Power of Three in line with the original canon, so that you can come in with just knowledge

of The Prophecies Begin and The New Prophecy and keep going, without having to learn a

bunch of new lore.

However, there was one part of established pre-PoT canon that I simply could not include:

Brambleclaw being Firestar's deputy.

Even putting aside the fact that I just don't particularly enjoy his character, and the

fact that I consider him becoming deputy a horrible end to the arc he had in The New

Prophecy, there are still good reasons to not have him as deputy.

First, it would, and did, make the breakup between Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw at

the end of Power of Three more destructive than necessary, as she couldn't avoid him

and the power imbalance allowed him to punish her every day.

Second, because Firestar dies at the end of Omen of the Stars, choosing a deputy this

close to the end may very well mean choosing your next leader and...well Bramblestar is

not especially appealing or advantageous for future stories.

The third reason is that much of the early clan conflict in Power of Three is devoted

to the secret deputyship struggle between Graystripe, the former deputy, and the current

deputy, who in canon is Brambleclaw, a cat who has barely any connection with him.

I personally believe that this conflict could become much richer if there was some personal

connection to pull on between the two deputy candidates.

Brambleclaw being in the deputy struggle did give the advantage of Hollypaw, Jaypaw, and

Lionpaw being more personally invested in the conflict, since their father's position

was at stake.

However, I think it could have been even better if their family wasn't directly involved,

so that we could see a wider range of clan politics and become interested in more cats

in Thunderclan, as was more common in the first arc.

In that case, I could instead choose someone who had a connection to Graystripe.

So with Brambleclaw out of the running, who else could be chosen as deputy?

If the choice was made back in The Darkest Hour, after Whitestorm's death, I would

immediately go for Sandstorm or Longtail, but things changed since then.

Sandstorm already had her role as the best hunter in the clan, Firestar's mate, and

a great senior warrior, and Longtail...well Longtail was blinded by a rabbit offscreen

and sent off to the elders' den early, unfortunately taking him out of the running, much to my

chagrin.

But it's okay, because I found someone who I came to love deeply, not just in the role

of deputy but as a character.

Let's talk about Brackenfur, and why becoming Firestar's deputy at that exact time is

a perfect way to continue his story.

From his first days as an apprentice, it was clear that Brackenpaw was far more reserved

and thoughtful compared to his excitable sister, serious and determined to learn all he could.

However, on that very first day, Graystripe fell into the frozen river and met Silverstream,

leaving him with a couple weeks of sickness and a few months of distraction as he ran

off to meet his secret girlfriend.

Due to both of these factors, Fireheart attempted to train him alongside Cinderpaw, something

that became much easier when Cinderpaw was hit by a car and no longer went with them

for training.

With one mentor and one apprentice from the pairs gone, Fireheart was effectively Brackenpaw's

mentor, certainly more than Graystripe ever was, and perhaps more than Fireheart was Cinderpaw's

mentor.

The two spent a lot of time together in various battles, training, and patrols, and Brackenpaw

continuously proved himself to be brave, strong, caring, and level-headed.

He was never the loudest voice in the room, and he didn't get as much focus as his sister

or mentors, but he must have been remarkably strong to get through seeing his sister permanently

injured and feeling abandoned by his given mentor, something he did mention to Fireheart

as really hurting him.

By the time he became a warrior, Fireheart had been his mentor for all but the first

day of training, and soon after Graystripe left with his new kits to join Riverclan instead.

While he wasn't especially outspoken, whenever his clan needed him for battles or patrols,

he complied easily and when the clan was in danger he stepped up to lead them out of it,

as was the case when the forest fire ravaged their territory.

He showed his care for individual cats in the clan further when he pointed out Snowkit

and his difficulties to Fireheart, and offered to train him despite cries that a deaf cat

couldn't be a warrior.

This care came up once again when Tawnypaw, the apprentice given to him, left the clan,

and he was just as distraught and panicked as her own brother, Bramblepaw was.

He didn't stop thinking about her until the first arc was over.

He was an introvert, certainly, but he showed all the qualities that a good leader should

have: strength, initiative, compassion, and a sense of duty.

By the time of The New Prophecy, he had another apprentice: Whitepaw, and he showed just as

much concern and dedication for her, helping her when both of her parents went missing

thanks to the twolegs capturing them.

This was also where we got to see his ability to work with a variety of warriors, even those

he wasn't all that close to, like Mousefur and Rainwhisker, both of whom, when the topic

of a new deputy came up, suggested him.

Along the Great Journey he carried kits from other clans, even managing to save one from

an eagle with a heroic leap that didn't save Snowkit, and helped gather herbs for

other clans' elders.

Even when Brambleclaw seemed to be favored as the choice for deputy, Brackenfur helped

to reassure cats like Mousefur, who supported him, that Brambleclaw would be a good deputy,

showing his humility and ability to accept a leader's choice in a way that someone

like Mudclaw never could.

Soon after he and Sorreltail found they were expecting kits, and he managed to strike a

balance between nurture and oppression, and began speaking up more in clan matters.

He helped Firestar plan the battle against Mudclaw, which he of course fought in as well,

and when the battle against the badgers came along, he defended his mate and the nursery

with ferocity, and did his best to repair the nursery the very next day despite his

sister being killed.

He had learned to keep working and not be entirely debilitated by tragedy, if there

was something more he could do for those left behind.

But of course, he and Sorreltail named one of their kits after the lost sister who gave

her life to save them.

He never forgot.

When it was finally time to choose a deputy, Firestar even considered Brackenfur before

Leafpool received her Starclan sign telling them that Brambleclaw should be deputy instead.

Brackenfur supported the choice, but this was evidence enough for me that Firestar was

capable, in other timeline, of making Brackenfur his deputy.

And after the strength and care he displayed throughout his life, and the changes he made

to open up and help more and more cats, I couldn't help but think he deserved it.

Brackenfur's whole journey since becoming a warrior, from expanding his social circle

to becoming more assertive to saving cats and learning leadership skills as a mentor,

father, and advisor to Firestar, all seemed to point him towards becoming a deputy.

As the second in command of the clan, he would have a chance to exercise his assertiveness

daily, rather than just in a crisis, and work with the whole clan rather than just his friends,

apprentices, or kits.

He could learn to stand up for his own decisions instead of just the decisions of others, and

he and Firestar already have a close working and personal relationship thanks to being

mentor and apprentice, and him being one of Firestar's go-to warriors for patrols, guarding,

battles, and missions since he was made a warrior.

But of course, above all of this, there is one big thing that made him a standout choice

for me, and solidified my decision to make him the deputy for Paws of Stars: Graystripe.

Brackenfur was, at least in official records, Graystripe's apprentice.

However, Graystripe barely got to train him for more than a day, and most of his time

was spent either bouncing between Fireheart and Runningwind as he tried to keep learning

without his mentor around or being Fireheart's unofficial apprentice, with his sister left

injured.

Brackenfur was also Graystripe's only apprentice, if you count him.

And with that apprenticeship as his qualification, Graystripe was made Firestar's deputy after

Whitestorm.

Brackenfur already had canonized and yet forgotten resentment over Graystripe's abandonment

of him as an apprentice, making him worry that he would never be a warrior since his

mentor was never around to train him.

But when Graystripe was only allowed to be made *deputy* because of the training he never

gave?

I imagine if Brackenfur were a real person, that resentment would have only grown.

Brackenfur showed himself before Graystripe's promotion and since to be more selfless and

reserved, so I doubt he would ever openly condemn Graystripe or ask him to be demoted.

But if he was the alternative candidate for deputy, and he had had the chance to learn

the strength necessary to fight for his own position...Brackenfur would finally have a

chance to declare his own worth, and point out to Firestar's old friend just how little

he deserves the position he is being offered again.

So that's what I did, but of course it isn't what canon did.

The real books didn't even understand through to the end of the first arc that Brackenfur

was scorned by Graystripe, and they certainly didn't understand that Graystripe was a

poor mentor and choice for deputy.

That is something we have to imagine for ourselves.

And honestly, I'm glad I did.

Because I came to love Brackenfur so, so much more than I ever anticipated.

And really, this is something you can do for yourself with a whole lot of characters in

Warriors.

Brackenfur has been our synonym for cardboard characters in this fandom for years, and I

had always agreed with the sentiment, not seeing much deeper to him than “nice strong

background tom.”

But delving deep into a cat's story, thinking about how their experiences would and could

affect them...you sometimes come out with a character who could make a story all on

their own.

Thank you for watching, and always remember to stand up for yourself as much as you stand

up for others.