Chapter 2:  History

I don't own Redwall.

  This is told from a narrarator's POV, and starts when Darkflash is roughly 6 seasons old.

  Darkflash smiled to himself.  Fireflash would never find him in here.  He was inside a small cave that was built into the sandy beaches near Salamandastron.  Darkflash sat and waited, knowing Fireflash would have to give up sooner or later.  Just then, something tapped him and a familiar voice piped up next to him. 

  "Found ya!"

  Darkflash grunted at the hare dibbun next to him.  "Fireflash, how do ya always find me?"

  Fireflash smiled cheekily.  "Just do."

  Darkflash smirked cheekily back.  "If you can find me, then let's see if you can RUN from me, eh?"

  Darkflash jumped up and started chasing after his friend.  Both were equally fast, but Darkflash had the advantage of anticipation; his friend was easily predicted.  Fireflash stopped and dashed to the right, only to find Darkflash in front of him.  Fireflash tried to stop, failed, tripped, and fell down in front of Darkflash, who smiled at him.

  "You lose again, Fireflash."  Fireflash opened his mouth to say something, but Darkflash's mother calling stopped him. 

  Darkflash sighed dejectedly.  "Sorry, gotta go for dinner, I'll come by your house tomorrow, ok?" 

  Fireflash nodded as he stood up, brushing the sand off him.  "Ok, talk to ya tomorrow!"

  Darkflash nodded and started off towards Salamandastron, Fireflash going off to the dune, where his family, the civilians, stayed.  Darkflash was the son of the General of Salamandastron.  The mountain fortress had not seen a badger lord in many a season, so it was currently being ruled by the military leader.  Fireflash, however, was a sand-tender, or at least, the son of one.  The sand tenders were basically farmers who worked the sand daily, trying to make it into arable lands.  Since space on the mountain sides had failed to bring in enough food for everyone, Darkflash's father had come up with an idea, and had ordered the field workers to tend the sands and hopefully turn it into some arable land.  (Yes, it is possible to turn sand into arable land.  I've read it somewhere during science class a few years ago when I was still in high school)  So far, his idea was working, as the workers noticed some definite changes happening to the areas they worked on.  Hopefully sometime soon, if all went well, the land would be arable and the food shortage would end at last.

8 years later.

  Darkflash almost ran into a soldier as he dashed into the hallway of the officer's club.  He yelled a sorry to the soldier and continued running.  He was late.  His father was going to skin him alive!  Darkflash skid to a halt in front of the door to the officer's club, tried to rearrange himself, then entered.

  All the officer's inside quieted at Darkflash's entrance.  Then they all stood up and saluted.  Darkflash saluted back and waited.  His father's voice rang out.  It was curt and carried that tinge of "you're in trouble, young man" in it.  "Everyone be seated, Darkflash, that includes you!"

  Darkflash nodded his head at the tall black hare sitting at the head of the table and saluted, then sat with the rest, taking his place at the other end of the table.  Darkflash's father was still the reigning officer.  Darkflash nowadays was more than he had been when he was younger, now taking his place as Major General, just under his father, who was Master General.  His father, whose name was Nightstrike, glared at his son for a second, then reshuffled the parchment stack in front of him. 

  "As I was saying before my son chose the worst time to be late (Darkflash cringed mentally), the worker's in the field have all disappeared.  The only ones we currently have with us are dead.  They either disappear forever or show up somewhere where our patrols find them, dead.  And just last night, the entire field of crops were burned down."  The room went silent.  Darkflash could only stare.  Everyone in the fields was gone?  But that meant…that meant Fireflash was gone as well…his father continued. 

  "This has produced a double strike to us, as we know it is vermin, but we can do nothing about it.  These are vermin who know what they're doing.  They are guerrila's of the dunes." 

  An officer, a young hare with brown patches in his gray fur, stood up.  "But sir, if they are so skilled, then why have they not attacked our patrols?  Are they afraid?" 

  Nightstrike shook his head.  "I know not why they attack only the civilians.  Maybe they hope to starve us out.  Which they are going to be able to do…" 

  Darkflash shook his head.  "Father, we can't allow this.  We have to do SOMETHING." 

  Nightstrike shook his head.  "I'm afraid not, son.  They have us in a vice grip.  They could easily snipe us off if we were to attack.  We wouldn't have a chance."

  Darkflash nodded his head solemnly.  Nightstrike stroked his mustache and stood up.  "Well, that's all for tonight, we'll finish this tomorrow, dismissed."

  Everyone left, except Darkflash.  Nightstrike blinked at his son.  "What's the matter, son?"

  Darkflash spoke quietly, his eyes on aimed at the ground.  "Sir…my friend is among those taken.  How can you just let them be taken without a fight?" 

  Nightstrike sighed.  "Son, listen to me…I'm sorry about Fireflash.  But it'll do no good making a virtual suicide by marching against an army we can't fight."  Darkflash clenched his fists and spun around and walked out of the room, leaving his father in the room alone.

Later that night…

  (note, I have Darkflash and his family ((mom, dad, Darkflash)) in a small home just next to Salamandastron, the reason is because the overflow of soldiers in Salamandastron does have some negative effects, one of which is lack of living areas, so many have homes outside the mountain fortress)

  Darkflash lie in his bed, looking up at ceiling.  He was thinking about Fireflash and all the times he had spent with his friend.  They were almost like brothers to one another.  And his father had just let him go to the vermin…sleep began to overtake him eventually, and he fell into a nightmare plagued realm of dreams.

  A loud crashing sound woke him.  Darkflash sprang up as he heard his mother scream.  He crept over to the door and peered through a crack in it.  He could see his mother struggling as someone tried to grab her.  Darkflash's eyes turned blood red.  The bloodwrath, a wrath that usually only badger lords could have, was on him, and in its worst form.  Darkflash, unlike badger lords, however, could think quiet clearly when the hatred was upon him. 

  From the rage filled world of his mind popped up a voice, a voice that was that of his father's.  A memory appeared in his mind.  It was his father giving Darkflash a pair of sabres, a pair of sabres that had been passed down through the family for generations. 

  "Now son, take good care of these blades.  When the time is right, use them for justice and the good of beasts only, never to do evil."

  Darkflash frowned.  "But father, how will I know when it is time for me to use them?" 

  Nightstrike smiled.  "You will know, my son.  You will know."  The memory ended as a yell filled the room as his father rushed in, a sword in his hands.  With a slash, the attacker's arm fell off Darkflash's mother (whose name is June) and landed on the floor.  A scream filled the room.  A scream of that of a stoat.  June shrieked and jumped behind Nightstrike as more vermin filled the house.  Darkflash's eyes went even redder.

  He turned and looked at the two sheathed blades hanging on his wall.  He took them and hooked the sheaths to his belt, then took out the blades.  They felt like they were a part of him, as if he had always owned them and always known how to use them.  Darkflash turned.  He glared at the door, then jumped at it and kicked it out of the frame, then leaped into the room, both sabres drawn.  In front of him, 20 vermin…and Fireflash.  Darkflash took a step back, an expression of confusion on his face. 

  "F-f-fireflash?!  What are you doing-"

  Fireflash smiled and spoke, cutting Darkflash off in mid-speech.  "With all these vermin?  Quite simple, really.  They're under my command." 

  Darkflash shook his head.  This made no sense.  "What?  Under…under your command?  To do what?"

  Fireflash smirked.  But this was not the friendly joking smirk Darkflash had always known.  This one was laden with vengeful contempt.  "To destroy Salamandastron."

  Darkflash shook his head, not believing what he was hearing.  "But you're my friend, why would you do this?"

  Fireflash smirk grew wider.  "I was never your friend, you gullible fool.  I was the son of a sand tender, but little did you realize my father was also one of the most influential officers in a very powerful vermin army.  When we had stolen enough food for our army, we captured the others and killed any that either tried to escape or that resisted.  Then we left, burning the crops that were not ready."

  Darkflash's eyes turned back to their red color, the wrath coming upon him again.  He gritted his teeth.  "You traitor.  You god damn filthy lying backstabbing TRAITOR!!!" 

  Fireflash nodded.  "Took ya long enough.  And now, 'friend,' its time we say goodbye.  Troops…attack."

  The vermin plowed towards Darkflash and Nightstrike, who had placed himself next to his son.  Darkflash saw as the vermin swarmed against them, more were coming in.  Darkflash didn't care, though.  He jumped forward, as did his father, and the two began to attack.  Darkflash took three with a quick sweep at stomach level, then brought it in an upwards circling arc, taking another two.  Nightstrike parried a spear thrust and stabbed its owner in the face, then brought it into the side of another, then jumped back as a sword sought his chest.  Nightstrike brought the sword down and severed the blade, then kicked the owner in the face.  The vermin's head snapped back, and his neck did likewise, minus the word back.  Suddenly, a spear stabbed through Nightstrike's shoulder.  Nightstrike chopped the head off the owner, then yanked the spear out of his shoulder. 

  Darkflash blocked two blades with his own and cut both of the offenders' heads off, then jumped back as a dagger came in, almost taking his eye out.  Darkflash swung the blade upwards and but the vermin from the genitals all the way to midway to the vermin's chest.  He heard his mother scream, and turned.  The vermin had brought a large pot with them, and it was filled with water.  They had her chained in it, and there was a fire underneath the pot.  Nightstrike saw this and hacked and slashed madly at the pressing vermin masses to get to his wife. 

  A spear handle clubbed into his head, dazing him.  Then the vermin grabbed him, chained him up, and threw him in with his wife.  Darkflash roared and hacked at the vermin masses, killing a dozen in ten seconds.  He attacked madly to get to father, blocking blows, shearing weapons, vermin bodies, and breaking vermin bones in his mad attempt. 

  Until a spearhead jammed its way into his neck. 

  Darkflash let out a gurgle and fell.  The vermin all turned their attention on the two hares in the pot.  The water was already hot, and growing hotter every second.  Darkflash however was not dead yet.  He couldn't move though.  Nor could he focus.  The shock from the thrust had numbed his senses and paralyzed him.  Somehow, the blade had missed all the major arteries and organs and even the spine. 

  Darkflash lie there, listening in horror as his parent's screams changed from normal screams of intense pain to garbled mutating screams of some horrible creature, to death rattles of intense pain, all the while listening as well to the insane laughter…the laughter that had once been the friendly chuckle of his best friend…