Ghost

"I can't make all dead cats appear. Needletail told me about StarClan. I've never seen a StarClan cat. I think I can only sense cats who are still tied to the living. They've stuck close to us. They can't move on until they've done what they feel they need to do. Like Needletail. She will only find her way to StarClan when she has finished what she started here."

— Tree on the ghost cats in Darkest Night, page 298

A ghost, also called a spirit, is a cat who is trapped in the ghost residence.

Description

Ghost cats cannot be seen by the average cat, and can only be seen by those descended from the Sisters, or by other ghosts themselves. They appear as transparent versions of their living selves. However, it appears it is actually possible to scent a ghost, evidenced by Fidgetflake who had detected ThunderClan scent from the ghost of Squirrelflight, though he could not place who it belonged to.

Ghosts are trapped in the residence until they accomplish a task they failed to do while they were alive, or something in the living world keeping them tied from going to StarClan. Cats such as Mistcloud, Birchbark, Beenose, Lioneye, Dawnpelt, Needletail and Spikefur could not move on until ShadowClan was reinstated. Ashfoot could not go to StarClan until Crowfeather had mended his relationship with his family, and Squirrelflight couldn't as her body was healing, and felt obligated to stay with her family in ThunderClan.

On the contrary, the Sisters believe that the ghosts guide them similar to the Clan's belief of their StarClan ancestors. Members of the Sisters go to the residence in their death and guide the living. The Sisters can also communicate with the ghost cats, whether they are related to them or not, as was the case with Blade.

In some cases, ghosts are "attached" to a descendant of the Sisters and can only be seen by them, such as Tree with the former ShadowClan cats, or Rootpaw with Bramblestar. Though, Spiresight states that not every cat with Sister blood can see every ghost. While only the living cat can see them without effort, it is possible to bring them into the living world for all to see, as Tree did with his ghosts at the lake and Rootpaw bringing Bramblestar into the ShadowClan camp. However, doing this puts a strain on the cat and cannot do it for long.

History

In the A Vision of Shadows arc

Darkest Night

Tree is able to make the spirits of Mistcloud, Needletail, Dawnpelt, Beenose, Birchbark, and Lioneye appear to the Clans, and the spirits urge Rowanstar to have faith in his leadership. However, Rowanstar refuses and steps down from his leadership, reverting back to his warrior name and annexing ShadowClan into SkyClan.

River of Fire

Tree reveals to Violetshine that Spikefur, a former ShadowClan cat, was now a ghost, having sensed his presence.

With the resurrection of ShadowClan under Tigerstar, the former ShadowClan cats are able to find peace in StarClan.

The Raging Storm

Pebbleshine appears as a ghost to her kits, Violetshine and Twigbranch, as well as her mate Hawkwing. After finally being able to meet her kits, and informing Violetshine of her unborn kits, Pebbleshine is able to move on to StarClan, having reunited with her family and finding solace.

In The Broken Code arc

Lost Stars

Rootpaw continually sees a dark spirit around Bramblestar, though he is unable to deduce what it is. Tree also tells Wrenkit and Bellaleaf of their deceased kin around them, though it is unclear if they were a ghost.

Rootpaw later sees an apparition of Bramblestar in SkyClan territory. The spirit calls for help, but Rootpaw runs away in fear.

The Silent Thaw

Bramblestar's spirit struggles to acknowledge his corpse is possessed by an impostor, who beings a tyrannical rule of ThunderClan. Rootpaw initially ignores the leader's pleas for help but eventually obliges after realizing how much of a threat to the Clans the impostor is. He informs his father Tree, who decides that in order to not start a potential war, that Rootpaw needs to keep is the ability to see the ghost secret.

Eventually, a secret meeting is held between the Clans to discuss the change in Bramblestar's personality. Tree lies to them that he is able to see Bramblestar's ghost to protect Rootpaw, and they come to discover that the Bramblestar leading ThunderClan is an impostor. Rootpaw later informs Bristlefrost and Squirrelflight of Bramblestar's situation, though both are skeptical, both she-cats come to realize that Rootpaw is telling the truth.

In an effort to bring Tigerstar to believe Squirrelflight's claims of Bramblestar being a ghost, Rootpaw (under the guise of Tree doing it) makes the spirit of Bramblestar appear in the ShadowClan camp. The entirety of ShadowClan realizes that Bramblestar's body is possessed, and Tigerstar decides to rally against the impostor.

Veil of Shadows

After almost being killed by Bramblestar's impostor, Shadowsight meets an old friend, Spiresight, who is now a ghost. Caught between life and death, Shadowsight becomes a ghost as well. Rootpaw later makes the ghost of Bramblestar appear for the Medicine cats of the Clans to prove that the Bramblestar leading ThunderClan was a fake.

After Rootpaw fails to make the ghost of Bramblestar appear for a while, Tree tries to use a ceremony to bring back the fallen leader, but this fails. Tree concludes that the longer Bramblestar is out of his body, he will slowly fade away.

Stemleaf, Dappletuft, and Conefoot become ghosts in the aftermath of a failed attempt on the impostor's life, where they are killed and, unable to reach StarClan, are stranded in the ghost residence.

Shadowsight, utilizing his ghost abilities and the help of Spiresight, is able to make his presence known to the alive cats, where Rootspring and Dewspring retrieve his barely-alive body. Later on while recovering in SkyClan's medicine den, Shadowsight, as a ghost, goes onto ThunderClan territory and into their camp. There, he witnesses the impostor abuse his warriors before revealing he is able to see the ghost of Shadowsight. The impostor leaves the body of Bramblestar, revealing his spirit, though Shadowsight can only make out his dark blue eyes. The impostor reveals that he has dealt with the spirit of Bramblestar, and spirits can make their way between afterlives if they're clever enough. However, Shadowsight is forced to return to his body before he can get any more information out of the impostor. Shadowsight later eats a deathberry to journey to the Dark Forest. Now again a spirit, he frees the trapped spirit of Bramblestar, who had since disappeared mysteriously.

The cats who perished in battle of the rebels become ghosts, as they too cannot reach StarClan. Rootspring spots their ghosts staring forlornly at their living Clanmates shortly after the battle.

In the Super Editions

Squirrelflight's Hope

Moonlight reveals to Squirrelflight that ghost cats guide the Sisters, similar to what StarClan does with the Clan cats. She also reveals that all members and those descended from the Sisters are able to see ghost cats.

After Squirrelflight nearly dies, she briefly becomes a ghost while her body heals. She meets Blade, a former kittypet who is now a ghost as well, and Squirrelflight becomes paranoid that she will remain stuck in the unnamed residence. She goes to find Tree, who discovers Squirrelflight and helps her guide her way back to StarClan so she can go back to the living world. Snow and Tempest later reveal that Moonlight has become a ghost after her death, now guiding the Sisters like their ancestors.

In the Novellas

Tree's Roots

Coming Soon

External links

• Open The Way on the Warriors official website (backup link)