stoneteller died and Jayfeather had to choose his successor, he knew that he needed to find an experienced cat, one who had great courage and faith in his Tribe and was selfless enough to put them first and work with all his strength to secure their future. Crag was the cat he chose.

Crag was astonished that he should be the cat to take on leadership of his Tribe. But he felt honored to be chosen and promised to serve his Tribemates for the rest of his days.

THERE WERE ALWAYS WILD cats living in the territories between Highstones and the Twolegplace, in the woods, moorland, and riverside willow trees that later became the homes of ThunderClan, ShadowClan, SkyClan, WindClan, and RiverClan. But these cats were rogues and loners, living separately and independently, with occasional clashes over a particularly tasty piece of prey. They had favorite places to sun themselves or sleep, but there were no borders between hunting grounds, no sense that one area was more “home” to one cat than another.

Until the cats from the mountains arrived, that is. These cats had left the rugged shelter of a cave beneath a waterfall in search of somewhere richer in prey and warmer to live. Scant generations before, their ancestors had abandoned their home beside a lake, finding refuge in snow-capped mountains where food had to be dragged from the sky on eagles’ wings.

I was among those cats that had once lived beside the lake. My name then was Half Moon; by the time some of us left the mountains, I was the Teller of the Pointed Stones, leader of the cats that lived beneath the waterfall. We battled hard to survive among the rocks and the snow, but we brought too many hungry mouths to feed in a place that barely emerged from the cold season.

When I had almost forgotten how it felt to have a full belly, and when my pelt hung loose on my jagged bones, I had a waking dream, a vision as clear as the mountains around me. I saw a soft and sheltering place, safe from the cruel winds that sharpened the mountain peaks, with room for many cats to live and raise kits. There was no chance of my old bones traveling farther than the eye could see from our rocky home, but I gave my blessing to those cats who were brave enough to leave in search of what I had seen. When these far-traveling cats reached Highstones, they looked down on moorland, forest, and winding river, and knew they had found their home.

There were trees for the cats who loved to hunt by stalking and climbing, a broad shallow river for those willing to get their paws wet, and a large stretch of moorland for swift-heeled cats to catch rabbits out in the open. Of course, it took many seasons for the five Clans to emerge with distinct, hard-fought boundaries and the shared laws known as the warrior code. But the seeds of those Clans were sown in the personalities of the early settlers, in their differing preferences for hunting in trees or in open moorland, or risking wet fur in search of a plump fish. They fought and quarreled, shared loss and disaster, but every sunrise, every paw step, every blow struck and prey killed drew them steadily closer to the Clans they would become. And farther from their memories of the cats they had left behind…

HALF MOON WAS A white she-cat with green eyes, daughter of Rising Moon and Chasing Clouds, who lived beside the lake with the ancient cats. She was one of the first to suggest moving away to find a new place to live. When the cats cast their votes, she showed no hesitation in pushing her stone into the circle that meant “leave.”

She loved Jayfeather (who she knew as Jay’s Wing) and was heartbroken when he didn’t follow them into the mountains, not knowing that Rock had forced him to return to his own time through the tunnels.

When the ancient cats reached their new home in the mountains, Half Moon demonstrated her courage in learning new hunting skills, and when she first explored the Cave of Pointed Stones, she was able to read the signs revealed by moonlight in the water. She was delighted when Jayfeather reappeared in the cave behind the waterfall, but devastated when he told her that her destiny was to become Stoneteller. Despite her abilities, all she wanted was to be Jayfeather’s mate and raise his kits, not to lead the mountain cats. Jayfeather wanted that too, but he knew that fate did not guide their paw steps side by side. At last Half Moon accepted what Jayfeather told her and took on the burden of becoming her Tribe’s Healer.

Later, as a very old cat, Half Moon received the vision of the Sun Trail, which told her that some of her cats should follow the path of the sun to find a new home. Jayfeather had told her that her ancestors would send her signs, and through all the seasons she still loved and trusted him. When Jayfeather left the mountains for the last time, he heard Half Moon’s spirit calling to him, telling him that she would wait for him forever.

WHEN THE TELLER OF the Pointed Stones told the cats about her dream of a different place to live, the young tom Gray Wing made it clear he would not leave the mountains. He insisted that he belonged in the Cave of Rushing Water with his mother, Quiet Rain, and younger brother, Jagged Peak. But Gray Wing was courageous and loyal, and when Jagged Peak put himself in danger by following the departing cats, Gray Wing went after him.

Having traveled almost to the edge of the mountains, Gray Wing and Jagged Peak caught up with the other cats and joined the quest to find somewhere else to live. Gray Wing’s best friend, Turtle