A/N- This is the prologue and first chapter in a new story i am writing. I hope you enjoy it and if you do, try reading my other adventure story- Warriors The Next Quest Light & Dark.

Disclaimer- I don’t own warriors.

Many seasons on from when we last saw Skyclan in Firestar’s Quest, and they have prospered and thrived, but a new danger and a mysterious prophecy may change all that…

The Hollow Night

Prologue

Orangestar looked up as a cat entered her den.

“What is it, Blackleaf?”

“I have had a new prophecy, a message from our ancestors.”

Orangestar rose to her paws.

“What is it?”

“The children of the storm, though they should never be, are Skyclan’s only hope.”

A hint of fear sparked in Orangestar’s eyes. Blackleaf gave her a curious look, but Orangestar dismissed him with a flick of her tail.

“Go now, Blackleaf. I wish to think of this alone.”

The black medicine cat nodded, then left. He walked out into the clear morning air and sniffed. A storm was heading in.

Orangestar looked down at her belly. It had been difficult, but she had successfully hidden her pregnancy from the rest of her clan, though she still couldn’t believe how they hadn’t spotted it. She knew she was very close to kitting. She lifted her nest and check to make sure the healing herbs she had taken from Blackleaf’s den were still there. When she was satisfied she lowered it down again.

The worst part of Orangestar’s pregnancy was the fact that the father was a kittypet from Twolegplace. She had been doing a border patrol when she’d met him and they had kept meeting ever since. Orangestar’s biggest problem, however, was what to do with the kits when they were born. Should she give them to her mate, to live with his twolegs? Or should they stay with the clan?

Orangestar decided to wait until the time came. She sniffed the air. A storm was approaching. She froze. A storm? She looked down at her belly. Were her kits the ones in the prophecy? Orangestar nodded. Then they would have to stay with the clan.

That night the storm broke. Rain lashed down on the ground and the wind tore through the sky. Orangestar lay sheltered under a hollow tree while she kitted. It was agony. The leader managed to swallow the herbs and when she’d finished, three kits lay before her, tucked into her belly. She purred. One of them, a she-kit, was ginger with white tabby stripes, just like her mother. Orangestar looked down with affection.

“You will be Dawnkit,” she meowed, “ To remind me of the dawn waiting when the storm dies down.”

She looked at the tom next to Dawnkit. He was dark bluish-grey, like his father.

“You will be Riverkit.”

She looked down at the final kit. A small, thin she-kit with a dark grey pelt but also with white tabby stripes.

“You will be Stormkit,” she told her, “ To remind me of this raging storm.”

When Orangestar felt as if she had enough energy to move, she picked up her three mewling kits and returned to camp, her head held high. Blackleaf saw her enter. His eyes grew wide when he saw the kits she was holding.

“Orangestar!” he cried, “Are those your kits? Did you kit during the storm?”

Orangestar nodded and Blackleaf’s jaw dropped.

“Take them to the nursery,” he said, “Yellowfur has her two kits, only a few days old. I’m sure she’ll manage to look after yours too.”

Orangestar nodded and took her three kits over to the nursery. Yellowfur’s eyes grew wide with shock when she entered.

“Orangestar? What’s going on? Whose kits are these?”

Orangestar carefully placed her three kits in the nest and they wriggled over to Yellowfur’s belly.

“These are my kits, Yellowfur. I cannot care for them as I am clan leader. Please look after them. They are Dawnkit, Riverkit and Stormkit.”

Yellowfur’s eyes looked lovingly at the three kits and said,

“Very well. I will look after them.”

Orangestar purred and left the nursery. She padded back to her den and curled up to go to sleep. The prophecy echoed in her head as she closed her eyes.

The children of the storm, though they should never be, are Skyclan’s only hope.

Chapter 1

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the highrock for a clan meeting!”

The cats of Skyclan assembled under the highrock. Yellowfur, the golden she-cat who had been up until this point, the queen nursing Orangestar’s three kits, led the leader’s offspring up to the base of the highrock. The sat there eagerly, their eyes staring up at their mother. They all had her amber eyes. Orangestar looked down on them lovingly, her eyes full of warmth and affection.

“We are gathered here to give these Skyclan kits their apprentice names.”

She had turned her head to the clan to speak, but now looked down at Dawnkit.

“Until this kit has earned her warrior name, she shall be known as Dawnpaw.”

Dawnpaw’s eyes gleamed and she whispered her new name,

“Dawnpaw!”

Orangestar addressed the clan once more.

“Silverfur, you are ready for another apprentice. You shall be mentor to Dawnpaw.”

Silverfur stepped forwards. Dawnpaw looked up at her. She was a slender she-cat with a silvery-grey pelt and ice-blue eyes. She noticed Dawnpaw looking at her and smiled down at her. Orangestar then continued,

“Silverfur, you have shown yourself to be an intelligent and honourable warrior, she that you pass these skills on to your apprentice.

Silverfur nodded and bent down, touching noses with her apprentice. Then she led Dawnpaw away to sit at the edge of the assembled cats.

Next, Orangestar directed her attention at Riverkit.

“Until this kit has earned his warrior name, he shall be known as Riverpaw.”

Riverpaw’s heart was pounding against his chest. Who would be his mentor? Would he make a good apprentice? Would he eventually be made a warrior?

Orangestar continued the ceremony.

“Wildmask,” she said to a dark ginger she-cat, “You are ready for your next apprentice. You shall be mentor to Riverpaw.”

The she-cat stepped forwards. Riverpaw scanned his eyes over her. She seemed to be a sturdy warrior, but looked as if she may have quite a short temper. He’d best not make any mistakes.

Orangestar was continuing,

“Wildmask, you have shown yourself to be a strong and cunning warrior, and you did a good job mentoring Raveneyes. See that you pass on these same skills to your newest apprentice.”

Wildmask nodded at her leader, respect showing in her eyes. But when Riverpaw looked again, he noticed something else. Was that distaste? Did the ginger she-cat feel disgusted by something his mother had done? What could that be? Riverpaw’s mind was flooded with questions as his new mentor bent and touched noses with him. As he walked away from the highrock with her, she glanced at him, and he saw that same look directed at him. Was the event something to do with him? And if so, what?

Meanwhile, the leader was continuing the ceremony. She was looking down at Stormkit and meowing,

“Until this kit has earned her warrior name, she shall be know as Stormpaw.”

Stormpaw looked up at her mother, her unusual pelt shining in the sunhigh light. She swept her gaze around the camp, her mind trying to work out which of the cats would be made her mentor. It couldn’t be Silverfur or Wildmask, her brother and sister had already been given to them. Neither could it be Icestorm, he was mentoring the brown apprentice, Oakpaw, or Sandwhisker, as she was mentoring Yewpaw, a golden she-cat. Shiningheart and Duskflame were queens in the nursery, and Blackleaf was the medicine cat. That only left her mother, Orangestar, the deputy, Whitestripe, or the warriors Rockhead, Leopardfire, Yellowfur or Raveneyes.

Stormpaw guessed she would probably be mentored to either Whitestripe or Rockhead. Mothers didn’t usually mentor their kits, so neither her true mother or the queen who’d looked after her would be likely. Raveneyes was the newest warrior, he had only been made one half a moon ago, and so, while there were still more senior warriors available, it would most likely not be him. Stormpaw knew that her mother, being clan leader, may give her to her deputy to mentor. Rockhead was quite a senior warrior, as was Leopardfire, so therefore, all three cats were likely candidates.

Stormpaw’s eyes darted back up to the Highrock as she heard her mother speak.

“Rockhead, you are ready for your first apprentice. You shall be mentor to Stormpaw.”

Stormpaw wasn’t surprised to be made Rockhead’s apprentice. She had suspected he would be the one to be chosen. She was pleased with her deductions and smiled at them as her mother continued,

“Rockhead, you have shown yourself to be a noble and proud warrior. She that you pass these skills on to your apprentice.”

Rockhead nodded proudly, then bent and touched noses with Stormpaw. The she-cat could tell that here was a warrior who relied on his strength and attack moves to win a battle. She, on the other hand, used brains. She had often defeated Dawnpaw and Riverpaw in nursery battles using her intelligence. She certainly preferred brains over brawn. Stormpaw could tell that this may make her apprenticeship difficult. She predicted there may be many arguments and frustrating lessons ahead.

As Rockhead led her away to sit next to her siblings, the rest of the clan began to cheer,

“Dawnpaw! Riverpaw! Stormpaw!”

As Orangestar concluded the meeting and the cats began to disperse, the three newest apprentices walked up to each other and sat down. Riverpaw looked across and saw their mother leap down off the Highrock and summon their new mentors. She meowed something to them and they all nodded. He noticed that she had to say something else to Wildmask, his mentor, before the dark ginger she-cat nodded reluctantly. Somehow, Riverpaw didn’t hold much hope for a happy relationship with his mentor. He flicked his gaze back to his siblings as one of his sisters said ,

“I’m really looking forwards to this! Now we get to sleep in the apprentices den! No more curling up in that cramped nursery nest!”

He couldn’t help smirking at Dawnpaw’s comment. He could tell by the look in Stormpaw’s eyes that she didn’t hold the same enthusiasm for her apprenticeship.

Well, he thought, at least one of us is going to be enjoying this.

Riverpaw turned his attention back to his mother again as she walked over. She stood infront of her offspring looking proud enough to burst and said,

“Your mentors have agreed to let you have the rest of the day off. I suggest you use it by finding your nests in your den and maybe making yourselves useful around camp.”

The three apprentices nodded at their mother and she walked off, away to her den.

The leader of Skyclan curled up in her nest and stared at the wall. Her mind was tumbling. Her stomach seemed filled with regret. She wished this day hadn’t come so soon. She was so proud of her kits, but…

Two moons earlier, Blackleaf had received another prophecy. It had warned,

The destruction shall come, churned by the storm, a moon after the light by the clouded river receives guidance.

Blackleaf had interpreted it as meaning that the danger to their clan would come a moon after her kits became apprentices, but could not decipher what churned by the storm meant. His only thought had been that it could be something to do with Stormpaw.

Orangestar certainly hoped that her kits would be the ones to save their clan from the disaster. Starclan knew they each had a special gift.

Riverpaw was the interpreter, being able to tell almost everything about a cat and how they were feeling just by looking at their eyes. He was observant and patient, but his mind easily wondered and was lost in what he was gazing at.

Stormpaw was fiercely intelligent, a master of making deductions. She preferred to use her brains to win a battle, and could often make quite accurate predictions of what was to come. However, if she predicted something that was not to her liking, it could make her moody and irritable for days.

Dawnpaw’s ability had been the hardest to find. It seemed she was a natural leader, excellent at making choices and taking decisions into her own paws. Orangestar liked to think she had inherited this skill from herself.

Orangestar shifted in her nest and closed her eyes to sleep. When tomorrow eventually dawned it would mark their first day as apprentices, and the beginning of her moon-long countdown to the clans possible destruction.

She thought inside her head,

Please Starclan, let us pull through.