Warriors: The Trail of Centuries

Chapter 1

     "All cats strong enough to eliminate their own prey, gather before me!"

     Spottedkit woke up to Deadeye yowling for yet another Gorge meeting. More and more meetings have been called as the summer grew hotter, and she'd noticed the fresh-kill pile dwindling; the prey that happens to be there is unusually scrawny. After staggering to her paws Spottedkit rushed to wake her siblings to go watch the next gathering. They stumbled out of the moss-filled cave that was the nursery into the much colder, harder main cave.

     "Today is a wonderful day for the Gorge," Deadeye started, his voice sending a heavy chill down Spottedkit's spine-nothing new here to anyone in the Gorge, and multiple cats below him shifted visibly. "We have three new warriors in the Gorge starting today." Before Deadeye finished speaking, triumphant howls and yowls erupted from the crowd below him.

     Spottedkit noticed Thornpaw, Finpaw, and Redpaw sitting together near the front of the crowd. The three soon-to-be warriors held their chins in the air proudly, but anyone could see that they were nervous. It was common knowledge even within the Gorge that holding the role of a warrior requires more ability than the apprentices are trained for. She knew that, though they expressed pride, they were nervous deep down-they had to be. They didn't know what would be expected of them. Nobody quite did.

     "Apprentices, come forward to accept your new names with honor." Deadeye's naturally soft-and eerie-voice echoed thanks to the hard cave walls. As the three young cats each stepped forward, Spottedkit felt her mind start to wander, though not for long. She quickly snapped herself back to reality and watched with a mixture of awe and tension as Deadeye prepared to don the felines with their names. "Finpaw, do you promise to uphold The Gorge's warrior code, to show no mercy when protecting those residing within this camp? Do you swear to defend our borders and pride to your last breath?"

     "I do," Finpaw meowed proudly, although there was a slight waver in his tone.

     "Then by my right as leader of The Gorge, I give you your warrior name. From this point on you will be known as Finclaw. May your hunts be generous and your prey short-lived." Spottedkit couldn't stop the shudder that coursed over her body; something inside her screamed that Deadeye wasn't exactly referring to the mice and rabbits they catch by the day. She took a peek at her siblings and saw that they clearly didn't feel the same way-they were watching with round eyes, in speechless awe of Deadeye on his perch. "Thornpaw, step forward. Do you promise to uphold The Gorge's warrior code, to show no mercy when protecting those residing within this camp? Do you swear to defend our borders and pride to your last breath?"

     "I do." Thornpaw puffed out her chest, and her voice rang around the cave.

     "Then by my right as leader of The Gorge, I give you your warrior name. From this point on you will be known as Thornheart. May your hunts be generous and your prey short-lived." Deadeye recited the same speech for Redpaw, but narrowed his one good eye at the response.

     "I-I do." Though he displayed such obvious hesitation that the whole crowd began murmuring, determination flashed across Redpaw's eyes.

     Deadeye was silent for a moment, and it was hard to tell whether he was waiting for the crowd to quiet down or if he was holding harsh words back. Just when Redpaw looked like he was about to burn up in embarrassment, he spoke, "Then by my right as leader of The Gorge, I give you your warrior name. From this point on you will be known as Redflight. May your hunts be generous and your prey short-lived." The crowd of cats immediately took up yowling the new warriors' names. Pride and enthusiasm filled the voices that now bounced off of the walls.

     "Finclaw! Thornheart! Redflight! Finclaw! Thornheart! Redflight!" Deadeye flicked his tail for silence and his cold gaze traveled around the room until it landed abruptly on Spottedkit. The she-kit immediately felt her fur crawl under his harsh stare.