Codebreakers

"I won't be thwarted. You saved my life, and because of that, you have ensured my success. Because once I'm back to full health, I'll be able to bend any cat to my will..." The following content contains major spoilers for the true identity of Bramblestar's impostor. Please proceed at your own discretion.

"The Clans have forgotten the code, it has been broken time and time again, and because of the codebreakers, every Clan must pay a price. They must suffer."

— Ashfur to Shadowpaw in Lost Stars, page 148

The codebreakers are a group of seven cats named by Ashfur to have broken the code and must be punished.

Description

"StarClan, forgive me for breaking your code. I promise I will always obey my leader without question. And I will do whatever I'm asked for the good of the Clan. I will hunt only for my Clan. I will protect my Clanmates with my life [...] If I break the code again, I will be exiled from my Clan to protect them from StarClan's anger."

―Ashfur making Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Twigbranch swear his oath ^{The Silent Thaw, pages 204-205}

Ashfur, posing as Bramblestar, was incredibly adamant about punishing the codebreakers, and as noted by Cloverfoot, exile and banishment appears to be his go-to punishment.

He first forced Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Twigbranch to swear an oath of loyalty to him, with the threat of exile if they break the code again. However, he later exiled both Lionblaze and Jayfeather on account of their half-Clan heritage, and briefly appeared to let Twigbranch atone, but later on refused to let her rejoin ThunderClan. He also forced both Mistystar and Harestar to exile their codebreakers, though both did so reluctantly. However, Ashfur strangely refused to let Squirrelflight take the oath, even though she offered and reminded him that she was a listed codebreaker. Despite this, when she informed him she was going to "atone" by herself, he tried to persuade her to take the oath, but she refused. He only ended up punishing her with exile after she realized he was an impostor of the real Bramblestar.

Ashfur's adamancy about punishing the codebreakers brings him against the other leaders, notably Leafstar and Tigerstar, who rebuke and argue with the the severity of the punishments. Ashfur also used the term of codebreaker interchangeably; using it to reference other cats who disobeyed or objected to him, seemingly not exclusive to his designated list.

Named cats and reason for their placement on the list

Please do not add what you think is the reason the cats are listed, even if it is obvious enough as to why. They need to be outright confirmed by the narrative as to why they're on the list.

ThunderClan

Cat	Reason	Punishment
Squirrelflight	Lying to the Clans and pretending Leafpool's kits were her own.	Ashfur initially did not let her atone for her codebreaking, citing that StarClan had "forgiven" her when she joined them briefly. However, he ended up punishing her with exile from ThunderClan after she clued into him being a fraud, but he cited her codebreaking as to the reasoning.
Lionblaze	Being half-WindClan	Exile from ThunderClan.
Jayfeather
Twigbranch	Swapping between ThunderClan and SkyClan, and getting Finleap to switch Clans.	Exile from ThunderClan.

ShadowClan

Cat	Reason	Punishment
Dovewing	While unknown, ShadowClan believes it is for getting pregnant with Tigerstar's kits and leaving ThunderClan.	Unpunished.

WindClan

Cat	Reason	Punishment
Crowfeather	Unknown	Exile from WindClan.

RiverClan

Cat	Reason	Punishment
Mothwing	Her parents being non-RiverClan.	Exile from RiverClan.

Trivia

Mistakes

• Although Tree was on the Ashfur's list of codebreakers in Lost Stars, he was neglected as such throughout The Silent Thaw and Veil of Shadows.
  • According to James Noble, this was a mistake, and will be fixed in reprints of the aforementioned books.

Quotes

"Then why isn't every cat named? Am I going to be punished because my mother broke the code? She was the one who had kits with a cat from another Clan, not me!"

―Jayfeather when he learns he is a listed codebreaker ^{The Silent Thaw, page 164}

"You've all heard about Shadowsight's vision by now. What I've been saying all along is true. StarClan is angry that so many warriors have broken the code. They've even given us a list of their worst offenders. I have a plan. The codebreakers must publicly take responsibility for their wrongdoings. They must atone!"

―Ashfur at an emergency Gathering ^{The Silent Thaw, page 179}

Lionblaze: "Why should StarClan drag that up now? And what has it got to do with me and Jayfeather? Did we break the code by being born?"

Ashfur: "It's pointless arguing. StarClan has spoken. We must obey them."

^{The Silent Thaw, page 201}

"I wish I knew exactly what I’ve done wrong, I'd happily own up to it if I did. I've only ever wanted to be a loyal warrior."

―Twigbranch at the secret meeting ^{The Silent Thaw, page 224}

"I discipline SkyClan warriors, not you!"

―Leafstar after Ashfur tries to force Tree into exile ^{The Silent Thaw page 272}

Notes and references

Author references