The Kin's campaign

The Kin's campaign was a long run of invasions and attacks led by a cat named Darktail. It was instigated when Darktail and his group attacked and drove out SkyClan from the gorge, and then followed returning journeying cats to the lake territories, where he inflicted heavy casualties to the other four Clans. However, despite Darktail's death at the claws of Onestar, the damage inflicted by the Kin caused many more unfortunate events to occur, spanning a total year before the Clans were even able to fully recover.
==Summary==
===Premise===
:Darktail was a vicious tactician and quickly took control over the territory of three different Clans in an attempt to destroy them after being betrayed by his father, Onestar. He left his birth place, the Twolegplace after the death of his mother and killing a kittypet, later journeying to the gorge to join SkyClan. Between these two points in time, he assembles a significant army of rogues and loners that he stays in touch with during his time in SkyClan, using them to force them out of their home and later to do the same to ShadowClan and RiverClan. Darktail takes advantage of weak leadership in ShadowClan to gain his initial hold on the Clans before invading RiverClan and WindClan.
===Overview===
:Darktail led his rogues into invasions of SkyClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan land in an attempt to destroy the Clans that denied him and his mother shelter when he was a kit. Primarily, he wanted to kill Onestar, his father who abandoned him. The near constant war he put the Clans through for half a year caused many deaths, both in the Clans and in the Kin, including Darktail himself. During this same time, SkyClan journeyed from the gorge all the way to the lake, rejoining the other four Clans after seasons of being separated. The era of Darktail in Clan history had disastrous consequences on the Clans as a whole in the immediate aftermath of the Kin's take over and their future.
==Description==
===Taking over SkyClan===
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:Before Darktail ever met SkyClan, a fire in the Twolegplace caused injuries to three apprentices and killed Duskpaw. Later, Echosong received a prophecy from StarClan, saying,  "The fire has burned out, but to dispel the darkness you must find the spark that remains." The Clan is unable to deduce whether the prophecy saying the fire is literally the fire in the Twolegplace, or referring to Firestar, who has recently died, however they figure the spark that remains is the other Clans and that they must find them. Hawkpaw is later on a walk with Sandynose and Plumwillow, processing his grief after the death of his brother, Duskpaw, when he finds a loner near Twolegplace. The loner introduces himself as Darktail, saying he overheard Hawkpaw speaking with the two other cats and says he knows about warriors and SkyClan. He asks if he could have some healing herbs to help his throat, which was burned from smoke inhalation. Hawkpaw takes Darktail back to the camp and tells Echosong and Leafstar, who allow the loner into SkyClan. They believe that Darktail may be the spark that remains from the fire that burned out in the Twolegplace.
:Unbeknownst to any of the Clan cats at the time, Darktail was not a loner who was part of StarClan's prophecy. He had a vast network of loyal followers who were willing to fight by his side at his every command, an army he planned to use to destroy the Clan. Darktail told SkyClan he knew where the other Clans might be, giving them information so Leafstar would send a patrol to go on a quest in search of the Clans. The patrol was made up of Billystorm, Waspwhisker, Hawkwing, and Pebblepaw. While the patrol was gone, Darktail placed fresh-kill in a path towards SkyClan's camp in order to lead raccoons in so they would attack. During SkyClan's battle with the raccoons, Echosong and Harveymoon were injured, Leafstar lost a life, and Honeytail was killed. When the search patrol returns, they report that Billystorm, Leafstar's mate, was killed by a badger.
:Later, Leafstar decides to send a second patrol in search of the other four Clans after Darktail offers to lead a patrol himself and introduces a friend of his named Rain to Leafstar, who will help them on the quest. The leader sends Firefern, Harrybrook, Sagenose, and Hawkwing along with the white tom. On this patrol they meet another friend of Darktail's, a loner named Toad, near a barn. He states he saw a large group of cats travel through that area and stay in the barn. When the patrol investigates inside, they are attacked by dogs. While the Clan cats, Darktail, and Rain all escape up a tree, Toad is killed by the dogs. Firefern turns on Darktail after their second search quest ends in death, demanding to know if he enjoys watching other cats get hurt. Darktail is saddened by Toad's death, saying he should have been the one fed to the dogs rather than Toad.
:Later, after the search quest arrives back at SkyClan's camp without finding any sign of the Clans, a border patrol encounters a group of rogues and are caught in a fight. Darktail is seen attacking the leader of the rogues, who gives the order to retreat. The border patrol later reports this to Leafstar. The next night, the dawn patrol reports the rogues are gone, but after night falls and the daylight warriors leave to go back to their Twoleg nests, Darktail's rogues race into the gorge and begin attacking SkyClan, killing Stormheart who was on guard for the night. Hawkwing alerts his Clan of the invasion and the camp is thrown into a vicious battle. Darktail kills Bouncefire and SkyClan's deputy, Sharpclaw. He reveals it was his plan all along to attack and destroy SkyClan and offers Hawkwing a place in his group as deputy under Darktail. Hawkwing, however, denies him, much to Darktail's frustration. As the battle continues, the nursery is evacuated and Patchfoot is killed. Leafstar calls for a retreat, Darktail's rogues having successfully driven SkyClan from the gorge. In their escape, Snipkit slips into the river and drowns.
===To the lake===
:After Alderpaw receives a vision stating, "Embrace what you find in the shadows, for only they can clear the sky," he takes part in a patrol made up of Sandstorm, Molewhisker, Cherryfall, Sparkpaw, and Needlepaw that journeys to the gorge in search of SkyClan, led by Sandstorm. Along the way, Sandstorm dies, but the patrol manages to find the gorge. They are met by a group of seemingly brutal and uncivilized cats claiming to be SkyClan. These cats are led by Darktail and they allow the patrol of Clan cats to stay with them in their camp. When Alderpaw shows Darktail herbs, the rogue leader pretends to be surprised and excited, telling Rain to go with Alderpaw in search of more, Needlepaw joining the search as well. Needlepaw and Rain begin to develop a relationship during their time together. She tells Rain that he and his rogues should follow them to the lake so they can be together forever.
:Later, the Clan cats meet a starving and weak loner named Mistfeather who reveals that he used to be a member of SkyClan until Darktail and his rogues drove them from the gorge. Mistfeather was separated from his Clan and never managed to get back to them. Darktail discovers the Clan cats talking with the old SkyClan cat and kills Mistfeather in rage, threatening to kill the Clan cats too. Darktail tells his rogues that the Clan cats came to try to take the gorge back from them and imprisons them in a separate den. That night, the Clan cats sneak out of the den and flee the territory. Darktail knew they would do this, taking his cats and secretly following the patrol at a distance all the way back to the lake. When Darktail and his rogues arrive, they meet a WindClan patrol by the WindClan and ThunderClan border, led by Onestar, and attack. Onestar quickly recognizes Darktail as his son as the rogue leader whispers to him, saying he is going to kill Onestar and destroy the Clans after what he did to him. Severely outnumbered, Onestar draws the battle closer to the border so ThunderClan would overhear and come to help. Bramblestar leads a patrol to fight off the rogues, but not before Darktail kills Furzepelt and takes Onestar's eighth life. The rogues then retreat and Darktail says this will not be the last time they see him and his rogues.
:Alderpaw and Jayfeather reflect that they have not seen cats fight like the way the rogues did since the battle against the Dark Forest. Darktail's rogue group experienced a brief leadership struggle when Rain challenged Darktail, saying he was weak and too much like the Clan leaders. Darktail knew he had to take his time if he wanted to completely take over and destroy the Clans, but Rain would not listen. In retaliation, Darktail attacked Rain, nearly choking him and blinding him in one eye, ending the leadership struggle for the time being. The rogues also experiences a small bout of yellowcough at the same time ShadowClan was, Silt and Beenose being the only cats infected. Silt succumbs to the disease, however Beenose manages to recover.
===Usurpation of ShadowClan===
:After attacking the WindClan patrol, Darktail and his rogues retreat and set up a camp just outside ShadowClan's far border. Here, Darktail names his group the Kin. ShadowClan is gripped and crippled by yellowcough as Wasptail, Kinkfur, and Crowfrost die and Rowanstar loses a life. Onestar was the most vocal about driving Darktail and the Kin out of Clan territories ever since he lost a life and Furzepelt was killed, even going so far as to deny ShadowClan healing herbs while they had yellowcough unless they drove the rogues away from their territory. Many cats were unhappy with Rowanstar's weak leadership before the plague outbreak and even more so during it, as he willingly gave up leverage the Clan could have used to get lungwort from an uncooperative WindClan. All of ShadowClan's apprentices left the Clan to revolt against Rowanstar, joining the Kin outside their territory. ShadowClan only begins to recover after WindClan's deputy and medicine cat, Harespring and Kestralflight, go behind Onestar's back to give them lungwort.
:As a result of ShadowClan's struggles, on the night of the full moon, Darktail was able to march his rogues into ShadowClan's camp and usurp leadership of the Clan from Rowanstar with little resistance as Rowanstar was assembling a patrol to take to the Gathering. Many refused to go to the Gathering and instead allowed Darktail into their camp. Rowanstar exclaims they will have to take ShadowClan over his dead body, to which Darktail replies by leaping on the Clan leader and attacking him. Tigerheart and Tawnypelt try to defend their leader, but Rowanstar is severely injured by Darktail. The three stop fighting when they realize they are the only ones attempting to save Rowanstar. Darktail says any cat that goes to the Clan Gathering will not be allowed back into the camp, and anyone who stays are members of the Kin. Ultimately, only Rowanstar, Tawnypelt, and Tigerheart leave, the rest of ShadowClan merging with the Kin.
===The Clans' counter offensive===
:Rowanstar, Tawnypelt, and Tigerheart are the only ShadowClan cats that go to the Gathering, alerting the other three Clans to Darktail's takeover. They insist that ShadowClan is making a mistake and as soon as they see the error of their ways they will return back to Rowanstar. The three become refugees in ThunderClan as the other leaders begin planning a counter offensive on the ShadowClan camp to drive the Kin away. All three Clans attack the Kin in the ShadowClan camp. At first the battle appears to be going well for the Clans, however, that takes a turn when Darktail and Onestar begin fighting. Onestar pins Darktail down, but the rogue leader whispers something in the WindClan leader's ear that only Onestar could hear. He asks Onestar what he thinks will happen to a cat who rejected and then killed his own son, saying that cat would surely go to the Dark Forest. Darktail's message was so terrifying to Onestar that he leapt away from the fight and prematurely called for WindClan to retreat from the battle. After WindClan's retreat, the Kin were able to turn the tides and drive away the forces of ThunderClan and RiverClan, resulting in a Kin victory.
:At the next Gathering, the other leaders demand to know why Onestar retreated from the battle. Mistystar states that many from her Clan suffered injuries they would have never gotten if WindClan had not abandoned the fight. Onestar defensively insists he had reasons for retreating but refused to explain what they were, instead pinning the blame on Rowanstar for allowing the rogues into his camp in the first place. Onestar decided to close his borders, saying WindClan would no longer participate in any attacks against the Kin. Darktail was injured by Onestar during the battle. Puddleshine treats his injuries, giving him coltsfoot and telling him to rest in his den. Needletail attempts to get Violetpaw in trouble by telling Darktail that she is worried she hurt her sister badly during the fight when she attacked her. Darktail, rather than being upset, tells Violetpaw he is proud of her for making the right decision and that he admires her fighting capabilities. Later, a tired Darktail is discussing with Rain in the leader's den. When Violetpaw and Puddleshine leave the den, Rain attempts to kill Darktail by suffocating him. Darktail plays dead, going limp and allowing Rain to think he killed him. When Rain steps away, Darktail leaps up and slices open his throat, killing him instantly.
===Invasion of RiverClan===
:After the battle with the Clans, Darktail invited kittypets into the Kin, promising they would have a lot of fun as warriors. The kittypets, Zelda, Max, and Loki, eagerly joined the Kin, learning a few hunting and battle moves. During Darktail's invasion of RiverClan, he placed the kittypets and the elders in the front of his assault, intentionally putting his weakest fighters first to create a buffer that would slow and tire the RiverClan cats before the strongest members of the Kin attacked. When RiverClan appeared, led by Mistystar, Darktail gave the order to attack. Max is quickly killed in the battle right before the Kin's most powerful warriors leap in. Darktail fights Mistystar, battling viciously and reopening her injuries from the first battle. Reedwhisker jumps in to defend his leader, attacking Darktail. The Kin manages to kill Foxnose, Heronwing, Petalfur, and Shadepelt and severely injuring Reedwhisker, Brackenpelt, Mintfur, and Icewing, while only losing Max and Pinenose. When Mothwing attempts to treat their injuries, Darktail demands that the wounded go with him and does not allow RiverClan to take the bodies of the dead to be buried. The Kin take the wounded back to RiverClan camp and turn it into a prison camp, holding the wounded RiverClan warriors as prisoners. The remaining cats of RiverClan flee to ThunderClan to take refuge.
===Defection===
:The defections from the Kin started after Darktail had blinded Rain in one eye. Doing this made some worried about whether staying with the Kin was a good idea. The first to leave was Violetpaw, who managed to leave the group undetected. After Darktail took over ShadowClan's camp, Violetpaw rejoined the Kin and proved her loyalty to the leader by fighting alongside them during the Clans' first battle against the Kin. After Rain attempted to kill him and take control of the Kin, Darktail became hellbent on making sure every cat in his group was loyal to him. Anytime a cat spoke out against him or made him angry in any way, he would ask if they were truly loyal, and if they were not he told them to leave. This was all an act, however, as any cat who attempted to leave was secretly taken prisoner by Darktail. Dawnpelt attempted to help as many defectors leave undetected as possible, however, no cat that tried leaving made it out. Instead, they were secretly captured, including Mistcloud, Beenose, Lioneye, Birchbark, Berryheart, and Dawnpelt. These cats were then, one by one, taken down to the lake by Darktail and some of his closest followers and drowned in the water. The only cat to escape this fate was Berryheart, who managed to fake her drowning and escape the death from the water.
:After the death of Rain, Needletail realized it was a mistake to lead the rogues to the lake and join the Kin under Darktail. When Mothwing returned to RiverClan territory after the Kin had taken it over, Needletail took herbs from the medicine den and gave them to the medicine cat. When Darktail found out about this, he had her put in the same prison as the RiverClan cats. When Violetpaw saw how much her friend was suffering, she made a plan with Alderheart to help get the elders and the prisoners out of the camp and have them meet a ThunderClan patrol just outside the border so they could escape. She successfully managed to get the elders out, then began lacing prey with poppy seeds and brought it to Darktail and his closest followers in an attempt to drug them to sleep so she could easily slip the prisoners out. Darktail found out, and in retaliation he dragged Violetpaw and Needletail to the lake, drowning Needletail in front of her, knowing it would be a worse punishment than death. Violetpaw fled the Kin after this, taking refuge in ThunderClan. When Reedwhisker and the other RiverClan prisoners realized Violetpaw's plan had failed, they knew they had to do something. They rose up, fighting their way out of the camp. Many previous cats of ShadowClan rose up as well in defiance of Darktail and his evil ways, fighting off the rogues and helping the prisoners get out of camp. Bramblestar's patrol showed up and helped the battle as well, successfully driving Darktail and his rogues out of RiverClan and back to ShadowClan.
===The battle for WindClan===
:After being forced out of RiverClan land, Darktail knew he was losing time to exact his ultimate revenge before an all out attack by every Clan at once fell on his Kin, made all the more devastating by all the defectors that had left after being driven back to ShadowClan territory. He led an attack on WindClan's camp very early in the morning while the sun was still set under the cover of darkness, knowing that the night would be the only cover his cats could get on the open moorland, and if they attacked while WindClan was asleep they would have the element of surprise.
:Onestar happens to wake early, finding Darktail and his rogues on the edge of the camp. Before Onestar can warn his Clanmates, Darktail gives the signal to attack. Onestar and Darktail fight one on one, the rogue leader refusing to be beaten despite Onestar's powerful counter attacks. The battle carries on as the sun begins to rise, the Kin gaining ground, Onestar beginning to wonder if this is where his mistakes would catch up with him. A patrol made up of the other four Clans' deputies arrives at the camp with the intent of negotiating with Onestar; however they leap into the battle upon seeing WindClan needing help. Hawkwing raced to attack Darktail and help Onestar, but Harespring, the WindClan deputy, got there first. Harespring is then attacked by Nettle, but he and Hawkwing fight the rogue off. Darktail orders the battle to stop with a loud caterwaul, freezing every cat in place. Darktail and Onestar then face off. Harespring points out that Darktail is speaking to Onestar as if they know each other, but Onestar says Darktail's word cannot be trusted. Darktail tells WindClan that their leader is not the cat they think he is before attacking him again. As fighting breaks out in the camp once again, the Kin is outmatched, Squirrelflight flinging Darktail away from Onestar. The rogue leader then calls a retreat, vowing they would be back.
:After the battle, Onestar is forced to tell the truth after what Darktail had said, but refused to say anything until the Clan leaders arrived, only baring to explain once. When the leaders arrive, Onestar insists what he has to say is something every cat has to hear. Onestar explains he is the reason Darktail had been trying to destroy the Clans was because of him. He reveals that he mated with a kittypet and that Darktail was their son. He admits to abandoning them when they asked to join WindClan, causing Darktail to grow up hateful of his father and the Clans. He explains how what Darktail said to him during the first battle led to him retreating and taking the rest of WindClan with him. Rowanstar argues that the Dark Forest is a place for evil cats, not cats who kill vicious rogues like Darktail. Onestar apologizes for turning away from the other Clans and his friends, saying Darktail and his rogues must be dealt with no matter what, agreeing to lead WindClan into the final battle with the other Clans.
===The final battle===
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:Before the final battle, the medicine cats go to the Moonpool to confer with StarClan and let them know that they all have united. StarClan showed them a five pointed leaf with one of the points bent and folded, saying it represented ShadowClan and that ShadowClan territory needed to be reclaimed. StarClan also cryptically tells them the Clans have to remember their names. The medicine cats reported their vision to the five Clan leaders, who all agreed to launch an attack on the Kin. Following StarClan's advice, they plan a three-pronged attack where each Clan plays a different role, specifically tailored to their strong suits. Bramblestar leads ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan and SkyClan along the forest floor towards the border and Mistystar leads RiverClan towards the lake. After crossing the border, Bramblestar gives the signal to halt. Leafstar leads SkyClan into the trees. Bramblestar continues leading the ground assault, SkyClan following up above, leaping from branch to branch. The sky is dark with storm clouds as Bramblestar leads the ground assault in the first attack wave on the camp.
:ThunderClan leaps into the heart of the battle, attacking and battling the Kin's rogues with brute force. WindClan darts in and out of bushes, landing quick and speedy attacks on the rogues that knock them off balance and confuse them, allowing ThunderClan to easily gain the upper hand. ShadowClan lurks in the shadows near the camp entrance, preventing any rogue from escaping the battle. Tigerheart and Nettle battle as the rogue tries to flee. As rain begins to fall, the second wave of the attack commences. SkyClan cats begin dropping from the trees and landing on the rogues, knocking them off their paws and the wind out of them. Nettle wrenches himself away from Tigerheart, only for Hawkwing to leap down from a tree and land right on top of him. Twigpaw and Violetpaw fight off a rogue tom as Darktail and Onestar battle each other. 
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:Lightning strikes and Darktail calls the order for retreat, the Kin streaming out of the ShadowClan camp. The four Clans circle them on three sides, driving them towards the lake as they try to flee, ThunderClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan chasing them on foot as SkyClan leaps through the trees. When the Kin found themselves on the shores of the lake, RiverClan cats rose up from the shadowy, shallow water on the lake's edge, cutting off their retreat. The Kin spins back around as RiverClan begins attacking, only to be boxed in by the other four Clans. The rogues begin fighting sloppily out of terror, only Darktail remaining still as he stares down Onestar, the rain soaking their pelts. Onestar taunts the rogue leader, saying he would have never made it as a warrior. Darktail leaps at him, wrestling him down the hill and into the water, only for Onestar to drag the vicious leader down beneath the surface into the deeper water. A WindClan warrior calls for Onestar, but there is no response. The rogues retreated and escaped as the Clan cats huddled near the surface, searching for any sign of Onestar, but the WindClan leader, nor the vicious rogue leader, never resurfaced.
==Aftermath==
:After the death of Darktail, the Kin disbanded. All of his followers, including a few previous cats of ShadowClan, fled the territories to the surrounding forests or the Twolegplace. Following Onestar's death, Harespring is made leader of WindClan, becoming Harestar and appointing Crowfeather as his deputy. Mistystar closes her borders and isolates RiverClan so they can focus on rebuilding after the destruction Darktail wrought. SkyClan is given land by Rowanstar so they may settle by the lake with the other four Clans, reopening the wounds of his weak leadership for many in ShadowClan. Harestar attempts to defend Rowanstar and Onestar, stating Darktail is the reason all the Clans had faced so much hardship recently, not the Clan leaders. Rowanstar feels that ShadowClan will never be able to recover after what Darktail did, as no cat in his Clan trusts him to lead, causing ShadowClan to collapse and be absorbed by SkyClan. Only after Tigerheart's return is ShadowClan able to rebuild itself.
==Legacy==
:While Tigerheart was journeying back to the Clans with his mate and kits, he found Berryheart and others who had been a part of ShadowClan and the Kin before fleeing after the final battle. As leader, Tigerstar allowed them forgiveness and gave them a home in ShadowClan again. During the battle against Ashfur, the dark warrior managed to bring Darktail and those from his army who had died into the Place of No Stars to fight against StarClan and The Lights in the Mist. During this battle, Darktail's ghost is killed by Needletail and Violetshine, gone for good. After Ashfur was defeated, the warrior code was amended in order to allow for leaders to be replaced and for cats to swap Clans. Berryheart, ever distrusting of outsiders ever since Darktail's take over, refused to accept any new outside cats into ShadowClan, eventually attempting to depose Tigerstar from leadership because of her beliefs and trauma caused by Darktail.
==Characters==
===Darktail===
:Darktail was the leader of the Kin for the entirety of its existence. His parents were Onewhisker and a kittypet named Smoke. He was born Darkkit and grew up hating his father and all the Clans after Onewhisker denied him a place in WindClan and abandoned his mother. Smoke died in the Twolegplace and Darkkit placed the blame solely on Onewhisker. His loathing for his father and the Clans only grew from there. He renamed himself Darktail, soon becoming a cunning tactician in battle and ruthless when it came to punishing his subordinates and enemies. He rarely showed mercy to any cat, no matter who they were. The only time he showed mercy was during the battle against SkyClan when they drove them out of the gorge. Darktail had amassed a large army of rogues who stood beside him and followed his every order. He led them into battle against SkyClan in the middle of the night, when he knew their daylight warriors were gone. During this battle, Darktail offered to spare Hawkwing's life if he joined his army. Hawkwing vehemently denied him, much to Darktail's frustration, as he saw Hawkwing as a friend. When Darktail and his rogues left the gorge, following a patrol of warriors back to the lake where the rest of the Clans lived, they attacked WindClan where Darktail killed Furzepelt and took Onestar's eighth life. During the battle, Darktail vowed to destroy Onestar and all the Clans after what the WindClan leader did. The rogues settled just outside ShadowClan territory where cats who were unhappy with Rowanstar's leadership could see a fully available, strong leader in Darktail. When he and Rain had a disagreement over leadership, he tore out his eye. 
:One of his most adamant supporters in ShadowClan, Needletail, convinced many apprentices in ShadowClan to defect and join his group, now called the Kin. With ShadowClan weakened, he took the opportunity to attack the camp, driving out the leadership and convincing more warriors to side with the Kin. The three remaining Clans attacked Darktail and the Kin in an attempt to drive them out of the territory. While battling Onestar, Darktail whispered in his ear stating that a father who kills his own son would surely go to the Dark Forest. Darktail takes advantage of Onestar's fears and WindClan retreats, causing the battle to turn in favor of the Kin as they defeat ThunderClan and RiverClan. As Darktail is recovering from injuries, Rain attempts to assassinate him and usurp leadership of the Kin. Darktail fanes death, then kills Rain in retaliation, knowing his friend would betray him one day. After this, Darktail goes to extreme measures to make sure every cat in the Kin is loyal to him, and any cat who shows any sort of disloyalty is punished severely.
:Darktail leads an attack on RiverClan, taking over their territory and turning their camp into a prison where he tortures his prisoners, refusing to treat their wounds or give them food. He humiliates them, forcing them to swear loyalty to the Kin in exchange for freshkill. When Darktail learned that Needletail had gone behind his back and had given healing herbs to Mothwing, he had her imprisoned along with the RiverClan warriors. When he discovers defectors like Dawnpelt amongst the ranks of the Kin, he captures them and takes them down to the lake, where he forces their heads underwater to drown them, killing them slowly and painfully. When he discovers Violetpaw's attempt to drug him, he takes her and Needletail down to the lake where he drowns Needletail in front of Violetpaw's face, knowing the death of her best friend would be the worst punishment imaginable.
:The four Clans mount two attacks on the Kin, the first driving them out of RiverClan, and the second, with the help of SkyClan, drives them off ShadowClan territory. At the end of the final battle, Darktail engages in another fight with Onestar, during which he drowns his father at the bottom of the lake, killing himself in the process.
===Onestar===
:Onestar fell in love with a kittypet named Smoke, and together the two had kits. Smoke revealed Darkkit was the only surviving kit, and that Onewhisker was his father. Onewhisker had to deny his kit a place in WindClan when prey was scarce and the forest was crawling with Twolegs and their tree-eating monsters. Onewhisker leaves the forest along with the four Clans, leaving Smoke and Darkkit behind. On a journey back to the Twolegplace to see how the two were doing, Onestar is informed that Smoke has died and Darktail murdered another kittypet out of rage. On the way back to the Clans, he stays with The Tribe of Rushing Water, where Stoneteller warns him with an ominous prophecy: "There is something that must be done, and only you can do it. You will know it, when it comes hunting you."
:When rogues attack WindClan upon first arriving by the lake, Onestar recognizes the leader of the rogues is his son. Darktail takes Onestar's eighth life, as well as killing Furzepelt. Onestar is outraged by these deaths, and threatens ShadowClan to drive the Kin away from their territory, however he also does this out of fear for what Darktail may be planning. Onestar closes WindClan's borders for fear of his Clanmates safety, and primarily his own. Even when Rowanstar and many other ShadowClan warriors are sick with yellowcough, Onestar refuses to supply the dying Clan with lungwort unless they drive the Kin away. Onestar's deputy, Harespring, and medicine cat, Kestralflight, secretly supply ShadowClan with the necessary herb behind his back, but not before ShadowClan's deputy, Crowfrost dies, and Rowanstar loses a life. Onestar is outraged by this. After the majority of ShadowClan has left to join the Kin because of Rowanstar's weak leadership and both ShadowClan and RiverClan are driven from their territories by Darktail, Onestar acknowledges he was wrong to deny ShadowClan lungwort.
:Onestar and WindClan join the other Clans in a battle against the Kin to drive them away, but while pinning Darktail to the ground, his son whispers in his ear that a cat who rejects and abandons his son and then kills him would surely go to the Dark Forest, and to think about that when he is on his last life. What Darktail did not know and what Onestar did know was that he actually was on his last life. Onestar fears Darktail might be right and orders WindClan to retreat, causing the other Clans to lose the battle. 
:Onestar refuses to engage Darktail again, even after the Kin take over RiverClan, drive out their warriors, and take the injured as prisoners. That is, until the Kin invaded WindClan and attacked their camp with the intention of taking over WindClan territory next. Darktail yowls that Onestar is a coward, and that he knows things about Onestar and what he has done in the past that the Clans do not know. All the Clan deputies show up to help WindClan, and the Kin is fought off. After they retreat, Onestar asks for all the leaders to come to WindClan. He explains to all the Clans that Darktail wants to destroy the Clans because Onestar is his father and Darktail feels he betrayed him.
:All five Clans led an assault on the Kin's camp in the old ShadowClan territory. Onestar participated in this battle, fighting many of the Kin's cats until he could get Darktail. The two met by the lake shore where Onestar said Darktail never would have made it as a warrior and would have been better off as a kittypet. Darktail leapt at him, tackling him into the lake. Onestar wrestled with him under the water, dragging him down to the bottom and drowning him, killing himself in the process.
===Rowanstar===
:When Darktail and his rogues settled just outside ShadowClan territory, Rowanstar felt driving them out was pointless and dangerous, especially since many cats in his Clan supported the rogues when they asked to join ShadowClan. Arguments often broke out between Rowanstar and ShadowClan's apprentices as they continuously questioned his decisions and went behind his back to undermine his authority and disrespect their senior warriors. While many cats in ShadowClan were coming down with yellowcough, Onestar threatened ShadowClan, saying they would not give them the herb they needed to cure the disease unless they drive the rogues out. Rowanstar himself caught yellowcough and lost a life, and his deputy, Crowfrost, died from the disease as well. Rowanstar was slow to recover and even slower to react to the death of his deputy, only adding more fuel to the idea that he was a weak and ineffectual leader.
:It was WindClan's deputy and medicine cat that managed to save ShadowClan, not ShadowClan's leader, furthering his Clanmates' distrust of his abilities. Therefore, when Darktail and his rogues walked into camp and took over the Clan, almost no cat stopped them. Rowanstar, his mate Tawnypelt, and his son Tigerheart were the only cats opposed to this, and thus were exiled from the Clan and forced to flee to ThunderClan. Rowanstar was one of the biggest advocates for driving Darktail out of ShadowClan, however Bramblestar and Mistystar were more hesitant, not wanting to cause any death. However, after pushing from Rowanstar and Onestar, the three Clans invaded the Kin, but were driven away after Onestar ordered WindClan to retreat. Rowanstar heavily criticized the WindClan leader for this. Eventually, Darktail was killed and the Kin was driven from the territories, allowing Rowanstar to regain leadership over ShadowClan. However, because of the lasting impact Darktail's takeover had on his Clan and his reputation, he felt he could no longer lead the Clan, resulting in ShadowClan collapsing and being absorbed by SkyClan.
===Leafstar===
:When Echosong received a prophecy from StarClan that suggested it was time they returned to their rightful place beside the other four Clans. Later that day, Hawkwing brings a loner into the camp who had received injuries from smoke inhalation during a recent forest fire. The loner's name was Darktail, and after he reveals he knows about the Clans and where the other four might be, Leafstar welcomes him, offering a place in the medicine den to stay for any treatment he needs. Using Darktail's information, Leafstar sends a patrol of warriors to find the other Clans, led by her mate Billystorm. The search ends in disaster after they are attacked by badgers, resulting in Billystorm's death. The patrol was forced to return and break the news to Leafstar of her mate's death, causing her immense grief, however she knows she must stay strong for her Clan and recover quickly. Later, Leafstar is convinced by Darktail to send another search patrol, this time led by Darktail himself. Like the first, the second patrol ends unsuccessful, with a loner friend of Darktail's named Toad being killed by dogs. While the patrol was gone, raccoons had invaded the camp, attacking and killing warriors and taking one of Leafstar's lives.
:Darktail's rogues attack SkyClan in the middle of the night when their daylight warriors are gone in their Twoleg nests. Leafstar and the rest of the Clan at first put up a valiant fight, but are quickly overrun. After the death of her deputy, Sharpclaw, she orders her Clan to retreat and flee the camp. The Clan is largely separated, however they gather together in Ebonyclaw's Twoleg den. She denies the idea of attacking the rogues and retaking the gorge, saying they do not need a battle right now. She appoints Waspwhisker as her new deputy. After a patrol reports that the rogues have taken over the gorge as their home and Echosong receives another vision about joining the other four Clans, Leafstar takes the remainder of her Clan and begins a journey to find the lake and reunite SkyClan with the other Clans.
:Along the journey, SkyClan travels through Twolegplace, fights rogues to retrieve their kidnapped Clanmates, shelters with Barley on the farm, settle near a lake away from the Clans, get attacked by dogs, and invaded by Twolegs. During this time, Leafstar is seen slowly losing hope about the future of her Clan, especially as Fidgetpaw and Waspwhisker are captured by Twolegs. Leafstar appoints Hawkwing as her new deputy. After the death of Echosong, leaving SkyClan without a medicine cat, almost all hope is lost. That is until they find the blood trail that Echosong mentioned as she was dying. Upon following the blood trail, SkyClan is discovered by Twigpaw. Twigpaw leads what remains of SkyClan to the lake, where they take shelter in ThunderClan's camp. SkyClan joins the final battle against Darktail and the Kin, who have invaded and conquered half of Clan territory. Darktail is killed, the Kin is driven out, and SkyClan is restored to its rightful place on the lake with territory gifted to them by Rowanstar.
===Hawkwing===
:Hawkwing was the first Clan cat to meet Darktail, finding him in the burned carnage of a forest fire, wandering the land in search of a home and food. Hawkwing brought him to Leafstar in the SkyClan camp, who allowed him to be let into the Clan. Hawkwing participated in two patrols to search for the other four Clans. During the first, SkyClan's deputy, Billystorm, was killed by badgers. During the second, led by Darktail himself, a loner they met who was giving them directions named Toad was killed by dogs. Unbeknownst to any cat at the time, Darktail only wanted to gain their trust so he could destroy SkyClan. During the battle in the gorge against Darktail's rogues, Hawkwing watched Darktail and Rain kill his father, Sharpclaw, right in front of him. Darktail showed mercy on Hawkwing, offering him a place amongst his army, saying he saw the gray tom as a friend.
:Angered by his father's death, Hawkwing said he would never join him, and attacked Darktail instead. Darktail and his rogues won the battle, resulting in SkyClan being driven from the gorge and forced to wander the forest in search of a new home. During this time, Hawkwing lost his mate, Puddleshine after she was kidnapped by Twolegs. He was made Leafstar's deputy after the disappearance of Waspwhisker. When Twigpaw found the remaining SkyClan cats and led them back to the forest, Hawkwing was determined to get his revenge on Darktail for betraying him. SkyClan, led by Leafstar and Hawkwing, joined the other four Clans in an attack on the Kin's territory, driving them out and resulting in Darktail's death and the collapse of the Kin.
===Mistystar===
:Mistystar first hears about the rogues settling beyond the ShadowClan border during a Gathering when Onestar says the rogues attacked him and his patrol near the ThunderClan border. Rowanstar also shares that many ShadowClan cats have joined them, including Violetkit. Mistystar was concerned about a kit from the prophecy being taken in by rogues, but says trying to rescue her could be dangerous because the rogues could just kill her, and agrees with Bramblestar that the Clans should not attack the rogues despite WindClan's cries to do so. Later, when Rowanstar announces the Kin had taken over ShadowClan's territory and camp, she is concerned how all of ShadowClan decided the would rather be led by Darktail than Rowanstar.
:Mistystar and RiverClan join the first battle against the Kin in an attempt to drive them away, but the Clan cats lose after Onestar orders WindClan to retreat. Mistystar is openly hostile towards Onestar, stating RiverClan suffered many casualties because of this. When Onestar does not give a response, Mistystar states RiverClan will no longer be participating in attacks on the Kin until RiverClan has fully recovered. Later, Darktail leads an invasion of RiverClan's territory. RiverClan is outnumbered and quickly loses the battle, after which Darktail declares RiverClan land belongs to the Kin and Mistystar reluctantly concedes. She is even more outraged when Darktail takes the injured warriors prisoner, including her son and deputy Reedwhisker, and refuses to let them take the bodies of the four fallen RiverClan warriors to bury. Mistystar leads her Clan to take refuge in ThunderClan's camp. When the prisoners escaped and the Clans took back RiverClan and ShadowClan territory, driving out the Kin and killing Darktail, Mistystar quickly began leading the rebuilding of her camp.
===Needletail===
:Needlepaw snuck out of ShadowClan onto ThunderClan territory out of defiance of Rowanstar leadership, whom she did not respect. She invites herself into Alderheart's patrol to find SkyClan and goes with them all the way to the gorge. There, she meets Rain, one of Darktail's most loyal supporters. The two develop a relationship, during which she suggests Rain and the rest of the rogues to secretly follow them back to the lake so the two could be together forever. As the patrol leaves, the rogues follow, just as she encouraged. When they settle just outside ShadowClan's territory, Needlepaw leaves the ShadowClan camp every night to see Rain and the Kin, often taking Violetkit with her. She often manipulates Violetkit, claiming they have had a close relationship ever since she rescued her while showing her no affection. When Darktail and some of his followers visit ShadowClan, asking to join, Rowanstar denies them.
:When Needlepaw argues against this, she brings up that Violetkit was allowed to join even though she is just another mouth to feed, showing her true feelings for the kit she helped rescue. She convinces many apprentices in ShadowClan to leave the Clan and join the Kin, including Violetkit, in open defiance to Rowanstar in order to undermine him. There, she renames herself to Needletail. When Violetpaw realizes joining the Kin with Needletail was a mistake and rejoins ShadowClan, Needletail cuts ties with her and vows their friendship is over in an attempt to guilt trip her, taking advantage of Violetpaw's belief they are friends.
:When the Kin took over ShadowClan's camp and territory, Violetpaw rejoined the Kin, however Needletail still did not trust her and was openly hostile towards her, remaining as one of the Kin's most loyal members. When Rain attempts to overthrow, the white tom kills him, causing Needletail to question whether she really wants to be a member of the Kin. Her questioning only increases as Darktail gets kittypets killed in the battle against RiverClan. She sympathizes with the RiverClan cats who were kicked out of their territory, and takes some of the herbs, giving them to Mothwing behind Darktail's back. This lands her in the Kin's prison along with injured RiverClan warriors, where she is tortured and starved for her betrayal of Darktail and the Kin. When Darktail discovers Violetpaw's attempt to drug him, he punishes her by drowning Needletail, the cat she considers to be her best friend, in front of her. Before she dies, Needletail tells her to run. Needletail dies at the paws of Darktail after being drowned in the lake as punishment for her and Violetpaw's treachery.
===Violetpaw===
:Violetpaw and her sister Twigpaw were born to Pebbleshine and Hawkwing of SkyClan, however, after SkyClan was driven out of the gorge, Pebbleshine was captured by Twolegs and gave birth to her kits far away from the Clan. She sheltered the two kits beneath a Thunderpath and is later killed by a monster, leaving the kits orphaned and no memory of their parents or where they came from. After Clans were given a prophecy by StarClan saying, "Embrace what you find in the shadows, for only they can clear the sky," Alderpaw and Needlepaw discovered them on the journey from the gorge back to the lake and brought them to the Clans to be taken care of, figuring they were was was in the shadows. Violetkit is named by Needlepaw, and therefore taken in by ShadowClan, however is separated from her sister Twigkit, named by Alderpaw, who was taken in by ThunderClan.
:Violetkit was fostered by Pinenose alongside her kits, yet Violetkit grew closest to Needlepaw, the cat who had found her orphaned beneath the Thunderpath. Violetkit was subject to manipulation by Needlepaw, who rarely showed any affection towards her while claiming to be her only friend. When the Kin settled outside ShadowClan's borders, Needlepaw often went to visit, occasionally bringing Violetkit with her. Needlepaw, confined to camp as a punishment, at one point encourages Violetkit to leave the camp on her own to tell Rain she cannot leave her camp. During this, Violetkit is attacked by an owl and saved by Rain and Roach. Darktail and his rogues bring her back to ShadowClan's camp, enraging Rowanstar. When Needlepaw and the other apprentices left ShadowClan, she took Violetkit with her.
:In the Kin, Violetkit became Violetpaw, where she is taught hunting and fighting skills by Needletail and members of the Kin. After Rain challenges Darktail's leadership, Darktail rakes his claws across the gray tom's eye, half-blinding him. Violetpaw is horrified by this, fleeing the Kin and deciding she does not want to live in constant fear, rejoining ShadowClan. When she returns, many cats in her Clan are sick with yellowcough. She joins a patrol to WindClan to request lungwort, but Onestar refuses to give the herb.
:Later, the Kin marches into ShadowClan and demands Rowanstar step down as leader and relinquish leadership of his Clan to Darktail. Many cats in ShadowClan support the change in leadership, resulting in Rowanstar, Tawnypelt, and Tigerheart being exiled. Violetpaw chooses to stay in ShadowClan, once again a member of the Kin. When ThunderClan, WindClan, and RiverClan attack the Kin, attempting to drive them out of ShadowClan, Violetpaw attacks Twigpaw. After the Kin's victory in the battle, Violetpaw worries she may have hurt her sister. Needletail reports her misgivings about the fight to Darktail, hoping to get her in trouble, but Darktail compliments the apprentice's fighting ability and states she made the right decision rejoining the Kin. Later, Rain attempts to kill Darktail and take control of leadership, but Darktail kills Rain right in front of Violetpaw, saying he always knew Rain would betray him. Violetpaw tries to comfort Needletail after the death of Rain. When Dawnpelt tells Violetpaw she is going to flee the Kin and asks her to come too, Violetpaw refuses, wanting to stay with Needletail.
:Darktail invites kittypets into the Kin, promising they would have a lot more fun as warriors than house cats. Violetpaw befriends the kittypets and is horrified when, during the Kin's invasion of RiverClan, Darktail places them on the front lines where they are injured and killed. When Darktail discovers Needletail betraying the Kin and giving herbs to Mothwing, he makes her a prisoner and keeps her with the RiverClan prisoners. Alderheart and Mothwing ask Violetpaw to try to sneak cats out of the RiverClan prison camp. She successfully gets the elders out, but is discovered when she tries to drug and Darktail and his followers to sneak the prisoners out. Darktail punishes her treachery by drowning Needletail in the lake in front of her. Needletail tells Violetpaw to escape, which she does, fleeing to ThunderClan.
:Upon reaching ThunderClan, Violetpaw finds out that Twigpaw managed to bring back SkyClan, meeting her father, Hawkwing for the first time. She and her sister joined a patrol made up of the ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and SkyClan deputies to go negotiate with Onestar about another attack on the Kin, but when they got to WindClan they found Darktail had already invaded the WindClan camp. With the deputies' help they managed to, for the first time, repel Darktail's forces. Violetpaw joined the final battle against Darktail and the Kin, after which she and her sister joined their father in SkyClan.
===Twigpaw===
:Twigpaw was born to Pebbleshine and Hawkwing and orphaned along with her sister in Twolegplace after their mother was hit by a monster. They were discovered underneath a Thunderpath and taken in by ThunderClan. During a Gathering, it was decided Violetkit would live with ShadowClan and Twigkit would live with ThunderClan, that way both Clans could have some influence in the prophecy. Alderpaw takes Twigkit to the border with ShadowClan in the middle of the night often to visit her sister. She is adopted and taken care of by Lilyheart until she becomes a ThunderClan apprentice, Alderpaw being her closest friend. Later, Twigpaw finds her sister after she and Needletail had joined Darktail and his group of rogues called the Kin. She was surprised at how different she looked, acted, and moved. 
:Twigpaw becomes obsessed with finding out who her parents are and where they are. She at one point leaves the Clan territories in an effort to search for her parents. She is nearly hit by a monster, however a tuft of her fur is knocked loose and settles on the side of the Thunderpath. This tuft of fur is discovered by a search patrol, who then concludes she has died.
:She is told by Skystar's StarClan spirit to follow the blood trail in the sky. She does what he says, finding SkyClan and meeting her father, Hawkwing. She manages to lead the lost Clan to the lake, where they take shelter in ThunderClan while Darktail has taken over half of the Clan territories. Twigpaw bringing SkyClan back to the other four Clans fulfills the prophecy, "Embrace what you find in the shadows, for only they can clear the sky." She and her sister join a patrol made up of the Clan deputies to go negotiate with Onestar about another attack on the Kin, but when they get there they find Darktail's Kin already attacking WindClan. WindClan and the patrol manage to fight off Darktail and his forces. Twigpaw joined the final battle against Darktail and the Kin, which resulted in the rogues being driven out and Darktail being killed. She then joins her sister and their father in SkyClan to be closer with her family.
===Reedwhisker===
:When Darktail first attacked the Clans, Reedwhisker was RiverClan's deputy under Mistystar. He participated in the first battle that attempted to drive the Kin out of ShadowClan, but retreated with the rest of the Clans after Onestar pulled WindClan out. When Darktail's forces later invaded RiverClan's territory and took over their camp, Reedwhisker attacked Darktail and engaged him in battle when the vicious tom was attacking Mistystar. Darktail gave the deputy severe injuries, leading him to take him and all the other wounded RiverClan cats as prisoners as they could not flee from the battle. Mistystar was reluctant to abandon her deputy and her son, but Reedwhisker insisted it was not worth another fight. Darktail took the injured back to RiverClan's camp, turning it into a prison camp.
:Reedwhisker, Brackenpelt, Mintfur, and Icewing are tortured by Darktail. They are starved and their wounds are left untreated, allowing them to fester and grow infections. Darktail forces them to swear an oath of loyalty to the Kin before they can get food and treatment. At first the prisoners held out, but after days of starvation, one cat, then another gave in. Reedwhisker stayed defiant for the longest, proudly staying loyal to his Clan until hunger and exhaustion forces him to swear the oath. Violetpaw sneaks Reedwhisker, Needletail, and the other prisoners more food behind Darktail's back. Later on, when Violetpaw attempts to drug Darktail and his closest followers in order to sneak the prisoners out of the camp, the vicious leader discovers the plot and kills Needletail. The prisoners use the diversion to, with the help of ShadowClan defectors, escape their prison and flee the Kin's territory. They fight the rogues off, managing to repel Darktail and his forces, meeting up with Bramblestar, Rowanstar, Mistystar, and Alderheart, who had come to help their escape and force the Kin out of RiverClan.
:Reedwhisker and the other Clan deputies, Squirrelflight, Tigerheart, and Hawkwing, as well as Violetpaw and Twigpaw, go to WindClan's camp to negotiate another attack on the Kin. Despite still recovering from his starvation and untreated battle injuries, Reedwhisker insists on joining the patrol. When they arrive, they find Darktail and his rogues were invading their camp. The deputies help WindClan, for the first time repelling their invasion of a Clan camp. Reedwhisker later participates in the final battle that drove the Kin out of ShadowClan and resulted in the death of Darktail.
===Bramblestar===
:Bramblestar first encounters Darktail during a battle on the WindClan-ThunderClan border, after his warriors reported WindClan cats fighting rogues. Bramblestar took a patrol and helped to end the battle, ordering Darktail to leave. In the battle, Onestar lost his eighth life, killed by Darktail. The rogues settle on ShadowClan territory and ShadowClan is ravaged by yellowcough. Bramblestar does not support Onestar's decision to withhold lungwort from the dying Clan until they drive the rogues away, however realizes there is not anything he can do. Bramblestar later commends Harespring and Kestrelflight for giving ShadowClan the herb. 
:When ShadowClan took on leadership from Darktail and the Kin, Bramblestar offered Rowanstar, Tawnypelt, and Tigerheart a home in ThunderClan until ShadowClan realized their mistake. Bramblestar organizes and leads the first attack on the Kin that attempted to drive them out. However, Onestar calls for WindClan to retreat in the middle of the battle, resulting in the Clan's loss and many more injuries. Bramblestar advices Mistystar not to close her borders after the battle as she and Rowanstar put all the blame for the loss on Onestar.
:Bramblestar gives the news about SkyClan and the recent medicine cat visions relating to them to ThunderClan for the first time, resulting in many questions late into the night. He leads patrols to RiverClan and WindClan to tell Mistystar and Onestar as well. Mistystar is unsure of what to do about it and Onestar demands that ThunderClan get off his territory. Rowanstar wants another attack on the camp, often arguing about this with Bramblestar.
:When RiverClan was forced out of their territory by the Kin, they took refuge in ThunderClan as well. Mistystar and Rowanstar often argued over how to go about an attack on the rogues. Bramblestar agreed with Mistystar that an attack could not happen until the RiverClan prisoners were freed. Bramblestar leads the patrol to RiverClan that will meet Violetpaw and the prisoners when they escape. They get there to find the prisoners and ShadowClan defectors battling the Kin, but no Violetpaw. When Bramblestar's patrol arrives, Darktail calls for a retreat, allowing the Clans to take back RiverClan land. When Twigpaw brings SkyClan to the lake, Bramblestar allows them to shelter in ThunderClan until they can get territory of their own. Bramblestar is shocked when Onestar reveals that the reason for why he told WindClan to retreat from the first battle is because Darktail is his son. Bramblestar helps to organize and lead the final battle against the Kin, during which the rogues were driven out and Darktail was killed. Rowanstar and the other ShadowClan refugees return to their territory, and SkyClan is given territory of their own.
==Quotes==
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==See also==
*The Kin
*Darktail
*Clans and groups
*Hawkwing's Journey
*Chapter-by-chapter notes of Hawkwing's Journey
*Thunder and Shadow
*Chapter-by-chapter notes of Thunder and Shadow
*Shattered Sky
*Chapter-by-chapter notes of Shattered Sky
==Notes and references==
==Notes==
Category:Events
Category:Conflicts
Category:Battles
Category:Hawkwing's Journey
Category:The Apprentice's Quest
Category:Thunder and Shadow
Category:Shattered Sky
Category:Onestar's Confession