A Change of Heart:
Volestar Speaks
In HeavenClan, there is plenty of time for fallen Leaders to think over their final decisions they made when they ruled their living Clanmates, and there is no escaping judgment as they watch over the consequences. Listen to Volestar, the fallen CloudClan Leader, as he talks to Shadowstar about one such decision, still hoping that it was the right one.
Volestar: Shadowstar? May I speak with you, my friend? My thoughts are very troubling which keep me from sleeping.
You think I made a mistake, don't you? You may shake your head, but I can tell by your eyes that you're afraid of what I have done. Would you have let Shadowwing take over your Clan? Why? Because it was the only way to fulfill the Messenger Code and the expectations of all my Clanmates? However, my vision, Shadowstar, I cannot forget my vision. I dreamed of a gorge filled with blood, of cats wailing for their Kits and of Warriors who had to watch their lives drain out on the undergrowth. I could not tell who was fighting whom, just that every cat in CloudClan had suffered a loss from an unjust battle. Moreover, looking down on it all from the crest of the gorge was Shadowwing – now Shadowstar, now Leader of CloudClan – because I had let him remain as my Deputy. How could I let that happen?
I know my Clanmates assumed my reasoning was foggy because my final life was slipping away. Even your Clanmates, Brackenfur and Cloverheart looked at me with pity as they pretended to support my change of heart. I didn't have enough breath, enough words left to explain what I had seen behind my cloudy eyes. I died knowing that my Clan might hate me for changing everything so late – and knowing that I had no choice. Nightheart would have made as good a Deputy as Shadowwing, her brother, and she will make a great Leader.
I know you think that I'm an arrogant old cat who has made everything far worse by giving my Clan a Leader that they were not prepared for. However, it was the only way to save them!
I know that CloudClan will be safe under Nightheart. She will have to prove her strength one day; very Leader does at one point. In addition, if I was wrong, if I should have let Shadowwing succeed me, because he was my Deputy first, then it's too late. What's done is done. I didn't come to HeavenClan to regret my last decision as Leader of CloudClan. Whatever happens, it cannot be any worse than the fate CloudClan would have suffered if Shadowwing had remained.