Secrets of the Clans – Trip Through Time | Warriors Analysis Speedpaint

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Time for another special type of book, and this one will admittedly be completely uncharted
territory, since it has no story at all to speak of.
Today I'm covering Secrets of the Clans, the first of four…sort of five, field guides
in the Warriors series.
You're not going to find summaries of these books very often, considering they're more
collections of lore than they are pieces of a story, but as part of the series' chronology
along with an important part of some people's understanding of the clans and world, I wouldn't
feel right skipping over them.
Secrets of the Clans came out on May 29th of 2007, only a little over a month after
The Lost Warrior and The Sight came out.
I'll also say for no particular reason that it came out only 3 months before a certain
super edition, the first in fact, meaning that the team absolutely knew about…another
group that maybe should have been included in this book when they were producing it.
However, that element was kept entirely away from this field guide so as to avoid spoilers,
and I will do the same.
Wayne McLoughlin, who did many of the original Warriors covers as well, took care of the
extra artwork this book needed for its various short stories, and it was written by Tui Sutherland,
who you might also know is the sole author for the Wings of Fire series, a very good
series, in fact, that I recommend you all check out.
And honestly, some of the world building, writing of history, and diversifying of the
groups that I love in those dragon books is also present in Secrets of the Clans, and
is a large part of the reason why I love not only this field guide, but the ideas of the
clans that Tui created in it.
Thanks to the nature of this book, there are no allegiances or line statistics to cover,
so I'll jump right into a summary of the…not plot.
Material, let's say.
We begin with the beginning, the *very* beginning, of the clans as a whole, and a preceding paragraph
letting us know that this story was passed down to and through every clan cat, and even
lets us know that story changes every time it is told, and parts of it, entire cats…or
even larger elements, fade from memory.
The stories in this book aren't all perfect facts, they're the stories as the clans
of the present would know and tell them: folklore.
Just how much of it is actually true remains up to the imagination at this point.
Keeping that in mind though, this is what we're told:
Once upon a time, the forest territories were wild lands, and then cats came, living in
small groups, not clans, with no borders and constant fighting.
One night during a full moon at a clearing that would come to be known as Fourtrees,
a truly terrible battle occured with everyone involved.
The survivors slept where they stood and came face to face with the spirits of those that
died, who demanded that they Unite or Die.
Four cats rose to speak.
Shadow, River, Wind, and Thunder all extol their individual virtues in turn and say that
they should rule the forest.
The four cats begin an argument which is quickly shut down by the spirits, who berate them
and say that the forest is large enough for all of them, that they must choose their own
lands and set borders, along with finding other cats to join them.
For doing this, they would each be granted 8 more lives to lead their clans with, and
the spirits will always be there to guide them in Silverpelt above.
They also demand that, each month at the full moon, they need to gather in the same clearing
for a night of truce.
They will be warriors, living by a warrior code and fighting only when it's necessary
for justice.
The four cats agreed, formed their clans with cats who shared their skills, and the age
of the clans began.
We then get our very first list in the series for what the warrior code actually consists
of.
To this point it has only been referenced in generalities, or by one particular rule,
like cross-clan mates not being allowed, medicine cats not being allowed to have kits, or prey
needing to go to your clan first before yourself or outsiders.
Not all of even those rules are contained in the warrior code as we are given it here,
but I won't list out those rules directly from the book since they're well known and
easy to search for.
At this point we move into a rundown of information from each clan, one at a time, through notes
and little vignettes where a character talks about a particular part of their life, or
you see a scene of the clans in the third person.
First comes Firestar and Thunderclan.
They are apparently a respectful clan, but fearsome in battle, and not afraid of challenge
for what they think is right, regardless of whether or not it aligns with the code.
They tend to hunt forest prey: mice, volves, birds, squirrels, and have the forest's
best stalking techniques.
I'll say before we go any further my one issue with the clan rundowns.
Even from what little we've seen so far, a clan's character is based mostly in what
the leader's values are, and what they decide to do.
Nightstar's Shadowclan was different from Brokenstar's or Tigerstar's, Leopardstar's
Riverclan was different from Crookedstar's, and Firestar's Thunderclan has been different
from Bluestar's.
This book may describe clan reputations, but even those, as we will see later with Windclan,
can oscillate wildly over time as behavior changes.
Anyway, we also get a story from Brightheart's perspective about Swiftpaw's death, which
along with showing off Brightpaw's personality and values at the time, gives a much more
vivid sense of horror than learning about it after the fact through Fireheart's perspective,
and a much more personal look into Brightheart's feelings around her injury and recovery.
Really just…go read this book, guys.
It imbues everything with so much life.
Sandstorm then shows you, the reader, around Thunderclan's forest camp, and soon after
Squirrelflight shows you around the lake camp, making sure you know she was the one who found
it.
Both sections include beautiful and comedic character moments, which is amazing considering
that this writing style only involves half of any dialogue taking place: from the narrator's
side.
With those tales aside, and a couple of annotated maps of each territory, we are then treated
to a rundown of some famous leaders and medicine cats, with another reminder that these are
just the cats the modern clans know of, and the versions of them the modern cats are aware
of.
Thunderstar, of course, features here as Thunderclan's first leader.
He was known to be strong, courageous, and determined, and had two deputies: Lightningtail
and Owleyes, who became Owlstar and succeeded him.
Owlstar was a famed hunter who studied the ways of the owl to develop his technique.
From there we skip all the way to a tom called Sunstar, a yellow tabby who was fair minded
and even-tempered, had two deputies: Tawnyspots and Bluefur, and one apprentice: Lionheart.
Bluestar naturally gets in here too, and she apparently had three apprentices: Frostfur,
Runningwind, and Fireheart.
Firestar also makes it into the list, but as we spent an entire arc with him in focus
it doesn't give us much information we didn't already know, so it's onto the medicine
cats.
Here we learn about Cloud Spots, the first Thunderclan medicine cat, who learned the
difference between white and green cough and identified catmint as its cure.
We also get to learn about Featherwhisker, Sunstar's brother and medicine cat who trained
Spottedleaf.
Spottedleaf, Yellowfang, Cinderpelt, and Leafpool are also listed here, but there isn't much
new information.
So with all of that done, it is time to move to the next clan.
Tallstar introduces Windclan for us as a clan that has managed to persist despite great
suffering, and the closest clan to Starclan thanks to their open skies and being closest
to the Moonstone.
Windclan is listed as being fiercely loyal, quick, easily offended, nervous and a little
quick to flee thanks to their open fields.
They mainly make rabbits their prey, and use camouflage with their neutral pelts and fast,
tireless running in order to chase after their prey in the open.
Onewhisker leads our introduction to their forest camp, and then we get a scene about
the raid on Windclan's camp by Brokenstar, a desperate situation that forced them to
leave their territory before they were slaughtered.
Crowfeather then introduces us to the lake camp he found.
Add in some annotated maps and we're onto the leaders and medicine cats section.
Windstar and Gorsestar were apparently the first two leaders of Windclan, and Windstar
in fact never had another deputy than Gorsestar, her mate.
Windstar was known for being proud, wily, and stubborn, and of course the fastest cat
in the forest, and Gorsestar was known for his bravery and devotion to her.
We also get a piece on Tallstar, where we learn that he mentored Morningflower, and
one on Onestar, which doesn't offer much new information.
On the medicine cats side, we have Mothflight, the first Windclan medicine cat and the one
who found the Moonstone, Thrushpelt, a temperamental medicine cat who was a warrior for several
moons before taking on the role, and Barkface, who we already know well.
Time for Riverclan, as introduced to us by Leopardstar.
She says that her clan is as strong, adaptable, and graceful as the river when they stand
together.
The info card goes on to say that they tend to be contented and well-fed thanks to the
plentiful prey of the river, and that they have enough leisure time to do things like
collect shiny rocks, shells, and feathers to decorate their dens.
They eat mostly fish, with a few water voles, mice, and shrews on the side, and have seasoned
techniques to swim through and catch things from the water.
Feathertail shows us around the Riverclan forest camp, and then we get to hear, from
Riverclan's perspective, about the flood in the first arc that took Mistyfoot's kits,
and left them at the mercy of Graystripe and Fireheart's kindness.
Mistyfoot then shows us around the lake camp she found and we get a second clan story,
this time a testimony from Leopardstar about how she decided to join with Tigerstar and
make Tigerclan.
She is very defensive about it, and is probably a somewhat unreliable narrator, but she says
that, given the amount of horrible dangers Riverclan faced in the short time before she
became leader, she was compelled to take action, and she recognized and trusted the strength
Tigerstar had, along with his vision for the future.
Fighting each other and lacking in resources is pointless when they could just be one large
clan and…by joining Tigerstar first, Leopardstar was getting more access to the leadership
of that new clan.
Even then though, she has her doubts: Tigerstar hasn't really started listening to her yet,
and the way he talks about half-clan cats, and Stonefur, pricks at her as being wrong,
but for now all she's done is let a few Shadowclan warriors live in the camp with
them, and the bonepile they're building is giving her nightmares.
With that ominous note out of the way, Riverstar is the first leader we get, and he was apparently
a generous and warm cat in his own clan, but completely disinterested in the other clans,
and is thought to have first suggested the mentoring system for apprentices.
Next comes Crookedstar, who we learn trained Graypool and Stonefur, and Leopardstar, who
we learn trained Whiteclaw and Hawkfrost.
Dapplepelt is known as the first Riverclan medicine cat, and she was apparently brave,
reckless, quick to act, and considered fighting disease and injury as just a different way
of being a warrior.
We also learn about Brambleberry, Crookedstar's medicine cat who was charming, quick-witted,
and good at getting cats to do what she wanted.
She also apparently came up with the technique for hiding herbs in prey so kits would eat
them.
Mudfur and Mothwing also get featured with little to no new information, and now it's
time for Shadowclan.
Blackstar introduces them as a feared and mysterious clan and the most dangerous one
in the forest, able to walk the shadows and ruthlessly protective of their own, along
with being fierce, proud, and independent.
The description considers them battle-hungry, ambitious, and greedy for territory, and cites
a story likely from the other clans that the chilled wind in Shadowclan cools their hearts
to outsiders.
They eat frogs, lizards, and snakes, along with carefully chosen bits from the garbage
dump, or Carrionplace, at the back of their territory, and they hunt by sticking to the
shadows and skulking through the undergrowth.
Boulder, a former loner from the twolegplace, introduces us to Shadowclan's forest camp
and Tawnpelt shows us the lake camp she found.
It then skips straight into the leaders and medicine cats.
First up is Shadowstar, the first Shadowclan leader who was a strategist and fiercely independent,
not even fully trusting her own clanmates.
She was also the first of the original leaders to die, in a battle she started with the other
clans.
We next hear about Raggedstar, Brokenstar's father who mentored him and Clawface before
him, and who had Foxheart, Cloudpelt, and Brokentail as deputies.
Brokenstar is of course here too, but the only new thing we learn is that he had two
apprentices: Mosspaw and Volepaw, both of whom died mysteriously before they could become
warriors.
Nightstar mentored Dawncloud, Blackstar mentored Tallpoppy, and there's nothing new to learn
about Tigerstar.
Onto the medicine cats, where we learn that the first Shadowclan medicine cat was named
Pebbleheart, a selfless and hardworking tom who first realized the Carrionplace was a
source of infection.
Yellowfang, Runningnose, and Littlecloud also get listed here, with nothing all that new
to say.
Now it's time for Yellowfang's story: A Thankless Kit, the story of her birth alone
in the woods, nestled in a tree.
Along with being physically painful, it was an emotionally tumultuous experience, as both
of her she-cat kits died, one being stillborn and the other dying moments after birth, leaving
the tom as the only survivor.
His face even this early is already twisted into a monstrous expression, and for a moment
Yellowfang feared her own son, but she couldn't believe that he was evil so early.
Yellowfang then gives up this kit to the only nursing queen at the moment: Lizardstripe,
since she knows she can't raise him, and Lizardstripe already seems to hate the lump
of fur plopped at her paws.
Raggedstar, however, takes full ownership as the kit's father, and Lizardstripe seems
to only accept the kit in the end since raising the leader's kit would give her status.
Yellowfang then names him Brokenkit, seemingly for the bend in his tail but in reality for
the break in her heart as she left him there.
It's a common misconception that she named the other two kits in this story too, but
she didn't.
Their names were only assigned after the fact in a letter outside of any canon book.
Now it's time for the fifth clan…Starclan, of course, and Lionheart guides through this
part.
He explains the main lore we are familiar with: they watch from the stars without borders,
but aren't capable of controlling outcomes, and Fourtrees still exists there since it's
in their hearts.
Snowfur, Bluestar's sister, then tells us the story of Mosskit's death, Bluestar's
third kit who didn't make it to Riverclan.
Starclan apparently argued over the morality of Bluefur's actions, but Snowfur agreed
to welcome and in some sense raise Mosskit once *he* died in the cold.
After some full-sized maps of the territories, we get a description of Fourtrees and a story
from Bluepaw's perspective on the first time she saw it, two days after she became
an apprentice and with her mentor Stonepelt and her mother Moonflower at her side.
Seeing the Great Rock overlooking the clearing first convinced her that she wanted to stand
there too and be leader of Thunderclan.
Then on Highstones and the Moonstone, we get the story of Mothflight, a flighty cat who
was easily distracted by the voices in the wind or the berries on a hunting patrol.
Eventually it came to a head and Windstar banished her from the clan, leaving Mothflight
to follow a feather all the way to Highstones, where she had the first dream with Starclan
at the Moonstone.
Starclan named her the first medicine cat, asked Windstar to welcome her back, and showed
her three other cats who also needed to be medicine cats for their own clans.
As for the Moonpool at the lake, we are given a different origin story from an ancient cat
who we have never seen in the series before named Rock.
Apparently, seasons before the clans arrived, there were three tribes living around the
lake, and they had healers instead of leaders.
Rock was one of these healers, and traveled to the Moonpool to see visions of his own.
Dustpelt then speaks on the Gathering Island, retelling the story of their discovery of
it at the lake territories and Mudclaw's death giving them a bridge to reach it, and
then we move to Tawnypelt's description of the sun-drown-place and Brambleclaw's
fall off the cliffs.
Next we are treated to a concrete description of various roles and the ceremonies for them,
beginning with the leader's nine lives ceremony.
The cats who gave Firestar his nine lives and the virtues they bestowed with them are
listed here as well.
Deputies are discussed next, then apprentices, and Birchpaw gives us a little commentary
on his first day as an apprentice.
Warriors are described, adding in a story from Brackenfur about the day he became a
warrior.
There is then a short section on some clan fighting techniques, and then a description
of the elders, along with a tale from Goldenflower about being an elder.
For stories on breaking the code, Cloudtail tells us about being tempted by kittypet life
and Crowfeather tells us about his forbidden loves, Feathertail and Leafpool.
Then there is a brief description of prophecies and omens followed by some notable examples:
Bluestar talking about the “fire alone will save our clan” prophecy, Firestar talking
about the “four will become two” prophecy, Brambleclaw on the “shake the forest to
its roots” prophecy, and Leafpool on the “blood will spill blood” prophecy.
This leads into the discussion of medicine cats, and Leafpool's explanation of how
she was always drawn to the medicine den and the skill and care Cinderpelt demonstrated.
We also get a list of some important herbs the clans use, and what they're used for.
Bloodclan also gets section about their character, leaders, and part in clan history, and Barley
shares his story about living in and fleeing from Bloodclan after his brothers, once known
as Hoot and Jumper but now Snake and Ice, joined Scourge and turned on him and his sister
was hurt.
He left Violet with a twoleg doctor and a kittypet he trusted and ran off to the barn
on his own where he could be safe.
The Tribe also gets a small section like Bloodclan's, and Stoneteller speaks on the desperation
and mistrust they felt when the silver cat was prophesied to save them, and the traveling
group showed up.
We get a description of rogues and loners, specifically Barley, Ravenpaw, Sasha, Purdy,
Smoky, Daisy, and Floss, which leads into Daisy's story about Floss's kits being
taken, and Daisy deciding to save her own kits by taking them, and herself, to the clans.
Also notable is that Daisy knew Smoky wouldn't stop her, since he always loved Floss more.
Kittypets get a section, with Smudge, Princess, Cody, Jaques and Susan, and Millie getting
focus, and then they describe other animals, mostly dangers like foxes, badgers, dogs,
birds of prey, horses, sheep, and cows, rats, and twolegs all from the clans' point of
view.
Then for a really interesting section, we're treated to some clan mythology, about Lionclan,
Tigerclan, and Leopardclan.
The former two had been name-dropped but not described in the main series before, and Leopardclan
is entirely new to this book.
Leopardclan's story tells of a brash Leopardclan warrior named Fleetfoot betting that she could
easily defeat a massive boar named Rage that had been terrorizing them, if beating it would
win Leopardclan access to the river.
She chased after it and drowned the boar, holding her own breath until it felt like
it would burst, and then faced and defeated its even stronger mate after two days of fighting,
winning Leopardclan's sole access to the river.
Lionclan's story is about a warrior named Sunpelt facing down a giant snake named Mouthclaw
to prove himself a great warrior.
After defeating the beast, Mouthclaw promised Sunpelt one wish if he would spare her life.
Sunpelt wished that Mouthclaw would shrink to the size of a cat's tail, and Mouthclaw
took advantage of this wish, making herself into a thousand smaller snakes that now haunt
Snakerocks.
But Goldenstar, Sunpelt's leader, was still proud of him for trying, and considered the
thousand smaller snakes to be easier to deal with than one snake that could swallow them
whole.
Tigerclan's story tells of Thorntooth, a warrior who was bitter that Leopardclan had
their spots, Lionclan had their manes, and Tigerclan, at this point, had plain golden
pelts.
He started attacking the other clans and eventually stole Goldenstar's only daughter, which
promptly got Tigerclan confined to the shadows for a whole moon.
When they emerged, their pelts were all sliced through with familiar jet-black stripes.
A glossary is then included to translate some common cat terms, and finally this book is
done.
Believe it or not, even with this longer-than-normal video, I didn't even come close to giving
all the information this book has to offer, let alone the tones or life breathed into
the characters, plots, and world.
This is a book I encourage everyone to read if you have any interest in Warriors, as it
adds so much to every read of the stories.
Time will only tell, though, if the new ideas put forward in this book will be carried on
or used in the main series, or if all of this will fade into the wind.
But I suppose we'll see when we come to the next episode, of our trip through time.