Thirty Seasons Later: Book One: The War Torn Tundra
AN: Hey everybeast, I'd like to apologize for this taking so long. I had minor writer's block at several different points as I wrote the story. I would also like to extend special thanks to Saraa Luna and FerretWarlord, who have followed this story from the beginning. This chapter was annoying to write, because it was both vital that the events of the Urthblood Saga and everything between then and the present day were explained, and yet I couldn't manage to get it down well, I kept tripping up. Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: See chapter one
Chapter Four: Calm Before The Storm
Part One: Speaking of the Past
"History always has a lesson you can learn."
After cleaning the rest of his gear and visiting the rest of his wounded (Isan had still been teasing Aroth about the incident with Terraff, as Aroth had yet to get over the confusion of the unexpected situation), Jethro grabbed his mug and made his way over to Sekn's tent. The assassin wolf had built a fire in front of the makeshift dwelling and was warming up the alcohol by placing the bottles close to the edge of the life-giving flames. The black leopard hailed him, waving a paw in the air. "Need any help?" he asked.
Sekn looked up at the leopard's question. "Nah, we're good. You're here surprisingly early." Wintersand answered, sitting down on a log that he had not yet used for firewood.
The feline nodded. "Yeah, as it turned out, I didn't end up spending a whole lot of time with my wounded. Most of them just wanted to sleep while they could and we didn't end up talking much."
"Same here. I'm glad that they were able to. Sleep is the best healer after all." The wolf stirred the embers of the fire with a stick. "So how badly did your company fare?"
Jethro sat down on another log. "Eight injured, a couple of them will be out for a season or two. Including one of my replacement officers."
"Who was it?" Wintersand asked curiously.
"Isan Fennec." Mortspear replied as he stretched out his legs, letting the warmth from the flickering flames soak through his boots and leggings.
Sekn nodded. "Good, he deserves it."
"That he does."
"Who's he replacing?"
"Avek Stormsand."
Sekn winced. "Ouch, that fox has got some big prints to fill. Hell, even in the short time I knew him; I could tell that he was a kind of officer-material that you just don't see every day."
"That's essentially what Isan said, and I fully agree with the sentiment."
"What sentiment?" Rakio asked as she walked up and sat down beside Sekn.
"That the late Avek Stormsand was a fucking phenomenal sergeant." Sekn answered as he passed her a bottle of brandy.
"Ah, how did he die?" She asked curiously, taking a sip.
"Saving my sorry ass." The leopard answered his tone a little more bitter with self-incrimination.
"Who was saving your ass?" Terraff questioned as she sat down beside him.
"Avek." Jethro responded growing a little annoyed at having to repeat himself so many times.
"He was the one with the sister who was getting married, right." The white wolf inquired, taking the proffered bottle from Sekn.
"Yep."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I feel like I'm coming into the middle of the conversation here. A little info please?" Sekn commented, gesturing with the bottle.
"Exactly." Rakio supported.
Jethro exhaled heavily. "Okay, Avek had a sister who was getting married. He came on this trip to get enough cash together to get his sister a really good wedding present. He was killed today saving my worthless tail. Got it?" The leopard explained before taking a drink from the bottle, his tone slightly harsh. The leopard took a breath to calm down, they didn't deserve for him to take out his frustration on them, "Sorry."
"It wasn't your fault, you know." Sekn commented gently after a moment.
"The hell it wasn't. If I had known, and as a commander it was certainly my responsibility to have known that, I would never have let him get on my ship. He would still be alive."
"But you didn't know, and that's the point. If he was deliberately hiding this from you, then you aren't to blame. So stop beating yourself up over it." Rakio argued.
"And don't blame yourself for Sicya Mareni's death either; from the sound of it he was deliberately chasing death." Terraff added.
"What was his story?"Sekn asked.
"His wife died of snakebite. Forest cobra, right on her collarbone, she died in minutes." Jethro answered.
"Yeah, he was suicidal. I don't really blame him either." Sekn confirmed as he took a sip of the warm alcohol.
"So you'd do the same thing if your wife died?" Jethro asked quizzically.
"If Reiko died, I think I would seriously consider it." Sekn answered genuinely. The wolf paused to take another drink. "I don't think I've asked you, what was your ride over like? How much trouble did TES give you?" The wolf said, obviously trying to change the subject.
"TES?" Jethro inquired, confused.
"Terramort Empire of Searats." Terraff clarified.
"Formed by Tratton after the Treaty of Salamandastron was signed. They've owned all oceans for over three hundred seasons. And now that Lord Urthblood's dead, they've become a little more arrogant in trying to expand their meager grasp of the continental shorelines. It's only a matter of time before Lord Redstripe gets tired of their idiocy and starts another war with them." Rakio explained.
"Oh, they actually didn't bother us too much. One of their dreadnoughts stopped us, took ten percent of our cash and left. But who's Lord Urthblood and Lord Redstripe? I've never heard of them." The leopard answered.
"Well, Lord Redstripe is Lord Urthblood's successor to the rule of Salamandastron, but Lord Urthblood, that's whole 'nother story right there. That badger was the most controversial figure to have ever lived. "Rakio explained pensively before taking a drink from her bottle.
"Well, it's not like we don't have the time to hear it." Jethro urged.
Rakio nodded. "Very true. Lord Urthblood came to power about three hundred seasons ago after foretelling a prophecy telling of catastrophic destruction to come. In response to his prophecy, he went north to see what he could do to weather the coming storms ." Rakio took a breath and Sekn took over.
"What he ended up doing was waging a twenty-season long war to tame the Northlands and to get us 'vermin' under his control and under his military command."
"Which the so-called 'vermin' down there needed anyway." Terraff added.
"That they did, they were assholes by necessity back then. Anyway, after slapping some sense into the creatures down there and gettin' them organized into a proper country of-sorts, he headed south to forge an alliance with Redwall and see what was up with his brother." Sekn continued.
Rakio took it upon herself to pick up the story from there. "You see, for the past twenty seasons, Urthblood had been getting signs that suggested that all was not well in his brother Urthfist's head. Long story short, Urthblood and Urthfist fought on the slopes of Salamandastron over Lordship of the mountain. A couple hundred beasts died and Urthblood slew Urthfist. The remainder of the Long Patrol went to Redwall to live out the rest of their days. A couple of seasons later, Urthblood instigated a battle with Searat King Tratton, and then destroyed six of his dreadnoughts, which was then a large part of Tratton's naval power. At this point, Urthblood alienated his otter platoons by using poison gas, once on a shrew insurrection group, a second time on the last Flitchaye tribe. He spent the rest of life rounding up woodland rats and exchanging them for searat slaves as well as creating more and more advanced weaponry, specifically with stormpowder."
"After Urthblood's death thirty seasons ago, his successor Lord Redstripe restored relations with the broadstream otters and the Long Patrols defeated by Lord Urthblood in the battle against his brother. He also made an alliance with Green Isle, the center of otterdom on earth, and the only island to permanently resist TES." Sekn continued.
"Word is, Redstripe is planning on ditching the treaty and finishing what Urthblood started." Terraff finished.
"Has TES ever messed with you guys before?" Jethro inquired, taking a drink.
The other three captains looked at each other and smirked. "Once, they didn't have a fun time of it." Rakio chuckled darkly.
"Shortly after the treaty with Urthblood was signed, Tratton was in desperate need of wood to build more of his dreadnoughts. In two engagements, Urthblood had destroyed six of his dreadnoughts: the Thunderchild, Whiteclaw, Whaleslayer, Scorpiontail, Stormbringer, and the Sharktail. Now, at the time, this was a large portion of Tratton's naval power. He badly needed to replace his warships, and for that, he needed somewhere he could harvest a large portion of wood, so he sent four Galleons full of searats and each ship with a catapult with stormpowder. They invaded, and we let them into the forest. For three days we let them penetrate the motherland. On the fourth day, the Wintersand family and the Icerock family, a total of one hundred wolves, and all of our general infantry met them in battle on the plains of Icerock. We surrounded them. The engagement lasted only twenty minutes. We captured all of their stormpowder, their catapults, their four ships and forty prisoners. We let fifteen of them go back to Terramort to tell Tratton what happened. We executed the rest." Sekn recounted proudly.
"It wasn't a battle. It wasn't even a backyard brawl. It was a massacre, a beatdown, plain and simple." Terraff commented.
"What kind of casualties did you sustain?" Jethro asked in awe.
"Three dead, ten with minor injuries. TES hasn't messed with us since." Rakio answered, with satisfaction.
"Can't imagine why." The leopard stated, his tone laced with dry sarcasm. "Has anybeast else been able to resist TES?"
"Well, I assume you mean any country other than the continental mainlands. To answer your question, it's possible, but I doubt it. TES has access to advanced weaponry that no beast but Lord Redstripe could compare with."
Part Two: Plans
"He who fails to plan, plans to fail."
The next couple of days both sped and crawled by with an alarming mix of mind-numbing boredom and shocking speed. And so before he could really count the days, Jethro was back in the command tent along with the other officers to finalize the details of the siege plans.
"For the assassin/ special forces team, we have chosen a four platoon team." King Meskochad began. "The captains involved are Sekn Wintersand, Rakio Stormfur, Terraff Whitefur, and Jethro Mortspear. On the second night of the bombardment they will leave the camp and travel three miles west before approaching the mountain range. Once they get there, they will climb into the mountains and approach the fortress from the west. When they are above the castle, they will rappel down onto the battlements, and make their way to 43 Bloodaxe Street where the wildcats Jaun and Calvin will shelter your platoons for the next two days. At that time, you will separate into two groups, Jethro and Sekn will make their way to the palace and attempt to kill anybeast inside, while Rakio and Terraff fight their way to the front to open the gates and help us to open the gates and take the battlements. Juan and Calvin have messenger birds; do not hesitate to contact us if you run into problems." Meskochad explained, tracing their path on the map with his paw. "Any questions?"
Rakio, Terraff, and Sekn shook their heads. Jethro spoke up. "Yeah, as the lot of you know, I have ratels in my platoon. These creatures are not suited for stealth missions, and I'd like to place them under your direct command, King Meskochad."
The wolf inclined his head. "Very well, after this meeting I will accompany you to your encampment so that the order may be relayed in their sight. Is this suitable for you?" The king responded.
"Yes, sir." The leopard bowed slightly.
00000
After the meeting ended, Jethro waited around while Meskochad gathered his papers and other necessary items and packed them into the large trunk under the command table. "It is unbelievable how much paperwork it takes to mobilize an army." The lupine monarch stated.
"My father is a lord; I think I have an idea." Jethro returned with a half-grin.
Meskochad nodded. "From what you have told me of your lands, I suppose that you must go to war a lot then?"
"Keeping the river dragons, monitors, and hyena tribes at bay is a ceaseless task, sir."
Meskochad padded over to the leopard. "Well here, you face wolverines. Now let's go inform your ratels of this change in command."
"Yes, sir."
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The wolf and the leopard walked a ways before Meskochad spoke again. "Jethro, during your time in my service, you and your platoon have performed admirably. Would you consider staying and becoming a permanent member of the Greatest Pack? I would even be willing to give you your own small fortress and fiefdom; you would be adopted into the Greyrock Pack."
Jethro paused to consider his words. "Sir, your offer is very tempting and if it affected only me, I would not hesitate to accept. However, I have lost a third of my creatures in this contract, and if your chief enemies are the wolverines, then I cannot place my beasts in such a position when what they are defending isn't their true home. Also, I will not pretend that my beasts like being here. From talking to my soldiers on this very matter, I can say that they do think that this is an honorable cause, but that they look forward to the day that we leave for warmer climates. I apologize, sir, but I will have to decline your very generous offer on behalf of my warriors."
Meskochad was silent for a while. "I will not deny that I am disappointed in your decision, but I respect and honor your reasons for it. A good commander always keeps in mind that he or she is there to lead his warriors by serving them as best he can, not because it benefits him."
When the two warriors reached Jethro's part of the encampment, the leopard called all of his ratels in fighting condition to meet him at the center of the camp. After explaining the battle plans, he told them of the situation he had arranged for them. "So because none of you are really suited for stealth missions, I have asked King Meskochad to take temporary command of you all. Sir, is there anything you wish to say to them?"
The wolf nodded. "Yes. On the night of the assault, I will come here to get you. There will be no need to search for me. Until then, assist the siege engine crews." Meskochad nodded to Jethro and his warriors and left.
AN: Please Read and Review. By the way a virtual cookie to whomever gets the joke with Isan's name.