The Darkest Hour/Chapter 22

"You see, Firestar? I am even more powerful than StarClan, for I have changed the Clans in the forest from four to two. TigerClan and BloodClan will rule together."

— Tigerstar to Firestar in The Darkest Hour, page 227

The Darkest Hour
Chapter number:	22 (of 30)
Page numbers:	226-235
Point of View:	Firestar
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for chapter twenty-two of The Darkest Hour. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: 22 (of 30)

Page Numbers: 226-235

Chapter description

Many of the newcomers are revealed to be wearing collars. Because of this, Ashpaw, a ThunderClan apprentice, thinks they're kittypets. Firestar spots a large black-and-white tom, and assumes he is the leader. Then he sees a small black tom, who goes to stand beside Tigerstar, and wonders who he could be, since he looks far too small to be a warrior.

Firestar turns to Tigerstar and asks who they are. Tigerstar announces that they are BloodClan, and that they were to convince Firestar and Tallstar to join his Clan. Thornclaw remembers scenting rogues the day he was made a warrior, and tells Firestar that they were probably from BloodClan. Firestar realizes that it's possible; a group of these cats could have come to the forest to see what they had been offered. Tigerstar interrupts his thoughts by claiming that he changed the number of Clans in the forest, thus making him more powerful than StarClan.

It is then that Firestar realizes that he would not be able to reason with him now, so he calmly agrees to fight, if that is what Tigerstar wants. Tigerstar then orders BloodClan to attack, but they don't listen. The small tom steps forward and reveals that his name is Scourge and that he leads the Clan, and that they would listen to him only. Tigerstar stares at him with malice. Firestar takes this opportunity to make an impression on Scourge and reveal Tigerstar's murderous past.

He first mentions that he had killed the former ThunderClan deputy, Redtail, so he could be made deputy in his place. He says that Lionheart had been chosen first, but he had died after a fight with ShadowClan. After that, Tigerstar had been made deputy. Fireheart goes on to mention that he had set a trap for Bluestar by the Thunderpath, but that Cinderpelt had strayed into it instead and broke her leg. The other Clans, not including BloodClan, are shocked, as she is very popular within them.

Firestar then states that Tigerstar had conspired with Brokentail, a former ShadowClan leader, and brought rogues into the camp. While the rest of the Clan was fighting, he had tried to kill Bluestar himself, but Firestar had stopped him. He was driven into exile after that. He mentions that he had killed another warrior, Runningwind, as a rogue, before he became ShadowClan's new leader. Firestar tells the Clans about how he had tried to use a pack of dogs to destroy all of ThunderClan.

He killed Brindleface, a queen, in order to give the pack a taste for cats' blood. He mentions that, though the plan failed, Bluestar, their leader, had died to save them. He looks around the clearing, and notices how horrified Leopardstar looks, though she says nothing. Scourge says that he knew about Tigerstar's plan with the dogs, but he had not been informed that it failed. Tigerstar tries to reason with Scourge so that he would order his Clan to attack, but he refuses, deciding to wait for another day to think about what Firestar had told him. Because of this, Tigerstar attacks him in an attempt to make him order his Clan to attack.

Firestar expects that Scourge would be torn apart, but he is fast, whipping aside, and lashes out with his front paws, which reveals the dogs’ teeth strengthening his own claws. The powerful blow lands on Tigerstar’s shoulder. Unbalanced, he falls on his side, which leaves his belly exposed. Scourge sinks his claws into Tigerstar’s throat and cuts him open to the tail. Tigerstar loses a life because of this, but at the time, Firestar thinks he will come back just fine. But then, when Tigerstar comes back, he soon loses another life because the wound is too terrible for even StarClan to heal.

Then Firestar realizes that he is losing all nine lives at once, and is filled with horror. The TigerClan warriors flee from the clearing when they see what is happening to their leader. Tigerstar is too exhausted from fighting to keep alive, and then gives up his final life. When Firestar looks at Scourge, he sees he is unmoved by killing this cat, and he realizes that he has never faced a more dangerous opponent, one that could kill a leader with nine lives in one blow. The BloodClan cats start to advance, but they are soon stopped when Scourge raises a paw. He says that this is what happens to his enemies. Firestar gives them permission to hunt before they go back to Twolegplace. Scourge scornfully replies that they were taking over the forest, and gives the Clans three days to leave, or fight.

Characters

Major

• Firestar
• Tigerstar
• Scourge

Minor

• Ashpaw
• Dustpelt
• Bone (unnamed)
• Thornclaw
• Graystripe
• Leopardstar
• Blackfoot
• Darkstripe
• Tallstar

Mentioned

• Bluestar
• Redtail
• Lionheart
• Cinderpelt
• Brokenstar
• Rogues
• Runningwind
• Dog pack
• Brindleface

Important events

Deaths

• Tigerstar: killed by Scourge