One last screech rang out before an eerie calm fell over the land. The dark clouds cleared, and a sliver of daylight came out of the darkness, illuminating the forest, river, and tumbling moorland.
Ragged and tattered cats were scattered across each territory, sleeping where they had fought. Head after head, the cats rose up to investigate the damage. There were few cats remaining, and they all turned to the place that they felt they needed to go.
The rough waves covering the lake calmed, and the cats hopped from stone to stone until they reached the island. Four senior warriors climbed up to the high branch of the meeting tree, and one let out a yowl for all cats to quite down.
With an untrained voice, a reddish brown tom meowed, "Today, we gather above the bodies of our dead Clanmates. We used to be noble and brave, great cats living with a code, a code that made us different than some rogue."
The cats looked up at the tom, meaning flooding into their amber, brown, blue, and green eyes.
"But that was all lost the day we changed. We are no longer WindClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and ThunderClan, we discarded those names the day we turned away from our ancestors," the cat continued on.
"It is true," a gray tabby she-cat wheezed. "When the leaders decided to shun our ancestors, the clans began falling apart. As a former medicine cat apprentice myself, I was devastated when this occurred. Now, we must look up to the cats that can lead us, the four standing up there. I am old, I apologize, please tell me your names."
"I am Pinefang," the reddish brown tom meowed. "I was named for the pine forests around me."
"My name is Breezeclaw," a gray she-cat with blue eyes mewed. "I was named for the strong winds of my territory."
"Some cats call me Marshfoot," a black and white patched she-cat answered. "I was named for the marshy territory surrounding the river."
"And I am Forestleaf," the last dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes finished. "I was named for the dens forests where I was born, and was raised."
"Good. I rarely remember the words, but I'll try. This shall be the start of a new ceremony. I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these four cats. They have caused much damage, and done much wrong, but they are willing to change. Cat of shadows, previous Pinefang, you shall be known as Shadowstar, leader of those dark-hearted living in the bog and pineland around you. Cat of the winds, formerly Breezeclaw, you shall be known as Windstar, leader of those wily and swift of the moor. Cat of the rivers, formerly Marshfoot, you shall be known as Riverstar, leader of those patient and levelheaded that hunt for fish and swim. Cat of the thunders, formerly Forestleaf, you shall be known as Thunderstar, leader of those who live in the deepest undergrowth. Now gather your clans, and make a new name for yourself. Make our ancestors proud, and prove that we are worthy of living in this territory," the cat rasped, finishing off the ceremony.
"Shadowstar! Windstar! Riverstar! Thunderstar!" the rather scarce group of cats yowled, their old ways slowly coming back to them.
The gray cat let off a slight purr, and collapsed onto the ground. "Hollyberry!" a cat shrieked and rushed forward. "Oh no, you were supposed to help us!"
"No, her job has been completed," Windstar mewed. "She led us to our new destination, and reminded us of what we once have been. We shall treasure her life as a gift, and in her honor, I deem that no other cat shall carry the name of holly ever again!"
"Hollyberry!" the cats cheered once more, and exchanged their goodbyes to the cat. She was buried right in front of the gathering tree, a fit place for her burial.
"Ahh, peace will lie over the clans until the eleventh blue moon from now. It might be generations away, but once it arrives, around seven moons before, a litter of kits will be born, and they, they will have to uphold my legend, and make sure the clans stay in place," Hollyberry mewed, looking down on the cats below from her position in StarClan, the newly revived StarClan.