Highstones/Mothermouth

First topic message reminder :

The place where you're closest to StarClan. A huge, underground cavern with a large crystal, the Moonstone, in the middle. When the moon is right, the crystal lights and sparkles. When arriving, you must walk down the large, cramped underground pathway with barely any light. Then when you get there, you must wait. When the crystal begins to sparkle, you lay down and put your nose to the crystal and close your eyes. There you receive dreams from StarClan. When travelling to the Moonstone you cannot eat anything- even travelling herbs.

New leaders go here, as well apprentices for one trip and Medicine Wolves go here every half moon. Once you end the dream, you do not tell anyone what you saw. Leaders come here to receive their nine lives and for guidance.

Rainwhisper smiled and looked at the Windclan wolf, "Ready?" she was nervous but excited too. Thoughts of being leader zoomed through her head as she waited for the Wind clan wolf to answer.

Skydust fought to keep up, his stubby legs making it near impossible. Panting slightly he made it to where the others stood. It seemed that they were about ready to go on. "from this point on, we must all remain silent, not a word or sound is to be made. Try to keep close and be ware, this is a rather long journey." He dipped his head to the chosen leaders and led the way into the cave. Having been here so many times before he knew the path well.

the cave grew small near claustrophobic for most wolves, and darker then a moonless night. His eyes took a while to adjust, but a shorter time then most believed, the four wolves made it to the Moonstone. Skydust padded around it to let the others in.

(Lame)

Rainwhisper follwed Skydust, although she was nervous she kept quiet and followed behind him. She closed her eyes as the walls seemed to close in around her, even though she could not see a thing. She followed the other wolves scent and finally arrived at the moonstone. She kept in a gasp as her eyes opened and the first thing she saw was the stone. She watched in awe as she went around looking at it. The fae looked around a bit confused at what to do then, she looked to the other wolves, to see what they would do. She sat down and waited.

Rainwhisper looked up as the light of the moon entered through the holein the roof. She watched almost gasping as the light reflected off the moonstone filling the cave up in wonderful color. She smiled and felt oddly compelled to touch the stone. She took a step forward and her nose touched the stone. A gripping cold went down her spine and then darkness.

(lame!)

Russetstar nodded, and followed the rest of the party into the cave. It was cold and dark, and he shivered as he went down the narrow tunnel. He soon emerged into a large open area, with the Moonstone in the centre. Seeing everyone else was touching noses with the stone, the male did the same, pressing his wet nose onto the cold rock. He went to sleep almost instantly.

RAINSTAR:

When you awaken, a brilliant meadow surrounds you. Many pairs of eyes of all different colors look at you calmly- golden, green, brown, and even the occasionally unusual color such as blue. A sea of fur colors stretches out for a long ways, mixtures of greys, blacks, whites, cremes, reds, and others. You stand there- dumbfounded. You heard tales that you met StarClan when touching your nose to the stone, but something like this was entirely unexpected. It was like a Gathering, but one for the dead. "Hello." one says in particular, stepping forward. You could recognize the dark grey pelt and those stripes anywhere. It was the old leader, Swiftstar. Or was she Swiftshadow now that she wouldn't be a leader anymore? "I see you recognize me?" the leader asked in amusement, as if sensing your thoughts. "Welcome. We have been waiting for you, though its been longer than we hoped." She paused for a minute, her amber eyes glittering in the sunlight. "Once you leave here you will be a leader and will have nine lives. After you lose them, you will join us here." With her head she gestured towards the faint outline of a wolf, a black one, which you recognize as yourself! As you stand in the middle of the clearing, all of the wolves except nine disappear. Swiftstar approaches first and places her head on top of yours. "With this life I give you patience in order to take your time in order to do necessary tasks in the right way, and to be able to manage those who may not be able to complete them as quickly." She stepped back, and a brilliant light fills your mind, visions of mentoring an apprentice and even memories of when you were one. The light fades and as you are readjusting yourself, another wolf approaches. He has a firey-orange pelt with unique green eyes. He rests his head in a similar fashion on yours, and a wonderful feeling fills you. "With this life I give you the virtue of kindness. Use it to show your compassion." He steps back, another wolf comes forward, this time female. She rests her head on yours, as the two before her had. A wish for adventure bursts through your very core- a longing to protect those you love. "With this life I give you bravery to protect those you love." A female wolf quickly replaces her spot, a mixture of blacks, whites, and browns. "With this life I give you the virtue of love." she says simply, as a feeling of longing overcomes you as well as a 'brightness' you've never felt before. Her amber eyes looks into yours warmly and nods before stepping back. A male with reddish fur quickly puts his head on yours. "I give you the virtue of justice in order to judge others fairly." Stepping back, a large golden male replaces him, with huge paws and warm brown eyes. Putting his head on yours, his voice rumbles inside your head. "I give you the strength to encounter problems and solve them wisely." That was 6 lives. Only three left. Stepping forward now, a female bluish grey wolf approached. "I give you the urge to protect your Clan with whatever means possible. She breathed, her voice having a kindness to it. Pain and a feeling similar to bravery flows through you, shaking you to the core. Shaken, you breathe heavily, knowing it will soon be over.

A female wolf you don't especially recognize comes forward. "I give you humility, so you can admit when you are wrong and not judge people at first glance or take too much pride in your actions" Finally, the last wolf steps forward, a brown colored male. "I give you the virtue of diligence. Remain strong, fast, and fierce and you will be able to protect your Clan" As he steps back, you realize your eyes had been closed for most of the ordeal. Opening them you smile at all the wolves, and some smile in return. "Good luck." Swiftstar says, before all of them fade away. You see your faint silhouette fade also with the rest of your ancestors. There are a lot of things needed to be done with ThunderClan. Hopefully, with their help, you can lead your Clan through whatever troubles they may face. With the thought of 'troubles' a large shriek sounding like an angry cat fills your head, threatening to burst through your temples. It faded as quickly as it had come, leaving you with blackness, though the sound's resonance still remained.

GRAYSTAR:

Your golden eyes blink as you adjust to the sudden brilliance of the scene before you. A meadow with a river close by. It was like RiverClan territory even- but with more open space like WindClan with softly rolling hills. This had been one of your first times sharing tongues with StarClan- you had once before, but never like this. A huge crowd of wolves surrounded you, looking at you, as if sizing you up for battle. "Greetings, RiverClan Warrior and soon to be leader." You couldn't tell which wolf the voice was coming from- or was it all of them? There seemed to be no way to distinguish this. "Like all of the leaders before you, you have come before us to receive your nine lives. We hope you use them wisely" A female wolf steps forwards, it seems they wished to quickly go through this ceremony. What reason would they do this? Did time pass normally in this 'world'? Was this even a world? With these questions swirling through your head, the female wolf rests her head on top of yours. She was grey and sleek as if just coming out of the river from an afternoon of fishing. "With this life I give you fortitude. Use it to remain steadfast in your convictions and to overcome any fear that you may face." Her kind eyes looked at you as a feeling filled you, you felt like granite, a rock that refused to move. Your muscles relaxed as another wolf approached. Another female, this one a lighter brown. "I give you the virtue of honesty, in hopes that you will use it fully and never lie to your Clan or anyone else." Her serious eyes similarly looked at you as she stepped back and re-formed the line, filling in the gaps. A sleek-furred male wolf stepped forward "I give you the virtue of justice. Use it wisely" he said simply, though you immediately knew all which he was saying in those three small words. He quickly receded and almost as fast another wolf stepped forward.

This time a female, with a motherly look in her eyes that just resonated with love. "I give you kindness. Be kind to all who you may happen to meet in your adventures, you never know if you will meet them later on in your life." Another grey female approached, small and nimble. "I give you the life of humility, be respectful and modest to all you meet- even t hose with a lower rank or stature." You breathe deeply as you accept this new life. All of these feelings swirled through your mind at the same time, it was hard to understand them all. A wolf did not approach for a couple seconds, as if giving you some time to cope. Then a male wolf approached. Large for a RiverClan wolf, with huge paws and intelligent golden eyes. "I give you the virtue of compassion. Some are not as fortunate as you. Realize this and understand different situations." It was kind of surprising to you for a male wolf to give you this life, in normal situations you would expect perhaps a motherly figure to supply you with it, but then again this was never a normal situation from the get-go. Another male wolf approached. "I give you the virtue of loyalty. Remain loyal to your Clan and never waver or break the Warrior code." This was now your seventh life. Could it have possibly gone that fast?

Another wolf approaches. Female with brown eyes and cream colored fur. "I give you the virtue of generosity. Be thankful for what you have, help others who are not so lucky." And finally, your last life. A proud female steps forward. "I give you honor. Use it to be noble, trustworthy, and to show your courage." Finally she stepped back and the circle was re-formed. You smiled at the ones you could see in front of you, and they did so in return. Suddenly you heard a large crack. Looking down, you see the ground literally breaking under your feet. Looking back up in alarm for the leaders, they are all gone. Running forward, the small cracks follow you, breaking the meadow in half. Stuck on one side, you watch in horror as pieces of rock tumble into the dark abyss. With a resonant crack, the ground gives up beneath you and you tumble forwards into the unknown.

Rainwhisper now Rainstar blinked awake quickly, she stood, the shrieking in loud in her head shaking her head the shrieking faded away. The black female sat down as she waited for the others to awaken. She smiled mostly to herself, she felt different her eyes twinkled in the light of the stone as she did so. Thoughts zoomed through her head,

"I am leader of Thunderclan! And I will do anything for my clan to flourish, be strong and and..."

She stopped thinking and smiled. She believed in herself and that alone made her smile wider. The shriek fading deep into the farthest place in her mind. Rainstar kept smiling as she thought of her clan.

"Oh when I get home, -she thought to herself-, Oh! I will just do whatever needed, Starclan will be proud. I promise to do the best for my clan, before anything else."

She shuffled a bit as she nodded to herself, in complete agreement. The black fae smiled once again and sat down waiting, her tail wagging. The shriek filled her head again suddenly, she jumped a bit. The female tried shaking it away again to no avail. The sound quickly replaced thoughts,

"What does it mean? Does it have a meaning? Of course it does, or else I wouldn't be thinking of it now!"

Shaking her head once more Rainstar tries thinking of her clan to make the horrid sound go away.

RUSSETSTAR:

"Welcome, WindClan warrior." A male voice greets you immediately as you get used to the feeling of bodily weight compared to the lightness of before. Nine wolves surround you, nine pairs of glowing eyes. The wolves seemed unwordly and surreal, as if there was something magical about them, though the WindClan member couldn't quite figure out what it was. "You have joined us here to receive your nine lives. Use them all wisely and carefully. When you have lost your last life, you will join us here." A female wolf then stepped forward. You recognize her as Spottedstar, the leader before Stonestar. She places her head on yours. "I give you the virtue of sincerity, in order to prove you are trustworthy and a good leader." Stepping backwards, a male replaced her with golden eyes that sparkled. "I give you the virtue of wisdom and knowledge. Use these tools to make the best decision and inform the ignorant." Stepping back, a large male stepped forward, sleek and powerful as if just in his prime. "I give you the virtue of perseverance, you will need it in troubling times ahead." his voice echoed through your head as he put it on yours, and then took it off, receding back into the circle. A small female wolf stepped forward, though not large in stature she walked with confidence. "I give you the virtue of respectability." she said. "Use it to treat others around you with kindness." All of these feelings combined and faded as quickly as they came. Eager and ready for the next, you intently watch the next wolf approaching, a male with brown ruffled fur and humor in his eyes. "I give you the virtue of dignity. Don't be taken advantage of by those jealous of your position." He stepped back, and a female approached. Larger than the smaller one, yet still slim. "I give you mercy. Use it for those who have less than you."

Another female approached, putting her light head on top of yours. "I give you the virtue of truth. Use it to discover what some are trying to keep hidden." Her golden eyes looked at you sadly as she stepped back, as if trying to tell you something without voicing it out loud. An even smaller female stepped forward, with reddish fur. "I give you the virtue of self reliance. Be comfortable in your skin before leading others." That was eight lives. You wonder if Stonestar is somewhere among these wolves. Will he be the familiar face that will approach you to give you your last life? Alas, the next wolf was a female, it was not the previous WindClan leader. You even seem to feel a little disappointed, wishing to speak to him to ask advice if you could. The large wolf put her head on top of yours. "I give you the virtue of strength. Also use it for times to come, in order to lead your Clan."

Finally, all nine stepped back into a circle. They all faded and everything turned to blackness. Right before you felt your paws and actual being once more, the crack of lightning resonated before fading quickly.

Russetstar got up with a jolt. Still a little confused, he looked around, seeing that he was still in the Moonstone cave.

I've got to tell Stonestar about the lightning.....

He stopped. Stonestar isn't here anymore....I'm leader of WindClan.

The new leader sat there for a few seconds, trying to take it in. All the way along, he had thought this was a fanciful dream. But now it had actually happened, Russetstar knew this was real. Adrenalin rushed through his viens as he thought of WindClan back home. Not just his home. His clan.

He remembered how he had seen Stonestar around camp. As a pup, he had always looked up at Stonestar, wondering what it was like to really lead the Clan, to represent the clan at Gatherings and have the fate of the clan rest in your paws. Now I'll have people looking up at me.

As Russetstar thought this, he decided to consult Skydust about the lightning bolt. And what was it one of the males had said? About troubling times ahead?

The Leader of WindClan looked around, noticing the other leaders were also awake.

Rainstar watched as the other two leaders also woke up. Her paws tingled to go home. She looked at them and waited.

Rainstar followed silently. She closed her eyes as she walked through the tunnel, she gave a bounce when she felt the cool air in her fur. Sighing she looked at the two other leaders. The black female smiled. A sudden thought came to her head, " Well congrats you guys, but I should be going now. I didn't tell anyone when I left and they must be woried. See you at the next gathering!" Rainstar ran off not waiting for an answer. She ran for a very long time.

-TC and WC border-

"Indeed - I must go also."

Russetstar, not seeing Skydust in the cave, beloved he was back at camp, and so followed.

-WC Camp1

It seemed like the journey here had taken a long time. Yet, it was not yet the correct time in order to venture into the Moonstone path in order to get to the cave she remembered. She realized that she must also be accepted by StarClan as a Medicine Wolf, even though she was only temporary. StarClan had already begun sending her dreams- so that must mean she was, right? These thoughts troubled her as she waited for her apprentice to catch up. Lightdawn's guard was down, for she was not expecting any other wolves to approach them at this sacred place.

Ravenpaw paced up panting, her ears tilted back she sat down oustide the mothermouth her belly rumbling, hopefully afterwardsthey could stop at the barn and hunt. licking her nose the apprentice stared towards the cave, her heart beating in her chest she realised that this was her life now.

Shadepaw padded in, seeing the two ShadowClan wolves. He'd talk to them about ShadowClan and the pups later. He entered the cave to see the Moonstone in full glow. He sat down in wait. It saddened him that his mentor would not be here in body. But he was here in spirit. He could feel it.

(We weren't inside the cave yet, we were sitting outside it)

Lightdawn gave her apprentice a smile as she arrived panting, yet clearly starving. They could stop for a snack after the ceremony happened. Hearing sounds from others, her golden eyes flickered to a Medicine Wolf who went straight past them and into the path to the Moonstone. Her eyes widened in surprise as she noticed that it was a WindClan wolf. "But it's not time to enter the Moonstone yet.." she muttered, looking up at the sky and then at the entrance where the wolf had entered. Her gaze then turned to her apprentice. "Once we enter the cave your lips must remain sealed until we are out of the cave after the ceremony." she stated quietly, as if she didn't want to speak too loud to awaken spirits.

(SOrry, I am so tired to these posts...)
Shadepaw backed out. "Sorry, this is my first time here. I do not fully know what to do. Skydust has vanished however. I have no knowledge of what to do without him here." He said simply. His eyes in confusion. He nodded to her words, no speaking in the Moonstone cave. He could do that.

Ravenpaw blinked and smiled "hey shadepaw!" her eyes glittered in worry "skydust vanished? you must be becoming a full medicine wolf then! goodluck" she flicked her tail and glanced up at her mentor with slightly worried eyes, what was happening in windclan she wondered. lying down with a yawn she rested her head on her paws.

Shadepaw nodded sadly. "I guess I must be, I'm just worried I do not have the knowledge to help my clan. I guess this will ultimately be the test of survival for my clan." He said, his eyes turning to her. "Also, some pups of your clan came to our camp seeking refuge. Saying they left ShadowClan. Is this true? Or was it they're there because Shadestar is spying? Russetstar is weary. A medicine wolf will always seek the truth. Russetstar said he'd never put anything past Shadestar. So I figured I'd ask." He said curiously, he wanted to know the truth.