Veni Vidi Vici
They came. They saw. They conquered.
4,000 years after there was a mouse called Matthias, as one may guess, the Redwall Abbey lay in shambles. They had finally fought an army that was too great for them; the notorious Caecilian Army. Having plundered all they could, the Caecilians packed up and out. This is about the construction and rebuilding, both in a physical and psychological sense, of Redwall. The remaining animals have reverted to the past; they no longer wear clothes, nor do they sleep in beds. Their weapons are their claws, their teeth, and maybe a twig or two. Extinct species are back, including the giant Rice-rats the size of cats. The caecilians are ravaging everything, and are the lords of this land (except for the cats and the bears), and the only ones who utilize weapons. These animals, by the way, run on all fours.
Maylon rolled his eyes, once again hearing his mother's classic spiel; "Now don't you go too far from home, now, Maylon! I wouldn't want you getting hurt, now would I?"
Maylon nodded, barely aware of what she was saying, and ran out. By the pool that was near their colony, he stared into the water. He smoothed his gray hair. The young ratlet bounded off to play excitedly. The cool night breeze ruffled his fur as his muscled body rippled in an all-out run. Suddenly, Maylon heard a growl that was not of that of anything he had ever heard of before. He heard the rasping hiss of a caecilian, "What are you doing, young rat?" Frightened, Maylon broke into a more hurried run than ever before. Though the caecilian unarmored would have been dinner to a strong and agile rat, the Caecilian wore full plate armor of steel-coated titanium, a metal that was light and hard to penetrate. The supplies of this metal were controlled by the caecilians. All over, the armor had sharp spikes on it. Running, Maylon hoped and prayed fervently that he would survive, although chances seemed slim. Suddenly, he ran into a dark black mazelike labyrinth that he had never seen before. As if struck by a deadly blow, the caecilian flinched and slithered off. Suddenly, in horror, Maylon wanted to run off himself. He quickly recalled all his mother had told him of this terrible place.
"Maylon, those are the remnants of an abbey called Redwall. These ancient mice, hedgehogs and badgers, even otters and moles, hated rats, and murdered them by the millions! Although the caecilians conquered Redwall many, many years ago, I think more than three thousand, for some reason, they fear it, and are scared to go in it or near it. But, so are we."
Suddenly, Maylon had a brilliant idea. They're scared to go near this! We should live in it! Then, we all will be safe forever. Forever! I'll rebuild it! I will I will I will! The rat let out a strange squeak that sounded like a whistle, and a firefly came down from the sky and lit up. (The rats promised never to eat fireflies if they lit on command once in a while.) Maylon explored the desolate ruins, and no longer did they seem so scary, just sad. He wandered the remnants of the ancient halls, now filled with grass, and saw the decrepit remains of a place where little children might once have had played. (This was, in fact, the nursery of the Dibbuns.) Maylon stared at the stone walls in astonishment, wondering how in the world this architectural amazement had been built in the first place. He knew that he would have to utilize the labor of many, most likely of those that were stronger than he. (Actually, he did not know how strong he was, and could do much more than he once thought.) But, Maylon was wily, and determined.
The next afternoon (he had slept all morning), he had been eager to start on his new project. First, he approached the Feral Cats (who were not big or strong enough to mess with a rat; rats can actually kill cats sometimes!). A diminutive orange tabby took him to the leader of their felinekind. Domathar was the cold and calculating leader of their pack. The Siamese had an intimidating but beautiful set of blue eyes. Domathar investigated the young rodentine visitor. The secretive blue eyes crept into those of Maylon. The black eyes were devoid of malice, the enthusiasm sparkling in the as absolute as the rats' eyes their blackened hue. He nodded briskly. "What is it that is so vital that you seek to ask the help of cats?"
Maylon stared, frightened and amazed at that cat with eyes like sapphires.
"Well, uh, you don't like these caecilians, do you?" (The caecilians had always failed, but tried to conquer the cats)
"These caecilians are but a nuisance. But for you they are more dangerous, am I correct?"
Maylon nodded, and a smile twitched at the corners of Domathar's mouth.
"Well, we're going to rebuild Redwall Abbey, and we wanted some of your help."
Domathar almost laughed, but instead lashed out with rage. "Redwall!" He cried angrily, swishing his tail vehemously. "They called us evil ruffians, and murdered millions of us! What do you want with that wicked, wicked place?" Domathar glared at Maylon, who stared up fearfully at Domathar.
"They said that about us too, my lord." Said Maylon softly. Domathar remembered what he had heard about Redwall and rats.
"But this, my lord, will be a new Redwall! It will not discriminate as long as no one eats anyone else! Some of your people could even come there if they wanted too-"
"MY PEOPLE!"
Domathar glared fiercely at the youngster. His people would never need to live in a house like pampered sissies! The cheek of that, that little rat!
Maylon smiled. "Besides, a place can't be evil! They're all dead and gone, the people who lived in Redwall. Besides, what would offend their spirits more than a bunch of cats daring to lay a paw on their walls?!"
Domathar actually smiled, something that few people could ever even hope to make him do. He couldn't help it. He boomed out more and more laughter. Though that point would have never convinced him otherwise, he had enjoyed that laugh.
Amid chuckles, tears streaming down his face, he breathed out, "You have the support of my people!" He called over the same Red Tabby, who appeared to be a secretary of sorts and said, "Have one quarter of the hunting squad start to bring boulders into a pile for the construction of Redwall, o yes, and assign this delightful rodent a bodyguard to keep him and his family safe, and to be ordered at discretion. Have Tonhash oversee the rock piling." A stately Persian walked in. "Tonhash at your service, my lord, me and 14 other cats have started right away." A small silver Ocicat (silver cat with black mottled spots) came over. The cat was young. Domathar introduced Maylon to his new bodyguard. "This here is Coramanth, aka Cora. He is the second-most promising student. He's around your age, so I'm thinking that you two might get along."
Cora jumped up and down excitedly. "Yay, I get to kill real caecilians! Yay!" Coramanth smiled. Maylon hopped on Coramanth, and the two ran over to the ruins. Already a considerable pile of rocks was stocked up. At the top of the pile was his mother, and Maylon looked considerably more frightened than he had been. "Maylon Burrtooth Evetyar, what in the name of Norveticus are you doing?" The cats tried to hold back considerable laughter, and failed miserably, even Tonhash was rolling on the ground, letting out a great belly laugh, laughing so hard he almost cried. Coramanth put his paw in front of his mouth and snickered. "He'll get chased by a caecilian, explore supposedly haunted ruins, look the leader of the Feral Cats in the eye and dare to crack a joke, and ride on the back of a cat, but none of that is half as scary as his mother!"
Maylon gulped, but inwardly chuckled all the same because of the irony.
He stood up on his hind legs, and said from Cora's back, "Mom, if we go here, the caecilians won't bother us. This is not a wicked place! Maybe the people were, but they're gone, and don't blame the place!"
His mother shook a paw. "Don't try that on me, laddie! You're going home right now!" She shook a paw at the cats, fury emanating from her eyes. "Shame on you, being silly enough to go along with his harebrained plan! Shame on you for fueling it! Get back to where you came from!" They stared at her, and then at Tonhash questioningly for a second, and then immediately packed up sheepishly, looking slightly ashamed and slightly afraid…