After having this idea in my head for awhile, I finally decided to make something related to my Warriors AU (alternate universe), Power of Four. It's essentially a rewrite of Power of Three and Omen of the Stars, plus some of The New Prophecy. A lot of plot elements are changed or removed entirely, familial relations tweaked, and some characters taken out. The biggest change is that the three (now four) are each from a different clan and don't have powers. Instead, they're being mentored by Starclan (in a similar way to the Dark Forest trainees) and train under the original clan founders. Also, the Starclan and Dark Forest cats can't literally enter the real world, and instead are using the living cats to fight their battles for them. That being said, here's some more detailed info about this AU.

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Blurb

There will be four, heirs of thunder, wind, river, and shadow, who hold the fate of the stars in their paws.

The Great Journey brought the four clans to the edge of extinction. Alliances crumbled in the face of hunger and fear. Mudclaw, Windclan's self-declared leader following the sudden death of Tallstar, seemed determined to claim these new lands for Windclan, and any cat not ready to ally themselves with him was seen as a threat. Battles to drive back Mudclaw's relentless crusade, combined with hunger and sickness, eventually resulted in the loss of Leopardstar, Blackstar, and finally Firestar. With no way for deputies to receive their nine lives from Starclan, no one could truly fill the hole the fallen leaders had left behind. Cats called to the stars, but had no way to know if their ancestors walked these skies. Then, during one fateful battle, lightning came down from the heavens and struck a cliff bordering the moor. The cliff face cracked and gave way, burying the power-hungry Mudclaw in a shower of falling stone. The cats looked on with amazement as the cliff opened up to reveal a path down to a starlit pool, and in that pool were the feathers of a crow and tawny owl, a tendril of bramble, and the reflection of a storm. The will of Starclan was now clear. The clans must live in peace, and in place of their fallen leaders, new cats with an understanding of fellowship and loyalty beyond clan boundaries must rule. And so it came to be. Bramblestar, Crowstar, Stormstar, and Tawnystar ascended to leadership, and the clans lived in peace. But now a greater threat looms, and a long-forgotten prophecy threatens to entangle four young cats in a conflict they never could have imagined. The balance between light and darkness will hinge on the heirs of thunder, wind, river, and shadow.

Character Profiles

The Four

Lionblaze
Residence: Shadowclan
Mother: Tawnystar
Father: Rowanclaw
Siblings: Flametail and Dawnpelt
Shadowclan Mentor: Russetfur
Starclan Mentor: Shadowstar
History: Born to Tawnystar and Rowanclaw, Lionkit was confident, strong, and felt fully prepared for life as a warrior, long before he was ready to leave the nursery. His part in the prophecy will not only see him being tempted by the darkness at the claws of his grandfather, Tigerstar, but also require him to learn that fighting for what is right comes down to much more than teeth and claws.

Dovewing
Residence: Riverclan
Mother: Brook
Father: Stormstar
Sibling: Ivypool
Riverclan Mentor: Reedwhisker
Starclan Mentor: Riverstar
History: In this AU, Brook followed Stormfur to the lake territories, instead of him staying behind with her. Hawkfrost also doesn't exist in this AU, so there was no one to drive him away from Riverclan. He would later be chosen by Starclan to lead his clan as Stormstar, and together he and Brook had Dovekit and Ivykit. From the moment she was born, Dovekit was sure she wasn't destined for anything great. Small, clumsy, and not particularly athletically inclined, she was more than happy to walk in the shadow of her overachieving sister. When she discovers that she is a major player in a great prophecy, she's sure that there has to be some mistake, and must learn that a Warrior's virtues extend far beyond just hunting and fighting.

Jayfeather
Residence: Thunderclan
Biological Mother: Leafpool
Biological Father: Crowstar
Adoptive Mother: Squirrelflight
Adoptive Father: Bramblestar
Biological Sibling: Hollyleaf
Adoptive Siblings: Foxleap and Blossomfall (in this AU they are the kits of Sorreltail, the cat that nursed Jayfeather)
Thunderclan Mentor: Birchfall (temporarily) - Leafpool
Starclan Mentor: Thunderstar
History: While Jayfeather doesn't know about his true parentage in this AU, both his adoptive and biological parents do. When Crowstar was called to be leader of Windclan and Leafpool called to be Thunderclan's medicine cat, they knew their relationship couldn't go on. When Leafpool eventually gave birth to two kits, it was decided that one would stay with her, and another would go to live with Crowstar. Leafpool kept the tiny gray tom, whom she named Jaykit, and Crowstar took the fluffy black she-cat. Bramblestar agreed with his mate that they would pose as the kit's mother and father, so that he wouldn't face being discriminated against for his parentage. Jaykit was suckled by Sorreltail, and raised alongside Foxleap and Blossomfall. In this AU, Jaykit actually wants to be a medicine cat, but feels that he has to train as a warrior to prove himself to everyone. It will take true strength to learn that his self worth is not reliant on other cats' standards, and that his own dreams are worth valuing.

Hollyleaf
Residence: Windclan
Biological Mother: Leafpool
Biological Father: Crowstar
Adoptive Mother: Nightcloud
Biological Sibling: Jayfeather
Adoptive Sibling: Breezepelt
Windclan Mentor: Onewhisker (who is never made deputy by Tallstar in this AU, and instead becomes deputy to Crowstar)
Starclan Mentor: Windstar
History: After being torn apart by their obligations to their clans, Crowstar and Leafpool knew that they couldn't raise their two kits together. So Leafpool took Jaykit, and Crowstar took the black she-kit that he named Hollykit. Nightcloud, a nursing queen, agreed to suckle Hollykit on the condition that Crowstar was to claim her son, Breezekit, as his own. In actuality, Breezekit's father was the deceased Mudclaw, and Nightcloud didn't want her son to live in his father's dark shadow. Hollykit and Breezekit were raised together as siblings, neither knowing that they didn't share blood. Crowstar and Nightcloud grew close in this time, and although they don't feel romantic love for one another, they are very dear friends. Hollyleaf grows into a determined Warrior with the urge to make her clan proud and live up to the legacy of her father. She is a bit of an overachiever and doesn't take failure well. When the reveal of a devastating secret brings her world crashing down, she must learn how to operate outside the idealistic parameters she has created for herself, and see that some of the most beautiful things in the world are not so easily defined

Dark Forest Trainees

Flametail
Residence: Shadowclan
Mother: Tawnystar
Father: Rowanclaw
Siblings: Lionblaze and Dawnpelt
Shadowclan Mentor: Littlecloud
Dark Forest Mentor: Ravenwing (the medicine cat that revealed the father of Mapleshade's kits in Mapleshade's Vengeance)
History: Enthusiastic and eager to help, Flametail is lured into the Dark Forest under the promise of becoming a better medicine cat. Ravenwing, a bitter cat attempting to increase his standings in the Dark Forest and oust his old rival, Mapleshade, uses Flametail to dispense false prophecies to the clans.

Ivypool
Residence: Riverclan
Mother: Brook
Father: Stormstar
Sibling: Dovewing
Riverclan Mentor: Mistyfoot
Dark Forest Mentor: Thistleclaw
History: From the beginning it was thought that, out of Stormstar's two daughters, Ivypool would be the one to achieve greatness and maybe even become leader herself someday. When instead her sister is chosen for a great prophecy, Ivypool's world is shattered, and she is lured into the Dark Forest by Thistleclaw, a cat who too was corrupted by envy.

Blossomfall
Residence: Thunderclan
Mother: Sorreltail
Father: Brackenfur
Biological Sibling: Foxleap
Adoptive Sibling: Jayfeather
Thunderclan Mentor: Whitewing
Dark Forest Mentor: Mapleshade
History: In this AU, Blossomfall is the daughter of Sorreltail and Brackenfur, sibling to Foxleap, and adoptive sibling to Jayfeather. She serves as a dark mirror to Jayfeather when she is crippled in an accident (not as severely as Briarlight in the main series, but enough that it impairs her ability to hunt) and lured into the Dark Forest by the promise that they can teach her how to be a great warrior despite this. She is convinced by them that she is useless to her clan if she can't be a normal warrior, and is used as a tool for Mapleshade to continue her quest for revenge against Thunderclan.

Breezepelt
Residence: Windclan
Mother: Nightcloud
Biological Father: Mudclaw
Adoptive Father: Crowstar
Adoptive Sibling: Hollyleaf
Windclan Mentor: Ashfoot
Dark Forest Mentor: Mudclaw
History: Nightcloud loved Mudclaw, and watched with a broken heart as he was corrupted by fear and greed. When he was finally struck down in battle, and she gave birth to their son alone, she knew that the tiny tom must not be made to live in his father's shadow. So she made a deal with Crowstar that she would raise Hollykit, the daughter he had conceived with Leafpool, but only if Crowstar would claim Breezekit as his own. The two made a life for themselves, and raised the two kits together as littermates. Breezepelt never knew of his real father, but was always frustrated at Crowstar's seemingly aloof attitude towards him. Truthfully, this was how Crowstar interacted with everyone, including Hollyleaf, and although he had a hard time expressing it, he loved both kits dearly. But when the truth finally comes out about Breezepelt's true parentage, Breezepelt convinces him that Crowstar could never love him because he wasn't his real son. He is lured into the Dark Forest by Mudclaw, who pretends to give him the love that Crowstar seemingly never did, and uses Breezepelt's desire for revenge to wage war on Starclan.

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So yeah, that kind of gives you a general idea of what this AU is about. I'm not planning on making a fanfic or comic out of this, before anyone asks, but I might make some follow-up drawings at some point.

This particular drawing is based on some Disney Renaissance posters in layout, hence the 'VexVamp Presents' thing. It was also a sneaky way to put my name on it, rather than having to cover it up with a watermark, because Warriors fan art tends to be readily stolen. I really liked the idea of having the two sides of the characters contrasting, to show the duality of their destinies. In this AU there's no guarantee that they will save the clans. Their choices will determine the balance between light and darkness (or in this case Starclan and the Dark Forest), and I liked the idea of playing around with that in the drawing. For the designs I opted to make Lionblaze a Maine coon mix, Dovewing a pointed British shorthair mix with gold eyes (I personally like her best with green eyes, but wanted all of them to have different eye colors), Jayfeather an oriental shorthair mix, and Hollyleaf an oriental longhair mix. I just wanted them to have very distinct body shapes and facial structure.

Anyway, I hope you guys like this. If you want to make something related to this AU, feel free, just remember to credit me for the idea.

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No critique desired. Please respect that.

The original characters and Warriors series belong to Erin Hunter

The art and AU idea are copyright © VexVamp, and you are not permitted to steal, trace, copy, reference, or otherwise redistribute them in any way. I also do not want to see this posted on RP sites, Facebook, YouTube, etc. That's still art theft.