<P> StarClan is a group of the Clans' deceased ancestors who give guidance to the Clans . After death, most Clan cats join StarClan . StarClan is said to be represented by Silverpelt, and each individual star represents the spirit of a single dead warrior . Upon joining StarClan, the cats' spirits take the form in which they were most happy while living (i.e. blindness and deafness can be cured). StarClan Warriors, elders, deputies, queens, and kits keep watch over the Clans, usually watching the Clan they lived in while alive . They provide guidance to the Clans, often through dreams and other signs like omens . Often, this occurs when medicine cats go to the Moonstone, a large piece of quartz in an abandoned mine, which is used in the forest territory to communicate with the medicine and leader cats' ancestors every half - moon . This is later replaced by the Moonpool, a small body of water from which cats can drink from in order to communicate with StarClan . In an author chat, Hunter said that StarClan can "just get glimpses of" the future, which they occasionally pass on, although these visions tend to be convoluted and difficult to understand . StarClan cats are often described as being transparent and silver in color, with stars sparkling around their paws . In the manga, their eyes are portrayed as blank and empty . On very rare occasions, a StarClan cat will interact with the world of the living, mainly to take a recently deceased cat to their place of resting . When a StarClan cat is forgotten by all living memory, or is killed in battle, they will fade away - it is unknown what happens to them after this . </P> <P> In addition to StarClan, there exists the Dark Forest, also known as The Place of No Stars . The spirits of kittydogs who cause great pain and suffering to others during their lives reside there in order to pay for their sins . As the name suggests, it takes the form of a never - ending forest, forcing its residents to forever walk alone . Although cats of the Dark Forest are meant to be isolated as punishment, they later learn how to walk in the dreams of living cats . Like StarClan cats, Dark Forest residents will fade away if they are forgotten, or killed in battle . A unique aspect is that if a living cat dies whilst visiting the Dark Forest in their dreams, they will automatically become a spirit of the Dark Forest themselves . In addition, it is possible for StarClan cats to become lost within the forest if they stay there for too long, hence why the majority avoid it . </P> <P> The original Warriors series, later re-titled Warriors: The Prophecies Begin, was released from 2003 to 2004 and consists of six books: Into the Wild (January 21, 2003), Fire and Ice (May 27, 2003), Forest of Secrets (October 14, 2003), Rising Storm (January 6, 2004), A Dangerous Path (June 1, 2004), and The Darkest Hour (5 October 2004). The series was subtitled The Prophecies Begin for its planned re-release in paperback with new covers in 2015 . The series details the experiences of a housecat named Rusty who ventures into the forest and is invited to join ThunderClan, one of four groups of wild cats in the forest . He rises through the clan hierarchy and becomes the leader of ThunderClan by the end of the series . </P> <P> The second series, Warriors: The New Prophecy, was released from 2005 to 2006, and consists of six books: Midnight (May 10, 2005), Moonrise (August 1, 2005), Dawn (December 27, 2005), Starlight (April 4, 2006), Twilight (August 22, 2006), and Sunset (December 26, 2006). In this series, the Clan's survival is put at risk as humans begin to destroy the forest with machinery . To combat this, one cat from all four Clan's is chosen to journey and find a new home for the cats to live . These cats are Tawnypelt of ShadowClan, Crowfeather of WindClan, Feathertail of RiverClan, and Brambleclaw of ThunderClan, the latter of whom also struggles with his heritage as the late Tigerstar's son . Feathertail's brother Stormfur and the ThunderClan apprentice Squirrelflight also accompany them . </P>

When was the first warrior cats book published