Line #149 Literature/WarriorCatsDawnOfTheClans


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7	->"Our home cannot support us all. But there is another place for some of us, full of sunlight and warmth and prey for all seasons. I have seen it in my dreams. I believe in my heart that these mountains are not where every cat belongs. The other place is waiting for those of you who are brave enough to make the journey."
8	-->--'''Stoneteller (Half Moon)'''
9
10	''Dawn of the Clans'' is the fifth arc of the popular ''Literature/WarriorCats'' series, after the ''[[Literature/WarriorCatsOmenOfTheStars Omen of the Stars]]'' arc. Beginning in 2013, it tells the tale of the origins and early days of the Warrior Clans, when the Warrior Code had yet to be created, and the Clan founders still ruled.
11
12	As usual, the arc has six books:
13
14	# ''[[Recap/WarriorCatsTheSunTrail The Sun Trail]]''
15	# ''[[Recap/WarriorCatsThunderRising Thunder Rising]]''
16	# ''[[Recap/WarriorCatsTheFirstBattle The First Battle]]''
17	# ''[[Recap/WarriorCatsTheBlazingStar The Blazing Star]]''
18	# ''[[Recap/WarriorCatsAForestDivided A Forest Divided]]''
19	# ''[[Recap/WarriorCatsPathOfStars Path Of Stars]]''
20
21	In addition, ''Literature/MothFlightsVision'', the 2015 Super Edition, takes place in this timeline and serves as an epilogue to the arc. It stars Moth Flight, the first medicine cat, and explains the beginnings of the medicine code and how the founders got their nine lives. The ''Dawn of the Clans'' characters are also featured in ''Warriors: The Ultimate Guide''.
22
23	The story of the series focuses on a group of cats known as the Followers of the Sun Trail. Originally members of what would become the Tribe of Rushing Water, these sixteen cats set off from their mountain home to find a new place to live when it became clear that there wasn't enough food to support everyone. The outside world comes as a shock to cats that have spent their whole lives in the mountains, and they are forced to adapt to it on their journey. Eventually, they encounter a seemingly idyllic forest. However, their arrival causes tensions to rise with the forest cats, and they are soon thrust into a conflict far beyond anything the forest has ever known.
24
25	The series stars many legendary cats from the past, such as Graywing the Wise, Clear Sky, Tall Shadow, Thunder, Wind Runner, River Ripple, and many others.
26
27	----
28	!!This series provides examples of:
29
30	* ADayInTheLimelight:
31	** [= WindClan=] is featured for the first time in a main series book from Gray Wing's point of view, although [[spoiler: [=WindClan=] isn't formally named until Gray Wing's death.]]
32	** The Bonus Scenes provide this, giving a minor character in the books some time in the spotlight. In ''The Sun Trail'', Petal is the one getting some love. In ''Thunder Rising'', River Ripple is star. In ''The First Battle'', Wind Runner gets into the spotlight. Sun Shadow ([[spoiler:Moon Shadow's son]]) gets a POV in ''The Blazing Star'', and Slate (Gray Wing's new love interest) gets hers in ''A Forest Divided''.
33	** Tall Shadow was intended to get a chapter in ''A Forest Divided''. However, it ended up being reworked into a Thunder chapter.
34	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs:
35	** At one point in ''The Sun Trail'', foxes launch an attack on the moor home of the Followers of the Sun Trail and a large battle ensues.
36	** In ''The Blazing Star'', [[spoiler:while Clear Sky is away for a meeting a the Four Trees, One Eye and his rogues take over his camp and then force him out of the forest when he returns.]]
37	* AnyoneCanDie: After ''Power of Three'' and ''Omen of the Stars'' flip-flopped with this, ''The Sun Trail'' brings it back full force with the deaths of [[spoiler:Bright Stream, Shaded Moss, and Storm, all of them being major characters.]] ''Thunder Rising'' kept this going, killing off [[spoiler:Moon Shadow and Bumble.]] ''The First Battle'' went even further with [[spoiler: Turtle Tail, Falling Feather, Hawk Swoop, Frost, Rainswept Flower, and Jackdaw's Cry]] dying. The second half generally only has one major death per book though, with ''The Blazing Star'' having [[spoiler:Petal die to save her adopted kits]], ''A Forest Divided'' having [[spoiler:Quiet Rain die after reuniting with her sons]], and ''Path of Stars'' having [[spoiler:Gray Wing die surrounded by his friends and family]].
38	* ArcWords: "Follow the trail of the rising sun" in ''The Sun Trail''.
39	* AscendedExtra:
40	** The Clan Founders, minor characters who appeared briefly in ''Long Shadows'' and were mentioned in the lore, have become major characters in this series. Thunder and Clear Sky even become point of view characters, while Wind Runner and River Ripple have Bonus Scenes that star them and reveal their backstories.
41	** The original medicine cats (Cloudspots, Dapplepelt, Pebbleheart, and Mothflight) were all minor characters mentioned in ''Secrets of the Clans''. Here, they are important supporting characters, and Mothflight even gets her own Super Edition.
42	** Lightning Tail, mentioned all of once in ''Secrets of the Clans'', appears as a supporting character in ''Thunder Rising'', before becoming a major character in ''The First Battle''.
43	* BadassCrew: The Followers of the Sun Trail are an awesome group that combine many skills that will be possessed by the Clan cats in the future. And one of their first actions? Fighting four eagles and scaring three of them away by taking one down, something most Tribe cats deem impossible.
44	* TheBigBadShuffle: Very much. At the end of ''The Sun Trail'', it looks like the antagonist will be [[spoiler:Clear Sky, who has become a fallen hero.]] Then, in ''The First Battle'', [[spoiler:Clear Sky realizes the error of his ways and promises to change. Meanwhile, two new characters show up who could potentially be the main villain, Tom and Snake.]] Following this, in ''The Blazing Star'', [[spoiler:Tom is killed by a new character called One Eye, who becomes the main villain. But then Thunder manages to kill One Eye at the end of the book, and it appears that Snake may become the big bad after all.]] Then in ''A Forest Divided'', [[spoiler:a completely new character called Slash shows up and seems to be the main villain, but it's hinted that Star Flower may be the true villain, with Slash actually being her lackey.]] But then in ''Path of Stars'', [[spoiler:it turns out that Star Flower is good and Slash really is the final boss. As well, Snake returns, but he takes the role of Slash's lackey.]] As well, all throughout the series, the characters face the threat of foxes, but they don't actually end up playing a major role, despite foreshadowing for it.
45	* BlatantLies: Clear Sky after he [[spoiler:attacks Falling Feather for criticizing his leadership]].
46	-->''"Everything I do, I do for all of us."''
47	* BreakingTheFellowship: About two thirds of the way through ''The Sun Trail'', [[spoiler:Clear Sky, Quick Water, Moon Shadow, Falling Feather, and Jagged Peak leave the group in the moor to live in the forest.]] Later, [[spoiler:Turtle Tail leaves to become a kittypet.]]
48	* BringHelpBack: The climax of ''The First Battle'' begins with [[spoiler:Clear Sky and his group trapping Gray Wing, Tall Shadow, and Jackdaw's Cry on the Great Rock at the Four Trees. Thunder, who was also trapped but managed to escape, has to race back to the moor so that he can get cats to come back and save the others.]]
49	* CallBack:
50	** Lion's Roar mentions his mother Shy Fawn and how the Tribe used to live by a lake, referencing both ''Long Shadows'' and ''Sign of the Moon''.
51	** Lion's Roar also insists on calling Stoneteller "Half Moon".
52	** Stoneteller mentions Jay's Wing, referencing the time she spent with him.
53	* CallForward: In ''The Blazing Star'', Owl Eyes says that the cats should follow a shooting star to a new territory, which eventually does happen in ''Dawn''.
54	* CartwrightCurse: Spoilers up to ''The Blazing Star''. [[spoiler:Gray Wing and Clear Sky both experience this. Clear Sky loses his two mates, Bright Stream and Storm, while all three she-cats Gray Wing has feelings for (the aforementioned two and Turtle Tail) die. Then, Petal, who had subtext with Clear Sky, dies as well.]] However, by the end of ''Path of Stars'', [[spoiler:Gray Wing and Clear Sky both have new mates and have kits with them, finally breaking the curse. Gray Wing dies almost immediately though, so he doesn't get to enjoy it.]]
55	* CastHerd: By the end of ''The Sun Trail'', the characters are split up into the Moor Group (cats settled in the moor), the Forest Group (a group of cats living in the forest together), the Cats of the River (a small group of cats living by the river led by River Ripple), and the Tribe (the cats who remained in the mountains). However, by the end of the series, they become the Clans.
56	* CharacterMagneticTeam:
57	** The Forest Group continually attracts new characters. During ''The Sun Trail'', in addition to the founding members, Leaf, Petal, Fox, Frost, and [[spoiler:Storm]] join it. In ''Thunder Rising'', it also gains new members in the form of Nettle, Fircone, [[spoiler:Alder, Birch, and Thunder]]. Of course, [[spoiler:it loses members just as quickly, since when their leader Clear Sky isn't alienating members, he's kicking them out.]]
58	** The Moor Group as well, but to a far lesser extent. Wind, Gorse, and Thunder join up with it, and new kits are frequently born.
59	* ChaseScene: Near the end of ''The First Battle'', [[spoiler:Gray Wind, Tall Shadow, and Jackdaw's Cry at trapped on the Great Rock and surrounded by Clear Sky's hostile cats. Thunder has to race back to the moor to get help, but some of Clear Sky's cats chase after him to stop him. This leads to a chase through the forest, across the moor, and through the tunnels, where Thunder has to evade the other cats with all his HeroicResolve and ingenuity.]]
60	* ContinuityNod: The Followers of the Sun Trail pass by Mothermouth, but none of them enter it. This is because Mothflight will one day be the first cat down there, leading to the discovery of the Moonstone.
61	* CrashIntoHello: Gray Wing first meets Wind and Gorse when they all crash into each other on the moor.
62	* DefrostingIceQueen: Wind acts coldly towards Gray Wing at first, but ends up warming up to him and the other Followers of the Sun Trail.
63	* DoomedByCanon: In ''The Sun Trail'', [[spoiler:Stoneteller/Half Moon declares a cat named Shaded Moss the leader of the Followers of the Sun Trail. Since we never heard about him as a major power in any of the field guides, his death shortly before the group reaches the new territories doesn't come as much of a surprise.]]
64	* DreamingOfThingsToCome:
65	** Stoneteller has a dream/vision that tells her that some of the Tribe have to leave to find a new home.
66	** Pebble Heart has several prophetic dreams, such as [[spoiler:a vision where he walks towards the Moonstone, a huge battle with Clear Sky in the center of it, and a "bad thing" at the edge of the forest.]]
67	* {{Expy}}: Several characters are rather obvious shout outs to characters from the earlier books.
68	** Bright Stream for [[spoiler:Spottedleaf. She is made of purity, is Clear Sky's love interest, and tragically dies in the first book.]]
69	** Jagged Peak for [[spoiler:Cinderpelt. Energetic apprentice to the main character who ends up with a broken leg? Yep, that's him.]]
70	** Tall Shadow's intelligence, appearance, and cunning make her seem a lot like Hollyleaf.
71	** Moon Shadow is a mix between Berrynose (because of his arrogance and hot blooded nature) and Crowfeather (because of his behaviour towards she-cats). It's as awesome as it sounds.
72	** Gorse is fairly similar to Graystripe, with his love of food and adorableness.
73	* FindTheCure: A big part of the plot in ''The Blazing Star'' is the cats trying to deal with the spread of a sickness.
74	* FirstEpisodeTwist: [[spoiler:Bright Stream's death]] happens early on in ''The Sun Trail'', but is a pretty big twist and defines much of the book. Also, one of the largest spoilers for ''The Sun Trail'' is that [[spoiler:Clear Sky is the antagonist]], but that will be one for the series as a whole, almost certainly. Additionally, the big twist of the book, [[spoiler:Storm and Clear Sky's son being Thunder]], is something so important to the later books that you can't discuss them without mentioning it.
75	* ForegoneConclusion: A given, considering that this series is a prequel. We know that the Clans will be founded, and which Clans will be founded by which cats.
76	* {{Foreshadowing}}: ''Thunder Rising'' has hints of the events ''The First Battle'', with [[spoiler:Pebble Heart having a dream about a massive battle with Clear Sky at the heart of it.]]
77	* FounderOfTheKingdom: It's a whole series about them. Eventually, Thunder, Wind Runner, Tall Shadow, Clear Sky, and River Ripple will go on to found the Clans seen in the rest of the series.
78	* GenderEqualEnsemble: Eight toms and eight she-cats form the Followers of the Sun Trail. Later in ''The Sun Trail'', [[spoiler:this is still the case, even with deaths. One tom and one she-cat die, keeping the number even.]] [[spoiler:In the bonus scene of ''The Blazing Star'', two more Tribe cats, one tom and one she-cat, leave the Tribe to follow the Sun Trail, still keeping the number even.]]
79	* GrayAndGrayMorality: ''Thunder Rising'' basically has this all around. [[spoiler:On one side, we have Tall Shadow, who refuses to adjust her worldview to forest life and makes some terrible decisions. On another, we have Clear Sky, who just wants to protect his group and create a better life for the cats of the forest, but is becoming increasing unhinged and violent, and is also perfectly willing to send cats that he deems unable to continue to the group to their deaths. Then we have Wind Runner, who sees how cats are getting screwed over by the changing community, but responds by warmongering. And that's not even beginning to get into the other groups around the forest.]]
80	* TheHeroDies: At the end of ''Path of Stars'', [[spoiler:Gray Wing dies of his asthma, surrounded by his friends and family.]]
81	* IncurableCoughOfDeath: [[spoiler:Gray Wing dies of a slow variant from ''Thunder Rising'' onward.]]
82	* ItsAllMyFault: Gray Wing and Clear Sky both blame themselves [[spoiler:for Bright Stream's death. Gray Wing eventually manages to move on, but Clear Sky never lets go of the guilt.]]
83	* JumpedAtTheCall: Clear Sky is very eager to go on the journey to find a new home.
84	* KickTheDog: Clear Sky did plenty of this in ''Thunder Rising''. The stuff he did includes bullying Jagged Peak when the latter has difficulty with self-esteem, throwing [[spoiler:Frost]] out of the forest even though he could still hunt, and tossing Thunder into the path of a fox.
85	** In ''The First Battle'', he attacks Falling Feather and demotes her for questioning his authority, [[TheOathbreaker goes back on Thunder's word to keep Jackdaw's Cry safe and fed]], and lies to Thunder and Lightning Tail about where Turtle Tail went to.
86	* KilledOffscreen:
87	** In ''The Sun Trail'', [[spoiler:two of Storm's kits die offscreen before Gray Wing can get to them.]]
88	** In ''Thunder Rising'', [[spoiler:Moon Shadow succumbs to his wounds and dies offscreen. However, the scene where he gets those wounds, and his funeral, are both onscreen events.]]
89	** In ''The First Battle'', [[spoiler:Turtle Tail is hit by a car and dies offscreen. Thunder and Lightning Tail find her dead body sometime later.]]
90	** Also in ''The First Battle'', [[spoiler:Wind Runner's son Emberkit dies offscreen.]]
91	** At the end of ''The First Battle'', [[spoiler:after the battle ends, Lightning Tail and Acorn Fur find Hawk Swoop dead.]]
92	* LastEpisodeNewCharacter:
93	** We don't meet Thunder until the last chapter of ''The Sun Trail'', but oh boy is he important to the book.
94	** Fircone and Nettle aren't introduced until the last chapter of ''Thunder Rising''. However, they're important due to [[spoiler:convincing Thunder to confront Clear Sky.]]
95	* LateArrivalSpoiler: The existence of Lion's Roar and Half Moon being the first Stoneteller are big twists in ''Sign of the Moon''. The prologue of ''The Sun Trail'' casually reveals them to the reader, and if you haven't read ''Power of Three'' and ''Omen of the Stars'', you probably wouldn't even realize they were spoilers.
96	* TheLeader: There are plenty of leaders and future leaders in ''The Sun Trail''.
97	** Half Moon/Stoneteller from ''Power of Three'' and ''Omen of the Stars'' still leads the Tribe.
98	** Shaded Moss is named the leader of the crew setting out to find a new home. [[spoiler:After his death, Tall Shadow leads it.]]
99	** The forest group in ''The Sun Trail'' is led by [[spoiler:Clear Sky]].
100	** Thunder, Wind, Gorse, Tall Shadow, Clear Sky, River Ripple, Owl Eyes, and possibly Dust Muzzle will go on to be Clan leaders.
101	** As of ''Thunder Rising'', [[spoiler:Gray Wing has become joint leader of proto-[=WindClan=] alongside Tall Shadow.]]
102	* LegendaryInTheSequel: Inverted. ''The Sun Trail'' is about the founders of the Clans before they were legends, so it's more like "unlegendary in the prequel". So far, we have seen every Clan founder, as well as many other legendary cats like Graywing the Wise, Pebbleheart, Dapplepelt, Cloudspots, Mothflight, Owleyes, Gorsestar, and possibly Duststar.
103	* LookBothWays:
104	** In ''The Sun Trail'', [[spoiler:Shaded Moss accidentally runs onto the road, resulting in his death when he is hit by a car.]]
105	** In ''The First Battle'', [[spoiler:Turtle Tail gets hit by a car in the Twolegplace and dies.]]
106	** In ''Path of Stars'', Slash mentions how Rain, one of his rogues, was hit by a car. He considers it a stupid way to die.
107	* LoveDodecahedron: [[spoiler:Turtle Tail loves Gray Wing, who loves Storm, who loves Clear Sky, who loves Storm, and also probably still his first love Bright Stream. Now that Storm is dead, Gray Wing will most likely get together with Turtle Tail.]]
108	* MeaningfulFuneral: It's a Tribe custom. One is held for Fluttering Bird when she dies, and the Followers of the Sun Trail later hold a funeral for [[spoiler:Shaded Moss.]]
109	* MeaningfulRename:
110	** In ''Thunder Rising'', to show their connection to the Followers of the Sun Trail, Wind and Gorse change their names to Wind Runner and Gorse Fur.
111	** In the Bonus Scene of ''Thunder Rising'', it's revealed that River Ripple's name was once Ripple, but he changed it to show how he had become a Cat of the River.
112	* MentorOccupationalHazard:
113	** In ''The Sun Trail'', [[spoiler:Shaded Moss, leader of and mentor to the other Followers of the Sun Trail dies shortly before they reach their new home.]]
114	** Subverted in the Bonus Scene of ''Thunder Rising''. It looks like Arc is going to die, since we never heard anything about him in the main story, but it turns out that River Ripple just gets separated from him.
115	* TheMigration: ''The Sun Trail'' is about a group of cats leaving the mountains to move to the forest.
116	* MutualKill: In ''The First Battle'', [[spoiler:during the Great Battle, Jackdaw's Cry and Falling Feather fight and end up killing each other.]]
117	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Clear Sky's reaction to all that he did in ''The First Battle''.
118	* MythologyGag:
119	** Storm calls Gray Wing "Gray Whatsit", which is the name that Rusty gave to Graypaw when they first met in ''Into the Wild''.
120	** Remember the mountain hunting skills that Gray Wing showed to Jagged Peak? Those were first shown in ''Battles of the Clans'' as [=WindClan=] battle strategies invented by Gray Wing himself. It looks like we know where he got them.
121	** Turtle Tail scares Bumble by telling her that she eats bones. This is obviously meant to be a joke about how kittypets view Clan cats.
122	** Gray Wing and Gorse meet when they crash into each other and then start to fight. This is the reverse of how Firestar and Graystripe met: they started fighting, but when Graystripe crashed into Firestar they stopped fighting and became friends.
123	** Part of Clear Sky's situation in ''The Sun Trail'' is one. [[spoiler:The pure-hearted tortoiseshell she-cat that he loves dies, causing him great pain, but he eventually gets together with a spunky cat named Storm? Now where have we heard that one before?]]
124	** The cover of ''The First Battle'' obviously references ''A Dangerous Path'' with its shot of two lines of cats preparing for a fight.
125	* NeverFoundTheBody: In ''The Sun Trail'', [[spoiler:the Followers of the Sun Trail don't find Bright Stream's body after she is carried off by an eagle, leading to some potential ambiguity over her death.]] However, at the end of ''The First Battle'', [[spoiler:Bright Stream appears as a ghost, confirming her death.]]
126	* NoAntagonist: The majority of ''The Sun Trail'' is about the cats moving and settling into a new home, with no real villain. However, subverted when the ending sets up [[spoiler:Clear Sky]] as an antagonist.
127	* NoNameGiven:
128	** As they approach Highstones, the Followers of the Sun Trail meet a long-legged brown and gray tabby tom. He talks with them for a bit, but never gives his name.
129	** At the end of ''The Sun Trail'', [[spoiler:Storm has three kits. She named them, but we never learn their names. This is used as a plot point. Since Gray Wing doesn't have a name to call the survivor, and he doesn't remember it, Turtle Tail names him Thunder.]]
130	** Nightheart's brother is mentioned in ''Thunder Rising'', but not named. [[spoiler:His name is later revealed in ''Riverstar's Home'', part of which takes place chronologically around the same time as this series.]]
131	** In ''The First Battle'', Wind Runner has four kits. However, of her three sons only one of them has their name revealed (Emberkit), and her daughter's name (Moth Flight) is only known because of ''The Ultimate Guide''. [[spoiler:Later books reveal the names of the other kits, including Moth Flight, and that she had two sons and two daughters instead of three sons and one daughter.]]
132	* OnceAnEpisode: All of the prologues so far feature some sort of dream or vision. ''The Sun Trail'' has Stoneteller's vision of another place where some Tribe cats can live. ''Thunder Rising'' has Thunder [[spoiler:meeting his deceased mother Storm in a dream]]. ''The First Battle'' and ''The Blazing Star'' have Gray Wing seeing Stoneteller again in a dream. ''A Forest Divided'' has Clear Sky seeing his deceased sister, Fluttering Bird. In ''Path of Stars'', [[spoiler:Gray Wing is visited in a dream by Turtle Tail.]]
133	* OriginsEpisode:
134	** The series shows us the origins of the Clans.
135	** As well, the Bonus Scenes of ''The Sun Trail'' and ''Thunder Rising'' reveal the origins of Petal and River Ripple respectively.
136	** The Bonus Scenes of ''The First Battle'' and ''A Forest Divided'' are downplayed versions, as they reveal, to a lesser extent, how Wind met Gorse, and how Slate joined their group.
137	* {{Prequel}}: This series takes place before any of the other ''Warriors'' books and shows us the origins of the Clans, which everything else revolves around. [[note]]''Dark River'', ''Long Shadows'', and ''Sign of the Moon'' contain scenes that take place before ''Dawn of the Clans'' and deal with the founding of the Tribe. However, these scenes are in Jayfeather's time traveling flashback sequences, and the main stories of those three books take place long after ''Dawn of the Clans''.[[/note]]
138	* PreviouslyOverlookedParamour: Turtle Tail is about the same age as Gray Wing and likes him, but Gray Wing's too infatuated with Bright Stream, and then Storm, to notice, even when an elder suggests that Turtle Tail might be a good match for him. Finally, Turtle Tail decides to leave the group for a bit, and returns pregnant with another tom's kits. It's after the kits are born that Gray Wing finally realizes his feelings for her and they officially become mates, and [[EveryoneCanSeeIt everyone else congratulates him on finally noticing that they're perfect for each other]].
139	* ThePromisedLand: The plot of the first book. Stoneteller, who is leading a starving tribe in the mountains, gets a vision of a place where cats will be warm and fed. The book follows the part of the tribe that decides to travel there, looking for a better life.
140	* ProtagonistTitle: Book two is called ''Thunder Rising''. Thunder is one of the main characters of the book, alongside Gray Wing.
141	* RetCon: To be expected from an entire series based on a pawful of conflicting information.
142	** The Thunderpath between the future [=ShadowClan=], [=WindClan=], and [=ThunderClan=] territories is present in ''The Sun Trail'' as it is in ''Secrets of the Clans'' despite having been previously retconned out in ''Code of the Clans''.
143	** At the end of ''The Sun Trail'', [[spoiler:Thunder is named after Storm, not the Thunderpath.]]
144	* RotatingProtagonist: Gray Wing is the sole protagonist of ''The Sun Trail'', while ''Thunder Rising'' adds Thunder as a {{Deuteragonist}}. ''The First Battle'' has Thunder become the protagonist while Gray Wing steps back to the role of Deuteragonist, and adds Clear Sky as a tritagonist.
145	* SavedByCanon: Because ''Moth Flight's Vision'' (which involves the origin of medicine cats and the leaders getting their nine lives) takes place after ''Dawn of the Clans'', it's safe to assume that all the original medicine cats (Moth Flight, Pebble Heart, Dappled Pelt, and Cloud Spots), leaders (Wind Runner, Tall Shadow, Thunder, Clear Sky, and River Ripple), and deputies (Lightning Tail and Gorse Fur) survive ''Dawn of the Clans''.
146	* SaveTheVillain: In ''Thunder Rising'', the Moor Group brave a forest fire to rescue the Forest Group, who treat them with great hostility.
147	* ShipperOnDeck:
148	** Silver Frost, one of the elder cats of the Tribe, ships Clear Sky with Bright Stream. She also ships Gray Wing with his admirer Turtle Tail.
149	** Tall Shadow pushes Gray Wing towards Turtle Tail and seems pretty happy in ''Thunder Rising'' when [[spoiler:they get together.]]
150	* SiblingTeam:
151	** Gray Wing and Clear Sky are brothers who work together to hunt and fight. Later on in ''The Sun Trail'', [[spoiler:this stops, as they become enemies.]]
152	** Fox and Petal are a brother and sister team who only rely on themselves.
153	** Nightheart and her brother work as a team, despite many cats in their territory preferring to work alone.
154	** Thunder and Lightning Tail work together as a team from ''The First Battle'' onwards, with Thunder eventually deciding that Lightning Tail will [[spoiler:lead his group if he dies.]] However, [[spoiler:they're not a blood sibling team, as Thunder is Lightning Tail's adoptive brother.]]
155	* SneakyDeparture:
156	** In ''The Sun Trail'', Jagged Peak sneaks away from the Tribe so that he can reunite with the Followers of the Sun Trail and find their new home. This kicks off the plot, as Gray Wing has to go after him and keep him safe on the long journey ahead.
157	** In ''Thunder Rising'', Thunder sneaks away from the moor to go see the forest with Shattered Ice.
158	* StealthPun: Somewhat of a grisly one in ''The First Battle''. [[spoiler:When there is a Clear Sky, there is no Rain(swept Flower).]]
159	* TakeAThirdOption: In ''The First Battle'', the moor cats are arguing whether or not they should attack Clear Sky. They've reached a stalemate when Cloud Spots interrupts, pointing out that they don't have any prey stored, and that feeding themselves is a higher priority than dealing with Clear Sky.
160	* TalkingInYourDreams:
161	** The prologue of ''Thunder Rising'' is about [[spoiler:Thunder being visited in a dream by the spirit of Storm, his mother.]]
162	** Also in ''Thunder Rising'', Gray Wing is visited by Stoneteller, who tells him [[spoiler:that it may be his destiny to lead proto-[=WindClan=].]]
163	** Gray Wing has another dream about the Tribe in the prologue of ''The First Battle''.
164	* ThemeNaming: Lightning Tail is named after his brother Thunder, who he's always hanging around with.
165	* TitleDrop:
166	** In ''The Sun Trail'', the Tribe cats reference "the trail of the rising sun".
167	** [[spoiler:In ''The Blazing Star'', the title is dropped an insane amount of times, this is because the Blazing Star is a healing herb.]]
168	* TrailersAlwaysSpoil:
169	** Before ''The Sun Trail'' even came out, the sample blurb of ''Thunder Rising'' revealed that [[spoiler:the group would split into two, Gray Wing and Clear Sky would become enemies, and Thunder would have some sort of connection to Gray Wing and Clear Sky.]]
170	** The full blurb of ''Thunder Rising'' flat out states that [[spoiler:Clear Sky is Thunder’s father.]]
171	** The blurb of ''Thunder Rising'' also reveals the mid-book twist of [[spoiler:Clear Sky asking Thunder to join his group]] and heavily implies that [[spoiler:Thunder goes with him, but leaves to return to the moor]], which is exactly what happens.
172	** Before ''A Forest Divided'' was released, the blurb of ''Path of Stars'' revealed that [[spoiler:Star Flower would become Clear Sky's mate and carry his kits.]]
173	* TreeCover: In ''The Sun Trail'' Gray Wing finds a cat hiding in a clump of bracken he had just walked by. This is very embarrassing for him, as he had just been berating his younger brother Jagged Peak for claiming they were being watched.
174	* TwistEnding: ''The Sun Trail'' has one. [[spoiler:Clear Sky and Storm's son? Yeah, he's Thunder.]]
175	* UnexpectedCharacter:
176	** Most fans correctly predicted the appearances of Thunder, Shadow (as Tall Shadow), Clear Sky, Wind, Gorsestar (as Gorse), Cloudspots (as Cloud Spots), and Dapplepelt (as Dappled Pelt) in ''The Sun Trail''. However, virtually nobody suspected that ''The Sun Trail'' would feature Graywing the Wise from ''Battles of the Clans'', and if they did they probably didn't think he would be the main character.
177	** As well, Half Moon/Stoneteller and Lion's Roar were pretty unexpected.
178	* UnnamedParent: Even though Fox and Petal's mother is mentioned in ''The Sun Trail'', her name is never revealed. Also, although their mother is a supporting character with a name, the father of Gray Wing, Clear Sky, Jagged Peak, and Fluttering Bird goes unnamed and unmentioned throughout the book.
179	* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: In ''The First Battle'', [[spoiler:Lightning Tail doesn't explain his plan to save Turtle Tail's kits from Tom, and he pulls it off successfully.]]
180	* VillainProtagonist: In ''The First Battle'', [[spoiler:Clear Sky, who has become a villain, is one of the point of view characters. However, he realizes the error of his ways by the end of the book and stops being a villain.]]
181	* VillainTeamUp:
182	** Towards the end of ''The Sun Trail'', several of the antagonistic cats of the forest (Fox, Petal, Frost, and Leaf) join up with the forest group led by [[spoiler:Clear Sky]].
183	** In ''Path of Stars'', Slash's rogues are joined by [[spoiler:Snake]], an old enemy of Clear Sky.
184	* VisualPun: The gorge on the cover of ''Thunder Rising''. [[spoiler:The Followers of the Sun Trail are divided.]]
185	* WeHardlyKnewYe: Several characters in ''The Sun Trail'' die after having very minor roles, those being Fluttering Bird, [[spoiler:Petal's brother Fox]], and [[spoiler:two of Storm's kits]]. Although in the case of [[spoiler:Fox, it's slightly fixed in that he appears in the Bonus Scene and we learn more about him, but only after his death.]]
186	* WeUsedToBeFriends: By the end of ''The Sun Trail'', [[spoiler:all the Followers of the Sun Trail still on the moor feel this way towards Clear Sky, who used to be one of their trusted allies, but is now power-hungry and isolated.]]
187	* WhamEpisode: The last chapter of ''The Sun Trail''. [[spoiler:Storm dies protecting the kits she had with Clear Sky. Only they die too. Wait, one of them is alive! And he's Thunder!]] The fandom promptly flipped out.
188	** The bonus scene in [[spoiler:''The Blazing Star'', it starts by introducing us to a new character called Sun Shadow, all fine and dandy, then Stoneteller dies, and he leaves, and Quiet Rain of all people reveals she's coming with him.]] Wow.
189	* WhamLine:
190	** Lion's Roar addressing Half Moon by name in the prologue, which reveals that much less time than readers expected had passed since the formation of the Tribe.
191	** The last chapter of ''The Sun Trail'' has a massive one. [[spoiler:Gray Wing is trying to think of a name for the only surviving kit of Storm and Clear Sky. Turtle Tail says, "How about Thunder?", revealing the kit to be the future founder of [=ThunderClan=].]]

Context Literature / WarriorCatsDawnOfTheClans