AN: Thanks for reading! Prologue first!
Any cat today could tell you of the three Clans of the North. Of CliffClan, the powerful and the proud, who reside in the rocks and the caves beyond the trees; Of GroveClan, the brave and the bold, living under the trees and in the brambles; And of MeadowClan, the smart and the calm, who make their home in the open fields. But not everyone knows of where they came from, and what came before.
Long ago, moons before the oldest elders were even in the nursery, there was not three Clans ruling the forest. There was only one. It did not have a name, and it did not need one. Cats merely called them The Clan.
The Clan was strong and feared, living in an area that was larger than the three territories of the new Clans combined. They didn't just live in the forest. They thrived. That is, until the day Willowstar's three kits came of age. She was expected to choose one as her successor; deputies were not yet guaranteed the leadership, and her kits were all raised under the belief that one of them would one day lead The Clan.
However, time passed, and seasons came and went, and Willowstar did not choose her heir. The Clan grew restless, and her kits grew impatient. They began to compete for the spot. It started with friendly rivalries; who could hunt the best, who could fight the best, who was the smartest, who was the bravest. But it soon turned their relationship sour. Ambition began to cloud their hearts and change their paths. The Clan began to become divided over who was the rightful leader.
Willowstar could not stand to see her kits tear The Clan apart, so she banished all three of them. But it was not over. They collected their followers and prepared for a war. When their mother soon died, battle broke out in the very place that was once their camp. The three siblings faced off once and for all.
The fight became so intense that StarClan decided they had had enough. They set the forest ablaze and forced the bloodshed to an end. That was when they decided to split up for real. The Clan was no more, and three smaller ones popped up in it's place.
Smokestar, known for his strength in battle, founded CliffClan. Applestar, best remembered for her spitfire ways and independent mind, became the first leader of GroveClan. And finally, Specklestar the wise led what would become known as MeadowClan.
Though the moons have passed and the three Clans have changed, the story still lives on. The blood of the siblings lives on to this day, and the tale remains told, changed only to suit the Clan telling it. Time has brought peace, but it has never brought trust. They still walk the grounds of their ancestors, gather in the former camp, whisper about the debate that never truly ended: who is the rightful leader?
The truth, young kits, is that some fires never truly cool. They merely wait for a spark.