Chapter 0 Prologue

PROLOGUE Night lay upon the forest. There was no moon, but the stars of Silverpelt shed their frosty glitter over the trees. At the bottom of a rocky hollow, a pool reflected the starshine. The air was heavy with the scents of late greenleaf. Wind sighed softly through the trees and ruffled the quiet surface of the pool. At the top of the hollow, the fronds of bracken parted to reveal a cat; her bluish gray fur glimmered as she stepped delicately from rock to rock, down to the water's edge. Sitting on a flat stone that jutted out over the pool, she raised her head to look around. As if at a signal, more cats began to appear, slipping into the hollow from every direction. They padded down to sit as close to the water as they could, until the lower slopes were filled with lithe shapes gazing down into the pool. The cat who had appeared first rose to her paws. "A new prophecy has come!" she meowed. "A doom that will change everything has been foretold in the stars."

序章 夜色笼罩森林。 没有月亮，可银毛带的群星在林间洒下了清冷的微光。 岩石凹地的底部，一汪池塘映着点点星光。 空气中弥漫着晚绿叶季的浓郁气息。 风轻轻穿过树林，拂皱了池塘平静的水面。 凹地顶端，蕨类叶丛分开，露出一只猫； 她踩着岩石缓步走下水边，蓝灰色皮毛闪着微光。 她坐在一块探出池面的平石上，抬起头环顾四周。 仿佛收到了信号，更多猫咪开始现身，从各个方向溜进凹地。 它们慢慢走下，挨近水边坐下，下坡很快挤满灵活的身影，都低头凝视着池面。 最先到来的那只猫站起身。 "新预言降临了！" 她开口说道。 "星辰已经预示，一场会改变一切的劫数即将到来。"

On the opposite side of the pool, another cat bowed his tawny, bracken-colored head. "I have seen this too. There will be doubt, and a great challenge," he agreed. "Darkness, air, water, and sky will come together, and shake the forest to its roots," the first cat went on. "Nothing will be as it is now, nor as it has been before." "A great storm is coming," meowed another voice, and the word storm was taken up, repeated and passed around the circle until it seemed that thunder rumbled through the ranks of watching cats. As the murmur died away a lean cat with a glossy black pelt spoke from near the water's edge. "Can nothing change what is about to happen? Not even the courage and spirit of the greatest warrior?" "The doom will come," the blue-gray cat replied. "But if the Clans meet it like warriors, they may survive." Lifting her head, she let her luminous gaze travel around the hollow. "You have all seen what must befall the forest," she meowed. "And you know what must be done.

池塘对岸，另一只蕨茶色公猫低下了他的脑袋。 "我也看到了这个预言。 未来会充满质疑，还有一场巨大的考验。"他赞同道。 "黑暗、空气、水与天空将会汇聚，撼动森林的根基。"第一只猫继续说道。 "一切都将不复现在，也不再同于过往。" "一场大风暴就要来了。"另一个声音说道，随后“风暴”这个词在猫群中传递传开，仿佛隆隆雷声滚过整圈观望的猫群。 低语声平息后，一只精瘦的亮毛黑猫在水边开口说话。 "没有任何办法能改变即将发生的事吗？ 就算是最伟大武士的勇气与意志也不行吗？" "劫数必会到来。"蓝灰色母猫回答道。 "但如果族群能以武士的姿态面对，他们就能幸存下来。" 她抬起头，明亮的目光扫过了整个凹地。 "你们都看到森林将要遭遇什么了。"她说道。 "也清楚我们必须做什么了。"

Four cats must be chosen to hold the fate of their Clans in their paws. Are you ready to make your choices before all of StarClan?" As she finished speaking, the surface of the pool shivered, though there was no wind to disturb it, then was still again. The bracken-colored tom rose to his paws, starlight turning the fur on his broad shoulders to silver. "I will begin," he meowed. He glanced sideways to meet the gaze of a light-colored tabby with a twisted jaw. "Crookedstar, do I have your permission to speak for RiverClan?" The tabby bowed his head in agreement, and the first cat went on, "Then I invite you all to see and approve my choice." He stared down into the water, as motionless as the rocks around him. A pale gray blur appeared on the surface of the pool, and all the cats craned forward to see it more clearly. "That one?" murmured the blue-gray cat, staring at the shape in the water. "Are you sure, Oakheart?" The tip of the bracken-colored tom's tail flicked back and forth. "I thought that choice

必须选出四只猫，将族群的命运握在他们爪中。 在全体星族面前，你们做好选择的准备了吗？" 话音刚落，没有风搅动池水，池面却微微晃动，随后又恢复平静。 这只蕨色公猫站起身，星光把他宽阔肩膀的毛发染成了银色。 "我先来选。"他说道。 他侧过眼，对上那只颌骨扭曲的浅虎斑猫的目光。 "弯星，你允许我代表河族发言吗？" 这只虎斑猫低头同意，公猫继续说道："那就请大家一同见证，认可我的选择。" 他凝视着池面，像周围的岩石一样一动不动。 一团浅灰色模糊影子出现在池面，所有猫都探出身，想看得更清楚。 "是这一只？"蓝灰色猫盯着水中的影子低声问道。 "你确定吗，橡心？" 这只蕨色公猫的尾尖来回晃了晃。 我认为这个选择

would please you, Bluestar," he meowed, amusement in his tone. "Do you not think she was well mentored?" "She was excellently mentored." Bluestar's neck fur rose as if he had said something to challenge her, then lay flat again. "Does the rest of StarClan agree?" she asked. A murmur of assent rose from the watching cats, and the pale gray shape thinned and vanished from the water, leaving it clear and empty again. Now the black cat stood up and padded to the very edge of the pool. "Here is my choice," he announced. "See and approve it." This time the shape in the pool was tortoiseshell and lean, with strong, well-muscled shoulders. Bluestar gazed down at the image for some moments before nodding. "She has strength and courage," she agreed. "But Nightstar—does she have loyalty?" called another cat. The black cat's head whipped around and his claws dug into the ground in front of him. "Are you calling her disloyal?"

会合你的心意，蓝星。"他说道，语气里带着几分笑意。 "你不觉得她得到了很好的教导吗？" "她确实受了极好的教导。" 蓝星脖子上的毛竖了起来，仿佛这话是种挑衅，随后又平复下去。 "其余星族成员都同意吗？" 她问道。 围观猫群响起一阵赞同的低语，浅灰色影子渐渐变淡，从水面消失，池水再次变得清澈空荡。 这时黑猫站起身，缓步走到池塘最边缘。 "这就是我的选择。"他宣布道。 "请大家见证并认可。" 这次池中的影子是只精瘦玳瑁猫，有着结实强壮的肩膀。 蓝星低头盯着影像看了好一会儿，才点了点头。 "她有力量也有勇气。"她赞同道。 "但是夜星——她足够忠诚吗？"另一只猫喊道。 黑猫猛地转过头，爪子深深扎进身前的地里。 "你竟敢说她不忠诚？"

"If I do, there's reason for it." The answer was shot back. "She was not born in ShadowClan, was she?" "Then that could make her a good choice," Bluestar meowed calmly. "If the Clans cannot work together now, they will all be destroyed. Maybe it will take cats with a paw in two Clans to understand what has to be done." She paused for a moment, but no other objections were forthcoming. "Does StarClan approve?" There was some hesitation, but it was not too long before soft meows of agreement came from all the assembled cats. The surface of the pool rippled briefly, and when it stilled again the tortoiseshell shape had gone. Another black cat got up and approached the water's edge, limping on one stubby, twisted paw. "My turn, I think," he rasped. "See and approve my choice." The gray-black shape that formed in the pool was hard to see against the reflection of the night sky, and the cats peered at it for some time before anyone spoke. "What?" the bracken-colored cat exclaimed at

“就算我这么做，也是有理由的。” 话音刚落，对方就立刻反驳回去。 “她不是影族出生，对不对？” “那这样说来，选她反而很合适，”蓝星平静地开口道。 “要是族群现在不能齐心协力，最后全都得灭亡。 或许就得找那种脚踩两个族群的猫，才明白该怎么做。” 她顿了片刻，没有其他猫站出来反对。 “星族同意这个选择吗？” 众猫先是犹豫了片刻，没等多久，所有到场的猫都发出了轻轻的附和声。 池水表面泛起一阵涟漪，等水面重归平静后，玳瑁猫的影子已经消失了。 另一只黑猫站起身，拖着一截短而扭曲的残爪，一瘸一拐走到池边。 “该我了，我想，”他哑着嗓子说。 “看看我的选择，请认可它吧。” 池水中浮现出灰黑色的影子，衬着夜空的倒影很难看清，众猫盯了好久，才有人开口说话。 “什么？”那只蕨毛色的猫惊声喊道——