Prologue
All was quiet except for the rustling leaves of the trees and the quiet squeaking of small creatures as they skittered among the bushes. Time passed, and the shadows lengthened in the hollow as the moon rose and shone brightly, an emissary of celestial light. The wind continued to breathe softly as it travelled through the dark sky, on its way to places far beyond the reach of the hollow, farther than the reach of the entire forest. With the twitch of a tiny chipmunk's ear, the rustling of a patch of grass, and the flap of a pigeon's wing, the forest continued its quiet dance.
A mouse raised its head with a jerk, pausing on its mission to search for nuts or tiny scraps to eat. Was that a rumbling noise that it heard in the distance? Perhaps it was the far away rumble of a monster on the path nearby… But no, the noise wasn't approaching the hollow from that direction. The noise grew louder and louder, and with a twitch of its whiskers and a couple beats of its nervous heart, the mouse skittered away.
With a noise like a thunderstorm in the middle of Greenleaf, the cats arrived at the hollow. In the lead was a gray she-cat who paused at the top. She turned her head to gaze around the area. Fourtrees, Bluestar thought, inwardly sighing. With Brokenstar acting more assertive and aggressive each day, I worry for this Gathering. Sensing the growing tension and excitement in the cats behind her, she flexed her muscled shoulders and leapt into the clearing. She could feel the wind rushing against her fur, and at her flank she could sense the cats of Thunderclan as they pounded along behind her.
By the time they reached the hollow, Bluestar was able to scent Windclan and Riverclan arriving. In almost no time at all, it seemed, the previously empty and quiet hollow was brimming with cats. The air filled with the sounds of three Clans mewing about what had happened over the last moon. Almost before she was able to scent them, Shadowclan appeared, with a dark brown tabby tom in the lead. His amber eyes glinted for a moment as he stood at the top of the hollow and gathered his clan around him. Then with a flick of his tail they streamed down and joined the rest of the clans.
Nodding to her deputy, Lionheart, Bluestar leapt up onto the Great Rock, turned to face the sprawl of cats below her, and settled down to wait. She gazed up at the dark sky. A few wispy clouds covered a couple shining warriors of Starclan, and above them hung the brilliant white moon. The moon is beautiful tonight, Bluestar thought to herself. Perhaps it can see itself reflected in the many pairs of bright eyes below me. Hopefully it is a sign that this night will bring a peaceful and friendly Gathering. As Brokenstar, the leader of Shadowclan, leapt up beside her with an air of triumph, Bluestar's initial feelings of insecurity escalated to the beginning of full-on fear. She forced her hackles down as Crookedstar and Tallstar joined her at the top of the Great Rock.
As the four leaders waited for the mutterings in the clearing to die down, Bluestar's gaze fell upon a cat she didn't recognize from previous Gatherings. He was young and small, no older than an apprentice, and he sat among the shadows of a few scattered bushes between two Shadowclan cats who she recognized as Russetfur and Darkpaw. The latter had been announced as a new apprentice at the last Gathering. Her eyes continued to wander across the clearing until the young cat who she hadn't recognized stepped forward out of the shadows into a shaft of moonlight. Immediately, she focused her gaze back on him. He had a bright ginger pelt that flickered like fire as he continued to pad toward the Great Rock, his friends by his side. He finally came to a stop nearer to the Great Rock in the shadow of one of the four great oaks that surrounded the clearing, and his pelt immediately lost the illusion of flame. Heart beating, Bluestar realized that her vision of fire in the pelt of the young cat could only have come from Starclan. But that would mean… The she-cat shuffled her paws and shivered, thinking back to the day a couple moons ago when her medicine cat, Spottedleaf, had interpreted a prophecy from Starclan from the blazing trail of a shooting star: "Fire alone can save our clan." Could this cat be the "fire" mentioned in the prophecy? But… surely a Shadowclan cat couldn't be the one to save Thunderclan? Or—Bluestar's thoughts were abruptly halted as Brokenstar yowled, "Shadowclan is stronger than ever. We have been challenged on each border, but have won in every battle!"
As the dark tabby continued his tirade, Bluestar felt her mind wander from thoughts about the ginger apprentice, to reflections on Spottedleaf's prophecy, to worries for the future of her clan. Eventually her eyes met Spottedleaf's from where she sat in a corner of the hollow next to Runningnose, Barkface, and Mudfur, the other medicine cats. The tortoiseshell she-cat meaningfully glanced from Bluestar to the ginger apprentice and back again. So she has noticed something… unusual about him, as well, Bluestar thought. The gray she-cat nodded almost imperceptibly at her medicine cat as Tallstar stepped forward to share his news from Windclan. Directly to her right, she could feel Brokenstar begin to tense up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his hackles raise slightly and his claws slide out as he gazed at the Windclan leader. Just as quickly as she noticed the outburst of hostility, it was gone. The Shadowclan leader looked calm and composed, though his eyes still burned. Deciding that it would be unwise to question the aggressive tom about his carefully hidden anger, she turned her head back toward Spottedleaf. The two she-cats would have a lot to discuss when they returned to camp.