Four seasons ago, the connection between the living Clans and their ancestors in StarClan was severed. This period, known as the Era of the Hollow Moon, began on the night of the Gathering when the moon was swallowed by a thick, unmoving shadow. Since that night, no medicine cat has walked in dreams, and the Moonpool has remained a black, stagnant mirror. Without the guidance of the ancestors, a strange sickness called The Great Rot began to spread through the territories. Unlike Greencough, this ailment does not just affect the lungs; it saps the spirit, leaving warriors lethargic and prone to visions of a "Sunless Forest. a faction of Rogues known as The Unbound has emerged. Led by a former BlackClan deputy, they preach that StarClan has died and that the Clans should abandon their borders to form a single, lawless pack. Medicine cats are desperate. They continue to travel to the Moonpool every half-moon, but they return only with silence. Trust between Clans is at an all-time low. Each Clan suspects the other of "angering" the ancestors. Rumors have reached the elders of a "Cat of the Sun" who lives far beyond the Thunderpath—a cat who supposedly speaks to the stars without a Moonpool.
