Bren of Redwall
Written By Crystalazer
Based on the Redwall series by Brian Jaques

:-.-.-.-:

Now war does come a' calling
When Loomspear's at the door
Be it mountain road or forest path
Hill or valley ford
Naught will stop his conquest
Lest mouse with destined sword
Frees land and sky, sea and slave,
Frees us all forevermore
- Deed of Bren

:-.-.-.-:

Prologue

Abbess Sonata paused from her morning stroll to admire the changing foliage of the trees in the orchard. Though the autumn season was almost half-over, the days were still fairly warm and the colors of the tree still jubilant. Smiling, the Abbess adjusted her habit and walked on, enjoying the quiet morning. "Autumn is the time of the harvest," She murmured to herself. "And we've not yet held a Naming feast. At this rate, I doubt we'll be able to think of one by the time winter sets in."

"Does the Abbess spend every morning muttering to herself?" Sonata turned at the sound of Maple, a clever mouse-maid and expert in the kitchen, beside her. "It's still nice enough t' eat outside, Abbess. I've brought flasks of cold mint tea and fresh scones that Yuan and I baked last night. Mayhap we might think of a solution better on a full stomach."

"Ah, Maple, how is it that you always know what to do in situations like these?" The Abbess smiled at the young mouse-maid. "Yes, I think that if we put our heads together over these undoubtedly splendid scones, we'll be able to think of a name for this mild autumn."

The pair decided to enjoy their breakfast under the pear tree. As they ate, the Abbess looked thoughtful. "Have you thought of something, mother Abbess?" asked Maple, and Sonata shook her head.

"No, not quite yet, but I'm sure it will come to me." Sighing, the mouse resumed her thoughtful expression.

"When d' you think brother'll come home? It's been almost four seasons and he still hasn't returned." Jolting her out of her reverie, Sonata looked sideways at the mouse, whose bright eyes had become wistful and somewhat misty.

"He'll be home soon, Maple. Don't you worry; that Bren is a young and dependable mouse." Patting her tenderly on the back, the Abbess handed her a handkerchief. "We all miss him."

"I know; I know…it's just that I never imagined my brother, of all good beasts, would be the next to wield Martin's sword." Maple blew her nose noisily on the handkerchief. "I've always thought of him just as gentle as the next creature. I've never dreamed, not once in my entire life, that he had any warrior's blood in him!"

Sonata smiled. "He'll be home soon," She repeated, and stood up with effort. "Oh my…I'm afraid my creaky old bones can't take much more of this strenuous activity."

"Oh, Abbess," Maple laughed and helped the older mouse up. "You're not old; not at all! We should go in before all the others go in. I have to help Yuan serve breakfast and you know how it is when the Log-a-Log shrews come to visit."

"Right you are, Maple." The two mice walked towards Cavern Hole paw in paw. Even twenty paw steps away, they could hear the hustle and bustle of the creatures coming down from the dormitories to breakfast. Another day at Redwall Abbey had begun.

:-.-.-.-:

Authoress's Note: As you can all pretty much tell by now, I'm not good with great big epic plots and stories, so I'll try this out and see how it'll fly. Hopefully, quite well. I haven't decided when in the plotline this story takes place yet, but it's somewhere between Redwall and Marlfox. I think. But I might change the latter later.

The main characters will be introduced a little later on, as this is just the Prologue. I'm also hopeless at writing sonnets and poems, so forgive the cheesiness of it. I tried to adapt Brian Jaques's style a little bit while incorporating my own technique. By the way, I would now like to take the time to say that Redwall belongs to Brian Jaques and not to me, which is probably a good thing.

The continuation of this story will depend on the success of the first few chapters. Hopefully, if things go well, I'll have the next chapter up by the end of this week. Possibly even sooner.

Until then, Crys

Love it? Hate it? I'll never know unless you review!