A dark and never ending shadow consumed a small pocket of land, covered in blood stained thistles. The trees overhead were barren and heavy with snow. Nothingness stretched on for miles, blending into distant grey mountains. A towering wall of jagged rocks reached into a blizzard-soaked sky, disappearing into a solid blanket of white. Beneath this rocky trap, a camp flecked with messy braided dens sat like an ominous stone. Tall thorny bushes surrounded the area, creating a painful bracken cage. Tufts of fur stuck to the razor sharp fronds like burrs on a fox's pelt.
In the center of the camp, a wirery mass of interlaced brambles stabbed out of the earth, thick and tight enough to hold the weight of an entire tribe. A grey tom with thick matted fur loomed on top of the structure, the darkness consuming all but his long slender paws. A gleaming set of silvery talons adorned each one, clicking anxiously and without kindness. A dull scar bored into his neck where his crest had once been, the shape containing traces of multiple teeth. It resembled a fleshy collar.
A pair of frost-bitten toms sulked into camp, shaking out their pelts and snarling at the all too familiar stab of the thorns around them. One was a ruddy red cat with rough prickly fur and dim amber eyes. The other was white and skinny, his green eyes flashing with anger. They prowled up to the tom sitting on the brambles and crouched, establishing their obediance. With flattened ears, the white tom spoke.
"Stingtalon and his apprentice did as you asked. The Slave was attacked, but something happened..." he rasped, shaking his narrow muzzle.
The grey tom, with a voice as cold as ice, replied quietly, "Is that so? What was it?"
The red-ish cat stepped in, "This huge bear came out of nowhere and ambushed them, sir. Bears never come out at this time of year, they're usually hibernating. We believe the stone and its master have something to do with it."
"I am the stone's rightful master," the grey tom corrected harshly, opening his eyes to reveal a pair of menacing yellow spheres, "and with the help of StoneTribe insiders, it won't be long until all its power belongs to me."
"B-but sir... didn't you promise Stingtalon would get the stone and become the next leader?" the white tom questioned nervously.
"You're as foolish as you look, Maggotpelt," the grey tom snarled softly, "That's the only way he would've agreed to my demands. Once the stone is found, I'll kill both of them and take my rightful place as ruler of the tribes. I've been denied my wishes for far too long. Murdering Dragonstar all those moons ago only carried me so far, and attacking Phoenixstar and his cowardly minions without greater strength was a mistake. But I will get my revenge, they'll all pay for their wrong doings. With the stone in my claws, I'll destroy that wall and bathe the river in blood."
Maggotpelt nodded and ducked his head, bushy white tail tucking between his legs.
"We're getting closer to finding the stone's carrier, sir," the red tom stated after a moment, "Stingtalon and Titanpaw have been scouring the camp and all its members for proof. They're beginning to suspect a Jewel Collector's Apprentice, of all things," he chuckled to himself.
"Good," the grey tom replied simply, "Perhaps this future Jewel Collector will meet their fate sooner rather than later. I'm getting impatient, Bloodclaw. Do you know what that means?"
Bloodclaw gulped, "Y-yes Ratstar," he stuttered, "I'll be killed for disobedience."
Ratstar chuckled sharply and blinked, "I've only managed to outlive all these petty fools for one reason only. Power. I intend to spend my last life as a king, and nothing is going to stand in my way."
A mighty roar echoed in the distance, followed by screeches of terror. Ratstar smiled, displaying a row of jagged yellow teeth.
"It seems like that bear will make things easier for me," he whispered to himself, scraping his long claws against the brambles, "Once their camp is in ruins, it's up to Stingtalon and Titanpaw to drag the Jewel Collector's Apprentices out into the forest and figure out which one has the stone. There's four of them, so I expect you two to join them. StoneTribe will be too panicked to notice. Do you understand?"
The pair of toms nodded together and bowed, flattening their ears in respect.
"When we find out which runt is keeping secrets, what happens to the other ones?" Maggotpelt questioned, his muzzle covered in snow.
"Kill them," Ratstar ordered.
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Warrior Cats: The Omen of StoneTribe, Book 1 (The Essence)
Fanfiction"Beware the stone." Naiyapaw has grown up in complete solitude with only her mother and her fellow den mates to keep her company. After StoneTribe's noble leader apprentices her as a Jewel Collector, her world and her knowledge of the tribe grow bey...
