A/N: So first off, this is the sequel to my other story, Pawn of the Stars. I would highly recommend reading that fanfic first, just in the off chance that you actually feel like understanding this one :) It's not going to be the final one in the Pawn sequence either, but that's news better saved for another day.

Again, I'm going for over 100k! Hopefully more like 150k, since we have forty chapters and a whole bunch of tedious author's notes to get through. And again, I'll need your support to do it!

Full summary:

Still struggling with the death of his father, Sootclaw is just settling into life as a warrior when one heartbeat changes everything. Overcome with loss and fear, he continues to fight for ShadowClan while learning to use his power in ways he never thought possible. Meanwhile, ThunderClan offers shelter to a group of loners, not knowing that their secretive past comes with dangers of its own. The evil in WindClan grows more powerful every day, and the only cat who can stop it is trapped in a world not her own, seemingly lost for good. The Dark Forest continues to wage its war on StarClan, and in the midst of it all, one cat will pay the ultimate price for redemption.

PROLOGUE

The two cats faced each other, their eyes gleaming with hatred. Their fur glittered with stars, their bodies silver and smoke-like. They looked much the same, though one was larger, and his eyes were a startling blue. The other carried a more dignified air, his amber eyes sharp with wisdom. Tension crackled through the air between them, sparks of an ancient enmity. It was cold where they stood, and though the earth around them looked plain, the grass between them marked the boundary between light and dark, between good and evil, between joy and despair.

"Your plan has failed," said the tom with the amber eyes. "We've stopped both of your pawns."

"Our pawns?" The tom with the blue eyes seemed amused. "More like yours, wouldn't you say? The boy stopped his father, that much is true, but you have given him a power beyond any imagining. Did you know what the consequences of your actions would be, Brambleclaw?"

Brambleclaw gritted his teeth and said nothing. The other tom continued. "For every action, there is a reaction. For every pawstep you take into their world, we can do the same. You must know this. Falconswoop and Branchclaw may be defeated, but you and I both know that this is not the end of the story. In fact, it is only the beginning."

"We will stop you again," Brambleclaw vowed. "The Dark Forest will never take over the Clans so long as StarClan is guarding them. You've tried so many times, Hawkfrost – and you've failed each and every one."

Hawkfrost purred. "Failed?" he said. "How have we failed? We've only come back stronger. You aren't guarding the Clans, Brambleclaw – you're destroying them. As long as StarClan exists, so does the Place of No Stars." Behind him stood trees tall as the sky, and as they reached the darkness above, they simply faded into it. Fog wreathed around his paws, thick and dark and deadly.

"Did Falconswoop know?" said Brambleclaw, challengingly. "Did he know you were using him?"

"Oh, Brambleclaw." Hawkfrost shook his head. "Yes, the darkness touched him, but it did not create him. It only fed on what he had already become – a monster, full of misery and hatred. It was not death that destroyed him; it was life. It would have benefited us greatly to see him create disorder among the Clans, but all of his actions were simply that...his own."

"But Branchclaw was of your doing," said Brambleclaw pointedly. "Why?"

Hawkfrost sneered. "Why not? He was planted to weaken the Clans and pave the way for others to follow."

"For others to follow..." Brambleclaw trailed off, narrowing his eyes. "You can't mean – what you're saying is impossible. No cat can return from the dead. Reincarnation is within our power, but to bring a cat back to the world from this place...it can't be done."

Hawkfrost merely flicked his tail. "The portal will be opened, Brambleclaw, and we will come."

"No," said Brambleclaw again. "You can't open it. You don't have the power to."

The brown tabby merely shrugged. "Maybe I don't. But who does? A young she-cat, left alone by her brother's death? An apprentice exiled for trying to protect his Clan? A tom who has lost both his mother and older brother?"

"What are you suggesting?" snapped Brambleclaw angrily. He thought he saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye, but it was nothing. The spirits of StarClan were resting right now; none knew of his meeting, and none would bother him. Somehow in death, he had become more important than he had been in life. The others looked up to him; respected him. He was not only a guardian of ThunderClan, but a guardian of all the lake territories.

Hawkfrost ignored him. "What about this? Two brothers, separated by Clan, desperate for a father? One struggles with the guilt of wanting to betray his Clan for love. The other comes to terms with his new Clan, harsh and unfriendly. Where have we heard these stories before, brother?"

Brambleclaw flinched. "None of them will fall for your tricks. None of them will listen to you."

"They don't have to," said Hawkfrost, in a silky-smooth voice. "They just have to be weak. That's the difference between your place and mine. It's so easy to give in to what you want, so easy to seek power. It's hard to be good. Most of the time, it isn't even worth it. You've already seen that. You've given in to your heart, visited the boy, squandered your powers... You've proven my point."

But Brambleclaw faced him stubbornly. He wasn't going to give in. He hadn't struggled in life just to lose in death. "I fought my whole life," he said. "I fought to be something more than my father, just as the boy has, and I prevailed. So will he."

"I tried that as well," mewed Hawkfrost mildly. "I wanted to be deputy. I would have made a good one, too. But they didn't trust me. I was always Tigerstar's son, just as you were. Then you killed me."

"I did what I had to do for my Clan," said Brambleclaw, narrowing his eyes. "Good will always win. StarClan defeated you the first time, and the next, and the one after that that – and we will do it again."

"It's different this time." Hawkfrost stared off into the distance, his pale blue eyes reflecting the darkness above them. Abruptly, he turned his gaze back to Brambleclaw. His eyes were filled with anger, with fury, with a horrible bitterness, and yet there was also intelligence in there, patience, humour. The tom sneered. "You made sure of that when you gave him that power. You gave them the ability to do things no other cats can, though they haven't realized it yet. You've picked your champions, and we've picked ours."

It should have ended with Tigerstar's second death. They both knew that. StarClan had been so hopeful that there would finally be a real peace. But the Dark Forest was restless, and Brambleclaw knew the rules. By entangling themselves with the lives of the Clans, StarClan had given great opportunity to the Place of No Stars. Was there really no end to this? He thought he caught a glimmer of it, a hint of an idea, but it was gone as soon as it appeared.

Besides, it was unthinkable...

"I don't see your champions," said Brambleclaw bitterly. "WindClan might have turned, but they won't truly follow you, not once the darkness has lifted."

"I've already told you," Hawkfrost began, drawling his words as if he were talking to a kit. "Our champions are the same. Remember how the prophecy went? Before there is peace, blood will spill blood, and the lake will run red."

"That was us!" snapped Brambleclaw. He was growing frustrated with the conversation; frustrated and worried. Hawkfrost's words made sense, and they chilled him to his core. "It's already happened."

"On the contrary," said the blue-eyed tom, lip curling unpleasantly, "it has only just begun. Blood has spilled blood. She killed her brother."

"And the lake?" Brambleclaw was almost afraid to hear the answer.

Hawkfrost smiled. "The lake will run red."

X X X X X X X

A/N: Short prologue, but trust me when I say that the length of the first chapter will all but make up for it. Anyway, what we have here is Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost, having a little talk. So we're back to canon characters for the moment, though this is actually more relevant than Pawn's prologue. Way more relevant, actually. I'm sure you all know who they're talking about.

To all my faithful reviewers, welcome to Knight of the Shadows, which will hereby be referred to as KotS. To all my new ones, I hope you enjoy, and I bid you all a warm welcome. Apart from that, there isn't too much to say about this chapter. It's the herald of what will hopefully be a better story than Pawn. Right now, though, I'm just warming up.

Allegiances will be posted in a few days, and the first chapter will start with some new characters!

Thanks for reading and please review!

- PV :)