Who are the cats on A Vision of Shadows book covers?
BY THE EDITOR
The Warriors book covers feature some gorgeous art – but which cats are featured on which covers? Just check out our handy guide below to find out which characters appear on the covers of the six books of A Vision of Shadows!
The Apprentice’s Quest – Alderpaw and Needlepaw
This particularly shadowy arc starts off with an ominousy lit cover, featuring the anxious ThunderClan apprentice Alderpaw as the cat closest to the camera and the daring, defiant ShadowClan apprentice Needlepaw further back and to the left. As the sun sets on them, they have no way of knowing that the sun is also setting on SkyClan’s time in the gorge, and on the peace that had lasted around the lake since the Great Battle – but the breeze sweeping away a trail of blood-red petals, leading to a group of shadowy cats watching the young Clan cats, hints at the dark times to come.
Thunder and Shadow – Twigkit and Violetkit
“Embrace what you find in the shadows, for only they can clear the sky” was StarClan’s command in the last bookk, and we certainly get a sense of those shadows in this lovely nighttime cover art, depicting the supposed subjects of the prophecy, sisters Twigkit and Violetkit. We see their youth in their wide eyes and hunched, uncertain air, the air of two young cats pulled apart from each other in the name of a prophecy they might not even be a part of for Clans that don’t fully appreciate them. Shafts of silver moonlight spill onto the gorgeous greenery of the forest around them, with stars sparkling in the gloom away from the glowing full moon, making for a gorgeous atmosphere and a beautiful cover.
Shattered Sky – Darktail and Needletail
The series midpoint gives us Needletail‘s second cover appearance, but she’s no longer the cheeky, confident apprentice we saw walking head and tail high in the last cover. Now, she’s crouching before the vicious rogue leader Darktail, the cat she helped take over her Clan, who she had once idolized, but who she now finally recognizes for just how cruel and dangerous he truly is. The uneasy yellow glow of the sky and light around them echoes Needletail’s clear unease as Darktail looms over her. Though no claw is raised and no fang expose, the threat is clear – and it is not one that Needletail will survive.
Darkest Night – Bramblestar and Hawkwing
The Clans may have thought that the worst of the darkness had passed with Darktail gone, but the wonderfully dark and deep blues of this nighttime cover shows how wrong they are. SkyClan gets their first debut in the main series cover art with the appearance of the gray tabby deputy Hawkwing on the right, standing strong and confident beside the darker tabby ThunderClan leader Bramblestar on the left. Behind them, we see cats crossing the tree-bridge to the Gathering island, hinting at the interClan tensions that will arise as a result of SkyClan’s presence at the lake.
River of Fire – Leafstar and Rowanclaw
With the blazing reds and oranges of fire in the main art, and the soothing blues of the river in the font, this cover matches its title well! SkyClan leader Leafstar on the right stands tall and strong against the infero around her as its light turns her cream-and-brown coat to a flaming ginger, clearly showing her mettle as a leader. In contrast, the self-deposed former ShadowClan leader Rowanclaw on the left is hunched and hanging further back in the frame, looking at the much more confident leader he willingly gave up his power to.
The Raging Storm – Twigbranch and Violetshine
In many ways, this cover is the sequel of sorts to the cover of Thunder and Shadow. It once again features Twigbranch and Violetshine, but just through these two images we have followed the pair through a long journey, from awkward, gangly kittens unsure of their place in the world, to confident and well-grown warriors who carved a place for themselves where they are accepted and loved. The undergrowth is green and lush all around them, and they no longer crouch alone in the moonlight, but sit up straight, basking in the shafts of sunlight in the forest home they fought to make their home.
