The night where it all began was a bright one.

The world was kissed in silver as the full moon hung solidly over the distant mountains. Its soft light gleamed off the crests of waves lapping on the island's shore and glittered through the fur of the gathered warrior cats.
The cats were starved and desperate. Despite the warm breeze blowing through the trees that promised plentiful hunting , there was no prey. No birds sang in the trees. No mice crept through the leaf-litter. No rabbits leaped across the moors. No fish swam through the streams.
The Clans looked doomed. If something didn't happen soon, they would all starve.
Blackstar, the ShadowClan leader, prowled back and forth. "How can this happen?" he snarled at the sky. "How can StarClan fail us like this? This is newleaf! It is supposed to be the season of bounty!" Flecks of foam flicked across his jaws, displaying a once-proud Clan leader on the brink of madness.
"Blackstar," murmured Firestar, the leader of ThunderClan. "Calm yourself. You are frightening the apprentices."
The small cats that huddled in the centre of the Gathering did not appear to have even heard the tom. Their fur was ragged and tangled, their ribs plain for all to see. Brambleclaw, deputy of ThunderClan, sighed and dug his claws into the soft earth. Nothing they had done worked. They had given the weaker members of the Clan all the prey, just as the warrior code dictated. It hadn't stopped Ferncloud and Daisy's kits from dying, their fluttering heartbeats growing softer and softer until their tiny bodies could not sustain their fragile lives. Jayfeather, the medicine cat, had stuffed the elders with dwindling supplies of herbs, but it hadn't stopped Mousefur and Purdy from wasting away until one morning they simply did not wake up.
At first, it had been elders and kits who faded to StarClan. Now, apprentices and warriors were taking their places. Hazeltail had died just two suns ago. And the unthinkable had been brought up. By Berrynose, of course. Hazeltail would want them to, he had argued, would want her body to be a source of strength for the Clan. By doing it, it would mean that less cats would die, and they would last long enough for their fortunes to turn. Firestar had automatically refused, but if the prey didn't return to the territories soon…Brambleclaw shuddered.
He knew his heart too well. When Hazeltail had died, he had been one of the cats who buried her. Along the way her thin skin was punctured by a sharp rock and her blood had wet the earth.
A cat he'd known since she was a kit, a cat under his responsibility, was dead, and his mouth had watered at the scent of her blood. He hated himself.

A shrill yowl shattered the mild air. Brambleclaw shook himself and looked up.
It was Littlecloud, the ShadowClan medicine cat, and he was pelting towards the island at full speed. His lithe form flashed across the fallen tree-trunk connecting them to the mainland and he leaped to the bottom of the tree trunk. A faint stir ran through the Clan cats. Nobody ran like that anymore unless they really, really had to…
"Littlecloud," growled Blackstar, "what in the name of StarClan is the meaning of this?"
"But that's just it, Blackstar! A sign from StarClan!"
If Littlecloud's mindless dash had intrigued the crowd, the prospect of a message from their warrior ancestors enthralled them. Every pair of hungry eyes was fixed on the tiny medicine cat.
Littlecloud shuddered, his emaciated flanks heaving as he tried to regain his breath.
"I had fallen asleep," he began, tail twitching, "when I had a dream that I was in a barren wasteland. There was a Gathering of StarClan cats from every Clan. I heard Nightstar, the old leader of ShadowClan, say, 'This is all that's left of the Clan's territories!' And the old ThunderClan leader, Bluestar, shook her head.
"Perhaps not," she said, with a glimmer of hope in her eye. "The sacrifice approaches."
And then I saw a group of cats-oh, they were so skinny- leading a massive beast, a wolf, I think. They were both Tribe and Clan cats. The leader of those cats turned to face the wolf and slashed its throat open. As it fell to the ground, its blood soaked the earth and grass began to sprout. Soon the territories were back to normal, and there was so much prey! Then Nightstar turned to me and said, "Littlecloud, the Tribe of Rushing Water has caught a wolf. It must be brought to the Island and sacrificed to StarClan. Only then will the prey begin to run once more." And then I woke up."

The tom gasped for air, after his lengthy tale.
"A wolf!" Mistystar of RiverClan gasped.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" growled Onestar of WindClan, and turned to face his cats.
"Stop!" said Firestar. "Who is to go? It can't be all of us."
"It might need to be," replied Mistystar. "A wolf is a dangerous beast. For those who don't know what one is, picture an animal that's like a dog but twice the size, and with all the cunning of a cat."
"Some must stay behind and care for the cats that can't make the journey," replied Firestar with composure.
"Isn't that what medicine cats are for?" hissed a ShadowClan warrior, quietly.
Jayfeather jumped to his paws. "You'll need medicine cats most of all on this journey," he snapped. "We can use poppy seeds to keep the beast drugged and docile. Without us-"
"Thank you, Jayfeather." interrupted Firestar. "You've made your point. A medicine cat will be one of the cats travelling to the mountains."
"If you like," said Willowshine, the grey RiverClan medicine cat apprentice, "I'll go. That way, every Clan still has a medicine cat."
"Done. Willowshine is going." Mistystar looked pleased. Brambleclaw held back a snort. As if what Clan the medicine cat comes from makes a difference! Everyone knows they stand outside of Clan borders.
"But what about the warriors?" pressed Blackstar.
Onestar coughed. "It's my opinion that the cats who are going should probably be our strongest warriors. They're the only ones who will be capable of making such a long journey."
"Which rules your Clan out then, doesn't it?" Lionblaze, a ThunderClan warrior and Brambleclaw's own foster son, growled under his breath, fortunately not loud enough for any WindClan warriors to hear. Brambleclaw glared at him. The accusation was neither fair nor true. It was also hypocritical, since Lionblaze was half-WindClan himself.

Firestar's gaze swept his cats. "Squirrelflight, Lionblaze, Thornclaw and Spiderleg will be ThunderClan's contribution."
"No special apprentices this time, Firestar?" drawled Blackstar. Dovewing dropped her head in embarrassment.
"There will be no apprentices." said Mistystar coldly. "Excluding Willowshine, of course. Robinwing, Beetlewhisker, Petalfur, and Reedwhisker will be RiverClan's." Reedwhisker, the RiverClan deputy, looked startled.
"That seems hardly fair," Brambleclaw found himself protesting. "You can't send your deputy." Mistystar glanced at him, and seemed almost half-ashamed. "He is one of my strongest warriors," was all she murmured.
Onestar sighed. "Crowfeather, Heathertail, Owlwhisker and Harespring." Brambleclaw noticed that toms were making up a large proportion of the party.
Blackstar looked annoyed at the prospect of giving up four of his best warriors. "Tigerheart, Smokefoot, Tawnypelt and Rowanclaw." He too had named his deputy. Mistystar scowled.
"Done then!" Firestar sounded-for the first time since leaf-fall-cheerful. Hopeful. "You sixteen-seventeen, sorry, Willowshine-will go to the Tribe of Rushing Water and ask for their…prisoner. You will bring it back here and all will be well. I don't think I have to explain to you how vital your task is. Tawnypelt and Squirrelflight will lead the way, as they have travelled there before, but Rowanclaw and Reedwhisker are in charge."
"We're leaving now?" asked Squirrelflight, surprised.
"Unless you have a reason for staying?"
"No." The ginger she-cat shook her head. "Right! Let's roll!"
"This Gathering is dismissed." Blackstar called, leaping down from the tree.
As Brambleclaw waited for ThunderClan to pass, he heard Jayfeather mutter, "And it'll be as easy as that, will it?"