Hey guys! For all of you that like a good long warriors novel, this is the fanfic for you!
Prologue
Beneath the stars glittering coldly in the night sat eight cats, their eyes shining with starlight as they settled comfortably into the long, dewy grass. They spoke in hushed voices, barely audible over the light breeze that accompanied them over the hillside.
"What if the Dark Forest cat is speaking the truth?" The light brown tabby tom asked, his eyes glinting with worry. "What if the prophecy is true?" One of the other cats, a slight gray tabby tom snorted derisively and lashed his tail.
"Crookedstar, obviously he's lying! He's a Dark Forest cat! We already know those maggot-spawned descendants of rats are nothing more than murderers and thieves!"
"Quiet, Gorsestar!" The third cat spat, her golden fur bristling. "Crookedstar speaks sense!"
"Like you really believe him! I know you, Leopardstar, and all you want is power within your own clan! That is the reason why, for the first time in moons, you agree with another clan leader!"
Leopardstar looked shocked at the thin tom's rebuke, and opened her jaws to shoot at him another stinging remark, but something stopped her, and instead she hung her head. "Say what you will, Gorsestar. I know that I have made many mistakes in the past, but I am much wiser now that I have resided in the land of stars."
"Like I believe you!"
"So, have the cats of Starclan resolved to bicker until problems are solved?" Asked the fourth, her eyes glinting, and she turned her head to lap at her jet-black pelt. "I, for one, don't believe that the Dark Forest cat received any prophecy from Sunclan."
"And do you have any say in this, Tall Shadow? You are hardly even a real Starclan cat! You belong in the ranks of the Ancients!"
Snarling, Tall Shadow sprang forward. "And you are hardly even a true warrior! You only came upon our cats by mere chance! If it is anyone who shouldn't have a say in this, it is you!"
"Silence! Every one of us deserves to be here!" Yowled the fifth, a sturdy, silver tom. "Whether we were rogue, loner or warrior in the past, we have earned our place in Starclan! Look at the Dark Forest cats! They are nothing, lower than filth! And look at us! We are higher than any living cat! We are the stars! And here we find ourselves, arguing amongst us!"
"My brother Clear Sky is right," a sleek, dark gray tom cut in. "We are supposed to be attending to more serious matters!"
"We are the ones who are supposed to keep peace between the clans, but if we cannot even find peace within ourselves, who will protect the innocent souls below us?" Bluestar snarled angrily, her eyes narrowed with fury. "We are fools!"
"What say you, Owlstar?" Growled Graywing. "You are the wisest of us all, and yet you keep your silence!"
Raising his head, the last cat spoke carefully, his broad head raised to the sky as he looked up into the stars above. "Our ancestors, the ones who prowled the forest even before the Ancients' time, watch over us still. They guide us with justice and pride, yet they are the ones to keep their silence. We must be wise enough to choose our own path with courage and dignity and justice for what is right, and I say that we give the Dark Forest cat a chance." Tall Shadow growled softly at the wise cat's words.
"You want to put this to a vote, Owlstar? Fine. I shall gather the Council of the Fallen!" Lashing her tail, she stalked off, and returned with a dozen more cats. Firestar, at the head of the throng, raised his fiery head.
"Is this about the prophecy the Dark one received from Goldenstar in Sunclan?"
"Yes, Firestar," Owlstar replied, dipping his head in welcome to the newcomers. "I, for one, believe him. We cannot let past grudges blind us to the world. Who is with me?"
"I," growled Bluestar, raising her blue head to the stars above.
"I," echoed all of the other cats except for Tall Shadow, Gorsestar and another cat, Rainflower.
"This is madness!" Rainflower roared, lashing her tail furiously. "How can we trust a Dark Forest cat? One of those snakes led my son astray!"
"Ah, but this madness is justified," murmured a dark ginger she-cat, Russetfur. "Can you not feel it, Rainflower? Doom is impending, and only the eight can save us from peril."
"It is decided, then." Owlstar solemnly bowed his head, then spread the clouds under the Starclan cats' paws aside to reveal a beautiful, silver she-cat with darker silver stripes and exotic, slanted golden eyes. "Hear and approve my choice, Starclan. I cannot be the leader of Starclan for much longer, so in my place, I choose Stormkit, who will one day be known as Starfire, and then Star."
Reluctantly, the other cats of the Council of the Fallen nodded, and the other representatives of the other four clans stepped forward, Skystar only picking one cat. As the last cat, Crookedstar, receded from the gap in the clouds, Owlstar stepped forward once again, his proud gaze traveling over the cats of Starclan. "Fear not, my clanmates, for these cats shall save us, and then we shall be glorious once again!"