Battle for RiverClan (ASC)

"Trust me. It's for your own good."

— Tigerstar to Splashtail after the battle in Sky, page 336

Battle for RiverClan
General information
Book:	Sky
Date:	Leaf-fall
Place:	RiverClan's camp
Outcome:	ShadowClan victory; Tigerstar is now the supervising leader of RiverClan
Combatants
RiverClan
ShadowClan
Leaders
Owlnose
Tigerstar
Commanders
Splashtail
Cloverfoot
Strength
Shimmerpelt Mallownose Gorseclaw Breezeheart Graypaw Mistpaw Icewing Duskfur Harelight
Spireclaw Berryheart Tawnypelt Flaxfoot Whorlpelt Lightleap Stonewing Sunbeam Fringewhisker
Chronology
Preceded by:	Journey to find catmint
Concurrent:	RiverClan's leader succession crisis
Followed by:	Journey to the Cats of the Park

The battle for RiverClan was a battle that took place in Sky in RiverClan's camp when ShadowClan forcibly took over RiverClan following their lack of leadership.

Summary

Premise

"We can't appear vulnerable. The other Clans must believe for now that Owlstar has StarClan's blessing. I'm sure it won't be long before he does."

―Splashtail standing up for his leader ^{Sky (book), page 201}

Following three moons of peace since the battle against Ashfur, Mistystar, RiverClan's leader, abruptly dies. Reedwhisker, their deputy, is on a hunting patrol when she passes, but his patrol later returns without him. With their leader dead and their deputy missing, RiverClan struggles to keep this a secret from the other Clans. Mothwing and Frostpaw, the Clan's medicine cats, temporarily step up as temporary leaders. Reedwhisker's body is later found at the bottom of the nearby gorge. RiverClan's odd behavior is noted by the other Clans, and Mothwing lies that Mistystar and Reedwhisker are ill with whitecough.

Overview

Tigerstar: "We're here to help you."

Duskfur: "Is killing us part of your plan?"

^{Sky, page 334}

Frostpaw receives several omens that her mother Curlfeather should be leader, though Curlfeather is slain by dogs near the Moonpool. After visiting the Moonpool once again, Frostpaw selects Owlnose to be their leader. Owlnose is not granted nine lives by StarClan, though his Clanmates speculate StarClan is just waiting until he gains some experience leading. Meanwhile, the Clans are experiencing a greencough outbreak with every Clan short of catmint. With Tigerstar's son Rowankit dangerously ill, the medicine cats decide to send a patrol to search for catmint at a nearby Twolegplace. In the meantime, Tigerstar becomes more adamant to find catmint on Clan territory, though RiverClan refuses to let him search their territory out of fear of him learning about Mistystar's and Reedwhisker's deaths. While the patrol finds plenty of catmint, Rowankit dies. The other Clans learn the truth about RiverClan and Owlnose at the Gathering, and Tigerstar offers to temporarily lead and advise them until they find a proper leader. RiverClan refuses to bow to another Tigerstar. Tigerstar is insistent that he does not want to commandeer RiverClan, though he changes his mind when he learns that RiverClan had forgotten they had catmint the entire time. The ShadowClan leader leads a patrol to RiverClan's camp to coerce them to let him lead, though it results in a battle. RiverClan is outnumbered in their own camp and they are forced to surrender. Tigerstar is now the supervising leader of RiverClan.

Description

The starless Clan

"Do you call this normal? A Clan without a leader or a deputy? Whose next leader was killed before she could even get the blessing of StarClan? There's no normal. Not anymore. There's nothing to get back to. Why even try?"

―Frostpaw to Mothwing ^{Sky (book), page 39}

Following Mistystar's and Reedwhisker's mysterious deaths, Frostpaw goes to the Moonpool to ask StarClan for a sign who their new leader should be. However, StarClan is silent, but Frostpaw finds a small, curled white feather near the Moonpool and interprets it as her mother Curlfeather should be their leader. Her dream of numerous curled feathers by the Moonpool solidifies its meaning to Frostpaw. However, on their way to the Moonpool, Curlfeather and Frostpaw are attacked by dogs, resulting in Curlfeather's death. Curlfeather's final words to her daughter are to trust no cat. With RiverClan once again leaderless, Mothwing returns to organizing the patrols though she urges Frostpaw to return to the Moonpool to ask StarClan for another leader. At the Moonpool, Frostpaw is informed by Curlfeather to "look beyond the obvious choices", which she interprets to mean the unsuspecting Owlnose. However, StarClan does not appear to Owlnose to grant him nine lives, casting doubt on his legitimacy.

The greencough plague

Main article: Journey to find catmint

"It's just that Tigerstar started wondering if they didn't need catmint as much as we did. So he went to see Kestrelflight, and Kestrelflight showed him how little catmint he had left and even took him to see the shriveled catmint patches on the moor. But when he went to see RiverClan, Mothwing wasn't so helpful. She wouldn't let him near the camp. She even sent for warriors to stop him crossing the border, and when he asked if greencough had reached RiverClan, she said it wasn't any of his business. Something strange is going on there. We need to find out what it is before it starts affecting the other Clans. Tigerstar thinks—"

―Shadowsight to Sunbeam about Tigerstar's behavior ^{Sky (book), pages 163-164}

A joint-Clan patrol was sent out to find more catmint off Clan territory

When numerous ShadowClan cats fall ill with greencough, including Tigerstar and Dovewing's son Rowankit, Tigerstar sends patrols to the other Clans to ask for catmint to treat them. However, all of the Clans are short on the remedy, causing an emergency meeting of the medicine cats at the Moonpool. The medicine cats agree to send a small patrol to search for catmint in the nearby Twolegplace. Alderheart, Nightheart, Rootspring, Fidgetflake, Sunbeam, and Lightleap leave to search for catmint, and manage to find enough for all five Clans. In his desperation to find catmint on Clan territory to save his son, Tigerstar visits WindClan and RiverClan to question if they really had any catmint to spare. While Kestrelflight shows Tigerstar their dilapidated pile, Mothwing instead sends Tigerstar away to keep him from learning the truth about Mistystar and Reedwhisker. However, by the time the patrol returns to the Clans, Rowankit has already died.

Tigerstar calls an emergency Gathering to discuss the catmint shortage, though the topic quickly changes when RiverClan announces that Mistystar and Reedwhisker have died and Owlstar and Splashtail are their new leader and deputy. Owlstar insists that Mistystar and Reedwhisker both died of greencough, causing Tigerstar to question why they didn't help find catmint with the journeying patrol. Eventually, Owlnose reveals the truth that he wasn't granted nine lives by StarClan. To help them reach StarClan, Leafstar sends Fidgetflake to help RiverClan. While helping to sort their herb storage, Fidgetflake finds a shriveled pile of catmint forgotten in the back of their storage. While Mothwing insists she has forgotten about it, she refuses to answer any of Fidgetflake's questions. Fidgetflake leaves after Owlnose refuses to receive his nine lives, and Tigerstar eventually learns of Fidgetflake's discovery.

A plea to help

"I am not the first Tigerstar. I'm nothing like him, and I don't want to take over RiverClan. ShadowClan doesn't need more mouths to feed. We don't want them. In past, we've given sanctuary to cats driven out of their Clans, but we've always been happy to let them return home once it was safe. And RiverClan is clearly struggling. They've lost their leader and deputy, and it looks like their attempts to find proper replacements are floundering. All I am offering is help for a Clan that seems incapable of helping itself."

―Tigerstar about leader RiverClan temporarily ^{Sky (book), pages 219-220}

Tigerstar's determination to help RiverClan causes a war with the rival Clan

At the emergency Gathering, Tigerstar offers to temporarily leader RiverClan until they have sorted themselves out, an opinion which is greatly unpopular with the other Clans. Tawnypelt and Brackenpelt remind the other Clans of RiverClan's previous takeovers under the first Tigerstar and later Darktail's own reign with the Kin, though Tigerstar insists he's not like them and only wants to help RiverClan. To settle the situation, Leafstar offers to send Fidgetflake to RiverClan. However, Tigerstar is still concerned about the impacts of a weak Clan on the others. Leafstar discusses her worries about Tigerstar's ambition to Bramblestar and Squirrelflight, though Bramblestar is dismissive. Bramblestar later asks Nightheart to spy on ShadowClan by asking Sunbeam what Tigerstar is really planning. When he asks Sunbeam about Tigerstar's intentions with RiverClan, she is uncertain what Tigerstar will do. When she tells Flaxfoot about Nightheart's worries, he tells Berryheart who openly challenges Tigerstar about taking over RiverClan out of revenge for Rowankit's death. He angrily dismisses those claims that he would commandeer a Clan out of retribution, though notes he wishes to help RiverClan.

At some point, Tigerstar learns of RiverClan's forgotten catmint supply that might have saved Rowankit. Tigerstar leads a battle patrol to RiverClan's camp in hopes of convincing them to let him help. He is shocked to learn that Owlnose still hasn't received his nine lives, and is even more convinced that RiverClan needs his help. However, RiverClan's warriors angrily insist that he needs to leave. Harelight and Icewing attempt to reason with their Clanmates since Tigerstar had previously offered them sanctuary when Mistystar had exiled them. However, when RiverClan's warriors still adamantly refuse Tigerstar's offer, Tigerstar signals for his warriors to enter the camp. Duskfur attacks Cloverfoot and the battle begins. Though RiverClan's warriors fight fiercely, ShadowClan's warriors overwhelm them and force the RiverClan cats to flee through the reed walls and into the river. Tigerstar forces Duskfur to concede, and he begins organizing patrols to repair RiverClan's camp.

Aftermath

Tigerstar: "Icewing is working with her to make sure RiverClan is still responsible for its own decisions."

Duskfur: "If Icewing can do that—and every cat knows she can—why do we need Cloverfoot and the others at all?"

^{Shadow (book), page 213}

Cloverfoot was appointed the temporary leader of RiverClan alongside Icewing

Following the battle, Tigerstar appoints Icewing and his deputy Cloverfoot as temporary leaders of the Clan, and later consolidates the Clan into ShadowClan. At an emergency Gathering, Leafstar challenges Tigerstar's intention to take over RiverClan just as his namesake did, and the Clan leaders agree to review ShadowClan's place in the Clan at the next Gathering. ShadowClan warriors are stationed in the RiverClan camp, causing tensions between the visiting ShadowClan cats and the RiverClan cats, to the point of destroying Cloverfoot's nest and placing thorns in prey for unsuspecting ShadowClan warriors to eat. Splashtail, Mallownose, Duskfur, Berryheart, Whorlpelt, Snowbird and Yarrowleaf meet in private to discuss ShadowClan's occupation in RiverClan, and ShadowClan's presence is once again challenged at the next Gathering with Podlight and Duskfur arguing why they need ShadowClan when they have Icewing. However, the other Clans agree with Tigerstar's decision to stay in RiverClan. With tensions rising in RiverClan's camp, Tigerstar imposes more warriors in the camp. ShadowClan continues to occupy RiverClan until tensions decline through Tree's mediation, and later Podlight declares Splashtail as their StarClan chosen leader.

Characters

Owlnose and Splashtail

"I can't. I don't think I'm supposed to be leader. I just want to be an ordinary RiverClan warrior. I'm not going to the Moonpool."

―Owlnose about stepping down ^{Sky (book), page 255}

Owlnose was chosen by Frostpaw to be RiverClan's newest leader after falsely believing a message from her mother, Curlfeather. Owlnose was accepted by his Clanmates as their new leader, though the tabby struggled to find his confidence to organize the struggling Clan. However, StarClan did not appear to Owlnose and Frostpaw when they visited the Moonpool, though RiverClan suspected that he just might need some time to leader first. He chose Splashtail, a younger warrior, as his deputy. Owlnose attempted to lie that Mistystar and Reedwhisker died of greencough, though the other Clans quickly caught on to his lies. While Splashtail's decisiveness balances Owlnose's uncertainty, the two still struggled to organize patrols. While on their way to the Moonpool with Fidgetflake, Owlnose decided to step down from leadership. Without leadership, RiverClan was vulnerable for Tigerstar's takeover.

Tigerstar

"I don't want to invade any Clan. Certainly not for revenge. Wherever you got the notion, it was wrong. RiverClan is in trouble, and if I can do something to help them, then I will. I don't blame any Clan for what happened to Rowankit. I only want to protect ShadowClan. And that may mean helping RiverClan. […] What affects RiverClan affects us. Look how fast ThunderClan's turmoil spread to every Clan after the impostor took over. If they'd been honest about what was happening, we could have helped before it threw all of us into chaos."

―Tigerstar to Berryheart ^{Sky, pages 296-297}

Tigerstar forcibly assumed leadership of RiverClan

Tigerstar was highly suspicious of RiverClan's apparent chaos when "Owlstar" and Splashtail claimed to succeed Mistystar and Reedwhisker. The ShadowClan leader claimed that if one Clan was weak, then all the Clans were weak, and he offered his assistance as their leader until they found a proper leader. His offer was met with criticism from all five Clans. However, when Tigerstar learned that RiverClan had a forgotten pile of catmint in their herb storage after his son Rowankit died from greencough, he led his warriors to RiverClan's camp. Believing they were in a serious mess, Tigerstar offered again to lead them, though they refused, resulting in a battle. RiverClan was quickly defeated, and Tigerstar assumed leadership of RiverClan with Icewing and Cloverfoot as acting leaders, later consolidating RiverClan into ShadowClan.