The New Prophecy is the second arc in the Warriors series. It’s about six young cats who have to travel beyond their Clans’ territories to find a new home. Many challenges come their way, but they push through and continue with their mission. I’m going to rank nine significant characters in the series on how much I enjoyed their character. Knowing that this is my own opinion, you can have your own on how much you enjoyed the characters from this arc.

9. Stormfur

Stormfur is a large, muscular, long-haired, dark gray tom with amber eyes. He has a broad head and shoulders, with thick, sleek fur and hints of silver on his muzzle. He has become a warrior named Stormfur. Feathertail, along with Brambleclaw, Tawnypelt, and Crowpaw, receives a message from StarClan. Stormfur joins them on their journey to the sun-drown-place, protective of his sister Feathertail. Upon reaching their destination, they learn that Twolegs are destroying the forest and the Clans must find a new home. Stormfur disproves of Feathertail’s feelings for Crowpaw, a WindClan apprentice, even as he crushes on the ThunderClan apprentice Squirrelpaw throughout the journey. They cut through the mountains on their way back home, where they meet the Tribe of Rushing Water. The Tribe is being hunted by Sharptooth and believes Stormfur to be the cat who will save them. They keep Stormfur prisoner in hopes he will destroy Sharptooth; however, the cat actually turns out to be Feathertail, who gives her life to save the Tribe. Stormfur returns to the forest with the others and informs his father, Graystripe, of Feathertail’s sacrifice. During the Great Journey, Stormfur joins the Tribe, becoming a cave-guard and taking Brook Where Small Fish Swim as a mate. Stormfur and Brook eventually return to the Clans after being exiled and live with RiverClan for a short time. However, Hawkfrost fears Stormfur may become deputy and has Mothwing make up an omen to have him and Brook exiled. Afterward, Firestar welcomes them into ThunderClan. Stormfur was a good cat in this arc, but I wasn’t that much a fan of his character as I was with other cats in this arc.

8. Brambleclaw

Brambleclaw is a dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes. StarClan chooses Brambleclaw, Feathertail, Tawnypelt, and Crowpaw to make the journey to the sun-drown-place to hear StarClan’s message from Midnight the badger, and Stormfur and Squirrelpaw accompany them. Brambleclaw naturally takes on a leadership role of the journeying cats, and they grow to respect him, and he and Squirrelpaw become close. They return to the Clans with terrible news that Twolegs were going to destroy their home, and the Clans have to move to a new place. He helps lead the Clans alongside his friends on the journey to their new home by the lake. Brambleclaw becomes close to his half-brother, Hawkfrost, after learning that the RiverClan warrior was his kin. Squirrelflight distrusts Hawkfrost, and she and Brambleclaw fight about his relationship with Hawkfrost, and they end up breaking up. He and Hawkfrost train with their father in the Dark Forest, and Tigerstar plots his sons’ takeover of the Clans. When Graystripe is still missing after being taken from Twolegs, StarClan sends Leafpool a dream approving Brambleclaw as the rightful deputy of ThunderClan; despite having not trained an apprentice, Brambleclaw is named deputy and promised to mentor Berrykit. Hawkfrost, encouraged by their father, Tigerstar, sets up a trap for Firestar so that Brambleclaw can kill him and become leader. Brambleclaw realizes his loyalty lies with ThunderClan and his leader, and kills Hawkfrost, thereby fulfilling the “blood will spill blood” prophecy. Squirrelflight begins to trust him again, and they become mates. Brambleclaw had a more likable character personality than Stormfur, but he wasn’t all that enjoyable to read about.

7. Tawnypelt

Tawnypelt is a tortoishell-and-white she-cat with green eyes. She is chosen by Nightstar as the representative of ShadowClan on the journey to find Midnight. She, Brambleclaw, Squirrelpaw, Stormfur, Feathertail, and Crowpaw journey to the sun-drown-place to receive StarClan’s message. Tawnypelt becomes injured by rats, slowing their progress. After meeting with Midnight, they learn that Twolegs will destroy the forest and that the Clans must find a new home. They travel back through the mountains, meeting the Tribe of Rushing Water and helping them to defeat Sharptooth. Back in the forest, Tawnypelt struggles to convince Blackstar that they should leave until Twolegs and their monsters destroy ShadowClan’s camp. She and the other chosen cats help lead and guide the Clans to their new home by the lake. Tawnypelt eventually finds a new home for ShadowClan in a pine forest. She recruits Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw to help ShadowClan fight off Jacques and Susan, a pair of vicious kittypets. Like Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost, Tigerstar visits his children in their dreams, tempting them with promises of becoming stronger and more loyal warriors. Tawnypelt refuses his offers and advises Brambleclaw to do the same. Tawnypelt was a good character to read about, and I loved her girlboss moment with Feathertail when Squirrelpaw was stuck in the fence, and the toms didn’t know what to do, but it’s upsetting that the authors made her so dull in this arc.

6. Mothwing

Mothwing is a dappled golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes. She is a RiverClan warrior. Leopardstar announces her as Mudfur’s apprentice, much to the other Clans’ dismay, since Mothwing is a former rogue. Mudfur is hesitant to train her and waits for a sign from StarClan of their approval, and he later receives a sign of a moth’s wing outside of his den. Mothwing is still very nervous about proving herself a worthy medicine cat and freezes when Reedpaw almost drowns, and Leafpaw has to save him. Mothwing develops a close friendship with ThunderClan’s medicine cat apprentice, Leafpaw, and she offers to teach Leafpaw how to fish and often disregards the warrior code for her friend. When Mudfur dies, leaving Mothwing as RiverClan’s sole medicine cat, Leafpaw assures her friend that she will do great. Before the Great Journey, her mother, Sasha, arrives and asks for her kits to stay with her, and reveals that their father was Tigerstar. Hawkfrost and Mothwing gently decline their mother’s invitation. At their new home, Mothwing accidentally poisons the elders with tainted water and tells Leafpaw that she doesn’t believe in StarClan. Leafpaw has trouble accepting this revelation, but still acknowledges Mothwing as a brilliant medicine cat. Willowpaw becomes Mothwing’s apprentice, and Leafpool walks in Willowpaw’s dreams to teach her how to interpret omens and prophecies from StarClan. Hawkfrost threatens Mothwing to make up an omen to drive out Stormfur and Brook, and calls his sister useless despite faking the moth’s wing omen for her. Her brother is killed by Brambleclaw, freeing Mothwing from his manipulation. I feel like I would’ve liked Mothwing a little better if I’d been able to read her point of view in the story; I loved her bestie relationship with Leafpool, but she was boring otherwise.

5. Feathertail

Feathertail is a slender, silver tabby she-cat with sky-blue eyes, fur as soft as cloud, a plumy tail like smoke, and a broad face. Now a warrior, Feathertail receives a prophecy from StarClan to save the Clans. Stormfur joins her out of his protectiveness, and she travels with Brambleclaw, Squirrelpaw, Tawnypelt, and Crowpaw to the sun-drown-place to find Midnight. Despite Crowpaw’s prickly attitude, Feathertail manages to reach his soft side, and the two develop feelings for each other. They reach the sun-drown-place and meet Midnight, who is revealed to be a badger, and she tells them that Twolegs are going to destroy the forest, and that the Clans must find a new home. During the journey back, they cut through the mountains where they meet the Tribe of Rushing Water, who are being hunted by a beast named Sharptooth. The Tribe believes Stormfur is the cat prophesied to save them, but when Crowpaw is cornered by Sharptooth, Feathertail proves herself to be the chosen cat, impaling Sharptooth with a falling stalactite and sacrificing her life to do so. Now walking in StarClan and the Tribe of Endless Hunting, Feathertail visits Leafpool in her dreams to help Willowpaw’s StarClan part of the medicine cat training and encourages Leafpool’s relationship with Crowfeather. Feathertail was a beautiful and enjoyable character to read about, so I loved learning about her character.

4. Hawkfrost

Hawkfrost is a dark brown tabby tom with a snow-white underbelly and ice-blue eyes. He is a new warrior of RiverClan and is popular among his Clanmates. His and Mothwing’s heritage continues to haunt them as cats from other Clans distrust them for their mother being a rogue. When Mistyfoot is captured by Twolegs, Hawkfrost is promoted to deputy as her replacement. His ambition continues to drive his decisions when Mistyfoot returns. When his father, Tigerstar, is revealed to the rest of the Clans, Hawkfrost insists he is a loyal warrior dedicated to the code, and Brambleclaw finds kinship in his half-brother. Hawkfrost decides to stay with RiverClan when Sasha arrives and asks for her kits to stay with her before the Great Journey. When the Clans arrive in their new home, Hawkfrost suggests RiverClan should live on the island and openly challenges Mistyfoot when she disagrees. He sides with Mudclaw in his rebellion to overthrow Onewhisker, but later changes his mind to save Brambleclaw. The brothers grow closer and walk in the same dreams under the guidance of their father, Tigerstar, who wishes for them to be leaders of their Clans someday. When Stormfur and Brook, the former of whom could become deputy in the future, return to RiverClan, Hawkfrost forces Mothwing to fake a dream foretelling the two outsiders to leave. During an argument, Hawkfrost reveals he faked a sign to Mudfur that helped his sister become the medicine cat apprentice. After Brambleclaw becomes the deputy of ThunderClan, Hawkfrost is pleased, and Tigerstar’s plans for revenge begin to fall into place. Hawkfrost, with the help of the ThunderClan warrior, Ashfur, manages to lure Firestar into a fox trap. He instructs Brambleclaw to kill Firestar and become the leader of ThunderClan, but Brambleclaw decides his loyalties belong to ThunderClan. Brambleclaw frees Firestar and kills Hawkfrost with the remains of the fox trap that Firestar was stuck in. Hawkfrost bleeds out into the lake and fulfills the prophecy “blood will spill blood.” Hawkfrost is a clever villain and is still my favorite Warrior Cats villain to this day.

3. Crowpaw/Crowfeather

Crowfeather is a dark smoky-gray, almost black, tom with blue eyes. Crowpaw is a WindClan apprentice chosen by his deceased father, Deadfoot, to represent WindClan on the journey to find Midnight. He meets Tawnypelt, Brambleclaw, and Feathertail, the other chosen cats at Fourtrees, along with Squirrelpaw and Stormfur, who soon begin the journey to the sun-drown-place. Along the way, Crowpaw falls for Feathertail, but is distrustful and argumentative with the other cats, though he eventually learns to trust them. After Midnight reveals that Twolegs are destroying the forest, the cats pass through the mountains on their way back to the forest. They meet the Tribe of Rushing Water, who hold Stormfur prisoner and force the others to leave. Before going to rescue Stormfur, Crowpaw and Feathertail decide to continue seeing each other once they return home. Sharptooth attacks the Tribe during their rescue mission, and when Crowpaw is cornered, Feathertail gives her life to save him. He blames himself for her death, and when the Clans pass through the mountains on the Great Journey, Tallstar holds Crowpaw’s warrior ceremony, where Crowpaw requests to be named Crowfeather in honor of Feathertail. At their new home, Crowfeather develops feelings for ThunderClan’s medicine cat, Leafpool, and during Mudclaw’s rebellion, he saves her from death and confesses his love for her. The two meet in secret and ultimately run away from the Clans to be together. While traveling, they find Midnight, who warns them that her kin are planning to attack ThunderClan. The couple decides to go back and fight in the battle against the badgers. After the death of her mentor in the battle, Leafpool is left as her Clan’s sole medicine cat, and the two mournfully decide to separate. I love grumpy characters who often hide their feelings; it makes them more unpredictable and wonderful to read about.

2. Leafpaw/Leafpool

Leafpool is a small, lithe, pale brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes. She has a white chest and paws. Leafpaw is a ThunderClan medicine cat apprentice training under Cinderpelt. She shares a strong connection to her sister, Squirrelpaw, and the littermates can sense what the other is feeling or thinking. This ability proved helpful on Squirrelpaw’s journey to the sun-drown-place, when Leafpaw thinks of an herb needed to be used. Leafpaw befriends Mothwing, the new RiverClan medicine cat apprentice, and is trapped by Twolegs while looking for Brightheart and Cloudtail, and during this time, befriends a kittypet named Cody. She escapes with a rescue patrol led by Graystripe and Squirrelpaw. She takes part in the Great Journey and, guided by Spottedleaf, discovers the Moonpool by the lake, earning her full name, Leafpool. Leafpool and Crowfeather fall in love and decide to flee the Clans to be together. After one night, they meet a badger, Midnight, who tells them that her kin is planning to attack ThunderClan. Leafpool realizes that she cannot abandon her Clan and her medicine cat duties, deciding to go back. Crowfeather is heartbroken by her decision to leave him and takes her home. Cinderpelt dies in the attack, and Leafpool pledges her loyalty to being a medicine cat. For me, forbidden relationships are an exhilarating storyline in Warrior Cats, and Leafcrow is one of my favorite Warrior Cats ships. Overall, I found Leafpool to be a really interesting character whom I learned to love.

1. Squirrelpaw/Squirrelflight

Squirrelflight is a dark ginger tabby she-cat with one white paw, a squirrel-like bushy tail, and green eyes. Squirrelpaw is a ThunderClan apprentice and one of the daughters of Firestar, the Clan leader, and Sandstorm. She is mentored by Dustpelt and is stubborn and independent, often doing what she believes is right even if it is against her mentor’s wishes. She and her sister, Leafpaw, share a very close connection and have the ability to know what the other is feeling. She discovers that Brambleclaw is leaving on a journey to find Midnight, and convinces him to let her join, to which he reluctantly agrees. The two ThunderClan cats set out on their journey with Feathertail, Stormfur, Tawnypelt, and Crowpaw. Squirrelpaw earns their respect with her courage, and her connection with Leafpaw is used to recount the herbs to help heal Tawnypelt’s infected rat bite. After hearing Midnight’s message, the six cats return home, and she helps lead the Clans on the Great Journey to the lake territories. Firestar rewards her with her warrior name, Squirrelflight, for her courage and service to the Clans. While the Clans settle into their new territories, Brambleclaw becomes very close to his half-brother, Hawkfrost. Squirrelflight distrusts Hawkfrost and their relationship greatly, and after multiple arguments with Brambleclaw, they break up. She finds comfort in her friend, Ashfur, though she does not reciprocate the romantic feelings he has for her. When Brambleclaw saves Firestar from a fox trap set by Hawkfrost, she grows to trust Brambleclaw again, becoming mates shortly after. I love how Squirrelflight was a bold character, and she was my overall favorite from this arc.