For those who contributed to my Animals OC's, I'm sorry but it was pulled down, I will use the animals which were put forward though, thank you.
-Chapter 1- Darkness-
A silent breeze echoed through the field of white, starry flowers. They glistened and shone under the luminous moon. Dew drops sparkled like diamonds on their angelic petals, and fell like stars once disturbed. Not a sound could be heard but for the gentle rustle of the breeze; no creatures scurrying, no insects buzzing, no birds flying and no water rushing. The field of ghostly flowers stretched on and on, etching to the corners of the horizon, not a tree nor any landmark in sight. It was a field of pure, white flowers with the moon, like a giant, towering over them, watching them.
A single cat sat in the centre of the starry field, flowers crumpled under paws and a bushy tail placed neatly over them. Long, white fur shimmered like cobwebs in the morning dew under the light of the moon. She sat still and serene, her eyes closed gently, as if in thought. Her silhouette glowed against the colossal moon as her silky fur ruffled slightly in the quiet breeze, her silvery whiskers swaying gently.
Suddenly, everything became deathly still as the breeze was no more.
A sigh of content left her pale nose as she gradually, ever so slowly, opened her eyes. They matched the flowers; white and ghostly, yet angelic and pure. A soft purr tumbled into the silence.
"At last." Her mew was soft and lulling, like a queen comforting her frightened kit. "They've arrived."
Her pale eyes gazed impassively at the titanic moon, reflecting its luminous glow. "May the stars to guide you to victory, young ones."
Oh my dear, if only it were that easy.
A silent scream seemed to echo through the flowers as a sharp breeze whistled through them. The snowy she-cat stifled in shock, misty eyes widened and her hackles ever so slightly bristling. He was supposed to have disappeared.
But then, why have such a delightfully fun time when it could disappear so easily?
The she-cat didn't turn round in horror, nor whip around in shock, for she knew what had enveloped her beloved plains of flowers. She would never forget that horrible sneer, the subtle insanity, and that leering tone as long as she had a conscience. A stank, musty smog tinged with a metallic odour filled her senses as she refused to turn and meet the intruder. A soft wisp of darkness curled around her paws, dyeing her lovely white flowers the colour of evil.
"You come here, to do what? This place is forbidden to the likes of you, be gone." Her voice was strong, and her pale eyes, full of resolve, never swayed from the moon. Her ghostly tail trembled slightly, but not with fear, but with controlled anger.
The wisps of darkness seemed to vibrate with a slow, menacing laugh.
Ouch. That hurts, my dear. But I'm sure you have no need to ask. You know perfectly well why I'm here. I'm giving you a warning. My strength is growing, soon I won't be just mere shadows and wisps of despair. Your little toys will die, and I, after so many years, will finally be with you for an eternity.
She almost gagged in disgust as she felt the wisps grow to slide over her sleek fur, her eerie face, her soft neck. It was when the smoky shadows had covered her vision and starting to clutch and grab for her fur, like a child grasping for its toy that she had enough.
She whipped around; pure venom radiating in her eyes, tail slashing away the entrails of darkness. She faced a black pit of dark void, its smoky tendrils hovering over her beloved fields, strangling the pure flowers to death.
"Be gone, Shadow!" She snarled, fangs glistening against the moonlight. "That day will never come."
The tendrils recoiled, as if shocked, and slithered back into the black void, leaving behind a destructive path of fallen, starry flowers.
Touchy, touchy. That temper of yours was never an attractive aspect. You see, I'm afraid it'll be too late, by the time your little sweeties have enough courage to stop the inevitable, you will be by my side. You will be one with me.
Her spine arched, hackles at full rage, bristling with fury. Her claws unsheathed; long and deadly, unbefitting for someone as fragile as she.
"Be gone!" She spat, "You are not welcome here, wraith!"
How you wish I was just a ghost, my love.
With that, the smoky void and its wispy entrails faded away from her beloved sanctuary. She let herself silently settle on the soiled ground, her fur still not flat on her back and her claws still unsheathed. She glanced sorrowfully at the ruin the smoky tendrils had left behind. The pure, starry flowers were now tainted with darkness and had shrivelled up into an undistinguishable mess. The moon, as if sharing her grief, darkened; creating a shadow over the plains of ruin. Her fur, now grey and lank in the darkness, shrouded her as she curled up into a shivering ball.
She whimpered; frightened for what was to come.
It was when darkness covered the dawn of a clear sky blue day that they panicked.
A throng of terrified cats mingled and merged together, pushing and shoving each other while running frantically in all directions, desperate to seek some sort of security. Their starry pelts, ranging from all colours; from the smoky blue to the bright orange, all blurred together into one shrieking mess. The cats of StarClan would never have imagined that this day would come.
They had received the signs, but they had ignored them, snorting in disbelief. They had received the warnings, but they were shot down; nothing would disrupt their peace. They were told what was coming, but it was shunned, left to one side to worry about another day.
That day had come, and they did not expect it. Except for those few who listened and believed.
Sat in the middle of the swarm of scared cats was a colossal tom, whose starry blue-grey fur was pale and translucent, signs that he was starting to fade away. He was one of the ancients; the last remaining of the founding Clan members. It was he who recognised the foreboding sight, and it was he who knew what was to come. He ignored the panicking cats shoving into him, merely shaking them off like flies. His narrowed yellow eyes were focused on one thing only; the darkness spewing from the dawn. Thick, feathery fur rustled in horrified anger as the tom withdrew the breath he didn't realise he was holding.
Flexing his glistening claws, the monstrous tom bit back a nervous growl and immediately whipped around; disappearing into the horrified horde. He shouldered cats out of his path, storming over to the great oak which marked the start of StarClan's forest. Within a few sweeping leaps, the large grey tom was crouched on one of the far reaching branches, towering over the disrupted forest and facing the despairing dawn. His claws sunk deeper into the soft bark as his suspicions were confirmed. The tom could see clearly that the darkness was creeping ever so slowly onto StarClan's land.
It was inching its way over every blade of grass, every fallen leaf, every broken twig. Slowly but surely, from the edge of StarClan's territory at the horizon, the darkness was making its way forward right to the very heart of StarClan. It wouldn't reach them yet, but as the tom knew too well, it was all but a matter of time. In time, the darkness would cover all of StarClan, draining every ounce of colour, vibrancy and soul StarClan known for. The heaven would disappear and become a void of nothingness, and dead cats' spirits would wander in limbo, never to be able to rest in peace.
Heart thumping in dread, he made his way back down the massive tree, stopping by the roots, and stared at the caterwauling cats in remorse. Almost at once, he was greeted by two anxious faces. A dark red tabby she-cat sat next to him, like a mouse who sat next to a lion, while a black tom sat on his other side, his sombre face gazing at the chaos sorrowfully. Both of their tails were lashing, their fur bristling. Their paling pelts indicated that they too had started to fade, that they were part of the ancients.
"So this is what happened here last time." It was barely more than a whisper, but the larger tom heard the unmistakable tremble in the she-cat's voice.
The black tom's ears were pulled back, flat on his head, terror radiating deep within the pools of his amber eyes. "What sort of evil engulfs the heavens in pure darkness?"
A deep growl rumbled in the back of the monstrous tom's throat, "You know what evil. You were there. You fought that battle."
The amber pools turned to ice. "Aye, I did. That monstrosity should never be allowed to happen again."
"Then let us calm these scatterbrains. Where are the kits?"
The she-cat's slender tail pointed in the direction of the StarClan camp. "Firestorm and Sweetbracken are keeping them occupied; they need not be a part of this maelstrom."
The lumbering blue-grey head nodded its approval, "Good. No kit should be witness to such a sight." He started striding towards the centre of the turmoil, beckoning the two to follow him with his feathery tail, shoving and pushing cats out of his way.
"Silence!"
His roar had immediate results. Its echo filled the shocked clearing, and he felt the gazes and expectations of hundreds of cats pierce right through him. He heard the confused whispers, laced with fright.
"Who…?"
"What's he doing?"
"What should we do?"
"Someone save us…"
A low thundering growl reverberated throughout the dwelling, the black tom's tail was thrashing from side to side, his bared fangs as white as the stars. "Be quiet you insolent fools, and listen."
The thick-furred tom dipped his head towards his friend, before raising once more to face the group of astonished onlookers with a mix of pity and disgust.
"You foolish cats. You call yourselves StarClan? Home to the wise and great, fallen warriors? You make me laugh." He bellowed, voice dripping in scorn. Cats started yowling in protest, their hackles raised, only to be cut off by his powerful glare.
"You have no excuse. You were given the signs, you were given the warnings, yet you refused to believe her. Just because she was an outsider, not known to your beliefs and your ways. Just because you did not recognise her, you refused to acknowledge the possibility of imminent danger. Because of your thoughtless naivety, now it has arrived."
"Who are you? How would you know it's that impossible threat she gave us?" A yowl of disbelief shattered the dumbfounded silence. All turned to a light brown tabby tom who held his head high, his eyes alight with fear and contempt.
The stormy-blue tom immediately strode forward, his rippling muscles still clearly visible under his thick, translucent coat. This time, cats made way for him. Scurrying to the side; respect, uncertainty and confusion were radiating off them. It was only until he was towering over the proud tabby, did the large tom abruptly stop and sit, his feathery tail placed neatly over his paws. He held the tabby's proud gaze with one of authority and no compromise, until, with an awkward shuffle of his paws, the tabby glanced uneasily away.
Raising his head to address his spectators, the giant tom boomed, "Who am I? I am one of you. A member of StarClan. I arrived before any of you. I watched as each of you suckled in your mother's nest. I was in the trees and grass when you all hunted your first piece of prey. I was in the wind when you had your first battle. I looked on with pride as you fulfilled your destinies and watched with love as the Clans grew every day.
"I was here, watching the Clans, the first time darkness threatened StarClan."
Wails of shock and disbelief deafened him. The pale tabby tom looked up at him in fearful awe, "The first time? You mean this happened before?"
His lumbering head nodded in cold affirmation. He turned and plodded back over to his companions, both showing unwavering resolve for the dark future. Their frames were poise and stiff; their claws had unsheathed and their eyes had hardened with determination. They both dipped their heads as he once again took his place in between them.
"Cats of StarClan! We are the last remaining ancients. We do not have long left, but we were prepared at once when the she-cat you threw away so readily, arrived at her own cost to help you. We knew that she-cat. We trust her. We tried to vouch for her, but you shrugged us off like we were nothing more than annoying burrs. In turn, we took precautions."
Pale green eyes glinting with firmness, the red tabby yowled, "Snowstar and Oakdapple. Come with us."
A second of confusion passed, then out of the multitude of cats stepped forward a lithe silver tom with white stripes, closely followed by a tortoiseshell she-cat. Both were glancing warily at the darkening sky as they made their way towards the trio of ancients, leaving the gathered crowd of StarClan cats to their own devices. Whispering in anxious tones, their gazes followed the five cats as they slunk off into the forest.
The usual dappled sunlight through the baby green leaves was now grey and dull; the darkness had already sapped the life from the sun. The two unsuspecting cats shivered, as for the first time, a cold, unwelcoming breeze whistled through the trees, the sun's warmth had abandoned them.
Almost suddenly, the cats of ancient times turned around and faced the two expectantly.
"Snowstar, formally known as Snowstripe. You were the previous Leader of MeadowClan, before you were killed when your brother accidently pushed you off the Cliff. An unfortunate fate, as you were still had many moons ahead of you, but you passed the role of leadership to your deputy, and former apprentice, Smallspots, now known as Smallstar, current leader of MeadowClan." The red tabby mewed, her tail flicking towards the white tom.
"Oakdapple, previous Medicine Cat of NightClan. You died of the very plague of which you helped save so many cats, not just within NightClan, but in MeadowClan also. Hawkfire was still young when he took hold of your role, but he has proved himself as your legacy and has trained young Icepaw well." The deep mew of the black tom resonated through the tortoiseshell she-cat as she shivered silently.
The muscular blue-grey tom stepped forward, his enormous frame soaring over the chosen cats. Both gaped in awe as they stood before him. Now that he was closer, they could see the fading spectre's fur, although thick and rough, was well looked after to the point where the twinkling stars were illuminating its shine. Although his figure was large and foreboding, his frame held a poise which emphasised the majestic aura surrounding him.
"We have watched you both from birth until your imminent demise, as we have done with all from the Clans. You two have been deemed the most co-operative to our cause. You questioned the safety of your Clans when she gave you the signs, you argued for pre-emptive measures when she gave you the warnings. For this, we thank you. Thus, it is you who we have decided to relay the oncoming message to your respective Clans."
"Wait. Is it true then? Have you have witnessed this before?" Snowstar asked, his mew quiet and weary.
The threesome all narrowed their eyes; their heads bowing in remorse at the memory.
"I was here when StarClan was shrouded in darkness. These two fought in the battle." The thick blue-grey tail motioning at the black tom and red tabby she-cat.
"We will explain what we witnessed to you, let it be a guide, tell the others, and don't let foolish words cloud your decisions. Tell the Clans that their greatest battle is coming. A force darker than any cat has seen before will come and slaughter the Clans. Let the two strays in, for they will be the Clans' guiding light in the oncoming darkness."
"We have already taken precautions." The red tabby piped up. "We figured the Clans should have time to prepare. We have been relaying the signs and warnings that she gave us to them. All night, every night, and at the time of the Half Moon we send them. They have been warned. Now they need to be told."
Oakdapple's dark green eyes widened in realisation. "That's why we haven't been able to contact the Clans in recent moons."
Snowstar raised his eyes to stare straight into the amber pools of the black tom. "If you are so knowledgeable, why send us? Why not you go yourselves?"
Never breaking the gaze, the black tom replied, "Our time is almost at an end. We can no longer talk with the Clans, soon we will disappear from existence." A hollow sadness and longing reflected in the depths of those amber pools.
Nobody noticed the red tabby's tail twitch.
"That is why we entrust our mission onto you. Snowstar, Oakdapple, we place the future of the Clans in your capable paws. We will tell you what we saw and what we learnt in those terrible times, and in turn, you must lead StarClan through the times ahead." The majestic blue-grey tom's gaze rested on the two, contemplating their strengths and their weaknesses, sizing them up.
The tortishell she-cat looked at each of the three in turn; curiosity, awe and wariness laced into her forest green gaze. "Who on earth are you?"
The black tom's tail curled slightly in amusement. "It's been such a long time since anyone else has called us by name. You may recognise us; I am Snakestone, former Warrior of NightClan."
A small smile printed on her delicate features, the red tabby mewed. "I am Flamespirit, former Warrior of MeadowClan."
The colossal tom padded over to his place between his two companions and turned to face the two who would carry on their legacy. The forest was darkening and the wind was chilling, while the leaves and flowers lost their vibrancy and shine of life. Yet the blue-grey tom still looked like he could rule the earth, his eyes sparkled with hope that the end would never dawn, and his voice rung out with strength.
"I was the first to roam the forests, the first to race through the fields. I am the one who cats looked to for guidance. I am the one who formed the Clans.
"My name is Risingstar, it was I who founded both MeadowClan and NightClan."
They don't need to know what I saw upon that tree. Yes, it was the same sight I saw in those dreadful moons before the monstrosity. But, this is so much more sinister. More venomous. This darkness is so much stronger than it was those thousands of moons ago. They don't need to know.
It would only cause more unnecessary panic.
Halleluiah! It is done! Phew… that took forever. I bet you guys thought I would never update. Here is the latest! So what do you think? Totally different from the last chapter wasn't it? Sorry, no Tide and Lupa this time round, soon though :)
Thanks for the two who've reviewed, Wild Arctic Wolf and TheStuffILike, you guys are amazing and sorry for the long wait x
Please notify me of any spelling mistakes/ grammatical errors so I can fix them :)
QOTD: What do you think is going on? What's up with the she-cat in the beginning? And what do you think of the Ancients?
I can't say when I'll update next, but I have exams so probably not for a while. Sorry guys, that's life.
Again, feedback is very welcome, so is constructive criticism, thanks guys,
-Moony x