Chapter 5: Unbreakable

I spent the following, who knows how long, practicing with Frecklewish. Given that there were homicidal cats out here, we couldn't afford to let our fighting skills become lax. As we practiced, I'd try to use the belief properties to change the balance. At first it was simple things like the mud being a bit deeper under Frecklewish or a rock or hill spawning underfoot. I began consistently winning after that. Frecklewish wasn't a bad fighter per say, but habits from life prevented her from taking advantage of the new environment. I'd have to drill in her new skills soon.

We were having another bout and I'd just pinned her with a hastily constructed arch of stone. Despite her best efforts, believing away something that was physically touching her was beyond her capabilities at the moment. I'd initially had the same issue until I came up with a move I called indominable. Basically, I believed that despite whatever was there to stop me, I could power through. It had scared Frecklewish a few times when her constructs shattered, but she was starting to understand that nothing could be taken at face value here.

"Whew. I think we got some good training in. I don't think most shades could handle us now."

"Yeah! I still don't get how you just break through my stuff though."

"Well, I can't just believe away the obstacles. The touch of it is just too difficult to deny. Instead, I believe I can break it."

"Yea, but how?"

"Think of the stone like it's a cobweb or that thin ice you see during the beginning of Leafbare. If you can bring yourself to believe it is that weak, you can shatter it. You could also imagine you're a monster like the ones on the Thunderpath. Unstoppable."

"That's hard to wrap my head around. The stone is stone. It's hard to believe it's not."

I had an epiphany. What if the stone wasn't stone and the mud wasn't mud. What if nothing here was real. It was all constructs, just like the lights we could make. They held no material, but they existed. What if everything here was just how we interpreted this nebulous place?

"I think I might have an idea, but I want to test it. You'll want to stand back."

I closed my eyes and began to bring myself to believe I wasn't in a forest. I was in a mass or a cloud of material. Then I felt it. I could feel myself. I wasn't so much a cat as a glob of something I could only describe as densely alive. I extended my senses and saw another glob. It was about a fourth of the size of mine and felt distinctly different and familiar. It was Frecklewish. I wanted to test one more thing. I pulsed a bit of myself out as a wave. I could feel it spreading as it touched things I'd never felt before. There were so many globs. If I could describe it like anything, it would be like seeing all the stars in the sky. There were dense and thin spots and there were faded spots so large, the made almost rivers. It was overwhelming. I retreated back to myself and found Frecklewish staring.

"What was that? I felt it. It was like a warm wind, but my fur didn't get ruffled."

How could I explain what I'd found even if I was correct? Did I change everything to match what I believed or did I really figure out something about this place? Did it matter? If the truth and my beliefs are close enough that I can't tell the difference, does it matter if I am wrong? I could easily lose my sanity if I kept entertaining these thoughts, but then another thought occurred to me. Can a cat really be insane here if their beliefs become true as soon as they believe it?

I shook my head to clear myself of the pending existential crisis. I am Mapleshade. I cannot be broken. That was an old saying I'd tell myself in the worst of times. It was one of a few gifts my mother ever gave me. A coping mechanism that let me whether the harshest of storms. Here in the land where belief is power, it would be a battle cry that would press my enemies flat and empower my allies.

I caught myself drifting off again which was worrying to Frecklewish.

"Sorry. Had a bit of an existential crisis. My theory led me down some strange fields of thought. I'm good. I'll give you a basic rundown of what I think I might have found. This could be wrong since belief has power, but I think the Darkforest isn't what we can see and feel."

"What? That doesn't make sense."

"Think of it like a black cloud filled with stars. We travel in certain ways because we believe them to be correct, but we can both believe different directions are the same route and both still be right. What if this way we see the forest is not so much wrong, but doesn't scratch the surface of how the place actually exists? We can only interpret the place how we know, so we come up with a forest because it is familiar. I'm rambling now, but in my test of the cloud theory, I could feel more of us out there."

"More of us?"

"Souls. Cats. Echoes. Shades. I think I could find them if we wanted. That wave of warmth was me reaching out."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Because I don't think our purpose is just to exist here. We still think and feel. We're still together, but there are souls out there that aren't as lucky. They are alone and wandering. Some are evil, but some aren't. I want to make a haven here. Even if the Darkforest is for the worst of the worst, some cats have served their penance and deserve a chance of happiness. We could make our own clan here where we prove that some cats deserve a second chance at Starclan. If they refuse, we'll just make something better."

Frecklewish could see my fiery drive. I was rarely extremely passionate, but when I was, nothing could stop me. Nothing could dissuade me. I became my mantra again. I am Mapleshade and I'll never be broken!

The air felt like it was thrumming with my power. I could feel the energy was contagious as Frecklewish seemed to be getting hyped up as well. I turned to Splitpelt who was watching me curiously after feeling my wave.

"Splitpelt. How would you like to be the first recruit of our haven?"

"My, my. I can feel your excitement. Your conviction is already bringing about change. Maybe you could be the change the Darkforest needs. If not, it'll at least be amusing to watch. Very well. I'll be recruited. You'll need a name though. If belief has power, names are equally important."

He was right. We needed a name for our haven to bring relief to the worthy and fear to the wicked. It needed a name that was deeply symbolic. Something all cats could recognize as a blessing to the kind, a curse to the wicked.

"We'll be named the Unseen Stars."

With that, I generated a cutting wind that cleared the trees and branches above us. A clear view to the red sky could be seen. I blackened it. I looked to the now black sky and launched a light that shot forth. It was like the shooting stars I'd seen while alive, except instead of disappearing, it stuck up in the blackness becoming our first star. I turned to my companions. They looked at me in awe.

"This is our home and our stars. Please add yours to the sky. I plan to add one each time we find some cat worthy of our aid. We'll be our own Starclan and save those who need it."

I watched my two companions create their own lights. They then launched them into the sky where they became stars in our haven. The sky may have been a bit empty with only three stars, but those three stars symbolized our resolve and hope to make things better.