Moonrise

Moonrise is a novel in the Warriors: The New Prophecy series, part of the Warriors franchise. It follows a group of questing cats journeying home through dangerous mountains and the Clans they left behind, now facing destruction.

In this world, wild cats live in four Clans occupying distinct forest territories, guided by their spiritual ancestors, StarClan. In the previous book, StarClan sent one cat from each Clan to the sun-drown place (the sea) to learn from Midnight, a wise badger, that Twolegs (humans) plan to destroy the forest to build a new Thunderpath (road). The six traveling cats are Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw of ThunderClan, Stormfur and his sister Feathertail of RiverClan, Tawnypelt of ShadowClan, and Crowpaw, a WindClan apprentice.

The novel opens in a moonlit cave behind a waterfall, where mud-streaked cats gather for a ceremony. Their leader, Stoneteller, announces a prophecy: The Tribe of Endless Hunting, the ancestral spirits of these mountain cats, has promised that a silver cat from outside their group will save them from Sharptooth, a massive predator that has been killing their members.

The six journeying cats leave Midnight's den and head east toward home. Stormfur notices with concern that Feathertail and Crowpaw are growing close despite belonging to different Clans. At the forest's edge, the group chooses a shorter route through unfamiliar mountains over retracing their path through a Twoleg town. The six cats bid farewell to Midnight and enter the mountains.

Back in ThunderClan, Leafpaw, a medicine cat apprentice and the daughter of ThunderClan's leader Firestar, witnesses Twoleg monsters tearing up the forest. Firestar tries to unite with ShadowClan against the threat, but ShadowClan's leader Blackstar refuses. Leafpaw is the only cat who knows the journeying cats left on a StarClan mission.

Leafpaw and her friend Sorreltail, a ThunderClan warrior, sneak into WindClan territory and find Twoleg destruction across the moorland. WindClan warriors attack them, and they flee across the RiverClan border, where Mothwing, RiverClan's medicine cat apprentice, treats them. Hawkfrost is Mothwing's brother and a powerful RiverClan warrior. In a later encounter, Leafpaw overhears Hawkfrost declare his ambition to make RiverClan great by imitating Tigerstar, the infamous warrior who once tried to seize power over all the Clans. Leafpaw suspects Tigerstar fathered both Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw, making them half brothers, a suspicion Mothwing later confirms.

In the mountains, the journeying cats survive treacherous ledges and an eagle attack. A flash flood sweeps all six over a waterfall. All survive but lie battered at the base. Mud-covered cats emerge from the rocks: the Tribe of Rushing Water, a mountain-dwelling group. They pay intense attention to Stormfur, and a prey-hunter named Brook Where Small Fish Swim asks if he is "the one." The Tribe leads the Clan cats into their cave behind the waterfall, where Stoneteller serves as both leader and healer.

Over four days, the Clan cats rest while Tawnypelt's injured shoulder heals. Stormfur hunts with Brook and grows fond of her. When Brambleclaw announces the group's departure, cave-guards block the exit. Stoneteller performs a Telling, a ritual prophecy ceremony, in the Cave of Pointed Stones. He reveals that a silver cat was promised to save the Tribe from Sharptooth. Stormfur is named the chosen cat. He protests, but Stoneteller keeps him prisoner while the others are confined to the main cave.

At Highstones, the sacred site containing the Moonstone, Leafpaw communes with StarClan alongside the other medicine cats. Along the way, Barkface, WindClan's medicine cat, reveals that Twolegs have poisoned the rabbits; half of WindClan's elders and nearly all their apprentices have died. The StarClan warrior Spottedleaf, a former ThunderClan medicine cat, tells Leafpaw that Squirrelpaw is safe but "in the paws of different warrior ancestors," revealing that spiritual powers beyond StarClan exist. Firestar bans rabbit consumption in ThunderClan after learning about the poison. Dappletail, ThunderClan's oldest cat, defiantly eats a rabbit before she can be stopped.

The Clan cats are told to leave the Tribe cave without Stormfur. Brambleclaw plans to sneak back at night. Before sleeping, Feathertail hears voices in the waterfall: "The silver cat has come. Sharptooth will be destroyed." She silently insists Stormfur is not the one. After dark, the cats disguise themselves in mud and return to the cave. Lightning reveals Sharptooth entering ahead of them. The Clan cats slip inside during the chaos, free Stormfur, and escape into the night.

Lost in the mountains, the Clan cats encounter three exiled Tribe members: Talon of Swooping Eagle, Rock Where Snow Gathers, and Bird Who Rides the Wind. Stoneteller once sent them to kill Sharptooth, forbidding their return until the task was done. Three of the original six died; these survivors have lived in exile since. Stormfur wrestles with guilt. He dreams of his mother Silverstream, who died giving birth to him and Feathertail. Appearing as a StarClan warrior, she tells him to honor the Tribe of Endless Hunting and says, "A question can have many answers."

Stormfur announces he must return to help the Tribe. All his companions and the three exiles volunteer to join him. Squirrelpaw proposes finding an alternative means of killing Sharptooth rather than fighting the predator directly.

In ThunderClan, Leafpaw saves the life of Reedpaw, a drowning RiverClan apprentice, when Mothwing freezes in panic. Dappletail dies from the poisoned rabbit. Cloudtail and Brightheart, two ThunderClan warriors, vanish near the Twoleg construction site. ThunderClan queen Ferncloud's kit Larchkit starves to death. Mistyfoot, RiverClan's deputy, also disappears.

The group returns to the Tribe's cave. They devise a plan: Squirrelpaw and Stormfur stuff a hare with deathberries, glossy red berries fatally toxic to cats, while Talon lays a blood trail to lure Sharptooth. The predator arrives but ignores the bait and attacks. Crowpaw is trapped in a crevice, helpless. From a high ledge, Feathertail tells Stormfur she can hear the waterfall voices clearly now, saying, "This is for me to do." She leaps upward, digs her claws into a stalactite, and wrenches it free. She and the stone spike plunge onto Sharptooth, killing the predator. Feathertail falls beside him.

Stormfur and Crowpaw rush to her side. She tells Stormfur to save the Clans without her and whispers to Crowpaw, "I saved you once... Don't make me save you again." She promises she will always be with him and dies. Brook whispers, "The silver cat came." Stormfur realizes with anguish that the prophecy was never about him: Feathertail's silver-grey fur had been darkened by water when the Tribe first saw her, hiding her true appearance.

In ThunderClan, Leafpaw investigates the disappearances. She and Sorreltail find Twoleg traps baited with food pellets at the construction site. Leafpaw detects Mistyfoot's scent inside one and enters to investigate, but the trap door slams shut, imprisoning her.

In the epilogue, Squirrelpaw wakes from a nightmare in which she experiences Leafpaw's capture. The five surviving Clan cats travel across open moorland, grieving Feathertail, whom the Tribe buried beside the waterfall pool. As the sun sets, they crest a rise and see Highstones glowing in the last light. Squirrelpaw announces they are almost home.