Firestar's Quest – Trip Through Time | Warriors Analysis

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Firestar's Quest is a landmark book in the Warriors series, not just as the introduction
of a new and very interesting group away from the four clans, or even as a bridge between
the first and second arcs that tells part of the story we skipped over, but as the first
super edition.
These longer form books have since become staples of the series, so it will be very
interesting to see where the tradition started, even if this isn't the most loved or hated
book in the series.
Firestar's Quest was released on August 21st of 2007, about 3 months after Secrets
of the Clans, and that difference along with the new lore given out in this book explains
the noticeable omissions from the first field guide.
This is yet another first for the series, the first super edition, which is a type of
supplemental material defined mostly by its length, significantly longer than a regular
main series book.
These super editions will most always have a single point of view character for the entirety
of their book times, and often focus on characters or time periods that didn't get explored
in the main series.
None of these, save for the length, are hard and fast rules, but they are things that came
to be expected from super editions over the years.
Firestar's Quest specifically was written by Cherith Baldry, and it must have been a
daunting task to take on the longest single piece of Warriors content so far, with 38
total chapters and 510 pages of writing.
We'll see how she did.
Because Firestar's Quest takes place in the space between the original series and
the New Prophecy, rather than comparing its allegiances to The Sight, I will compare them
to the allegiances from The Darkest Hour.
On that front, Graystripe replaced Whitestorm as deputy, Darkstripe left Thunderclan and
was killed, and Thornclaw and Ashfur were made warriors, with those changes, along with
a couple of she-cats joining the elders, Thunderclan has 9 warriors instead of 10.
Also, Mousefur is, for some reason, now listed above Longtail in the allegiances, as the
highest warrior on the list.
Remember, she was a new, young warrior in the first book.
With Thornclaw, Brightheart, Ashfur, and Ferncloud being promoted and Tawnypaw leaving to join
Shadowclan, Bramblepaw is now the only apprentice remaining from The Darkest Hour's group,
but Sorrelpaw, Rainpaw, and Sootpaw have joined him, apprenticed to Sandstorm, Cloudtail,
and Thornclaw respectively, though technically Longtail is mentoring Sootpaw for the first
couple of chapters.
Willowpelt has moved out of the nursery but Ferncloud and Brightheart have both moved
in, so there are two queens, and Frostfur and Goldenflower moved to the elders' den,
but Smallear passed away, so there are now five elders rather than four in Thunderclan.
In the other clans, Blackstar has taken over for Tigerstar as Shadowclan's leader with
Russetfur as his deputy, and Littlecloud took over for Runningnose as their medicine cat
since Runningnose became an elder.
Mudclaw became Windclan's deputy since Deadfoot passed away, and Mistyfoot became Riverclan's
deputy after Stonefur was murdered and Leopardstar back control of her clan.
There is also a curious addition to the allegiances of this book, clan listings for both the modern
and ancient versions of something called “Skyclan” along with ancient versions for the four clans
we're aware of.
I'll spare you the trouble of listening to every one of them in list format, since
they are all new characters that we'll be introduced to over the course of the book.
The cast size for this book was 75 cats, which is actually a pretty average size as far as
the super editions will go.
That said, it feels like a much smaller cast since only half of the book is spent with
each smaller cast, half in Thunderclan and half in the gorge.
The top ten characters here have 79% of the lines, and aside from Firestar having a massive
percentage of that, the rest of the lines are split pretty evenly across Sandstorm,
Cinderpelt, and a bunch of the new and prominent cats in the group this book introduces. 44%
of the cast is she-cats, and they get 34% of the lines, which is actually one of the
highest percentages that a tom-led super edition ever gets.
But a lot of the cast are cats we have never met before, so let's begin with the story,
and we'll meet them as we go along.
The prologue opens with a scene from ancient times when Redstar led Thunderclan, Birchstar
led Riverclan, Swiftstar led Windclan, and Dawnstar led Shadowclan.
A gathering occurred at Fourtrees and the fifth clan, Skyclan, was late.
When they, led by Cloudstar, did arrive, it turns out that they brought their entire clan
because twolegs have taken over too much of their territory and they can't live in it
anymore.
Cloudstar begs the other leaders to give up some of their own territories, but one by
one, they all refuse, Redstar especially, and Skyclan is instead driven out of the forest.
Cloudstar is forced to leave his mate Birdflight and his kits behind since they are too young
to travel, and he declares that Skyclan will never forget what the other clans, or Starclan
have done to them by ignoring them in their most desperate moment.
Back in the present-ish day, we meet Firestar once again, three seasons after he became
leader.
He is giving Bramplepaw his assessment and despite…somehow, still having lingering
worries about his parentage, Firestar agrees that he has passed.
On their way back to the ravine, though, he witnesses the pale shape of a gray cat who
disappears before Firestar can discern any details.
After a poor night of sleep, both Sandstorm and Graystripe are worried about him, especially
considering no one else has seen the cat that he did.
Firestar brushes it off, though, and makes Bramplepaw a warrior, naming him Brambleclaw
and choosing to honor his courage and loyalty.
But yet again, Firestar sees the gray cat, this time as a silhouette in the clouds, and
soon starts getting visions of a large group of cats in a territory he's never seen.
While he tries to track down a reason for this, we learn that Brightheart is expecting
kits, see Longtail's eyes scratched and swollen by a rabbit, and see Brambleclaw and
Tawnypelt's first gathering as warriors.
Firestar sees the whole group of cats again at the gathering and decides to go to the
Moonstone and ask Starclan directly about what's going on.
He visits Ravenpaw and Barley on the way, and then makes his way into Mothermouth.
Meeting with Bluestar, he is first asked if he would be willing to walk away without any
answers, which he is very much not.
But it turns out that, out of shame, Starclan has been hiding this information for generations:
the existence and exile of the fifth clan: Skyclan.
Firestar assumes that this must mean Skyclan has been appearing to him because they want
him to save them, but Bluestar argues against this.
Skyclan's territory is still gone, there isn't any room for them, and he couldn't,
as Thunderclan's leader, abandon his clan for a moon or more to chase after a long-dead
clan.
Bluestar tries to use the “four trees four clans” argument again, this time in favor
of keeping one of the clans away, and Firestar gets even angrier than he was before, definitively
making the choice to go and save Skyclan, somehow.
After Sandstorm and Graystripe try to ask what's wrong and we see Longtail isn't
getting any better, and is losing hope, Firestar has another dream of Skyclan, this time interrupted
by Spottedleaf who tells him that if he is meant to help Skyclan, he will be shown how.
The next morning, Smudge comes to say that he thinks he has to live in the forest with
Firestar since he's been getting dreams that Firestar recognizes as being about Skyclan.
Firestar reassures him that he can stay as a kittypet but decides to spend a night sleeping
in Smudge's yard, with the new kittypet Hattie who lives in his old home, to connect
better to the Skyclan cats.
This was once Skyclan's territory so Cloudstar is able to reach him, though he doesn't
give his name since it's been so long since anyone used it.
Cloudstar tells him his side of the story, with a fair bit more vitriol towards Starclan
and the other clans, and explains that Skyclan broke up and scattered a long time ago.
He asks Firestar to go and rebuild his clan from the loners, rogues, and kittypets whose
ancestors were Skyclan cats and says that he waited for Firestar specifically since
he needed a strong leader who wasn't born in the clans that drove Skyclan out and hid
their history.
Firestar returns to Thunderclan, approves of Thornclaw's offer to take over for Longtail
in mentoring Sootpaw while Longtail is healing, hopefully, and goes on a patrol where a badger
attack occurs and Willowpelt dies saving Sootpaw.
That night, in his dreams, Silverstream offers him a fish…which may or may not provide
any sustenance in the waking world, and also encourages him to go find Skyclan, subtly
and through analogy to her and Graystripe's relationship.
Longtail still isn't doing better, also agrees to Thornclaw training Sootpaw, and
Firestar takes Graystripe and Sandstorm into the forest alone to finally tell them all
that's been happening.
They briefly believe he's leaving them to go back to his twolegs, considering how he
slept in Smudge's yard, but he explains the truth of the situation and Sandstorm demands
to go along with him to help Skyclan, dropping in the insecurity she holds that he still
loves Spottedleaf more than her, an idea that Firestar really doesn't do a good job of
refuting.
Cinderpelt gives Sandstorm a crash course in healing herbs, Firestar tells the clan
he and Sandstorm are leaving, but not why, and that Graystripe is in charge until they
get back, and after a last goodbye with Graystripe, they set off.
Typical journeying ensues: some hunting, running from a dog, a quick conversation about whether
Firestar would give up Thunderclan territory now to house Skyclan in (he does not answer,
by the way), and lots of walking through fields, across Thunderpaths, and along a river.
Along the way, Firestar doesn't listen to Sandstorm's ideas multiple times and acts
closer to a mentor with a brand new apprentice than a mate when he does let her do things,
which makes Sandstorm angry, especially when not listening to her gets their shelter flooded
in the middle of the night.
Sandstorm again accuses him of not wanting her there, and wanting Spottedleaf instead.
Firestar says that they're both important to him…which, again, is not the right answer
but it's enough to make her stay, but then Sandstorm also gets trapped across the river
from him.
Her being lost leaves Firestar terrified and desperate and makes him realize how much he
loves her, more than he cares about their mission, even.
Firestar comes across a group of loners named Stick, Cora, Coal, Snowy, and Shorty in his
search to find Sandstorm, and it turns out that Shorty actually saw Sandstorm in a tussle
with a twoleg.
Thanks to the loners, he and Sandstorm reunite soon enough, just in time to save Firestar
from a couple of angry kittypets, and they continue onward, much more unified and happier
than before.
After some more travel and a couple of Skyclan dreams pointing the way, they arrive at a
gorge that shows evidence of cats having lived there.
They don't find anyone there now, though, until a couple of young, rude kittypets shoot
pebbles at them as they sleep, and then run away.
Failing to find anyone else other than a rogue that Firestar gets in a disagreement with
over prey, Firestar and Sandstorm decide to go see the kittypets the following morning.
It is now Chapter 17 and we will finally see the first conversation with a Skyclan cat
to-be.
These guys are a brother and sister named Boris and Cherry, and they apparently expected
someone else, an old cat who goes to the gorge every full moon that they call Moony.
When Firestar and Sandstorm learn that he talks about Starclan, and comes to the gorge
on the full moon, they quickly decide that they have to talk to this cat, and so, soon,
they do, after making Boris and Cherry promise to stop bullying cats.
Moony is the last descendant of Skyclan who follows their traditions thanks to his mother's
mother's teachings, and his real name is Sky.
After taking some time to himself, Sky shows them around and tells them more about Skyclan,
particularly the gorge and their resources.
Firestar is ready to leave, seeing as the clan is gone, but Sky demands that he stay
to rebuild Skyclan and Firestar eventually agrees, deciding to start with Cherry and
Boris and giving them a lesson in hunting, storing, and sharing your food.
It turns out they have long and powerful legs like ancient Skyclan did, so Firestar decides
they are good fits.
Cherry and Boris actually had lots of fun with it and return for more the next day,
so Sandstorm and Firestar each take one of them for the day's training, with Firestar
telling Cherry all about who he is sure are her ancestors: ancient Skyclan.
It takes a while for them to agree to leave their twolegs, but by the next morning they
do, and Skyclan has its first two apprentices.
Firestar and Sandstorm go out to search for more cats, coming across a mother named Clover
trying to protect her kits, Rock, Bounce, and Tiny, who doesn't want to fight at all,
a fierce, standoffish, and authoritative rogue who eventually gives his name, Scratch, who
seems to just want the power a clan could offer, Sky himself, who doesn't believe
in the cats Firestar has found so far, and then some kittypet connections from Boris
and Cherry, Oscar, who wants nothing to do with them, Bella, who doesn't want to leave
her twolegs, Hutch, who seems open to at least learning more, and Rose and Lily, who can't
imagine living without the comfort of blankets and cream chicken.
With Scratch, Firestar also finds another rogue tom who doesn't want to be ordered
around, a she-cat named Leaf who helped them fight off a fox the previous day and who agrees
to come to the meeting for the possibility of safety in numbers, two grumpy old cats
named Lichen and Tangle, only the former of which agrees to even hear them out, Patch,
who agrees to find out more considering it would mean company, and Rainfur, who decides
to come to the meeting but isn't sold on the idea.
The next day, Firestar climbs the rockpile and tells all of the cats who came to the
meeting about what it's like to live in a clan, to grow up and support each other,
to train, rise up, and keep each other safe, to follow the leader, deputy, warrior code,
and Starclan.
Clover is the first to agree, for the sake of protection for her and her kits.
Sky joins her soon after, followed by Cherry and Boris.
Lichen decides to leave, uncomfortable in the large group, and Rainfur follows, unwilling
to be ordered around all of the time.
Leaf joins though, excited at the idea of having a purpose in their lives, and Patch
and Hutch hesitantly agree as well.
Oscar, however, only came to see how mouse-brained they were, and never intended on leaving his
housefolk.
Still, Firestar and Sandstorm aside, that's seven cats, along with Clover's three kits,
who agreed.
But this clan is small, and without a leader and deputy or a medicine cat.
They have some work to do.
Following a day of training and normal clan activities, Firestar gives naming ceremonies
to all of them, naming Scratch Sharpclaw, Patch Patchfoot, Clover Clovertail, Hutch
Shortwhisker, Leaf Leafdapple, Cherry Cherrpaw, apprenticed to Sharpclaw, Boris Sparrowpaw,
apprenticed to Leafdapple, the kits Rockkit, Bouncekit, and Tinykit, and Sky Skywatcher.
Sharpclaw really wants to be clan leader, but they're waiting on a Starclan sign to
decide.
Skywatcher pulls Firestar aside to thank him and give him a prophecy for long in the future,
one we've heard recently.
There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws.
This prophecy startles Firestar, but he doesn't have long to contemplate it as their duties
continue, including deciding on and setting Skyclan's new borders.
When they return, though, they find that Skywatcher is dead, leading to Skyclan's first vigil.
Shortwhisker is very hesitant about all the things clan cats have to do and isn't particularly
skilled, which makes him more self-conscious and unwilling to practice in front of others.
He eventually gets the hang of it though, where Clovertail hasn't attended a single
training session.
Bouncekit accidentally stumbled into, and almost drowned in, a very special cave, the
Whispering Cave, that Firestar discovers has connections to the warrior ancestors.
Rainfur comes back asking for help since his mate Petal and their kits, Mint and Sage,
are growing weak, and they're trapped in Petal's twoleg nest.
Skyclan launches a rescue mission for them and take all of them back to camp.
Knowing how much they helped him, Rainfur decides to stay with Skyclan, for a while
at least.
A patrol was attacked by tons and tons of rats, and Patchfoot came out heavily injured.
They go back with Firestar to fight them and Firestar has never seen this many rats in
his life…so, that's not great, especially considering it was rats that drove ancient
Skyclan out of the gorge.
Sandstorm is having trouble treating Patchfoot until Spottedleaf comes to tell them that
burdock root is best for rat bites, and to show them how to apply it.
It is at this moment where Sandstorm finally learns that Firestar has been seeing Spottedleaf
in his dreams since he became a warrior, which she doesn't take especially well until Spottedleaf
steps in to say that Firestar does love her and that what Spottedleaf and Firestar had
was far too short and forbidden to amount to anything.
It's a really sweet moment of reprieve after everything in this book as well as the first
arc, but Spottedleaf undercuts it a bit by whispering outside of Sandstorm's earshot
that she wishes things were different.
Skywatcher, in Firestar's dream, points the way to Skyclan's medicine cat, a kittypet
named Echo who is already aware of everything and ready to join them immediately thanks
to having her own dreams, so she joins Skyclan and starts training under Sandstorm.
Skyclan has its first gathering where they discuss apprentice training, think of how
to deal with the rats, and name Echo Echosong, Skyclan's official medicine cat.
After a few days of battle training specifically in how to deal with rats, another rat attack,
and a quick detour about Echosong wondering if she has lost her connection with their
ancestors (she has not), Firestar names Rainfur and Petal, now Petalnose, full warriors of
Skyclan and they take the battle to the rats' own nest.
There are a lot of rats.
Seriously, a *lot* of rats, and one of them is speaking the cats' language.
Rainfur is caught in the pile of rats, and Firestar loses a life trying and failing to
save him.
Sandstorm could only save Firestar or Rainfur, and she knew what her choice had to be.
Firestar has noticed the talking rat twice, as has most of Skyclan, and they determined
that killing that rat would probably cause the rest to scatter.
Despite this, Spottedleaf decides to whisper in Firestar's ear “Not many, but one”
an allusion to the fact that the leader rat is keeping them going…something they already
knew.
And Firestar still takes it literally, doesn't understand, and kills the leader rat anyway.
So nothing at all has changed in their relationship and its useless vague prophecies since the
first arc.
Having won the battle and lost Rainfur, Skyclan returns to the gorge, and Shortwhisker decides
to leave the clan.
Echosong finds a dappled leaf indicating who should be leader and she and Firestar bring
Leafdapple to the Skyrock.
Leafdapple says she trusts Firestar, if not Starclan just yet, and has her nine lives
ceremony with Cloudstar, Skywatcher, her mother, and Spottedleaf.
The leaders of the other clans in Cloudstar's time come to apologize and pass on their own
lives, and finally, Birdflight arrives with Cloudstar's kits, giving Leafdapple her
last life and finally reuniting with her mate.
Cloudstar forgives Starclan and the other clans, Fawnstep, Cloudstar's medicine cat,
offers Echosong some wisdom, they see Rainfur again, and everyone welcomes Leafstar, the
new leader of Skyclan.
Leafstar appoints Sharpclaw as her deputy, makes Cherrypaw and Sparrowpaw warriors, Cherrytail
and Sparrowpelt, and makes Patchfoot, Cherrytail, and Sparrowpelt mentors to the new apprentices,
Bouncepaw, Rockpaw and Tinypaw.
They thank Firestar and Sandstorm for all they did and finally, after some goodbyes,
the Thunderclan warriors are ready to go home.
Three moons later, Firestar and Sandstorm are back in Thunderclan and curled around
their new kits.
Sandstorm chooses the names Squirrelkit and Leafkit, and Firestar thinks once more about
the prophecy Skywatcher gave him, and the possibility of these new daughters having
that power.
Seeing as Firestar's Quest bridged the first two arcs, a fair number of previously offscreen
events were shown in this book: Longtail being blinded, Willowpelt dying to a badger, and
Brambleclaw's warrior ceremony, for example, and it was definitely nice to have this extra
context.
As far as Longtail…okay, to the book's credit, almost all of the hopelessness about
his future is said by him, about how he'll never get better, will never again be a warrior
or train an apprentice, and doesn't even have one good eye now like Brightheart does.
All of the cats around him are instead trying to be encouraging and insist that he isn't
finished yet.
But, at least in the mind we have available, Firestar's, the hope seems to come in Cinderpelt
being able to heal him, rather than Longtail finding a way to continue on despite his injury.
The book cuts to Skyclan before he joins the elders' den, but it seems like, from this
dynamic, he chose to retire himself, since Firestar vehemently declares that he would
never abandon Longtail.
I'm just going to hope that this choice isn't as bad as it could have been.
What most people remember from this book is the formation of Skyclan, but that entire
section only takes up a little more than half of the book.
The first ten chapters are devoted to catch up on what was happening in Thunderclan in
this period, along with the persistent mystery of what Firestar's visions are about and
what happened with Skyclan, and then another five chapters catalog Firestar and Sandstorm's
journey to the gorge.
This mystery isn't particularly engaging to us as the readers since the solution, that
Skyclan was the fifth clan driven out by the others since their territory was overtaken
by twolegs, was revealed to us with nothing hidden in the prologue.
That said, it is interesting to see Firestar's reactions to these revelations, especially
when Bluestar tries to defend the decision to drive Skyclan out.
Given what Bluestar felt about Windclan's exile, I doubt her behavior in this book was
in-character, but it was at least representative of what most of Starclan probably thought.
Without question though, being in the gorge and meeting all of the different potential
Skyclan cats is the most interesting section of the book.
The cast size is pretty small, all of them have distinct identities, and quickly gain
a fair bit of comradery and chemistry with each other.
It was an overall more political than action-packed plot, but it was a nice one to read about.
Skyclan definitely feels like a real place by the end, between its history, the ancient
cats apologizing and forgiving each other, reuniting as the leadership of the newly reinvented
clan is established and the new clan cats working together, bringing each other in,
training and learning as they adjust to their new home.
By the end, Skyclan is easily in the most unique and somewhat vulnerable position among
the other clans, and its small but interesting cast of characters gives a lot of intrigue
to look forward to in any other stories that may contain them.
But the most relevant addition is of course the original telling of the “there will
be three-” prophecy that is the central point for our current main series.
And now that the supplemental material is out of the way, I'll finally be returning
to see what that prophecy might entail in the next episode, of our Trip Through Time.