SkyClan

SkyClan is a group of cats that live in a gorge with rocky cliffs, that zigzag down to the base. The founding leader, Sky, got his name from being able to jump far and high, so by extension the name was thought to be given to the Clan.

Description
SkyClan was the fifth Clan, but was forced to leave the forest because Twolegs had taken over their territory and turned it into a Twolegplace. Their leader at the time, Cloudstar, appealed to the other Clan leaders at a Gathering and asked for them each to give up some of their territory for SkyClan. Each Clan gave reasons to refuse to let SkyClan stay, and in the end, the Clan was driven out. Because of this, Cloudstar swore that SkyClan will never look at their warrior ancestors again. Cloudstar's mate, Birdflight, was offered a place in ThunderClan with her kits, since she had just given birth to them and that were too young to make the journey to SkyClan's new home. With much sadness, Birdflight accepted and promises Cloudstar that they will someday meet again. Later, it was brought back by Firestar, in Firestar's Quest.

Modern SkyClan is a Clan of cats with strongly built hind legs which allow them to jump great heights or distances. They have rough, hard gray pads which help them to jump and walk long distances on hard, rough surfaces; this feature allows them to climb and hunt in the trees, hence the name SkyClan. They are very powerful cats, who are a bit like ThunderClan, eating mainly squirrels, mice, and many kinds of birds.

In the Forest Territories
Ancient SkyClan lived in the area in which there are now Twolegplaces and the Treecut Place. Their territory was destroyed a long time ago, and little is known about it. Their camp was in a hollow, and a Twoleg Nest was built on it, where now the kittypet Smudge lives.

In The Gorge
Modern SkyCan is located in a gorge, known to Twolegs as Deepsands Gorge. Landmarks in this territory include:


 * Camp - The camp is located at the base of a steep gorge, making it a tad difficult to be attacked.
 * River Chell - Is a river flowing in the camp, known as the River Chell to Twolegs, This river leads to the Deepsands Pool.
 * Skyrock - is where the leader makes announcements to the Clan. It's at the top of the gorge, so the Clan has a full view of the leader.
 * Sky's Den - is the ancient den of Sky, or Skywatcher, the first leader of SkyClan. It is unused in the modern days, for the leader has found another den.
 * Rockpile - is a pile of rocks where the warriors place the prey that they have caught.
 * High Dene Woods - borders the gorge. They are known to the Twolegs as High Dene Woods.
 * Twolegplace - are Twoleg Nests a little ways from the gorge. The Twolegplace was home to Dodge and his gang of rogues during SkyClan's Destiny.


 * Modern SkyClan lives in a gorge located north of The Forest Territories at the end of the river. The dens are small caves in the cliffs of the gorge that used to have tiny rat clawmarks, but Leafstar then covered them up as a sign of their victory. They jump high into the trees with their powerful limbs to catch their prey, and have some attack moves dealing with the trees. The Rockpile is like ThunderClan's Highrock, where the Clan leader would be able to make announcements and such. The gorge is very rocky, and cats need to either jump or climb to get to their high dens. In their camp, there is a river leading to a fallen tree. There is also a path to go to the forest. Near the territory is a Twolegplace and a Thunderpath. The Forest near the gorge is where the cats hunt. The also hunt in the forests by the Twolegplace and the forest that follows the river. The Whispering Cave is where the leader will receive their nine lives and where the medicine cat will go to share tongues with StarClan.

Firestar's Quest

 * Firestar is starting to see visions of a group of cats running away, and begins to think he is going crazy. Eventually Smudge, Firestar's kittypet friend, visits him and tells him he is having the same dreams. Firestar then finds out that Smudge's house is built on the old SkyClan camp. He then sleeps in Smudge's backyard, and the leader of ancient SkyClan visits him more clearly in his dreams. He explains to Firestar that it is his destiny to follow the river upstream, where he would find a place where SkyClan could once again live. Firestar later talks to Bluestar about it and is shocked that she kept something from him; when she says, "There were five Clans in the forest," he thinks she is talking about StarClan, but she literally means five Clans. Firestar gets mad at her and StarClan and resolves to try to put things right, therefore making the dangerous journey. Firestar brings Sandstorm along with him. Firestar and Sandstorm then travel there, where they meet a cat named Sky, a descendant of SkyClan, who they ask about old SkyClan. They seek out cats to once again make SkyClan great. In one cave where SkyClan will settle, Firestar and Sandstorm think that the scratch marks on the wall of the cave are from kits, so they make that cave the nursery. As it turns out, those were actually rat claw marks, showing that rats actually attacked the Ancient SkyClan.


 * Two kittypets, Cherry and Boris, decide to join the new Clan and are eventually renamed Cherrypaw and Sparrowpaw, respectively. Firestar also finds a queen, Clover, defending her kits from a fox and tries to drive it off. Firestar and Sandstorm are wounded, and a rogue named Scratch comes and helps them to chase it away. Clover and her kits Rock, Tiny, and Bounce decide to join SkyClan, becoming Clovertail, Rockkit, Tinykit, and Bouncekit. At first, Clovertail only joins the Clan for the protection of her kits, but once one of her kits falls in the river, she jumps in and saves it. Only then does she realize that she can protect her kits and fight for them. Scratch also decides to try out the Clan and goes back to camp with them.


 * Later, Sparrowpaw takes Firestar to the cats he knows around the Twolegplace, and they ask them to come to a meeting in the gorge to tell the local cats about the new SkyClan. When they get back to camp, Scratch, whose Clan name becomes Sharpclaw, takes Firestar to talk to the rogues and loners. That night, a small group of cats come to the gorge, and three of them, Leaf, Hutch, and Patch, join the Clan. They are given the warrior names Leafdapple, Shortwhisker, and Patchfoot respectively. When Firestar talks about the Clan leaders receiving nine lives from StarClan, Sharpclaw's eyes brighten and Firestar is worried that he might have the same ambition as Tigerstar once had. Rainfur, another loner, attends the meeting, but does not want to join the Clan. To honor his devotion to SkyClan's memory, Sky is given the name Skywatcher. Clovertail's kits venture into the Shining Cave and say that they heard voices whispering to them. Firestar realizes that the Shining Cave is like the Clan's Moonstone, a way to share tongues and communicate with their ancestors.


 * Rainfur later returns to ask Firestar to rescue his mate Petal and their kits Mint and Sage from Petal's Twoleg who is neglecting them and hurting his family. Firestar leads a rescue mission and brings Rainfur and his family back to the Clan. They later join the Clan, when Petal is renamed Petalnose and Mint and Sage become Mintkit and Sagekit. Since Rainfur's name already sounds like a Clan name, Firestar decides to leave it as it is.


 * SkyClan also receives trouble from the rat army that drove the first SkyClan away. The rats actually left the scratches in the place Firestar and Sandstorm thought was the nursery. They had scratched over the cat's claw marks to show that the cats were defeated and they had won. Sky admits that he didn't tell Firestar about the rats because he might not have decided to help rebuild the Clan. Firestar leads a patrol of cats to attack the rats in the old warehouse, their home. The attack goes wrong when the rats cut off their escape route and they are trapped in a tree. Rainfur is lost in the turmoil and Sandstorm pulls Firestar up the tree to save him. Firestar knows that the only way to defeat the rats was to defeat its leader. After studying the movement of the rats, he pinpoints the leader and swiftly kills him. Confused, and without a leader, the rats scatter and Firestar leads his patrol home. Rainfur is reported dead and is the only cat that dies. However, Shortwhisker decides that the dangerous life of a Clan cat is not for him, and goes back to being a kittypet.


 * The first leader of modern SkyClan turns out to be Leafdapple, which Echosong realizes after she gets a sign from StarClan. Firestar and Echosong witness Leafdapple's leader ceremony, and the newly-named Leafstar chooses Sharpclaw to be her deputy. Leafstar also makes Cherrypaw and Sparrowpaw into warriors, for their brave actions during the fight with the rats, naming them Cherrytail and Sparrowpelt. Cherrytail becomes mentor to Rockpaw; Sparrowpelt becomes mentor to Tinypaw; and Patchfoot becomes the mentor of Bouncepaw. Firestar, with much regret, leaves SkyClan to fend for itself and returns home to ThunderClan.

SkyClan's Destiny

 * In the prologue of SkyClan's Destiny, the remains of SkyClan are coming back to camp after the battle with the rats, exhasuted. Nightfur asks Spiderstar, who is the leader of the battle patrol that attacked the rats, if they won. Spiderstar doesn't directly answer, and tells Brackenheart that his den better be stocked with herbs, due to the wounds he would have to treat.


 * Swallowflight tells the Clan they had lost the battle, and Honeyleaf retorts that he can't say that, that SkyClan still has its pride. Frostclaw asks if they will hold vigils for Sunpelt and Fallensnow, which are two cats that had died in the battle with the rats, and Oakstep reacts with disbelief and asks where the bodies are. Swallowflight tells Oakstep they had to leave them behind.


 * Spiderstar slowly confesses to his Clan's weakness, and the Clan slowly departs, breaking into groups of rogues, kittypets, and loners. Honeyleaf, Spiderstar, Nightfur, Mousefang, Swallowflight, and Brackenheart are some of the cats who stay in the gorge and don't become kittypets or rogues, just loners.


 * Spiderstar tells the remaining cats that they still live on, but SkyClan has died. Brackenheart tells Spiderstar he has to look at his injuries.


 * Spiderstar sighs and wonders if a Clan will ever live in the gorge again. Brackenheart says that he thinks he will, and reveals the mysterious prophecy: "This is the leaf-bare of our Clan. Greenleaf will come, but it will bring even greater storms than these. SkyClan will need deeper roots if it is to survive."


 * Leafstar is seen as the current the leader of SkyClan.

Further Appearances

 * It has been confirmed (by Erin in a Wands and World author chat) that the SkyClan cats will appear in their own special edition, that was released in August. It is titled SkyClan's Destiny, and excerpts have been featured in the backs of Battles of the Clans and Bluestar's Prophecy (paperback version). There is also a teaser about SkyClan's Destiny on SFBookcase.com that says the book will be about Leafstar trying to hold her Clan together.


 * It has been confirmed on Vicky's facebook page that SkyClan will have their own manga after Ravenpaw's Path.