CAST OF CHARACTERS
SHADOWCLAN
Leader: Logstar- Dark brown tom with amber eyes
Deputy: Fallenhawk- White tom with ginger splotches
Medicine cat: Sparrowleaf- Tortoiseshell she-cat
Warriors: Wolf-flight- Silver tom
Meadowcry- Pale ginger tom
Firefern- Ginger tabby she-cat
Cedarfrost- Tabby tom with a white underbelly and green eyes
Oaktail- Mottled she-cat
APPRENTICE, TORNPAW
Littlerye- Lithe tabby tom
Stormflower- Gray she-cat
APPRENTICE, TIGERPAW
Foxblaze- Medium-length furred ginger-and-white tom with a white tail tip
Hailfeather- White tom with blue eyes
Swiftblaze- Black-and-white tom
Waspriver- Ginger-and-white tom
Sorrelwhisker- Tortoiseshell she-cat
APPRENTICE, SNOWPAW
Apprentices: Tornpaw- Russet tom with one eye
Tigerpaw- Black-and-white she-cat
Snowpaw- Brown she-cat with white tail
Queens: Appleleap- Calico pelt (mother of Sandkit and Treekit)
Bluefrost- Blue-gray pelt (mother of Petalkit, Silverkit, and Lilykit)
Elders: Nightfur- Black tom
Patch- Black-and-gray tom
Beetlefire- Blue-gray she-cat
Mudflight- Brown tom
WINDCLAN
Leader: Sunstar- Ginger tom
Deputy: Brackenfoot- Golden brown she-cat
Medicine cat: Cloudbreeze- White tom
Warriors: Copperbreeze- Russet tom
Gingerleaf- Ginger tabby tom
Lichenmask- Creme-colored she-cat
Dapplesong- Dappled she-cat
Redheart- Russet she-cat
Darksun- Dark tabby tom
Brambletail- Tabby tom
APPRENTICE, FIREPAW
Eaglestrike- Black tom with fierce amber eyes
Heronfeather- Light gray tom
APPRENTICE, BEECHPAW
Queens: Featherpelt- Silver tabby pelt (mother of Barleykit and Daisykit)
THUNDERCLAN
Leader: Emberstar- Dark russet tom
Deputy: Yarrowtail- Black-and-white tom
Medicine cat: Harespring- White tom
Warriors: Tigerflight- Tabby tom
Pebbletail- Lithe tortoiseshell she-cat
Larchbreeze- Calico she-cat
Lionpelt- Golden brown tom
APPRENTICE, MARSHPAW
RIVERCLAN
Leader: Mousestar- Light brown she-cat
Deputy: Vixenpelt- Ginger tabby she-cat
Medicine cat: Doveflight- White she-cat
APPRENTICE, CREEKLEAP
Warriors: Flintstrike- Light creme tom
Graythorn- Gray tom
Thistlesong- Black-and-white she-cat
Ivyclaw- Gray-and-white she-cat
Kinkwhisker- Brown she-cat
Leafgaze- Tabby she-cat
Prologue
The sky was a dark turquoise above the starry-pelted cats. The river was a beautiful hue of crisp blue, and it rushed by the four cats sitting in an awkward silence beside each other in a circle. All of them were restless and uneasy, but the ginger tom was doing the best to contain himself.
"I knew this day would come," growled a pale gray she-cat.
"We all did, Mistystar," said a white tom with black paws. "Once again."
"Do not panic," snapped the ginger tom, his forest green eyes blazing. "This is not the end. The Clans have to survive. We have for generations!"
"Firestar, what do you expect them to do?" asked Mistystar, sounding exasperated. "The Twolegs are coming nearer and nearer. Everything is getting destroyed. There is no-where to go!"
"Yes, there is. Do not pretend you do not know. You are only freeting, and it is meddling with you." Firestar raised his chin and looked her, and she broke eye contact.
"The union," said a new voice. A tabby tom joined the other three, and he looked just as gaunt. "There is a way for them to live, Mistystar, and you know it."
"Blackstar," said Firestar solemnly, turning to the black-footed white tom, "as bad as it sounds, we must unite."
"Unite!" exclaimed the tom in disbelief, "we have been separate for ages. As well as we can work together, Firestar, we are still four Clans."
"No! Listen to me," Firestar said, and the others backed off; he was beginning to lose his patience, and it was evident in his voice. "We must forge our skills together. We must find a way to survive, even if it means blending our differences…"
The three leaders exchanged a glance. Firestar drove on: "I know you three know it. Thunderstar has talked to me, and I know that Windstar, Shadowstar, and Riverstar all agree on what to do. It is up to us to make that happen. Do not try to stop this. It is the only way."
Finally, the tabby tom broke the silence. "There is a kit in WindClan," he whispered, "with a special destiny."
Firestar nodded slowly. "I know. Watch over her, as I will with my chosen one. They will lead a path of greatness for the Clans in the future..."
Blackstar snorted and turned away briefly. Why should Firestar get all the credit? His kit definitely wasn't going to be the greatest.
"Blackstar? All right there?" asked the tabby, trying to peer over Blackstar's shoulder.
Scowling slightly, Blackstar turned back. "I'm fine, Onestar." Looking at Firestar, he continued, "I know that we cannot let the Clans perish." he sighed. "We will each do what we need to do. Destiny will lead these kits to meet one day, and they will soon see past Clan boundaries… and establish new ones."
"They're not all kits," Mistystar reminded.
Blackstar nodded silently. Onestar was looking at him with a weird expression, and Firestar was distracted, deep in thought. Mistystar was staring down at her paws.
"Very well," said Firestar, "I trust that you all know what to do. Good day. You must not tell the Destined their true fate. They shall discover it themselves," he said in a bossy voice. "They shall all become great leaders of their time. However, keep in mind that this will not be their path unless they chose so… and their influence comes from the Clan around them…" And he disappeared, the ferns shaking slightly as he traversed them. Mistystar mumbled and went the other direction, leaving Blackstar and Onestar alone.
"You're jealous," Onestar said immediately after the gray she-cat was gone.
"StarClan cannot split," growled Blackstar, "but I will not let ThunderClan get all the glory again. Sandkit shall be more powerful than his, with a greater destiny."
"Barleykit as well," said Onestar, and Blackstar felt a twinge of annoyance; it looked as if the tabby had kept pace with his thoughts. Perhaps Firestar was not the biggest competition.
"Well, that's that," yawned Onestar, stretching. "Good-day, Blackstar."
"Farewell," Blackstar murmured after him, watching the other leader leave. Turning back, he glanced down upon the living cats, sleeping peacefully in their dens. His gaze switched from a slumbering kit in a large moor to a pale ginger kit asleep in the ShadowClan marsh. "Sandkit," he murmured, "I have chosen you. I trust in your abilities, and you shall lead a Clan in the future. However…"
He gazed back towards the kit in the moor. Barleykit is just as great as Sandkit. Onestar chose well, I will give him that… but this time, ShadowClan will triumph as the greatest. No, not even ThunderClan will be able to stop me, nor will their pesky ally, WindClan…
He blinked, and looked once more at Sandkit. Beside him was a white tom…
"Ah, Treekit," Blackstar murmured, "I cannot see who you are deep down, but know that you are just as great as Sandkit. You shall help spur him to greatness." The white tom jumped down from the stars, and silently wove his way to the nursery, touching the kit on the head.
The kit beside Sandkit shimmered once, and then returned to normal- but Blackstar could tell that he wasn't so anymore. He returned to the sky, and-
"Blackstar?" said a voice. Firestar had returned. "What happened? I sensed a StarClanner leaving."
"Nothing," Blackstar responded, keeping his voice even, "I was just checking on Sandkit."
Firestar nodded, fixing his green gaze upon Blackstar. After a while, Blackstar looked away. "You can leave now, Blackstar, it is time for us to rest."
Blackstar gritted his teeth. Did Firestar think he controlled all of StarClan?
Furious, Blackstar stared Firestar down. Finally, Firestar was the one who glanced sideways. "Good-day, once again."
Good-day, Firestar. You may have chosen one kit as your successor, oh Great One… but I chose two.
Author's Note: Hello readers! Welcome to my first story! I am working to improve my writing, so any sort of reviews are appreciated! Thank you for reading!
~Fallenstar