Dawn of the Clans

Dawn of the Clans is a prequel arc, and the fifth arc, of the Warriors series.Revealed on harpercollins.com It follows the early settlers as they move from the mountains down to the forest and start the five Clans: ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, SkyClan, and ShadowClan. It features Gray Wing, Thunder, and Clear Sky as the main protagonists. 
==Concept development==
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==Box set blurb==
:SEE HOW THE WARRIOR CLANS CAME TO BE...
:For many moons, a tribe of cats has lived near the top of a mountain, where prey is scarce and seasons are harsh. Then a mysterious vision reveals a land filled with prey and shelter, and a group of brave young cats sets off in search of a better home. But in this unfamiliar world, great dangers await them... and threaten to divide them. The traveling cats must find a new way to live side by side—or risk tearing one another apart.
==Summary==
:In the mountains, the Tribe cats are starving, and some decide to leave to search for a better home. These cats, led by Shaded Moss, start searching for a place they can permanently settle. After Shaded Moss dies after being hit by a monster, Tall Shadow takes his place and the group eventually arrives at a moor. They meet Wind and Gorse, who join the group. Soon, Clear Sky leaves the moor and leads a few cats to the nearby forest. There, he falls in love with a rogue named Storm. Jagged Peak, Clear Sky's brother, falls from a tree and permanently injures his leg, and is exiled from Clear Sky's camp. Turtle Tail leaves the moor to become a kittypet. After seeing how Clear Sky treats his other brother, Gray Wing, Storm leaves. She gives birth in a collapsing Twoleg den and dies, and Gray Wing takes her only surviving kit, Thunder, to Clear Sky. However, Clear Sky decides not to raise him, so Gray Wing brings Thunder to Tall Shadow's camp. Turtle Tail comes back to the moor pregnant with a kittypet named Tom's kits. A fire rages through the forest, and Thunder saves Clear Sky and goes to live with his father afterward. Moon Shadow, Tall Shadow's brother, dies of burns from the forest fire, and Tall Shadow lets Gray Wing become leader while she grieves. After Clear Sky leaves Frost out to die because he could not contribute much to the group due to his injuries, Thunder leaves with him and goes back to the moor.
:A few cats visit Clear Sky to invite him to a meeting during the full moon to discuss his obsession with protecting his borders. Turtle Tail's kits, Sparrow Fur, Pebble Heart, and Owl Eyes, get kidnapped by their father, Tom, who takes them to his Twoleg den. Thunder, Lightning Tail, and River Ripple rescue them, but also find Turtle Tail dead on the Thunderpath. At the meeting, Clear Sky starts a battle and kills Rainswept Flower. However, he cannot force himself to kill his brother, Gray Wing, and ends the battle. Spirit cats appear and lecture Clear Sky and tell the cats to unite or die, and Clear Sky apologizes. Acorn Fur then joins Clear Sky's camp, Dew joins River Ripple's group, and the cats go home.
:After the death of her kits, Wind Runner makes her own group on the moor. A rogue named One Eye and Tom join Clear Sky's group. When Sparrow Fur tries to visit her father, One Eye almost kills her but Tom takes his killing blow, and One Eye is exiled from the group. Soon, One Eye chases Clear Sky out of his camp. Clear Sky takes refuge on the moor, and they construct a plan to kill One Eye. Meanwhile, Thunder falls in love with a rogue she-cat called Star Flower, who seems to like him back. When the battle with One Eye comes, it is revealed that Star Flower is One Eye's daughter and was using Thunder to spy on the group. Nevertheless, Clear Sky wins and takes the forest back. When he returns, Petal dies of an illness. However, every other sick cat, from both the forest and the moor, is cured using a plant called the Blazing Star.
:A few moons later, the moor cats cast stones to decide where they would like to live. Clear Sky lets Star Flower live in his camp, and they become mates after a while. Thunder, who chose to live with Clear Sky, leaves to make his own group in the forest. Quiet Rain, Clear Sky, Gray Wing, and Jagged Peak's mother arrive at the forest with Sun Shadow. Quiet Rain is ill, and when Clear Sky confesses what he has done, she disowns him. Right before she dies, she tells Clear Sky that she forgives him. Gray Wing returns to the moor. Later, Star Flower, who is pregnant with Clear Sky's kits, is kidnapped by Slash. After all the groups develop a plan and rescue Star Flower, she gives birth to Dew Petal, Tiny Branch, and Flower Foot and starts training the cats for a battle with Slash's group. Several cats are recruited from Slash's camp, and they join Tall Shadow, River Ripple, Wind Runner, or Thunder's groups. Bee and Ember return to Slash, while all other cats are given double names to match the mountain cats. Slash kidnaps Gray Wing and Slate's kit, Black Ear, and leaves him on the Thunderpath. Clear Sky saves his brother's son and brings him back to Gray Wing. Gray Wing renames Clear Sky's group to SkyClan, Tall Shadow's group to ShadowClan, River Ripple's group to RiverClan, Wind Runner's group to WindClan, and Thunder's group to ThunderClan, then dies shortly after.
==Books==
===The Sun Trail===
:A group of cats known as the Tribe of Rushing Water are starving due to lack of food in their mountain home. Their leader, Stoneteller receives a vision of sunlight, suggesting there may be a better place to live in the direction of the rising sun. The cats take a vote to determine whether or not they should leave, and most are in favor of seeking a better home. Shaded Moss emerges as the leader of this group, with Clear Sky being another outspoken supporter of leaving. Clear Sky's brother, Gray Wing, debates over whether to stay or leave, and decides that it is best for him to stay in the mountains with his mother, Quiet Rain, and younger brother, Jagged Peak, who are still grieving the loss of Jagged Peak's littermate, Fluttering Bird.
:Shaded Moss's group sets out to follow the "Sun Trail" to the promised land of better hunting that Stoneteller predicted in her vision. Shortly after, Jagged Peak leaves the Tribe cats, hoping to catch up to the others, and Gray Wing is forced to go after him to ensure his brother's safety. Gray Wing rescues Jagged Peak from an eagle, and the two brothers catch up with the rest of Shaded Moss's traveling group. As the group makes their way through the mountains, they are set upon by a group of eagles, one of which carries away Bright Stream, who had been expecting Clear Sky's kits. Shortly after, the group finally makes it out of the mountains, and is amazed by the lush green world they find beyond. For the first time ever, the Tribe cats are able to catch more than they can eat. However, they encounter several new creatures—including Twolegs and dogs—that force them to keep following the rising sun towards a safer place to settle. The cats aim to reach Highstones, but Shaded Moss is hit and killed by a monster before they reach their destination. Tall Shadow succeeds him as leader.
:The cats arrive in their new territories and begin exploring the marsh and the forest. They encounter a variety of other cats already living there, some hostile, some friendly. While the rest of the group settles down in the marshland, Clear Sky breaks off of the group, taking a few cats with him to start a camp in the woods. Several of the local rogue cats join, including Petal, Fox, and Storm. Clear Sky becomes increasingly authoritative, even going as far as to exile his younger brother, Jagged Peak, when his broken leg does not heal. When Gray Wing accidentally kills Fox in self-defense, Clear Sky vows to cut off his brother for good. Storm, expecting Clear Sky's kits, witnesses this and abandons Clear Sky, deciding to leave the camp and find shelter in the Twolegplace, where she used to live.
:A moon passes, and Gray Wing sets out to check up on Storm in her new home. However, she is reluctant to return to the forest and is killed when a Twoleg monster bulldozes her den. Gray Wing manages to salvage one of her kits from the debris. In light of the great rumbling destruction that the kit survived, Gray Wing names him Thunder. Gray Wing carries the kit back to the forest and presents him to his father, Clear Sky, who wants nothing to do with his kin. Refusing to abandon the kit, Gray Wing brings Thunder back to Tall Shadow's camp, vowing to be Thunder's new father.
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===Thunder Rising===
:Gray Wing is out of camp with Thunder, Lightning Tail, and Acorn Fur. Gray Wing sees Turtle Tail and greets her, noticing she is pregnant. Turtle Tail quickly explains she is pregnant with a kittypet named Tom's kits. Another kittypet, Bumble, told Turtle Tail the Twolegs would take away her kits, so she left. Turtle Tail goes to say hello to Shattered Ice, who is instead hostile. Shattered Ice insists on taking Turtle Tail to Tall Shadow, who greets her warmly. Tall Shadow allows Turtle Tail back into her camp. Later, they run into Wind and Gorse, their old friends. They greet each other when they see a loner, River Ripple. They find him strange due to the fact that he is by the water.
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===The First Battle===
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===The Blazing Star===
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===A Forest Divided===
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===Path of Stars===
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==Characters==
===Main characters===
===Major characters===
===Supporting characters===
==Important events==
|- class="ie-colored-row" style="background-color: #ffb5b2;"
| The Sun Trail
|Stoneteller receives a vision that urges the Tribe to leave their home.The Tribe of Rushing Water is split, with the majority of cats deciding to pursue the Sun Trail.Tall Shadow's camp and Clear Sky's camp are established.
|- class="ie-colored-row" style="background-color: #ffd0af;"
| Thunder Rising
|A fire ravages through Clear Sky's forest.Gray Wing takes over leadership from Tall Shadow.Pebble Heart receives an omen about the Moonstone.
|- class="ie-colored-row" style="background-color: #f4ffaf;"
| The First Battle
|Tensions continue to rise amongst the groups as Clear Sky continues to harshly lead his cats.Turtle Tail's kits are kidnapped by Tom, and Turtle Tail dies trying to find them.River Ripple, Thunder, and Lightning Tail return the kits home.A meeting at the Four Trees turns into a Great Battle, killing many cats.The spirit-cats order the survivors to unite or die.
|- class="ie-colored-row" style="background-color: #afffb9;"
| The Blazing Star
|The spirit-cats deliver a second message, telling the groups to grow and spread like the blazing star.A sickness ravages through the forest and moor.After losing a second kit, Wind Runner decides to establish her own separate camp in the moor.Clear Sky's group is annexed by a rogue named One Eye.The blazing star is discovered as a cure to the sickness.One Eye is killed, but his daughter Star Flower remains in Clear Sky's group.The spirit-cats reiterate their message of growing and spreading, and the cats decide to divvy themselves into more groups.
|- class="ie-colored-row" style="background-color: #afceff;"
| A Forest Divided
|Stones are cast by cats assigning themselves into new groups.River Ripple's group becomes established as an equal to the others, and Tall Shadow moves her group to the pine forest.Thunder makes his own group made up of cats who disagree with Clear Sky. They settle in another part of the woodland.Quiet Rain and Sun Shadow arrive in the forest, but Quiet Rain passes away soon after.A rogue named Slash begins to threaten the groups and kidnaps Star Flower.
|- class="ie-colored-row" style="background-color: #e4c9ff;"
| Path of Stars
|The groups gather to plot a way to defeat Slash.Star Flower is rescued, and Slash is defeated.Many rogues defect from Slash's group, and join the settlers.Gray Wing dies rescuing Clear Sky's kit. On his deathbed, Gray Wing and his kits establish the Clans, giving each group a Clan name.
|}
==Publication history==
*Dawn of the Clans (EN), HarperCollins (Kindle box set), 26 August 2014Revealed on Amazon
*Dawn of the Clans (EN), HarperCollins (paperback box set), 20 September 2016Revealed on Amazon
==Interactive map: Events timeline==
==Trivia==
===Author statements===
*In Erin Hunter Chat 4, Victoria Holmes teased a potential Super Edition featuring the first Clans in 2011 that would have featured five point of view characters, one from each of the five Clans.
*According to James Noble, an editor at Working Partners who assisted with the development of Dawn of the Clans, Gray Wing was originally supposed to die at the end of The Sun Trail but was pushed off to Thunder Rising due to the catalyst event happening too soon in the arc. However, Gray Wing's death was pushed again to The First Battle so the story could focus on Thunder's relationship with Clear Sky and Gray Wing. His death was pushed again to the end of the arc to continue the potential for emotional conflict and the editor team's attachment for Gray Wing.
==See also==
*Erin Hunter
*Warriors books
*Arcs
*Dawn of the Clans arc
*Mistakes
==External links==
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==Notes and references==
cs:Pátá sériede:Der Ursprung der Clansfi:Klaanien syntyfr:L'aube des Clansit:La Nascita Dei Clanru:Начало племён
Category:Main arcs
Category:Arcs
Category:Dawn of the Clans arc