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Ratha is a young herder of the Named, a clan of intelligent prehistoric wild cats who keep deer and horses. The Named fight for survival against Un-Named cats, enemies who raid clan herds. Meoran, leader of the Named, claims that the Un-Named are no more intelligent than herd animals, and Ratha believes him, until a clash with an Un-Named raider who taunts her in Named speech forces her to question everything. Then Ratha tames a power that could upset everything. Threatened by her discovery, the tyrannical clan leader banishes her from the clan. Can a young clan herder who doesn't know hunting, use her new "creature" to survive in exile?

With her mastery over fire--known as "the Red Tongue"--Ratha now leads the Named, a clan of sentient, prehistoric big cats with their own language, traditions, and law. But her control becomes threatened with the arrival of an outsider. An Un-Named stranger with orange eyes arrives, bringing political savvy and a desire to use "the Red Tongue" for his own purposes.

As the clan begins to worship the Red Tongue, they see their territory expand, but at what cost? The Red Tongue is an unthinking master of great force, able to destroy those who fail to reign in its power. Ratha may have the solution, but does she truly desire the responsibility of ruling her clan and the Red Tongue? Do the Named have a future without her?

A drought has forced the Named--a clan of sentient, prehistoric big cats--to seek temporary relief near the coast. Much to their surprise, they find a young, clever cat named Newt, whose own clouded history is intertwined with the Named and their leader, Ratha.

Rejected by the Un-Named, carrying emotional and physical scars from a childhood incident she can't remember, Newt suffers from nightmares of a huge monster she calls the Dreambiter. Newt discovers some small solace with the gentle sea creatures of her ocean beach, but she soon finds herself clashing with Ratha over their protection. In many ways, these two large cats are alike. Perhaps in ways too painful to remember...

Twenty-five million years in the past, a clan of sentient, prehistoric big cats called "the Named" have their own language, traditions, and law. Ratha, a female Named, has brought fire to the clan and serves as their leader.

In RATHA'S CHALLENGE, Ratha faces a separate clan of hunter cats, entranced by the telepathic song of their leader, True-of-voice. When that clan's future becomes entwined with that of the Named, Ratha faces the difficult task of deciding everyone's fate. Her daughter, Thistle-Chaser, is her only hope for guidance in making the right decision, but Thistle-Chaser is plagued by nightmares of the "Dreambiter," a distant half-memory that threatens to tear apart her mind.

Ratha and her clan, the Named, are sentient prehistoric big cats. In Ratha s Courage, the fifth book in the Named series, Ratha extends the use of the Red Tongue fire to a hunter tribe. One of the hunters ignites a blaze that sets off a devastating conflict between the two clans. Now Ratha must find the courage within herself to set it right.