Shattered Sky

"But before she [Violetpaw] had taken more than a mouthful, Thistle bounded toward them. Violetpaw eyed him warily. She didn't know him very well, as he and some other rogues had only recently arrived. She couldn't help wondering how many more cats Darktail would welcome into camp as "Kin."

— Violetpaw's thoughts on the new rogues in Shattered Sky, page 38

Shattered Sky
General
Author:	Cherith Baldry
Cover artist:	Owen Richardson
Details
Publish date:	11 April 2017
Identification:	ISBN 9780062386458
Editions:	Hardcover, e-book, Library, Paperback
Summary
ShadowClan has fallen. A group of rogues now rules the pine forest, and their cruel leader, Darktail, will not stop until he has conquered the rest of the Clans. Alderheart is more certain than ever that their only hope is to find the lost SkyClan and fulfill StarClan's prophecy—before Darktail’s vicious reign puts an end to the warrior Clans forever.
Resources
Chapter subpages
Chronology
Preceded by:	Hawkwing's Journey, Thunder and Shadow
Followed by:	Darkest Night

Shattered Sky is the third book in the A Vision of Shadows arc. 

Dedication

Special thanks to Cherith Baldry

The Blurb

Erin Hunter’s #1 bestselling Warriors series continues in A Vision of Shadows #3: Shattered Sky. This edition includes a double-sided jacket with a bonus poster!

ShadowClan has fallen. A group of rogues now rules the pine forest, and their cruel leader, Darktail, will not stop until he has conquered the rest of the Clans. Alderheart is more certain than ever that their only hope is to find the lost SkyClan and fulfill StarClan’s prophecy—before Darktail’s vicious reign puts an end to the warrior Clans forever.

Full of epic adventure and thrilling intrigue, this fifth Warriors series is the perfect introduction for readers new to the Warriors world—while for dedicated fans, it’s a long-awaited return to the era of Bramblestar’s ThunderClan, after the events of Omen of the Stars.

The Praise

Coming Soon

Detailed Plot Summary

The book begins with Alderheart having another vision of SkyClan. When he first enters it, he is confused. In it, he witnesses Echosong dying, as it is revealed that SkyClan has been desperately trying to find the other Clans and has lost many members, including Frecklewish. Alderheart then realizes he is witnessing SkyClan. Right before she dies, Echosong tells the gathered cats that they have to follow the blood trail, then collapses, and her breath slows to a stop. Alderheart then wakes up and realizes he needs to tell Bramblestar about his dream. However, he realizes he won't be able to until after the battle they have planned.

The Clans meet at a Gathering, and they decide to attack the rogues and drive them out of ShadowClan once and for all. Before the attack happens, Twigpaw worries that her sister, Violetpaw, will get injured, but is calmed by Tigerheart, who says that she is smart and won't get seriously hurt. The Clans cross onto ShadowClan territory and then start to sneak toward the ShadowClan camp, but before the Clans reach the camp, they are intercepted by a patrol of four ShadowClan cats, all who chose to remain with the rogues rather than going with Rowanstar to seek refuge in ThunderClan's camp. Sleekwhisker, the leader of the patrol, yowls that there are attackers on the premises, and the patrol rushes back to the camp, ruining the element of surprise for the Clans. Bramblestar then orders for everyone to get into their designated groups, which were assigned just before the Clan cats left the ThunderClan camp. During the attack, when Onestar has Darktail pinned to the ground, Darktail whispers something into Onestar's ear, and, unexpectedly, Onestar orders WindClan to retreat from the battlefield, which gives the rogues an advantage. Towards the end of the battle, Violetpaw is being urged to attack Twigpaw by Rain and Needletail, and Violetpaw is finally convinced, so she attacks her sister with her claws unsheathed. Twigpaw is shocked and backs away, but one of her legs gets caught in a hole, causing her to twist it. The Clans then retreat back to their camps with many injuries.

Alderheart treated many injured cats in the aftermath of the battle. Especially for Twigpaw, who resides in the nest next to Briarlight with a mangled hind leg. Alderheart says to Leafpool that he is worried for her, as Twigpaw twisted her leg badly. Leafpool says that she will get better soon, and that mostly calms Alderheart. But, he is also worried about Twigpaw's mental state, after learning that Violetpaw, Twigpaw's own sister, attacked her. Bramblestar then interrupts his thoughts, asking that at least one medicine cat should go to the Gathering. Leafpool nominates that Jayfeather and Alderheart should go, and mentions that she wants to take care of Blossomfall as well. They both head with Bramblestar to the island. Before the patrol leaves, Purdy comes up to Alderheart, confessing that he has a bit of bellyache. Alderheart suggests that he go and see Leafpool. Purdy says if Leafpool is busy, he'd rather not bother her. He then says that he should probably skip the Gathering and rest instead. Alderheart promises to tell the elder everything that happened at the Gathering.

The patrol finally departs the camp and heads toward the island, along with the ShadowClan cats in their camp. At the island, many cats pressurize Onestar, demanding to know why he retreated from the fight. When the Gathering begins, Mistystar lashes out at Onestar, saying that her Clan suffered many casualties, and would have had less of them if Onestar had remained at the fight. Bramblestar calms Mistystar down, but like almost all the cats in the clearing, he demands to know why Onestar left the fight. Onestar defensively states that he does not have to explain his reasons for retreating from the battle. Rowanstar then calls Onestar a coward. The leaders and the Clan cats then start quarreling. Alderheart finally realizes that the prophecy probably means that the Clans have to find SkyClan. But before Aldereart can say anything, a cloud starts to drift over the moon. Bramblestar denounces that StarClan is angry with the Clans' quarreling and announces that the Gathering is at an end.

After the Gathering, Alderheart tells Bramblestar about finding SkyClan. After a lot of convincing, Bramblestar starts to agree with Alderheart. Alderheart then says to Bramblestar that they finally should tell the rest of the Clans about SkyClan. Bramblestar is skeptical, but Alderheart says the prophecy was given to not just ThunderClan, but to all the Clans. Bramblestar reluctantly agrees, and after the patrol returns to camp, Bramblestar tells the rest of ThunderClan, along with the ShadowClan residents, about SkyClan. The cats question Bramblestar for almost the whole night; the cats who travelled to the gorge give them answers. Rowanstar then figures out why Needletail wouldn't say were she went. Alderheart says that he told her to keep quiet because he thought it was best for the Clans. At the first crack of dawn, Bramblestar leads a patrol to head over to the RiverClan camp. Mistystar says that RiverClan won't be participating in any attacks until RiverClan has recovered from the first battle. The patrol turns toward the WindClan camp, but the WindClan cats do not welcome the patrol as nicely as RiverClan did. After a lot of arguing, the patrol finally gains permission to tell Onestar about SkyClan. But as soon as Onestar hears about the lost Clan, he states that WindClan owes nothing to SkyClan and demands that the patrol depart WindClan territory immediately. The patrol leaves, escorted by a few WindClan cats. Alderheart then thinks about Onestar and comes to the realization that the WindClan leader is hiding something.

Meanwhile, back in ShadowClan territory, Violetpaw is taking care of the elders' ticks, which is against Darktail's orders. While searching for more ticks, Violetpaw remembers the shocked look on Twigpaw's face when she attacked her, and she starts to regret harming her sister. But Needletail interrupts her thoughts, storming into the elders' den. She says that the elders need to start looking after themselves now. Violetpaw protests, saying that Dawnpelt told her to do it. Needletail snaps back at her, saying Dawnpelt isn't her mentor anymore. Oakfur says that there is a huge tick on his back, and Violetpaw wants to help him remove it, but she has no choice, but to follow Needletail out of the den. Before she leaves, she whispers an apology to the elders. They head to the fresh-kill pile, and Violetpaw quickly snatches a plump vole from the pile. But, before she even swallowed a bite, Thistle bounds over, saying that he saw the vole first, and it rightfully belongs to him. Needletail leaps to her defense, saying prey is not any cat's until they take it. Thistle, obviously defeated, reminds Needletail to calm down and keep her fur on, leading him to walking away to find another piece of fresh-kill. Violetpaw still is worried about her sister. Needletail notices that something is on her mind, and asks her to discuss it. Violetpaw finally confirms her thoughts and asks if she was right to attack Twigpaw. Needletail tells her that the Kin are the only ones who care about her, and this cheers Violetpaw up, but not too much. Needletail has her come visit Darktail, who is recovering in the medicine cat den. She wants to ask Puddleshine about it, but sees that he is busy caring for the rogue. Darktail praises her, and as the cats leave, including Puddleshine, Rain offers to watch over the leader. The gray tom and the battle-scarred leader start to talk, and Violetpaw creeps into the shadows to listen.

She soon goes come back with prey and sees Rain pinning down Darktail. When the leader is still, Rain turns toward Violetpaw, but then Darktail - who was not dead after all - springs up and kills Rain, commenting that he always knew Rain would betray him. This horrifies Violetpaw.

Alderheart releases Twigpaw from the medicine cats' den as her leg is now healed. Leafpool then sends him to fetch Jayfeather. As he heads out he notices Purdy, who says that his bellyache is feeling better. He also notices Bramblestar and Rowanstar quarreling about whether or not they should start to plan the next attack on the rouges. Alderheart decides to leave and take a nap after he finds Jayfeather.

In his sleep, he has another vision. In it, he sees SkyClan, Echosong sadly not among them. Alderheart tries to figure out where they are at. He realizes that they are in the yellow barn which he and Needletail had sheltered on their way back from the gorge. It was also where he had the vision where Sandstorm told him to 'find a different path.' He realizes that they aren't far away. Alderheart notices a tom giving a mouse to a pregnant queen. Because the tom looks similar to Violetpaw and Twigpaw, he comes to the conclusion that he might be their kin. Alderheart tries to look more, but he wakes up.

Twigpaw is still stressing over Violetpaw's attack on her. Bramblestar calls a Clan meeting. Alderheart tells them about his vision of SkyClan. The cats disagree about whether it is important that they should go and search for them. Alderheart also adds about the tom he saw who looked like Twigpaw's kin. Twigpaw is excited by this news. When Ivypool disagrees on the search for SkyClan, Twigpaw gets discouraged.

While that is happening in ThunderClan, Violetpaw explains to Needletail about Rain's death. Needletail asks if Darktail questions her loyalty. Violetpaw says no. Darktail then invites three kittypets to join the 'Kin.' He makes them swear to defend the Kin with their lives. Violetpaw is asked to be a guide for one of the kittypets, named Zelda. Violetpaw thinks that Darktail may be planning another battle. She also is skeptical about why he would want the kittypets when he suggests they stay for a few days which they agree to.

In ThunderClan, Blossomfall has given birth to Thornclaw's kits, Stemkit, Eaglekit, Plumkit, and Shellkit. Alderheart has a dream about some cats in a barn, and one tom has the pelt of Twigpaw and the eyes of Violetpaw, so he realizes he must be their father or other kin. Alderheart knows where the barn is, so he announces this to the Clan and suggests sending a patrol. The Clan doesn't want to make itself weak with the threats of the rogues, however, and Twigpaw feels betrayed.

In Darktail's camp, the rogue leader seems to be treating Violetpaw well since she confirmed his side of the story about killing Rain. Three kittypets are brought into the camp, enticed by promises of hunting lessons, adventure, and friendship. Darktail has them swear an oath of friendship, even going as far as to make it a blood oath (by pricking their pawpads with his claw), and has Violetpaw show the youngest one, Zelda, around. At the end of the day, the kittypets are about to leave, but Darktail suggests they stay for a few days, and they agree. Violetpaw wonders what Darktail wants them for.

Meanwhile in ThunderClan, Alderheart realizes that Twigpaw is missing. He starts to look for her, when suddenly Purdy - who had been complaining of bellyache but thought it was normal - collapses. He tells Alderheart that he's a good medicine cat and that Alderheart has some big paw prints to fill but that he'll do fine, and then dies. The Clan sits vigil, and when Alderheart notices that Twigpaw isn't there, he realizes she must have gone to search for SkyClan on her own. He warns his leader about this and Bramblestar sends off a patrol (Dovewing, Tigerheart, and Molewhisker) to find her.

A few days passes, and in ShadowClan camp, Darktail has told the kittypets that if they leave, they will not be welcome back and a couple of cats had left the Kin. Dawnpelt awakens Violetpaw to invite her to leave the Kin with her and a few other cats, but she refuses as she wants to take care of Needletail. Violetpaw then hears Dawnpelt and Darktail talking and thinks that Darktail is allowing her to leave, as he'd allowed the others to do as well.

The scene switches to Twigpaw being chased by dogs. She climbs a tree to get away from them and is successful, but ends up falling onto a Thunderpath and sees a monster coming toward her.

Cutting back to the lake territories in the following morning, Darktail brings his rogues (including the kittypets and elders) to the edge of RiverClan territory, and start a battle. Four RiverClan cats, one of the kittypets, and one ShadowClan cat (Pinenose, Violetpaw's foster mother) are killed, and the rogues win and declare that RiverClan territory is now theirs. They refuse to let RiverClan bring the injured with them, taking those cats prisoner.

RiverClan takes refuge in ThunderClan's camp, and Mothwing convinces Alderheart to come with her to sneak into RiverClan territory and learn what they can about how Darktail is holding the prisoners (under the claim that they've come to collect Mothwing's herb stores). Along the way, she explains that they'd asked Onestar for help, but were refused, and that Mistystar had tried to rescue them, but was told that if she tries again, they'll kill the prisoners. They're met by a patrol consisting of Needletail, Violetpaw, and a rogue, Raven. Raven tries to send them away, but Needletail allows them in, as long as they tell Puddleshine what they are used for. Alderheart realizes that she's trying to help them with their objective, and Puddleshine realizes it after a few moments too when they greet him in the camp.

Alderheart speaks to Needletail during this time - they establish that none of them know where Dawnpelt is, and Alderheart realizes that she seems terrified of the rogues. Darktail tells Violetpaw (who he claims he feels a connection with, since they were both unwanted kits) that he thinks one of their groups stole the herbs, and Violetpaw said that no, Mothwing and Alderheart just collected Mothwing's herbs. Darktail asks if it was Needletail that allowed it, and after he assures Violetpaw that he won't punish her, she admits that it was. Darktail makes Needletail a prisoner with the RiverClan cats, claiming that he's not punishing her, he's helping her learn where her loyalties lie.

Back in ThunderClan, Dovewing, Tigerheart, and Molewhisker return, reporting that they think Twigpaw is dead: they found her blood on a Thunderpath near the tunnel where she was born. Ivypool and Alderheart blame themselves. Ivypool is guilty about how she didn't agree to send a patrol, and Alderheart for forgetting about Twigpaw when Purdy collapsed. The Clan sits vigil for her that night. A patrol returns the next day, reporting that the rogues have announced that they're coming for ThunderClan next. Lionblaze announces that Cinderheart's expecting his second litter and that he doesn't want them to grow up in a world without the Clans, and the cats discuss what they might do. They suggest possibly speaking to cats within the rogue camp that they can trust, but do not commit to a plan yet. The medicine cats from ThunderClan and RiverClan visit the Moonpool, and Alderheart dreams of SkyClan and the cat who is Twigpaw and Violetpaw's kin again, but he does not see Twigpaw with them, so he assumes that she must be dead after all.

Violetpaw hates how Darktail is letting the prisoners starve, so she sneaks them prey; she also notices how eager he is to hand the worst jobs to any cat whoever displeases him. When Darktail orders her to go hunting, she sees a chance to get away, and goes to ThunderClan territory for help. They talk to her and she agrees to be a spy in the camp, and asks to talk to Twigpaw. Alderheart tells her the news, but she refuses to believe her sister is dead. She returns to camp and tells Needletail that she has a plan to free her and the prisoners, and then goes to speak to the ShadowClan elders. Violetpaw brings the ShadowClan elders to ThunderClan territory. The leaders discuss what to do, and Mistystar says firmly that RiverClan isn't helping until they get the prisoners out, because she doesn't want to risk Darktail killing them. They get the idea to incapacitate Darktail and his main cats by having Violetpaw serve them prey with poppy seeds hidden in it and Violetpaw agrees to it.

Elsewhere, Twigpaw is revealed to be alive as she was healed by a veterinarian, escaped, and found the barn where SkyClan had stayed, which is now empty. She falls asleep and sees a gray cat with blue eyes in her dream, telling her to "look for the blood trail in the sky... follow it until you can see the whole circle of the sun". She listens, following the red glow from the sunset, and finds SkyClan. One of them, a gray tom, seems surprised to see her while the others are suspicious, but she explains she's from ThunderClan and the SkyClan Cats get excited. The SkyClan leader, Leafstar, introduces herself and the deputy, Hawkwing (the cat who seemed to recognize her). Leafstar explains the hardships they've gone through, and Twigpaw tells them how Darktail has taken over ShadowClan and offers to bring them to ThunderClan. Before they leave, Hawkwing tells Twigpaw that he's her father.

Back to Violetpaw, she gives Darktail and his cats the prey laced with poppy seeds, but it doesn't work - she thinks Sleekwhisker might have spotted her placing the seeds. Darktail tells her that killing her wouldn't be enough punishment, and he goes and gets Needletail. He starts to drown the silver-gray she-cat until Violetpaw admits that it was her, but he continues to drown Needletail anyways. Finally Darktail decides to give Needletail another chance: if she's loyal, she'll kill Violetpaw. Needletail acts like she's attacking Violetpaw, but her claws are sheathed and whispers to her to run before she turns on the rogues. Violetpaw flees, knowing that Needletail is sacrificing herself to save her.

The Clans arrive to find a battle already in progress, and realize that the prisoners have started fighting the rogues, as many ShadowClan cats among the Kin have joined in. They manage to drive the rogues off, and the ShadowClan cats promise to be loyal to Rowanstar again while the two kittypets choose to stay with the Clans until Darktail is taken care of. Upon returning to the ThunderClan camp, they discover that Twigpaw and the SkyClan cats are there. Introductions are made, and the medicine cats go to the Moonpool to visit with StarClan. They see Firestar in their dream, and he tells them that this is about restoring the Clans - all five of them - and one Clan is currently not bonded with the other four. They know they have to convince WindClan to help.

The following morning, Twigpaw and her father are bonding, and Violetpaw arrives in camp, explaining what had happened to her. Twigpaw introduces her father and sister to each other, and he tells them that they're meant to be in SkyClan. The medicine cats return and tell the Clans that they need WindClan. A patrol of warriors is sent, including Twigpaw, Violetpaw, and Hawkwing, and they find the rogues attacking the WindClan camp. The rogues retreat after they join in the fight, but Darktail promises it's not the last they've seen of him.

Onestar tells the patrol that he needs to tell the truth about what's going on, and they bring the other leaders so Onestar can tell his story: When he was a young warrior in the old territory, he sometimes liked to go to the Twolegplace beyond Barley and Ravenpaw's barn and impress the kittypets, and ended up falling in love with one, a she-cat named Smoke. He refused to let her join WindClan when she told him she was expecting his kits, partly because it wasn't the life for her and partly because he didn't know how he'd explain himself to Tallstar. The only one of her litter to survive was Darktail, and he refused to let his kit join the Clan for the same reason. This rejection caused Smoke to raise Darktail to hate his father and the Clans.

It was when the rogues first showed up at the lake that Darktail promised revenge on Onestar, which was why he was so determined on ShadowClan driving them away; and then during the battle at the ShadowClan camp, Darktail had whispered to him, "that surely a cat who had rejected and killed his own kit would end up in the Dark Forest". Onestar is on his last life, and he was afraid that Darktail was right. The leaders assure him that he was never evil, and of course he wouldn't go to the Dark Forest after trying to save the Clans from a cat like Darktail. This convinces Onestar to let WindClan join.

The medicine cats visit the Moonpool again, and this time Firestar's words of wisdom are "The Clans must remember their names". They puzzle out what it means, and when Alderheart overhears Hawkwing telling Twigpaw about SkyClan's battle strategies - dropping down from the trees, making the enemy feel like they're being attacked from the sky - he realizes what Firestar meant. The Clans set up a battle strategy that sets it up so that each Clan is playing to their particular strengths (and name), which culminates in all five Clans driving the rogues to the lake, where RiverClan waits in the water. Most of the rogues flee, and Onestar drives Darktail into the lake, where their battle taking them further and further out until both of them go under and neither surfaces.

The Clans split up, deciding that they'll eventually figure out where SkyClan fits in as far as territory goes, but in the meantime they'll share the other Clans' territories. Violetpaw notices Tigerheart and Dovewing are deep in conversation, and Hawkwing tells her and Twigpaw that his daughters belong in SkyClan, where they were born, but they don't have to decide now. Violetpaw and Twigpaw both have conflicting feelings, and Violetpaw feels that change is coming soon.

Bonus Scene

Dovewing is the narrator. This scene takes place the morning after the argument that prompted Twigpaw to run away. She confronts Ivypool about the argument where she was against sending out a quest to find Twigpaw's kin, SkyClan. After debating the situation, Ivypool implies that she made her argument publicly due to Tigerheart volunteering to help, and that Dovewing should be able to find happiness from within the Clan. Notably, she said this right as Bumblestripe walked in. Dovewing storms off and Bumblestripe hurries after her.

He offers to take her hunting, and she reluctantly agrees. They work together to catch a squirrel, and Bumblestripe makes a remark about how they "make the best team". Dovewing is understandably embarrassed, and she briefly thinks about getting back together with him, feeling confused. She gets annoyed after he interferes with her next hunt to make the catch himself and accuses him of treating her like a kit. She quickly apologizes but insists on going back to camp. They walk in just in time to witness Purdy's death.

Dovewing is upset by this. Unable to process his death, she leaves the vigil to be by herself but is followed by Bumblestripe. He asks her whether she remembers the time she boosted Seedpaw's confidence while they were hunting during the Great Storm. Dovewing nods and is rather puzzled at this. Bumblestripe continues, saying that afterward, he had told her that she was going to be a great mother one day. He says that they should "try again" because life is short and she's the one thing he wants most. Basically, he wants her to have his kits.

Dovewing is taken aback by this, considering what had just happened. Angrily, she says that Darktail is still out there and that she wouldn't be able to support the fight against him if she were pregnant. She states that bringing new life into the Clan at this point in time would only result in heartbreak and loss and that she would not go through a kitting just to give Darktail more victims. Bumblestripe insists that new kits would give the Clan more to fight for, and produce more fighters and that she should really think about this.

Later, Dovewing is sitting vigil, when she is approached by Tigerheart. He can tell that there's something more to her distress than Purdy's death. He adds that he wouldn't repeat anything she said. So Dovewing tells him about her conversation with Bumblestripe, and Tigerheart is supportive of her opinion. He comments that they're at "that age", the age when they start having kits. Dovewing isn't sure how she feels about that.

They resume the vigil. Dovewing overhears the beginning of Alderheart's conversation with Bramblestar. It's soon announced that they believe Twigpaw may have gone to search for SkyClan. Tigerheart volunteers to search for her, and Dovewing realizes that Bumblestripe is definitely not volunteering. She requests to go as well; it's implied that she was going solely because of the opportunity to be with Tigerheart, and to be away from camp and Bumblestripe. Molewhisker accompanies them, and they leave. As they walk through the entrance, Dovewing thinks about how she can talk to Bumblestripe about everything when she gets back, but she feels like she's exactly where she's supposed to be, at Tigerheart's side.

Publication List

• Shattered Sky (EN), HarperCollins (Hardcover), 11 April 2017
• Shattered Sky (EN), HarperCollins (e-book), 11 April 2017
• Shattered Sky (EN), HarperCollins (Library), 11 April 2017

See also

• Allegiances
• Character List
• Chapter-by-Chapter Notes
• Book Cover Gallery

References and Citations

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