Chapter 1
Ao3. Previous part
She was surrounded by starlight, to the leaves that hung over her head, to the very ground that of the well trodden grass of a hollow she stood alone in.
“No, I’m not alone,” she thought, raising her head up to the sky, but instead of seeing more stars, she saw different shades of eyes, all peering down at her.
“Eons agone, these lands were rife with gods and their adherents. What befell this pantheon? Alas, Tis the nature of beast to forget and Gods to be forgotten. Mayhap they left. Mayhap they slept. Mayhap they devour and were devour in turn. Those few who remain though, they spread their roots, spun their webs and molded the ways of how others live… but sometimes, things left best forgotten, can crack through, whisper in the ears of those who can give it power…what will you do little spark… what can you do?”
Ardere snaps her eyes open, panting as she sits up. She regretted that as she hisses, sunlight that shine through one of the many broken windows that were scatter across the Yowlplace that made the Liege’s Family Den. Her grandmother, Crystallo, before her passing, told her many stories about how years before, when the world was young, that the Others, who had ruled it with a cruel fist, would gather in the place and yowl to their heart’s content.
Arching her back as she stretches, Ardere frowns as she tries to remember her dream that was now slowly fading away. Shaking her head, she stood up, and began to run her tongue over her dark ginger fur, making sure she was presentable enough for her mother. “I do not need another scolding,” she chuckles to herself as she gave herself one more shake before leaving not only the comfort of her nest, but the Liege’s Family den itself.
Stepping through the hole in the wall, Ardere frowns as it rains lightly, feeling the weight of the raindrops falling on her ginger coat, making the black rosettes sparkle a bit. Sighing a bit, and glaring up at the sky, Ardere stalked through the clearing, strolling many cats who were going about there day. She nodded at them each on greeting, tail held up high. She smiles at the sight of a few kits tumbling about playfully, two of them hissing a bit as they bapped at each other’s face, even as a black and white tom with blue scales quickly walked over to pull the two apart.
She watches as another group of cats headed over to the fields, where they will switch places with the night group to take care of the chickens and rabbits that feed the coalition. Ardere couldn’t help but giggle as one trips clumsily over her paws when she tried to yawn. Shaking her head, Ardere smile drops off her face as she walked over to two other kits around her age. One was a light gray rosette molly with the same black scales crawling up her legs, who was watching as a group of Sentries were doing the morning warmup with blue eyes. Next to her, was a slightly large black tom with hard to see rosettes in his fur, white scales crawling up his face, making his blue eyes pop. He leans towards the molly whispering something, making her laugh. But her laughter died when she caught sight of Ardere, “Oh its you...finally decided to finally wake up I see,”
“Thought you decided to stay with Lady Nocta with how much you were squealing in your sleep,” the tom sneers at her and Ardere sighs.
“Morning Rubinus, Fortis,” Ardere greeted them without any heat. It was too early to get into an argument with them. “What’s on the agenda for today? Has father said anything?”
Fortis grumbles when Ardere didn’t react to their mocking, “I’m going to be joining the sentries in there training,” he shrugs, “If I don’t like it, I’ll be sent to the Farms or the Nursery, to work with them,” he shivers, “I rather work with kits than learn to fight and be under Solta’s eye all day in the field chasing after rabbits,”
“I’ll be talking with Overseer Apollo alongside father,” Rubinus said, drawing a paw over her face, “Then we will be talking to Commander Henricus about Thundergrowth,” her face scrunches up in a sneer, “it seems that they're getting aggressive lately and the elders are fearing that they’ll strike at us once more,”
Ardere frowns at this, “But the Deranged Bishop has been dead for seasons now. We have been in peace with Thundergrowth since Bishop Goosefeather took over,” she pointed out, a frown on her face.
Rubinus groans at this, rolling her eyes, “Just because the leader is dead doesn’t mean his followers are. Many of Thundergrowth agreeded with his beliefs, and I know for sure that they didn’t get truly punished for their actions against us,”
“Just because you were friends with Pineface, doesn’t make all of Thundergrowth your friend,” he glares at her, “And if you do, why don’t you follow Fuligo’s example and go find one?”
Ardere stood up, her green eyes widen, “What do you mean follow Fuligo’s example,” she hisses, tail lashing behind her.
“He went out to the forest that borders the camp,” Fortis mews, nodding his head towards the dense green forest, “Saying he was going to prove to us, how big and strong he was by making a friend with a Kingdom cat,”
“You two idiots!” Ardere snaps, heart beating in her chest as ran towards the woods, plunging through the bushes that marked the border. She couldn’t even stop to marvel in awe at what was on the other side, too worried about her brother. She didn’t stop when her paws hit every sharp rock, rough root and pointed stick, didn’t stop when her fur was pulled by a briar bush, nor when her lungs ache with a burning feeling in them. Especially when she heard a screech of pain that could only come from her little brother.
Bursting though some undergrowth, Ardere skitted to a halt in horror at the sight before her. Her brother, looking like a tinier version of Fortis, with the same black fur and faded rosettes, but with white scales covering his left paw. His tail was bushed in terror as he tries to scramble up, but the large brown tabby with white scales over his face and belly, and red scales across his neck pounced again, pinning Fuligo to the ground. His amber eyes gleam as he brought his paw up, claws unsheathed to swipe at Fuligo’s muzzle, making him squeal in agony.
A growl erupted from Ardere’s throat before it turns into an angry yowl as she sprung on him, throwing him sideways off her brother and into a clump of nettles. Sinking her teeth into his shoulders, the larger tom hisses in pain, twisting as he tries to throw her off of him. She gets off of him, before he could flipped onto his back and crush her, and then dodged as he swipes at her face, blood welling from the scracthes those long claws made along her cheek, but Ardere hisses aggressively, her fur rise to make herself look bigger than she was but the other, glares down at her. “Get out of here you Ruindwellers!” he orders, tail lashing behind him, “You don’t belong here,”
“That doesn’t mean you get to attack my brother!” Ardere snaps, glaring up at him with narrow green eyes. Her body thrum, from head to the tip of her tail, every part of her ready for battle.
The tabby opens his mouth, but a new voice cuts in, stopping him, “What is going on here?” Ears pinning to her head, Ardere watches as two adult cats strides into the clearing, the sunlight shining down on their fur through the trees, making Ardere and Fuligo see them clearly. The tallest one, was a molly with pale blue-gray fur with darker tabby marking. Patches of yellow scales grew along the back of her neck and shoulders, with a scar parting the scales across one shoulder. The scratches on her face to the nick of her ear showed the hard life she had, but her blue eyes glowed with inner strength. Ardere shivers a bit, as those blue eyes looked down at her in curiosity. A second cat followed him, this one making the brown tabby grimace. He too had gray fur, but was covered in teal scales on the neck and belly.
At the sight of this tom, the brown tabby who attacked Fuligo crouched down, grimacing at the narrow blue eyes aim at him, “Tigerpaw what were you thinking?” The gray tom growls, “are you trying to start a war with the Hearth Coalition?”
“I was just protecting our territory!” The now name Tigerpaw explains but keeping his head down, not looking up at them.
“Oh yes, you sure protected our territory,” the gray tom growls, “attacking a pair of kits. You know the code, don’t you Tigerpaw? No warrior can neglect a kit, even if the kit is in danger? That doesn’t just effect Kingdom cats,” he scolds.
Ardere drops onto her pads, loosening her muscles and unbending her spine as she turns to Fuligo who was standing up, shaking in place as he stares at Tigerpaw with terror in his blue eyes, “are you ok?”
He turns to her, shivering and nodding his head. Ardere frowns and presses to his side, brushing her tongue against his head in a soothing manner.
“I apologize for this whole mess,” the blue gray molly gently said, drawing the siblings attention to her, you have my word that Tigerpaw will be punished,” the gray tom nodded his head in agreement at this and Tigerpaw grimaces, “I am Bishop Blizzardstorm of the Thundergrowth Kingdom,” she dips her head, before gesturing to the gray and teal scale tom, “this is Voleclaw, one of my warriors and you have met his apprentice, Tigerpaw,”
Ardere stares at the Bishop, “I am Ardere, and this is my brother, Fuligo,” he brings his head up from Ardere’s side before he shyly nods it. Ardere frowns, “Bishop Goosefeather has pass?”
“Yes,” Bishop Blizzardstorm spoke sadly, “the last winter before this one,”
“That is sad to here,” Fuligo mutters, “he brought peace to our two groups for many years… Father will be sadden to hear he finally left to join one of the valleys guarded by Lady Nocta,”
“Agreed,” Bishop Blizzardstorm frowns, “you did not know then?”
“A few sentries had tried to get any news from you,” Ardere frowns, “but they are force to flee with a few whiskers missing. You lot have been getting so aggressive that it’s worried that you will start the raids again,”
The Bishop winces at this, while Voleclaw growls, “it seems we will have to keep a closer eye on our patrols,”
Nodding her head at this, Bishop Blizzardtounge sighs, “My apologies once more, the last two Season-cycles have been hard on us all. I promise to you that I will crack down on those who have been attacking you will be punished as well and they will be stop,”
Ardere nods her head at this, as they say in an awkward silence. Voleclaw coughs, “you fight well for someone from the Ruins,”
Ardere and Fuligo exchange looks, making Bishop Blizzardstorm chuckle, “we saw you throw yourself at Tigerpaw, right before we could interfere. Tigerpaw is stronger than you, but you didn’t even hesitate to charge in to protect your brother,”
Ardere’s ear flick at this and she ducks her head down. Fuligo chuckles beside her and nudges her with a smile on his face. She softly hisses at him, before turning her gaze back to the Bishop, kneading the ground underneath her. Finally she couldn’t hold in the questions that were burning in her throat, “I hope you don’t mind me asking but what is it like living in the Strath? How big is your Kingdom? What do you guys actually do?”
Blizzardstorm chuckles, good humor shining in her blue eyes, “Living in the Strath...may not be as comfortable as living in the Ruins as you two do, but to us Kingdoms, the rewards are great. Our territory is big enough to support us, which our warriors,” she flicked her tail towards Voleclaw, “feed, defend and care for the cats who cannot do it themselves. Of course we have other things that a cat can do if they do not wish to be a warrior. We have our Crafters, who help build the defenses of our home, to the caretakers who help with the raising of our kits alongside the Monarchs,”
“How many Kingdoms are there?” Fuligo speaks up, blinking with his wide blue eyes, “We know about Thundergrowth and Windmoor,”
“There are four,” Voleclaw spoke up, “Shadowmire and Riverglade. We have live in the Strath for many generations, and while usually we live in peace together, it hangs on the balace with how the Bishop at the time leads their Kingdom.”
“You seem very interested of the Kingdoms,” Bishop Blizzardstorm remarked, her blue eyes staring at Ardere in curiosity.
“Our father would tell us stories of the time when he travel with a Windmoor cat by the name of Kesterltail,” at this both Voleclaw and Bishop Blizzardstorm exchanged looks, Tigerpaw frowning at her while his amber eyes narrow. “But only of the days they had travel together, anything of actual Kingdom life is still a mystery to us,”
Bishop Blizzardstorm gazes at her for a bit, before nodding her head, “How about you find out for yourself,” at this, Tigerpaw’s head snaps to the Bishop, amber eyes wide, “What would you say if I ask you if you like to join Thundergrowth as an apprentice,”
“I would be very interested,” Ardere replies instinctavley, swallowing down the lump in her throat. Her heart was pounding against her chest, and she knew her eyes were widen in shock.
“But the Ruindwellers can’t live in the Strath!” Tigerpaw protested immediately, “They don’t have the blood that had been bless by Lady Nocta to live here,”
Fuligo frowns, “You do know that many years ago, the Strath was just a nursing place for Drifters long before you Kingdom cats came,” he pointed out, “And then you all got really prickly with borders and started attacking anyone who dare enter? The story of the Raging Sky and Mother Mist,” at this the two older cats wince, “It isn’t just a story, its a warning to all to be careful around you,”
Sighing Bishop Blizzardstorm shakes her head, “Too much of Nocta’s Blessed Blood has been spill lately. And I am only offering her training. There is no guarantee she would become a full member of Thundergrowth,”
Ardere felt stung by those words, and even more hurt when she realize the Bishop was only offering her a chance, not her brother. “Why offer me the chance then?”
“We need more help,” Voleclaw admits, “The last two winters brought by Lady Nixames’ wails were harsh. We’re short on paws, and now that we know that some of our patrols have been attacking others...we can’t afford to be choosy. Though make no mistake of this,” he looks at her in the eyes, with his dark blue, “Bishop Blizzardstorm is not making this offer lightly. If you wish to train with us, we will have to take you into our Kingdom. You must either live with us and respect our ways, or return to the Ruins and never come back. You cannot live with a paw in each world,”
Ardere frowns, “So...if I accept, that means I have to cut contact with my family,” she frowns, “I understand respecting your ways, but not being able to see my parents, to see my littermates…”
“Of course not,” Bishop Blizzardstorm gently responded, giving Voleclaw a glare, “All we ask that when you did visit them it will be on your own time,” at this, a cool breeze stirred the undergrowth, ruffling Ardere’s fur. She shivers, not with the cold, but with excitement at the possibility that was opening up. But she stills, frowning as she turns to Fuligo, “Are you wondering if its worth it? The price you may pay?” Ardere turns her gaze to Bishop Blizzardsstorm who was staring at her sadly, “Thundergrowth may not be able to offer you easy food or warmth. When Nixames comes and wails, nights in the Strath can be cruel. Thundergrowth will demand great loyalty and hard work. You will be expected to protect them with your life if necessary. While it is against our code to kill in battle, any fight poses the risk of death. Things are out of our control and if Lord Mourna calls you to walk with him to one of Lady Nocta’s Startrail,” she shakes her head, voice cracking at this, “Nothing can stop that. But...if you like to have at least a taste, a trial run to say,” Bishop Blizzardstorm looked at her for a long moment, “Two cats will be here tomorrow, at sunhigh,”
Ardere nodded her head, mouth dry as she watches Bishop Blizzardstorm give a a low signal- a flick of her tail- and in a single movement the three cats turned and disappeared into the undergrowth. Blinking, Ardere turns to Fuligo before she shakes her head and helps him up, allowing him to lean against her side, the two of them turning, heading back to the Coalition. But as she did so, she felt a strange sensation inside her, pulsing with each step she took, trying to tug her back into the depths of the Strath.
