Prologue
The crystal-clear water tumbled over the rocks with a pleasant gurgle, offering a picture of the fish that swam peacefully along the stream bed. Further down, reeds grew as the stream widened to a river, but at this point the line between land and water was as sharp as day and night.
A silvery-gray cat sat by the edge of the water, its shadow behind it as it peered in at the fish. In a blur of motion, its paw shot into the water, and came out with its claws buried in a fish. A quick bite to the spine and the fish was dead. The cat picked up her freshkill, and padded away from the stream. The rest of the fish had scattered, but in a stream as clear as that, finding them again would be not trouble.
"Silverstream!"
The queen turned around to see another cat with a similar pelt bound up to her, water droplets spraying in the air as she shook the water out of her fur.
"Feathertail," she purred, touching noses with her daughter. "how has the prey been running?"
"As good as always," Feathertail shrugged. "Nice fish, by the way! I saw your catch."
"Thank you!"
As the two she-cats strode on in amiable silence, Silverstream noticed that in the distance she could see two cats huddled together under a tree, sharing tongues in the dappled shade the leaves provided. They grew closer, and she could make out the worried look on both of their faces. Her eyes narrowed, and she bounded over to them.
Bluestar looked up, and meowed, her voice guarded, "Greetings, Silverstream, Feathertail. What can we do for you?"
"Nothing," replied Silverstream, meeting Bluestar's gaze "We just came to say hello."
Firestar seemed less aggressive, but he too remained a frosty distance. "Well, hello then."
Confused by their hostility, Silverstream's fur began to prickle, and she muttered, "All right, no need to be so prickly. We were just saying hello."
Firestar looked unhappy, but said nothing, and the two she-cats padded away. He looked after them as they left, and then turned to Bluestar and said, "Was that really necessary?"
"They can't know about this. You know that."
"I know," he sighed, "but that makes it no easier."
"We need to finish figuring out what we'll do in the coming moons. The defeat of the Dark Forest should be a time of celebration for the clan, but hard times are ahead. They will need great strength to pull through the times ahead."
Firestar sighed. "Hasn't our clan suffered enough?"
Bluestar shook her head. "That is what it means to be a warrior. If life had no challenges, we would be no better than pampered kittypets."
His tail lashed, and his fur visibly raised, but he did not argue. Instead, he rose, and began to pace.
"I'm sure whatever challenges lie ahead, the Three will be able to lead our clan through it. And Bramblestar is becoming a fine leader." He stopped. "It troubles me that our view of the lake has not returned in full."
"It will merely take time, Firestar."
"I know that," he growled. "It's not being able to see my clan worries me."
Bluestar gently touched his shoulder with her tail, and said, "You left it in able paws. You know as well as I that newleaf brought with it fresh life, and the warriors' den is bursting still. Our clan is hardly undefended."
"It would be better if we could see the disaster that approaches."
Bluestar looked up at the sky above them, the full moon hanging in the sky, its constant presence a reminder of the truce between the four clans – a reminder that StarClan was a place of peace.
Off in the distance, a kit with stars shimmering in its fur ran across the moor that began a short ways away, followed by another. Their squeals reached them on the wind, and Firestar's ears pricked at their kittish roaming. His fur lay flat, and he let out a soft purr.
"Have faith, Firestar." Bluestar murmured. "Our clan has a way of pulling through."
Suddenly, the moon seemed to redden, and a flash of fire flickered a cross the sky. Bluestar gasped, and her ears lay flat as she cowered.
"What in StarClan...?!"
Like a fiery gash across the sky, a long arc of red seemed to stretch before the moon, as though a claw had torn open the sky and made it bleed. Cries rose up all across StarClan, and Firestar stood, his eyes blazing.
"It is a sign," he hissed. "It must be!"
"But what could it mean?"
Firestar turned to her, and there was a determination that had not been there before. When he spoke, there was a sense of destiny about his words, and his voice was not quite his own.
"In the wake of shadow, lion and sun shall clash in a drowned forest, and dew shall save the lake."
He stared up at the sky that burned red above them, and then whispered, "May StarClan give them courage. The worst is yet to come."