Another chapter is up! (Obviously.) We'll go through Authors' Notes and replies quickly here. A few concepts explained in this chapter, a few questions answered. However, it is rather short on the serious 'action' scenes. We apologize. Don't worry; a good battle is in the works.
Ladyofthebookworms: I assure you, the name of the sword was in no way influenced by any other fandom. I just figured it sounded kind of Sue-y. Oh, and exactly where the turned beasts are will be explained clearly in time. They are just outside the Dark Forest, that's all.
Tetzel: Thank you. I understand the 'other story' concept. Good reading!
DC: Thank you. I really wanted to get splattered. (The otter wipes berry-goo from her muzzle and pulls a face.) Why I didn't choose flavors I actually liked is beyond me.
Warrior4: I think that you may have been confused because I was confused. All Eruravenne's thinking, here. And thank you for throwing pies at her, too. She agreed with it and cackled with me.
Kelaiah: The misspellings were storiewriter's fault. I haven't read all those books recently, so I thought that 'Dana' was another character, and didn't catch 'Samkin'. But thanks for pointing that stuff out anyhow; they'll be better in the future. (Yes, they were my fault. I forgot, and look what happens! They aren't really needed anyways. [looks pointedly at the otter)
Riverfox237Yes, now you have the explanation. 'Dana' is a misspelling of 'Deyna' from "Taggerung", and Girry is a brown squirrel from "High Rhulain". Thank you for your commitment of throwing pies.
That's it, go ahead and read! (Karen-only chapter, sorry)
Before Karen could take the paw Kalyn had offered, a rather frustrated-looking otter barged into the tent and seized the grey squirrel.
"Kalyn," the otter (evidently female) snapped, "do you have any idea…Excuse us, please, we need to have a little talk here." With that the stranger dragged the smaller squirrel from the tent.
Karen looked at Songbreeze. "What was that all about?"
"Oh, how to explain this…" the red squirrelmaid put two of her claws on her temples and rubbed in a circular motion.
"Don't, Song. It's better if she doesn't know until… you know." Deyna spoke, and flashed an apologetic grin to Karen. "Sorry for all the mystery, but it's mandatory."
Further interrogation was ended when the Kalyn walked back in with the brown otter. She immediately introduced herself, but didn't hold a paw out to Karen like Kalyn did. Karen was rather relieved because of this; she wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do with that paw.
"I'm Aelin. Nice to actually meet you, Karen. I suppose you have questions?"
Her eyebrows shot up. "Isn't that a bit obvious?"
Kalyn snickered at the otter, but was silenced with a glare. "Yeah, I guess so. But before I can answer you, I need a promise."
"A promise?"
Aelin glanced around at the silent, long-deceased heroes of Mossflower and settled herself on a pile of blankets. She leaned forward then with a deadly serious expression on her furry face.
"I am about to tell you things, Karen Woodleaf, which only the denizens of the Dark Forest and a select few of other…er, places know. No living beast here has ever been aware of these secrets before, but they've become rather…important to life down there now. There is a possibility—a slight one, yes, but still present—that when Martin's latest riddle has been solved and carried out, you will be back in your normal body and mind down there. What I want from you, is your solemn oath that you will tell no one except for your immediate friends and highest superiors—that means the Badger Lord, Rowan, and Kimber only—about what I tell you. Is that clear?"
Karen's mind whirled. How could she know about Rowan and Kimber? What about her full name? Should she promise to a beast who already knew everything about her? Her lips worked without permission. "I promise."
Kalyn spoke this time. "Are you sure? If you break this promise, Aelin and I can make your life miserable. Promise?"
The shrewmaid licked her lips, and squashed down a scornful thought; How can they make my life miserable? It's not like they have power over all of Mossflower. "I promise."
Aelin, however, wasn't listening. The moment Kalyn finished speaking, the otter's face was pressed nose-to-nose against the squirrel's in a very threatening manner. "No, we will not! No changing things; that's how Suethors come to be half the time, don't you get that! They change things! We are not going to be causing anything to happen, to Karen or any other beast."
"Change things?" Karen was now very genuinely confused. Aelin released Kalyn's tunic and shook her head.
"I'll get to that. We aren't going to make life miserable for you." (the otter shot another warning glance at the squirrel) "However, I plan on telling you exactly what sorts of repercussions telling all of Mossflower what I'm about to tell you will have. Knowing this, once again: do you promise?"
"I promise," Karen said quickly. She wanted answers. Now. Glancing over at Kalyn, she was astounded to see the squirrel's muzzle drawn up in a snarl. The squirrel had evidently suppressed it for the time it took to tell the heroes and heroines of long-past Mossflower to 'please evacuate the tent', and for them to do as she asked. Kalyn, seeing Karen's attention, snapped.
"Alright, then. Get on with it. It certainly isn't my place to try to help explain, seeing as you don't want me to." The squirrel picked up one of the fruits from the fruit bowl that hadn't previously been there, threw it at Aelin so that it hit her square in the muzzle, and stormed out of the tent. Aelin wiped peach juice from her whiskers, looking at the tent flap with a hurt expression. Finally, she turned her attention back to Karen.
"I'm sorry about that. She'll calm down eventually, I hope. Anyhow, questions now."
"What do you mean by 'changing things' and 'causing things to happen'? And what are Suethors? A nasty sort of Sue? Why is Kalyn grey; I've never seen a grey squirrel before, or even heard of one. Was she like that from birth?" Karen had many, many more questions whirling in her mind, but that was enough for just then.
"This is going to be a very long explanation, Karen. We'll start at the start. Come on; I want to show you something."
Aelin stood and lifted the tent flap. Karen exited, then lingered until Aelin was leading her through the campground. They stopped just outside the last lines of tents, facing the Dark Forest, which was surrounded by a curiously misty wall. The only way in, Karen knew instinctively, was through the Badger-guarded gate.
"Inside that Forest," Aelin began with a contemplative expression, "there are paths. I'm sure you understand the concept of footpaths in a wood, winding here and there. And like many footpaths and roads in a normal wood, some exit the place, leading elsewhere. It is the same with the Dark Forest, in a manner of speaking."
Karen nodded mutely. Yes, she understood a little of that idea, though not all of it. Where did these paths go? Before she could ask that, Aelin spoke again.
"The roads from the Dark Forest…well, it's difficult to explain. Have you ever looked at the night sky?"
"Not if I could help it lately."
"Ah, right. The Sues. I forgot about that. Okay, let me try again. Have you ever thought of how the sky would look, without all the Sue pollution, or heard about the way it should appear?"
"Yes, I have," the shrew replied. She wondered where this was going. The night sky seemed so far removed from the concept of paths in the Dark Forest. "All dark blue-black, with tiny white stars."
"Good. Now, imagine places beyond the sky, like places beyond the sea, only farther away than anything else. Strange places, new worlds, new beasts and beings all over. Can you do that?"
"I-I think so."
"Paths stretch between those worlds, Karen, like currents in the oceans. Some can travel these paths better than others; some not at all. Your Dark Forest is like a world at the end of one path between worlds, and Mossflower is under it, with a smaller path connecting the two."
Without really thinking, Karen blurted out, "Kalyn is from another world, isn't she? That's why she's grey instead of red."
"Clever of you. Very insightful. Yes, Kalyn is from another world. I am, also. We come from one of the worlds that contain individuals gifted with world-travel in the dream sense. People…beasts from our home, called Earth, some of them are able to sort of 'see' things happening in other worlds across these paths. They write about some of these happenings. Record them, for others in their world to read and understand. One very gifted ma—er, mouse—has been recording events in Mossflower for years."
"What does this have to do with you, Kalyn, me, and those Sues though?"
"I'm getting there, I'm getting there. Come on, let's walk around for a while as I tell you."
They walked, and Aelin spun Karen's head with so much knowledge the shrew was almost sure it would burst by the time they returned to her tent. As far as Karen could figure from Aelin's confusing words, the Mossflower stories became popular in that other world, Earth. Other beasts there enjoyed them so much they began to look for ways to write their own stories about the world of Redwall. A few were successful in seeing other events in the world. Some simply made things up from their own minds, without touching Mossflower in any way.
But there were a few who wrote to change.
Mossflower, as Aelin put it, was a world with a rather rare strong connection to the Otherpaths. Most Otherpaths ended in a place just outside the worlds, at a safe distance but still close enough that the worlds could be observed. Here, however, the Otherpaths ended in the Dark Forest. Normally it wouldn't be a problem. But Martin the Warrior and the Badger Lords, in particular, had inadvertently blazed a new path between Dark Forest and Mossflower through ghostly dream-visitations and other practices.
"You can't really blame them for the Sues, though," Aelin assured Karen. "They didn't know they were opening a door to this. How could they? This sort of thing is actually fairly rare, you understand."
Karen didn't understand, but she pretended so to get the story on with.
The writers who attempted to put themselves into Mossflower either to make something in the past "right in their minds" or to make themselves look important ended up with a straight shot into real Mossflower. So instead of their glorified imaginings remaining safe and harmless in an Otherpath pocket, they were sent right into the actual place they wanted to be.
And so the Sues came to Mossflower.
"And that's why all this has happened, then?" Karen was feeling lost and a little afraid. Aelin nodded, yes, that's why. The writers of the Sues, or Suethors as they were commonly called, had inserted a little bit of their overly-perfected selves straight into the heart of Redwall. They altered Mossflower wood itself with their writings. They brought back heroes from the dead and brainwashed them into spiritless, unrealistic beasts.
The worst part of it all, perhaps, was that these Suethors were completely unaware of the sorrow and difficulties they were causing. They honestly considered their characters, their creations, to be the best things to ever happen to Mossflower.
"That's just…wrong!" Karen waved her paws in the air. "How could they not realize that they're messing around with real lives here?"
"They think that you're all just beasts from a book, made up in a brilliant mouse's mind. They've never really traveled the Otherpaths in their dreams. They've never really questioned something like that."
Karen gave up thinking about this concept. Her head hurt. "Why do the Sues come back, though? Why don't they completely die?"
"As far as I know, it's because the Sues are ideas. The ideas don't die, and therefore the Sue doesn't die fully. Simple logic, really." A voice piped up behind them, and Karen turned around to see a grey squirrel flicking her tail a bit nervously. For a split second, nothing happened. Then there was a streak of grey fur as Kalyn launched herself towards Aelin and hugged her. The otter's eyes bugged out comically. She staggered back. Karen snickered and slipped quickly into the tent.
At least she had gotten some answers. Perhaps more would come later.
She wrapped herself up in her blankets, suddenly aware that the light outside was dimmer than before. Evidently, this meant 'night time' in the world outside the Dark Forest. The other two blankets in the tent were already occupied by gently dozing shapes. Careful not to disturb them, Karen settled herself down as quietly as she knew how and quickly fell asleep.
Okay, everybeast! A holiday is coming up, and we are considering writing a tiny little side-story for the event: Valentine's Day. However, we need a little help generating ideas.
Rules: Leave the idea in your review. Leave the Review by Tuesday, February 12. The story idea must have something to do with the holiday and somehow be able to involve Redwall, Salamandastron, etc. It does not have to take place during this story/timeline (we'll build a special pocket just off the Otherpath for this one. It can be odd or unusual for Redwall if need be.) The one who suggested the story we choose will be alerted beforehand and will have the opportunity to have their own character put in an appearance, however brief or long.