Prologue
As the sun slowly rose on the horizon lithe figures stalked over the hillside, silently they began to run and close in quickly to the forest that lay just a few meters in front of them. As soon as the entered the forest they sprinted for an unknown target. Soon they slowed to a near stop as they entered a starlit clearing. The figures became clear. Five cats, all rugged and fierce looking. A large raven colored tom sunk into the middle of the clearing and sat down, his broad shoulders rolling to adjust and make him more comfortable. The other cats soon sat in front of him. To the tom's far right was a slender female with a plume like tail running over her small paws, with flame colored fur and icy blue eyes. To her left was a small tom with black and white spots over his creamy pelt; he had soft ginger eyes and an unusually long tail. Next was a large tom with a mane like that of a lion, a brown tabby with a white underbelly and green eyes. And finally a small white female with powdery blue eyes and a bright pink nose, she looked no bigger than a kitten. The raven colored tom looked over his acquaintances and then flicked his tail. "So" said the tom in a low and calm voice. "Why are we all here?" He asked them. The cats all shuffled nervously except for the small white female. She stood and took a step forward. "I have received a message Krook." She said her light and gentle voice calming the others down. Krook looked at the female and his eyes narrowed. "From who might I ask did you get this message from, Dove?" Asked Krook flicking his ears. Dove sat down and then looked at the sky. "Spirit told me" She said curling her tail around her paws. Soon the large tabby stepped forward. "If it is alright I would like to speak." He said with his monotone voice. Krook nodded. "Yes Blade, you may speak." Krook said flicking his tail. Blade straightened up and then let out a breath. He looked Krook right into his piercing yellow eyes. "I too have received a message from Spirit." He said uneasily but puffed out his chest to show he was being as brave as he could. Krook blinked slowly. He looked at the others and they nodded in agreement to Blade. Krook looked at the flame colored female. "And you Thrush and Shadow? Have you received this message as well?" Krook asked his yellow eyes narrowing slightly. Thrush nodded. Krook sighed and then looked at the sky. "What was the message?" He asked Dove tilting his head in the slightest. Dove looked at the moon her eyes far away. "From the depths of despair there will rise the mighty raven and all evil will be thwarted." She said and then looked at Krook. Krook shook his head. "Do we know what it means?" Krook asked. All the others shook they're heads. Krook sighed and then rose to his paws. "Well then we should be off." He began to walk out of the clearing, he looked back at the four of them and his yellow eyes narrowed. "You'd best hope that message is true." He said turning his head back to the forest. "Or none of us will be pleased." He said with finality that made them all shudder slightly. He then raced out of the clearing leaving the others to think.
Chapter 1
A warm shaft of light filtered through the curtains as a large mound of black fur lay in a seemingly tiny cat bed. It lifted its fuzzy head and yawned. The large black cat got to his paws and arched his back in a stretch. On his collar his tags jingled slightly, on the first tag it read "Milo". Milo made his way to the glass door to gaze outside to the world beyond, before him was a vast field of tall grass of witch he wished to run. He licked a paw and gingerly drew it over his ear. He looked around the house. His twolegs seemed to be missing. He sighed and then padded away from the glass door. He decided this would be the perfect chance to try and escape. So, with a bit of a struggle he wriggled his head from his collar and headed for the stairs. He climbed up and then went into the room with the tree near the window. Luckily for Milo it was open. He flicked his ears eagerly and then climbed up onto the windowsill, he then squeezed through the small crack in the window and leaped into the tree struggling to keep his balance. Slowly he made his way on the branch and got to the trunk. He sighed uneasily as he slowly made his way down being careful to keep his clawhold on the trunk as he shimmied rump first down the tree. He grunted slightly as he slid a ways down the trunk of the tree. He looked over his shoulder to the ground and decided it was close enough to jump. So he pushed himself away from the tree and landed with a plop on his paws. He sighed and looked around his tailtip flicking side to side eagerly. This was his second or third time out of the house and this time he planned to stay out of the house. He trotted away from the house and neared the tall grass sniffing the air curiously. He thought for a few moments that he could smell another cat; he decided to ignore it and continue. Soon he placed his large snowshoe like paws into the maze of the tall grass. He hesitated, unsure if this was a good idea or not. Don't back down now, you finally have what you want. He thought. He let out a deep breath of anticipation and began to walk into the abyss of grass. He soon felt a rush of pride at his bravery, he didn't know any other cat that had done this before and felt important. A rustling sounded behind him and he whirled around to see who it was, his fur bristling, making him look twice his normal size, witch still was quite large. He sighed as no one was behind him. He turned around slowly only to see a cold and untrusting face. "Who are you?" She asked. Milo was stunned for a bit, looking into her fierce hazel eyes. "Umm." He said. The female hissed and lashed her tail. Milo backed up a few paces and now saw her more clearly. She was a red tabby with near black stripes. With a long whip like tail. Milo blinked just now noticing she was glaring at him. "Oh. Um.. My name?" He said. "Its Milo." The female narrowed her eyes. "Judging by you're size your probably not front here, a house cat right?" She asked sitting down. Milo blinked unable to fathom how she had found out just by looking at him. "Uhh yeah.." He said sheepishly. The female looked him over looking a bit confused then continued. "How old are you?" She asked. Milo sighed, he hated that question. "Six moons…" He said with a huff. The female blinked. "Well anyways, since you told me you're name I'll tell you mine." She sat down and puffed out her chest. "My name is Sky." She said with a flick of her tail. She looked around. "Why are you out here?" She asked sounding a bit friendlier. Milo sat down. "I'm running away from my twolegs." He meowed quietly now unsure if he should be telling Sky this or not. "Why run away from a cushy life like that? You get food and water and your own place to sleep!" Sky said gleefully. Milo lashed his tail. Those where the reasons he was leaving. He hated the fact that he was the only cat in the house, he hated the food the twolegs gave him, he hated sleeping alone… So he left. Simple as that. But he wouldn't tell Sky that anyway. He looked around and then looked at Sky. "So.. Where do you live?" Milo asked curiously. Sky frowned. "I live in a Clan." She said looking at the ground steadily. Milo tilted his head. "A… Clan?" He asked. He had never heard of such a thing. Sky looked up. "Don't tell me you haven't heard of the three Clans that rome this countryside?" She said rather dumbfounded. Milo shook his head. Sky looked around. "Well there are three different Clans see? The Clan of the Plains, The Clan of the Trees, and The Clan of the Torrents." She explained. Milo nodded and she continued. "The Clan of the Plains live in this whole field of tall grass. I'm kind of breaking the rules by being here.. I'm in The Clan of Trees. I just became a warrior and I'm kind of bored, so I decided to go explore the other territories." She said looking at her paws. Milo nodded and then looked around. "Will any of them find us?" He asked. Sky shook her head. "No we're to far close to twolegs to be found out." She looked around for a few moments then looked at Milo mischievously. "Come with me!" She meowed and then dashed off into the tall grass. Milo didn't hesitate. He followed and when he came into pace with her he asked. "Where are we going?" Sky grinned. "To my clan!" She exclaimed. Milo felt a pang of nervousness. Wondering what the Clan cats might do to him if they found him. But still he followed Sky, in the deep rooted hope of adventure.