The forest map: WindClan
BY THE EDITOR
To a wide-eyed young kittypet like Rusty taking his first steps beyond the safety and comfort of his home, the forest seemed vast, wild, and untamed. But for all of its wilderness and freedom, there is a remarkable amount of structure and familiarity to the forest after countless seasons of the Clans living their lives there. If you’re still trying to figure out these territories, don’t fret! We’ve written up a handy guide to show you the ins and outs of the forest territories!
This time, we’ll be focusing on the rolling hills and windswept heather that dominate WindClan’s territory. Keep an eye out for future articles covering the territories of their neighboring Clans―and perhaps even the lands beyond!
1. The Camp
Legend says that Windstar, the founder of WindClan, reached out her paw from StarClan and scooped out a pawful of sand, leaving behind a hollow for her Clan to live in. It isn’t true, of course―the hollow existed long before Wind Runner and her family settled on the moor. But this legend speaks not only to the deep connection WindClan feels with their ancestors, but also at how uniquely suited the hollow is for sheltering and housing the warriors of WindClan, almost as though it was made just for them.
A heather tunnel leads into a gentle dip in the moorland, a hollow ringed by a protective wall of prickly gorse bushes and thick swathes of heather. Thick, tussocky grass dots the clearing, except for the wide, sandy crater at the center, known as the Meeting Hollow. There sits a large, jagged slab of granite, known as the Tallrock, where WindClan’s leader addresses the Clan during meetings and ceremonies. The leader’s den is under a gorse bush at the far end of the clearing, but when the weather is good, leaders have been known to sleep out in the open alongside their Clanmates.
The nursery is a thick gorse bush underneath a hawthorn tree with long-hanging branches, and the elders’ den is made from the gorse encircling the hollow. Several smooth, low rocks near the elders’ den, known as the Hunting Stones, are often used as a playground by the kits of the Clan. A cluster of loose rocks beside the elders’ den served as practice for young tunnelers learning to move stones from tunnels. The medicine den is a scooped-out cave shielded from the wind and sun by a screen of gorse. A smooth, wide stone in the medicine den, called the grinding stone, is used for grinding herbs.
Back in the days when WindClan was divided between tunnelers and moor-runners, the tunnelers made their nests in a brittle patch of bracken, while the moor-runners’ nests were on a stretch of ground enclosed by long grass. After tunneling was banned, the former tunnelers kept their nests in the bracken, but all new incoming warriors trained as moor-runners made their nests in the tall grass, and eventually that stretch of ground became the only warriors’ den. The apprentices’ den sits in a sheltered spot between two boulders. A gorse bush overhangs the den, with one of the boulders holding back the roots of the bush, but the gorse’s protective branches aren’t enough to stop the wind from swirling into the den.
WindClan’s camp may have seemed sparse and vulnerable to the other Clans, but just like the moor, it had a deep-set hardiness that allowed it to weather countless seasons. Unfortunately, this camp was the first to be destroyed when the Twolegs began tearing apart the forest, forcing WindClan to flee to the old rabbit warrens for shelter even before the sun-drown questing cats returned to the forest.
2. Tall Shadow’s Camp
The moor was one of the first places that the early Clan cats, living as a group, chose to settle. But most of these early cats eventually traveled to the pine forest to found ShadowClan, and the hollow they used as their camp was not adopted by the newly founded WindClan. Instead, the hollow that had first welcomed the mountain cats home and granted them shelter was left behind and eventually forgotten.
The first camp adopted by the mountain cats was a shallow hollow that wasn’t sheltered enough and was quickly abandoned for a second hollow discovered by a hunting patrol some moons later. This second hollow would be home to the mountain cats, and those who chose to join them, until Tall Shadow led her cats to the pine forest and left the moorland behind forever.
The hollow is surrounded by gorse bushes and a protective ring of heather. Gorse and rocks line the slope leading to hummocky ground with sparse grass at the bottom of the hollow. A large, tall boulder sat at one side of the hollow, which was used by the early leaders when speaking to the group during meetings. The center of the hollow is made up of a stretch of loose, bare soil. A hole in the soil leads to a series of old rabbit tunnels, dug out and widened by the cats to be used as dens. Cats either made their nests out in the open in the hollow, among the gorse bushes, or in the tunnels. Thunderstar, founder of ThunderClan, was raised alongside Hawk Swoop’s kits in the tunnels, and Turtle Tail’s kits were born and raised there.
At the edge of the hollow, a clump of long grass sat next to the heather walls, serving as a popular playground for the kits. Drooping brambles with yellow flowers arch over one end of the hollow, offering shelter from the wind. Kits practiced climbing by clambering up the thorny branches. Wind Runner birthed her kits in the bramble den, but after the death of Emberkit, she moved her nest to the long grass, preferring to raise her kits in the open. A gorse den sits in the clearing, its branches jutting out over the clearing. The forest rogue Frost sheltered in the gorse den when Thunder brought him to the moor to heal from his burn injury.
The hollow served as home to many early Clan cats for seasons. But the call from the spirit cats to grow and spread like the blazing star tugged at their paws and their hearts, and the time came for them to split into five groups with five territories. Clear Sky and Thunder claimed the forest, River Ripple took the river and surrounding plains, Wind Runner kept her camp on the moorland, and Tall Shadow led her followers to the marshes. The moorland would be home to cats for countless seasons to come, but the hollow had been left abandoned, forgotten in favor of Wind Runner’s camp, which eventually became the official camp for WindClan.
3. Abandoned Badger Set
Farther down on the moor, between the camp and the river, is an abandoned badger den, a sandy hole in the earth shielded from view by clumps of heather. Apprentices train here by using the faded smell of badger in the den to learn the scent of the terrifying creatures. It’s also a great place for hunting rabbits. Fireheart and Graystripe hid in the den to avoid a passing RiverClan patrol while on their mission to find WindClan and bring them home.
4. The Old Rabbit Warrens
When the Twolegs came with their monsters and destroyed a large portion of WindClan’s territory, Tallstar had no choice but to take his warriors away from the camp that had sheltered them for countless seasons. They settled instead in a series of old rabbit warrens, dug out and expanded to serve as dens for the starving and terrified moor cats. But even this temporary shelter eventually fell prey to the Twoleg monsters, signifying once and for all that WindClan’s time ruling the moorlands was at an end.
5. The Gorge
See The Forest Map: RiverClan for more information about the gorge.
6. The Twoleg Farm
At the edge of the moor, close to the Thunderpath along the trail that leads to Highstones, sits a Twoleg farm. The farm is made up of two main buildings: a Twoleg nest where the farmers live, with a small dog house attached to its side, and a storage barn, which has a stable and a chicken coop adjoining it. The stable has stalls that face outward into a fenced area where cows, pigs, and sheep are allowed to graze. WindClan cats like to use discarded wool from the sheep to line their nests. The inside of the barn is filled with large stacks of hay, which the Twolegs use to feed their livestock. Cats who live at the farm like to make their nests in the hay, where there are always plenty of mice and rats to hunt.
A small shed for tractors and other farming equipment can be found across from the Twoleg nest. Farther out in an overgrown field lies an abandoned Twoleg nest, no longer used by the Twolegs. The den is overgrown with brambles and nettles, stones fallen from the walls have left them riddled with holes, and half of the roof is missing. WindClan sheltered in the broken nest for a night while returning to the moor after Brokenstar was defeated, and some seasons later, all four Clans sheltered there for a night before starting the Great Journey to the lake territories.
At the very start of the Clans, a she-cat named Cow and a tom named Mouse lived there, along with a tom who’d been raised in the barn since he was a kit, a yellow tabby called Micah. The three farm cats helped save Moth Flight of WindClan from a dog after a vision of a moth led her to the farm. Micah had spent his whole life dreaming of Moth Flight, and it was eventually discovered that StarClan had chosen the yellow tom to be the first medicine cat of SkyClan. The farm tom died young when he fell from a tree, but his legacy lived on in four Clans through the kits he had with Moth Flight, and through his legacy as one of the first medicine cats.
Many generations later, a tom named Fleck lived at the farm with his sister Mitzi, her four kits, and a tom named Domino, who was his kin. Domino broke his jaw falling out of the barn loft one day, leaving him with a permanently twisted jaw. The tom was able to adjust very well to his injury, becoming one of the best mouse hunters in the barn, and only passing due to old age. Not long after his death, Fleck took in Crookedkit of RiverClan when he stumbled onto the farm. He taught the young tom the techniques Domino had used to hunt and eat with his twisted jaw, and showed him the support and respect Crookedkit’s Clanmates had failed to give him since his accident. Crookedkit ended up saving one of Mitzi’s kits from a monster when the cornfield Mitzi nested in was harvested. This act of heroism made him realize that he was destined for the life of a warrior and gave him the push he needed to go back home to RiverClan and become the leader he was fated to be.
Some seasons later, Fleck and the others were gone, and the farm was left unoccupied by any cats. Then a terrified young tom from the Twolegplace, fleeing from his past, found himself on the farm. Barley had only ever known the brutality of BloodClan and the harshness of asphalt and concrete under his paws. The soft scents of hay and mice, and the wide open spaces of the farm, seemed little short of a miracle to his young mind. He quickly made the farm his home. A few moons later, another traumatized young tom came to the farm, desperate to escape his murderous mentor. Ravenpaw never fully left behind the warrior’s courage and honor he had learned in the forest, but over the seasons, the farm became his true home, and he and Barley forged a bond as strong as an oak and true as any to be found between Clanmates. The pair frequently welcomed Clan cats into their barn who were passing on their way to and from the Moonstone, or any weary travelers who needed prey and some rest.
During the early days of Firestar’s reign, Ravenpaw and Barley recognized the threat that BloodClan posed to the forest. Barley gave Firestar information on his old Clan, and on the day of the battle against the Twolegplace cats, the farm cats fought beside the forest Clans to defeat BloodClan and defend their home. A few moons later, a group of rogues, led by a tabby called Willie, asked for refuge at the farm and became Ravenpaw and Barley’s guests. They left after a few moons, after which a fire destroyed part of the barn. The rogues returned shortly thereafter, attacking and killing some of the chickens and framing Ravenpaw and Barley for it, causing the Twolegs to chase them away. They revealed themselves to be former members of BloodClan, and claimed the farm for themselves. Ravenpaw and Barley turned to ThunderClan for aid, and after helping the Clan to defeat the BloodClan cats and stop them from stealing prey from their territory, they were able to drive Willie and his rogues off once and for all. With them gone, Ravenpaw and Barley reclaimed the farm for good.
Only a few moons later, StarClan chose four warriors to lead a journey to the sun-drown place. It was Ravenpaw, having heard stories of crashing waves and salty waters from traveling rogues who’d sheltered in his barn, who was able to confirm for the questing cats that the sun-drown place was real, and who pointed them in the right direction at the start of their journey. Then Twolegs began destroying the forest, and the Clans were forced to leave their home, and the farm, behind forever. Ravenpaw and Barley sheltered the homeless Clans for one night before they set off on their journey. A few more moons after that, Graystripe and Millie arrived at the barn, and Ravenpaw was able to point them in the direction the Clans had gone, allowing the pair to find and reunite with ThunderClan.
That was the last impact the farm and the cats who lived there would have on the Clans for many seasons, until an elderly and ill Ravenpaw set off from the farm with Barley’s niece and nephew in tow, determined to help the young cats find their place as warriors with SkyClan. Ravenpaw died far from his home at the farm, in SkyClan’s territory in the gorge, and a heartbroken Barley was left to make the journey home to the farm alone.
Later, when SkyClan had to flee their home, Barley sheltered them briefly at his farm. Cherrytail and Cloudmist chose to stay at the farm with Barley rather than continue the journey with their Clanmates. They stayed with him for several moons, until a SkyClan patrol arrived from the lake territories to bring them home. Alone again, the elderly tom began telling stories of the Clans to some young, curious kittypets, which helped inspire the creation of WarriorClan. Graystripe sheltered at the farm for a night during his journey to help Fang, and he was able to share one last goodbye with Barley and the farm.
7. Outlook Rock
East of the camp, toward the edge of the moor, is a large granite stone called Outlook Rock. The gray stone sticks out from the moorland like a snipe’s beak, with a smooth, flat surface at the top. The whole of the moorland can be seen from the top of the rock, making it an excellent place for the Clan to keep a lookout for approaching dangers. As part of their training, WindClan apprentices are brought to Outlook Rock and taught to watch what is happening on the moor and beyond it without getting distracted.
8. The Tunnels
For many generations, the warriors of WindClan were split into moor-runners, who hunted prey among the heather aboveground, and tunnelers, who dug tunnels beneath the surface of WindClan’s territory. These tunnels stretched across the territory in several directions, with some tunnels even extending well into the territories of other Clans. New tunnels were constantly being built, and old ones were safely closed up. Tunnels were used for hunting prey, finding easier ways to access difficult-to-reach areas of the territory like the bottom of the gorge, or as means of escape or surprise attacks during battles.
Tunneling was dangerous work―during Heatherstar’s reign, a warrior named Leafshine died in the same tunnel collapse that permanently damaged the leg of another tunneler named Lilywhisker. Only a few moons later, Sandgorse took the visiting rogue Sparrow into a tunnel that Heatherstar had declared too dangerous to be used, and he died in a resulting tunnel collapse. This was the last straw for Heatherstar, who had been harboring doubts about the dangers of tunneling for some time. After Sandgorse’s death, she officially declared that WindClan would not tunnel anymore. The former tunnelers were ordered to close off all of the tunnels and then abandon them for good. The tunnels were left unused from that point on, until the day the Clans left the forest.
9. Highstones
While not actually part of WindClan’s territory, the path that leads to Highstones cuts through their land, and the closeness that WindClan feels with the Moonstone, as well as their role in safeguarding the path to speak with their ancestors, makes WindClan feel a connection to Highstones that no other Clan shares.
Highstones is a series of sharp, jagged rocks that surround a square cave opening beneath a stone arch known as Mothermouth. Twolegs refer to the Highstones as Devil’s Fingers, and Mothermouth and the tunnels it leads to are a man-made mine that has since been abandoned. The cave mouth leads to a series of tunnels that go deep below the earth. One tunnel leads to an open, high-roofed cavern with a narrow hole in the roof. In the center of the cavern is the Moonstone. The Moonstone is a quartz rock that reaches more than three tail-lengths high. When the moon reaches a certain height in the sky, moonlight spills into the cavern through the hole in the roof and sets the stone ablaze with a brilliant shimmering light that illuminates the entire cavern.
The Moonstone is sacred to the Clans, because it allows them to directly contact StarClan by touching their nose to the stone and falling asleep beside it. Medicine cats meet at the Moonstone every half moon to share dreams with StarClan, and leaders travel there whenever they feel they must consult their ancestors for advice. Apprentices must travel to the Moonstone at least once before they can become a warrior. The Moonstone is also where leaders are granted their nine lives by StarClan in a secret ceremony.
The Moonstone was first discovered by Moth Flight, the first medicine cat of the Clans. A vision of a green moth led her across the moor to the Highstones, and her instincts, and dreams of future warriors visiting the Moonstone, led her through Mothermouth and the tunnels beyond to the cavern within. There, StarClan revealed to the distractible, discouraged young she-cat that they had chosen her to be the first medicine cat. She and her fellow medicine cats began meeting there every half moon to speak with StarClan and pass on their wisdom to the Clans. The practice of medicine cats meeting at the half-moon was lost over time, but was brought back by the medicine cats Swiftfoot, Mossheart, Kinktail, Prickleface, and Quailfeather when they established the law that warriors do not need to kill to win their battles, and the practice has been upheld ever since.
While the Clans hold the Moonstone as sacred, there is one very notable instance of violence that happened within the cavern of the Moonstone. Exiled queen Mapleshade blamed her former medicine cat Ravenwing for the death of her kits, so she lay in wait for him in the sacred cavern, hiding behind the Moonstone. When Ravenwing appeared, she leaped out from behind the Moonstone and murdered him. She hid when the other medicine cats appeared and laid him to rest among the Highstones by covering his body with stones to protect it from scavengers. She emerged once they had left and uncovered Ravenwing’s body once more, leaving him exposed as a hawk swooped lower in search of an easy meal. This marks the one and only time that blood is known to have been spilled in the Moonstone cavern.
The Moonstone played some key roles during Firestar’s time in the forest. His first visit to that sacred place was during his apprenticeship, when Bluestar traveled there to consult StarClan about the growing threat from ShadowClan. While she slept beside the Moonstone, StarClan warned her that ShadowClan was attacking the camp while she was away. She hurried her patrol back home so they could arrive in time to save their Clanmates. Some moons later, Bluestar attempted to visit the Moonstone again, only to be turned away by a furious Mudclaw at the head of a WindClan patrol. He refused to allow Bluestar and Fireheart to pass because they had sheltered Brokenstar, who had caused him and his Clanmates so much suffering. This was one of the key moments that cemented Bluestar’s rage against StarClan, deeply affecting her leadership in the days to come.
Like every other leader, Firestar received his nine lives at the Moonstone. But his ceremony was unusual in that it was interrupted with a dark vision of a hill of bones seeping with blood. This terrifying vision was accompanied by a new prophecy: “Four will become two, lion and tiger will meet in battle, and blood will rule the forest.” This prophecy ended up having deep significance for the Clans, nearly spelling their doom when TigerClan and BloodClan tried to drown the Clans in a tide of blood and death, only to ultimately hail the triumph of the Clans when Firestar killed Scourge, and BloodClan was driven from the forest.
A few moons later, Graystripe had Cinderpelt consult with StarClan at the Moonstone about the threat from BloodClan, which gave them the prophecy “Like a three-headed snake, many paths split off into the forest. Graystripe must walk his own path…but he must beware the snake’s bite.” It was this prophecy that made Graystripe realize he must not kill the BloodClan tom Snake during the battle, ultimately saving Gremlin’s life and ending the battle peacefully. Some time later, Ravenpaw and Barley spent a night sheltering in the Moonstone cavern after being driven from the farm by Willie and his gang of rogues. It was while sleeping beside the Moonstone that StarClan told Ravenpaw to seek ThunderClan’s help in driving out the rogues.
When the forest was being destroyed by Twolegs, the Clans spent one last night at Ravenpaw’s barn. During that time, the leaders and medicine cats visited the Moonstone in hopes of speaking with StarClan. Their ancestors’ voices were faint, and no cat could make out what they were saying, but they were there. It was that same night when the sun-drown questing cats stood atop the Highstones and received the long-awaited sign of the dying warrior showing the way to their new home.
With the Clans gone from the forest, the Moonstone lay unused for many seasons, until Graystripe journeyed there in the hopes of contacting StarClan after being cut off from them at the Moonpool. While he was in the cavern, a bolt of lightning struck the stone, causing it to shatter. Graystripe believed this meant StarClan could no longer be contacted through the stone. However, after he left to return to his Clan, the cats of WarriorClan were able to use the shattered pieces of the stone to speak with their own ancestors. Even now that the Clans are long gone from the woods they once called home, and even with the stone shattered beyond recognition, the mystical power it holds still influences the lives of the cats who honor it.
Though the Clans have long since left the forest behind them, there will always be a part of their hearts that beats for their lost home. So keep an eye out for the next article in this series, as we continue to take a look at the territories of the Clans!
