| "These cats have always lived outside the code. They were rogues within their Clans. They are rogues now. That's why they're here. They never deserved to be warriors. |
| — Spottedleaf about the Dark Forest in Fading Echoes, chapter 16 |
- Below contains in-depth information for chapter sixteen of Fading Echoes. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.
- Chapter Number: 16 (of 24)
- Page Numbers: 218-232
Chapter description[]
- In StarClan, Jayfeather follows Yellowfang as she greets Silverstream, asking the she-cat if she had seen Feathertail. Silverstream tells her that she had been resting at Warm-rocks earlier, while Jayfeather remarks that StarClan is a very calm, beautiful place. The ThunderClan medicine cat spots a tom resembling Firestar, making him question why Firestar was in StarClan if he was still alive. Yellowfang replies that five of his nine lives were in StarClan, causing the silhouette of the tom Jayfeather had seen. While conversing about cats who had been forgotten fading into nothingness, the pair run into Spottedleaf, who asserts that she will follow them into the Dark Forest after learning that Yellowfang and Jayfeather planned on speaking with Tigerstar. Jayfeather becomes separated from the other two StarClan cats, but he is able to find them again after running into Yellowfang.
- In the Dark Forest, the trio run into Brokenstar, who asks Yellowfang what they are doing here. Taking a look into the former ShadowClan medicine cat's mind, Jayfeather sees Brokenstar's growth: his journey from being a kit nursed by a mother who didn't want him to becoming a strong, resilient warrior and leader to being forced to eat deathberries. Exiting his vision, Jayfeather realizes that Yellowfang had killed her own son, so he asks how the former medicine cat had a kit, to which she replies that mistakes happen. Spottedleaf assures the ThunderClan medicine cat that he isn't a mistake.
- Turning to Brokenstar, Spottedleaf asks him what they are doing. Replying innocently, Brokenstar denies training cats from the lake. He then invites Spottedleaf and the others to explore the Dark Forest in exchange for letting him into StarClan territory. Yellowfang denies his request, so Brokenstar returns to his realm while Jayfeather almost pounces on him. Spottedleaf holds the ThunderClan medicine cat off while he wishes that Lionblaze was there.
- They start walking along the path back to StarClan, but shortly after they don't see any traces of Brokenstar left, Spottedleaf tells Yellowfang to go back to StarClan while Jayfeather and she return to the Dark Forest since Brokenstar is clouding her judgment. The pair revisit the Place of No Stars as they watch in horror Darkstripe advises Clan cats to always aim for the throat. Hawkfrost, another Dark Forest warrior, calls forward a white tom named Snowtuft. Lifting him by the throat, Hawkfrost beckons another Dark Forest warrior named Shredtail to come over there and slice Snowtuft's belly open. Jayfeather exclaims that the warrior code would never allow things like this, to which Spottedleaf responds that the cats in the Dark Forest never lived by the warrior code in the first place; they were rogues in their own Clans.
- Tigerstar, who appears behind them, states that this world is better as there is no code to say what a cat can and cannot do. Tigerstar then asks why they are spying after Brokenstar had already told them to leave, and after an exchange of statements, Spottedleaf and Jayfeather realize that they're fighting a losing battle by being in their opponent's territory, so they decide to retreat while listening to Snowtuft's screams.
Characters[]
Major[]
Minor[]
Mentioned[]
- Feathertail[1]
- Lizardstripe (Vision or Dream) (Indirect mention only)[1]
- Raggedstar (Vision or Dream) (Indirect mention only)[1]
- Leafpool[1]
- Lionblaze[1]
- Bluestar[1]