The Prophecies Begin

The Prophecies Begin is the first arc of the Warriors series. It follows Rusty as he joins ThunderClan and becomes a warrior named Fireheart, and later ThunderClan's leader, Firestar.

Concept Development

 * The concept for Warriors began development when HarperCollins asked Victoria Holmes to write a fantasy series about feral cats. Holmes was initially not enthusiastic, saying she "couldn't imagine coming up with enough ideas". However, she played with some story concepts, developing a fictional world with the added elements of war, politics, revenge, doomed love, and religious conflict. While initially supposed to be a one-shot, it was decided that they'd make a 6 book series. This six book series, first known as the Original arc but later renamed The Prophecies Begin arc, is the first written.


 * The Warriors series is written under the pseudonym of Erin Hunter. The authors that work on The Prophecies Begin arc are Kate Cary and Cherith Baldry, with Victoria Holmes working on the storyline.

Summary

 * Rusty, a kittypet, meets ThunderClan cats in the forest and joins them, taking the name Firepaw. Bluestar suspects he may be the fire who'll save the Clan, like Spottedleaf predicts. He aids in the demise of Brokenstar's leadership, and earns his warrior name, Fireheart. After the battle, they receive their first apprentices. Fireheart's suspicions of Tigerclaw continue to grow, and he now hides his best friend's secret relationship as he navigates being a warrior. He searches for information, and finds that Redtail was murdered by Tigerclaw. Fireheart and his apprentice manage to thwart an attempt to take ThunderClan's camp made by Brokenstar and some of his rogues. Due to Tigerclaw's treachery, he is exiled, and Fireheart becomes the deputy of ThunderClan. Graystripe leaves to be in RiverClan with his kits, and the new deputy feels overwhelmed with everything going on. He struggles to keep the Clan together as Bluestar's mental state deteriorates.


 * A fire rips through ThunderClan's territory, and the Clan has a hard time recovering. Tigerstar is made the new leader of ShadowClan, and Bluestar slips further away from sanity. Fireheart avoids a battle with WindClan by arranging a meeting with Tallstar, but loses his leader's trust. Meanwhile, scraps of prey that patrols find reveal a pack of dogs that are being led to ThunderClan's camp. The deputy devises a plan to lead them over the gorge, but during it's execution, Bluestar dies from drowning when she helpsFireheart break free from a dog, and falls into the gorge. Firestar is now the leader of ThunderClan, and struggles to fill his position. He joins with Tallstar against TigerClan, but Tigerstar is killed by Scourge before they can attack WindClan and ThunderClan. All four Clans fight against BloodClan in a battle three days after, and manage to drive them off. The Clans disband LionClan, and settle to the way it was before.

Into the Wild

 * Rusty, a kittypet, ventures out of his Twoleg's nest and meets Clan cats. He joins their Clan, ThunderClan as an apprentice named Firepaw. Bluestar has a suspicion that he may be the fire who will save the Clan, as Spottedleaf had mentioned to her. Firepaw makes friends with Graypaw and Ravenpaw, though scorned for his uprbinging by others. The ginger tom deals with the kittypet taunts, and earns a grudging respect when he takes a chunk out of Longtail's ear. He settles into Clan life, and is mentored by Lionheart and Tigerclaw. Ravenpaw, meanwhile, suffers under Tigerclaw's mentorship and the knowledge that the deputy killed Redtail. Firepaw and his friends piece together this knowledge, and with Yellowfang's help, form a plan. Together with his friends, he aids in forcing Brokenstar out of ShadowClan along with his closest followers. This earns him his warrior name of Fireheart, and he Graystripe have their ceremonies together.

Fire and Ice

 * Fireheart goes with his friend Graystripe go on a journey and return WindClan to the forest, since they'd been beaten away by Brokenstar. Their mission is successful. On their way home, they take a shortcut back to camp by the RiverClan gorge, and after a skirmish, Whiteclaw dies. This ends it, and tensions stay high. Fireheart and Graystripe both receive apprentices, and while out on patrol together, the gray warrior falls through the ice on the river. A RiverClan warrior named Silverstream saves him, and they continue meeting romantically after that. Fireheart tells them to stop, but they don't. Cinderpaw's leg is injured in a trap originally set for Bluestar, and as whitecough breaks out in camp, and Fireheart visits his sister Princess in the Twolegplace to fetch catmint. At the next Gathering, ThunderClan accuses ShadowClan of stealing prey, but soon finds that Brokenstar's rogues are the real stealers. They attack the camp when there are few warriors there, but are beaten off and Brokentail is kept prisoner. Onewhisker comes with news that WindClan has been attacked by both RiverClan and ShadowClan, so ThunderClan comes to help and saves WindClan. However, Tigerclaw mistrusts Fireheart, because he shows mercy to Silverstream during the battle upon recognizing her as Graystripe's mate.

Forest of Secrets

 * Fireheart searches for answers about Redtail's death, and gathers information from both Ravenpaw and Mistyfoot. He thinks about it, and realizes that Cinderpaw's accident was a trap set for Bluestar. Fireheart begins to trust Tigerclaw less, and Graypool reveals to him that Mistyfoot and Stonefur aren't her kits, but might be from ThunderClan. In the midst of these investigations, Fireheart carries out his warrior duties, help keep Graystripe and Silverstream's meetings a secret, supervise Brackenpaw's training, put up with his disobedient nephew Cloudkit, and face Tigerclaw's continuous hostility. After he and Graystripe rescue a pair of RiverClan kits, they offer to hunt for the rival Clan, and are punished when found out. ShadowClan finds out that ThunderClan is sheltering Brokentail, which sends WindClan into an uproar, and alliances begin to form. Meanwhile, Silversteam is now expecting Graystripe's kits, but she dies during the birth. Two kits survive, however, and RiverClan demands to have them. Cloudpaw is now apprenticed to Fireheart, and while on a hunting mission, they see Tigerclaw leading a band of rogues to attack ThunderClan's camp. They are beaten off with help from a RiverClan patrol, but Bluestar is badly shaken by her deputy's betrayal. She announces his treachery, and that Fireheart will be the new deputy. The leader also surrenders Silverstream's kits to RiverClan, and Graystripe goes with them.

Rising Storm

 * Fireheart settles into his role as ThunderClan's deputy, but the Clan is still shocked over Tigerclaw's betrayal. Bluestar is the most affected, and when denied access to Highstones by WindClan, she thinks that StarClan has abandoned them. As a result, Bluestar slips into further paranoia, especially when ShadowClan scents are found on ThunderClan territory. It turns out to be Littlecloud and Whitethroat, who are very ill. Cinderpelt helps them against orders, and Fireheart keeps it a secret. The new deputy also struggles with his nephew, Cloudpaw, who has taken to getting kittypet food from a Twoleg den. However, one day, the white tom is taken away in a Twoleg monster, and is later rescued with Ravenpaw's help. Tigerclaw and a group of Brokentail's old rogues attack a ThunderClan patrol near the Thunderpath, killing Runningwind. Fireheart is alert for danger now, knowing the former deputy wants revenge. As the weather gets drier, a fire rips through ThunderClan's territory, forcing the Clan to flee over to RiverClan's territory. After the fire is out, Fireheart and Graystripe go out to inspect the damage, and the deputy finds Yellowfang alive and witnesses her death. At the next Gathering, the ThunderClan cats learn that due to the death of Nightstar with no deputy in line, Tigerclaw is now Tigerstar, the leader of ShadowClan.

A Dangerous Path

 * During a Gathering, the Clans learn that Tigerstar is the new leader of ShadowClan. Fireheart is shocked, and his Clanmates feel the same when he relays the news. ThunderClan is faring well, but every cat is overstretched by recovering from the fire damage. Cinderpelt receives a warning and keeps hearing 'pack, pack' and 'kill, kill', but is unable to decipher it's meaning. Bluestar slips deeper into paranoia, and refuses to appoint new warriors. Her misgivings are enhanced by the various hardships they meet, and Fireheart tries to fill her place. Patrols find scraps of prey, and Bluestar thinks WindClan is guilty, even with no proof. A battle is narrowly avoided by Fireheart setting up a meeting between Bluestar and Tallstar, but he loses her trust. At the next Gathering, it's revealed that Leopardstar is now the leader of RiverClan, her first act is to try and take back Sunningrocks. RiverClan loses to ThunderClan, and Graystripe returns to his birth Clan because he was loyal to Fireheart. Bluestar reveals to Mistyfoot and Stonefur that she is their mother, but they do not believe her. Cloudtail is made a warrior, but no other apprentices are, and it leads to Brightpaw and Swiftpaw's accident in which dogs maul them both. Tigerclaw's kits are apprenticed, and Longtail finds out about a plot for dogs to come and kill ThunderClan. The plan is thwarted by Fireheart leading them off the gorge, but Bluestar dies from drowning after saving her deputy when a dog grabbed him. She reconciles with her kits and with StarClan, appointing Fireheart leader after her.

The Darkest Hour

 * Tigerstar meets with Scourge, trying to make a deal to enlist his help in taking over the Clans. Meanwhile, Firestar is the new leader of ThunderClan, and receives a disturbing dream during his leadership ceremony about blood and a bone hill. Upon his return, he becomes more suspicious of Darkstripe, and when the dark warrior poisons Sorrelkit, he's exiled. At the next Gathering, Tigerstar proposes making all four Clans merge into one, and announces that Leopardstar has agreed already. However, Firestar and Tallstar say no, and the ThunderClan tom tries to tell of Tigerstar's treachery. A storm breaks while he's talking, and the dark tabby claims it as sign from StarClan. Graystripe worries about his kits in RiverClan, and they go to check on them along with Ravenpaw. They witness the murder of Stonefur, and manage to escape with Featherpaw, Stormpaw, and Mistyfoot. Later that day, WindClan is attacked by TigerClan, and Gorsepaw is killed in cold blood as a warning. When Firestar and Tallstar still say no to TigerClan, they prepare to fight, but Tigerstar is killed by his supposed ally of Scourge. Scourge gives the Clans three days to get out or fight, but they choose to stay and fight. During the battle, Whitestorm is killed, and Graystripe is appointed the next deputy of ThunderClan. BloodClan is driven off once Scourge dies, and the Clans settle back to the way it was before.

Important Events

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 * Into the Wild
 * Rusty joins ThunderClan and becomes an apprentice named Firepaw. After driving Brokenstar out of ShadowClan, Firepaw gets his warrior name of Fireheart.
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 * Fire and Ice
 * Fireheart and Graystripe help WindClan return to their territory after Brokenstar's leaderships ends. ShadowClan and RiverClan try to drive WindClan from their territory, but fail when ThunderClan comes to help.
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 * Forest of Secrets
 * Tigerclaw is exiled from ThunderClan. Fireheart becomes deputy.
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 * Rising Storm
 * Tigerclaw and some ShadowClan cats attack a ThunderClan patrol, killing Runningwind. A fire burns the majority of ThunderClan territory.
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 * A Dangerous Path
 * Tigerstar becomes leader of ShadowClan. Bluestar dies from drowning, after falling over the gorge.
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 * The Darkest Hour
 * Firestar becomes the leader of ThunderClan. LionClan beats off BloodClan, and keeps the forest as their home.
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Publication History

 * The Prophecies Begin (EN), HarperCollins (paperback box set), 9 October 2007
 * The Prophecies Begin (EN), HarperCollins (paperback box set; reprint), 17 March 2015