Almost immediately cats of all kinds came, seeking out the famed brothers who offered them a new life. IceClan grew and expanded, going from five cats to fifteen to twenty to thirty to fourty to sixty to ninety to over one hundred. Eventually many perished or left, but there was a loyal core of cats who stayed true to the clan.

Under the reign of Goldenstar, everyone flourished. The leader gave them peace, hope, a state of security, and always offered his kindness. Goldenstar and Howlsong worked hard together to build IceClan and ensure it's success, and the two closely befriended two of the first members-a pair of siblings as well, Frostgaze and Duskbriar. As time went on, Howlsong and Duskbriar began to bond closer and closer together, eventually becoming mates as they saved the IceClan camp from being found by a group of dogs. Goldenstar also met the cat of his dreams-another tom named Icefire. Though some thought their relationship to be strange, most accepted it as true love, and they were as happy as could be.

A little ways down the road, hardship struck again. Duskbriar and Frostgaze told Goldenstar and Howlsong of their past-how they had left behind a life in a harsh group called the Empire. The Empire was a foul organization of cats who, under the leadership of the vicious she-cat Red, struck terror and horror all around and took pleasure in devastating the lives of others. Red was infuriated that Duskbriar and Frostgaze had escaped her grasp and sent a group of her strongest cats to attack IceClan. Luckily, the siblings warned Goldenstar of this possibility and the clan was prepared for the attack. However, that didn't stop the devastating casualties. Duskbriar, who had been bearing Howlsong's kits at the time, had a miscarriage, yet one single kit remained: Pinekit, who later died from greencough. Shadowfur died as well, but was reincarnated into her newborn kit, Shadowkit. Leafshade also perished, as well as many others. Finally, the saddest moment of all-A huge tom had Goldenstar pinned down, the leader's lithe body no match for the stocky brute. Red, the Empire's ruler, dragged Icefire to the trapped tom. Having a sick, twisted mind, Red took pleasure in hurting others, and, smiling smugly, she demanded that Icefire jump off of a nearby cliff or Goldenstar would be killed.

There was no thought in Icefire's mind about the choice, it wasn't even a decision to him. Of course the tom would do anything to save his mate. And so, tragedy struck. Icefire plummeted down, cracking his skull. In a blind fury, Goldenstar ripped himself free of the cat pinning him down and tackled Red off of the same cliff. Red perished and Goldenstar lost a life.

IceClan was bruised, bleeding, and almost defeated. Even though the evil cats had fled after the death of their leader, it didn't feel like a victory...the losses were just too great. Goldenstar fell into a deep depression at the loss of his mate, and the leader would just stay curled in his den day and night. It took a few dedicated warriors and Howlsong to snap the cat out of it and bring him up back to rise higher than before.

The clan continued on, and this time the peace lasted a long, long time. Everyone was happy, families were being build and growing, relationships were being formed. It seemed as if nothing could be better.

One night Goldenstar had a dream in which he saw some of the cats from the Empire talking about taking revenge on IceClan. They were plotting two ways to get them-one involved some kind of stream, and the other was to make a deal with a fox clan and send the beasts in to attack. Goldenstar awoke from this nightmare in the middle of the night, not quite sure what to make of it. The leader planned to discuss it with Howlsong and the medicine cats in the morning. Since the tom couldn't get back to sleep, he decided to get up and be useful, heading out of the camp to stock up on some herbs at the Miracle Den to bring back to Raccoonmask and Bearpetal, the medicine cats. Just as the cat was taking the difficult path around the waterfall to get to the little den, he was suddenly attacked by a ravenous fox. The leader's lithe body was no match for the fox's strong jaws, and the creature bit his spine and shook him like a rag doll. It was then that Howlsong appeared, sending the fox screeching away. Being so close to the Miracle Den, the black tom took his broken brother in there to try and find some herbs to help him before the medicine cats arrived. Goldenstar was horror-struck-he couldn't feel his hind legs.

The leader told Howlsong all about his dream and urged his brother to take IceClan far, far away, as they could never survive such an attack. They decided it was the only option, but with Goldenstar's condition with his legs the cat would only slow the rest of them down. He knew this and, to spare the others either the guilt over leaving him behind or the cost of trying to take him along, Goldenstar ate some death berries, which he had been gathering ever since they entered the Miracle Den. Before he perished, the cat told Howlsong of another place he had seen in his dream, a beautiful place where they'd be safe. Howlsong would have to lead IceClan and travel at night, guided by the light of a golden star overhead. With a last tender embrace, the ebony tom took the body of his beloved brother back to the camp for the vigil and awaited the journey ahead.