Prologue

It was midnight in the camp. Fireflies flickered through the air, filling the empty space with tiny stars like the ones that shone above, in the velvet swath of the never-ending sky. The moon hung high up, floating with the stars and casting beautiful silver light on the world around them. Almost all the cats were asleep, but in the center of the clearing, a golden tom paced back and forth, tail swishing in worry. Every now and then, he would glance over at a large den woven of brambles. The den was silent, and that was most of what worried him. The tip of a silver tail peeked through the tiny opening that served as the entrance to the den, which was of course the nursery. The tail was perfectly still, portraying neither worry or excitement or fear. But Silversong was a good medicine cat. The golden tom was sure that his mate and unborn kits would be safe in her paws. A quiet squeak pierced the darkness. Tail bushing out in surprise, the tom raced over to the den, eyes wide.

"Well?" He whispered urgently, "how many?"

Silversong's blue eyes peered out through the darkness. They were filled with worry. "You need to come in here, Sunheart," she replied quietly.

Nervously, Sunheart struggled to fit his broad shoulders in through the small entrance, finally emerging into the enormous space inside. Mintwing, his mate, lay on her side in a nest of moss. She was out cold. "Don't worry about her," Silversong mewed, "she'll be fine. She's just tired. But look at your kits."

There were two, both female. One suckled, occasionally piercing the silence with a tiny mewl. Her fur was white with splashes of gray and ginger. Her tail was fluffy and tipped with black. She was strong, he could tell. But the other one—a beautiful silver she-cat—lay still, unmoving, limp in the moss…

"I'm so sorry," Silversong whispered, "but there was nothing I could do to save her." The sleek she-cat stared at the ground, downcast. She was the only medicine cat since her mentor, Rainclaw, retired a moon ago. This was her first kit-birth without the help of the experienced tom. No doubt she felt horrible about the stillborn she-kit.

Sunheart, in despair, leaned down to nuzzle the tiny form of his daughter, only to be shocked back; As his nose touched her forehead, scenes flashed through his mind—The kit, full-grown, dipping her nose into the Moonpool. Her blue eyes shone with knowledge as she sat atop the Highledge a moment later. There were battles, war… Fights between two groups of cats, both led by the same two cats, over and over again. Then, the sleek form of the she-cat that was his daughter leading her cats forward, into the midst of the fight. The scenes sped up, faster and faster, until there was a bright flash of light and he found himself back in the dark nursery with Silversong beside him. Her luminous eyes watched him carefully as he gasped, "What—What was that?"

Silversong sighed. "This was a mistake," she replied. "This kit was not supposed to die. She would have grown into the best leader ever seen by any Clan at any time. She would have saved all of us from a bloody war… Between who, I do not know. She was not supposed to die. But now, we may be doomed."

Sunheart sighed, staring desolately down at his one remaining kit, who seemed unfazed by the death of her sister and suckled happily at Mintwing's belly. A gasp from Silversong made the tom glance over at the medicine cat, who was in turn staring down at his living daughter like he had been. Cautiously, he glanced over at her and nearly jumped in shock. From underneath the tiny kit's body, a green stem was unfurling, curling up her back and into the air, spreading into leaves, forming a pale bud, and then blossoming into a pure white lily. The flower seemed to emit a light of its own, casting it down on the tiny kit before the petals dropped off, one by one, falling onto the downy pelt of the she-kit. Each one evaporated into moonlight when it touched her fur until nothing remained. The light faded and the tiny kit broke away from her milk and curled into Mintwing's soft belly fur without a sound.

"Silversong?" Sunheart breathed, hoping the she-cat had an answer for this strange phenomenon.

The medicine cat looked over at him. "A sign," she replied. "StarClan has given this kit their blessing. The great leader is dead. Our ancestors have chosen her sister, the blood of the Leader, as the one who must fill her place. She will have to be trained for this standard and she will never measure up to what her sister would have been, but she is all there is. The Clans are doomed unless she can become what StarClan needs her to be."

"High standards," Sunheart remarked, staring down at the kit.

"She has no choice," Silversong replied grimly, "or the age of the Clans will end."

A/n: So, what did you guys think? I'm a little rusty at fanfiction, since I haven't written one in a while, but I think this turned out all right c: Now, review! You know you want to… Thanks for reading!

-Silence