Whispering Cave

"Tinykit just told me about hearing the voices. And it's true, Firestar! I can hear them, too quiet to make out what they're speaking, but they are all around me, welcoming me. Our warrior ancestors are here, just out of reach. When they are ready, they will come to me."

— Echosong to Firestar about the Whispering Cave in Firestar's Quest, page 436

Whispering Cave
General information
Location	Deepsands Gorge, underneath the Rockpile
Twoleg name	Deepsands Pool
Usage	Used by SkyClan medicine cats to make contact with StarClan
Discovered by	Ancient SkyClan
Book appearances
Books	Firestar's Quest, SkyClan's Destiny, The Rescue, Hawkwing's Journey

The Whispering Cave, also known as the Deepsands Pool and the Shining Cave, is a cave with phosphorescent moss underneath the Rockpile in SkyClan's territory in the gorge where the Clan's medicine cats go to share tongues with StarClan. It is similar to the Moonstone in the forest and the Moonpool by the lake, but is used only by SkyClan cats.

Description

«Leafstar paused at the cave entrance to admire the secret world underneath the gorge. The walls of the cave were broken into cracks and ledges; shaggy clumps of moss hung from every surface, giving off a pale, eerie light. Reflections of the water rippled across the cave roof; the sound of the river and unseen dripping water echoed in Leafstar's ears.»

—Leafstar's thoughts about the Whispering Cave ^{SkyClan's Destiny, page 166}

The Whispering Cave is a place where SkyClan medicine cats connect with their ancestors, much like the Moonstone and Moonpool. The entrance to the Whispering Cave is underneath the Rockpile, a tall pile of boulders at the bottom of the gorge. A small, slippery, and sharp pathway leads underneath lowest boulder to a narrow ledge just above the water-line. The pathway eventually widens to a shallow cave with thick clumps of shining moss hanging on all the walls. The moss has an eerie, silver glow to it, giving the cave its former name. The glow from the moss also reflects on the water emerging from the underground river and onto the cavern roof. Apprentices are tasked with fetching moss from the Whispering Cave for bedding.

The Whispering Cave is the source of the river that flows through the old forest along the borders of ThunderClan and RiverClan. Medicine cats sit next to the river emerging from underground to communicate with StarClan in their dreams. It is said that only medicine cats, or those chosen to be medicine cats by StarClan, can hear their ancestors' quiet whispers. This led to the cave's new name, the Whispering Cave. Medicine cats also perform their ceremonies at the Whispering Cave, such as presenting their new apprentices to StarClan.

Location history

Sandstorm: "The cave under the rocks. That's what they're calling it now. Those silly kits have spread the story about the voices, and—"

Sparrowpaw: "There must be something down there. Rockkit said he saw big shiny cats with huge claws. Their eyes glowed like the moon and their teeth were bigger than a fox's."

^{Firestar's Quest, page 365}

In the ancient SkyClan, the medicine cats would come Shining Cave to share tongues with their ancestors at the half moon, much like the other Clans traveled to the Moonstone. Seasons after SkyClan disbanded, Firestar and Sandstorm arrived to restore the lost Clan, and Skywatcher, one of the last descendants of SkyClan, showed them the Shining Cave so they could gather moss for their nests. Later, Clovertail's kits, Tinykit, Bouncekit, and Rockkit, wandered inside the cave, though Bouncekit fell in the river got swept away. Clovertail rescued Bouncekit and scolded her kits for wandering into the cave. The kits claimed they heard quiet voices from the cave, and their story spread to the rest of the Clan. Firestar, Sandstorm, Leafdapple, Sharpclaw, Shortwhisker, Cherrypaw, and Sparrowpaw decided to investigated the cave that night, and they discovered the moss glowing with an eerie light. Firestar decided the Whispering Cave was a better name for the cave, since he suspected the kits heard faint voices from StarClan, though the cave was now silent to every cat. Later, Echosong discovered she can hear the voices of StarClan in the Whispering Cave, demonstrating she is indeed SkyClan's new medicine cat.

Snookpaw nearly drowned in the river while gathering moss from the Whispering Cave, leading to Leafstar declaring that no apprentice should enter the cave unsupervised. During a drought, Leafstar decided to nap in the Whispering Cave to avoid the heat. However, she woke up when Sandypaw, Birdpaw, and Honeypaw argued about their secret. Leafstar decided to keep a close eye on the apprentices from then on. Seasons later, Echosong visited the Whispering Cave and received a prophecy from Skystar. After SkyClan was driven from the gorge, Echosong named Fidgetpaw her apprentice and lamented not performing the ceremony at the Whispering Cave. SkyClan left the Whispering Cave behind when they left their home in search of the other Clans.

Appearances

• Firestar's Quest (First appearance)
• SkyClan's Destiny
• The Rescue
• Hawkwing's Journey (Mentioned only)

Gallery

Map art

The Whispering Cave underneath the Rockpile on the original map

The Whispering Cave on the original Twoleg view map

The Whispering Cave on the reprinted map

The Whispering Cave on the reprinted Twoleg view map

Official art

The Whispering Cave in SkyClan and the Stranger

Rules

1. Apprentices may not enter the Whispering Cave unless a warrior is with them.
2. The medicine cats, Echosong and Frecklewish, are the only cats who are allowed to go unsupervised to the cave.