The mountains floated in the sky, a mirage, the image wavering. The moon shone, very bright, it's shining form reflected across the water. A light gale gently whispered across the clearing, and shing faded pink petals fell. The great cherry blossom tree stood there, alone. It's petals flew in the wind. The wind blew and hit the water. It caused a ripple effect, the minor wave spreading across the river. The petals fell, and combined with the effect of the wind, the water moved out in all directions. The image was distorted, and a new image began to form. Dark wings of the falcons spread out with the petals, turned very dark after being soaked in water. A tail of waves swished. Petals swished here and there, as messy, windblown fur formed slowly. Two brilliant, bright, sunset colored petals fell in the middle of the form. They floated there, calm and mysterious, and all at once, they opened, revealing breathtaking color. The form became more and more solid, and a dark, shadow colored tom cat padded out of the water, his eyes gleaming. A pair of navy colored falcon wings rested upon his back. "Sakurawing, come out. We have important matters to discuss." The petals seemed to whisper back to him: "Of course, Shadowgale…" In the brilliant light of the moon, the sakura petals flew. All of them. Shadowgale found a couple of the dark, river-soaked petals slipping out of his fur. The petals shone with light, and the moon seemed a little fainter, as if the light of the moon had been drained by Sakurawing. The petals burst suddenly. Light exploded everywhere. Shadowgale covered his eyes, and when he opened them, he saw, with no surprise, a shining cat with glowing eyes the color of his fur, floating in front of the moon, held aloft by a pair of crystal wings. Her eyes opened, and she watched Shadowgale for a long moment, warily. Shadowgale made no attempt to speed things up, he just sat there calmly, holding his breath. Sakurawing at last mewed in a sharp voice: "Why have you disturbed me?" She lowered her voice. "You know what happened last time, Shadowgale. No more prophecies. That prophecy last time killed my brother." She stared at him expectantly, yet unsure that she wanted an answer. Shadowgale was silent. He kept his head tilted down, avoiding Sakurawing's glare. "It is a prophecy," he mewed slowly, at last. Sakurawing froze. "I will not assist you." She turned away from him. "Doing that would be a disgrace to my brother." She turned back to Shadowgale. "You are a cat of the prophecy as well… I am not going to use my power, the result of my Windpaw's death, the result of your actions, just to help you." She closed her eyes and turned up her nose. "You can do it yourself. Go and get Dreamflower killed. And the kits, too. It's your descision. You can do it or not. This will not concern me." Shadowgale looks at Sakura in surprise. "Sakura, I'm sorry… I'm sorry to tell you this…" He looked away from Sakura. "What?" Hissed Sakurawing. Shadowgale was very quiet. At last he spoke. "Windpaw… is not dead…." Sakurawing stepped back in shock, but continued to listen. "This prophecy… it's about him. If you don't help… he might die for real."
The moon shone bright.
(((END OF PROLOGUE)))
