Leopardstar's Honor/Prologue

"How did I get here? She hadn't always been this heartless. Even a few moons ago, she would have defended Stonefur with her life. The thought pricked her heart like a thorn. Every choice she'd made in her life had brought her closer to this moment. Had she led RiverClan along the wrong path?"

— Leopardstar's thoughts in Leopardstar's Honor, page 5

Leopardstar's Honor
Chapter number:	Prologue (of 35)
Page numbers:	1-5
Point of View:	Leopardstar
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for the prologue of Leopardstar's Honor. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: prologue (of 35)

Page Numbers: 1-5

Chapter description

Leopardstar sits atop of the Bonehill, lamenting over the stripped bones and how lucky they are to not feel the leaf-bare chill. She doesn't spare a glance towards Silverpelt or her Clanmates as she notes that they must follow TigerClan and Tigerstar due to her deal with the tom, and his Clan outnumbering RiverClan. Below Bonehill, Stonefur stands in front of the huddled and frightened Featherpaw and Stormpaw, all imprisoned due to their half-Clan blood. Tigerstar addresses the RiverClan deputy, providing him a chance to show his loyalty to TigerClan by killing the two apprentices. At the tabby's words, Leopardstar is shocked, having hoped the tom would have only banished the young cats. With dread she sits there, wondering if this was all the will of StarClan.

Stonefur fixes his attention to his Clan leader, and boldly states he only takes orders from her. He adds that she must be able to see the wrong in Tigerstar's actions. These words make Leopardstar freeze, as she wonders what she can say. Sparing a fleeting glance at Tigerstar, she sees nothing but hatred for both Stonefur and herself. She ponders saying no, but is fearful of the consequences. Steadying her voice, she tells the blue-gray tom that times are difficult and they must continue the fight for survival without losing loyalty. She tells him to do as Tigerstar says, mentally praying for StarClan's forgive as she does. Stonefur and his leader hold their gazes upon one another, and Leopardstar watches as his hope for her turns to disappointment. Stonefur faces the apprentices and after a moment challenges Tigerstar to kill him first. Leopardstar watches in silent horror, pleading for him not to do it. Tigerstar signals for Darkstripe to attack, and the two toms tussle.

A part of Leopardstar wants to jump forth to stop the fight, but she stops herself, reasoning that if she interfered it would make RiverClan look weak. The leader holds back her cries of disagreement, flinching as Darkstripe lunges at Stonefur. However, at the grim display she finds herself egging Stonefur on within her thoughts, but stops as she realizes she is going against Tigerstar's vision of a united forest. The golden she-cat continues to watch as the fight hastily concludes, right as Blackfoot steps in to kill Stonefur with a swipe to the throat. Around her, she hears the cries of Tigestar's warriors and the hesitant ones of RiverClan joining in the celebration. Leopardstar takes in Featherpaw's horrified gaze, but doesn't meet it with her own as she becomes lost in her own thoughts. As the clearing empties, she steps towards Stonefur's lifeless body and tries to reason with herself that she had done the right thing, despite Mudfur's opposition to joining TigerClan. The she-cat concludes that the medicine cat was old and couldn't see that forest had changed, and that more difficult decisions had to be made. Squaring her shoulders, she remains adament that TigerClan would help make RiverClan strong again and that by aligning herself with them, it is the only way to keep them all safe.

Characters

Major

• Leopardstar
• Stonefur
• Tigerstar

Minor

• Featherpaw
• Stormpaw
• Darkstripe
• Blackfoot

Mentioned

• Graystripe (Unnamed)
• Silverstream (Unnamed)
• Mudfur
• Crookedstar

Important events

Deaths

• Stonefur is killed by Blackfoot and Darkstripe.

Errors

• Stonefur is mistakenly called Stormfur. This error is fixed in the paperback edition.
• Leopardstar's name is misspelled as "Leoparstar."

Trivia

• This chapter aligns with chapter fifteen of The Darkest Hour, chapter thirty-one of Leopardstar's Honor, and chapter eight of Blackfoot's Reckoning.