Sunset

The sixth and final book in the Warriors: The New Prophecy series, the second arc in Erin Hunter's Warriors saga, follows the feral cat Clans living around a lake after their forced migration from an old forest homeland. The Clans, four groups of wild cats governed by a shared warrior code of laws and traditions, each occupy distinct territories and are led by a leader, a deputy, and a medicine cat who communicates with StarClan, the spirits of deceased ancestors. A dark prophecy hangs over this installment: "Before all is peaceful, blood will spill blood, and the lake will run red" (107).

The novel opens in a lightless forest where StarClan does not walk, a place of exile for cats rejected by their ancestors. Tigerstar, a former ThunderClan leader killed for his treachery, reveals his plan to enter the dreams of his two living sons, Brambleclaw of ThunderClan and Hawkfrost of RiverClan, training them in combat and ambition. His goal is to destroy Firestar, the current ThunderClan leader, and reduce the four Clans to two, each ruled by one of his sons.

ThunderClan is reeling from a devastating badger attack. Brambleclaw, a dark brown tabby warrior, surveys the wreckage as Stormfur, son of the missing deputy Graystripe, arrives with his mate Brook from the Tribe of Rushing Water, a group of mountain cats. Leafpool, ThunderClan's medicine cat and Firestar's daughter, reveals that her mentor Cinderpelt was killed by a badger while helping the queen Sorreltail give birth. Crowfeather, a WindClan warrior with whom Leafpool had briefly abandoned her Clan, departs with the WindClan patrol, and the two say a final goodbye.

As the Clan rebuilds, Brambleclaw assumes organizational duties, though Firestar has not appointed a new deputy, still hoping Graystripe will return from Twoleg (human) captivity. Leafpool, tormented by guilt, receives a StarClan vision of intertwined paw prints on the lake with the shapes of Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight, Leafpool's sister, walking together. Leafpool interprets this vision as approval of their relationship. Squirrelflight tells Ashfur, a gray warrior she had been close to, that her heart belongs to Brambleclaw. On patrol, the warriors discover Twoleg snares along fox tracks, and Brambleclaw orders all patrols to watch for more.

In dreams, Brambleclaw visits the dark forest where Tigerstar trains him and Hawkfrost. Tigerstar advises delaying the appointment of a new deputy. Hawkfrost suggests befriending the kits of Daisy, a queen who came to ThunderClan from a nearby horse farm, since the warrior code requires a deputy to have mentored an apprentice and Daisy's kits will be the next eligible. After a training session with unsheathed claws, Brambleclaw wakes to find his shoulder wound reopened, though the fight occurred only in dreams.

Leafpool senses danger as well. She encounters three StarClan warriors who warn that her life will twist in unforeseen ways. After following Brambleclaw to the lake one night, she falls asleep and dreams of the water turning thick with blood while the prophecy's words echo around her.

Berrykit, the boldest of Daisy's kits, sneaks out of camp and is caught in a fox trap near the ShadowClan border. ShadowClan warriors watch without intervening. Brambleclaw and others free Berrykit, but Leafpool must amputate part of his tail. Meanwhile, the spirit of Mudfur, the previous RiverClan medicine cat, visits Leafpool, revealing that a RiverClan elder has greencough, a serious respiratory illness, and that Mothwing, the current RiverClan medicine cat, needs catmint. Leafpool plans to relay the message at the next half-moon meeting at the Moonpool, a sacred pool where medicine cats commune with StarClan, but Mothwing does not attend. The elder dies, and Leafpool blames herself.

ShadowClan, emboldened by ThunderClan's perceived weakness, pushes scent markers into ThunderClan territory. Brambleclaw accuses Leafpool of leaking information about the badger attack, but his sister Tawnypelt, a ShadowClan warrior, reveals that ShadowClan learned the news from Hawkfrost. Brambleclaw realizes he told Hawkfrost during their dark forest meetings, making himself the source of the leak.

At the Gathering, a monthly meeting of all four Clans, Hawkfrost pressures Mothwing to describe a fabricated dream about two pebbles disrupting a stream, which he interprets as a sign that Stormfur and Brook must leave RiverClan. Blackstar, the ShadowClan leader, demands territory, and a fight erupts until a cloud covers the moon, declared a sign from StarClan. Leafpool overhears Hawkfrost threatening Mothwing, and through a subsequent vision, discovers that Hawkfrost manufactured the sign that originally made Mothwing a medicine cat apprentice, destroying her belief in StarClan and giving him permanent leverage over her.

In a dream, Brambleclaw witnesses Tawnypelt rejecting Tigerstar's offers of power and urging Brambleclaw to seek leadership through the warrior code alone. Hawkfrost then manipulates events to have Stormfur and Brook banished from RiverClan by invoking Mothwing's fabricated dream and goading Stormfur into attacking him. Leopardstar, the RiverClan leader, banishes both cats, and Brambleclaw brings them to ThunderClan.

Brambleclaw urges Firestar to appoint a deputy, arguing the Clan is vulnerable. In the dark forest, Tigerstar reveals his ultimate vision: Brambleclaw will control ThunderClan and WindClan while Hawkfrost takes RiverClan and ShadowClan. Hawkfrost proposes killing the other leaders at a Gathering by trapping them on the island where Gatherings take place. Brambleclaw refuses but agrees to meet Hawkfrost in person.

Firestar holds a vigil for Graystripe, finally accepting his old friend is gone. Leafpool receives a dream of brambles encircling the camp, their thorns revealed to be cats' claws pointing outward to protect ThunderClan. She tells Firestar this sign points to Brambleclaw. Despite his lack of an apprentice, as the warrior code normally requires, Firestar names Brambleclaw deputy, promising he will mentor Berrykit when the kits are old enough. Ashfur accuses Leafpool of fabricating the sign, but Brackenfur, a senior ThunderClan warrior, defends her honesty. As the Clan congratulates Brambleclaw, Leafpool glimpses the ghostly shape of Tigerstar beside his son, eyes gleaming with triumph.

At the Moonpool, Mothwing confesses to Leafpool that Hawkfrost planted the sign and that she has never believed in StarClan. Leafpool reassures her and resolves to secretly train Willowpaw, Mothwing's apprentice, in interpreting StarClan's messages. Spottedleaf, a former ThunderClan medicine cat who serves as Leafpool's StarClan guardian, reveals that Cinderkit, one of Sorreltail's newborn kits, is Cinderpelt reborn.

The climax arrives when Brambleclaw meets Hawkfrost by the lake and hears Firestar's cries. The ThunderClan leader is caught in a fox trap, the wire noose choking him. Hawkfrost reveals he orchestrated this, using a false message to lure Firestar alone. He urges Brambleclaw to let Firestar die, and Brambleclaw feels Tigerstar's spirit demanding the kill. Brambleclaw refuses, digs up the stake, and frees Firestar. When Hawkfrost attacks, Brambleclaw drives the sharpened stake into his half brother's throat.

As Hawkfrost dies, his blood spills into the lake, turning the water red. His last words warn: "Do you think I did this alone? Do you think you're safe within your own Clan?" (299). Ashfur meets Leafpool and Squirrelflight as they race to the lake, reporting that Firestar is trapped. They find Firestar alive. Leafpool recognizes the prophecy's fulfillment: Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost were kin, blood has spilled blood, and the lake runs red. Firestar tells Brambleclaw he proved himself a worthy deputy. Brambleclaw stands silently with his half brother's blood on his paws, wondering who within ThunderClan helped set the trap.