Chapter 2
The transport sped off down the main coastal highway at about 80 Mph. Chesha, the abbess of Redwall, approached Mian and spoke to him. "Mian, I don't want you doing that again. It's far to dangerous. You nearly scared the trainee who was running the tracking post to death."
"You know I always love to make an entrance, darlin'." Mian said playfully.
Mian and the abbess entered the city limits of Redwall City around 2 hours later. The transport flowed over the low neon-lit streets which had dark gothic architecture towering above them. Suddenly, after passing through an artificial tunnel, they came into the tranquil area of the historic zone. The transport hovered over the park surrounding the historic abbey which was the center of the city and came to a halt. They exited the transport telling the driver to return to the base. After the abbess let Mian admire the scenery a bit since he had been in space for a few months, the two beasts walked inside the old abbey's walls, past the touring children, down the stairs, through the worship rooms, and finally into the old back wine cellar of the abbey. The security guards came to attention as they passed. The back door of the cellar had numerous old looking locks on it.
"Come on, Mian. You have a new mission now. We must go to the briefing room." Chesha, the hare abbess, told him
Looking at her in disbelief he objected, " Wait a minute, sister. I'm happy to be back from the space station because anything is more exciting than that, but I just got back!"
"It's very important, I can't talk about it out here. What could possibly be wrong with another mission anyway? Is the abbey champion, head of our secret service, not up to the challenge?" Chesha chided him.
They moved the lock panel aside, revealing retinal scan entry locks and higher technology that did not look like it belonged in the abbey cellar.
"You know I can't use those... and besides a champion should not have to open retinal locks." Mian chuckled at the abbess.
Obviously steamed, Chesha sighed as she moved to the scanner. "Very well, I'll open it."
"Identity confirmed, welcome back, abbess." the computer voice retorted as it activated.
The door opened and the abbess and Mian went into the waiting elevator. The elevator lowered back down until the top of the shaft was level with the stone floor on the other side of the door, hiding the assembly completely. Then the elevator moved horizontally to a new shaft that took them 50 feet down to the underground command base of Redwallia operations. Mian was greeted by the raccoon team; they were the inventors and scientists of Redwallia.
"Hello Mian, please sit here." the head scientist requested.
He sat along with the entire team as a screen activated and began to play a video of what Mian needed to do.
"Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is a long and difficult one." The head scientist began.
"Oh just my luck." Mian said sarcastically.
A slide projector clicked on and began to show on the large white screen in front of them. It was a map of Kedalia.
"You must first travel in a wingsuit, a new experimental technology that we have leased from our allies, to the mountain Nightwake. The current ruler Darkstripe the 10th will give you a package to deliver to Basin Lake."
A dot appeared on the map to point out Nightwake and Basin Lake. Mian interrupted, anxiously "Wait up Buddy, Basin Lake is closed to all, it has been that way since the before Varl. I even heard that the people there were altering themselves to make some sort of super-race."
"We know that... but we also know that you can take them Mian." the raccoon continued the show, what appeared next was even less appealing. Mian slapped his forehead and sighed in aggravation as the show continued. "This will not be a visit of good will, you will steal one of their valuable ice cores and exchange it with the package. If you can go in undetected, you should be able to escape before they realize that the package is not a real ice core."
Mian looked at them strangely but then settled back down. "That's pretty steep... you could start a war like that."
"They won't know you're there! We know that your given powers allow you to not be seen so we can send you in." the abbess told him
The slide show continued as Mian looked even more uneasy, he began to lean back in his chair.
"You then must stop by Mosshedge for provisions and gear to survive in the main mission objective area, Gorath."
The two new locations pinged on the map. Mian saw them and fell back in his chair to the the ground. He got up, not harmed physically and spoke to the group.
"Gorath?!?!? You're really pushin' it man."
"Mian, you always said you love adventure." the abbess wiggled her nose.
Mian nodded. "Yes, but this is suicide."
The abbess asked the scientists to continue.
"There you will need to reach the volcano of Burath, and use the gear you receive at Mosshedge to cause the volcano to erupt. The castle of Iron Dune, the stronghold of our enemy, will be covered in lava. You will be given 2 days to prep for this mission."
"I know I'll regret this one day, but I accept." Mian grumbled. "I'll be lucky to live through it." He left to prepare for his great journey code named, Operation Coldlava.
No one had noticed a small spider-like instrument contract itself and fly out in the direction of Southeast.
Chapter 3
The land of Gorath was a savage environment: little water, hot days, cold nights, ground that was so barren and hard that not even a nuclear bomb could break the petrified soil. In the only patch of fertile ground sat castle Irondune. It's leader stared out the window as he looked at the device that had returned from Redwall
"So, the woodlanders plant to move against me. We shall see who makes the first move." He growled
The leader of Irondune, a Evil Polecat that had had many pieces of his body replaced with cybernetics to increase his life span plotted on how to stop Mian from ruining his plans to dominate Merth. He paced his chamber.
"Only the strong shall survive, our evil master's order must go forward" a seer said as he entered the chamber.
The polecat ruler, Mechladez, turned to him and issued his orders.
"Inform Basin lake somehow... I will stop the woodlander's plan before it comes true."
"Yes my liege" the seer said as he exited.
"And don't screw up or I'll have your head." Mechladez yelled after him in an overzealous fashion.
The seer moved down the hall sneakily and began to speak to himself. "Master thinks he is in control. He is only sitting wait for the prophecies... yes yes the prophecies."
The temples in question were the temples of the 4 dark gods of Zeleca. Each dark god had their own harsh environment with their temple at the center. Galeed ruled over the glass desert, a patch of sand so sun- baked that it is rumored to turn to glass every noontime and then be broken back to sand by tremors at nightfall. The ruler of the bogs was Dedsier, a god that could supposedly shift forms into bog-gasses and control any of the rotted or dead. The gray wilderness was ruled by Loschia, a god who appeared in the wilderness as a crying child. The final realm, the black maze, was subjugated by the god of order, Levianed. Levianed was also the god which the fabled city of symmetry is based on. The Dark gods of Zeleca were once rumored to walk the mortal plane in the middle ages, around the time of the epic "War of the Varl", but they were defeated by one of Martin the Warrior's descendants. That defeat began the current era, the era of a cold war between Gorath and Redwallia.
The transport sped off down the main coastal highway at about 80 Mph. Chesha, the abbess of Redwall, approached Mian and spoke to him. "Mian, I don't want you doing that again. It's far to dangerous. You nearly scared the trainee who was running the tracking post to death."
"You know I always love to make an entrance, darlin'." Mian said playfully.
Mian and the abbess entered the city limits of Redwall City around 2 hours later. The transport flowed over the low neon-lit streets which had dark gothic architecture towering above them. Suddenly, after passing through an artificial tunnel, they came into the tranquil area of the historic zone. The transport hovered over the park surrounding the historic abbey which was the center of the city and came to a halt. They exited the transport telling the driver to return to the base. After the abbess let Mian admire the scenery a bit since he had been in space for a few months, the two beasts walked inside the old abbey's walls, past the touring children, down the stairs, through the worship rooms, and finally into the old back wine cellar of the abbey. The security guards came to attention as they passed. The back door of the cellar had numerous old looking locks on it.
"Come on, Mian. You have a new mission now. We must go to the briefing room." Chesha, the hare abbess, told him
Looking at her in disbelief he objected, " Wait a minute, sister. I'm happy to be back from the space station because anything is more exciting than that, but I just got back!"
"It's very important, I can't talk about it out here. What could possibly be wrong with another mission anyway? Is the abbey champion, head of our secret service, not up to the challenge?" Chesha chided him.
They moved the lock panel aside, revealing retinal scan entry locks and higher technology that did not look like it belonged in the abbey cellar.
"You know I can't use those... and besides a champion should not have to open retinal locks." Mian chuckled at the abbess.
Obviously steamed, Chesha sighed as she moved to the scanner. "Very well, I'll open it."
"Identity confirmed, welcome back, abbess." the computer voice retorted as it activated.
The door opened and the abbess and Mian went into the waiting elevator. The elevator lowered back down until the top of the shaft was level with the stone floor on the other side of the door, hiding the assembly completely. Then the elevator moved horizontally to a new shaft that took them 50 feet down to the underground command base of Redwallia operations. Mian was greeted by the raccoon team; they were the inventors and scientists of Redwallia.
"Hello Mian, please sit here." the head scientist requested.
He sat along with the entire team as a screen activated and began to play a video of what Mian needed to do.
"Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is a long and difficult one." The head scientist began.
"Oh just my luck." Mian said sarcastically.
A slide projector clicked on and began to show on the large white screen in front of them. It was a map of Kedalia.
"You must first travel in a wingsuit, a new experimental technology that we have leased from our allies, to the mountain Nightwake. The current ruler Darkstripe the 10th will give you a package to deliver to Basin Lake."
A dot appeared on the map to point out Nightwake and Basin Lake. Mian interrupted, anxiously "Wait up Buddy, Basin Lake is closed to all, it has been that way since the before Varl. I even heard that the people there were altering themselves to make some sort of super-race."
"We know that... but we also know that you can take them Mian." the raccoon continued the show, what appeared next was even less appealing. Mian slapped his forehead and sighed in aggravation as the show continued. "This will not be a visit of good will, you will steal one of their valuable ice cores and exchange it with the package. If you can go in undetected, you should be able to escape before they realize that the package is not a real ice core."
Mian looked at them strangely but then settled back down. "That's pretty steep... you could start a war like that."
"They won't know you're there! We know that your given powers allow you to not be seen so we can send you in." the abbess told him
The slide show continued as Mian looked even more uneasy, he began to lean back in his chair.
"You then must stop by Mosshedge for provisions and gear to survive in the main mission objective area, Gorath."
The two new locations pinged on the map. Mian saw them and fell back in his chair to the the ground. He got up, not harmed physically and spoke to the group.
"Gorath?!?!? You're really pushin' it man."
"Mian, you always said you love adventure." the abbess wiggled her nose.
Mian nodded. "Yes, but this is suicide."
The abbess asked the scientists to continue.
"There you will need to reach the volcano of Burath, and use the gear you receive at Mosshedge to cause the volcano to erupt. The castle of Iron Dune, the stronghold of our enemy, will be covered in lava. You will be given 2 days to prep for this mission."
"I know I'll regret this one day, but I accept." Mian grumbled. "I'll be lucky to live through it." He left to prepare for his great journey code named, Operation Coldlava.
No one had noticed a small spider-like instrument contract itself and fly out in the direction of Southeast.
Chapter 3
The land of Gorath was a savage environment: little water, hot days, cold nights, ground that was so barren and hard that not even a nuclear bomb could break the petrified soil. In the only patch of fertile ground sat castle Irondune. It's leader stared out the window as he looked at the device that had returned from Redwall
"So, the woodlanders plant to move against me. We shall see who makes the first move." He growled
The leader of Irondune, a Evil Polecat that had had many pieces of his body replaced with cybernetics to increase his life span plotted on how to stop Mian from ruining his plans to dominate Merth. He paced his chamber.
"Only the strong shall survive, our evil master's order must go forward" a seer said as he entered the chamber.
The polecat ruler, Mechladez, turned to him and issued his orders.
"Inform Basin lake somehow... I will stop the woodlander's plan before it comes true."
"Yes my liege" the seer said as he exited.
"And don't screw up or I'll have your head." Mechladez yelled after him in an overzealous fashion.
The seer moved down the hall sneakily and began to speak to himself. "Master thinks he is in control. He is only sitting wait for the prophecies... yes yes the prophecies."
The temples in question were the temples of the 4 dark gods of Zeleca. Each dark god had their own harsh environment with their temple at the center. Galeed ruled over the glass desert, a patch of sand so sun- baked that it is rumored to turn to glass every noontime and then be broken back to sand by tremors at nightfall. The ruler of the bogs was Dedsier, a god that could supposedly shift forms into bog-gasses and control any of the rotted or dead. The gray wilderness was ruled by Loschia, a god who appeared in the wilderness as a crying child. The final realm, the black maze, was subjugated by the god of order, Levianed. Levianed was also the god which the fabled city of symmetry is based on. The Dark gods of Zeleca were once rumored to walk the mortal plane in the middle ages, around the time of the epic "War of the Varl", but they were defeated by one of Martin the Warrior's descendants. That defeat began the current era, the era of a cold war between Gorath and Redwallia.