Prologue

The clear skies and warm air promised another gorgeous green-leaf night. A slight breeze rustled through the pine needles and branches, the gentle noise mixing with the soft chirping of crickets. The half-moon floated as clear as ever in the night, it standing out over the many stars that dotted the darkness. StarClan had assured them a good visit to the Moonstone.

I sauntered through ShadowClan territory, avoiding any deep puddles of mud. Fortunately, it hadn't rained for a couple sunrises, which dried up the usually mud-covered ground. Still the ground was plaque with the occasional patch of grime. Eventually, I made my way out of the mushy ShadowClan territory and onto WindClan's bare land.

Not a single tree dotted their landscape, which immediately made me feel edgy and tense. Our territory had a fair share of patches and clearings where the sky was visible, but here there was no shelter. None at all. Tall grass carpeted the landscape with a clear sky above. I always wondered whenever I ventured out onto WindClan territory if they shared a closer connection with StarClan, for they didn't have any trees, branches or leaves to block their view. Plus, they were the closest to Highstones.

I focused my attention to a slab of rock a couple tail-lengths ahead of me. It shown a silver color in the moon light. The medicine cats met there so they could continue their journey together. We exchanged remedies for treating wounds and sickness, swapped news of new kittens, apprentices and warriors, gossiped about cats and just plain had a good mrrow of laughter. I wished that the Clans would get along like we did.

Since the rock lacked any cats besides me, I assumed that I arrived at the rock either too early or too late. Judging by where the moon hovered above, my guess was too early. I didn't mind. I always felt closer to StarClan on WindClan territory.

With a small bound forward and a leap, I perched myself on the rock. I scanned my surroundings and caught a glimpse of shining, round eyes and five silhouettes in the distanced. Five cats, it looked like. That had to be them.

It only felt like a pawful of heartbeats before the group of cats approached, and I sprang off the rock to greet them. The smallest cat, an adorable little gray-and-white furball, bounded up till he was just a tail-length away. He craned his neck up at me, and I looked down to meet his gaze. "Are you Spottedwing?" he asked, his voice rising into a question.

"I am." I dipped my head in acknowledgement, "Are you Icepaw, the new RiverClan medicine cat apprentice?"

"The one and only!" he chimed, puffing out is fur and holding his head high, but the pride in his green eyes was suddenly replaced with curiosity. "Do you ShadowClan cats really eat toads?" he busted out like the question had been bugging him.

I stifled a purr and did my best to look as serious as possible; eyes dim, fur flat, tail still. "In a world without ShadowClan, the toads eat you." I wouldn't have traded the look on his face for a season's worth of freshkill.

My gaze drifted to the group of cats who padded up behind Icepaw, their eyes all bright with amusement. A dark-colored cat strode up beside the apprentice, her tail brushing his pelt. "I see you have met Spottedwing," she purred softly, looking fondly at Icepaw. "She's not as scary as you thought, is she now?"

Icepaw's only reply was silence, mouth hanging about slightly ajar. My whiskers twitched in amusement. "I'm probably even scarier than he thought, Nightflower." I meowed, trying to keep my serious demeanor going.

"Yes, because a small tortoiseshell she-cat looks so threatening." Stormwhisker, the ThunderClan medicine cat, grumbled.

Just before I had time to reply, a crumbly, aged voice arose from edge of our group. "Can we walk and talk?"

"Oh, I suppose it wouldn't be a good thing to arrive late at Highstones." Nightflower admitted, flicking her tail as she broke into a purr, "You're always keeping us in line my dear Thistlepelt."

The WindClan medicine cat only huffed in reply.

In all honesty, Thistlepelt vexed me. I don't know how Nightflower could act so light hearted. He and his apprentice, Whitepaw, hardly ever meowed a word. It's like they swore to StarClan to only speak if necessary. Plus there was his brown fur that stuck out at every possible angle. I just wanted to groom him, as odd as that sounds. And then there were his eyes. Oh, his eyes. They were as piercing as a thorn; a bright yellow; and he always kept them narrowed like he was suspecting something. Whenever Thistlepelt looked at me, I wanted to stare back, but I just couldn't force myself to do it. Not much bothered me, but he sure did.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I took the lead in the trek towards Highrocks. Nightflower took her place by my side with Icepaw trailing behind. "What did you say to him? I've never seen him this quiet. Even as a kit, he always was louder than his siblings; always mewling like there was no tomorrow! I want to know your trick." she murmured, sneaking a green-eyed glance back at the apprentice.

"I told him why we eat toads."

"What exactly did you say?" she pressed, looking at me with amused eyes.

"That we eat toads because if we didn't, they'd eat us." I muttered simply with a flick of my ear, again trying to sound serious.

Nightflower broke into a purr. "I'll have to tell that to the next cat who asks us if we eat fish."

We chatted like that all the way to Highrocks, Stormwhisker occasionally adding something to the conversation while Icepaw still tried to wrap his mind around cat-eating toads. Eventually, we crossed the thunderpath and climbed our way to Highstones.

"Finally, my paws are aching!" Icepaw complained, the first time he had spoken for a while. "And I'm starving!"

"I'll give you something when we get back to camp for your paws, and you can share a rabbit with me." Nightflower promised softly, licking the tom on the head. "Are you ready to speak with StarClan?"

He nodded his head, but it looked more like an attempted to dodge his mentor's tongue. "Hey, do you think it will be okay if I ask StarClan if any cat has died from being eaten by a toad?" he question, glancing back at me.

"Spottedwing was only joking about that," Nightflower meowed, her voice light with amusement.

"Well… can I still ask?" Icepaw looked up at his dark-furred mentor with wide, curious blue eyes.

"No, you better not." I butted in, not really wanting to get either of us in trouble. "Now, shall we go?"

As the five cats nodded and murmured in agreement, I led the way into the cave. Just a couple pawsteps in and my companions and I were drenched in darkness with the faintest bit of light glowing behind us. Silence fell over us, and we took the path our ancestors took before us. I could feel each stone and pebble beneath my paws with each step I took. I closed my eyes, letting my memory take over. A few heartbeats later, I opened my eyes. Light filtered in through a hole in the ceiling, soaking a round, smooth rock in silvery moonlight. My heart raced.

I crouched down beside the Moonstone, admiring the rock briefly before pressing my nose to it and shutting my eyes. The shuffling of paws against rock told me that the other medicine cats had settled down beside me, taking their place by the Moonstone. Then all I could here was gentle breathing. It took only a few more heartbeats for me to drift off to sleep.

What I opened my eyes to was worse than any nightmare I had ever dreamt. Flames engulfed every tree, bush and blade of grass in sight, spreading their boiling rage through everything in their way. The wild creature of fire refused to be tamed, growing harsher and harsher by each heartbeat. The dizzying radiant heat from the blazes pulled me in deeper into the burning abyss as I struggled to fight it. The scent of smoke reeked in my nostrils, scorching and sweltering hot. I ducked away from the violently whipping flames, ashes burning my eyes. The place I once called StarClan, powdered under the powers of the golden and crimson flares.

A screech came from behind me and I whipped around, eyes wide with terror. "You have to get out! Now!" I didn't even recognize the cat that yowled at me; I had never seen her before.

"What's happening?" I questioned urgently, racing towards the cat.

"Disaster!" the StarClan cat shrieked. "Wake up, now! Warn the Clans!"

I only blinked in shock, and the flaming terrain switched to darkness. There were clunks and bangs that echoed through the tunnels, and the ground beneath my paws was shaking. A high-pitched shriek that must have come from Icepaw rang over the thudding. Then I saw why he had cried out like that. The celling was starting to crumble away, sending a shower of rocks cascading down on us. Larger and larger chunks started to crash down.

A harsh jolt of fear hit me like a monster on a thunderpath as I realized what was going on; Mothermouth was collapsing.

Anxiety churning in my stomach, I violently started to shake Nightflower, yowling at the top of my lungs. No matter how hard I tried, the she-cat's eyes stayed closed. I even dug my claws into her fur, drawing blood. Nothing was working! Why wasn't she waking up? "For StarClan's sake, wake up!" I snarled, my fear turning to rage. "WAKE UP!"

When as I was about to try to rouse another cat, maybe even try to escape without the others, a squeal of terror sounded from behind me. I turned away from Nightflower just in time to witness a massive rock plummet to the ground, crushing Icepaw like a bug. More rocks, stones and pebbles rained down as I gawked in shock and horror. Finally, I took a shaky breath. But when I inhaled, the smell of fresh blood and fear scent entered my nose.

I squeezed my eyes shut, helplessness welling inside my heart. Dust now was filling my lungs, and I found it harder and harder to breath with every breath. Suddenly, pain and agony exploded in me for half a heartbeat, and then I felt nothing.

Author's Note

So, there's the Prologue. I wasn't quite sure how to start this story, which is why it took me so long to post this. Finally I decided to do it this way. The characters in this chapter aren't the main ones, by the way. This was more just to introduce the plot. Oh, and if you want the full summery, check my profile.

Anyways, you might notice how I wrote this. I tried writing as if I was the character, and I don't mean that in a first-person sense. Which is why some description and were phrases may seem a bit odd to you humans.

Well, I don't know when the next chapter will be, but expect it in about a week.

Bye~

Kudos to anybody who spotted the LawlClan reference.