"Everybeast knew the story of Martin the Warrior. How he came to Mossflower and fought to overthrow the tyranny of the Kotir wildcat family. Ask anybeast, they'll tell you about how Martin and Tsarmina, the queen of a thousand eyes, faced each other in a final duel at the swamp that was Old Kotir. And they'll all remember how Martin was slain by Tsarmina, and his sword taken from his corpse."
"No one needs to be asked about what happened next; it's part of our history. Tsarmina reorganised the army of Kotir, and drove the woodlanders back to Brockhall. Even though the woodlanders held against the cat for a season and a half, Tsarmina triumphed; the burning of Brockhall lead to the woodlanders once again being under the whip of Kotir. Forced to fell their homes for timber and tools, the woodlanders were treated much more pathetically and ruthlessly than they ever were under Verdauga. Tsarmina executed Bella, Germaine, Lady Amber and Skipper in front of their followers, with the very sword that once led them."
"Kotir was rebuilt, grander and more powerful than before. Tsarmina did not live long after, dying the next winter. Her son, however, proved to be more tyrannical than his mother. Verdauga (Named after his grandsire, in more of a claim to inheritance than respect) raised himself an army, and took to razing the woodlands and plains. The lordless Salamandastron soon fell."
"Southsward was the next victim, but Kotir found an army already waiting for them. The wolf-fox Urgan Nagru and his horde were stronger than the hapless beasts Kotir had enslaved and pillaged, and fought the cats to a standstill. An uneasy ceasefire was made twixt the two empires. However, in a blow for good, the resistance of Southsward destroyed the wolf-fox's diminished forces, and drove him and his mate out of their kingdom. Kotir knew of this too late, and Southsward mustered an army strong enough to keep the cats away indefinitely."
"With the south conquered as far as it could be, Kotir turned its gaze to the northlands. The vermin of the north were inducted as Kotir citizens, or they would be slain. Kotir spread as far as Marshank point, razing and destroying what they came across. The secret village of Noonvale, once a place of peace and happiness, was burned down and turned into a labour camp for a quarry by the mountains. Kotir was unstoppable."
"Even now, all woodlanders north of Mossflower are living in slavery. All but a few, that is. The mice live in relative luxury, as auxiliaries in Kotir's army. Once persecuted by the cats, most mice make a deal with them to work for them. Almost a third of all Kotir's soldiers are mice, and about two hundred of the three thousand free beasts of Kotir are mice families who have earned their freedom. Mice are considered little more than vermin now."
"But I've overcome that. I've earned the trust of the new CORIM. My name is Sarah. I'm a mouse, and CORIM is my new home. The Centre Of Resistance In Mossflower is modelled after that which once fought against Tsarmina. We're led by the badger Hewnstripe. We don't know that much about him; only that he came one day and made the fledging resistance into a full-blown rebellion. I think I can trust you with this; CORIM is located in the tunnels beneath the old sandstone quarry. Its vein of stone is long gone, but the limestone beneath is teeming with tunnels and caves."
"We've made a lot of improvements to it. The moles have dug us a grand cavern beneath the quarry, were the families of the slave's who have escaped are brought. Of our resistance, there are about two thousand beasts. You'd think that's a lot, but it's not compared to how many are still enslaved inside Kotir. Five thousand slaves! And that's just the capital. In the entire empire, I'd say there are three slaves to every one free beast."
"The king of a thousand eyes, Lord Josef, is at war with the northern kingdom of Riftgard. His daughter, Tyria, has been left as regent of Kotir. Martin the Warrior's sword always stays in Mossflower, and Tyria is no fool when it comes to a blade. She's also a shrewd tactician and no bumbling idiot. She could also charm the bees out of a beehive, and still have them praising her name by the time she's taken all the honey. She would, if she wasn't so very evil. She enjoys twisting the minds of the slaves, and is always up to some insidious plot or scheme. Even now she-"
Sarah was stopped by a huge paw clasping her own. It was black, and covered in cuts and old scars. Looking up, she saw the face of the badger Hewnstripe. It too, was scarred badly. "Lord Hewnstripe!" she exclaimed in shock, "What are you doing back here?"
"History lessons are over, Sarah," he rumbled, "Get out your sewing kit; the raid went badly."
