Prologue

The night was silent, but Silverpelt shone above, watching over the small band of cats. All were asleep but one, who sat awake, staring at the stars. She was a very tall tan she-cat with strange leopard spot-like markings throughout her fur. Her bright yellow eyes glittered anxiously as she stared at the stars. After seasons of being alone, she was hoping that tonight would finally be the night that StarClan would speak to them again. Her tail twitched in anticipation as a star streaked across the sky. She watched its progress with eager eyes, hoping that it would land and be one of their ancestors so she could know what to do from here.

A rustle in the bushes behind her made her whip around and glare into the darkness, her fur bristling and her teeth bore. There was a gentle purring as a huge white tom padded into the moonlight, the black flecks in his fur standing out plainly in the light. He fixed his dark blue eyes on the she-cat and sat down in front of her, glancing up to the stars as well.

"Be patient, Furzestar. StarClan will speak to us when they are ready. I'm sure they haven't forgotten about us. It's only been –" He was interrupted by an angry hiss from the she-cat.

"It's been nearly twenty-four moons, Hailstorm. Twenty-four moons that StarClan has abandoned us for. Maybe we should just give up. I highly doubt that we are ever going to hear from them again." Her tail drooped in sadness as she realized what she was admitting.

Hailstorm leaned forward and gave her a gentle nudge with his head. Then he turned his gaze back to the stars and took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and let it out. The huge white tom turned back to Furzestar and flicked her shoulder with his tail.

"Have faith, Furzestar. You've kept the Clan alive for this long. Without you, they'd be lost. I promise you that I will never abandon you. I'll stand by your side until StarClan finally contacts us again."

. . .

From inside her den, Bumbletail listened quietly to what her leader and deputy were saying with a nervous twitch of her tail. She backed into the shadows as they padded by, heading to their separate dens. The medicine cat turned around abruptly as they disappeared, heading for the small pool of water at the back of her den. She dipped a paw into the pool and closed her eyes, concentrating hard. Then she drew her paw across her muzzle and placed it on the ground again.

Bumbletail was no longer alone. Three cats stood around her, their eyes dark with worry. The first to speak was a golden tabby tom whose amber eyes were bright in the darkness.

"Bumbletail, none of this is wrong. Hiding the fact that you are speaking to us will not trouble you for much longer." Bumbletail glanced at the golden warrior and sighed.

"Lionstar... how can you be sure? No, don't answer that, Rowanstar." She grumbled, glancing at the ginger leader who was sure to be the next to speak. The ginger tom purred and shook his head slowly.

"You know us too well, Bumbletail. But you are the one connection we need right now. Furzestar isn't ready to accept what happened. She only knows the stories of her ancestors. They told her that WindClan was destroyed in a fire, but you know the real truth – " The last cat interrupted her, a blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes.

"Breezestar joined his Clan with the Dark Forest and destroyed our three Clans, save for a few other cats. Luckily, he is dead now. But the only Clan to survive all of this is RiverClan. What about the other three Clans? Although WindClan was bad at once, a new one would not be bad - under the right guidance." Bumbletail sighed and nodded.

"Yes, thank you for the refresher, Mistystar. But when are these four cats going to come? You've told me about them but I've been waiting nearly ten moons for them to arrive. How much longer will it be?" Lionstar stepped forward, his golden tabby fur glorious even in the dark light.

"Soon, Bumbletail. Be patient and they will come. They will come…" his voice trailed off as the three disappeared into the darkness.

Bumbletail sighed and stared up at the stars outside of her den. I hope, for all of the Clan's sakes, that they do come.