BEFORE YOU REPLY: READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH. I have to mention a contradiction in the books that deals with this, so please read first!

ALSO: SPOILER ALERT

Introduction

Many Warriors fans think that Firestar died by a tree falling on him, of wounds as confirmed by the Erin Hunter authors, and even by lightning.

Argument #1: Smoke Inhalation

Well I'm here to propose my idea, which is that Firestar died from smoke inhalation. Think about it: Remember how the already-fallen birch tree was struck by lightning and caught on fire? That's the source of the smoke.

When Firestar finally defeated the main villain of the whole series (i.e. Tigerstar), the smoke would already have been able to move around the camp. So when Tigerstar was defeated, Firestar was left to breathe in the smoke.

Argument #2: Firestar's Wounds

If Firestar had died from wounds, he would not have lost a life that quickly after the battle. Instead, he would have been slowly collapsing. But of course, the smoke that is blocking the view of the current cat's perspective was surrounding Firestar. And, since Firestar was most likely exhausted from battling Tigerstar, he would need to breathe in air. But what air was left to breathe in except smoke from the fire?

Argument #3: Concluding Argument #1 (A1) and Counter-Argument (CA) Against the Tree Argument

That's how I believe Firestar died. Not from wounds, not from the tree because, again, the beech tree was the one that already fell when it fell on Longtail and Briarlight in a previous book of the Omen of the Stars series.

Argument #4: Evidence Against the Lightning Argument

And lightning did not strike Firestar. I have evidence as well, if someone chooses to counter my argument:

Evidence #1: The Last Hope on the Tree, Smoke, and Fire

(The bold and underlined words are to be noted as information that is important)

"As she spoke, lightning cracked the sky. She looked up as a bolt of lightning struck the fallen beech beside Firestar. The tree exploded into flame. Smoke rolled over Firestar. Eyes streaming, chest burning, Dovewing struggled to see her Clan leader. As she peered through the smoke, the clouds opened. Rain pounded the hollow. The burning beech hissed and crackled as the fire died." (The Last Hope, page 324)

Summary of Quote:

1. The lightning hit the already-fallen tree

2. The lightning hit the tree next to Firestar

3. Smoke was already surrounding Firestar

4. Dovewing, the viewpoint of this chapter, could not see Firestar in the smoke.

5. The burning tree went out after the rain doused it.

Argument #4 Continued

So, the lightning hit the fallen tree next to Firestar, and after that, the smoke from that fire was surrounding Firestar. After that, Dovewing was blinded by the smoke and was unable to see Firestar, who was possibly already losing his life from the smoke. (NOTE: Tigerstar is already dead)

And finally, rain fell and put out the fire on the fallen tree.

That's my first argument, but of course, we have the quote from The Ultimate Guide, which was written after The Last Hope, giving time for the Erins to decide how Firestar really died.

Counter-Argument: The Ultimate Guide Quote

I stick to The Last Hope for my evidence because The Ultimate Guide had some errors in it, most likely because the Erins had just finished writing all of the main series from The Prophecies Begin arc to The Last Hope.

Here is the quote from the guide:

Evidence #2: The Ultimate Guide Quote

Again, the underlining and bold text are important to notice.

"Face-to-face with his enemy Firestar, Tigerstar struck the fatal blow that took the ThunderClan leader's ninth life. But Firestar matched it with a strike that ended Tigerstar's existence in the Dark Forest, and put him beyond revenge, beyond influence, and beyond a warrior's darkest dreams once and for all." (The Ultimate Guide, page 74)

Notice

I just realized something here: Firestar matched Tigerstar's attack with another attack, but Firestar was not mentioned to be fighting with Tigerstar when Dovewing was watching, but was mentioned when the lightning struck the fallen tree and then when smoke surrounded Firestar.

Misunderstanding of the Field Guide Quote

Yet, the quote from the guide can be misunderstood, as I just misunderstood the fact that Firestar attacked Tigerstar at the same time that Tigerstar attacked Firestar. Rather, Firestar died when Tigerstar died because they both attacked each other. It was a sped-up "battle", if it can even be called a battle, and it was a bit rushed, as I would say.

Irrelevant Argument (not valid in this forum post anymore)

If you are confused as to what I misunderstood, here is what I had typed before rereading the quote:

(Note: The following text is not included in my official argument, as I realized I made a mistake in interpreting the words, but I put it as a strikethrough (on Wattpad, this is underlined and italicized) because of that error.)

But, of course, I have a counter-argument to that quote: If Firestar was still alive after defeating Tigerstar, how would he have died immediately from wounds? And also, how did Tigerstar get killed by Firestar after Tigerstar killed Firestar?! It's a contradiction!

1. Tigerstar kills Firestar, taking his last life.

2. Somehow, Firestar, who should be dead now because Tigerstar did that, killed Tigerstar.

Is it a thing where Firestar was already part of StarClan when he killed Tigerstar? It's contradicting the fact that leaders pass out after losing a life! Tigerstar was killed instantly when Scourge killed him in one blow, but Tigerstar didn't kill Scourge after the BloodClan cat killed him!

So to sum this up, here are some equations of Warriors logic:

Tigerstar is killed by Scourge = Tigerstar immediately dead

Scourge not killed by Tigerstar = Tigerstar is still dead

Firestar is killed by Dark Forest Tigerstar = Firestar not dead, but should be

Tigerstar killed by Firestar = Tigerstar vanish because he's dead twice, but Firestar dies afterwards?? Did Firestar die twice or not die at all?

Actual Summary of Arguments:

And to actually sum it all up, because the previous argument about Firestar being dead, but killing Tigerstar was false, here is the actual equation format:

Tigerstar VS. Firestar Duel-Attack

Tigerstar and Firestar attack each other = Both die at the same time somehow

(Again, it was rushed at the ending; I was hoping for a bigger battle, like Tigerstar taunting Firestar; maybe he did, but I haven't reread the last book in the Omen of the Stars series since January 2015.)

Lightning, Smoke, and Fire Equation

Lightning + Already-fallen beech tree = tree is on fire

Tree on fire = Smoke

Smoke surrounds Firestar = Firestar inhales it if he is not dead by the time the tree is struck and the fire creates smoke

Firestar inhales the smoke = Firestar dies by smoke inhalation

Counter-Arguments

If I have counter-arguments here, which I'm postive I will have many, here are my counters:

Counter-Argument #1: Wounds; Erin confirmed

Firestar died from wounds. The Erins confirmed it.

I know they wrote the book, but they wrote the field guide after the last book in the Omen of the Stars series, but they wrote that guide long after the series was finished. So they must have come to that conclusion after possibly making the realization that they needed a reason for Firestar's death. Thus, they came to the Scourge-Tigerstar concept of killing with one hit, but at the same time for both Firestar and Tigerstar. If Firestar died from wounds, he would have lost his last life instantly in front of Dovewing instead of being hidden by the smoke that settled in after the beech tree was struck.

Counter-Argument #2: Lightning

It was the lightning.

It struck the already-fallen beech tree. Read the first quote from the book in my argument.

Counter-Argument #3: Tree Falling

The tree fell on him.

It was the already-fallen beech tree from the book when Longtail and Briarlight had a beech tree fall on them, which was earlier in the series.

Counter-Argument #4: Arguing With the Erins

You're wrong. The Erins are always right. Don't argue with an author. They make it up, not you! Go to the Dark Forest!

I just interpreted how he died, not stating that is the actual reason. But I do have evidence to back it up and also, the Erins are indeed the authors, but they make mistakes as we all do sometimes, and they also, as stated by many readers, rushed the ending of the last book in the Omen of the Stars series. Finally, I will go to my den now. May StarClan light your path, young warrior.

Conclusion

And that, my friends, is my idea on Firestar.

May the Jay always be in flight!

~Jayflight642