Darkness Within/Chapter 3

"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.

"StarClan must be a creepy place, because they looked scared."

— Cheddar telling Rootspring and Tree about the spirit-cats in Darkness Within, page 55

Darkness Within
Chapter number:	3 (of 25)
Page numbers:	40-56
Point of View:	Rootspring
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for chapter three of Darkness Within. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: 3 (of 25)

Page Numbers: 40-56

Chapter description

Rootspring's heart feels heavy as the Clans gather for a vigil to remember their lost Clanmates. Violetshine and Tree are by his side as Violetshine informs Tree that Sandynose's kin are not taking his death well. Tree acknowledges that fact, and says that he will miss Sandynose. This surprises Rootspring, as Tree was speaking so fondly of the dead warrior, even though he recalls that Tree wanted to leave the Clans with his kin half a moon ago.

Tree states his disbelief of Sandynose's death, saying that he can't believe that any warrior could fight on the side of the impostor. This provokes an argument between Tree, Violetshine, Rootspring, and Sagenose. Rootspring asks himself if Ashfur really wants to destroy the Clans just because Squirrelflight rejected him.He glances at Bristlefrost, and the she-cat returns his gaze. This causes him to wonder if Bristlefrost has to share a nest with a cat she fought half a moon ago. The yellow tom guesses that ShadowClan has no such divisions, as they had all fought against the impostor. WindClan also has no divisions, because they had fought together as well, alongside the impostor, except for Crowfeather and Breezepelt.

He notices that very few RiverClan cats came. The RiverClan exiles are there. He suddenly realizes that Mistystar, RiverClan's leader, isn't in the clearing. Rootspring quickly pads over to Harelight and the other exiled RiverClan cats to discuss this. The white tom greets him, and the yellow tom asks Harelight if he has seen Mistystar at the vigil. Harelight responds negatively and Icewing guesses that Mistystar didn't want to be at a vigil that honored rebels. Icewing coldly tells him that they wouldn't care as they are ShadowClan cats now. Mothwing pads up and tells them that they will always be RiverClan cats at heart. When the ShadowClan medicine cat sees the RiverClan patrol, she gazes at them warmly, and they return her greeting. She asks if Icewing and Harelight are coming to talk with them, but they say no, so Mothwing goes alone.

Squirrelflight announces the beginning of the vigil. The leaders honor their fallen warriors while Rootspring scans the clearing for ghosts, but is unable to find any. The young warrior worries at this fact. He dauntingly thinks to himself that without StarClan, cats can no longer see their loved ones after they die and there would be much more grief when cats died.

The next morning, Rootspring and his parents wake up, finding themselves in the clearing they had sat vigil in. Rootspring glances at Bristlefrost, finding the she-cat helping Spotfur and comforting her about Stemleaf's death. After Spotfur leaves the clearing, Rootspring greets Bristlefrost. The she-cat tells the tom that Spotfur is very upset, and that Bristlefrost feels guilty. She tells him that she used to have a massive crush on Stemleaf, and that she should have mourned him more. He tells her that he remembers when he used to have an apprentice crush. Bristlefrost asks if he had gotten over it, and he responds that he hasn't. The she-cat notes that everything in ThunderClan is weird, and Rootspring says that he hopes that Squirrelflight can fix it. Bristlefrost tells him that it is hard for Squirrelflight to lead without StarClan's blessing and nine lives. The two cats part ways to return to their separate Clans.

On the way back to camp, Rootspring tells his father that he wanted to thank him for covering up for him when he saw Bramblestar's ghost. Tree says that any father would do that. The two toms come across a ghost, a kittypet named Cheddar. Cheddar tells them that she is surprised that both of them can see her, as most cats can't see her. Rootspring asks her if she has seen other spirit cats, but Cheddar says that it is just her most of the time, saying that she has seen other cats recently, but they fade in and out, and it's like they can't decide whether they want to be ghosts or not. Rootspring asks her what they look like, and Cheddar gives a description of Sandynose among other descriptions. Upon noticing the glances exchanged by Tree and Rootspring, she asks if they know the spirit cats, and Tree concedes that they are SkyClan warriors, and they cannot find StarClan. The she-cat realizes that StarClan is where dead Clan cats go, and she says that StarClan must be scary, because the dead warriors looked scared. She thinks that they may be fading. She leaves. Rootspring is frustrated, and thinks that there is no use to have the power to talk to ghosts if he can't help them.

Characters

Major

• Rootspring
• Tree
• Bristlefrost
• Cheddar

Minor

• Violetshine
• Frecklewish
• Palesky
• Sagenose
• Leafstar
• Hawkwing
• Harestar
• Squirrelflight
• Plumwillow
• Dewspring
• Reedclaw
• Needleclaw
• Blossomfall
• Spotfur
• Dovewing
• Heathertail
• Cloverfoot
• Crowfeather
• Mothwing
• Harelight
• Icewing
• Reedwhisker
• Willowshine
• Lizardtail
• Gorseclaw
• Tigerstar
• Leafstar
• Snowbird
• Scorchfur
• Snaptooth
• Flywhisker

Mentioned

• Ashfur
• Bramblestar's impostor
• Sandynose
• Mistystar
• Breezepelt
• Softpelt
• Dappletuft
• Conefoot
• Frondwhisker
• Stemleaf
• Bramblestar
• Sandynose (Description Only, Unnamed)

Quotes

Squirrelflight: "We have come here tonight to remember our Clanmates who died fighting for what they thought was right."

Harestar: "Every warrior who fought that day believed they were fighting for StarClan"

^{Darkness Within, page 45}

Bristlefrost: "I feel kind of guilty."

Rootspring: "Why?"

^{Darkness Within, page 49}

Rootspring: "I wanted to thank you for sticking up for me."

Tree: "Sticking up for you?"

^{Darkness Within, page 52}

Trivia

Mistakes

• It is said that Conefoot died in the battle of the rebels, when he actually died beforehand.