Villains are integral to the Warriors books. Were it not for the dual, escalating threat of, first Tigerstar, and then Scourge, Firestar might not have become the legendary leader and hero that he did. Though it’s doubtless that most Clan cats, and especially Clan leaders, would prefer a life of little to no trouble, it is when faced with enemies and threats that a warrior cat gets to be a warrior, in every sense of the word.

While developing A Vision of Shadows, the team considered not only the emotional journeys its three point-of-view cats could take, but also what kinds of threats (physical and psychological) might provide new kinds tests for the Clans. Since we knew we’d be re-joining the “present day”—after some time spent exploring the series’ history and mythology in the Dawn of the Clans arc—we hoped to present the characters with the kind of challenge they had not yet faced before. An enemy who would provide the most difficult of trials in a post-Firestar world.

With the most recent villains in the timeline being the cats of the Dark Forest, it was agreed that this new threat should be a living cat, and pretty soon we had a clear idea of who this living cat could be. Beyond the usual descriptors of “aggressive” and “relentless,” “fierce” and “pitiless,” we also began to explore the possibility that this villain could have a secret, theoretically scandalous, connection to one of the Clan cats—so that their presence had the potential to sow mistrust and division, as well as cause physical harm.

It was not long before a vague picture of the cat who would eventually be known as Darktail began to come together. In practical terms, we knew it would be necessary for him to have followers—because even a cat as tough and merciless as the one we were imagining would not be able to take on a Clan by himself!—and when discussing how and why cats would follow this menacing brute, it felt obvious that he would have to be a strong and charismatic figure. Someone who could talk cats into doing what he wanted.

As soon as we decided this, we realized we had opened up some intriguing possibilities for more drama among the Clans; the starting points of philosophical discussions that could become full-blown arguments (that Darktail could very well exploit, if he were so inclined… which, of course, he is!). We asked ourselves, what would it take for previously honorable cats to fall under the spell of a wicked tom like Darktail? As complicated and rich as the characters are, we try to never lose sight of the fact that they are cats, with a cat’s instincts and preoccupations—a central one being, survival. Would Darktail be appealing to certain warriors, because his toughness, and his ruthlessness, might look like a simple, sure way of ensuring a Clan has enough to eat, and enough cats to fend off external threats?

Slowly but surely, a true villain was emerging—one who posed both a philosophical, as well as an immediate/physical threat to the Clans. And then there was the aforementioned “secret/scandalous connection” to one of the cats by the lake, which we knew would serve as Darktail’s motivation to launch his campaign against the Clans, and their entire way of life, based on the belief that he is in the right.