A half-moon glowed on smooth rocks on the beach, turning them silver. The silence was only broken as cats wearing garbs fit for travel at sea, and cats wearing bronze armour with a shield and javelin on their backs, and a sword at their side put some recently killed animals on boats.
In the shadow of the tree's, to the unseeing eye of the ones on the beach, were another group of cats, wearing either chainmail or full plate armour. In front of the group, a tortoiseshell tom turned to his comrades and whispered. "Remember, do not harm or kill the shipmates, only go for the River State hoplites,"
After saying that, he unsheathed his sword, the glow from the moon reflecting off the blade, the others behind him brought out their weapons too. From sword to arrows, they were all ready to attack. Than the tortoiseshell tom point his sword at the group, and the ones with melee weapons jumped out, while those with arrows, stayed in the trees to fire from out of sight. This caused the second group of warriors to turn to see the commotion, and, with focus of a warrior, unsheathed their weapons to defend themselves from the attacking force.
"Run onto the ship and do not come out until I give the order!" one of the cats clad in bronze ordered, causing the shipmates to run to the ship and away from the battle. Soon the sound of clashing metal filled the area as the two groups fought, bronze and steel clashing as the two groups stood their ground.
At the center of the battle between the knights and hoplites, a massive dark tabby wearing plate armour clashed swords with a bracken-coloured tom, the two swords hitting the guards. "Oakheart! How dare you hunt in our country? The Roaring Beach is part of Thunder Kingdom!"
The two struggled to push each other back as Oakheart spat back, "After tonight, Tigerclaw, the Roaring Beach will just be another territory for the River States!.
A shout came from the shore, filled with shrill and anxiousness. "We have more hoplites landing!"
Tigerclaw turned to see 2 more boats landing, a plank set down as more River States cat rushed from the boats to join the battle, clashing with the first knights they saw, not caring of the fact that arrows were raining from the forest.
The dark tabby turned his attention back to Oakheart, who was grinning as the knights slowly became outnumbered. "You may have the advantage at sea, but you and your hoplites and peasants do not belong in Hunteria!" He drew lips back, showing his sharp teeth as he managed to push Oakheart back.
The scream of a Thunder Kingdom she-cat rose above the sounds of metal. A River States hoplite managed to get an archer with his javelin, and ran to take out the she-cat who was pulling out the weapon from her shoulder.
Tigerclaw heard the scream and kicked Oakheart away. Running to intercept the hoplite warrior. He blocked the sword with his shield, and turned his head to the injured she-cat, who just pulled the javelin out. "Quick, Mousefur, run!" he ordered, before knocking the sword away and going in to stab the warrior. Mousefur got to her feet, gripping her shoulder and running back to her horse.
Tigerclaw yelled with rage as the hoplite swung a sword it towards his face, cutting his nose open and blinding him for just a moment, but he used his sword to stabbed the hoplite in the leg. The warrior screaming in pain as he fell to the ground after Tigerclaw took his blade back out.
"Tigerclaw!" the yell came from the tortoiseshell knight that lead them to battle. "This is useless! There are too many of them!"
"No, Redtail, the knights of Thunder Kingdom will never be beaten!" Tigerclaw yelled back, running to Redtails side. "This beach belongs to Thunder Kingdom!" Blood was welling around his broad black muzzle, he shook his head impatiently, causing the blood to splatter on the rocky beach.
"Thunder Kingdom will honour your courage, Tigerclaw, but we cannot afford to lose anymore knights," Redtail urged, "Queen Bluestar would never expect her knights to fight these impossible odds. We will come back another day to avenge this defeat." He met Tigerclaw's amber-eyed gaze steadily, than sheathed his sword before running to the the edge of the forest.
"Retreat, knights! Retreat!" He ordered. At once his knights backed away from battle, blocking any attacks that the hoplites threw at them with their shields. For just a heartbeat, the hoplites of the River States looked confused. Was the battle already won? Then Oakheart jabbed his sword in the air and gave a cry of victory. As soon as the others heard him, the hoplites raised their swords to join the cry of victory, the shipmates on the boats doing the same.
Redtail turned to his knights. With a flick of his wrist, he gave the signal and the other knights ran into the forest, soon disappearing beneath the shadows of the trees.
Tigerclaw was the last to follow. He hesitated at the edge of the forest and glanced back at the blood and arrow covered battlefield. His face was grim, he narrowed his eyes into furious slits. Then ran through the forest, after his fellow knights, and back to their waiting horses.
In the capital of Thunder Kingdom, Owlberg, an old blue-gray she-cat wearing full plate armour and a blue cape with the country's symbol on it, a square cat's head with a lightening bolt through it, was in the Church of Cloudspots, named after the first healer of Thunder Kingdom.
She was looking at the many stained-glass windows, depicting many of the past Kings and Queens that ruled Thunder Kingdom. Their stone coffins lying at the far sides of the church, the image of the leaders carved into the stones. As she watched saw the faint glow from the moon going through one of the windows, she heard a door open and shut, turning she saw a tortoiseshell she-cat dressed in a brown robe walking up to her.
"How is Mousefur?" the blue-gray she-cat asked, her voice filled with some worry.
"Her wounds are deep, Queen Bluestar," the tortoiseshell answered, continuing to walk towards Bluestar. "But the chainmail stopped the javelin from going in too deep, she will heal quickly,"
"And the others?"
"They will recover too,"
Bluestar sighed with relief after hearing that. "We are lucky to not have lost any knights this time. You are a gifted Healer, Spottedleaf." She turned back to the windows as Spottedleaf stood by her side. "But I am deeply troubled by tonight's defeat, We have never been beaten in our own country since I became Queen," she murmured. "These are hard times for our country. Spring is late, and less children are the age to begin training. Thunder Kingdom needs more knights if it is to survive."
"But the year has just begun, and many will be the age to begin training," Spottedleaf reassured.
The queen shook her head. "Perhaps. But it takes many years for them to become knights. If we are to defend our territory, we must get knights as soon as possible. Bluestar took out her sword and laid the point on the ground, her hands rested on the hilt as she kneeled before the image of Thunderstar, King of Knights.
"Are you praying to Heaven for answers?" ask Spottedleaf, watching as Bluestar stayed kneeling, her eyes closed.
"It is at times like this we need the words of our ancestors to help us. Has Heaven spoken to you?" Bluestar asked.
"Not for many months."
Spottedleaf caught a shooting star in one of the windows. Her eyes widened as a vision of a knight, clad in flames stood amongst the knights as an equal, and although no words were spoken, Spottedleaf could hear a voice. She collapsed to her knees after the vision, breathing heavily.
Bluestar got up and helped Spottedleaf up, who was shocked at what happened. After a few moments, Spottedleaf breathing calmed and she turned to Bluestar.
"It was a sign from Heaven," she whispered. A distant look in her eyes. "Fire will save our kingdom."
"Fire? But fire destroys everything in it's path! How can it save us?" Bluestar asked.
"I do not know," Spottedleaf admitted. "But this is the sign that Heaven has chosen to show me."
The queen sheathed her blade and fixed her gaze on the Healer. "You have never been wrong before," she spoke. "If Heaven has shown, than it must be so. Fire will save our kingdom."