The Raging Storm

Alderheart padded to the water and settled at the edge. As the others took their places around the pool, he closed his eyes and dipped his head.

As the water touched his nose, a vision roared around him. Wind battered his pelt, and he felt himself lifted by a storm that tossed him like a leaf. Rain lashed his face and he fought to see, flailing against the hurricane until, suddenly, the wind dropped him and he fell onto wet grass. He hunkered down while the storm raged above. Against a clouded sky, five saplings stuck up like sharp claws as, around them, the wind streamed through marsh grass and set it rippling like water around their roots. The saplings rattled in the wind, their branches twisting together. Entwined, they stood firm, unbending against the storm. Alderheart narrowed his eyes. Hope flared in his heart when he saw the saplings resist.

Then a fierce gust swept over him and his heart lurched as, with a crack, one of the saplings gave way. It snapped at the roots and in an instant was carried away, tumbling over the grass like a twig. The rain hardened and the wind roared louder. The other saplings untwined and, one by one, the storm tore them from the earth and batted them away. In a moment, Alderheart found himself staring at an empty meadow, where nothing showed against the horizon but an endless sea of grass.

He opened his eyes, snatching his nose from the Moonpool and shaking water from its tip. He sat up as the other medicine cats straightened and stared at one another, blinking. “The five Clans must stand together!” he blurted.

“I saw saplings,” Willowshine gasped.

“When one was uprooted, the others were blown away,” Kestrelflight chimed in.

Alderheart’s fur pricked along his spine. We shared the same vision!

Jayfeather sat up and gazed blindly around the pool. “It sounds like we all saw the same thing. If that’s true, then StarClan is telling us that no Clan must fail. If one fails, we all fail.”

“But which Clan will fail?” Kestrelflight looked puzzled. “ThunderClan and WindClan are as strong as ever. ShadowClan has a leader now and has returned to its home, and RiverClan is one of the five again.”

Frecklewish’s hackles lifted. “All of you! You’re so complacent that you don’t see what’s happening!” Anger sparked in her pale green eyes. “ShadowClan wants to drive SkyClan from the lake! Didn’t you hear Tigerstar’s threat at the last Gathering?”

“We heard it,” Leafpool told her. “But it’s just a territory dispute, isn’t it? Clans have them all the time. We thought you and ShadowClan were going to work it out.”

“How?” Frecklewish stared at them. “Did you think Leafstar could create new territory? Or that Tigerstar could be persuaded to settle for less?”

“Tree said he would help you,” Kestrelflight meowed.

Frecklewish lashed her tail. “Did you really think an outsider could bring peace within the Clans?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “You act like this is not your problem. But StarClan has sent this vision to show you that it is! If the Clans don’t stand together to settle this fight, then SkyClan will be driven from the lake.”

Alderheart stared at the SkyClan medicine cat. She was right. They had ignored the dispute between SkyClan and ShadowClan. It’s not my battle. Shame washed him. He’d acted like the problem would go away if he ignored it. Now StarClan had made it clear that it wouldn’t.

Leafpool gazed evenly at Frecklewish. “Surely it’s not that bad?”

“ShadowClan attacked our camp last night,” she told them.

Alderheart stiffened. It was the first he’d heard of an attack on SkyClan. He wasn’t surprised Tigerstar hadn’t told him, but he had been awake in the night, caring for Puddleshine. Why hadn’t he heard the battle patrol return? Had no cat been injured?

“They shredded our dens while we slept,” Frecklewish went on. “Worse, Leafstar doesn’t want to rebuild. She wants to leave and return to the gorge.”

“Leave the lake?” Kestrelflight’s fur rippled nervously. “You can’t. Not after all we’ve done to bring you here.”

“Why can’t we?” Frecklewish challenged. “You’re doing nothing to keep us here.”

Alderheart shifted his paws uneasily. It was possible that SkyClan could return to the gorge. Darktail had driven them out, but Darktail was dead now and his rogues disbanded. There was nothing to stop SkyClan returning to the home they’d made moons ago.

“We must speak to our leaders,” Leafpool mewed quickly. “We must find a solution.”

Frecklewish’s gaze darkened. “No solution can repair what ShadowClan has done.”

Jayfeather narrowed his eyes. “If you need help rebuilding your camp, I’m sure Bramblestar will send a party to help with the work.”

“I’m not talking about the damage to the camp. ShadowClan poisoned our prey. They want to kill us!” Anger sharpened Frecklewish’s mew.

“Poison?” Unease wormed beneath Alderheart’s pelt. “What do you mean?”