Sign of the Moon

Sign of the Moon is the fourth volume in the Omen of the Stars series.

The name of the book was revealed by Vicky on the Warriors Series by Erin Hunter's Facebook page. It was also mentioned to be centered around the Tribe. The cat on the cover is Stoneteller.

The Blurb

 * The end of the stars draws near.
 * Three must become four to battle
 * the darkness that lasts forever. . . .


 * The dark forces that have driven a rift between the four warrior Clans are growing stronger. Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovepaw now know that unless they can unravel the true meaning behind the prophecy that binds them, the warrior code could be destroyed forever.


 * While Lionblaze remains focused on protecting ThunderClan from another deadly battle, Jayfeather receives a desperate plea for help from the Tribe of Rushing Water. He must travel to the mountains in search of answers that link the Clans to the Tribe in ways no cat could have imagined. But with the summons comes an ominous warning that suggests the power of the stars may not be enough to save the Clans.

The Praise
Coming Soon



Detailed Plot Summary
In the Prologue, it starts off in the Tribe of Rushing Water's cave, where Lark and Pine are playing with a feather. Stoneteller is farther back, watching the kits play. Brook tells Pine to practice for when he becomes a prey-hunter. He boasts that he would rather be a cave-guard, and Lark says that she will do both. Their mother gets nervous, fully aware that Stoneteller can hear what the kits say. Then, their father, Stormfur, comes back from patrol.

There is trouble among the cats about border patrols, and when Stormfur suggests to increase them, Stoneteller insists that there will be enough prey, and that they are not needed.

Stoneteller lingers a little longer before heading back into the cave. Bird tells him that she must speak to him. They go into the Cave of Pointed Stones, where she tells Stoneteller that he must look for a successor. He is reluctant, but after she persists, he agrees that he will look for signs from the Tribe of Endless Hunting that night. Stoneteller seems incredibly distressed at what is becoming of the Tribe and when moon shines down in the hole through the roof in the Cave of Pointed Stones, he stomps his paw into a pool of water saying that he will listen to the Tribe of Endless Hunting again.

Meanwhile, Dovepaw and Ivypaw are facing their assessment. Firestar is having another warrior supervise it. Lionblaze has Spiderleg supervising Dovepaw, while Cinderheart has Millie watching over Ivypaw. Dovepaw has a hard time focusing on her assessment because she uses her powers to see how her sister is doing, and fails to catch her squirrel.

For the second part of the test, he has the apprentices practice team hunting, and Icecloud is paired with her. She is hesitant to order the older warrior, but eventually decides for them to catch a blackbird. While Icecloud tries to cover her pelt, Dovepaw listens to what the warrior is doing, and realizes her paw steps don't sound right. She rushes over to help Icecloud, and grabs her scruff, but loses her grip, and Icecloud falls into one of the tunnels, wrenching her shoulder.

To Lionblaze's horror, he realizes that she fell into the same tunnel that collapsed onto Hollyleaf, and doesn't want any other cat to go down there, because he wants to find out for himself if her body is down there, and he also wants to preserve her secret. More warriors are called to help her out, and Dovepaw volunteers to help her up. She is lowered down by a tendril; she ties it around Icecloud, then she is pulled out. She must lean on her brother, Foxleap, because she cannot walk on her injured shoulder. Jayfeather helps put her shoulder back into place. The remaining cats place a temporary barrier around the hole.

Later, Firestar calls a meeting to address his Clan. He assures them that Icecloud will be fine, and that Dustpelt and Brackenfur will build the solid barrier around the hole. He mentions that he will take a look at the hole for himself, and gives Lionblaze a look that is asking him to help guide his leader to the site. He then goes on to ask about the two apprentices' assessments. Cinderheart reports that Ivypaw is exceptional at fighting, but her hunting skills could use improvement. When she worked with Hazeltail, she was nervous to tell the older warrior what to do. She is still reccomended to become a warrior.

Lionblaze tells Firestar that Dovepaw did good tracking the squirrel, but didn't catch it. Spiderleg puts in his word about her failed catch. Then, he tells of Dovepaw trying to position Icecloud in the undergrowth. When Spiderleg gives his report, it seems grim that Dovepaw will become a warrior, but then he mentions how well she did with the earlier situation, and that she deserves her warrior name.

Then, they get their warrior names. Ivypaw becomes Ivypool, and Dovepaw becomes Dovewing. Lionblaze congratulates Cinderheart and her former apprentice; she does the same, but remains distant to him. He wishes that they could still be mates, and even though he knows her reasons for rejecting him, he still thinks she should be with him.

Jayfeather checks Briarlight's injuries again, and even though she still can't feel her legs, Brightheart encourages her, telling her that she's getting stronger. Briarlight offers to teach her exercises to Icecloud, but Jayfeather says that Icecloud isn't ready yet. Icecloud feels like a burden, even though she is healing well. Jayfeather tells her that if they couldn't care for the sick or injured, they might as well be loners and rouges. He leaves Icecloud to play with Briarlight and remarks that Sandstorm is recovering, but her cough still remains. Brightheart says that the worst of the whitecough should be over. He is still upset that he had to give catmint to ShadowClan in exchange for Ivypaw. He feels like he is growing apart from the other medicine cats because he didn't want to give catmint to help Littlecloud, but then he realizes that the circumstances are different.

While Brightheart watches over the injured cats, he asks Lionblaze to show him the hole. Lionblaze lowers a branch into the hole, and they climb down into the tunnel. They look for Hollyleaf's body, but they only find a tuft of her fur. To them, it seems as though she is alive, because if she was dead, they would have found her or smelled her rotting under the rocks.

Trivia

 * The Erins revealed that there will be new kits in Sign of the Moon, though "not the ones you might expect", and that Ivypaw and Dovepaw will get their warrior names in the book. These have been revealed to be Dovewing and Ivypool. The kits were later told to be Stormfur's and Brook's.