Prologue

Cedarstar padded slowly and steadily to the entrance of the medicine cat's den. The dried bramble that hung from the entrance latched onto his nose angrily, and a sneeze escaped his parted jaws. His eyes started to water a little, presumably from the scratch of the plant; so, he rubbed one of his large paws over it as lightly as he could; but, it made his nose feel like it was on fire. He decided he wouldn't do that again, especially not with dirty paws. Quietly, he stuck his head inside the den, trying to dodge the bramble this time around. A soft purr emanated from deep within his throat as he watched the two medicine cats of ShadeClan and Yarrowclan working so effortlessly and peacefully, together.

Gorsewhisker's ears pricked and he looked over sharply as Cedarstar entered the den. His eyes held a wild, terrified look, making Cedarstar take an unsure paw-step back. He was about to ask what was wrong, but Gorsewhisker cut him off, "Cedarstar, I and Cottenstem must talk to you," he looked over at Cottenstem quickly and she dipped her head in response. "There has been a prophecy, sent to the Clans to help anticipate a great change. It seems to be why Starclan has driven YarrowClan out of their home."

Gorsewhisker trembled slightly, his eyes claiming a distant, far-away look. He bowed his head to Cedarstar and spoke again, quiet so no cats in the clearing could over hear, "All will become one as death raises its ugly head. The one that falls will fall hard; and, the one who stretches far beyond the others will thrive in the ashes and tears of the deceased. More will come as the Island expands and makes the Clans parish. Darkness will appear over the sea and claim all life as its quest for blood rises."

Cottenstem's eyes grew rounded and large, "We have no idea who or what the prophecy is referring to; but, this is certain: the Clans will never be the same." Gorsewhisker swept his tail over Cottenstem's paws, seeming to try and reassure her. Her pristine, white pelt was spiked all over and her eyes were dark with worry. Cedarstar licked the top of Cottenstem's head and murmured, "We will be ready for this, no matter what happens."

Chapter One

As Cedarstar wobbled slowly out of the leader's den, he noticed that the over populated mess, his Clan, ShadeClan, was already up and about due to the loud and obnoxious birds that the NoFurs call "roosters". As he walked into the clearing, his little brother, Grimpaw, limped over sadly. His head was down and small whimpers pushed through his gritted teeth. Cedarstar sat down and brushed his tail down Grimpaw's spine. Grimpaw whispered, his teeth gritted in pain, "Cedarstar? Honeypaw pushed me off of the Highrock. We were just playing at first, she must not have been able to tell I was hurt, because she jumped down and landed right on my leg."

Cedarstar's eyes hardened angrily and he sniffed Grimpaw's lifted paw lightly, "What is wrong with it?"

Grimmpaw whimpered, "Cottenstem thinks that it's broken."

Cedarstar held back a yowl at the back of his throat, not wanting to alert the cats that were milling about the area. He stomped over to the YarrowClan leader's temporary resting place and jabbed a paw aggressively into the black tom's flank. A pained huff escaped the cat, and his eyes blinked open slowly. He rolled his eyes as they focused onto Cedarstar and he sighed, "What do you want? I was having the most beautiful dream…"

Cedarstar slammed his paw down onto Nightstar's throat, cutting off the tom's comment. "You need to control your Clan, Nightstar," Cedarstar hissed, "You're going to be the end for my Clan! If these new cats are going to come, why don't they come now? All my apprentices and kits come to me with complaints of your cats hurting them. I'm sick and tired of it!"

Cedarstar lifted his paw off of Nightstar as his ears flattened against his head. He snarled, "It's not my fault that your cats are too weak.

Lavapool, Badgerstripe, and Smokewhisker heard the leaders bickering and stalked over to Cedarstar's side, as if ready to pounce at his order. Cedarstar's fur started to ripple along his spine and he hissed in Nightstar's face, "It isn't your fault that your warriors hurt my warriors, but you're purposely bringing on a fight, Nightstar. And if you want a fight, you got one." Cedarstar pounced furiously onto Nightstar, starting to rip out his clotted fur with his claws. As if on command, Lavapool, Badgerstripe, and Smokewhisker sprang for Nightstar too. They were ready to help their leader at any moment. Suddenly, the whole clearing erupted into teeth and claws and furious yowls. Kits to YarrowClan cats were shooed back into the nursery, protective mothers vanishing after them.

Cedarstar yowled angrily at Nightstar, "Your shattered Clan needs to leave! I am certain that half of your Clan would rather stay here than leave with you."

"I beg to differ, Cedarstar. We can restart YarrowClan and strengthen it to unimaginable lengths," he lifted his head in defiance to Cedarstar, "YarrowClan, let's go!"

Only a few cats arose from the dozens of wide eyed warriors. Cedarstar stood, shocked, that so few of Nightstar's warriors would join him again. Only one queen walked to Nightstar's side, his mate, Leafstorm.

She whispered lovingly in his ear, "Come, Nightstar. We can restart YarrowClan and make it the best it could possibly be," she shoved her delicate little nose into his jagged fur, "it can be a Clan of your kin, of your kits, Nightstar."

Nightstar's eyes turned to delighted balls of fire, elated with the news his mate just bestowed upon him. As he started to calm, he called over the cats once again. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, listen to the words I must share. I am returning to the YarrowClan camp and when the spoken cats arrive, we will be ready to take them in or fight them out. YarrowClan will take over this island, the most powerful Clan will live!"

Approving yowls broke out among Nightstar's followers as more cats dragged themselves to Nightstar's side. Cedarstar let his gaze asses the cats whom were leaving, meowing a soft goodbye to all that left. Among the departing cats, he noticed a few that he had become friends. He nuzzled them all in turn and meowed calmly, "Goobye Willowflight, Kestrelfeather, Gorsewhisker, and Beechwind. I will miss you all." As they started to turn away, he called again, "Oh, and Gorsewhisker, thank you for the prophecy, I will be sure to watch the island closely. You all will be forever welcome in ShadeClan."

As the cats made a curt nod and padded away, he turned to the cats who decided to stay. There were so many and they all wanted to be loyal members of ShadeClan. They would have to find a new camp, one big enough for the new ShadeClan, and the leftovers of YarrowClan. Cedarstar looked up at the sky, willing this change to come soon, before ShadeClan drowned under the weight of aggressive, homeless YarrowClan cats.