SunClan's Fate, Book II: Ashes
"Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain."
-Joseph Campbell
Part I
"Recovery begins from the darkest moment."
-John Major
Prologue
"Cats of all clans! In this time of great trial, we must join together to prevail!" the grey tabby tom yowled at the Gathering. "StarClan has sent us the message and we must follow it!"
"And where exactly is that to, Hailstar?" an orange tom asked, frown prevalent on his face.
"Emberstar," he spoke, sadness tainting his face ever so slightly, "We all know that IceClan has not received the sign. But the rest of the clans have." Hailstar spoke with an exasperated tone. As if he had had this conversation thousands of times before. The other three cats next to him on the branch nodded their heads in agreement.
Another cat, this time an all grey she-cat spoke up, "MoonClan received its signal through our medicine cat, Berryfur. And Berryfur has never been wrong nor mislead us."
Emberstar stood up, pelt rising slightly, "IceClan has not received a sign, so therefore, we will not go!" The clearing was deadly silent. Clouds began to cover up the moon.
Another cat, this one with a very dark gray tabby coat stood up. She shook her head, "I'm sorry that it had to come to this Emberstar. SunClan, BreezeClan, MoonClan, and FireClan have all made their choices." She sighed deeply, visibly showing her sadness, "The time of this territory is coming to an end. The prey is leaving, heading over the jagged peaks. The trees are dying, rotting away like old crow-food. There is nothing left for us here now." She stared around at the gathered cats, "Any cat that stays here will be forgotten and will soon die. It is inevitable."
Hailstar stood up, "Shadowstar is right. She, Coalstar, Redstar, and I will lead our clans away from death. But, if your clan chooses to die here like frightened prey, so be it." He was about to leap down when he remembered something. He turned around and faced the IceClan group of cats, "Any cat from IceClan that wishes to leave and be a part of SunClan may join us. We will not judge you from any other cat."
Emberstar looked down at his clan with a sense of anger. For a moment, not one cat stood up or spoke. Then, a small, silvery tabby she-cat stood up. Her eyes were as blue as the clan's name.
"Frostclaw…" Emberstar warned, his voice was thick with anger.
She cleared her throat, "I wish to join SunClan. I believe that it would be mad to stay here and die." She glanced over her shoulder to where her mate stood; eyes widened in shock, and whispered softly, "I'm sorry Eaglepelt, but it's for our kits' sake."
"Very well," Hailstar said, nodding his head, "Welcome to SunClan." He waited for another moment, "Are there any others?"
The IceClan cats cast sideways glances at each other, giving away their sense of suspicion and fear. Then, four more cats stood up.
Hailstar nodded his head, "SunClan welcomes you all; Yarrowclaw, Volespots, Streampelt, and Flamescar." Eaglepelt was not among them.
When no other cat stood up Hailstar gave a curt nod, "Well then. SunClan wishes you all the best of luck." With that he turned tail and leapt down from the branch. The other leaders, who were waiting for him at the edge of the clearing, gave similar goodbyes. Emberstar stood still, not acknowledging any of them. Slowly, four of the clans left the clearing one last time, taking five of IceClan's warriors with them.
As Emberstar led his clan back to camp, he noticed that all four of the clans' scent led straight towards the jagged peaks. Never to return. They were the ones making the mistake. Not him. Without StarClan on their side, they were doomed to die. And then, at that moment, he sent a curse towards them.
He cursed SunClan for taking his warriors, and he prayed to the dark forest that they would steal away more of their warriors than any cat could count. That they should be plagued by sickness and misfortune. Especially Frostclaw's descendants for being the first to betray her clan. He hoped with all of his heart that SunClan would die.