The Clans Before Time

Prologue



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PROLOGUE
" the Clans before time "

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The cave was eerily quiet, a shining full moon hung precariously in the night sky just outside its entrance. The cavern was devoid of life, with only the rustle of the leaves and grass to fill its silence. A lone figure stood at the massive hole that formed the exit, out into the dense jungle.

It was a white pelted she-cat, with eyes the color of a magnificent teal gemstone. Her gaze shifted over the mysterious tropical forest that stretched away on the other side of her Clan's home. There were many a dangerous creature that lurked in its depths.

The solitary feline turned her head, looking back into the expanse of her cave. But in the dead of twilight, most of the camp was swallowed in shadow. But her attention fixed on something, another cat advancing from the shade. Starlight shimmered in their fur, and it left dazzling paw prints in its wake.

"Greetings, Shadow that Stretches over Horizon. I was not expecting to see you in my dreams," the white she-cat purred as her companion padded closer.

"StarClan are still new, and inexperienced. You will share dreams with the Tribe of Endless Hunting for some time yet, Crystalstar," the ancient tom rumbled. His fur was dark, the color of a murky starlit pool. "But I fear that this vision will not bring you peace, or comfort."

She stiffened slightly, questions bubbling on the tip of her tongue. But she knew better than to interrupt an ancient spirit. "Something evil is growing in the heart of these lands. Something not even Great Mother can control," he muttered.

Great Mother, Crystalstar thought with a stab of alarm. She is the creature chosen by their ancestors, that is their base connection to the spirits. Without a being strong enough to bridge the gap between living and dead, there would be no way to communicate with their passed kin.

"What does that mean for us?" Crystalstar meowed, her voice tight with tension, "Great Mother is a Long Neck, one of the biggest dinosaurs. Surely there's nothing we can do if she can't stop it!"

Shadow that Stretches over Horizon bowed his head low, his tail tip flicking across the rock floor beneath them. "I know it seems hopeless," he mewed, "but we will be here to guide you. The darkness is never any match for the light."

Crystalstar didn't know how to respond. Her stare had fixed on the dusk drowned jungle, concealing the evil that her ancestor had warned. She felt frozen, her paws planted on the stone as if it was made from the very sedimentary layers that formed her home.

She must have sat for hours, for she was roused from her trance when another cat approached. "Crystalstar? Are you alright?"

The white furred she-cat turned, taking in the sight of Totemstorm, her shaman. The tom looked equally as disturbed, his eyes dull and transparent. "I'll be fine," Crystalstar replied breezily.

Totemstorm took a few steps forward to stand at his leader's side. His dark gray tabby fur was spiked, which prickled Crystalstar's flank as he drew closer. He took a quick breath, his attention fixed on the world outside.

"Yes, we will be fine," Totemstorm muttered, his voice firm. And in that moment, Crystalstar was sure that her shaman knew of the omen she had received only moments before.