The sun shined brilliantly in the midday sky as an adult male otter trekked through a swampy glade. The otter sloshed with each step cautiously with a medium-sized dirk in his paw, his instincts told him he was being watched in the tall reeds at the other side of the clearing. Suddenly without warning, a huge adder leaps out of reeds and like lightning the otter dodged the serpent's attack; the otter rushed over his deadly foe and stabbed the serpent in a single quick downward thrust to the serpent's head, killing the adder instantly.
The otter was named, Grath Zann Blackclaw, he was the son of a great chieftain, Bresbard Blackclaw. His mother had died from a terrible unknown illness when Grath was just a young dibbun, which is what they called their little ones. His father raised him and led a great colony of otters that called themselves the Swiftrudder Crew.
Grath was taller than most otters in the group. He had beautifully tattooed designs of two red dots with a blue bar in between and a lightning bolt of his chieftain office that were lightly wearing away from around his mussel and face. He wore a leather necklace with a medium-sized, green, round stone worn around his neck over a forest green tunic with a belt across his chest and waist. On his chest belt, a dirk is held by leather straps. The beautifully crafted weapon had a shiny, steel blade with a silver hilt with markings of an old otter tongue, not used any more by otters. The handle of the dirk was bound with a dark-skinned leather binding and a forest green stone sat in the pommel.
They lived in a mountain in the Northlands, which they dubbed as Galestradom Mountain. The Mountain is a huge fortress that is made out of the mountain, like Salamandestron. Grath's ancestors settled it before the abbey of Redwall was probably built, but there are not any records to be sure. The caves and mazes are used to confuse the inhabitants' enemies and the location is a closely guarded secret, only known by otters that live there and only recently do the dwellers of Redwall Abbey know of its existence. The mountain looks like an ordinary one because of clever techniques in camouflage of the entrances and windows of the fortress. Inside there is a huge dining hall with stained glass windows depicting the mountain's past. It contains lots of rooms with magnificent views of the Northland landscape for welcomed guests. A somewhat large blacksmithing area is located underneath the mountain with a large armory of weapons to spare.
When Grath became old enough to wield a blade, his father and the rest of the crew taught him the skills that would be useful in his life from knife throwing to living off the wilderness. Grath was happy living in this crew of relatives and friends, but his curiosity to explore beyond the Northlands grew as the seasons progressed by. Grath makes pleas to his father of his calling to wonder the southern lands beyond the snow line to meet other beasts other than his own, but his father refused to let him go. Grath was the only thing that his father truely cared the most about ever since the loss of his wife. Then a vermin raid broke out and there were many casualities on both sides. Among them was Grath's father. While his father laid on his death bed, he finally grants Grath to let him wander the lands where he pleases and hands him the dirk as a symbol of turning over the leadership over to his son. Then after a few moments his father takes his last breath and expires.
A large tropical island located about a days journey southwest from Sampetra Isle is called Daphia Isle. A fortress was built on it and was dubbed Fort Grogmort by vermin who made their home here after overthrowing the former ruler. The fort was ancient and in decay. The leader of this horde of vermin was a tall pine martin who took to the throne and claimed himself emperor. The pine martin went by the name of Emperor Drig Fangtone or by locals he is known as, "Evil Eyes", for his dark green piercing eyes that seem to cause many animals to bend to his will and read their thoughts or go straight to the beast's bone, causing terror in his wake. He wore a small golden crown worn above his brow with a few emeralds and rubies scattered around the center, a cape of purple silk covering a tan belt with a sheath contained a long, shining scimitar, it had a steel blade and hilt with a leather handle. With the survivors of the take over, they are put to work under the Emperor's evil rule. As the hordes grew, Evil Eyes chose the best course of action. He let the hordes do what they wished in their own little sections of the isle.
After killing the deadly serpent, Grath weeds through the reeds and walks out of the swampy glade. He finds a spot to rest at the base of a tall, old oak tree. He gathers some tinder; using flint against a steel knife, Grath creates a small fire. He opens his pack, takes out a tiny oyster shell, and takes out a kettle of soup that was prepared earlier that day. After eating, Grath leans back against a tree for a rest and slowly falls into a light sleep.