One day his father went off to war. to fight a war for something that wasn't worth fighting for. A forceful pry at his eyes to see a beautiful world that had been taken from him.
"This is killing me," the child said to his mother, "is this the true face of the world?"
"The weight of this has got me on my knees," he said with no response from his mother.
The young child was scared now.
"I saw something out there," I insist.
It's night time and by all means I should be dead. Something nearly got me killed. This hallucination of death personified has driven me to tears and shaken me to the core. I just don't get it. Something beyond my control. I thought I came here to change the world and mine is being torn at the seams. I remember musing about how the apex predator became the hunted. I feel hunted before I even reached a peak-
"Landeskog," Dantalion says. "Get a hold of yourself. Now."
Even in panic I decide it's a good idea to listen to the wildcat.
"You had... A vision. This isn't that much of a surprise because the vulpine kind are noted seers. Maybe you saw something, maybe it was a message. More than likely, it was just a damned hallucination. A haunting.
Know this: I did not kill you. You did not drown. You are vermin. You are unwanted, unloved, and cast out. Among all things, however, you came to Mossflower to change that.
But heavens above help me, if you give up on this now, you are killing yourself. You're killing the future of every beast born to an undesirable sign. Furthermore you are killing the dream- the single collective dream shared by every beast in this damned camp, and that is unacceptable.
This has to stop.
Am I understood?"
The sky splitting in two, stars raining across the land. Crashing in front of me as my skin bubbles. Screaming in agony as demons rise up, tearing one another asunder. The ground splitting, molten rock spitting out like geysers. Fire, destruction, chaos. The end of innocence. I can't stop staring at the moon as tsunami waves drag me under.
"Am I understood?"
Blink. Everything is fine.
"I..." Swallow hard. "I understand, Dantalion. Thank you."
I can't sleep at night, so instead I watch the stars.
But even then, the skies glare at me.
"Not far away is an abandoned church," Dantalion addresses us. "I believe it's in our best interest to expand our operations. We'll have a safe haven and a strategic hub for the battle to take Redwall, minimizing the sort of risks-" of course, risks being stated a little bolder than usual- "that we fell upon previously."
It's the dawn of a new day but I'm struggling to stay awake. The leading feline has called a meeting of sorts after yesterday's march failed miserably. I suppose Dantalion isn't a good tactician, but then again I had the impression he wasn't that good of a speaker, either.
"Dantalion!" Someone calls out from the crowd. It's the female, Anizev. I've noticed that she and Rask have spent a lot of time together, which I figure is promising. At least someone here has been able to put aside their troubles.
"Yes, Anizev?"
Dantalion prides himself on knowing everybeast's name, as such he comes off as more personable. In theory.
"What will become of this camp, sir?" The ermine calls out (Dantalion audibly sighs and grumbles "I'm not a sir, I'm myself"). "Are we abandoning it?"
"Not entirely," replies the wildcat. "Consider it expanding our territory, a concept many of you are familiar with."
Some muttering from the crowd. "I thought the entire point of this trip was t'get rid of these concepts," hisses a surly rat behind me.
"I had assumed that this group would have a better work ethic regarding something as familiar as this," muses Dantalion, his voice a disappointed tone laced with venom. Just enough of an edge to wonder if he's pitying you or mocking you. "No, I should keep my tongue in check. Most here are ready to help and good beasts. There is a minority that sailed here and expected freedom to be handed on a golden plate. It is, clearly, not that easy."
The sky seems to start blurring.
Then he turns and looks me right in the eye and says, "If you want this, come on.
Pry it from my cold grip if you believe you'll run with ghosts.
I am Mossflower.
I am Redwall.
I am unstoppable, indivisible, immovable and immortal.
I'll be your end of
days," the wildcat says. "We'll send one group tonight, another the next."
I blink rapidly, holding my head from a sudden massive headache. Dantalion is talking to some wide-eyed weasel as if what I just witnessed never happened.
Right, I remember what he has said earlier. It didn't.
A pair of paws grab me by the shoulders and twirl me around.
"Y'alright, lad?"
It's Saw, the old pine marten, beady eyes narrowing. "Y'er doing the same thing that nearly got ye killed. Staring into space like 'at, like ye saw your future."
"I don't even know what I saw, Saw."
"Lander, if there's summat wrong, y'can always talk to ye old matey here . I keep secrets to the grave, and I'm probably goin' to mine soon."
"Don't say that," I mumble, half listening. I'm still mostly trying to sort out these... Things I continue to see. Finally, I grit my teeth as hard as I can, then relax.
"Do you think Mossflower's alive?"
"What a stupid question," Rask cackles between placing items into a bag. "All life's alive. Did that incident knock your brains out, too?
"No," I snap back. "I mean, it knows. Do you think it knows?"
"Look, I 'unno, and gotta get goin'."
"Rask," I say.
"This place is alive. It knows we're here. "