The Early Settlers

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

"Maybe some of us should travel toward the place where the sun rises, to make a new home in the brightest light of all. Somewhere they will be safe, and well fed, with room to nurture generations of kits."

— Stoneteller's thoughts in The Sun Trail, page 6

The early settlers,^[1] also known as the mountain cats,^[2] the moor cats,^[3] and the forest cats,^[4] were a group of cats consisting of the group led by Shaded Moss that split off from the ancient Tribe of Rushing Water^[5] and those that joined them after they settled in the forest territories.^[6] Through the time span of the Dawn of the Clans arc, the group split several times and fought among themselves, which eventually led to the formation of the five Clans led by Skystar of SkyClan, Shadowstar of ShadowClan, Windstar of WindClan, Riverstar of RiverClan, and Thunderstar of ThunderClan.^[7]

Description[]

«As they stood looking out across the land beyond, the sun broke above the far horizon, flooding the landscape below them with golden light and stretching its warm rays right up to their paws. We have reached the end of the sun trail! He looked down into the pool of sunlight and saw empty expanses of grass, broken by patches of dense woodland that would offer shelter. A winding river reflected in the sunlight.»

—Gray Wing's thoughts as they arrive at the end of the sun trail ^{The Sun Trail, page 176}

The early settlers originated from the mountains, which at the time were overcrowded and many cats were starving. A large group of cats choose to follow Shaded Moss, who was appointed leader of the group, out of the mountains after the Teller of the Pointed Stones received a sign that they should follow a trail set by the rising of the sun to a new land.^[8] Gray Wing, Clear Sky, and Tall Shadow were among these cats. The journeying cats decided to head for the land beyond the distant peaks.^[9] Shaded Moss led the cats out of the mountains, albeit with Bright Stream's death but before they reach the forest territories, he was killed on a Thunderpath, and Tall Shadow took charge after his death.^[10]

The cats arrived to the forest territories after one moon of journeying^[10] and settled on the moor.^[11] A half moon after their arrival, they split into two camps with one led by Clear Sky in the forest and the other remaining in the moor under Tall Shadow's leadership.^[12] Eventually Gray Wing led the moor cats,^[13] followed by a coleadership between him and Tall Shadow,^[14] and eventually Tall Shadow and Thunder.^[15] After a great battle involving both groups, the spirits of their fallen kin rose and informed them to unite or die.^[16] They also urged the living cats to grow and spread like the Blazing Star.^[17] Eventually, Wind Runner left Tall Shadow's group to live elsewhere on the moor,^[18] and the moor cats befriend a strange tom named River Ripple who formed a group by the river.^[19] Following a great sickness and One Eye's defeat, Tall Shadow's group, urged by the mysterious spirit cats' message to grow and spread, decided to resettle into the current groups with Tall Shadow deciding to live in the pine forest^[20] and Thunder setting up a camp elsewhere in the forest.^[21] On his deathbed, Gray Wing proposed the idea of naming the five camps "Clans" and named them each with his kits, an idea which was quickly adopted by the newly formed Clans.^[22]^[23]

Tall Shadow's camp[]

"But there are flowers growing there, and trees. I loved the misty air. It felt special, somehow. As if it was a secret place, just inviting me to explore it. I can't explain it. I felt at home."

―Tall Shadow about the pine forest ^{The Blazing Star (book), page 136}

Shadowstar — Tall Shadow originally led the mountain cats to settle on the moor

The early settlers originally settled on the moor in a shallow hollow lined with gorse bushes under Tall Shadow's leadership.^[24] After Clear Sky's group broke off, Tall Shadow's group resettled into another hollow on the moor with interconnected tunnels to carve out dens.^[25] This group came to be known as the moor cats.^[3]

Tall Shadow's pragmatic and overly cautious leadership irked some of her campmates and others begin to call for Gray Wing to lead them instead.^[26] Following a fire that resulted in her brother Moon Shadow's death, Tall Shadow stepped down to grieve and Gray Wing became leader of the moor cats.^[27] However, Gray Wing developed asthma following the fire and he grew too weak to properly lead. Gray Wing and Tall Shadow became co-leaders then.^[28] After the first battle, Gray Wing stepped down and Thunder took leadership alongside Tall Shadow.^[29] Tall Shadow felt a calling to the pine forest,^[30] and others began to grow unsettled by living on the moor with the cold weather.^[31] The group casted stones again to decide where to live, with the cats splitting up between the pine forest with Tall Shadow, the forest with Clear Sky, and besides the river with River Ripple. Tall Shadow's moor camp was then abandoned by the moor cats.^[20]

Tall Shadow led her new group to settle in the pine forest.^[32] When Slash and his cats threatened the groups, Tall Shadow's group was the first to implement individual training pairs between young cats and more experienced members.^[33] When Gray Wing decided to name the groups Clans, White Tail named Tall Shadow's group ShadowClan after their leader.^[22] After Tall Shadow received her nine lives, she was renamed Shadowstar.^[7]

Clear Sky's camp[]

Gray Wing: "Come down! You're not a squirrel!"

Clear Sky: "There's no reason cats can't live in the trees."

—Gray Wing and Clear Sky while climbing trees ^{The Sun Trail, page 197}

Skystar — Clear Sky led a group to live in the forest and began enforcing strict borders

A portion of the journeying cats split off to form the forest group under Clear Sky's leadership, preferring to hunt in the forest than on the moor.^[34] This group eventually became known as the forest cats.^[4]

Clear Sky allowed the local rogues to join his group and began enforcing boundaries to protect his territory. His group was also the first to coin the term "camp" for their home.^[35] Due to his fear of losing those he loves, Clear Sky began aggressively expanding and defending his territory from outsiders, including the moor cats,^[36]^[37] and wasn't afraid to resort to violence.^[38] His group ranked members of the camp according to their worth, place, and reputation with Clear Sky, instead of family ties and personal relationships.^[37] Those who couldn't contribute to the group were exiled.^[39]^[40] After the first battle and One Eye commandeering his group, Clear Sky learned from this mistake and gained a much softer and caring leadership style,^[41]^[20] though it was not smooth enough to keep Thunder in his group.^[21] When Gray Wing decided to name the groups Clans, he named Clear Sky's group SkyClan after his brother's determined gaze towards the horizon.^[22] After Clear Sky received nine lives, he was renamed Skystar.^[7]

River Ripple's camp[]

"I don't live in either camp. But any cat is welcome to come with me to my island home."

―River Ripple after the first battle ^{The Blazing Star (book), page 15}

Riverstar — River Ripple lived alone by the river for many seasons until the mountain cats arrived

River Ripple lived by the river for moons before the mountain cats arrived.^[42] He was originally from a group called the Cats of the Park, though he was exiled when Twolegs destroyed his home. Ripple dedicated his life to the river that saved him and renamed himself River Ripple.^[43] River Ripple assisted the moor and forest cats in escaping a fire and earned their trust with his patience and wisdom.^[44] River Ripple lived alone,^[44] though frequently hunted in the area with Night.^[45]^[43] After witnessing the massacre at the first battle, the spirit cats encouraged the other leaders to listen to River Ripple's wisdom,^[46] and he was usually the first to decipher the spirit cats' messages.^[17] He created an open invitation for cats to join him on his island by the river,^[19] and warmly welcomed those who enjoyed swimming.^[47] When the groups took in former members of Slash's group of rogues, River Ripple suggested a formal ceremony for the newcomers to swear oaths of loyalty to their new homes.^[48] When Gray Wing decided to name the groups Clans, Black Ear named River Ripple's group RiverClan after its leader.^[22] After River Ripple received his nine lives, he was renamed Riverstar.^[7]

Wind Runner's camp[]

"Okay, maybe now I'm making a home for my family. But I'm doing something that's more than wandering around like a rogue cat, without a real home or friends. I've learned a lot from living with others, and now I want to put that to use here. The hollow and the forest aren't the only places a group of cats could live."

―Wind Runner to Gray Wing ^{The Blazing Star (book), page 153}

Windstar — Wind Runner's independence and resilience made her a formidable leader on the moor

Wind and her mate Gorse lived on the moor before the mountain cats arrived.^[10]^[37] They befriended Gray Wing and taught him how to hunt rabbits on the moor and explore the tunnels thaw crawled beneath the land.^[49] The pair grow curious of the moor cats and their unified group,^[35] and requested to join them,^[50] though it took some time for Tall Shadow to trust them and fulfill their request.^[28] Wind was renamed Wind Runner to assimilate with the moor cats.^[51] Wind Runner quickly demonstrated leadership capabilities,^[52] and cats began to suspect if she wanted to lead the moor cats.^[53]^[54]^[28] Wind Runner and her family left Tall Shadow's camp after the death of her kits Emberkit and Morning Whisker.^[55] Instead of leaving as a rogue, Wind Runner decided to use what she learned about the value of a strong and supportive group to create her own. She settled her camp near the middle of the moor in a shallow hollow.^[18] While initially wary of strangers, Wind Runner opened her home to others once she learned to trust them.^[56]^[57]^[22] When Gray Wing decided to name the groups Clans, he named Wind Runner's group WindClan after its leader.^[22] After Wind Runner received her nine lives, she was renamed Windstar.^[58]

Thunder's camp[]

"You're right. Cats should only be here if they want to be. So I should leave. [...] I won't disturb you, or hunt near your camp. I'll live somewhere else in the forest—but I can't be a part of your group anymore."

―Thunder to Clear Sky ^{A Forest Divided, page 174}

Thunderstar — Thunder, the youngest of the founders, settled a group in the forest

Thunder was born in the new land to Storm and Clear Sky, though his father disowned him and Thunder was raised by Gray Wing on the moor.^[59] Despite living on the moor, Thunder's heart belonged in the forest.^[60] Thunder joined his father in the forest after proving his courage and leadership during the fire.^[27] However, Thunder left Clear Sky's group after witnessing his father's cruelty towards cats he deemed as weak.^[40] Thunder earned leadership of the moor cats alongside Tall Shadow following the first battle,^[29]^[61] but chose to rejoin his father in the forest when Tall Shadow's group split.^[20] However, Thunder grew frustrated with his father's irrational orders and he decided to form his own group in the forest away from his father.^[21] Several members of Clear Sky's group joined him, urged by Thunder's compassion and dedication to others. His group settled in a sandy ravine in the forest.^[62] When Gray Wing decided to name the groups Clans, Silver Stripe named Thunder's group ThunderClan after its leader.^[22] After Thunder received his nine lives, he was renamed Thunderstar.^[7]