Shadeleap takes a look at Nightheart’s thoughts during the first two books of A Starless Clan.
Hello BlogClan! Iโve made a few articles about A Starless Clan now, and a lot of them are about Nightheart. This one is no different, as you can tell from the title ๐
SPOILERS FOR RIVER AND SKY (I know Shadow is out now, but Iโm mainly talking about his struggle in the first two books, which Shadow doesnโt have a lot of)
So, in the first two books of ASC, Nightheart (Or Flamepaw for most of River) isโฆ angry. He feels like heโs been judged because heโs a descendant of Firestar and is named after him. Heโs angry because he looks nothing like Firestar and wants to be seen for him, not his ancestor. There are 2 main reasons why this doesnโt make sense.
#1: Everyone is a Firestar descendant
Look, I know that everyone and their mother brings up this argument when talking about this tom, but I canโt overlook it.
(From the allegiances of Sky) These are the current living cats that are blood related to Firestar and also living in ThunderClan:
Squirrelflight, Jayfeather, Alderheart, Whitewing, Bayshine, Finchlight, Ivypool, Eaglewing, Myrtlebloom, Dewnose, Thriftear, Hollytuft, Fernsong, Honeyfur, Sparkpelt, Sorrelstripe, Flipclaw, Leafshade, Lionblaze, Spotfur, Bristlekit, Stemkit, and Graykit.
Most of these cats, like Lionblaze, Sparkpelt, or Whitewing, are closer to Firestar than Nightheart, and yet they never had these expectations placed on him. Why single out Nightheart? It makes no sense. There are cats like Alderheart or Sparkpelt who look like him more than Nightheart does, and Sparkpelt is even named after him too. Sheโs said to be identical to Firestar as well, so much so that Graystripe thought sheโd be named Sparkfire. It makes no sense to single out Nightheart.
#2: Heโs not the only one named after another cat
This is a huge thing for Nightheart. His given name, Flamekit, is so obviously a nod to Firestar that itโs painful. This is a major struggle for Nightheart, and he goes so far as to reject his name.
Butโฆ Why? Why is Nightheart the only one to struggle under the weight of a name?
(From the allegiances of Sky) These are the current cats in ThunderClan that are confirmed to be named after another cat:
Bramblestar (After Tigerstar (The -claw suffix)), Jayfeather (After Crowfeather (and technically Feathertail too)), Cinderheart (After Cinderpelt), Hollytuft (After Hollyleaf), Fernsong (After Ferncloud), Sorrelstripe (After Sorreltail), Sparkpelt (After Firestar), Bristlekit (After Bristlefrost), Stemkit (After Stemleaf), and Graykit (After Graystripe)
Also I have a headcanon that Honeyfur is named after Honeyfern but thatโs just me
So Iโm probably not going to go through all theseโฆ but so many of these cats have a better reason to feel the pressure of legacy than Nightheart.
Bramblestar: This is probably the only cat that this pressure was focused on, but it wasnโt because of his name. It was because of his pelt color. And it makes sense that he would feel like this, because his namesake was evil.
Cinderheart: The cat that Cinderheart is named after is so important. Not only was Cinderpelt an honored medicine cat, but she gave her life to save her Clan. She showed that she was loyal to the Clan and did so much in the service of it. She was such a prominent figure in TPB and TNP, and although she was only there for a short time, she is very memorable.
Bristlekit: I know sheโs still a kit, but sheโs named after one of the more popular characters. Bristlefrost literally gave her entire existence to save all five Clans. Sheโs also Bristlekitโs cousin, so thereโs that.
Graykit: Graystripe, even if he is losing popularity among the fandom, is a kind of important character. He had a part in TBC and had a lot of important kits. A lot of his Clanmates see Graystripe as a super noble and honorable warrior. It just makes sense for him to feel the struggle.
But nope, Nightheart is the only one with this issue. After 8 arcs and more SEโs, novellas, and graphic novels with legacy named cats, this is ONLY Nightheartโs issue. Firestar isnโt the only great cat in the forest! Nightheart shouldnโt be the only character struggling with this.
It just doesnโt make sense.
Well thatโs all I got! Do you agree with me?
Thanks for reading!
-Shadeleap
All of you guys are saying that Nightheart shouldn’t feel the pressure, but I think it’s weird that no other cat feels it! I mean, I completely understand that he’s being pressured to be like Firestar, but I don’t understand that others don’t get stressed from the pressure!
Because Nightheart’s a selfish jerk, that’s why.
Awesome article!