The ancient cats
EXCLUSIVE from author Cherith Baldry
BY CHERITH BALDRY
The first hint of the existence of the ancient cats is mysterious, almost dream-like. It appears in Starlight, when the medicine cat apprentice Leafpaw is led by the spirit of Spottedleaf to discover the Moonpool. Beckoned by Spottedleaf, Leafpaw follows the spiral path down to the water’s edge, and as she does so, she feels her paws slip into the pawprints that had been left by cats many, many seasons before.
At this time we don’t learn any more about these long-vanished cats, and it seems as if there’s no way of discovering who they were or where they went. But then Vicky came up with an amazing concept, that I still think is one of the most exciting storylines we’ve ever done in Warriors.
The Prologue to Dark River – which is Kate’s book, the second volume of Series Three – shows us a group of cats we haven’t met yet. One of them, a young tom called Fallen Leaves, enters the tunnels under the lake territories for a kind of initiation test; if he is successful he will become a sharpclaw, which seems to be the equivalent of a warrior. In an underground cave he meets the blind, hairless cat Rock, who tells him what he must do to pass the test.
From this point, the story of these cats – who are later revealed to be the ancient cats who left their pawprints beside the Moonpool – is intertwined with events in the present day. It was a real challenge to work with this new group, to develop their personalities and their culture. It was also interesting to write about the part that Jayfeather played, and to see a completely new side to his character.
Jayfeather is the link between the ancient cats and the Clans of today. He first dreams himself into Fallen Leaves’ experience as he tries to find his way back to the surface, only to be overwhelmed when rain floods the tunnels. Later he meets Fallen Leaves in the waking world, when the young tom’s spirit guides him and his friends in their search for the lost kits.
Even more startling, in passing through the tunnels Jayfeather finds himself in another time, where he is known to the ancient cats as a tom called Jay’s Wing, who has just emerged from his own test to become a sharpclaw. Without giving too much away to new readers, I can say that the advice he gives them changes their destiny, but in knowing them, he is himself changed.
I found these scenes incredibly satisfying to write. I knew – and readers of the first two series will also know – what has to happen, but it’s fascinating to follow the pawsteps each cat must take to bring that destiny about. The ancient cats triumph over their difficulties, but there’s heartbreak and loss also.
The first hint of the existence of the ancient cats is mysterious, almost dream-like.
At the same time, we don’t lose sight of Fallen Leaves, his spirit still trapped in the tunnels. He is able to interact with the present-day cats, and in The Last Hope he has a part to play in the Great Battle between StarClan and the living Clans, and the cats of the Dark Forest.
Eventually the ancient cats have a series to themselves, Series Five, The Dawn of the Clans. It begins when the last of the original group have reached old age, and a younger generation ventures out to find a new home in the forest where Firestar, many seasons later, met their descendants. That’s a story of adventure, conflict and discovery, and I thoroughly enjoyed writing my part of it. But I think I enjoyed the mystery and wonder of the very first appearances of the ancient cats even more. I hope our readers enjoy them too.
