EOTW: Trail of Ashes: Prologue

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War
Book 4: Trail of Ashes
Prologue

     Mist rolled lazily along the floor of the starlit forest. A peaceful silence reigned in the small glade between the trees. Within the glade, a lone cat crouched beside a pond, tail twitching listlessly. The pond's surface showed faint images, a black she-cat with a white stripe between her eyes speaking to a dark brown tabby tom. The tabby froze in shock, amber eyes wide with horror, as the black she-cat spoke to him. The cat crouching by the pond could just faintly hear the she-cat's voice, her words filling the cat with horror.

     The Dark Forest is back.

     The silence was broken by the soft sound of nearby paws. The crouching cat looked up to see a gray speckled she-cat standing before her. “The others are calling a meeting,” the gray she-cat mewed. “They're waiting for you.”

     The cat dipped her head. “Thank you, Ferncloud. I'm coming.” Ferncloud waited as the cat stood, leading the cat away further into the starlight woods.

     Ferncloud and the other cat soon came upon a large hollow, encircled by four large oaks. A large rock sat in the center of the hollow; all around the hollow were cats. The hollow was overflowing with cats, their pelts shimmering with starlight. Ferncloud and the cat descended down into the hollow, brushing pelts with their starry Clanmates.

     “Good,” a tom with a flame-colored pelt. His green eyes glowed with strength as he stood, flicking his tail commandingly. “Then we are all here.” A pale ginger queen stood on his one side, a dark gray tom on the other.

     The cat dipped its head. “I was watching below, Firestar,” it murmured. “Bramblestar has been told about the Dark Forest.”

     Worried murmurs spread through the crowd. “Bramblestar is a brave leader,” a red-brown tom murmured. “But any cat would falter in the face of such darkness returning.”

     “Have faith in him, Pinestar,” a pale ginger she-cat said firmly. “Bramblestar has faced darkness before and triumphed. He will not fail his Clan now.”

     Firestar dipped his head. “Goldenflower is right,” he rumbled. “Bramblestar is a fine leader for ThunderClan. Whatever fear he may feel, he will not let it get in the way of leading his Clan. The same goes for Mistystar, and Ashstar, and Tigerstar.”

     A cat nearby snorted. “Tigerstar is a fool,” a skinny gray tom hissed. “He nearly led ShadowClan into ruin once, and he trained with those Dark Forest rogues once. How do we know we can trust him to stand by his Clan through this fight.”

     His words sparked anger from a dark ginger tom and a tortoiseshell she-cat, who sat side by side. “My son may have made mistakes, Cinderfur,” Rowanstar growled. Tawnypelt glowered at the skinny tom beside him. “But he has learned from them, and he would never abandon his Clan.”

     “Enough,” Tallstar growled from closer to the Great Rock. The skinny black-and-white tom looked over the crowd of cats, his long tail raised in a gesture of authority. “All of our Clans' leaders will stand beside their clans for the challenges to come. What matters is that the Dark Forest is back, and we have to decide what to do next.”

     The cat could see its Clanmates whispering to each other in fear. “How are they back?” a young gray tom asked, voice pitched high with fear. “I thought the Clans defeated them!”

     The gray tom beside Firestar looked on the young tom with pity. “We drove them back into the Dark Forest,” Graystripe told the tom. “But we didn't kill all of them.”

     On Firestar's other side, the ginger queen added, “And we couldn't seal them away forever, Dewpaw.” Sandstorm shared a brief, worried glance with Firestar before continuing, “They were bound to stray from the forest again eventually.” Dewpaw looked up at Firestar, still fearful, but he gave an understanding nod.

     “So, what do we do next?” Mousewhisker asked. The gray-and-white tom was StarClan's newest member. He sat by Honeyfern and Brackenfur, concern bright in his green eyes.

     “What can we do?” Cloudpelt asked. “To go into the Dark Forest to confront them would be suicide. And they haven't been in the forest long enough for any cat to fight them.”

     Palebird mewed in agreement, “We don't know what Breeze and Shade are planning. The future is clouded. How can we decide how to act?”

     Worried mews rippled through the crowd. The cat could feel the fear, palpable in the air. No cat seemed to know how to face the return of the cats that had nearly destroyed them last time.

     Then, a golden tabby she-cat spoke. “What about Silentstorm?” Even after joining StarClan, Mothwing always seemed uncertain when it came to prophecies and seeing the future of the Clans. But the cat saw no hesitation in her eyes when she spoke of Silentstorm. “The prophecy tells us that she is the one who will defeat the darkness.”

     “We don't know how she's supposed to do that,” Redscar growled. “How are we supposed to trust our future to that?”

     Dewpaw pinned back his ears. “Are you doubting her?” he growled. “Silentstorm is one of the strongest warriors in ThunderClan. When I was alive, she was my best friend. If anyone can defeat the darkness, she can!”

     “Strength isn't everything, young cat,” Whitestorm murmured. “If Silentstorm does not know how she is to fulfill her destiny, her strength will not be enough.”

     Firestar nodded slowly. “Someone must guide her. One of us must speak to her and help her find her destiny.”

     Dewpaw perked his ears, looking interested. But before he could speak, the cat lifted its head. “I will go to her,” it said, its voice ringing clearly for every cat to hear.”

     Every cat turned to look at the cat in question. The cat could see doubt in some of their eyes. From the center of the crowd, Thornclaw called, “Are you sure...?”

     “I'm sure,” the cat said firmly.

     Firestar was nodding slowly. “I think this is a good idea,” he told Thornclaw, to the golden tom's clear displeasure. “Silentstorm will be well-guided.” Though some cats still expressed doubt, the cat could see many of its Clanmates nodding to themselves, murmuring their approval.

     “Silentstorm could not ask for a better guide,” Cinderpelt agreed from the crowd. The cat blinked uncertainly at the dark gray she-cat.

     “I agree,” Icecloud called. “Silentstorm will have a great guide!”

     As the warriors of StarClan called their approval, Firestar turned towards the cat. He rumbled, “Guide her paws well. She is going to need it.”