The Place of No Stars (book)/Cliffnotes

Contents

These notes reflect a bulleted list of major and minor events in The Place of No Stars (book) that can be easily navigated. They are intended to serve as a reference for those looking for specific events in re-reading and book discussions and include links to the relevant chapter subpages further detailing each chapter's events.

Chapter 1

• Bristlefrost and the rest of her Clan wait for Lionblaze's patrol to return.
  • The patrol is supposed to execute Ashfur, as the leaders had decided to do so.
• While waiting, Flipclaw returns, and is greeted warmly by his Clanmates.
  • Flipclaw explains that he and Graystripe had split up with the others who had gone on a wander to visit Stormfur and The Tribe of Rushing Water.
  • He retells how he made friends with Feather, Stormfur's son, and how rocks fell on him.
  • Jayfeather interrupts, telling him to come see him after.
• Following the interruption, Flipclaw explains how Flywhisker and Snaptooth had become kittypets.
• After this, Lionblaze and his patrol returns.
  • Lionblaze tells the Clan that Ashfur had gotten away. He says that Shadowsight let him escape his prison, and the leaders think that Squirrelflight had some involvement in Ashfur's escaping.
  • Bumblestripe adds that Shadowsight now inhabits the prison, surprising the Clan.
  • After the Clan reacts to the news, Lionblaze states that soon, he would lead a patrol to question Shadowsight, and discuss what to do next.
• Bristlefrost disproves Squirrelflight helping Ashfur escape, as she tells the cats that after the Gathering, she had persuaded Squirrelflight not to help Ashfur, and that the acting leader had accepted this.
• Lionblaze states that he will take Bumblestripe, Plumstone, Leafshade, and Bristlefrost to interrogate Shadowsight.
  • Sparkpelt interrupts that she wants to be on the patrol, citing that her mother was involved with this.
  • Alderheart supports this, and states that he would like to be on the patrol as well, along with Jayfeather, so Tigerstar won't see it as an invasion seeing as there would be medicine cats there.
• After Lionblaze rejects the cats, Jayfeather convincingly tells the acting deputy that Lionblaze will think with his claws instead of his head and regret it later, and that the blind tom wants to make sure the cats who are being interrogated get treated fairly.
  • Lionblaze accepts this, and exits the camp with Bristlefrost, Plumstone, Bumblestripe, Leafshade, Alderheart, Jayfeather, and Sparkpelt.

Chapter 2

• Tigerstar and Dovewing persuasively tell Shadowsight to depart with Tawnypelt to the Tribe of Rushing Water.
  • Despite Shadowsight explaining to them what he saw the previous day, his parents believe that the Clans may turn on them given the right reason.
• Tawnypelt and Shadowsight begin, while Tigerstar calls a Clan meeting, and his siblings, Lightleap and Pouncestep, usher cats toward their leader.
  • Lionblaze catches on to Tigerstar's plan, catching Shadowsight and Tawnypelt leaving the Clans.
• He tells the other leaders this, accusing Tigerstar of caring about his son more than his Clan, and the rest of the Clans.
  • The tenseness rises, prompting Shadowsight to call out that he will give himself up, hoping that the situation would settle down.
  • Shadowsight wonders if Tigerstar will attack the ThunderClan deputy, but Tigerstar simply remarks that the Clans will recall later how any cat would be so mousebrained.

Chapter 3

• Rootspring hurries back to SkyClan camp, wanting to tell the others what he had witnessed.
  • He meets Hawkwing and his patrol. The SkyClan deputy explains that Ashfur had escaped, and Leafstar was leading a patrol to ShadowClan camp.
  • Rootspring tells Hawkwing what he saw, so Hawkwing sends him over to SkyClan camp with the hope of catching Leafstar's patrol.
• The yellow tom finds his leader's patrol, and tells Leafstar that Squirrelflight had disappeared after the Gathering, hoping to save Bramblestar's body. He recalls how he persuaded Squirrelflight to help the Clans, which she accepted.
  • He retells how the ginger she-cat had gone to the Moonpool, where out of nowhere, Ashfur appeared and dragged her into the Moonpool and the Dark Forest.
  • Leafstar believes him, and orders him to come along and share his sights with the other leaders.
• They enter camp, seeing Lionblaze and Tigerstar head-to-head.
  • Mistystar splits the two, and reminds them that they need to talk about Ashfur.
  • The two toms still attack each other, with Lionblaze insulting Shadowsight, causing him to be under Tigerstar's paws.
• Rootspring intervenes, shouting that Squirrelflight had been kidnapped by Ashfur, who had dragged the ThunderClan leader into the Dark Forest.
  • The leaders state their opinions on this, until Jayfeather sarcastically states that they should be at the Moonpool.
• The blind tabby tells the leaders to gather their medicine cats and some warriors to go to the Moonpool, where they can begin investigating.

Chapter 4

• The leaders send their fastest cats to fetch the Clan's medicine cats.
• They discuss who should be allowed, but Bristlefrost is out of earshot before the leaders reach a conclusion.
• She reaches the WindClan border, scenting a patrol.
• Crouchfoot, Breezepelt, and Songpaw approach her, with Breezepelt questioning why the ThunderClan warrior is there.
  • Bristlefrost states that she needs to deliver a message to Kestrelflight.
  • Breezepelt becomes suspicious, even after Bristlefrost states that she had the WindClan leader's permission.
    • Bristlefrost explains why she is there, and that Kestrelflight's presence is needed at the Moonpool.
• Breezepelt agrees to let the she-cat cross the border, but he warns her about the dreadfulness of the Dark Forest, stating that he remembers vividly how the times were like during the Great Battle.
• Bristlefrost runs across Crowfeather in WindClan camp, and after explaining herself to the stubborn tom, she delivers her message to Kestrelflight.
• Kestrelflight agrees, though Crowfeather remains hesitant, suggesting ideas of Squirrelflight wanting to be with Ashfur.
  • Bristlefrost convinces Crowfeather why those ideas are false, claiming that Squirrelflight truly loves Bramblestar, and that is the only reason she is putting up with Ashfur's company in the Place of No Stars.
• Crowfeather leaves Hootwhisker in charge of WindClan while he, Bristlefrost, and Kestrelflight leave the camp to go to the Moonpool.
• Bristlefrost arrives at the Moonpool at sunhigh, noting that all the medicine cats are there.
• The medicine cats start discussing ways of getting a living cat into the Place of No Stars.
  • To Jayfeather's aggravation, the other medicine cats try contacting StarClan one last time.
  • While they do this, Harestar suggests scouting the area, and Rootspring explains where the kidnapping of Squirrelflight had happened.
• They decide to send a few RiverClan cats into the Moonpool to see if they can reach the Dark Forest, but Mistystar declares there's nothing in the Moonpool except water.
  • Mistystar states that maybe Squirrelflight gave her life for the Clans, but Rootspring brings up the fact that more lives are involved in this than Squirrelflight's. Shadowsight states that he might be keeping spirits prisoner in the Dark Forest, like the ones the Clans saw in SkyClan camp.
• Frecklewish reasons that the probable reason that Squirrelflight was able to enter was because she had a dead cat with them.
  • Shadowsight interrupts that he is able to visit the Place of No Stars, and knows Ashfur better than most cats present. He explains further that all he needs is someone to teach me how to safely reach the Dark Forest, and is delighted to see understanding reach the eyes of cats around him.

Chapter 5

Coming Soon

Chapter 6

• The Clans watch as Willowshine falls asleep, transporting her to the Dark Forest.
  • Soon after, Rootspring notices that the she-cat is surprisingly still, taking into account that she is in the Dark Forest.
    • Leaning in, Rootspring comes to the dreaded conclusion that she is not breathing, and at that moment, Mothwing rushes to her friend's side.
• The medicine cats try to save her, but they don't know that she is dead, like Rootspring does.
• Rootspring spots Willowshine's spirit escape her body, and he sees the spirit being dragged into the Moonpool by another spirit.
  • Mothwing and Rootspring declare that she is gone in unison, though Rootspring knows that her spirit is not in StarClan.
• Rootspring tells the other medicine cats about Willowshine's spirit escaping her body, retelling the story of how she was "kidnapped" by another spirit.
• Shadowsight pushes forward, stating that he should've gone instead of Willowshine.
• The cats talk about how Ashfur might've known she was coming, and finished her easily.
  • Mothwing connects this to the fact that Willowshine remembered Softpelt to enter the Dark Forest, and Softpelt is now one of Ashfur's spirits, and that may be how the dark warrior knew.
• Shadowsight declares that no cat should've died, and he will go to the Dark Forest.
  • Jayfeather reprimands the young cat, stating that Willowshine shouldn't have gone in the first place; no cat should have.
• Rootspring supports this, addressing the need for more information.

Chapter 7

• Sunhigh approaches as Bristlefrost and her Clanmates return from the Moonpool.
  • The ThunderClan warrior recaps that Willowshine, RiverClan's medicine cat, was now gone, and Squirrelflight or Bramblestar weren't closer to coming back either.
• At camp, Lionblaze tells Bristlefrost to inform the Clan of what had happened, surprising the she-cat.
  • The gray warrior tells the Clan of how the leaders decided to send a cat into the Place of No Stars to rescue Squirrelflight. She explains that they landed on Willowshine. Then, she tells the Clan how Willowshine died.
• Some cats like Twigbranch don't believe her story, but Bristlefrost persists that it is the truth, explaining that Rootspring saw something grab Willowshine's spirit.
  • More cats don't believe her, but the warrior goes on about how she respected Willowshine without knowing much about her.
• Then, Lionblaze speaks to Bristlefrost, asking her to recite to ThunderClan who got the idea to enter the Dark Forest in the first place.
  • The gray she-cat starts by saying that Shadowsight had suggested it, wanting to add that Shadowsight volunteered himself until Willowshine offered herself instead, but Lionblaze cuts her off bluntly by saying that the ShadowClan medicine cat should be punished.
• Whitewing adds that Shadowsight has caused no harm, but Lionblaze goes on a rampage, listing how Shadowsight had "killed" Bramblestar, now Willowshine, and the one who received the vision of the codebreakers, which turned out to be from Ashfur.
• After saying this, Lionblaze threatens to kill someone, but Ivypool cuts him off before finishing his sentence, asking him to hear himself for once. The acting leader accepts the goriness of his statement, but says that the Clans would be better off without Shadowsight and the impostor.
• Spotfur steps up, challenging Lionblaze, stating that outbursts like the one he had just had shows why he is not their real leader, which starts an argument about who would be a better leader.
  • The golden tom tries to put a stop to it, but no one is listening, until a commanding voice roars, asking what was happening.
• Bristlefrost recognizes the tom as Graystripe as the gray elder steps into the camp.
  • Graystripe challenges what ThunderClan has been doing, stating that he is trying to fix the Clan's problems while it seems like ThunderClan is trying to make them worst.
• Graystripe orders Bristlefrost to spit out what happened to Squirrelflight.
  • The gray she-cat retells the story of how Squirrelflight had been kidnapped by Ashfur, and how Willowshine died.
• After hearing this, Graystripe organizes some hunting patrols, and orders Alderheart to help RiverClan since they have no medicine cat.
  • Bristlefrost then states that the gray tom should be ThunderClan's leader, which both Jayfeather and Lionblaze agree upon.
• Graystripe accepts the position, and brings together Bristlefrost, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze to go with him to SkyClan territory to interrogate Rootspring on what exactly happened at the Moonpool.
• Lionblaze suggests they wait until the next morning, which Graystripe likes, and tells Bristlefrost to enter his den to discuss Ashfur.

Chapter 8

Coming Soon

Chapter 9

Coming Soon

Chapter 10

• Rootspring has a dream, where he is in a dark tunnel.
  • He walks forward, and spots his friend Shadowsight in need of help, but as he comes closer to the ShadowClan medicine cat, a hole opens up right between them, which Rootspring falls into.
• The gruff voice of Macgyver tells Rootspring not to make such a fuss.
• Now awake, the SkyClan tom rushes out of the warriors' den realizing the lateness of the time.
  • He notices that no one had noticed his absence, so he walks toward the exit of camp, wanting to hunt.
• Just as he reaches the exit, Graystripe and other ThunderClan cats enter.
  • Leafstar greets the gray tom, who informs Leafstar of him being ThunderClan's leader.
• Graystripe then turns to Rootspring, and asks him to verify the story of Squirrelflight being taken into the Moonpool by Ashfur while still alive.
  • The yellow warrior does, and Leafstar grants permission for Rootspring to show Graystripe what exactly happened at the Moonpool by going to the sacred place. He agrees, and Leafstar, Rootspring, Graystripe, Bristlefrost, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather go to the Moonpool.
• While on the way there, they are spotted by Tree, who tags along.
  • At the Moonpool, they find Mothwing and an unconscious Shadowsight, who is in the Dark Forest.
• Moments after the SkyClan and ThunderClan cats arrive, Dovewing and Tigerstar approach, wondering what happened to their son.
• Tigerstar and Graystripe get into an argument about the latter's age and how he is not fit to be a leader, but the gray tom quickly puts a stop by saying that he led ThunderClan for a while while Firestar was rebuilding SkyClan.
  • Leafstar puts an end to the argument, and comes up with the idea to gather the other leaders to talk about what should be done and to inform them of Shadowsight's entering into the Dark Forest.
• Later, in the evening, Rootspring spots Willowshine's ghost, telling him that he is the only one who can save Squirrelflight and Bramblestar. The spirit kidnaps Rootspring into the Moonpool, against the SkyClan warrior's will.

Chapter 11

• Bristlefrost notices that Rootspring is not able to swim, and dives in to save him.
  • However, she struggles as well.
• Mothwing intervenes, saving Bristlefrost.
  • Bristlefrost asks if the ShadowClan medicine cat had seen Rootspring go under the water, and Mothwing says yes, but states that the ThunderClan warrior can't swim, so she shouldn't try to.
• Tree arrives with Harestar, and Bristlefrost tells the news of Rootspring being seemingly dragged into the Moonpool by an invisible force.
  • The SkyClan mediator accepts this information as Leafstar begins to discuss about how they should talk about whether or not they should ask the Sisters for help.
• Tree agrees, and Lionblaze and Leafstar set off to the Sisters' camp.
• As the sun sets, Graystripe states that nothing is being accomplished there, so they might as well leave.
  • Tigerstar, Dovewing, and Tree remain adamant on staying, knowing that their sons are in the Place of No Stars, so Graystripe lets Bristlefrost stay, wanting ThunderClan representation at the Moonpool.
• With that, the rest of the leaders go to their respective camps for the night.
• Moments after, the Sisters arrive, with Snow in the lead.
  • Tree begs Snow to help, stating that both his son and Tigerstar's son are stuck in the Dark Forest.
• The Sisters agree, stating that they will set up camp nearby, while Dovewing and Tigerstar return to ShadowClan.
• Bristlefrost wanders to the edge of the Moonpool, hoping that Shadowsight and Rootspring are alright.

Chapter 12

Coming Soon

Chapter 13

• Rootspring recovers from the shock of getting taken into the Moonpool, and asks Willowshine if he is in the Place of No Stars.
• Realizing that the ghost was squinting her eyes, Rootspring asks about them, and Willowshine replies that the light is affecting them.
• The former RiverClan cat states that she didn't want to scare him, but she needed a Clan cat's help and Rootspring was the only one she could talk to.
  • The SkyClan warrior states that he will do anything for the Clans, and Willowshine tells him that they need to look for Ashfur first.
• While walking, Rootspring asks the former medicine cat if she had seen Shadowsight in the Dark Forest, but Willowshine seems unaware of the ShadowClan medicine cat being in the treacherous place.
• Peering through bushes, the SkyClan cat and the ghost spot a tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat, who Willowshine tells Rootspring to be Mapleshade. She introduces the tom beside her as Silverhawk.
  • The two Dark Forest cats start a conversation, saying that they dislike what Ashfur is doing in the Dark Forest. Willowshine suggests following them for clues on Ashfur's location, and Rootspring agrees.
• Mapleshade and Silverhawk split up, prompting Willowshine to order Rootspring to follow Mapleshade while she tracks Silverhawk.
  • Rootspring prays that Mapleshade doesn't spot or hear him, while the tortoiseshell leads him down a narrow path.

More coming soon

Chapter 14

Coming Soon