Prologue

Prologue

A single cat sat in a clearing, surrounded by bodies that were in eternal sleep. He had midnight black fur and deep blue eyes, so it was almost impossible to see him without the help of the stars overhead. He was filled with grief, of shock, of sadness, yet he knew there was something else he should have his mind on, and this was not it.

"Why must there be so many deaths in the world," he said in a whisper, sighing deeply. He was almost afraid of disturbing the cats around him by speaking loudly, even though they were dead.

"It is life." The black tom turned around in surprise when he heard another cat. It was a she-cat, a slender, long-legged tortoiseshell she-cat, and she was slowly approaching the nervous tom. When she got to him, she calmly sat down next to him, wrapping her long tail gracefully around her paws.

"Who are you?" the black tom asked, noticing the stars that were mixed in with her pelt. "I have not seen you before . . . You have never come to me before."

"I had no need to see you in the past because you did not need me then." When the she-cat continued, she dropped her voice to a more serious tone. "You need me now."

The black tom stood up sharply at this remark. "Everything is fine in our camp! Wait . . . what are you not telling me?"

"I have nothing to discuss now, but I just came to tell you that you and your Clanmates' lives are about to be changed forever, and that what is in front of you is only the beginning. Good-bye." And with that, the she-cat stood up, flexed her claws, arched her back while yawning, and walked off, but not before she called, "Oh, and it is time for the sun to come, Blacksky. Say hi to the kits for me!"

And with that, the she-cat padded away, leaving the tom in a state of confusion just as he yawned and unwillingly fell asleep . . .

"Blacksky, are you okay?" A small nudge made the black tom, Blacksky, awaken. When his eyes opened, he felt relieved to know that he was back in his clan's camp, peacefully sleeping in his den. He was the medicine cat of his clan, SunClan, so he slept in the nursery, which was also where all injured and sick cats went for treatment.

The cat who had nudged him was his apprentice, Quailpaw. She was small for her age, and she had a mottled pelt and green eyes. But she was also very wise for her age, and she was smart and always calm, just like the cat in his dream. He could usually trust her with his dreams, but he needed to speak to their leader first.

"Ripplestar?" he called, entering the leader's den. Her den was hollowed out at the bottom of a very large boulder, and it was covered with moss on the ground. Ripplestar was a beautiful gray she-cat with long silver stripes down her back and pale blue eyes. They blinked open wearily, but when she saw Blacksky she immediately leapt up.

"What is it, Blacksky? What's wrong?" she asked.

"I- I had a dream, and I think it's important," the black tom said, trying to remember what had happened in his dream.

"Was it a sign from StarClan? If it is we should warn the clan, even if it is only dawn." Ripplestar spoke too loudly and woke one of the warriors up. Blacksky noticed that it was Stormhawk, the muscular brown tabby tom deputy. Noticing that he and Ripplestar were talking, Stormhawk slowly walked over, shaking his fur.

"Good morning, Stormhawk," Ripplestar said pleasantly. The tom curtly nodded. He always was grumpy in the morning, Blacksky thought, purring. But then he turned his attention back to the dream.

"Yes, it was from StarClan, I think. I was sitting in a clearing, and there were dead cats all around me. Then, an unknown she-cat walked to me, telling me our lives are going to be changed forever and that the field would only be the beginning. She also said that it was time for the sun to come." Blacksky pondered over it, trying to figure it out.

"Well, we are SunClan. Do you think that means anything?" Stormhawk asked, but Blacksky shook his head. It couldn't be that simple.

"Did the she-cat say anything else?" Ripplestar pressed.

Blacksky shrugged. "She only said to tell the kits she said hi- of course!" Blacksky, Stormhawk, and Ripplestar padded across the camp to the nursery, where three queens were sleeping peacefully. Two kits were cuddled next to the older queen, a beautiful dark tortoiseshell with amber eyes. Other kits were sleeping by one of the other queens.

"Thrushwing, are you awake?" Stormhawk asked quietly.

The tortoiseshell yawned and then looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw all the cats staring at her. "Yes?" she asked. "What is it?"

"Well, we were wondering if you had named your kits yet," Blacksky said soothingly.

Obviously Thrushwing didn't understand why they were asking her this so early in the morning, but she replied anyway. "Well, no. Deersprint and I aren't positive, but we think we're going to name this little guy (a small dusky brown tom with amber eyes) Acornkit. As for the she-cat . . . I'm not sure." The she-cat was golden yellow, and she had pale orange stripes and amber eyes. Blacksky looked at Ripplestar and nodded.

"Thrushwing, I think Blacksky has a name for the kit," Ripplestar said.

"Yes," Blacksky said, and then he continued, "I had a dream. I think it was telling me that you must name your kit . . . Sunkit."

Thrushwing gasped. "Sunkit?! After our great leader, Sunstar? Are you sure, Blacksky?" Blacksky nodded, fatigue starting to overpower him. "Very well . . . her name will be Sunkit." And with that, Thrushwing curled tighter against her kits and fell back asleep. Ripplestar told Stormhawk to get a few more hours of sleep, before she needed patrols, so soon only Blacksky was left.

Sighing, he stretched and settled back down into his nest. I need to retire; I'm getting too old for this.