Prologue

The black tom, speckled with grey, had caught the trail of a mouse. "Perfect," murmured the cat. He followed the mouse's scent until he saw it. He crept up slowly behind it, then, he pounced on it, but it scurried away into a bush. 'Foxdung!" Exclaimed the warrior.

He hated hunting. Ever since he was an apprentice, he was never any good at it. He didn't even know how his peers did it, it seems as if StarClan just never wanted him to be good at hunting. He forgot how he even passed the hunting assessment. His great battle skills must've saved him at that time when he was an apprentice.

Suddenly, the whiff of crowfood crept its way into his nose. Great StarClan! What is that smell? The tom thought. He smelled a lot more than just a mouse, he scented death itself.

His hunting trip has just gotten a lot more interesting. He traced the foul smell and followed it. It got stronger and stronger as he got closer. Perhaps it's a dead bird or a dead mouse? The cat thought. He padded his way up to a bush, where he saw the tip of a tail. Oh, no.

"No, No, NO! Not her!" The cat yelled to himself.

This tail was no ordinary mouse-tail. It was the tail of another cat, and it wasn't just any cat, it was his mate. He quickly observed his mate's body. Her eyes were wide open, frozen in a state of fear. Her mouth hung open in shock, blood pooling around it as if she was desperately trying to breathe in air. She had a fatal wound across her neck, which bled all around her head. He immediately turned around and dashed across the moorland as fast as he could. Shock and despair filled his heart. He stood on WindClan camp, shaking.

His clanmates clearly saw that he was very shaken because they all came up to ask him what was wrong. He began to feel crowded. He opened his mouth, but only a stutter of his mate's name came out.

"Sp...s-splinter...c-c-claw..." He began to feel hot and light-headed. "Jaggedsmile, what about Splinterclaw? Is she alright?" Asked an oak-coloured tom.

"Quiet, Molefur!" Said a calico she-cat. "He's going to come with me to the medicine den. Until further notice, none of you are going to talk to him, let alone ask him any questions."

The she-cat then supported Jaggedsmile to the medicine den, where he was given poppy seeds.

"Eat these," she said. "They will help calm you down."

Jaggedsmile did as he was told, eating about 3 of them.

"That should be enough," The she-cat meowed. "Stay here and rest awhile."

"Thank you, Scarletpelt," Jaggedsmile murmured as the world around him began to fade away.


Scarletpelt looked around her; everything seemed unreal. She was in the hunting grounds in StarClan. Unexpectedly, a cat padded up to her. "Scarletpelt, I have something to tell you," the voice spoke. Scarletpelt turned her head to meet the face behind that voice. Despite the small stars glittering around this ghostly cat, Scarletpelt recognised her in an instant.

"Oh, Splinterclaw! Mother! Please, how did you die?" Scarletpelt asked in desperation. The fawn she-cat said nothing, a blank expression her face.

"The soul that lives a life of folly will soon come to light and exceed those who pushed the light down to folly. The light won't shine its brightest unless its deception has been uncovered."

Before Scarletpelt could respond, she felt herself falling from the sky. She looked down and realised that she was going to hit the ground, but when she got to the ground, she didn't fall onto it; she fell through it. She fell down, and down until she landed, painlessly.

She lay in a grizzly place, full of hollow darkness and a burgundy sky that was darker than blood. The tried to breathe, but the air was thick with mist. She heard the many whisperings of forces that could only be described as evil. She saw silhouettes of ancient cats known only for their terrible deeds. A shadow came up behind her and violently whispered in her ear.

"Folly will be torn between the light and the dark. The mightiest of sorrows will consume the one whose soul lives in folly. Deception will rise, and guilt, rage and chaos will rid of the light."

Scarletpelt saw a big, muscled tom charge towards her. The tom leapt, pouncing on her. She closed her eyes in fear, embracing whatever could've happened to her...

Nothing happened. She opened her eyes. She was in the medicine den, as usual. She sighed in relief. Then, her mind clouded with memories and questions. Questions like "What did that prophecy mean?" and "Did I just receive a prophecy from the Place of No Stars?" but she had no time for these questions now. Hopefully, StarClan would reveal more soon. For now, however, Scarletpelt remembered that she had a shocked father to check up on.