Firestar

Lore & Background

Firestar's Quest follows Firestar, the leader of ThunderClan, as he goes on a journey to find the lost fifth Clan, SkyClan. After receiving dreams from the previous leader of SkyClan, Firestar and his mate, Sandstorm, leave ThunderClan to find and rebuild the lost tribe. At the end of the book, the Clan is rebuilt with a leader, medicine cat and territory. The book is set between *The Darkest Hour* and *Midnight*. Firestar's Quest returns to being written from Firestar's point of view as in the original Warriors series, after the subsequent series were written from the perspectives of other characters. The book allowed Erin Hunter to explore the old territories again, having moved to the lake territories in *Dawn*. An excerpt of *Firestar's Quest* was released to promote sales of the book, which were very successful. The novel has also received positive critical reception.

In Their Own Story

In *Firestar's Quest*, Firestar and Sandstorm journey upriver in order to rebuild the long-lost Clan. When they arrive at the Clan's former home, they meet Skywatcher, a descendant of SkyClan, who tells them about SkyClan's story, and shows them the Whispering Cave. They also find SkyClan's old home deserted, the caves strangely marked with tiny claw marks resembling those of rats. Firestar gathers together Leafdapple, Sparrowpelt, Sharpclaw, Echosong, Rainfur, Petalnose, Clovertail, Patchfoot, Shortwhisker, Cherrytail, Sagekit, Mintkit, Tinypaw, Rockpaw, and Bouncepaw. Eventually, Firestar re-establishes the Clan and helps the Clan fight the force that destroyed the ancient SkyClan: rats. Though SkyClan emerges victorious, the warrior Rainfur is killed and Firestar loses his second life. As Firestar and Sandstorm prepare to return home, Leafdapple is made the leader and renamed Leafstar on the Sky Rock, which is used to connect to the SkyClan ancestors. Sharpclaw is made deputy of SkyClan, and Echosong becomes the medicine cat. In the epilogue, Sandstorm and Firestar's new kits are born. They decide to name one Squirrelkit (after her bushy, squirrel-like tail), and the other Leafkit (in honor of SkyClan's new leader, Leafstar). SkyClan blood runs through ThunderClan in cats such as Tigerclaw from his ancestor Cloudstar, a leader of SkyClan from when they lived alongside the other four Clans. Before Firestar left the forest, a whole series of events happened that weren't shown in *The New Prophecy*. Such events included the warrior Longtail losing his sight when a rabbit clawed his eyes, Willowpelt being killed by a badger, and Bramblepaw receiving his warrior name; Brambleclaw. Additionally, Sootpaw got a new mentor, Thornclaw. This book is also the origin of the prophecy "There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws." The prophecy was passed on to Firestar by Skywatcher.

Reader's Guide

Firestar is the leader of ThunderClan. His mate is Sandstorm. In *Firestar's Quest*, he and Sandstorm have kits: Squirrelkit and Leafkit. Firestar's Quest is a volume in the Warriors novel series by Erin Hunter. The first six books in the Warriors series are written from the perspective of Firestar, while the later *Warriors: The New Prophecy* and *Warriors: Power of Three* series are written from the perspectives of other cats. The authors chose to return to Firestar's perspective for the special edition. Cherith Baldry wrote *Firestar's Quest* and Gary Chalk illustrated the book. Erin Hunter has said the novel was a chance to explore the old territories, which had been left behind in the *Warriors: The New Prophecy* series. All Warriors novels are written by Erin Hunter, a pen name for four people: Victoria Holmes, who creates the storylines and edits, and Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and Tui Sutherland, who write the books in turns. Chronologically, *Firestar's Quest* takes place between the first two series: after the events of *The Darkest Hour* and before *Midnight*. *Firestar's Quest* was put under the title *Warriors: Super Edition*, as a special edition extra long book.

Did You Know?

• Firestar loses his second life during the battle against the rats that destroyed ancient SkyClan.
• The prophecy 'There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws' originates in *Firestar's Quest*, passed on to Firestar by Skywatcher.
• Firestar's kits Squirrelkit and Leafkit are named after Squirrelkit's bushy tail and in honor of SkyClan's new leader Leafstar.
• SkyClan blood runs through ThunderClan in cats such as Tigerclaw from his ancestor Cloudstar, a leader of SkyClan.
• Before leaving the forest, Firestar witnessed Longtail losing his sight when a rabbit clawed his eyes, and Willowpelt being killed by a badger.