Key: speech: "blah"
thought: 'blah'
Poems, songs, etc: blah
~~~~~~~~~~- flashback/dream sequence
~~~~~~~~~~- time passes
"Do not ask which creature screams in the night, Do not question who waits for you in the shadow. It is my cry that wakes you in the night, And my body that crouches in the shadow.."~Karanzantor the Vile
The trees were screaming. A lone stoat listened to them carefully as he'd been instructed to many, many seasons ago. He listened to them moan as harsh wind and cold blasts of ice cut through them like a hot knife through butter and felt the ice and rain bombard his body mercilessly, soaking into his thinning fur, then into his skin. The cold was of no importance. Not now.
Cain Killfang, last of the Killfang dynasty stood on the branch of a dead elm tree swaying in the blustering angry wind of the storm swathed in shadows ignoring the ice drilling it's way to his skull. Piercing vengeful crimson eyes stared at the towering structure not far in the distance as he had every night for nearly a season. Watching. Waiting. His voice dripped in scorn as he growled the first words from his throat in a score of seasons
"Redwall…."
The name itself sent surges of cold hatred through his heart. Cain averted his gaze from the accursed abbey to the empty nest sitting on the branch below him. At one time (yesterday morning to be exact) it held a clutch of robin eggs that served as his breakfast, it now contained a small pool of rain water, a thin sheet of ice forming over the surface. The stoat looked disdainfully at his sorry reflection: tattered black fur with light gray ears, paws, and tail tip, pearly-pink nose, dull red eyes, scruffy whiskers, a long ugly scar running along his left cheek. A single silver ring adorned his paw in the guise of a small skull, two shining rubies were it's eyes. His dull silk ebony cloak with various silver swirls had wrapped itself around him, over his tattered light gray chemise and moleskin pants making him look like a stigma of fog and shadow in the dead elm. But what disgusted the stoat most of all was the absence of his severed left arm.
Cain kicked the abandoned nest out of his sight and with his remaining paw dug his claws into dead bark in frustration and rage of what he had become. The stoat brushed off patches of frost that were beginning to form of his cloak and finally decided that traveling any farther in this wretched weather was impossible. Cain wrapped himself in his precious cloak and stared at his ring with the stone that matched the hue of his closing eyes. The long lonely howl of some beast lost in the storm sang into his ears in unison with the howling wind. The fur on the back of his nape rose as he again envisioned how he came to be in this wretched state.
~~~~~~~
A much younger Cain Killfang sat in his mother's cushioned lap, watching in amusement at the scene before them. A vole slave desperately tried to fight it's way to the top of the water despite the heavy weights chained to his footpaws. Earlier that week he had attempted to escape Citadel and failed. Miserably. But being the sporting creature the queen was, she'd given him a chance to try for freedom, the same test she'd given to all the other escapees. All one had to do was swim from the middle of the lagoon to the shore, and then was free to go where he pleased. That was, of course, if one could make the swim with weights the size of a boulders attached to their ankles. None ever had. The vole turned and splashed uselessly in the treacherous lagoon where so many near-escapees had met their deaths before he. The vole finally somehow managed to free his left foot and began the attempt to swim to shore. Cain's mother grinned widely "This should be interesting. Watch closely, my son"
The vole smiled triumphantly at the black stoats. He'd be the first to escape the dreaded waters of Citadel, the first slave to earn his freedom! He'd come back and tell all his comrades how he'd done it, and free all of them too! He'd be a hero, his tale told for countless generations in story and song! He'd- The vole suddenly noticed the large glassy eyes and rows of teeth watching him below the murky surface- He'd be the pikes' midsummer morning snack. The slave slammed his paw into the water in aggravation, causing him to actually sink deeper into the depths of the lagoon. As the pikes sprang out of the water to devour their victim the vole shook his paw at Cain's mother. "Curse your rotting, murdering, thieving, vile soul, Lantissa Killfang! I hope you-" The vole never got any farther, for then a pike dragged him down, down to his doom.
Lantissa shook as she laughed at the vole's demise, her son smiling along with her. "You see, my dear Cain" she said though laughter "yore mum alwiz keeps 'er vord. I promised ze fool 'iz freedom, and he shore got it! I allwiz keep my vord, all Killfangs do. Remember that vhen yore king, my little von." The queen paused to stroke her swollen belly, holding the newest addition to the Killfangs within "An' ven yore sister comes out into ze world, you'll be tellin' 'er that too." The little prince nodded "I certainly vill mum!" The queen smiled widely, lifted her child in the air, then brought him down to embrace him. "Ha ha! I know you vill, my darlin' Cain! I know you vill."
The watchtower door suddenly burst open and an exhausted rat threw himself at his sovereign's paws. Lantissa pulled her royal gown away from the filthy servant. "Vat iz ze meaning of diss?" she demanded. Standing on the tips of his toes the rat whispered a message into his mistress' ear. The queen's eyes grew large with astonishment and outrage. Cain blinked curiously at his mother as she instructed the rat to take him to his quarters. He could see that something hadn't gone right. He'd never seen anything like the expression on his mother's face. As she turned to storm out he caught her gown "M-mummy? Vat's 'appenin'?" Queen's nose met with prince's as she looked her kit in the eyes. "Something's- gone wrong Cain. Some bad beasts have brought trouble to Citadel." The little stoat blinked in astonishment "But- 'ow could any beast get past ze guards mum?" His mother turned to glare at the messenger rat, who gulped nervously. "That is vat I would like to know" With that, Lantissa Killfang descended from the watch tower into the courtyard, leaving the bones of the vole, and theirs before him rotting in the bowls of the Citadel lagoon.
In the east wing Cain dangled a fairly large mobile from his right paw constructed out of tiny bells, painted glass, and the bones of squirrels, mice, otters, hares, and any other past enemies that dared clash swords with one of the Killfang dynasty. It had hung over the cradle of a newborn Killfang for countless seasons, silently telling it of the glorious future it would have, the battles they'd win, and who they would rule over. It had hung above his great-grand-sire's, grand-sire, mother's, and lastly his head, twirling in a grisly, but calming circle. Next season it would twirl over the head of his sister, who would take the throne should anything happen to him. But it probably wouldn't. Cain smiled looking at the grand portrait of his own sire, Yerrik Killfang standing on a tall pile of corpses of defeated enemies, with a great number of slaves coming toward him, and other small forest beast fleeing in terror away from him. He looked from the picture to the babe toy, proudly imagining the night his own progeny would gaze upon these glorious trademarks of their great dynasty.
"Euliaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
The sound erupted from a terrible nightmare that jolted Cain from his bed. His little red eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and drew his star designed blanket tight around him, trembling with dread. The arid smell of smoke and flame drifted under the door and into his nostrils. The sounds of chaos, death, and battle filled his sensitive ears. The stoat prince gulped hard. His nightmare had somehow made the transformation into reality. But no…this couldn't be reality…none could do this to Citadel…ever. No..he had to still be dreaming, he had too. Nothing but a dreadful, awful fantasy. A frightful sob, for the first time began to collect in his throat. He wished his mother would come to wake him up and make it all go away.
The door suddenly burst open and blinding light from the outside came roaring in and the terrible scents and smells became more vivid. Cain tightly shut his eyes and kept them shut until he felt himself being picked up by familiar arms, blanket and all. His red eyes peaked open to gaze upon his mother and a rat servant looking nervously at the door. Lantissa's face was racked with anxiety and fear as she placed a bundle in her son's arms and firmly instructed him to hold onto it, come what may. Never in his short life had Cain ever seen anything even resembling fear in his mother's eyes, now they filled her ruby orbs completely. A loud crash sounded from the other room. Lantissa called the rat to her side and placed her son next to him. "Cain…my little prince, listen to me very carefully. Stay close behind Vhiptail until you come to ze tunnels in ze fields. Do you understand me?" The young stoat nodded. The queen held him close and kissed him on his tiny pearly-pink nose "Good."
The queen turned from her only son to unsheathe a deadly scimitar, the family's trademark weapon, and bolted from the room, a shrill war cry erupting from the deepest chasms of her being. Whiptail pulled her charge's arm "Come, young master". With haste stoat followed rodent to the darkest shadows within his chamber, and Whiptail shoved a stone aside revealing a hidden stairwell. Cain gripped his bundle and blanket (still wrapped around him) and stole a quick glance outside his bedroom to see his mother cut down two otter slaves and a hare he'd never seen before, before Whiptail pulled him into the passage as well, placing the stone in it's original place behind them. The two ran as if their footpaws were ablaze down the stairwell, around corners and turns. "Vhip…tail…." Cain panted "Vat's…'appenin'?! We…under…attack?" Keeping his fast pace, the rat answered bluntly "Slaves are revoltin'." The stoat's red eyes grew wide "Revolting? But…how?!" "'Ad 'elp from sum beasts not from 'ere" The duo halted as they approached the exit leading to the courtyard, both nearly out of breath. The prince grasped the rat's paw "My mum'll stop them, right?" There was a pause he hadn't expected. "Right?" he asked again. "Let's 'ope so liddle price." was the reply.
A scene of bloody battle was what awaited them in the courtyard. The echoes of screams filled the air as guard pulled charge through the din. A slain ferret fell from the sky to the duo's feet and suddenly the next thing Cain knew, he was sprawled on the ground next to Whiptail, an arrow through his neck, and javelin poking through his skull. With a tiny gasp the stoat prince ran from the corpses blindly through the battlefield grasping his bundle and blanket as if his life depended on it. Without his guide, what would he do now? Cain hadn't the foggiest how to get to the tunnels and chances were good he'd be slain in this madness. Finally, he found a hiding place behind a broken statue of his grand-sire and waited fearfully for the Killfangs army to win the battle. He suddenly felt blood running down his face and became aware of the ugly gash on his cheek. Some beast must have inflicted it as he was running. His fangs clenched anxiously, wishing he had a scimitar of his own so he could help conquer these disgusting rebels who dared bring this sort of chaos on Killfang territory. It was at this moment he sighted his mother, perched on a rock, blade in paw locked in fearsome combat with a young, but fearsome badger whom Cain guessed was rebel leader. He hoped the royal scimitar ran straight through his disgusting heart.
Suddenly something pushed him from his hiding spot onto a random patch of blood and found himself staring up at the rock the two leaders were fighting on. Red eyes grew wide as he jumped away from a huge sword speeding towards him. Cain crouched on cobblestone and screeched at the blinding pain shooting through his left arm, then suddenly realized that his arm no longer was attached to his body. As he slowly got to his feet, neerly blinded, wincing and panting in pain, his entire world came tumbling down. It seemed to all happen in a flash. The badger lifted an enormous battle ax and plunged it into Lantissa's stomach with an ear splitting screech. The prince sat on bloodied cobblestone in utter shock. In less time than it took for him to take a breath, the lives of both his mother had come to an end, and his unborn sister's, who's life hadn't even started .
Somewhere, far within the charred remains of Citadel rested the melted bells, broken glass and burnt bones of a broken mobile that would never turn again.
~~~~~~~
The black fur on Cain's nape finally began to lower. The words of the badger who'd slain his mother echoed in his mind.
"Hear me vermin scum! I, Orrin Suntail of Redwall have put an end to your evil empire of sorrow and hatred! Never forget my words, vermin, now run from this place. Return and meet the same fate as your evil queen."
After the army of squirrels, mice, voles, otters, and one murderous badger chased him from his rightful home and birthplace, Cain Killfang, barely three seasons old screamed to the heavens "In the name of Citadel, in the name of my mother, in the name of my slain sister, in the name of all Killfangs that now, have ever, and will ever live I swear this! I shall bring your life to an end Orrin Suntail! Your head shall rot under my claws! A Killfang always keeps his word, and this shall be no different. I've done as you said, vile stripedog. I swear upon my word I shall never, EVER forget what took place at Citadel! You can be bloody sure of that!"
Cain now stared at the old tattered star blanket in which he carried the bundle given to him. When he'd finally opened it, in a hidden place far from Citadel he'd found the relics of his lineage: the Killfang chemise and moleskin pants suited for him before he was born along with a long soft silk and velvet cape, midnight blue with shining swirls of silver. When he was barely a season old, he'd begged his mother for a cloak that looked just like the night sky. Lantissa had before promised to give her son anything he desired, and this was his own proof that Killfangs truly did always keep their word. Besides this was the dynasty ring worn by all his predecessors as a symbol and reminder of where he came from.
All of the items in the bundle Cain now wore as he crouched on the dead elm in the middle of this ice storm. All except one that he now carefully took out of his front pocket. It was a now raggedy old scroll that Cain often read as he awakened from sleep, or just before drifting off to it. On it read the last verse of a lullaby his mother would often sing to him in his first seasons before he drifted off to sleep:
"Remember who you are,dear one
Remember who you are
Remember where you're comming from
May this lesson take you far
Cain, my little Killfang
Now your future dreams take wing
One day when you're big and strong
You shall be a king."