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Prologue

The sun was just setting as the first pained yowl disrupted the otherwise peaceful air that hung in the contented camp. A dusky brown she-cat with black spots immediately emerged with a few leaves in her jaws from behind a boulder, trotting across the camp just as the second yowl rang out. The few other cats that lay in small groups of twos or fours watched the she-cat with open interest in their eyes and their ears pricked, as if awaiting a decision or command.

When the she-cat managed to deposit her herbs on the ground inside the large, enclosed space known as the Birth Nursery, she murmured words of comfort to the other she-cat who was gasping in pain as another tremor struck her body.

"You've done this twice before, Ambertail, it should not be as hard as the first time," the dusky she-cat pointed out, feeding the pale ginger Queen a fuzzy leaf. The she-cat, so named for her darker ginger tail, nodded her thanks.

"You are right Spotberry, Ambertail should not find this birth so hard," came the voice of a third she-cat, her yellow eves luminous in the darkness of the den. There was a question hidden deep in her words and when Spotberry returned her gaze to the Queen lying before her, she thanked StarClan that Ambertail had not heard it.

When Spotberry gave no reply, the other she-cat pressed harder, "This is her third litter, after all, and her Match is not here."

"Breathe deeply," Spotberry told Ambertail before finally looking up again. "Knarlfur, please come here. I will need help when the kits arrive," she meowed, ignoring Knarlfur's previous sly remark.

At last all three of the kits were out and Ambertail was resting her head on her paws, her flanks heaving with effort. All three, Spotberry thought worriedly. That did not bode well.

Knarlfur returned the kits she had been licking to its mother's side. "All three of them are beautiful kits," she commented to Spotberry, with a slight emphasis on the word 'three'.

"Indeed. I must inform Swirlstar," Spotberry meowed, dipping her head respectfully to both queens. "Knarlfur, perhaps you could give Ambertail the rest of the herbs when she is strong enough to eat them?"

"But of course," Knarlfur purred, returning to her own nest but keeping an eye on the other Queen.

When Spotberry re-entered the clearing, Swirlstar was already waiting for her, his eyes reflecting the grey sky above them. "Well?" he asked, his tail twitching.

Spotberry dipped her head to him before replying, "Ambertail's third litter of three kits is healthy and all four cats will be perfectly fine."

Swirlstar's eyes darkened. "A litter of three?"

"A litter of three," Spotberry confirmed, her eyes not betraying the internal worry she felt.

"What has StarClan had to say?" Swirlstar asked her, urgency in his mew.

Spotberry glanced up at the cloudy sky. "StarClan has warned me that trouble is coming, and have been warning me since Ambertail first announced that her third litter was on the way." Swirlstar nodded impatiently; he already knew that. "And the signs… The signs are all bad. It is Ambertail's third litter. She has three kits. Her match is out hunting and not by her side. The gathering storm clouds, and many more insignificant things that have gone wrong," Spotberry meowed.

"What sort of trouble does StarClan mention?" Swirlstar narrowed his eyes.

Every fibre in her body was telling her not to repeat StarClan's words, but from birth she had been trained to obey her leader whatever the situation. The training had been so intense that what she had been taught was now ingrained in her every cell and overrode even the strongest of her instincts. It was this training that made Spotberry open her mouth now to deliver the words she would always regret repeating.

"There will be a cat; the third-born in the third litter of the third-born in a third litter, who will destroy the Traditions and rule the Clans. Only by following the rules in the way of destruction can you prevent imminent danger," Spotberry meowed feeling sick – she knew what she would have to tell Swirlstar next. At least, though, she had left out the last bit StarClan had told her. Swirlstar would never suspect anything, and she had not been forced to tell him because it was what StarClan had implied in their words to her, not outright told her. Still, the act of unintentional defiance, however small, made her fur tremble.

Swirlstar was paying no attention to his medicine cat's trembling fur. He was too busy being horrified and trying to think of a solution at the same time. Finally, he looked at Spotberry. "How can we prevent this?"

"By following what will otherwise be imminently destroyed," Spotberry replied, her tail twitching in disgust at herself. With a heavy heart and a feeling of horrible denial of doing anything wrong settling in her already upset stomach, she continued, "to protect the Traditions we must follow the Traditional rule of Punishment. Attempting to destroy the Traditions is an evil action, and evil is an all-consuming desire, therefore a cat who commits an evil action is evil aside out. Evil must be destroyed before it can spread. This is what the Traditions say," she said in a dull, toneless voice.

Both cats turned to look behind them at the nursery in which they could just make out Ambertail nursing her new-born litter. Then, they glanced up at the sky, both knowing what had to be done.

A/N: So this was a short prologue, but hopefully the chapters will get longer (notice the word hopefully).

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