Chapter 2: Faith in the Unknown
I knew I would be here for a while. I'd have to explore my new home. I began to wander. I looked for landmarks while wandering. This place was strange. The mud was too consistent to be anything natural. It was always a paw deep with some stone like material underneath. I decided to dig to get a look at this strange material. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Instead of something material like the stone I initially theorized, it was instead some kind of transparent barrier. The black mud made it difficult to look through, but with some effort I managed to clear out a decent portion of the barrier. I could see down through it. Down below I could see the forest, my old home. It was as breathtaking as I remember it. I could make out the territories. I could faintly spy the Thunderclan camp. I could see the Twoleg place. I could see everything and nothing. Even though I could see the whole forest, it was too far away to make out any specific detail.
I began my mindless wandering again hoping that I might meet an edge or find some kind of discernable landmark. Maybe some place dry like a cave or a flat-topped boulder. I'd like somewhere to lie down without submerging my fur in that ever-present mud. I was starting to lose hope when I noticed a strange phenomenon. The more I walked expecting to see nothing interesting, the less there were of notable landmarks. It was like the Darkforest was responding to my beliefs. I could imagine some cat cast here wandering forever finding nothing if this quirk of the Darkforest held true. It could easily become a self-fulfilling to say that you'd never find purpose here.
I have always been a cat who can maintain faith in the harshest of times. Even when my kits died and I was cast out, I believed Starclan had a plan. This place would not defeat me. I decided to test the rules of this place further. I closed my eyes and began walking with only my firm belief that I would be fine to guide me. The mud never sloped and even after walking for what could have been a day, I bumped into nothing. It had been perfectly clear like I believed it would. This place definitely was strange. You travel based on faith, not action. As a final test, I reached my paw out in front of me trying to believe against all logic that I would feel a boulder. I even imagined how it looked in my mind. Then my paw met the cool stone. I slowly opened my eyes, and there was the boulder exactly as I imagined. It was a granite stone smooth and dry on top with moss growing in the crags and shelves along the side. It would be the perfect place to rest in this strange land.
I made myself a nest out of the moss the boulder provided and cleaned the mud from my paws. It was a foul taste, but I would not let this place keep me from looking my best. I am not a cat to submit to fate. When I closed my eyes, I didn't so much dream. Dreaming is for the living. Instead, I caught faint glimpses of the forest below. I could see Sunstar's death at the hands of a kittypet. I saw flashes of fights. I also saw inconsequential things like what I could only assume was a Shadowclan queen giving birth. They held no pattern. They just gave raw information with no indication of whether they were past, present, or future.
I awoke on the boulder undisturbed. The forest was just as quiet as before I had slept. I pondered to myself why hadn't any other cat discovered this aspect of the Darkforest, and why hadn't I seen any other cats? As if to answer my question, I started hearing a quiet crying. I decided to investigate. Maybe some cat had gotten stuck in the endlessness of finding nothing and she could relieve that. When I came to the source of the sound, I spotted something peculiar.
It wasn't so much a cat as an outline of a cat. It was curled up on the ground in a posture that could only be a mixture of guilt and sadness. It did not appear to see or hear me despite how the sucking mud always made a slight pop when you step out of it. I circled the thing trying to discern what it was. It looked like a cat, but it wasn't responsive to me. I tried talking to it and moving in front of its eyes. Nothing. As I looked closer, it looked faintly familiar. That sleek body and that faint stink of herbs could only be one cat. It was Ravenwing, but it also wasn't. Whatever this thing was, it looked and smelled like Ravenwing, but Ravenwing had never been the type to cry.
I listened closer and could hear it muttering. "Should have known better. Starclan would never kill kits. I'm a terrible medicine cat. I'm a failure. Worthless."
It kept going, but I couldn't bring myself to listen further. I decided to try to touch it. Maybe I could resolve its self-doubt. Then something strange happened. It sucked into me. Whatever that thing was, it became a part of me. I could feel it. It was like I could recall memories. I remembered finding the reeds. I remembered watching myself through the bushes as my kits played in the river. I remembered my desire to avenge Birchface through Appledusk's and my kits. I remember outing myself to the clan. Then I remember burying my remorse after finding out my actions killed the kits by becoming hyper defensive. I remembered avoiding kits with each looking like those kits I condemned to die.
These weren't my memories. They were Ravenwing's, or at least a fragment of them. I tried to search my newly acquired memories for something positive or at least about further back. There was nothing.
"What was that?"
I did not expect a response. Especially not from a cat who looked like someone had stitched four cats together.
"That my dear is what we call an echo."
I spun to face the cat. Nothing about its proportions looked right. Each of the four areas looked like they belonged to a different cat with different musculatures and fur qualities.
"Who are you?! How long have you been here?"
"I don't really have a name, and I guess you could say I've always been here since the birth of this place. Now we don't often see cats like you. You're whole. Must have done something to truly piss off Starclan for them to throw you here entirely."
"What do you mean? How could they only throw part of me here?"
"This place is something made by Starclan. Think of it like the carrion place or the dirt place. It's where everything Starclan doesn't want goes. Me. I'm the first pieces thrown here. This here," the cat gestured to a quarter of itself, "is the thrown away part of Thunder, and this," the cat gestured at another patch, "is a part of River."
"Why would they do that? What in Starclan are you?"
"I guess you could call me an amalgamation of all the founders disliked about themselves. I'm the memories of their failures. I'm their short fuses, their distrust, and their misgivings. I'm also their desire for family, their lust, their pride, and their desire for more. Now… What is your name beautiful?"
"You didn't give me yours."
The amalgamation began laughing.
"True. How about you give me one? I haven't had a good one in a long time."
"How about Splitpelt?"
"It's short and to the point. I like it. Call me Splitpelt. Now your name?"
"You may call me Mapleshade."
"Mapleshade. You are a truly fascinating cat. I see how you've discovered some of the rules of this place seeing as you made that boulder."
"Made? I just found it."
"And it was exactly as you imagined it. Its purpose was exactly what you wanted it to be. It will be there, always a pawstep away if you desire to go back to it. That is how this place works."
"So, I could create anything?"
"Not everything. Some things are immutable. The mud cannot be erased. The barrier beneath will always be there, and you cannot create anything living."
"There goes my idea on how to get food."
"I'm sure you will be used to the hunger and thirst soon."
"I actually don't feel hungry or thirsty. I've been here a while and haven't felt it."
"Really? We must discuss more at a later date. I've got some business to take care of."
"Wait! How will I find you?"
"That should be obvious. If you want to find me, and I'm not actively avoiding you, you'll find me."
With that, the strange cat circled behind a tree. I looked around it, but Splitpelt had really vanished.