Prologue –

The fields stretched out wide and free beneath the highest boulder on the moor. Wind bristled the grass, making the blades ripple like a vast green ocean. Atop the boulder sat a white furred cat, tall and sleek with claws outstretched. Her neck was craned, her piercing blue eyes flickering as she gazed at her clan below.

Fieldclan warriors were sparring with one another, claws unsheathed, leaving a scratch or two on their clanmates amidst the fight. That was just what the leader had instructed. To her, that was the only way to fight.

"Icestar," Meowed a tom as he gracefully leapt atop the boulder.

The she-cat's breath was held with intense satisfaction upon witnessing the brawl from below. With her deputy at her side, she released a steady sigh of displeasure and held up her tail. When the warriors below failed to take notice, she hissed, gaining their attention. "You may take a break." She meowed to them.

The three of them looked to her as she spoke, then dispersed in different directions.

"Roaringwing," Icestar meowed with an edge to her tone as she turned to gaze sharply at the brown tabby deputy. "What was so urgent that was worth interrupting my sparring session?"

Roaringwind bowed his head in apology, "I've just arrived back from the hunting patrol. Waveclan was treading close to our border."

"Again?" Icestar demanded with a hiss. Roaringwind nodded. "Well, you tore their pelts off, I should hope!"

Roaringwind ducked his head slightly, "Not quite. They didn't exactly cross the border. But they were close."

The fur along the leader's spine bristled with anger, "Close is close enough! Next time they even think about nearing the scent markers, take their tails as a warning! I didn't train these warriors to back down from a fight! You get your way when fur flies." She hissed.

Roaringwind nodded. There was a hint of guilt reflecting in his blue gaze. "Understood."

"I should call a clan meeting to remind these cats that they are warriors." Her fur was bristling. "Warriors do not back down. Not Fieldclan warriors of all cats!" Her long claws scrapped against the rock beneath her paws.

Something in his leader's tone encouraged the deputy. Her words resonated with him and the fur along his spine rose as well. "You're right." He agreed lowly, regretting idly standing by.

"Waveclan," Icestar hissed bitterly, "They think they can do whatever they want! Dragonstar. It's all her fault her clan acts like this! She'll have her ear clawed off come the next gathering!"

Roaringwind's gaze was fixed upon his leader, his ears angled to listen intently.

"I knew her mother, Moonshine." Icestar began, thinking back with resentment. "A fine cat, talented and beautiful… or so the rest of Fieldclan would have you believe. She was beloved. It was repulsive! When we would hunt on patrols, she was nearly as good as I was. She snagged the prey out from under me on more than one occasion." Her fur was bristling with hatred. "In battle, she would fight not nearly as brutally as me. More than once I saw her let cats go when she had a clear shot of killing them. Had it been me, those cats would have been dead beneath my claws!"

Icestar's tail lashed, "The whole clan admired her. She had such a clear shot at becoming leader…" Her white teeth bared in a snarl then gave way to a wicked smile, "But then, she blew her shot. She had kits… with a Waveclan warrior! How delightful. She even admitted it, saying that she couldn't lie! Isn't that disgustingly pleasant?

"And then, her mangy kits were born. A she-cat and a tom. What did she do? Began raising them here in Fieldclan." Disgust befell her once more and her fur bristled. "She wasn't even exiled for breaking the code! Her father was leader at the time, he wouldn't drive away his own kit."

"But then, something wonderful happened…" Icestar's claws were unsheathed and she looked down at them with sadistic pleasure, "An… accident befell Moonshine while on a hunting patrol. Sad but, that was the end for old Moonshine. Her kits might have suffered a similar fate, had their father not come to take them to Waveclan upon hearing the news of her death."

Roaringwind's eyes widened slightly upon hearing this, "Did you—?"

"Mourn? With the rest of distraught Fieldclan, of course. But, with Moonshine out of the way, I took my rightful spot as deputy and then leader. I was the only cat fit to lead this clan, and now here I am." The leader's claws scratched against the rock, as if it brought her some relief. "But those mangy kits are Waveclan now, and one of them is leader. Dragonstar." Icestar shuttered with sheer resentment at the name, "Moonshine's mouse-brained little kit."

Roaringwind sat quietly, listening to his leader finish up the tale. With that, Icestar turned away from him and gazed over the camp, "Let all warriors old enough to skin their own enemies gather for a clan meeting!"