Dark River (Warriors)

Dark River

File:Darkriverwarriors.JPG Cover of Dark River
Author	Erin Hunter
Language	English
Series	Warriors: The Power of Three
Genre	Fantasy novel
Publisher	HarperCollins
Publication date	December 26, 2007
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	322 pp
ISBN	ISBN 978-0-06-089205
Preceded by	The Sight
Followed by	Outcast

Dark River is the second installment of the third series of Warriors, Warriors: The Power of Three by Erin Hunter. It continues the adventure of the ThunderClan cats, Jaypaw, Lionpaw and Hollypaw, which began in The Sight and continues in Outcast. It takes place in a fictional forest surrounding a lake, where the four clans (ShadowClan, RiverClan, ThunderClan, and WindClan) fight each other for food and territory, and try to protect their camps from foxes, badgers and two-legs (humans). They hold gatherings of all the Clans on full moons, and there is a truce that prevents fighting on that night. Medicine cats visit the Moonpool, and talk with StarClan (their warrior ancestors). Cats hunt for their clans and follow the warrior code. They grow into apprentices and then into warriors. Because, in the world of Warriors, no cat is safe for long.

Publication history

Dark River was published as a hardcover on December 26, 2007 in the USA by HarperCollins. The UK received the novel on March 1, 2008. It was released early in Canada on December 13, 2007. The book was released in eBook format as well.

Plot summary

Fallen Leaves' Story

In Dark River's prologue, it is revealed that there are hidden caves beneath the moorland. Fallen Leaves, a mysterious cat not seen before in any of the books, enters this cave, meeting an ugly old cat by the name of Rock, who explains to him that to be a "sharpclaw", apparently an equivalent to the Clans' warriors, he must get out of the tunnels and into the moor before it's too late. Unfortunately, when Rock asked if it would rain, Fallen Leaves said no, because he was afraid that Rock would make him wait until another day. Fallen Leaves enters the tunnels, and appears to be heading in the right direction. However, he comes to a dead end just as it begins to rain. Unable to escape, the young cat drowns in the flooding tunnels. Some fans believe that Fallen Leaves' character was influenced by the song Fallen Leaves, by Billy Talent. Some of the lines have an eerie significance to Fallen Leaves' life, namely the chorus: "In a crooked little town, they were lost and never found, fallen leaves, fallen leaves, fallen leaves, on the ground, Run away before you drown, or the streets will beat you down, fallen leaves, fallen leaves, fallen leaves, on the ground".

Jaypaw's Story

Jaypaw finds a washed up stick when he is out gathering herbs with Leafpool. It has odd scratches on it, some that are crossed out and some aren't. He doesn't know why but the stick feels very important, to the point that he half drowns himself to save it from the depths of the lake. As he struggles to figure out what it means, he has a dream, in which he experiences what Fallen Leaves experienced, then Jaypaw understands what the scratches meant, and that the last one uncrossed was Fallen Leaves'. Cinderpaw then falls from the sky oak, twisting her back leg. He soon discovers that his mentor, Leafpool, is determined to save the apprentice's leg. As the medicine cat's determination begins to border on obsession, he begins to wonder why. One night, he falls asleep, he wakes up in a strange forest. There he meets Cinderpaw, unhurt. She leads him to a camp filled with familiar smells. Cinderpaw describes how she once lived there before the Great Journey. Cinderpaw then asks Jaypaw to tell Leafpool that she is proud of her, and that she has learned far more than she could have ever taught her. By then, Jaypaw is officially confused. Then when looking into the cats eyes, he sees a series of flashbacks from another cat's life. Jaypaw realizes that when Cinderpelt died, she was born back to life as Cinderpaw, without Cinderpaw herself actually knowing it. Jaypaw tells Leafpool what he has discovered, and his mentor agrees with him. However, when Cinderpaw wakes, she doesn't remember the dream (only that Jaypaw had been able to see in it.)

Lionpaw's Story

Lionpaw becomes best friends with Heatherpaw, a beautiful WindClan apprentice, and begins meeting her at night. Hollypaw discovers their secret, and Lionpaw begins to be wary of his sister. Afterwards, Heatherpaw and Lionpaw begin meeting in hidden tunnels that no Clan cat has ever seen before (The same tunnels that Fallen Leaves drowned in). They name their play Clan DarkClan, of which 'Heatherstar' is leader, and 'Lionclaw' is deputy, and they met together every night. Tigerstar-- Who meets him in ghostly apparitions (like he did to Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw) starts teaching him additional battle moves that even his mentor, Ashfur, doesn't know, though Brambleclaw seems to recognize. When he starts to teach the moves to Heatherpaw, Hawkfrost scolds him for showing battle moves to the enemy, and under his pressure, he must choose between his love of Heatherpaw, and loyalty to the warrior code and ThunderClan. He chooses to remain loyal to his Clan, and leaves Heatherpaw, who is extremely hurt and betrayed, though she understands his decision in the end.

Hollypaw's Story

During a gathering, RiverClan reveals that their Clan is facing a "small problem" and they are being forced to live on the Island. Though Leopardstar is fiercely protective of her Clan and refuses to elaborate, Hollypaw knows something is not right, because her friend Willowpaw and the rest of RiverClan act extremely nervous. She informs Firestar about her concerns. However, he does not believe this is ThunderClan's problem and refuses to take action. He and the rest of the Clan continue preparing for a battle against WindClan even though it is not certain that a battle will ever occur. Hollypaw heads out to RiverClan on her own. When she arrives, Willowpaw shows her how Twoleg kits are attacking their camp. Hollypaw is kept with RiverClan so she cannot tell anyone about their secret. However, her brother Jawpaw has a dream that reveals her location, and Squirrelflight (the trio's mother) comes to retrieve her.

Conclusion

Near the end of the book, all three stories come together: Jaypaw and Leafpool must go to WindClan to take Onestar a message from Firestar, telling about not shedding unnecessary blood with a battle over something that may never happen, when Hollypaw convinces Mousefur and Firestar to do something. When they arrive, Gorsetail's (a WindClan queen) kits (Sedgekit, Thistlekit, and Swallowkit) have gone missing, and they blame RiverClan, saying that there will be a battle if RiverClan does not return the kits. Jaypaw and Leafpool return to camp, and Lionpaw tells his brother and sister about the tunnels. They enter, meeting up with WindClan apprentices Breezepaw and Heatherpaw, who share their motive for being there. Jaypaw is guided by the spirit of Fallen Leaves, and the group find the kits behind a boulder that blocked the tunnel. It starts raining, and the tunnel floods, but Jaypaw figures a way out just in time, and they return the kits, saving the Clans from an unnecessary battle. The tunnel is blocked during the flood, and Lionpaw states that it ended the most significant friendship (with Heatherpaw) he ever had.

Major events

• Births: Tigerkit, Flamekit, Dawnkit (ShadowClan)
• Deaths: Fallen Leaves (Not in Dark River time period)
• Apprentices Made: None
• Warriors Made: Millie (ThunderClan)
• Prophecy: There will be three, kin of your kin... who hold the power of the stars in their paws.
• Cover: Heatherpaw (because she has 'smoky blue eyes', like the cover. Lionpaw has amber)

Secrets

The main plot revolves around the three apprentices' secrets. The three keep their secrets away from one another, which separates them as friends and siblings, and makes them feel awkward around each other. These are some of the secrets in the book:

• Hollypaw learns of RiverClan's true problems.
• Jaypaw learns the story of the stick and that Cinderpaw is the reincarnation of Cinderpelt, ThunderClan's former medicine cat.
• Lionpaw secretly meets with Heatherpaw in the tunnels, and also secretly meets with Tigerstar and Hawkfrost in dreams.

Critical reception

Dark River climbed up the bestseller lists after its release, reaching #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

External links

• The official Warriors website