Here's the first glimpse into my book, I hope you guys like it!
Prologue
Moonlight streamed into a clearing through the leaves of many trees, making patterns on the soft grass. In the center of the hollow was a pool of crystal clear water with the moon and the stars shining off of it. Water trickled into the pool from a little brook, and even when the water should have made ripples, it stayed clear and unchanged, like a mirror.
Around the edge of the clearing were bushes and trees, still and silent, their leaves an unnatural bright emerald green. Lush grass carpeted the brown dirt floor, and soft velvety moss clung to the silvery gray rocks that encircled the pool. The wind whistled a lonely tune through the trees, causing the leaves to sway and dance in the breeze. One sad cloud floated alone in the inky black sky, drifting past the glowing moon.
The air held a warm feeling, as if great secrets that the world would never know, hung in the atmosphere, just out of reach. Everything seemed suspended, nothing was moving at the normal speed of time, indeed, nothing was normal.
The forest was unnaturally quiet, for such an enchanting surrounding. No crickets chirped and no birds sang sweetly. The silence was unnerving, but then there was a soft rustle from the forest. The rustle was the faintest of things, could have been a tiny fly landing on a leaf or a mouse scuffling in the dirt, but in that deep quiet it seemed like a loud shout.
The bushes parted to reveal a ginger tom with sleek fur, his pelt resembling flaming fire. Stars seemed to encircle his paws, and his eyes blazed like he knew all the secrets of the world. He padded down to sit on the rocks that surrounded the pool.
More cats entered the clearing and settled themselves on the rocks, their fur sparkling, as if frost had settled itself on their pelts. The flow of cats moved like one with the forest. Just as the shadows moved with the wind, so did the cats, driven softly like the water in the brook, blending in to the rocks as they sat.
At last the ginger tom spoke, his voice holding confidence. "A cat is destined to lead the clans in a time of danger," he announced, his amber eyes calm and unblinking. As he spoke the first words, a kind of spell broke, and suddenly the cats were no longer shadows, but cats, standing out against the hard gray stone on which they sat.
"And who is that, Blazestar? I have seen nothing."
"Neither have I," called out another cat, to the right of the pool.
"Well, I have," mewed Blazestar calmly, unaware of the other cats misgivings. Then he began to recite a prophecy.
"When the great battle comes, all will be past help, though you may think that we live forever. She will keep us alive and well, until we can be passed on to another." Then he murmured something softly, as if talking to himself, his voice inaudible even through the silent and hushed night.
In the middle of the pool, the liquid began to ripple and it turned from crystal clear to a coal black color, the shade spreading across the water like ink, and an image appeared of a small skinny cat, her ribs showing through her pelt.
Although she was probably half starved, she carried a sense of authority and confidence with her. Her fur was as black as an ebony night, and her eyes were a piercing golden shade, like a fiery sun. She padded through a sea of emptiness, her surroundings unclear to the watching cats.
"Her eyes are like burning honey," Blazestar murmured to himself, as if recalling something. But his thoughts were quickly interrupted.
"Why, look at her! She's as scraggly as a rat!"
More cries of outrage filled the night, slicing through the air. The silent clearing had exploded with anger, cats all over yowling their indignation.
"What! That scrawny little thing?! Why, she's no bigger than an apprentice."
"That's because she's the age of an apprentice," Blazestar said coolly, rising up to his full height his eyes narrowing, giving him an angry and threatening demeanor. "She will grow up to be a great and loyal warrior, as great as any cat."
"But Blazestar, there is no such cat in any of the clans."
Blazestar nodded his head. "Very observant are we Mouseclaw?" he mewed, acknowledging the pale brown she-cat. "But you're right, she is not a clan cat, she is a rogue from the Twoleg cities. If she is tough enough to survive alone at her age in this desolate place, she can survive in the forest and help her clan."
"But she doesn't have clan blood," yowled a gray tom.
"Does that really matter?" demanded Blazestar, his amber eyes flashing. Anger sparked his thoughts, but he quickly pushed his flaming temper down to the nadir point, calming his strained voice, and mewed, "Clan blood or no, she will still make a good warrior. She was brought up in harsher environments than the forest, and she will appreciate and thrive in clan life. She will be an asset to her clan." He repeated what he had said before, trying enforce his point firmly.
As the cats quieted down, a dark gray tom with amiable gray eyes stood up and inquired, "Blazestar, may I ask you something?"
He nodded and the cat mewed, "You've told that she will be a great warrior, but you have not told us to which clan she will belong."
Worried murmurs broke out among the cats as he said this, shocked that the tom would bring up a question like that. Although cats from all the clans came to Starclan, the heated rivalry stayed and some cats held their opinions of other clans more strongly than others. Around the pool, cats let out hisses and muttered things under their breath, but Blazestar just shook his head.
"You may want her to be in Shadowclan, Shadeclaw, but you cannot alter a cat's destiny." He was still for a few seconds and finally he pronounced, "Her destiny lies in Thunderclan."
Suspicious whispers filled the hollow, and some cats yowled out their worries.
"Isn't it strange that a Thunderclan cat is telling us that a great warrior will be in Thunderclan when the rest of us have seen and heard nothing?" called out a cat, voicing the others thoughts.
Blazestar let out a hiss. "I would never lie about a prophecy," he growled. "She will be in Thunderclan." He paced up and down the rocks, daring the cats to question him any more, and even though his appearance remained challenging and confident, a flash of insecurity whisked through his amber eyes. "Any cat who knows me, knows that I am not biased towards Thunderclan. She will be in Thunderclan, no cat can change that."
Slowly the murmuring stopped, all the cats knowing and agreeing that Blazestar who was a natural leader wouldn't mislead them. "When will she come?" yowled a cat, pushing aside his doubt although it kept nagging at the present cats' minds.
Blazestar nodded in satisfaction, acknowledging the question as curiosity not attack. "She is not on the right path yet. Does a cat wish to lead her here to us?"
A silvery gray tom with amber eyes stepped forward. "I will," he said.
"Stormpelt?" Blazestar mewed in surprise. "Are you sure you can handle this task?"
"I may be old, but I am still strong," the old tom replied evenly. "I was a faithful warrior and medicine cat to you for many moons, and that will not change now that I am in Starclan. I am sure that I can bring her to the forest and to us."
Blazestar nodded, his flaming coat rustling, trying to hide uneasiness. "Then it is settled," he yowled, his eyes flicking towards the silver tom, still not completely reassured of his abilities. "We will all watch over her in Thunderclan." Then he added, sure that the cats of Starclan needed to hear this, "Who she becomes affects all the clans."
This phrase seemed to knock the cats of Starclan out of their watchful trance, and with a jerk, the whole clearing of cats began to come alive and seem less like starry spirits. And as if their minds were one, the cats began to trickle out of the clearing like water from a bubbling brook, flowing freely along a rocky bottom.
As one by one, the cats disappeared, more and more stars seemed to appear in the black canvas above them. Slowly the sky filled with little white holes, and the clearing emptied, until silence reclaimed it once more.