Sandclan's Destiny Book 4: Shatters of the Moon

Prologue

        The air from atop RockClan's camp was oddly still. It did not match the discord happening in the central clearing at that moment; the shouts and arguments debating whether or not Goldenstar was fit to lead. A single warrior sat away from them, refusing to initiate herself with their petty squalling, alongside a couple apprentices who were too young to understand what was going on.

        "The reason you were made leader was because you are a pacifist! Well, wouldn't Rockstar agree we need to appoint a stronger leader, who can defend us against this enormous threat? We need peace, but how can we get it without fighting for it?" A warrior named Peakedclaw called to Goldenstar, in which the leader was flat against the stone wall of the camp with fear in her eyes.

        Ivoryfern felt sympathy for Goldenstar, but agreed with the warrior. Why Goldenstar was made deputy in the first place is beyond me. But I know we didn't want Tigerleap either, and any warrior is a better choice than he is. Why are warriors so hung up on him? He betrayed Blizzardstar.  No matter how much she tried to accept her thoughts, she could not help but yearn with the rest of them for Tigerleap back. At least he wanted to lead, and could. Goldenstar would waste her nine lives with disease and the inability to defend herself.

       Goldenstar could not even defend herself in the argument. Ivoryfern could notice the way her jaw clenched, as if she had something to say but were too afraid to say it. Instead, other warriors had to speak for her. "We need a peaceful leader! SandClan and BirdClan are going to help us and guide us." Whitedust mewed, "They agree that Goldenstar's the right choice for leader."

Ivoryfern rolled her eyes. This argument began without context; the catalyst was probably Tigerleap's absence, which was funny because his presence didn't quell the anger some warriors felt at this predicament. In fact, Ivoryfern never liked him. Many warriors didn't, but speaking out against him when so many warriors did support him or numbly accepted him created a separation between Ivoryfern and the rest of the warriors in her Clan.

Maybe I did like Tigerleap better, Ivoryfern thought, considering how much I disagree with Whitedust. BirdClan and SandClan made Goldenfern leader. Just because Blizzardstar originally made her deputy doesn't mean she's destined to lead us. Even worse, BirdClan and SandClan thought they were finished here, after they chased Tigerleap from the territories. Little do they know, RockClan's worse off than it was before! 
They ruined everything!

"Exactly!" Badgerheart, Ivoryfern's littermate, snarled, "SandClan and BirdClan help us, guide us, protect us. They take on the duties of leader and strip us of our own! We were fine without them, may Rockstar roll where he is buried to agree with my words!"

            Ivoryfern flicked her tail, about to join in with: 'Rockstar probably doesn't even see us right now from the sky, remember? We have no connection with StarClan, it does not matter anymore!' And it was most likely true. There had been no hints of StarClan's existence, neither in dreams nor in presence, nor in omen. An apprentice besides her, Amberpaw, shuddered. "StarClan's going to be mad! See that?" She stared at Ivoryfern before turning her head to the sky beyond.

            The sky began to crowd with bloated clouds, purple to Ivoryfern's displeasure. Even the trees over in BirdClan territory, seen only as a strip of blue too close to the horizon, began to shudder and dance as she supposed the wind was responsible. Ivoryfern stared at the sky until a voice broke her trance: "See that? A storm! The perfect way for StarClan to warn us against Goldenstar's leadership." The voice belonged to Ashenfall, and he was seen on his hind-legs, staring at the storm with eyes in the same trance.

            Goldenstar shied away from the view, her mouth moving but with no voice loud enough to hear.

            "Fools! StarClan cannot even see us right now and everyone knows StarClan can't even control the will of the skies. Stop having so much faith in something that cannot even help you now!" Larksong snapped. Ivoryfern nodded in agreement and leaned over to the edge of the cliff, staring out at the appending storm. A flash of white sped through one of the distant clouds and her ears suddenly flew back and she scrambled away from the edge of camp.

            "Well, who do you propose as leader, then?" Squirrelleap screeched, thunder booming after waited for an answer.

            "Goldenstar can remain leader! We have SandClan and BirdClan to help us, they can teach her how to lead!" Whitedust yowled in protest.

          "SandClan this, BirdClan that!" Sunfall called out, revealing himself. That fox-hearted, lazy medicine cat rarely showed his face in camp. His mug was unwelcome anyway. He was always so sour, insulting everything but Rockstar's will and the will of StarClan. He had insulted Goldenstar by siding with Tigerstar's followers but denied Tigerstar's right to be leader  by simultaneously threatening to strike him down with the wrath of StarClan.
"They cannot help us here!" And perhaps he was right, for lightning flashed and illuminated his silhouette on the wall, hunched over like a beast made of black satin. "Not even StarClan can help us anymore, thanks to all of you!"

            Ivoryfern padded up to her second littermate's side, whispering worriedly into his ear her observation, "Goldenstar has left. She's not even on her perch anymore!" The black she-cat shifted her amber eyes to the spot where she once stood, now empty and wet from the spilling rain, with Sunfall below, yowling and hissing to each and every one of his fellow clanmates.

            Larksong muttered something before speaking, louder, "We have to find her. She's out in a storm, Ivoryfern! What if she slips off the mountain? The Clan will be torn apart if she dies."

Ivoryfern agreed, beginning to follow him as he padded away from the others, face scrunched up against the rain. Lightning struck the sky, blinding her for a moment. A deafening cry of the warriors in the camp rose as they began to use the lightning to further their arguments. The sound of rain and screaming mingled together to create a ghastly tumult that rang like a knoll in Ivoryfern's ears.

            As she lifted her face to the sky, a fork of lightning stretched down, blinding her again. A clap of thunder came after, setting both her and Larksong's pelts on edge as they forced their way through the rain and around to the back of the camp. Soon their pelts were soaking and hanging heavy on their bodies. Ivoryfern spat water from her mouth to ask, "What if she ran off like Tigerleap did?" She remembered Larksong's affiliation with the traitor and corrected herself-- "Tigerstar, I mean."

            Before he could answer, a cat slid out from the leader's den. Goldenstar-- her eyes glossy with sadness as she dropped down and padded out to the center of the argument, stopping in front of both teams that were yelling back and forth. Silence crept into every cat as they watched their leader curiously. All the soaking cats began to crouch in embarrassment as their leader glanced back and forth at them. Ivoryfern watched as Goldenstar began to slowly hang her head. No! Please do not reveal you're going to throw yourself into the storm. We don't need this!

            "I never received my nine lives." The leader had to strain, in order for her voice to be heard against the rain.

            Every cat stood in stupor. Ivoryfern gawked in horror, her spine creeping with a shiver that was not from the chilling rain. Suddenly the silence was broken by another clap of thunder. Screams were thrown back and forth in the rain; cats ran and swirled around the camp while others pestered their leader for answers.

            Angry warriors drove Goldenstar into the nearest den, while others began to tackle Larksong with questions. He was considered the wisest and most trustworthy cat in the Clan, mostly because he served underneath Tigerleap. Ivoryfern stood idle, almost frozen in place. Maybe we do need the other Clans after all? Before we tear each other apart?