Dawn (book)

Dawn is the third book in the New Prophecy arc.

The Blurb

 * Darkness, Air, Water, and Sky will come together...and shake the forest to its roots.


 * The young cats who set off on a quest many moons ago have returned with a chilling message: The Clans must move to a new home, or risk extermination.

The Front Flap (Hardcover edition)

 * Darkness, Air, Water and Sky will come together...and shake the forest to its roots.


 * Something terrible is happening in the world of the Clans. Amid the destruction of the forest, cats are disappearing, including ThunderClan's beloved medicine cat apprentice, Leafpaw. Now the young cats who set off on a quest many moons ago have returned to the forest with a chilling message:The Clans must move to a new home, or risk extermination.


 * But it is not easy to convince the cats to leave. Even if all four Clans agreed to travel together, the dangers waiting beyond their borders are impossible to predict. More importantly, even the questing cats have no idea where their supposed to go. What they need is a sign from StarClan


 * .. but what they need most of all is a plan to save all their missing warriors, or risk leaving them behind forever.

The Praise

 * "A suspenseful animal adventure that urges readers onward."
 * -ALA Booklist


 * "Action-packed. Certain to please any young reader who has ever wondered what dreams of grandeur may haunt the family cat."
 * -Publishers Weekly


 * "This exciting book is not for the faint of heart. Fans will lap it up while impatiently awaiting the next entry."
 * -School Library Journal


 * "The third book in Warriors: The New Prophecy series finds the four clans being driven from their territories as the "Twolegs" relentlessly denude the forest with their huge machines. The small band of cats that undertook a quest for the StarClan returns home with a new mission: to persuade all the clans to unify for a long, dangerous journey to a new home. The feline characters remain true to their natures, and, as expected, the danger level is high. Fans will relish this eminently satisfying episode in a series rooted in Hunter's first Warriors novel, Into the Wild (2002)"
 * -Sally Estes, Booklist

Detailed Plot Summary

 * In the prologue, it is night time in leaf-fall. Cats are walking through the forest, lead by a flame-colored tom. The tom tastes the air, and scents the acrid smell of Twoleg monsters. The tom is comforted that his mate is beside him; the she-cat is matching the tom's pace stubbornly, but her hesitant strides hint the fact she is hungry. The she-cat is worried their missing daughters will not find them. The tom, revealed by the she-cat to be Firestar, tells her all they can do is pray to StarClan that their daughters are safe. Sandstorm, the she-cat, asks if they will know where to look to come home.


 * She asks the gray tom next to her, who is Graystripe, the same questions, and he responds by promising her they will. Firestar asks Graystripe how he can be so sure, and adds that they should've sent another patrol to search for Leafpaw, one of his missing daughters. Graystripe responds by telling Firestar if they did, they would have risked losing more cats. Sandstorm speaks up, saying that this was the hardest decision Firestar's ever had to make, and Graystripe replies, saying Firestar had to put the Clan first. Sandstorm closes her eyes and says many cats have been lost in the past moon. The wind carries her words to Firestar and and he speaks up to say that perhaps, at the next Gathering the Clans will join together to form one to face the threat the Twolegs have brought. Another cat, a tabby tom echoes Firestar's words and ask if he remembers what happened last time he suggested that.


 * He continues, saying WindClan was half starved and Firestar might as well of told them to eat their kits, because they're too proud to admit they need help from another Clan. Firestar replies saying things are different now, and a Clan can't survive if it's kit's die, so help from another Clan would be accepted. Dustpelt tells him that even though one of his kits, Larchkit, is dead it doesn't mean ThunderClan will be ordered around by another Clan. Firestar insists no Clan will be giving them orders but he believes they can help each other. Twolegs and the monsters have driven out most of the the prey further and further away and they have poisoned what is left and it is not safe to eat and they cannot fight alone.
 * The whispering of the wind in the trees suddenly becomes a roar and as Firestar stops and pricks his ears, Sandstorm asks what is happening. Graystripe replies Fourtrees is the source of the roar.


 * The cats break into a run and skid to a halt at the top of a slope looking down in to a hollow. Unnatural light, described as being "sharper than moonlight" is blazing against the trunks of the four oaks that guard the Great Rock. More lights shine from the eyes of the monsters that sit at the edge of the cleariing. The Great Rock looks small and exposed like a kit crouched on the Thunderpath. A new sound slices the air, high-pitched whining. One of the many Twolegs in the hollow raises a shiny forepaw and places it against the trunk of the nearest tree. Dust flies out from the tree and the Twoleg yowls as it bites through the ancient oak. The oak begins to lean over slowly, then gets gradually faster until it hits the ground. Sandstorm prays to StarClan to make them stop but her prayer is left unanswered as the Twoleg makes all the oaks fall to the ground with tremendous force. The cats watch frozen, unable to move. Sandstorm murmurs that the forest is dead and there is no hope for any of them. Firestar replies, telling her to have courage and so long as they have their Clan, there is hope.


 * The destruction of the forest has already begun with all the Clans except RiverClan. They are each starving as the food supply has been cut off and the habitat destroyed by the Twolegs building a new Thunderpath. Amid the destruction, cats are being taken away by Twolegs and shut into cages, including the ThunderClan medicine cat apprentice, Leafpaw. Fourtrees is destroyed by Twolegs and Firestar takes ThunderClan away from their camp for safety, ending up at Sunningrocks.


 * Squirrelpaw and four of the other questing cats, Brambleclaw, Crowpaw, Stormfur and Tawnypelt, return to the forest. They are still mourning the death of one of their companions, Feathertail, who died driving a stalactite through the body of Sharptooth, the huge mountain lion who had been terrorizing and killing cats from the Tribe of Rushing Water; the group of cats who live in the mountains.


 * The cats cross into WindClan territory, to be confronted by a scrawny, tiny WindClan apprentice, Owlpaw. Crowpaw wonders why Owlpaw is out of the camp, calling him Owlkit. Crowpaw is quickly corrected by Owlpaw. Webfoot appears, asking who wants to speak with Tallstar. Crowpaw asks whether Webfoot recognizes him. Webfoot snaps back, saying he does.


 * WindClan's leader, Tallstar comes to Sunningrocks, hoping Firestar would feed them, and lead them on their journey away from the forest. Firestar decides that they had to wait for the other to Clans, ShadowClan and RiverClan. Tallstar agrees but wants to leave soon, before they starve.


 * Graystripe is taken by the Twolegs, but he succeeds in rescuing Leafpaw and the other cats from RiverClan and WindClan, as well as many loners and rogues in the cages. Several cats die from the starvation or because of accidents. The Clans also find out that Tigerstar was the father of Hawkfrost and Mothwing.


 * A devastating attack on the ShadowClan camp - in which Firestar loses a life from being crushed by a tree- eventually convinces all four leaders that the Clans must leave the forest, and they set out. They shelter in a ruined Twoleg Nest near Barley's Farm, then reach Highstones. The dying warrior from Midnight's prophecy is revealed to be a star which runs through the night sky and drops behind the mountains, showing the direction the Clans must go to find their new home, heading towards the Tribe of Rushing Water.


 * They continue to travel through the moors, then entering the mountains, guided by the five cats who returned from the Great Journey. They meet the Tribe of Rushing Water, where they shelter until they recover. Stormfur chooses to stay with the Tribe, with Brook and Feathertail's spirit. Tallstar gives Crowpaw his warrior name, letting the apprentice choose his own name in honor of Feathertail. Squirrelpaw confesses her love to Brambleclaw and he loves her back.


 * Leaving the mountains behind, the Clans discover a forest similar to the Clan's old one around a lake reflecting the stars. Leafpaw is certain that this is the Clans' new home.

Publication History

 * Dawn (EN), HarperCollins (hardcover), 27 December 2005
 * Рассвет (RU), OLMA Media Group (hardcover), 2006, translated by Veronica Maximova
 * Dawn (EN), HarperCollins (paperback), 14 November 2006
 * Dawn (EN), HarperCollins (e-book), 6 November 2007
 * 重現家園 (CN), Morning Star (unknown binding), 1 May 2009, translated by Gao Mei
 * 夜明け (JP), Komine Shoten (unknown binding), 27 July 2009, translated by Yukako Takabayashi
 * Aurore (FR), Pocket Jeunesse (paperback), 1 October 2009, translated by Aude Carlier
 * Morgenröte (DE), Beltz & Gelberg (hardcover), 30 July 2011, translated by Klaus Weimann