Scourge

Scourge is a small black tom with one white paw, icy-blue eyes, and a high-pitched voice. He is known for wearing a dark purple collar studded with cats' and dogs' teeth, and his claws are reinforced with dogs' teeth.

Bluestar's Prophecy

 * Scourge appears in this book, though he is not named. A patrol of three, which includes Tigerpaw, Bluefur, and Thistleclaw, finds Scourge in the midst of their territory when he is still a young kit. For the punishment of trespassing, Scourge is brutally scarred by Tigerpaw, who is egged on by Thistleclaw. His life is saved by Bluestar, then Bluefur, as the warrior code says to spares the lives of kits. After the experience, Scourge is scarred mentally with a deep grudge for revenge.

The Darkest Hour

 * Scourge is the leader of Skyclan, the Clan that lives in a nearby Twolegplace. Though he is very small, this cat leads his Clan with an iron claw and kills anyone who stands against him, and unlike many other cats, has no problem killing other cats. It is also said he calls it a kind of "sport."


 * Although he is a leader, Scourge does not believe in kindness, which is one of his greatest weakness, since he only has one life. Two moons before the dogs attack the Shadowclan camp, Tigerstar and Tallpoppy, a former BloodClan member, travel through Twolegplace to find Scourge. Scourge and his Clan are invited to the forest by Tigerstar, who wants their help to force ThunderClan and WindClan to join TigerClan. Scourge remembers Tigerstar, but agrees to go to the forest.


 * Two moons later, Tigerstar leads Skyclan into the forest and introduces them to the forest cats. However, Tigerstar then attempts to command Skyclan into fighting. After Scourge tells him that he and he alone commands BloodClan, Tigerstar attacks him, yelling the word "Kittypet!" Scourge then slashes Tigerstar's shoulder. Tigerstar falls onto his side and Scourge stabs him with his claws, that are reinforced with dog teeth, into Tigerstar's neck. Then Scourge uses these claws to slice Tigerstar open from chin to tail. This wound is so gruesome, even StarClan could not heal it, killing him nine times over. Scourge then decides that the forest will be Skyclan's new home.


 * He informs Firestar that the Clans have three days to decide whether they will come quietly and leave the forest, or if they will meet Skyclan in battle on the fourth day. Firestar decides to refuse, and convinces all four forest Clans to combine into Bloodclan. Skyclan and Bloodclan later meet in battle at Fourtrees. Scourge battles with Firestar, taking his first life.


 * Scourge is surprised when Firestar revives, and Firestar fights him again, saving Cloudtail from death. Firestar defeats him when he realizes that Scourge has only one life since Scourge does not believe in StarClan. With the fall of their leader Scourge, and deputy Bone, BloodClan admits defeat and retreats. And just to make sure they have left for good, WindClan warriors chase them out towards the Thunderpath.

Secrets of the Clans

 * Scourge is mistakenly called Blood in this book, but it is mentioned that he killed Tigerstar. In "Barley Speaks: Flight from BloodClan," Barley's sister Violet is taken to him because she and Barley had been disobeying his laws by hiding out and living together. Scourge thinks there is no better punishment than for Barley to watch his sister die right before his eyes. He orders Violet's other two brothers, Snake and Ice, to attack her. They do, leaving her brutally wounded, only hanging on to life by a small thread. Violet survives, only because Barley knows a kittypet whose housefolk is the "Cutter" (vet).

Cats of the Clans

 * Rock tells the three kits all about Scourge, Bone, and BloodClan. He explains how BloodClan was just a group of stray cats in Twolegplace who had no code or honor to bind them. Scourge had no sense of right or wrong, which let him kill or hurt other cats without a second thought. However, his greatest weakness was his lack of belief in StarClan, which left him with only one life to lose, allowing Firestar to kill him only once.

Battles of the Clans

 * Scourge is not seen in the book, but Tigerstar mentions him when he talks of the battle with BloodClan. He recalls when Scourge ripped his belly open, causing him to lose all his nine lives at once. He also calls him a traitor, since he had promised to help Tigerstar take over the forest, but never received on his promise. Tigerstar also mentions that if you had been standing beside him, you would have felt victorious, since you'd just seen your leader kill the strongest cat in the forest.

The Rise of Scourge

 * Scourge is born a kittypet, and the runt of his litter, given the name "Tiny." His brother and sister dislike him because of his small size, and they normally do not let him join them in their games. To prove to his family that he is strong, he ventures into the forest. In the forest, he has many small adventures which include pouncing on a leaf and pawing at a beetle. He then returns home, only to find that his family doesn't believe he went into the forest at all. Later a group of Twolegs come to look at the litter for adoption. They only adopt Ruby and Socks; Ruby then tells him that he will be thrown in the river because he is unwanted.


 * Tiny becomes very scared and runs away into ThunderClan territory, and meets into a patrol made up of Bluefur, Thistleclaw, and Tigerpaw. Bluefur attempts to defend him, and saying he could do no harm. But Thistleclaw said she was only being soft, and that he needed to be taught a lesson. He orders his apprentice, Tigerpaw, to attack. Tigerpaw almost killed him before he was stopped by Bluefur. As Tiny runs off, Tigerpaw declares that Tiny would never forget him.


 * He decides to go home at first, but he then remembers that if he does go home he will be thrown into the river. Tiny decides he must run away and never come back. He ends up in Twolegplace where he meets mean and rude rogues. He eventually finds a kind old she-cat who shares her food with him and explains that his collar marks that he is a kittypet. He tries to remove it, but is laughed at. Later, he finds Samwise, an old dog who drops a tooth, and he tries to break his collar with it, only to get it stuck in the collar. When other rogues ask him about it, he bluffs he killed the dog, and took the tooth as a trophy. After the story spreads, Bone and Brick ask him to defeat a dog that is keeping them and many other rogues from food. He goes to fight the dog, but ends up scaring the dog with his shadow. One cat asks his name, and not wanting to admit that it was "Tiny," he chooses a more frightening name, "Scourge."


 * Cats begin coming to Scourge with their problems after Brick and Bone spread the word about the new cat in charge. One morning, Brick and Bone walk up to him tell him about a group of rogues who are causing trouble in the territory. While he is waking to confront the cats, he picks up forest scent and thinks it might be Tigerpaw, but it turns out to be Brokenstar. Scourge tells them to leave, but they mock him for his size. Scourge hesitates and his own cats start to doubt him. Scourge decides that all cats must respect him, so he then slashes one of the rogue's throat with his claws, killing him. Cats soon begin to bring him tributes and his position as leader is secured once again.


 * After a while, Socks and Ruby come to Scourge, telling him that they were abandoned by their Twolegs. They ask for Scourge to take them in, but Scourge refuses. He lets them eat, then sends them away disgusted that they would even think of coming to him after what they treated him like as kits.


 * After much time passes, Boulder and Tigerpaw (now Tigerstar) come to him to ask for help. He recognizes Tigerstar from when he was just an apprentice from ThunderClan. Scourge agrees and goes to the forest with Tigerstar. In The Darkest Hour, this scene is when Firestar reveals Tigerstar's treachery to Scourge. Tigerstar becomes outraged and leaps at Scourge with his claws. He dodges to the side and rakes his claws down Tigerstar's belly, ripping away his nine lives and killing him, saying he finally got his revenge.

A Clan in Need

 * Scourge appears in Barley's dream at the beginning of the book. He is seen telling Snake and Ice to kill Violet since Barley had broken the rules.

Trivia

 * In an author chat, Erin Hunter confirmed that Scourge and Firestar are half-brothers. Firestar and Scourge had the same father, Jake.
 * In another chat, she revealed that Scourge does not walk in the Dark Forest because he does not believe in StarClan.
 * In Secrets of the Clans, Scourge is mistakenly called Blood.
 * In the Warriors App, it is revealed that Scourge hated the dogs teeth that studded his collar. They smelled awful, and pressed on his throat, making swallowing difficult. But he put up with the discomfort because he knew it made him look more fearsome.

Members
Father:

Jake: Status Unknown

Mother:
 * Quince: Living, Confirmed by Erin Hunter

Brother:
 * Socks:

Sister:
 * Ruby:

Half-Brother:
 * Firestar:

Half-Sister:
 * Princess:

Nephews:
 * Cloudtail:
 * Four unnamed kits: Status Unknown

Nieces:
 * Squirrelflight:
 * Leafpool:

Great Nieces:
 * Whitewing:
 * Hollyleaf:

Great Nephews:
 * Lionblaze:
 * Jayfeather:

Great Great Nieces:
 * Dovewing:
 * Ivypool: