Prologue: Enter the Dark Forest

"What is this place?" a dark brown cat wondered.

The Cedarclan cat walked silently through the darkest forest he had ever seen. Everything was shrouded in black, with dark clouds lining the sky. The trees were withered and dead, and a cold wind blew causing them to sway eerily.

He shuddered as the fierce, cold wind tugged at his fur, threatening to whisk him away to places unknown…

But still, the cat trudged on, fighting the harsh wind that pounded against his body. He winced as he smelled the stench of rotting crow-food. He wanted to stop, but it was as if some unknown force was making him go deeper into the shadowy forest.

The journey seemed endless, but at last he spotted another cat within the dark forest. As he padded forward to ask the cat where he was, he noticed that the cat seemed to be a still as a rock, watching every move he made. He was frightened for a brief moment, but shook the feeling away and walked closer.

He noticed that, even though he came closer, he could not see the features of the other cat. He could only see a dark silhouette of the cat.

Finally, he stopped in front of the shadowy cat and was about to open his mouth to say something, but the other cat interrupted him.

"Silence!" the shadowy cat said, in a loud, booming voice, "Blazingstar, welcome to the Place of No Stars, or the Dark Forest."

Blazingstar's face was unreadable.

The cat continued, "It is most likely that you will never come across another cat in this place besides me, for I greet those who have died and lived the worst lives imaginable. And," he added mockingly, "And to think you were so close to getting into Starclan; all you had to do was let the leader before you live!"

"But he deserved to die!" Blazingstar hissed, "I would have been a much better leader than he ever was! Stupid Eaglestar! He knew I was better, he knew that I deserved to be leader, and he knew that I would kill him in the end!"

The dark cat was surprised at Blazingstar's rage.

The cat laughed wickedly, and his laughter echoed endlessly through the shadowy forest. "You foolish, worthless deputy," he scowled, "You never deserved to be leader. A true leader would fight back the rage, as Eaglestar did when he came here--"

"Wait, Eaglestar is here?" Blazingstar interrupted.

"No, he is in Starclan. We believed in him, but there was just one thing he had done wrong." the dark cat mewed.

"So what was it?" Blazingstar hissed through his teeth.

"Eaglestar had started a battle, and he sent out Whitedove's mate, Eveningsun, into the battle. When Eveningsun was being defeated by another warrior and called out to Eaglestar, Eaglestar refused to come to his aid and let him be killed by the other warrior. Then Eaglestar took Whitedove as his mate. That was a crime. We tested him here, and showed him what he had done wrong, and he said he was sorry he had ever done it. He wept right here, right where you are standing, and prayed that Whitedove and Eveningsun would forgive him. They did, and he was granted passage to Starclan. He was the first cat that was condemned to this place to be granted passage to Starclan." the dark cat mewed.

"Foxdung!" Blazingstar cursed.

The dark cat ignored Blazingstar's outburst and meowed, "You have not proven yourself, and you are now banished here forever! All cats here will remember you by your warrior name, Blazingdeath. Now, you are granted one question. Chose your question wisely."

Blazingsdeath thought for a moment before asking, "Who are you?"

"I am Eaglestar."

And at that, the shadowy cat disappeared, and Blazingdeath was plunged into darkness…..


Yup, there's the prologue.

This is my first story so please excuse any grammar/spelling mistakes. Sorry for the shortness….-_-'

Feel free to rate & review! 0.~ Constructive critisism is welcome!