Fili Aggrovigliati Della Sorte Chapter 1: The Sorcerer of Dreams, a redwall fanfic

This is my first horror fantasy mystery, please comment, than you

The wind howled and screamed as the storm rolled in across Mossflower Wood. The windowpanes shuttered and three had been blown out from the strong winds, and the sky being covered in black grey clouds.

Maria was a fine squirrelmaid, with fur shining blood red, her eyes a mysterious shade of purple, her robe blew back from the blown apart window. She put on a Devil-May-Care look and stared out the open path below Redwall. She saw a figure coming up the path, fighting the buffeting winds and icy rain so cold it would feel as if needles where slicing through your skin. She cried down the hall too see if she could get help, "Open the gates! Somebody open the gates!"

Arven was a tough grey brown mouse, but young nonetheless. He was named after the great Redwall warrior Arven from long ago, who had wielded the great sword of Redwall, as did he. Arven heard the yelling but ignored it, dismissing it as nothing but Friar Gurdle burning himself for the thousandth time. Arven was helping the others to tend to the broken windows and fixing leaks from loose boards. Maria came barreling towards him, "Arven, help me get the gates open!" Arven looked at her with his stern persona, "Are you mad? The wind will blow more windows open." she took his hand and ran to the main gate, "Shut up and help me open the damn gate.

The gate creaked as they forced it open, which also gave way to wind pressure, sucking cold air inside. Arven put on a worried expression, grunting with effort "Why are we openin' the gates exactly?" Maria took a large twig to the face, but she kept pushing otherwise, "I saw somebeast coming up the path. We gotta help 'em!" The wind howled inside, blowing Furmil Cellarmole and a few dibbuns over

Maria turned around and bellowed through the roaring wind, "Are the dibbuns alright?" Furmil tried to steady himself and kind of stuttered through laughter, "huhuhurr, roight as rain miz Muria!" the dibbuns began to giggle and talk through bouts of laughter "Again, again mizz Maria!" Maria body became stiff as the figure approached, his silhouette obviously made him out to be male. Wide shoulders, bulky arm muscles, but not fat.

The Man was cloaked in a mauve tunic that gave way lankily at his hips, showing his stomach. Signs of malnutrition and starvation had already begun taking form on his once sleek form, his breeches tattered showing more of his body than she would have preferred. His body suggested that he was a Badger. but the bulky figure disappeared into what appeared to be much smaller…maybe she was imagining this form, for this new form looked tattered and weary, but happy and fed sometime recently; but needing help nonetheless. It was still obviously male, but probably a ferret, so its figure suggested. Had he come from Tomasal? She thought.

As the ferret approached, it was easy to see the he was not poor, but a traveler still. He wore a Dragonfly pendant that seemed to sheen with its own light, his fur jet black and eyes stunning amber. He carried charms and things in one hand, each one ominous yet very beautiful. She stared openly at him and said nothing until he was standing less than 3 meters away. "Hello young lady. May I ask what your name is?" His demeanor was quite polite, but demanding as well. "My name is Maria."

He looked at her with a smile that could charm birds, "Maria…That's a name from my country. I come travelling from the Blue Isles." She looked at him suspiciously, knowing he could be throwing a ploy; although his accent was definitely foreign, "But only traders and merchants leave the Isles. Forgive my questioning but, what is your trade?" He answered with a laugh, "I do not blame you for being suspicious. I sell magic charms." Oh great, a crackpot fool, she thought. He looked at them with a sincere smile, "Um…can we go inside and finish this conversation, I am quite cold." Maria almost forgot the rain while talking to this strange man, "Oh, er…Of course!"

Arven was last to come in, shutting the gates with Furmil shutting the one opposite of him. Maria brought the eccentric man to the abbot and introduced him "Father Abbot, this is…er. Oh my, I didn't even ask of your name," Maria blushed with embarrassment, "That is fine, Maria. I'll take it from here. Hello, my name is Abbot Michael. You can call me father, though." the man smiled and nodded, "I am the Sorcerer of Dreams, but you can call me Celestio," the abbot became exited, like a small dibbun. "You use Runology? We haven't seen a Runologist since last Christmas!" The Dibbuns laughed and yelled with delight, suddenly crowded by them, "Do a magic tricks sir sorcererer…" Celestio laughed heartily "Well, I don't do tricks. I do the real thing, watch, and be amazed." He snapped his fingers and dragonflies appeared everywhere, with iridescent amber wings, flying with incredible speed. The Dibbuns jumped up and down with joy, and the dragonflies danced and spun, all flying in different directions.

Maria Looked at the dragonflies, doubting that they where magic at all. One dragonfly strayed and hit Maria in the back of her head, instantly disintegrating. Maria saw amber streak across the room, until they all stopped, suddenly frozen in time. Maria stared in wonderment at the dragonflies, which she now knew where not fake.

After the dragonflies disappeared, and the dibbuns went to bed, conversation spilled into the cavern hole. The abbot asked questions about his heritage, his religious beliefs, and the blue isles government. Maria's friend Matthew was only interested in the large harvesting knife that was strapped into his belt, the ferrets piercing blue eyes running up and down the long sword-like blade. Maria was only interested in how this runology was used.

Celestio caught Matthew staring at the blade, "Like it do you? Well, you can buy it from me if you'd like." The abbot's face screwed up in disdain at the mention of the thing, "Absolutely not! I will not have weapons in this abbey." Matt contemplated "It would be good for reaping the grain from the field, father abbot." the abbot knew he was defeated, knowing that the grain was harder to pick by hand, "Fine, but the I do not spend money on frivolous luxury," Matt quickly pulled a sack of gold shillings from his pocket, "Is this enough for it?"

Celestio, Maria, Arven, Matthew, a squirrel named Almel, and a Ferret maid named Tenuto, where the only ones left in the cavern hole. Tenuto was making some herbal tea for the guest. She crushed the leaves and strained the hot water, while trying to make conversation with him. "Do you like chamomile tea, sir? I believe 'twill do some good for you to get some sleep." Celestio took the tea and smiled sincerely, "Thank you, but I am yet to be tired, but I do love chamomile…I got an idea, why don't we play a game?" The others all turned around at once, surprised by this exclamation. Maria looked confused, "Errr….sorry, but we're too old to be playing games." Celestio played harmless and innocent, "Ahi, this game isn't for children ma'am. Here, draw a card everyone, but don't look until I say, alright?" They all nodded and drew a card, one by one. The cards all had dragonflies etched in the back (this seemed to be Celestio's trademark). "Celestio, may I ask the name of this game?" Celestio smiled coldly and answered, "Fili Aggrovigliati Della Sorte, or in your language 'tangled threads of fate.'"

"Are you ready?" Celestio asked. They all nodded apprehensively, "you may read your cards now." Maria flipped over the card and read in haste. The words on the card where completely written in the language of the Blue isles, but suddenly changed to normal script.

Let the game commence, and luck be with you your first clue is: The wise one will fall in crimson, laughing in pain and sorrow no one knows what kind of bane was used to make him hollow

The words fluttered in her mind, and she drew breath. A horrifying site came to her, as if she crossed into some cruel indifferent dimension. Her vision became tinted red, and the sound was filled with the humming of Dragonflies. She called out for Arven, but Arven was stunned the same as the rest. Suddenly, like knives, the Dragonflies pierced into Arven's flesh. He screamed and yelped as they took out bits of flesh, crimson sprayed from his neck and stomach, clotting slowly on the floor. Maria stood petrified. She turned to see Almel's decapitated body spray more liquid, also whistling cruelly. She didn't want to look anymore; she wanted to shrink away, to disappear. Suddenly Matthew was grabbing her leg and screaming in a harsh tenor shriek, "Maria, Help me…Please!" She closed her eyes tight and fell into a fetal position, she wouldn't open her eyes, and she clapped her hands to her ears…than quiet ensued. The quiet went on even after she uncovered her ears. She opened her eyes to take in her surroundings, she was in a black room with no one and nothing in it; only a card on the floor. She bent down to pick it up, and she saw something attached to it. She turned it around to the back. An amber dragonfly pierced her through the heart. She lifted her hand to touch the bloodstained shirt, than fell over….lifeless, followed by an insane cackling that echoed through the chamber

"Maria...Maria...Maria, wake up," Maria woke in a field dotted with giant puffy clouds and fields of tall grass. She was instantly on her feet, staring into the eyes of a large Ferret. "Maria, listen and take heed. I am sending a piece of my own, a badger of Salamandastron. He will protect you and be your squire, oh Witch of Dreams." she had so many questions, like…why was this happening… why did you call my Witch of dreams, but this conversation was cut short. The dream world was disappearing, and she only had time to yell out one question, "Wait, what is your name?" he called out to her, "My name is Thomas!"

She fell into a void, back into nothingness. Only hoping to wake up, as if it where a dream.

Maria found herself lying in a puddle of her own drool, which she thought odd because she never drooled. Across from the table, a window with glass tainted red started to shutter violently. She saw the window shatter, and the glass fall haphazardly across the floor. She walked towards the window, felling pulled to it. She put on a Devil-May-Care look and stared out the open path below Redwall. She saw a figure coming up the path, fighting the buffeting winds and icy rain so cold it would feel as if needles where slicing through your skin. She cried down the hall too see if she could get help, "Open the gates! Somebody open the gates!"

Arven was helping Friar Gurdle and Cellarmole Furmil fix the leaks and broken windows. Arven heard yelling but ignored it, dismissing it as nothing but Friar Gurdle burning himself for the thousandth time. Arven was helping the others to tend to the broken windows and fixing leaks from loose boards. Maria came barreling towards him, "Arven, help me get the gates open!" Arven looked at her with his stern persona, "Are you mad? The wind will blow more windows open." she took his hand and ran to the main gate, "Shut up and help me open the damn gate." As the words left her mouth, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Maria turned around and bellowed through the roaring wind, "Are the dibbuns alright?" Furmil tried to steady himself and kind of stuttered through laughter, "Huhuhurr, roight as rain miz Muria!" the dibbuns began to giggle and talk through bouts of laughter "Again, again mizz Maria!" Again, the same sense of déjà vu came over her. She had felt this had all happened before. Maria body became stiff as the figure approached, his silhouette obviously made him out to be male. Wide shoulders, bulky arm muscles, but not fat. The Man was cloaked in a mauve tunic that gave way lankily at his hips, showing his stomach. Signs of malnutrition and starvation had already begun taking form on his once sleek form, his breeches tattered showing more of his body than she would have preferred. His body suggested that he was a Badger.

Okay, now she knew this had happened before. She predicted that the silhouette would change, but her prediction proved false. The Badger could now be seen fully, his legs covered in thick mud. His paws where covered in dried blood and leaves, and he staggered under the weight of some battle axe crossed with a pike; though it was the only thing not covered in blood, suggesting it had not been used. The Badger collapsed, eyes flickering while slipping into unconsciousness. Maria's voice was cutting into his thoughts, "Arven, Come help me out here! Arven and Maria, with the help of Gurdle Cellarmole, carried the heavy body inside and out of the harsh rain.

The night sky was tinged purple, stars pouring out into the open sky. Salamandastron stood like a stone giant, blocking out the stars. A young badger stared out into the open darkness which was the sea. A voice came from behind him, interrupting the silence which he once thought might be perpetual, "Cheer up, old chap. You're the one startin' the fights with your old man in the first place eh? Wot, wot." The Young badger turned to see a young hare (about his age) standing in the doorway of the bedroom, "I know, Pickum. My father just expects too much of me…I'm not like him," he whispered under his breath 'And thank god for that'. The hare stared at him in admiration, "Damn Aroc, you must have nerves of steel to stand op to your old man like that." Aroc's eyes where downcast to the floor, "Or extremely stupid." silence ensued again, and neither of them dared to break it. Suddenly Aroc made a beeline out of the door and through the hall, "Aroc, where are you going, mate?" Aroc answered in anger, "I'm leaving." Aroc continued to walk, but Pickum stopped dead at the exclamation.

Aroc opened the door to his fathers Study roughly. He picked up a knapsack and filled it with some russet apples. He walked over to his father's weapons chamber and grabbed his Axepike and slung in into the holster on his back. His father heard the noise and came stomping out of his bedchamber, "Aroc, what the hell are you doing?" Aroc stopped and turned around, "I'm leaving." his father stood in the doorway, paws akimbo, "Oh, no your not." then a voice of defiance came over, "Watch me, father." he walked towards the door leading to the spiral staircase, his father dashed and grabbed his arm, "Your not going anywhere." Aroc shrugged the paw off his arm and turned around, "You know, how FUCKING TIRED I AM OF THIS FUCKING MOUNTAIN?" his father looked hurt, as if he had been stabbed through the stomach, "I…I didn't know you felt that way." Aroc became filled with anger, "Oh yeah, and you also failed to tell me that your not my real father!" His father was suddenly on the defensive "Okay, that's not fair. You know that's not my fault!" Aroc was fighting with words, suddenly countering "Oh and you managed to drive mum away, probably left with my real father!" His father had become enraged, his paws balled into fists, "That is ENOUGH!"

Aroc bulled towards the door, feeling anger welled inside him. His father swung his arm across to knock him across the face. Aroc ducked and his father was sent hop skipping haphazardly. Aroc swiftly unsheathed the Axepike, the badger lord saw a flash of metal. He closed his eyes waiting for death, but instead Aroc hit him with the butt of the weapon. His father slumped to the floor, moaning in pain, "I'm sorry," He headed straight for the door, making his way through the winding chambers and through the mess hall. If anyone asked where he was going, he told them that his father had sent him out… It worked, but only until they spotted his fathers unconscious body

The Badger lord found himself being shaken by one of the hare guards that patrolled the halls. "Sir Ironspike, Ironspike! Wake up now. A lump on your 'ead isn't gonna stop you from doin' your duties, eh wot" Ironspike bolted upright and ran to the tower window. He saw his son bolting across the dunes, towards Redwall. The Hare stared out the window, looking at the receding figure of Aroc, "Children, eh. Don't have a lick of respect." Ironspike grabbed the hares shoulder and bellowed orders, "Listen to me, I want you and my best guards after him…Now!" the hare saluted smartly, "Yes sah, will bring him back sah." the hare galloped out of the room, his choice guards running through his mind. But his first pick was Pickum, knowing Aroc was friends with him…..But also because he was his son.

Aroc was dashing through the grass and sand, never stopping enough for it to sink him in. he saw the mountains ahead, knowing a tunnel was built through it about a hundred years ago….or so the map said. Aroc heard footsteps coming from behind him, they where hares no doubt. He didn't try to outrun them, he stood his ground. He had years of combat training and he knew that this wouldn't be too difficult. A hare stopped and pointed at him, it was Pickum, "He's over here, I found 'im". Four hares dotted the hillside, all wielding staffs and spears. They where definitely aiming to take him alive and alive would be a good thing, though the taking part he could do without. He unsheathed his Axepike and rushed his opponents.

He had underestimated them. He had taken full force of blows from spear butts and staffs. One of the hares was able to crack him over the head with his poleaxe, another one jabbed at his sides with a spear butt. He was able to knock them down with sheer force, but there was too many. They piled on him forcing him into the sand, and a hare got up to his ear. Aroc noticed who it was immediately, Pickum's father. His voice was choked up with dust, but still audible, "I'm gonna take you back to the mountain, calm or kicking and screaming." There was cruelness to his tone. He was enjoying Aroc's pain. He became filled with anger as they lifted him on the ground, especially when he saw Pickum's face. It wasn't filled with remorse, it only carried a smile. Almost mockingly, he welcomed him back with a pat on the back; which was only meant to be friendly. But it stood out from the other events, and it was something he couldn't ignore. His BEST FRIEND sold out his freedom, and he was going to pay…with his life.

Something snapped inside him. Or something was altered or opened. He wanted to show them that no one could tame him, that he would not be a prisoner in his own home. His eyes burned with resentment, hatred, and most of all, revenge. He saw the sheen of one of the spears as the moon hit its point. He waited until the walking got smoother, and the Hare dropped his guard. It was time to move. He lunged at the hare, knocking him down. Than another hare charged at him with the butt of the spear, but this was his biggest mistake. The hare caught the look in Aroc's eyes, but it was too late. The spear was ripped from his hands. Aroc spun it skillfully and jabbed into another hare's chest, right through the heart. There was a long pause, than he heard yelling "Aroc, what did you do?" this only set his head spinning, wanting more bloodlust. He threw the spear into another hares head, blood sprayed violently from the mutilated face. A hare caught him in the face with a kick, but he recoiled with a sudden gauging of the hares face, gurgling screams came raising out unearthly. Only two remained.

Pickum's father spoke out in anger "You've gone too far… and now you will pay for what you have done." there was a flash of pale gray, and than a Flintlock rifle came into play.

The bullet was quickly fired, and time seemed to stand still. A smile came across the hares face, but it was short lived. The bullet was successfully dodged, and he couldn't counter the Badgers attack. Strength and sinew raged through his body, it was a straight shot to the Hare. There was a dull whine from the spear as it hit flesh and pelt, and a dull thud followed. His head hit the ground and the body was left standing, and through the blood fountain that poured from his neck he saw Pickum's face. Pickum had urinated, and it was all over his breeches. The smell of it rented the air, and a cackle came from Aroc's distorted form. " HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh god, you pissed yourself!" There was only one response from Pickum, "Aroc, why…what did I do." Aroc suddenly stopped laughed and his head snapped back around, "Why, why? WHY? YOU SOLD ME OUT, YOU BASTARD!" The air became still, and Pickum cried, "I didn't want you to leave. I couldn't let my best mate leave me here alone." Aroc spat his words out with disdain, "So what, I'm just supposed to stay a prisoner and accept my fate, THAT'S NOT FUCKING HAPPENING!" Pickum's words picked up a fight, "It's not your choice, you're a Badger! And badgers become badger lords!" Aroc let a scream of rage rip from his throat and rushed at Pickum with juggernaut speed. He seized Pickum's throat and lifted him clean off the ground. Pickum's voice came out rough and squeaky "Please…ack!..Aroc, don't do this…please…stop." The words hit Aroc like a ton of bricks…did he really want to kill his best friend? No…he didn't, but as he was loosening his grip Pickum said something…something that was so cruel to Aroc's ear, "Yeah, just…Forget about this, we can tell your father it was an accident, and that you're sorry, and…" He never got to finish the sentence. Aroc choked out his final words to his friends, "Goodbye Pickum… I'm sorry." There was a sickening crunch and then silence…

Aroc awoke in a bedchamber lit dimly. He felt quite warm, almost too warm. He looked down at his pelvic region and saw dibbuns climbing on his body. He smiled, and then a voice came demanding them leave, "Oi, you three stop torturing that poor creature…wait, he's awake." A young Squirrelmaid with stunning purple eyes entered the room, paws akimbo, "Finally, you're awake. Looked like you took quite a beating out there," The Badger didn't answer so the squirrelmaid tried to communicate more, "My name's Maria, whats yours?" Aroc answered in a low, soft toned voice, "My name is Aroc." Maria smiled, "Aroc…that's a nice name. So Aroc, do you need anything… a drink or some food possibly?" Aroc knew he wouldn't be able to hold anything down, "No… I just need some sleep." Maria nodded politely and called to the dibbuns, "Come on now, Children. Let the Badger rest." The dibbuns giggled as they left the room. She shut the door gingerly as not to make to much noise. When Aroc was sure he was alone, he buried his head in his pillow and wept. the heart wrenching cries reached Maria's ears… She had never left the door