Storm clouds flicker overhead, the dusty plain below filled with cats. I stand at the top of the hill and look down at them, a larger gray cat by my side. Her fur is gray, but tinted gold so that the looks almost like the storm clouds rolling overhead. Below us, the cats moan and wail, calling out for others who can not hear them.

I recognize the ghostly shape of Jadekit, bleeding dark black liquid onto the ground. Beside her is a large ginger cat who looks a little like Titanfoot.

"Who are they?" I ask the larger cat.

What has been.

"Why are they crying?"

They mourn for the loss of their memory. They are doomed to be forgotten.

The cats notice us, partly due to my voice, which echoes over the barren landscape, and they begin crawling my way. Some have lost limbs, others have too many limbs, and some are deformed in other ways. Not one of them is quite as they must have been in life. I can feel their clammy breath as they draw nearer, towering over me, mouths open to show off infinitely many teeth...

We have lingered too long here.

"Wake up, Rushkit!" calls Sparrowkit, and I blink open my eyes to find that once more, my travels have been naught but a dream. I breathe a sigh of relief, but find that immediately replaced by crankiness towards my brother. I look outside. The warriors are barely awake. Only the dawn patrol has left by now.

"Why did you wake me up so early?" I mutter crankily.

"Today's the big day!" he mews happily.
"What... big... that's today?!" I ask, eyes widening in shock. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

"I've been pushing you around since the sun rose. You wouldn't budge an inch!" he complains. His demeanor is suddenly far more serious. "Is something wrong?"
"My dreams keep getting more and more vivid." I tell him quietly.

"So have mine." he whispers back. "What do you dream about?"

"I dream about weird landscapes with sinister looking cats whose names I forget every morning. There's this gray one, I'm pretty sure she's Ashleap, and a lot of the cats look a lot like our clanmates, but they have extra limbs and are all screaming out in pain. I don't know what's wrong with them."

"Oh, that's nothing like my dreams. Mine are all color and light and things I can't recognize."

"Do you think your dreams mean anything?"
"I know yours do." he replies solemnly. "Now come on! The other kits have been waiting for us since before sunrise."

I scamper after him until I reach the river, where all of us sit below the Highfall. The clan leader makes their way up the side of the rock ledge that separates us and the waterfall, and they talk from up there. A normal cat wouldn't be heard over the roar, so the leader's strength of voice and character is what allows them to roar louder than the waterfall.

It is said that though our ancestors lived far away near the mountains, Dragonstar, the first leader of our clan, came here when our clan was in great peril and talked to her clan about their origins. The story of DragonClan's origins is a lot like the tunnels: it's long, complex, and it's nearly impossible to tell how much of it is truth and how much is either myth or slander invented by later clan leaders. The early leaders of DragonClan often received the title after attacking their predecessor due to the risky politics of the time.

Leafstar, second leader of DragonClan, went as far as to appoint a queen deputy, knowing that the humble Tigerlily would never attack her. Of course, this backfired when Tigerstar, whose name was ironically suitable for her reign, was attacked by Echoheart, who was tired of being ignored and abused, and so blood stained the rocks until we had to move...

I blink, realizing that not all the stories buzzing in my mind like bumblebees are ones that I learned myself.
"Are you ready?"

A warm presence graces my own, and I recognize Novakit before I adjust back to reality. I look down and my claws are unsheathed again. I sheathe them carefully.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I assure him.

"Same here." He shivers.

"All cats, gather beneath the Highfall for a clan meeting!" Knottedstar calls to the clan, and they slowly and amiably gather, knowing what today is well as we do.

Once everyone has gathered, I expect Knottedstar to go straight into the traditional ceremony, but instead she plunges into a speech. "On this day, six moons ago, the impossible happened. After generations of living here in peace, almost everything we care about was wiped away by a flood. It was only by perseverance and determination that we got back on our paws.

However, this was not the only impossible thing we received. Three queens, all pregnant, gave birth all on the same night, all of them heavy in labor at the very door of death. These kits seemed like a curse at the time. How could StarClan give us such a miraculous gift, only to take it away?

Those kits, despite the odds, did not die. Almost all of them grew and thrived into what they are today, and beyond a shadow of a doubt, I can call them warriors in the truest sense of the word.

When we make cats warriors, we call out the virtues we see strongest in them. Determination. Love. Trust. Hope. Leadership. These are only a few of the values that DragonClan has bestowed on warriors over the years on their ceremony day. I only ask that the warriors who mentor these apprentices show those qualities valiantly as they can, because these kits are our future. Now, Rushkit, Novakit, Sparrowkit, Crowkit, Sharpkit, Goldenkit, and Nettlekit, come forwards!"

All seven of us step forwards side by side, exchanging nervous glances. They're all excited to meet their new mentors. They have no idea who they'll be receiving.

Though I am just as apprehensive, I can not share their excitement. I already know quite well who will be mentoring me. "Rushkit, Novakit, Sparrowkit, Crowkit, Sharpkit, Goldenkit, and Nettlekit, you have reached the age of six moons and it is time for you to be apprenticed. Novakit, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Novapaw. Crowkit, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Crowpaw. Sharpkit, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sharppaw. Goldenkit, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Goldenpaw. Sparrowkit, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sparrowpaw. Rushkit, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Rushpaw. Nettlekit, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Nettlepaw."

All seven of the mentorless apprentices lie in wait. I feel my whole body tremble with the announcement of my name. I've heard this ceremony twice before, though my other ceremonies, from what I can recollect, were far more unorthodox.

"As for mentors: Novapaw, you will train with Titanfoot. Sparrowpaw, you will train with Amberstreak. Sharppaw, you will train with Scorchclaw. Goldenpaw, you will train with Hazelwhisker. Nettlepaw, you will train with Duststorm. Crowpaw, you will train with Emberstreak."

The six cats slowly make their way through the crowd to touch noses with their new apprentices. My heart begins beating a little faster. Have I not been chosen?

"Rushpaw, I will take on your training myself."

Of course. There was the answer I was expecting. I sigh with relief as our names are called by the whole clan, true enthusiasm in their voices for the first time in who knows how long. "Novapaw! Sparrowpaw! Sharppaw! Goldenpaw! Nettlepaw! Crowpaw! Rushpaw!"

My fellow apprentices begin chatting wildly with their new mentors, clearly thrilled by the prospect of training with them. Knottedstar jumps down and traditionally, presses her nose to mine, though in all honesty she's been my mentor for over a moon now. Through the writhing mass of apprentices, I keep my nose touched to Knottedstar's. She looks at me with satisfaction. "Are you ready to really begin your training?" Breathlessly, I whisper, "Yes."