Forest of Secrets is the third book in the original Warrior Cats series (aka The Prophecies Begin), taking place three days after the last book, Fire and Ice, ended.
Tropes that appear in this book:
- Almost Dead Guy:
- Brokenstar survives just long enough to suddenly comprehend that he's dying and get an Oh, Crap! moment. It was exactly the kind of death that he deserved.
- As she dies, Silverstream tells Graystripe that she loves him and to take care of their kits.
- Amateur Sleuth: Fireheart spends part of the book investigating Redtail's death.
- Antagonistic Offspring: Brokenstar, one of the first villains of the series, is revealed to be Yellowfang's son. He didn't realize it until his death, but has been rude to her for much of the last two books and in fact was so evil that Yellowfang had to kill him to save ThunderClan.
- Assassination Attempt: Tigerclaw attempts to kill Bluestar in order to become leader himself.
- Attack the Tail: When the kits bully Brokentail, Cloudkit bites the blind tom's tail.
- Better Living Through Evil: Tigerclaw promises that any cats that come with him will be well rewarded later on; despite this, nobody follows him into exile.
- Big Damn Heroes: When Tigerclaw leads Brokentail's rogues to attack the ThunderClan camp, a RiverClan patrol - who had been on their way there to discuss Graystripe's kits - arrive and help fight them off.
- Bittersweet Ending: Tigerclaw is defeated, and Fireheart is now Clan deputy, but Silverstream is dead, Bluestar is shaken, and Graystripe has left the Clan to raise his kits in RiverClan.
- The Blank: Fireheart has a nightmare of a faceless queen losing her kits.
- Blood from the Mouth: There's a non-fatal example where Graystripe has blood bubbling from his mouth.
- Broken Pedestal: Dustpelt turns his back on Tigerclaw after learning that he's a traitor.Dustpelt: I looked up to you. I wanted to be like you. But Redtail was my mentor. I owe him more than any cat. And you killed him. You killed him and betrayed the Clan. I'd rather die than follow you.
- Buried Alive: Fireheart learns that Oakheart was killed by falling rocks.
- Chekhov's Gunman:
- In Into the Wild, there is a casual mention of a litter of kits that Bluestar lost one leaf-bare. Forest of Secrets reveals that two of her kits are still alive and living in RiverClan. They then become very important to the plot.
- Thistleclaw was mentioned in Forest of Secrets and said to be Bluestar's rival. He's very important in Bluestar's Prophecy and even revealed to have been a major contributor to Scourge's Face–Heel Turn. In Omen of the Stars, he's also later revealed as a leader of the Dark Forest, meaning that he was manipulating events in the forest and lake for a long time.
- Child of Forbidden Love:
- Silverstream and Graystripe's relationship is forbidden as they are from two different Clans; they end up having kits together.
- Bluestar reveals to Fireheart that Mistyfoot and Stonefur of RiverClan are her kits; she'd fallen in love with the RiverClan warrior Oakheart when she was young, but gave them up so that she would become ThunderClan's deputy instead of Thistleclaw.
- The Coup: Tigerclaw plots one to kill Bluestar in order to become leader himself by inviting some rogues to attack the camp and passing off her death as part of the battle. Fireheart jumps in and rescues her during the attempt.
- Dark Is Evil: The villainous cats Tigerclaw and Brokentail are dark brown.
- Dead Animal Warning: Cinderpaw grabs a magpie from the fresh-kill pile and is about to take it to Bluestar, but finds out it's rotten and filled with maggots. Fireheart fearfully wonders if it's an omen from StarClan that Bluestar's leadership is rotting away from the inside, as she has recently been devastated by the betrayal of Tigerclaw, one of her oldest friends. In the following book, Bluestar becomes more paranoid that all of her Clan are traitors and no longer trusts any of them.
- Death by Childbirth: Silverstream, in a heartrending scene.
- Death of a Child:
- Bluestar explains that one of her kits froze to death when she brought them to Oakheart to be taken to RiverClan.
- After Silverstream's death, RiverClan reports that one of their queens just lost her two kits, and they've taken it as a sign that she should raise Silverstream's kits.
- Demoted to Dragon: Brokenstar was the Big Bad of Into the Wild, but after getting driven out of his Clan and later blinded, Tigerclaw took control of Brokenstar's rogue army and Brokenstar became his Dragon.
- Deus ex Machina: The main reason Fireheart was able to win his fight against Tigerclaw in Bluestar's den was because Tigerclaw slipped on some blood.
- Did Not Die That Way: Originally Tigerclaw returned from battle with Redtail's body, claiming that he'd been killed by the enemy warrior Oakheart, and that he himself killed Oakheart in revenge. Ravenpaw later reveals the truth: that Redtail killed Oakheart first, and that Tigerclaw murdered Redtail after the battle. Bluestar refuses to believe this, since not only would it mean that Tigerclaw was a traitor, but it also casts aspersions on Redtail's honor since he would never kill an enemy in cold blood. Fireheart eventually learns what really happened: Oakheart actually died in a rockfall during the battle (Redtail had been chasing him when it happened, so Ravenpaw was technically correct, but Redtail didn't in fact intend to kill him as Fireheart originally thought).
- Died in Ignorance: Defied by Yellowfang. She tells Brokentail his true parentage, that she is his mother, as she kills him with deathberries, so he can die knowing he was the result of a forbidden affair. He refuses to believe her, however, although he likely found out its truth in the afterlife.
- Distant Prologue: The prologue takes place before Fireheart, the protagonist of the main part of the book, is born.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Thistleclaw, Tawnyspots, and Goosefeather (though him not by name) were first mentioned in this book before appearing for real in Bluestar's Prophecy.
- Evil Plan: In order to try to become leader, Tigerclaw first killed Redtail, the Clan deputy, in the hope that he would be chosen as deputy in his place. Once he achieved that position, he decided that Bluestar wasn't dying fast enough, so he teamed up with Brokenstar's gang of rogues to attack the ThunderClan camp in order to kill Bluestar during the attack and make it look like a rogue had done it.
- The Exile: Bluestar exiles Tigerclaw after he tries to kill her.
- Fire/Water Juxtaposition: Spottedleaf warns Fireheart in a dream that water can quench fire, referring to the "fire" that can save their Clan (aka Fireheart himself). Fireheart does nearly drown during Tigerclaw's attempt to kill him, and also risks his life several times during the flood.
- Gender Bender: Bluestar's dead kit - retroactively, since while the kit was originally mentioned as male in this book and Secrets of the Clans, the authors later decided that the kit's official gender would be female as of Cats of the Clans and Bluestar's Prophecy.
- Give My Regards in the Next World: When Tigerclaw tries to kill Bluestar, he says, "Remember me to StarClan, Bluestar."
- Happily Adopted:
- Mistyfoot and Stonefur were adopted by the RiverClan cat Graypool, who had just lost her own kits. They grew up believing that she actually was their mother.
- Brindleface adopted Cloudkit when Cloudkit's mother gave him up to be raised as a Clan cat. Cloudkit was a newborn when given to the Clan, so until Fireheart explained to the kit his parentage, Cloudkit thought Brindleface was his mother.
- Heal the Cutie: After Cinderpaw is hit by a car, leaving her leg permanently crippled, she slips into a depression, feeling worthless over the fact that she can never become a warrior - she even comments after the camp is attacked that she wouldn't have minded if she'd been killed in the battle. Her spirit recovers after Yellowfang has her help out in the medicine cat den and eventually makes Cinderpaw her official apprentice.
- Heroic Bastard: Mistyfoot and Stonefur, who are half-ThunderClan-half-RiverClan, with their mother faked as a RiverClan queen.
- Howl of Sorrow: After his mate dies, Graystripe wails aloud in grief. Tigerclaw's reaction is to cuff him behind the ear and order him to "stop that moaning".
- I Can't Feel My Legs!: Brokentail says this after Yellowfang feeds him the deathberries; this is when he first starts to realize he's dying.
- If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: When the other Clans demand to know why ThunderClan is sheltering the evil Brokenstar, Bluestar explains that killing a blind, defeated cat (or leaving him to die in the forest) would make them just as bad as Brokenstar himself was.
- Inheritance Murder: Clan law dictates that the Clan deputy becomes leader if the leader dies, so Tigerclaw attempts to murder his leader, Bluestar; he, as ThunderClan's deputy, would have inherited her position if he had succeeded.
- Kids Are Cruel: The ThunderClan kits pick on Brokentail, an older, blind prisoner, including painfully biting his tail. Darkstripe sees nothing wrong with this and threatens Brokentail when he tries to swipe them away, but Fireheart stops them and points out to Cloudkit that a true warrior isn't mean or cruel.
- Killed Off for Real: Brokenstar loses his ninth life in this book. Tigerclaw also intends to do this to Bluestar.
- Kill on Sight: When Bluestar exiles Tigerclaw, she orders that if he is found on their territory again after that, he is to be killed on sight.
- Leader Wannabe: The reason Tigerclaw attempts to kill Bluestar.
- Love Across Battlelines: Inter-Clan romances are banned specifically because they lead to the conflict of loyalty to Clan vs. loyalty to mate in a battle, but it doesn't stop them from happening:
- Graystripe and Silverstream are from separate Clans.
- Bluestar reveals that she once fell in love with Oakheart, a RiverClan warrior who went on to become deputy.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Yellowfang reveals to Brokentail as he dies that she's his mother.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Tigerclaw attempted this when he told Fireheart to cross a branch over a flooded stream and then knocked it loose. Even Fireheart wasn't sure whether it was an accident or not until he noticed the way Tigerclaw was looking at him later.
- Mentor Archetype: Although she isn't his mentor in the sense the series usually uses the word (training the character to be a warrior or medicine cat), Yellowfang serves this role to Fireheart; she's the elderly, dear friend he always goes to for advice. She later becomes Cinderpaw's actual mentor (training her to be a medicine cat) and does the same for her.
- Metaphorically True: Fireheart and Graystripe are caught coming back onto ThunderClan territory after sneaking away to check on RiverClan (who are suffering because the river is flooded). When asked to explain themselves, they claim that they wanted to see how far the floods went, which was true, but not the whole truth.
- Murder by Inaction: When Fireheart falls in the stream and nearly drowns, Tigerclaw sits and watches, but Longtail saves him.
- Mutually Unequal Relationship: Bluestar believed Tigerclaw to be her faithful deputy despite Fireheart's warnings that he was evil. Tigerclaw just saw her as a weak leader who needed to be disposed of to get himself the leadership.
- Named in the Sequel: Two of Frostfur's kits, who appeared in Into the Wild, are introduced as Thornpaw and Brightpaw in this book.
- Never Mess with Granny: Graypool is an elder, but her threats are still enough to make Fireheart flinch.
- Official Couple Ordeal Syndrome:
- Graystripe and Silverstream are from different Clans, and it's very difficult to meet and even see each other, since their relationship is forbidden by Clan law. They're thrilled when Silverstream's expecting kits, but then she suffers Death by Childbirth.
- Oakheart and Bluestar were also from different Clans. Bluestar became pregnant with his kits, and he offered to join ThunderClan to be with her. However, she stood a good chance of becoming deputy - she wouldn't be eligible for the position with kits - and she felt it was her duty to become deputy since she felt the only other cat being considered for the position would lead the Clan to disaster. Though she wished it could be otherwise, she ended the relationship, and after her kits were born, she gave them to Oakheart to raise in RiverClan.
- Offing the Offspring: Yellowfang poisons Brokentail. She considers it her atonement for bringing such an evil cat into the world.
- Posthumous Character: Redtail and Oakheart are surprisingly important for cats who died at the start of the first book.
- Quit Your Whining: Graystripe is with his mate as she dies giving birth to his kits, and he wails his grief to the skies. Cue Tigerclaw coming along, cuffing him, and ordering him to "Stop that moaning".
- Satellite Love Interest: Silverstream. Her first appearance in the second book was only to rescue Graystripe from drowning. She never had an appearance where it didn't involve another more important character, and the only notable thing she did outside of bearing Graystripe's kits was getting Firestar in touch with cats who knew something about Redtail's death.
- Saying Too Much: Swiftpaw lets it slip at a Gathering that ThunderClan is sheltering Brokentail.
- Secret-Keeper: Fireheart and Mistyfoot help keep Graystripe and Silverstream's relationship secret.
- Secret Relationship: Graystripe/Silverstream, Bluestar/Oakheart.
- Sneaky Departure:
- Graystripe constantly sneaks out of ThunderClan's camp so that he can meet with his love interest Silverstream. This is necessary, as they are in a forbidden relationship.
- Fireheart and Graystripe sneak away after a Gathering to meet with Ravenpaw so that they can find proof that Tigerclaw murdered Redtail. They later sneak away from ThunderClan territory into RiverClan to find more proof, and eventually to deliver food to the starving Clan.
- Snooping Little Kid: Cloudkit tracks Fireheart and Graystripe to the river when they sneak off to share prey with RiverClan, which gets them in trouble with the Clan deputy and leader upon their return.
- Spanner in the Works: Fireheart completely ruins Tigerclaw's plans by running into the cave where Tigerclaw was during a battle and beating Tigerclaw up.
- Star-Crossed Lovers:
- Bluestar ended up pregnant with her lover Oakheart's kits. Due to them being in different Clans, and the fact that she needed to become Clan deputy in order to prevent Thistleclaw from getting the position and leading the Clan into unnecessary wars, she had to leave her kits with him and not acknowledge her relationship with him or her kits for the rest of her life.
- Graystripe and Silverstream, who, again, are from different Clans. Silverstream dies giving birth to Graystripe's kits, and he ends up leaving ThunderClan in order to raise his kits in their mother's Clan.
- The Starscream: Tigerclaw was this before even becoming second in command by plotting and eventually killing the second-in command, and then after that tried to kill off Bluestar numerous times, all of them failed, with the final time resulting in exile.
- Tag Line: On the UK cover: "Four Clans. One Destiny."
- Take Care of the Kids: Silverstream's last words to Graystripe are to tell him to take care of their kits.
- Thought They Knew Already: Fireheart knows that his nephew Cloudkit is going to face prejudice due to having been born a kittypet, and begins to give him a lecture about this, only to realize that Cloudkit's foster mother hadn't yet told him about where he was born. Needless to say, it's a bit of a shock to the young kit.
- Tongue Trauma: In the battle against Tigerclaw's rogues, Graystripe gets a scratched tongue that won't stop bleeding. Cinderpaw doesn't know what to do for it, so she sends Fireheart to fetch her mentor.
- Unfriendly Fire: Wanting to kill his leader in order to become leader himself, Tigerclaw convinces a group of rogues to attack the camp. During the battle, he attacks Bluestar, hoping to make it look like a rogue had killed her.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Brokentail plots with Tigerstar to take over ThunderClan, even though the same Clan gave him shelter when he was blinded and saved him from being murdered by two other Clans. Even his own Clanmates don't treat him with the same kindness as ThunderClan.
- Uriah Gambit: For an attempt at Fireheart's life, Tigerclaw orders him to try and cross a flooded stream using a spindly branch caught in the water. When Fireheart's right in the middle and Longtail isn't watching, he tries to Make It Look Like an Accident by knocking the branch loose from the rock it's caught on. Longtail saves Fireheart from drowning.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Tigerclaw. Firestar and Graystripe are the only characters in all of ThunderClan who suspect that he could be treacherous.
- Warhawk: Tigerclaw, and Thistleclaw before him. Bluestar tells Fireheart that she gave up her kits to become Clan deputy instead of Thistleclaw because if Thistleclaw had gone on to become leader he'd have led the Clan into unnecessary wars. When Tigerclaw is exiled, he insists he would have never have been such a soft, peace-keeping leader and speaks of how he would have made ThunderClan great and feared; Bluestar remarks in response, "And how many cats would have died for it?"
- We Will Meet Again: Tigerclaw's warning to Fireheart as he leaves the camp:"Keep your eyes open, Fireheart. Keep your ears pricked. Keep looking behind you. Because one day I'll find you, and then you'll be crow-food."
- When I Was Your Age...: Fireheart gets into a small argument with an elder at a Gathering when the elder claims that young cats nowadays don't know what hardship is.
- You Did Everything You Could: Cinderpaw gets this lesson from Yellowfang after she fails to prevent Silverstream's Death by Childbirth (though she does save the kittens). In this case, her worries were compounded by the fact that Silverstream is from a rival Clan, and having another Clan's member's death on your hands is not a very good place to be in this world.Yellowfang: I've spoken with Tigerclaw. He's furious about the kits, of course, but he's not angry with you, Cinderpaw. He knows you did your duty, just as any medicine cat should.
Cinderpaw: But I lost her, Yellowfang.
Yellowfang: I know. And that's a hard lesson to learn. But sometimes, no matter what we do, cats die and there's nothing we can do about it. This is something you must learn to live with if you are to continue on this path. Now come, the elders are complaining of aches.
