The Forgotten Legacy
Prologue
Ah. I see you have arrived, traveler. Well, come in, come in, the rain spares nobeast, and my house is dry. You'll catch your death if you are out much longer!
There we are. Sit down, sit down, the fire is well stoked. Come, I'll bring you some of this tea. it's freshly brewed; you came at a good time! You are wondering if I was expecting you? Oh goodness no, it's just something I like to say to travelers passing by. Where did you say you were from?
Ah! Well, you are a long way from there, my friend, a long, long way! No, hold your tongue, wayfarer, I understand your reason for being here. The urge for wandering; it affects us all. Many paths we both have gone, many paths we have yet to start on. Stories we have yet to weave.
You say you want a story? From an old fogey like me? Well, what stories have I that would interest you?
I suppose I cannot hide anything from your young, sharp eyes. The lines in my face, the hunch in my back, the grey in my eyes. aye, I'm weighed down to the limit with stories. A warrior I was, back in my day, a warrior that has seen too much. My story will take a long time to tell, a very long time indeed! It spans most of my long life it does.
No, don't shame yourself for asking. I know how to deal with my own memories.
So, here we sit, in this home of mine, with the rain outside, a roaring fire inside, and the whole night stretched out before us. Very well.
It all began long, long ago, as all stories do.
/=/
"Lina, would you please set the table for dinner?" called Sheela to her daughter. The stout badger mother patted off the flour that had gathered onto her voluminous apron, sending it everywhere in billowing clouds of spiraling white powder. She did not mind it; this was her kitchen and messes were commonplace. The badgermaid stepped spryly into the dining area of her home with a step that belied her ripe age of sixty seasons.
She smiled into the cozy space, glad to see the candles were still alight. Her home, the home of her family, was a commodious den burrowed into the side of a grassy knoll by her expert carpenter husband Renner. The table that her daughter Lina was now fussing over for dinner, as well as the fine oak chairs that rested around it had all been tenderly crafted by Renner's strong paws. The sound of his saws, hammers, and drills had become a source of comfort to the badger family after so many seasons of hearing them at work.
Sheela bent low to grasp the shoulders of her daughter, who grunted in frustration as she tried to angle the table cloth just right. She was even dressed in a fine violet gown like the occasion of dinner was a formal one. The badgermum let out a rumbling laugh at Lina's fastidiousness. "I know I taught you to be a fine and respectable maid, but you shouldn't make your head explode with such trivial mannerisms."
Lina, unperturbed by her mother's educated speech, was fortunate to have Sheela as her mother; the older female was well educated, and had impressed her knowledge on her children as best she could. Lina did not budge, and continued fussing over the sheets. "But mother, just look at it! Look! See all the wrinkles? And the eating ware isn't set up right!" she exclaimed in her prim, intellectual voice, surprising to most as she was only fifteen seasons of age, remarkably young for a badgermaid. She went for the table again but her mother restrained her, steering her to the large tunnel that led out. "Enough, my dearest. Go get your brother and make sure he is clean. you know how he is when he gets into father's workshop." "Dirty," replied Lina with great emphasis on the word.
She had just cleared the dining room when suddenly something small, fuzzy, and round impacted with her chest with the force only a badger could withstand. She was sent sprawling on her rear, and whirled on her assailant. A small male badger not yet eight seasons old sat on the floor in front of her, wrapped in a rough woolen tunic of red fabric. He was like all other badgers of his kind in every way except for his outstanding fur. It was darker than midnight with no stars, and his glaringly silver muzzle stripe was bright as the full moon in contrast. The young creature giggled happily at his older sister's exasperated expression. "Heehee, Lina's all red unda' her fur!" Lina jumped upright and grabbed her young brother before he could make good his escape. "That's right, you little rascal, just like your bottom will be red if mother catches you with such filthy paws! We need to wash them now." Her brother looked curiously at his forepaws like he had just seen them for the first time in his life. "Dese aren't a' dirty Lina." Lina grunted. The little one's paws weren't that dirty. but they were dirty enough for her, so that meant washing! Lina looked over her shoulder as they went to the water trough, wondering where her father was. "Do you know where Father's gotten to?" she asked her little brother. The small male looked quizzically up at his sister. "No, I don't."
Suddenly, the front door behind them was blown inward. Splinters flew into the main tunnel. Lina screamed and jumped over her brother to shield him, pressing him against the warm dirt wall. She looked up, petrified, as four beasts, clad from head to footpaw in jet black armor, stepped in with a calculated surety. They held large, rectangular shields in one armored paw, and in the other, fearsome looking spears with strange designs etched into the tines. They looked around with hawk-like gazes, until their eyes fell on Lina and her brother.
All of them, to her surprise, were woodland creatures, but their eyes were just as hard and merciless as the most black-hearted of vermin. One of them, a solidly built squirrel, turned and began to advance on the youngsters, when suddenly Sheela appeared, bellowing with rage at the intruders. The mysterious four whipped to face her, leveling their spears and shouting their challenges. Sheela, though unarmored and not wise in the ways of war, was guided by the primal instinct to defend her offspring, and any mother that is cornered with young in tow suddenly becomes the most dangerous creature in the world.
Her paws lashed out like mini battering rams, whipping aside the spear points and crushing in the shields and cuirasses of the armored creatures like they were tin. They were sent flying into the walls, their lives ended in moments, giant dents in their once proud and untarnished armor. As Lina looked on in horror, having never seen her mother like this, saw her look outside, and roar in anger. She took one step out, when suddenly Lina heard a muffled voice shout some sort of command, and a multitude of arrows thudded into Sheela's body. She staggered back, and then advanced again with a few wobbly steps, and five more arrows slammed into her eyes and skull. She fell back into the hall, dead.
Lina could make no move to go to her mother, frozen to the spot with terrified confusion, her brother sobbing hoarsely underneath her.
More armored creatures stepped inside, some of them recognizable as otters, hares, and hedgehogs, while the rest were clearly vermin. They formed a corridor of armored bodies across to Sheela's corpse, standing at attention. Lina heard gruff, malevolent voices getting closer by the second.
"Hellsteeth, Bern. I was hoping to do this without losing a few beasts. That male was easy enough, wrapped up in making chairs. Didn't think the female would take any with 'er." Another voice, deep, confident, full of strength, answered the first. "Aye, but you know what they say Herod. . . 'Nothin' worse than the fury of a female scorned."
Two other creatures stepped in, both clad in the same patterns of ebony armor, but theirs was more elegant, more refined, embossed with silver steel, and crimson cloaks flowing behind them.
One was a surprisingly handsome rat, the one named Herod, with a straight, clean muzzle, and dark brown fur that glowed with an attractive sheen. The other was an otter, Bern, clearly burlier than his verminous friend, even though he was wearing just as much as the evil looking armor.
They both looked down with scorn at the corpse of Sheela that rested before them, the rat going so far as to spit on her. "That's for the ones you took, witch." Lina let out a strangled cry of mixed anger and fear. Herod and Bern whirled to face her, contempt written on their faces. The otter spoke in a voice lined with malice, and strangely, triumph.
"So. The child of Renner shows herself. Put yourself away from the one you hide, girl! We know of Renner's false son." Lina shook her head slowly, sparing only a moment to wonder of what they meant by the word "false." Her brother had gone silent, and wept quietly into her gown.
The other two stepped forward, the line of soldiers parting obediently before them. Bern drew his sword, which glinted cruelly in the torchlight. He grabbed Lina by the scruff of her neck and wrenched her free of her brother's grasp. Both of them began screaming pitifully.
Bern threw Lina against the wall and smacked her across the face with the flat of his sword. "Quiet you! Or I will spit you myself!" She stopped screaming, clutching the bruise in her cheek, but huddled miserably on the floor, sobbing and reaching in vain for her little brother.
The otter kicked her back against the wall again. "I said quiet!" She stilled herself, drawing her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth, locking her gaze with her brother's, both of them obviously scared out of their wits. The rat grabbed Lina's little brother and hoisted him up, staring neutrally into his tear-streaked face. "This is the one. We take him." Lina finally found the strength to come to her brother's aid. "No! Don't you touch him you. . . you monster!"
She hurled herself at Herod, but again Bern grabbed her up, this time tossing her headfirst back against a stone. She went still almost at once, her beautiful hazel eyes glazed over as she went unconscious. Her brother shook his head silently, unable to comprehend what was happening. The rat began walking back to the other soldiers, the otter close behind.
Herod began giving him to another one of his soldiers. "Here, take the thing- aggghh!"
He shouted in surprise as Lina's little brother suddenly came to life, his eyes glowing red. He spat and kicked and tossed himself about. He turned his head back and literally sank his teeth into the armored paw of the rat, who shouted and began throwing his paw about as the little male snarled angrily, consumed by the Bloodwrath at far too young an age.
"Agggh! Get. get him off me! Get him off me!" Herod screeched. Another soldier went forward and grabbed the child's kicking footpaws, but then the small badger released the tasteless rat's paw and turned on the other soldier, clawing at his arm, leaving scratches in the armor.
Bern took a hold of the little one's snapping muzzle, and bopped his head quickly with his armored paw. The red eyes went back to brown, went unfocused. The small body went limp. Bern grabbed the child and held him to his chest like he would a son of his own.
"Stupid little monster. Well, he's fierce enough to face the destiny in store for him, eh, Herod?" The rat glowered at the small badger, and then stared at the deep dents and scratches left by the child's teeth. Sometimes, he thought, badgers were too strong for their own good. "Ah, whatever you say, Bern," he replied in a quiet voice.
The entire company departed the scene, leaving everything untouched. They left behind two dead parents, and one small, confused badgermaid, who would weep for two whole days before making for lands unknown.
The only sound was the sad chirping of a nearby robin, watching as the soldiers bore away the child who would change the face of the earth.
Prologue
Ah. I see you have arrived, traveler. Well, come in, come in, the rain spares nobeast, and my house is dry. You'll catch your death if you are out much longer!
There we are. Sit down, sit down, the fire is well stoked. Come, I'll bring you some of this tea. it's freshly brewed; you came at a good time! You are wondering if I was expecting you? Oh goodness no, it's just something I like to say to travelers passing by. Where did you say you were from?
Ah! Well, you are a long way from there, my friend, a long, long way! No, hold your tongue, wayfarer, I understand your reason for being here. The urge for wandering; it affects us all. Many paths we both have gone, many paths we have yet to start on. Stories we have yet to weave.
You say you want a story? From an old fogey like me? Well, what stories have I that would interest you?
I suppose I cannot hide anything from your young, sharp eyes. The lines in my face, the hunch in my back, the grey in my eyes. aye, I'm weighed down to the limit with stories. A warrior I was, back in my day, a warrior that has seen too much. My story will take a long time to tell, a very long time indeed! It spans most of my long life it does.
No, don't shame yourself for asking. I know how to deal with my own memories.
So, here we sit, in this home of mine, with the rain outside, a roaring fire inside, and the whole night stretched out before us. Very well.
It all began long, long ago, as all stories do.
/=/
"Lina, would you please set the table for dinner?" called Sheela to her daughter. The stout badger mother patted off the flour that had gathered onto her voluminous apron, sending it everywhere in billowing clouds of spiraling white powder. She did not mind it; this was her kitchen and messes were commonplace. The badgermaid stepped spryly into the dining area of her home with a step that belied her ripe age of sixty seasons.
She smiled into the cozy space, glad to see the candles were still alight. Her home, the home of her family, was a commodious den burrowed into the side of a grassy knoll by her expert carpenter husband Renner. The table that her daughter Lina was now fussing over for dinner, as well as the fine oak chairs that rested around it had all been tenderly crafted by Renner's strong paws. The sound of his saws, hammers, and drills had become a source of comfort to the badger family after so many seasons of hearing them at work.
Sheela bent low to grasp the shoulders of her daughter, who grunted in frustration as she tried to angle the table cloth just right. She was even dressed in a fine violet gown like the occasion of dinner was a formal one. The badgermum let out a rumbling laugh at Lina's fastidiousness. "I know I taught you to be a fine and respectable maid, but you shouldn't make your head explode with such trivial mannerisms."
Lina, unperturbed by her mother's educated speech, was fortunate to have Sheela as her mother; the older female was well educated, and had impressed her knowledge on her children as best she could. Lina did not budge, and continued fussing over the sheets. "But mother, just look at it! Look! See all the wrinkles? And the eating ware isn't set up right!" she exclaimed in her prim, intellectual voice, surprising to most as she was only fifteen seasons of age, remarkably young for a badgermaid. She went for the table again but her mother restrained her, steering her to the large tunnel that led out. "Enough, my dearest. Go get your brother and make sure he is clean. you know how he is when he gets into father's workshop." "Dirty," replied Lina with great emphasis on the word.
She had just cleared the dining room when suddenly something small, fuzzy, and round impacted with her chest with the force only a badger could withstand. She was sent sprawling on her rear, and whirled on her assailant. A small male badger not yet eight seasons old sat on the floor in front of her, wrapped in a rough woolen tunic of red fabric. He was like all other badgers of his kind in every way except for his outstanding fur. It was darker than midnight with no stars, and his glaringly silver muzzle stripe was bright as the full moon in contrast. The young creature giggled happily at his older sister's exasperated expression. "Heehee, Lina's all red unda' her fur!" Lina jumped upright and grabbed her young brother before he could make good his escape. "That's right, you little rascal, just like your bottom will be red if mother catches you with such filthy paws! We need to wash them now." Her brother looked curiously at his forepaws like he had just seen them for the first time in his life. "Dese aren't a' dirty Lina." Lina grunted. The little one's paws weren't that dirty. but they were dirty enough for her, so that meant washing! Lina looked over her shoulder as they went to the water trough, wondering where her father was. "Do you know where Father's gotten to?" she asked her little brother. The small male looked quizzically up at his sister. "No, I don't."
Suddenly, the front door behind them was blown inward. Splinters flew into the main tunnel. Lina screamed and jumped over her brother to shield him, pressing him against the warm dirt wall. She looked up, petrified, as four beasts, clad from head to footpaw in jet black armor, stepped in with a calculated surety. They held large, rectangular shields in one armored paw, and in the other, fearsome looking spears with strange designs etched into the tines. They looked around with hawk-like gazes, until their eyes fell on Lina and her brother.
All of them, to her surprise, were woodland creatures, but their eyes were just as hard and merciless as the most black-hearted of vermin. One of them, a solidly built squirrel, turned and began to advance on the youngsters, when suddenly Sheela appeared, bellowing with rage at the intruders. The mysterious four whipped to face her, leveling their spears and shouting their challenges. Sheela, though unarmored and not wise in the ways of war, was guided by the primal instinct to defend her offspring, and any mother that is cornered with young in tow suddenly becomes the most dangerous creature in the world.
Her paws lashed out like mini battering rams, whipping aside the spear points and crushing in the shields and cuirasses of the armored creatures like they were tin. They were sent flying into the walls, their lives ended in moments, giant dents in their once proud and untarnished armor. As Lina looked on in horror, having never seen her mother like this, saw her look outside, and roar in anger. She took one step out, when suddenly Lina heard a muffled voice shout some sort of command, and a multitude of arrows thudded into Sheela's body. She staggered back, and then advanced again with a few wobbly steps, and five more arrows slammed into her eyes and skull. She fell back into the hall, dead.
Lina could make no move to go to her mother, frozen to the spot with terrified confusion, her brother sobbing hoarsely underneath her.
More armored creatures stepped inside, some of them recognizable as otters, hares, and hedgehogs, while the rest were clearly vermin. They formed a corridor of armored bodies across to Sheela's corpse, standing at attention. Lina heard gruff, malevolent voices getting closer by the second.
"Hellsteeth, Bern. I was hoping to do this without losing a few beasts. That male was easy enough, wrapped up in making chairs. Didn't think the female would take any with 'er." Another voice, deep, confident, full of strength, answered the first. "Aye, but you know what they say Herod. . . 'Nothin' worse than the fury of a female scorned."
Two other creatures stepped in, both clad in the same patterns of ebony armor, but theirs was more elegant, more refined, embossed with silver steel, and crimson cloaks flowing behind them.
One was a surprisingly handsome rat, the one named Herod, with a straight, clean muzzle, and dark brown fur that glowed with an attractive sheen. The other was an otter, Bern, clearly burlier than his verminous friend, even though he was wearing just as much as the evil looking armor.
They both looked down with scorn at the corpse of Sheela that rested before them, the rat going so far as to spit on her. "That's for the ones you took, witch." Lina let out a strangled cry of mixed anger and fear. Herod and Bern whirled to face her, contempt written on their faces. The otter spoke in a voice lined with malice, and strangely, triumph.
"So. The child of Renner shows herself. Put yourself away from the one you hide, girl! We know of Renner's false son." Lina shook her head slowly, sparing only a moment to wonder of what they meant by the word "false." Her brother had gone silent, and wept quietly into her gown.
The other two stepped forward, the line of soldiers parting obediently before them. Bern drew his sword, which glinted cruelly in the torchlight. He grabbed Lina by the scruff of her neck and wrenched her free of her brother's grasp. Both of them began screaming pitifully.
Bern threw Lina against the wall and smacked her across the face with the flat of his sword. "Quiet you! Or I will spit you myself!" She stopped screaming, clutching the bruise in her cheek, but huddled miserably on the floor, sobbing and reaching in vain for her little brother.
The otter kicked her back against the wall again. "I said quiet!" She stilled herself, drawing her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth, locking her gaze with her brother's, both of them obviously scared out of their wits. The rat grabbed Lina's little brother and hoisted him up, staring neutrally into his tear-streaked face. "This is the one. We take him." Lina finally found the strength to come to her brother's aid. "No! Don't you touch him you. . . you monster!"
She hurled herself at Herod, but again Bern grabbed her up, this time tossing her headfirst back against a stone. She went still almost at once, her beautiful hazel eyes glazed over as she went unconscious. Her brother shook his head silently, unable to comprehend what was happening. The rat began walking back to the other soldiers, the otter close behind.
Herod began giving him to another one of his soldiers. "Here, take the thing- aggghh!"
He shouted in surprise as Lina's little brother suddenly came to life, his eyes glowing red. He spat and kicked and tossed himself about. He turned his head back and literally sank his teeth into the armored paw of the rat, who shouted and began throwing his paw about as the little male snarled angrily, consumed by the Bloodwrath at far too young an age.
"Agggh! Get. get him off me! Get him off me!" Herod screeched. Another soldier went forward and grabbed the child's kicking footpaws, but then the small badger released the tasteless rat's paw and turned on the other soldier, clawing at his arm, leaving scratches in the armor.
Bern took a hold of the little one's snapping muzzle, and bopped his head quickly with his armored paw. The red eyes went back to brown, went unfocused. The small body went limp. Bern grabbed the child and held him to his chest like he would a son of his own.
"Stupid little monster. Well, he's fierce enough to face the destiny in store for him, eh, Herod?" The rat glowered at the small badger, and then stared at the deep dents and scratches left by the child's teeth. Sometimes, he thought, badgers were too strong for their own good. "Ah, whatever you say, Bern," he replied in a quiet voice.
The entire company departed the scene, leaving everything untouched. They left behind two dead parents, and one small, confused badgermaid, who would weep for two whole days before making for lands unknown.
The only sound was the sad chirping of a nearby robin, watching as the soldiers bore away the child who would change the face of the earth.