Silverwing's Omen

Prologue

Moonlight washed over the cool, damp forest. Not a sound was made, except for the rushing sound of the waterfall in the distance. All was still, with the stars twinkling coldly up in the night sky.

Somewhere in this forest walked four cats. Lonely, hungry, and tired, these cats fought hard to keep up the pace. Only the silver and white tabby at the very front was determined enough to keep moving. Soon, the journeying cats arrived at a small cave.

"Whispering Wind, was this the place you wanted us to visit?"

Whispering Wind nodded. "Precisely, Mystified Echo."

A blue gray tom standing next to Mystified Echo stepped forward.

"Then what's so special about this cave, if there is nothing in it but darkness? It's so dark in here, the daylight probably won't be able to light this place up!" he hissed.

"Rippling Waters, you know better than arguing with Whispering Wind! She's never been wrong before. There's no reason why we can't trust her now!" a sleek black she-cat with cold green eyes challenged him.

Rippling Waters' only reply was an irritated snort.

Whispering Wind stepped forward. "The time has yet to come, Dark Shadow." she explained to the black she-cat. "We need to wait until moonhigh."

Shivering, the four cats glanced up at the night sky, patiently waiting for the moon to climb higher and higher. Once the moon had reached high enough, the entire cave was suddenly lit up by a blast of glowing essence. Without hesitating, Whispering Wind padded quickly over into the cave. She looked up at a hole on the top of the cave, revealing the full moon. Closing her eyes, she felt the pull of the stars on her pelt. Fur tingling with excitement, she listened closely for any signs or omens the stars would send her. After a few moments, she slowly opened her eyes again.

"Woah, you seemed...really zoned out there, I guess." Mystified Echo stammered.

"The stars have sent me a vision." Whispering Wind murmured, mostly to herself.

Quickly, she explained what she saw.

"There was a silver cat. She has the perfect shade of blue eyes, the color of the sundrown place, but not quite that dark, the color of the sky, but not that light. It's sort of....aquamarine-ish."

Mystified Echo gasped. "If you're thinking this cat's so perfect, then she must be the Chosen One!"

"The Chosen One?!" Rippling Waters snorted. "How could there be another one of us?"

"I do not know," Whispering Wind replied. "The stars must've wanted me to describe her this way, if she's special."

Silence filled the space between them until Dark Shadow broke it. "Do you know where to find this cat, then?" she inquired.

Whispering Wind dipped her head in shame. "Sadly, no."

Again, Rippling Waters made a snarky comment. "I knew it! The stars are just nothing but some stories queens would tell their kits at night to make them go to sleep. Any cat that would believe in them is most certainly a fool!"

The others glared at the blue gray tom.

Rippling Waters met his peers' gaze coldly. "If the stars were real, then why didn't they tell us who this pathetic little she-cat was? Or where to find her?" he sneered as he went on. "I wasted my precious time spending more than half the night looking for this stupid cave, when I could have been sleeping in my cozy moss nest in my den!" Whipping around, he set off for the cave exit.

"Rippling Waters, you don't---" Mystified Echo began. However, she was cut off by a loud "Crack!" of lightning hitting a tree near the entrance. Fire quickly caught onto a branch. Then onto another, and another......

"Help!" Dark Shadows wailed. "We're trapped!"

But the flames just kept on growing. Burning with hunger and malice, they devoured the entire tree and destroyed everything in its path. The heat spread quicker and quicker by each passing moment. However much the remaining she-cats didn't want to admit it, they all knew what was about to happen. Quickly the flames surrounded them.

"No!" Whispering Wind screeched, only to be stopped by a gush of ash filling the air, followed by the sound of crackling flames.