page_title: Into the Wild (novel)
section_title: Plot
hierarchical_section_title: Into the Wild (novel) / Plot
caption_attribution_description: Alder trees in the Beaulieu River north of Fawley Ford, New Forest
context_page_description: Into the Wild is a fantasy novel written by Erin Hunter. The novel was published by HarperCollins in Canada and the United States in January 2003, and in the United Kingdom in February 2003. It is the first novel in the Warriors series. The book has been published in paperback, and e-book formats in twenty different languages. The story is about a young domestic cat named Rusty who leaves his human owners to join a group of forest-dwelling feral cats called ThunderClan, adopting a new name: Firepaw. He is trained to defend and hunt for the Clan, becomes embroiled in a murder and betrayal within the Clan, and, at the end of the book, receives his warrior name, Fireheart, after a battle with another Clan. He must face the evil Tigerclaw. The novel is written from the perspective of Fireheart.
  The series began in 2003 when HarperCollins requested Holmes to write a book on feral cats. After creating one storyline Holmes brought in Kate Cary to finish writing the book as Holmes went behind the scenes to edit and supervise the details. Holmes has compared the style of the book to a different language as the books are written by three separate authors.
context_section_description: Into the Wild begins with a battle in a forest between the cats of outnumbered ThunderClan (ones that live in a part of the forest that is primarily deciduous woodland) and RiverClan (ones that live in a part of the forest that is primarily wetland, or shores of lakes, rivers, and streams) over Sunningrocks, a group of rocks in the forest, around RiverClan and ThunderClan territory where warrior cats bask in the sun. ThunderClan's deputy, Redtail the tortoiseshell tom, calls a retreat. Spottedleaf the dark tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat and Bluestar the blue-gray she-cat call on StarClan - deceased warrior ancestors of the Clans who live on in spirit form after dying and watch over the living Clan cats - for answers. Spottedleaf is given a prophecy; "Fire Alone Will Save Our Clan".
  Rusty, a curious flame-colored tom Kittypet (a cat under domestication), is driven to the forest after a dream of him hunting a mouse. Rusty runs into Graypaw, dark gray tom from ThunderClan who has just become an apprentice. Rusty, however, does not run away and fights the apprentice. After the battle, Graypaw tells Rusty he fought very well, for a Kittypet, and proceeds to tell him about the Clans. Bluestar and a golden tabby tom named Lionheart, also from ThunderClan, who were watching the whole time, reveal themselves and invite Rusty to join ThunderClan.
  Due to his domesticated past, some members of the Clan are hostile towards Rusty. This hostility eventually leads Rusty to attack Longtail, a pale brown black-striped tabby tom who purposefully fights Rusty to prove his worth, losing his jingling collar in the ensuing fight, as well as tearing Longtail's ear. Bluestar then ends the fight and announces that Rusty has earned his apprentice name, Firepaw. Ravenpaw the jet-black tom interrupts this, alerting the Clan of the death of Redtail before he collapses. Tigerclaw the large dark brown tabby tom brings the lifeless body to the Clan. Lionheart becomes the new deputy of ThunderClan.
  Firepaw forms a strong friendship with Graypaw, and Ravenpaw, who is the apprentice of the ambitious warrior Tigerclaw. Firepaw finds a banished loner named Yellowfang, a skinny dark gray she-cat. After breaking the warrior code to feed her, he is required to care for her.
  When Bluestar, Tigerclaw, Ravenpaw, Firepaw and Graypaw go on a journey to the mystical Moonstone, located in a sacred site within an abandoned Twoleg (human) mine called Highstones by the Clan cats, so Bluestar can commune with StarClan, ShadowClan (cats that live in the marshlands and amongst the pines of the forest) attacks ThunderClan's camp.  The five cats on the journey return in time to turn the tide of the battle, during which ThunderClan's new deputy Lionheart is killed. A few days later, Spottedleaf is slaughtered and Frostfur the snow-white she-cat's kits are stolen by Brokenstar the dark brown tabby tom and his warriors. Everyone except Firepaw and Graypaw believe that Yellowfang has betrayed the Clan.
  Firepaw learns from Ravenpaw that Tigerclaw killed Redtail. Searching for the kidnapped kits, Firepaw and Graypaw lead Ravenpaw to a barn where he can be safe and have company, living with a loner named Barley, short black-and-white tom. Firepaw then leads a rescue party with Yellowfang to rescue the lost kits in ShadowClan territory and emerges victorious. Brokenstar and his followers are banished from the Clan.
  Tigerclaw, still trusted by the Clan, suspects Firepaw knows his secret. Because of their heroism on the rescue party, Firepaw and Graypaw are promoted to warriors by Bluestar, who gives them their warrior names, Fireheart and Graystripe. Yellowfang is promoted to medicine cat. Graystripe and Fireheart sit vigil, promising to protect the Clan with their lives.
caption: The fictional forest of the novel was originally inspired by New Forest (above) and other locales in England and Scotland.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.", "Image Model": "SP500UZ", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Nikon Browser 6.1.0 W", "Image DateTime": "2006:05:21 23:20:10", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "266", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "2947", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "10867", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/10", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Creative", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:05:21 19:17:14", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:05:21 19:17:14", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "297/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "63/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2112", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2816", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "2823"}