T1Weasel

The End Of The Blades “I can see it in your eyes... you’ve seen the land of the gods and returned. Does this mean... it is done? Is Alduin truly defeated?” The voice of Arngeir, leader of the Greybeards, was the first to greet me upon my return to High Hrothgar after defeating Alduin in Sovngarde. It hadn’t been easy, but thanks to the Ancient Nord heroes, those being Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, Hakon One-Eye, and Felldir The Old, the World-Eater had been defeated once again… and hopefully for good this time. “Yes. I went to Sovngarde and killed Alduin there.” My reply sounds exhausted. Alduin’s first defeat at my hand on the Throat Of The World seemed to be so much easier than this battle had been. The relief in Arngeir’s voice is evident. “At last. It is over. Perhaps it was all worth it, in the end. You’ve shown yourself mighty, both in Voice and deed. In order to defeat Alduin, you have gained mastery of dreadful weapons. Now it is up to you to decide what to do with your power

Origins Of The Bellmaker: Epilogue From the journal of Saxtus, Father Abbot and Recorder of Redwall Abbey in Mossflower country: 'It's been ten seasons since Joseph told his tale. After that, his age seemed to catch up to him pretty quickly. Joseph still gets around well enough, but he's never without his staff anymore. Mariel and Dandin will help him navigate some stairs when he needs it, and most days he can be found by our Abbey pond, helping some Dibbuns with sailing or swimming, or even trying to catch a fish.’ Saxtus looked at the bundle of ninety-four parchments, shaking his head with a smile before continuing his writing. 'Something extraordinary happened last week, and I would never have believed it happened if Joseph, Mariel, and Dandin weren't my friends and credible residents of Redwall. It's something no one expected to happen, and probably will never happen

Origins Of The Bellmaker: Chapter 14 - The Joseph Bell Abbot Saxtus was in the Gatehouse, scribbling away at the parchments he had collected about Joseph's tale in his Recorder's journal. 'After venting his anger and sadness, Joseph isolated himself and was distant toward the other Redwallers aside from his daughter, Mariel. It's been two seasons since that day, and he hasn't shown any sign of resuming his tale. I don't believe his story is finished, but I don't want to intrude on his privacy…’ A knock sounded on the Gatehouse door, prompting Saxtus to look over as he dipped the quill pen into the ink. "Come in." The door opened and Dandin came in. "Morning Abbot. How does today find you?" The Abbot sighed. "I worry about Joseph since he had to retell the deaths of his wife and second child. I feel terrible that he had to relive it... Have you spoken to him at all?" Dandin shook his head as he sat in the chair by the hearth. "Unfortunately, not a word. It seems the only one he'll

Origins Of The Bellmaker: Chapter 13 - A Loss Beyond Words That spring the Periwinkle was out and about being shown off to a few visitors from Redwall Abbey along with some shrews. One of them, a shrew called Captain Ash, was eagerly inspecting the massive ship. "She's a worthy craft Yer Lordship. Have ye got a captain for her yet?" Rawnblade shook his striped head, scratching his muzzle stripe. "Not yet, but I've heard you're very skilled at piloting boats like this one." Captain Ash nods. "I seen me fair share, but none this size." The badger nods. "Well, I have need of a captain for an important assignment. My bellmaker, Joseph, is stockpiling the mountain's resources to fashion a massive bell for the Redwallers. He'll most likely need to do some island hopping to get what he needs. Are you willing?" The shrew captain beamed at him. "Ye mean it? Me as captain of this ship?" Rawnblade nodded. "Only if you think you can perform the duties I've mentioned." Captain Ash fell to

Origins Of The Bellmaker: Chapter 12 - Behold The Periwinkle! As promised, Salamandastron had a huge celebration to welcome Mariel to the world of the living. Celaena held her one-week-old newborn as the hares, Joseph, and even Lord Rawnblade himself sang and danced around the galley area. He swore everybeast to secrecy about it, in case word got out that Badger Lords actually knew how to have fun. Celaena looked down at her tiny charge and whispered with a smile. "Look at your father, acting like his head is full of bumblebees." Mariel's almond eyes took it all in, sparkling with an unspoken merriment. She yawned and snuggled a little closer to her mother, closing her eyes for another nap. Celaena kissed her between her tiny ears as Joseph came over. "Hey, how is she?" Celaena smiled up at her husband. "Mariel was watching you act like a wild mouse, just like I was. If she could talk, she would probably agree that you had sniffed too many daisies." Joseph laughed deeply, looking

Origins Of The Bellmaker: Chapter 11 - Unlikely Miracles For one full week Joseph had been telling his tale, only stopping to eat, or sleep, or to stretch his limbs. Abbot Saxtus was wringing his paws, trying to keep them limber. "Great seasons Joseph, that's the thirty-seventh parchment so far. What a tale this is!" Joseph chuckled as lunch was served, taking more October Ale and some barley bread. "Not much more to go now, Saxtus. The best parts are on their way. In fact, this is where the highlight of my life occurs." ************************************************************************************************************* As Joseph lay semiconscious in the Infirmary while Springbrooke worked on him, his mind traveled to a dark void. "Where am I?" No answer came, so he began wandering around in no particular direction until a pair of gates came into his view. "Is... Is that Dark Forest?" Laterose arrived beside him. "At last we meet, Joseph. I am Rose of Noonvale, someone

Origins Of The Bellmaker: Chapter 10 - Justice Comes Full Circle Following the revelations of her past, Joseph sought to knock off the rust of not having to fight anyone for over thirty seasons. So under the watchful eyes of Sergeant Willoughby, Joseph began enhancing his techniques with swords, lances, rapiers, and even got in some staff work with his oak wood staff. Celaena came out to watch one day in the autumn, a full season after Joseph began training again. The Sergeant nodded to her as she stood next to him. "Morning Mrs. Celaena. Here to watch your husband put my hares to utter shame?" Celaena giggled. "Really? Is that what's happening?" Willoughby sighed as he nodded. "Indeed. These will eventually be the best-trained hares on the mountain, but that's a long time from now. Anyway, the younger hares believed they could spar with him because of their youth, but he's proving them wrong at every turn. Watch." Armed with wooden swords, six hares charged at the older mouse

Origins Of The Bellmaker: Chapter 9 - Dark Secrets Are Revealed Joseph and Celaena took approximately an entire month to consummate their marriage that spring, and they began the day after their wedding. Celaena's body and mind had undergone the necessary changes for motherhood, but she secretly worried that her age and treatment from her slave days might prevent her from even conceiving a baby. She hadn't talked to Joseph about it since she was scared he would leave her if she couldn't bear him a child. Early one morning Celaena went by torch light to the grave of Rose, hoping to get some sort of guidance about what she should do. It was four hours until dawn as Celaena sat down under a nearby alder tree and began talking, hoping she would be heard. "I don't know if you can hear me Rose, but I could really use some help. I’m unsure if I'll be able to have any children with Joseph, and I worry that he'll lose favor with me if I can't. What if Rosemary is right? What if I'm barren? I

Origins Of The Bellmaker: Chapter 8 - Noonvale’s Joyous Occasion After Celaena accepted Joseph's marriage proposal, Noonvale exploded in cheers. Only a few residents refused to cheer, that being Rosemary and her group. Screaming with rage at being scorned, she scooped up Joseph's oak wood staff and charged at Celaena. "No one takes Joseph from me!" Celaena squeaked in fright as the heavy staff swung her way, but the blow never struck. Instead, Joseph caught the staff, used Rosemary's momentum to flip her head over tail, and planted her back-first in the snow. Rosemary squeaked as she hit the ground and the air was driven from her lungs. Joseph reached for the fishing dagger he always carried and was in mid-swing toward Rosemary's throat before his reflexes to stop swinging the knife kicked in. His muscles tightened and the razor-sharp blade came to a stop just a hair's breadth from slicing into Rosemary's neck. Silence reigned for a few seconds, broken only by Joseph's seething as

Origins Of The Bellmaker: Chapter 7 - The Ultimate Decision Noonvale was known as a haven of peace and plenty to those who lived there and the few visitors who stumbled across it in their travels. Those who did visit were either sworn to secrecy about the location or became a resident of the small village after experiencing the marvelous foods and drinks. Mainly the residents were mice, but there were several moles and hedgehogs mixed in. An old mouse, bent with age and silver-furred, walked slowly with a willow cane toward a hill with a gravestone on it. The stone was worn with seasons, but those who'd heard the legends knew the name on the stone. The mouse sighed with relief and sadness as he sat on a stump in the early-morning sunshine. "I've lost count of the seasons it's been since you were last here... As I'm sure you might know, I'm the Patriarch now, and have been for longer than I care to remember. I only wish things had turned out differently, and there's one question I