Moonstone

The Moonstone is a large, quartz crystal that glows beautifully in the moonlight, located at Highstones in the forest territories past WindClan's moor. There, Clan leaders and medicine cats share with StarClan, receiving both advice and prophecies to guide their future. The Moonpool serves the same purpose in the lake territories.
==Description==
:The Moonstone is located in Highstones, deep underground. It is located in the abandoned Devil's Fingers mine, which was formerly maintained by Twolegs before they abandoned it. Due to the nature of Highstones, there are many openings that a cat may use to enter. However, only one is known to reach the Moonstone itself through the Mothermouth, and most are able to easily decide which path to take. To reach it, one must travel down a pitch-black stone passage that many cats believe goes on forever. It is a downward slope that is narrow enough that a cat's whiskers touch the edges. The closer to the Moonstone one gets, the brighter the enormous underground cavern becomes due to the fact the Moonstone reflects the light of the sky above. The ceiling of the cave is jagged, but there is a triangle hole where moonlight is able to pass into the cave and allow the giant stone to glow. The glowing resembles countless dewdrops. The stone itself is cold and stands in the middle of the cavern, is more than three-tail lengths high, and is somewhat translucent.
:Due to the Moonstone's location, cats are given free passage between rival Clan's territories to access if needed. Subsequently, the Moonstone is also supposed to not reside in any Clan's territory, instead being unclaimed land that has no territorial claim.
===Significance===
:The Moonstone is a sacred place to the Clans, as it is a means for Clan leaders and medicine cats to communicate directly with StarClan. There, these cats are able to receive prophecies and omens from their ancestors, receive the gift of nine lives for leaders, and be presented before StarClan in the case of new medicine cats, and those completing their training to become warriors. It is tradition for apprentices to visit the Moonstone while completing their training. Some warriors also hold an air of uncertainty about the Moonstone, and outsiders to the Clans rarely understand the sheer importance of the place. To communicate with StarClan, cats must touch their noses to the Moonstone when moonlight makes it glow and StarClan will speak in their dreams.
===Location history===
:Some of the early settlers experience special dreams, including Pebble Heart who dreamed of a star shining underground. Moth Flight, a WindClan cat, begins to have dreams of cats visiting a glittering stone surrounded by spirit cats, and the spirit cats send her a moth to follow to Highstones. Moth Flight discovers the Moonstone and communicates with the spirit cats by touching her nose to the stone. The spirit cats name her the first medicine cat and task her with treating her Clanmates' injuries, interpreting omens, and guiding her leader. Moth Flight gathers the other medicine cats—Pebble Heart, Cloud Spots, Dappled Pelt, and Micah—to the Moonstone, and the medicine cats agree to meet with StarClan every half-moon. After Wind Runner is gravely injured in battle, Moth Flight takes her to Moonstone where she receives her nine lives and is renamed Windstar.
:The Moonstone remained the Clans' sacred location to communicate with StarClan for many, many moons. Only one cat has tarnished the sacred cavern; Mapleshade when she killed Ravenwing at the Moonstone in revenge for the death of her kits. Typically, warriors are prohibited from visiting the Moonstone without special permission, though one exception is when Ravenpaw and Barley visit the Moonstone to seek guidance from StarClan after BloodClan drove them away from their farm. 
:Many moons following the Clan's departure from the forest territories, Graystripe returns in an attempt to share tongues with the unreachable StarClan. When he reaches Highstones and subsequently the Moonstone, a storm brews overhead. While speaking to both Firestar and StarClan, a bolt of lightning strikes the Moonstone and destroys it. In the aftermath, the elder discovers shattered fragments of the once mighty stone, giving off a faint glow from its former place within the cave. In Graystripe's departure, WarriorClan begins using the Moonstone as their medicine cat, Petunia, steps into her role.
==Known deaths==
*Ravenwing
==Book mentions==
==Gallery==
===Official art===
Moth Flight.SE-8-FC.png|The Moonstone on the cover of Moth Flight's Vision
Unlit Moonstone.TPB-1.png|The unlit Moonstone in The Prophecies Begin, volume 1
Moonstone.TPB-1.png|The Moonstone in The Prophecies Begin, volume 1
Moonstone.SE-5.png|The Moonstone in Yellowfang's Secret
Moonstone.RP.png|The Moonstone in Ravenpaw's Path
Moonstone.SE-13.png|The Moonstone destroyed in Graystripe's Vow
Moonstone.FG-3.jpg|The Moonstone in Code of the Clans
==Trivia==
===Interesting facts===
*In the graphic novels illustrated by James Barry, the Moonstone is depicted with the out-of-universe symbol for StarClan.Revealed in the image for the Moonstone in Ravenpaw's Path
*Windstar was the first Clan leader to receive her nine lives at the Moonstone, and Blackstar was the last.
*In The Prophecies Begin, volume 1, the Moonstone is depicted as a smooth round stone.
===Mistakes===
*The Moonstone was once mistakenly mentioned as the Great Rock from Fourtrees.
*The Moonstone is mistakenly called the Moonpool.
===Continuity===
*In Secrets of the Clans, a 2007 field guide, WindClan are mentioned to take pride in being the closest Clan to the Moonstone. The Moonstone is also mentioned in Mothflight, Dapplepelt, and Pebbleheart's sections as it is featured in the tale, "How the Moonstone Was Discovered". Mothflight is credited with discovering the Moonstone after following a feather to its location and speaking to her ancestors.
==Quotes==
==External links==
* 
==See also==
*Highstones
*Moth Flight
*Moth Flight's Vision
==Notes and references==
de:Mondsteinfr:Pierre de Lunefi:Kuukivinl:De Maansteenru:Лунный Каменьes:Piedra Lunaruk:Місяцескеляko:달바위
Category: Locations