Cloudstar's Journey

Cloudstar's Journey is the third e-book novella attributed by HarperCollins.

Blurb

 * In this original Warriors novella, Cloudstar, leader of SkyClan, has watched over his Clanmates at the edge of the forest for many long seasons. But Twolegs are encroaching on SkyClan's land and SkyClan is in danger of being driven away. Cloudstar is forced to turn to the other Clans for help—but will they be willing to come to SkyClan's rescue?

Detailed Plot Summary

 * The story starts with Cloudstar and his deputy, Buzzardtail, hunting near the ThunderClan border. They're interrupted by a ThunderClan patrol that had come a little closer to the border than usual. As they head back to camp after warning them away, Buzzardtail wishes that Darkstar had not given ThunderClan a piece of SkyClan territory moons ago, and Cloudstar reminds him that thanks to Darkstar, obeying the Clan leader is part of the warrior code.


 * They return to camp, and Cloudstar plays with Hazelwing's kits before Cloudstar's mate, Birdflight, comes over and the two talk about the kits they're going to have. A hunting patrol returns with only a squirrel, and they report that everything's been scared away by Twoleg monsters. Cloudstar insists that they only had bad luck hunting.


 * Cloudstar dreams of StarClan. He is greeted by Maplestar, Rowanstar, and Darkstar himself. They discuss borders, and Cloudstar asks Darkstar if he regrets giving up SkyClan territory. Darkstar replies that they have a duty to preserve all five Clans, and he encourages Cloudstar, saying that SkyClan is the most noble Clan and will endure forever.


 * Cloudstar is awakened by his medicine cat, Fawnstep, who tells him of the bad omens she has seen - their prey has been appearing in the fresh-kill pile without wings and tails and such, even though they were whole when caught, and she believes it is a sign that their prey will diminish even more than it already has. He tells her of his dream, and how Darkstar had told him that the Clan has nothing to fear. He goes for a walk with Birdflight and they talk again about their hopes for their coming kits.


 * Two moons later, Cloudstar trains a few of the apprentices, Tansypaw, Snailpaw, and Mintpaw, teaching them how to leap from tree to tree. They hear Twoleg monsters coming, and one comes right up to the tree and knocks it over. They scramble out of the branches on the ground, but Mintpaw is injured. They get back to camp, and the Clan is worried about the Twolegs, but Cloudstar promises to keep them safe, and the previous deputy, Petalfall, who would have been leader instead of Cloudstar at this point, had she not retired early due to epilepsy, speaks in support of him.


 * After the meeting, he leads a patrol out to see how far the monsters have come. They are devastated to find that a sizable portion of their territory has been destroyed, and decide to re-set the markers, making their territory smaller. Cloudstar keeps watch that night, and in the morning, he sees the Twolegs hauling away trees, though they aren't cutting any more for the time being. When Cloudstar returns to camp, he joins a patrol that goes near the ThunderClan borders. The ThunderClan cats, including their leader Redstar, taunt SkyClan that there must be something wrong since there's a lot of noise coming from their territory. Cloudstar returns to camp to discover that the hunting patrols - which have been out twice - have hardly found anything. He tries hunting on his own but doesn't have much better luck. He declares that the Clan will only have one meal a day, like they do in leaf-bare. Buzzardtail is concerned that they'll starve, but he doesn't have any other options.


 * Birdflight tells him she's worried about him and reminds him to take care of himself for the sake of their kits. He promises to, and he also says he's sure SkyClan will survive; StarClan would not have made him leader if they didn't think he would be able to take care of his Clan. Three days later, the Clan attends a Gathering. Buzzardtail has convinced Cloudstar that he has to at least acknowledge that the Twolegs are causing trouble, because they're certain the other Clans will know about it. He tries to keep things light and not let the other Clans know he's concerned. Fawnstep tells him on the way home that the other medicine cats have been dreaming about SkyClan being destroyed by monsters and that Molepelt is convinced they'll be dead before the next Gathering. Cloudstar tells her that Molepelt doesn't know what he's talking about, and they continue home.


 * When they get home, they discover that Petalfall has had another seizure and is weaker than ever - near death. She needs food more than anything, but they have none to give. Cloudstar promises her that the Clan will never leave the forest as long as he has his nine lives, and she sleeps peacefully. The next morning, he patrols alone before dawn and discovers that the Twolegs are building nests on the edge of his territory. Petalfall is dead when he returns to camp. A patrol comes back, and Oakpaw is injured after falling into a ditch the Twolegs had dug. Cloudstar decides that is no longer safe to hunt on that side of the territory, and that they'll have to find some other way of getting food.


 * The next morning, Cloudstar announces to his warriors that they must fight ThunderClan and reclaim the territory that Darkstar gave away. He hates going back on Darkstar's word - he feels like he's betraying his ancestors - but he's that desperate. The Clan attacks the day afterward. The fight goes badly. Mousefang breaks her leg when trying to use the sky-drop move on a ThunderClan warrior called Amberclaw, and in general the SkyClan warriors are not well-fed or strong enough to win. Cloudstar orders them to retreat. He speaks to his Clan, telling them that they must want victory more than ThunderClan in order to win, and that night he is awakened by Fawnstep, who has had a dream about SkyClan leaving the forest. Cloudstar is dismayed but does not say anything, and Fawnstep says that this is a defeat they can't survive.


 * Within a quarter moon, Birdflight has her kits, Spottedkit and Gorsekit. Cloudstar goes for a walk, happy about his kits but extremely worried for their future. He walks to the edge of the Twoleg devastation, and falls asleep. He finds himself in StarClan, but there are no cats around; he calls out that they're cowards and challenges them to tell him now that SkyClan is safe, and then begs them to let him know they haven't given up on his Clan. None of them appear. A monster drives by and wakes him up, and he finds that an elder, Starlingfeather, is nearby. Starlingfeather tells him that there can be nobility in admitting defeat. Cloudstar wearily agrees and decides to ask the other Clans to give up some of their territory, just as they had once done for ThunderClan.


 * The entire Clan comes to Fourtrees, and Cloudstar begs for the other Clans to give them some territory. One by one, the leaders of the other Clans deny the request. Larkwing, the WindClan medicine cat, points out that StarClan won't be pleased if SkyClan is driven out, but her leader, Swiftstar, responds that StarClan would have covered the moon if they didn't agree. The other cats continue to speak against SkyClan, and Cloudstar's warriors prepare to fight, but he stops them. He announces that SkyClan will leave. Birdflight tells him that she must stay, as the kits are too young to travel, and Cloudstar curses the fact that he is leader; if he were a regular warrior, he could have stayed behind as well, living with her in another Clan or as rogues. Kestrelwing, the ThunderClan medicine cat, invites her to join ThunderClan, which she agrees to. They say goodbye and Cloudstar promises to wait for her forever, and he nuzzles his kits for the last time. Birdflight understands that he is sorry and that he must do this because his Clan depends on him as their leader. SkyClan leaves Fourtrees, uncertain of where they are going, and he silently promises to find his mate and kits again one day.

Trivia

 * This book, Hollyleaf's Story, and Mistystar's Omen have been released into a single paperback collection, entitled The Untold Stories.
 * Hyphens are used incorrectly throughout the book.
 * Darkstar is mistakenly referred to as Duskstar throughout the entirety of Cloudstar's Journey. This mistake was not corrected in the story's printing in The Untold Stories.

Publication History

 * Cloudstar's Journey (EN), HarperCollins (e-book), 29 January 2013
 * The Untold Stories (EN), HarperCollins (paperback) (included within), 2 July 2013