Warriors: What If?

The Dark Forest

Hi, Rio here, bringing you another What If. I'm insanely busy right now and didn't really have the time to research everything, so if something's wrong, point it out :P

Question: What if the Dark Forest was widely known about in the Clans?

Obviously, many cats who start training in the Dark Forest have no idea what it is and think that they're in StarClan. But, if the Dark Forest really was known by the Clans and commonly talked about (as a potential danger), would they ever really have a shot at recruiting members?

There will always be evil, no matter how hard a society tries, so cats with bad intentions will still end up in the Dark Forest, but in cases like Antpelt and many other cats who were too afraid to fight on their own Clans' sides in the Great Battle, they might not have been tricked into training in the Dark Forest in the first place.

First let's look at how a cat is tricked into training for the Dark Forest when they don't have evil intentions. Ivypool and Crookedstar are both great examples for this.

When Ivypool was taken into the Dark Forest, she was jealous of her sister. So, she already was harboring some negative emotions, but seeing as she ended up spying for the Clans, she was still a loyal, good cat. But Hawkfrost knew that she would be emotionally weaker with her hatred for Dovewing, so he took advantage of her. 

Hawkfrost, at first, taught her hunting techniques. Visiting him and learning more made Ivypaw a better apprentice, so she was happy to learn from him. He then starts teaching her battle moves, but Jayfeather intervenes before things get worse. 

Crookedkit had broken his jaw and had fallen behind. He wouldn't be an apprentice with his brother, and he would be injured forever on his jaw. But Mapleshade gave him a shot, teaching him battle moves that made him feel more powerful and made him a better fighter. Mapleshade always told him that he had a great destiny and would be a leader, no matter what Rainflower told him. 

Eventually, after Crookedjaw had fallen in love with Willowbreeze, he decided that Mapleshade was evil (she was trying to convince him not to love her, as she still harbors a grudge against Appledusk). He tried to kill her but was unsuccessful. 

So, we can see that the Dark Forest appeals to cats who feel forgotten and unimportant and unskilled. Neither Crookedkit nor Ivypaw would have fallen into the trap if they had known truly what the Dark Forest had done and could do.

If the Dark Forest was widely known about by the Clans, they would have trouble recruiting members.

Breezepelt is an example of a cat who does have bad intentions. He tried to kill Poppyfrost and Leafpool, and he was raised bitter and angry by Nightcloud. Whether or not he had known about the Dark Forest, Breezepelt probably would've still turned out badly.

But most of the Dark Forest recruits probably didn't know the extent of the evil when they first joined, and as they moved higher in the ranks, they couldn't go back, either from fear or because they had been convinced.

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