Prologue

The moon glowed, radiating a luminous, beautiful light. The shadow of a cat lay, alone, on a hilltop, breathing steadily, flanks rising, falling, rising, falling. The cat watched the moon, seemingly drawn into it, like a bee to a crimson flower. Her belly was swollen with kits, and the cat curled protectively around it. Her green eyes, reflecting the light of the moon, were peaceful, calm, like all was at piece. But it wasn't. Of course it wasn't.

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That night, she dreamed of a cat with stars in his fur. "Father!" She exclaimed upon seeing him, the black tom with one white paw, who looked exactly like her.
"My daughter," the cat purred, love and friendliness in his eyes. But it vanished almost as quickly as he appeared, and all that was left in them was wisdom and impending doom. "My daughter, you are having kits."
The she-cat looked surprised, and momentarily hurt. "Do you... not want me to? I know you never liked Rowanthorn..." she trailed off, her green eyes sad as she thought of her mate, currently asleep in the den, curled up in that warm nest that they used to share before she became pregnant.
The black tom ignored her. "They will be the destruction of the aspen. And yet, they will be the saviors, the ones who bring truth. Heed my words, daughter, for they are your future." He stared straight into his daughter's eyes, and though there were no stars or moon that night, she could see stars, little dots of light in those emerald green eyes so like hers.
She stared, mesmerized, anticipating his next words, though she knew she wouldn't remember them when she woke.
"Blood of my blood, the kin of my kin,
The eagle hero, falcon's death, and the lone owl.
They will triumph over the ones that sin,
It is the birds, they say, that will finally win."
>It is a prophecy,< the she-cat thought in the back of her mind, still mesmerized by that green gaze. She couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't breathe...
"Goodbye, my daughter. We will meet again," the tom released her gaze, and the love returned to his face.
She could speak again.
She wanted to call out, stop him from leaving, ask him what it all meant. But before she could say her father's name, he had begun fading. Fading until it was just a translucent shape of a cat, the green eyes shining, still ablaze with light. The she-cat's voice was just a whisper, no matter how she tried to yowl. "Come back, father! Father..." she saw his eyes fade, finally, after his body disappeared. "I don't know what it means..."
Her body began to be heavy, and her eyes closed of their own accord. The world became the color of obsidian, pure black, and silence seemed to resemble the wave of sleep that washed over the black she-cat.