Shadowy figures appeared, one by one, across the barren moor. Cats. A pretty brown tabby shivered. "I hate this place."
"It is the only place that will suffice for the Choosing."
An old gray cat brushed by the cat who had spoken, who bowed her head respectfully. All the cats disappeared after the gray cat into a cave in the rock.
They stood around a pool of glowing water. The gray cat, whom the all seemed to look to as their leader, stood and spoke.
"We all know of the threat that looms over the Clans."
The surrounding cats nodded as one and murmurs of unease spread through the starry crowd.
"And you all know that, to overcome this threat, we must choose a savior from each clan to bestow upon connections to us."
No cat spoke.
"We have done this before. We will do it again. But never before has the consequences of choosing incorrectly been so dire."
Silence.
The gray cat cleared his throat nervously. "And so, we must ask of our eldest ancestors to choose, and make one last final choice for the Clans they have done so much in caring for."
On cue, four very old, very faded cats stepped out of the shadows. The old gray cat and every cat there bowed their heads low to the ground in respect and awe.
"Thunder. River. Shadow. Wind."
The cat that had been adressed as Wind stepped forward. He stooped low and touched his muzzle to the glowing pool. A ripple of light passed from his nose to the edges, and, clearly shown in the pool, was a cat, her belly swollen with the unmistakable bulge of kits.
A pretty gray tabby near the front of the crowd gasped audibly.
Wind bowed an ancient head. "You miss your sister, Tansyleaf, do you not?"
Tansyleaf's eyes shone with pride. "It will be one of hers?"
Wind nodded. "Indeed." The image changed to a young gray cat with peircing blue eyes. Wind stared at it, unblinking. "She will be the one," he murmured softly. "I give her everything that my clan represents—speed, agility, quick thinking. She will protect Windclan with all of her heart."
Everyone nodded weakly, unable to speak. Wind stepped back into the shadows.
River stepped forward, a pretty silver she-cat. She too dipped her head to the pool, and again it was filled with the image of a queen, this time in Riverclan, and this time, the kits were already born.
One very small tortoiseshell and one golden, the dawning sun reflecting off of his fur. The pool was then filled with the image of the golden cat, older, but unmistakable.
"I give him control of what Riverclan puts their pride into. Let him use it well, for it is a powerful thing."
She too stepped back, and disappeared.
Shadow stepped forward, green eyes glinting in the light. Once again the pool was filled with an image of a cat, a black and white one with bright green eyes.
"He will have the shadows at his command. He will now what it is to be unseen, and yet great and powerful. He must use it wisely, however, or be forever lost to the darkness."
Thunder stepped forward. A pretty young cat filled the bowl, with jet black fur and beautiful blue eyes.
"She is a warrior already," Thunder said fondly. "She will be the best. But she will also be the bridge between the five clans. The other three might win the battle, but she will bring peace. She will know Starclan unlike any other."
He turned away from the pool to all the cats watching. "She will speak with you in her dreams, but it is you who must speak back. She will have a sad life. She must not go astray, or all is lost."
The four founders of the forest stood together behind the pool, which filled with the image of all four young cats. "They will protect the Clans. Or they will die trying."
And then, all four of them faded away into forgotten dreams.