User blog:Hollyfire53/The Avenger's Daughter

''I know, I know. But this story is nearly half-finished (but not that much is posted), and Chap. 1 was asking to be posted... just want to see how it is received... beyond groans at yet another FF by Holly ;)''

This story is dedicated to two of my friends in real life, who make me feel equal because I'm not like the other girls, even though they're boys and I'm a girl :D Thank you, and I hope they know who they are.

Prologue
A dark shape collapsed on the ground, his scythe slipped out of his paw. He looked up into the face of death itself, a snarling mask of cold vengeance. For once, his eyes searched someone else's, looking for mercy. For once, he found none. For once, he found only a burning desire in the eyes- to kill him. He was shocked by what that obsession had done to someone he had once that was his best friend. She wouldn't kill me. A sharp pain in his left arm made him flinch. He grasped at his arm, staring at it, expecting to see blood, or, worse, nothing at all. But it looked normal. He cradled it, but the pain only increased. He winced, and looked up at the icy face above him. It was laughing silently. Silently? Only then did he realize that he couldn't hear anything. The pain spread to his left leg. He couldn't hold both of them, but the pain became searing. It spread to his right leg. He writhed on the ground, wishing that it would end. Suddenly, his hearing returned. He immediately wished it hadn't. A high, cold, bone-chilling laugh reached in and clawed at his soul. He screamed, and the pain spread to his right arm too. “Help me!” He choked, and the breath caught in his throat. The insane laugh didn't falter for a minute; it cut harshly into his head and blocked out everything else. Dots swam in his vision as his back felt as if it was being snapped. He tried to breath in, but couldn't, and his vision suddenly blanked out. But not his hearing. His head was the next victim of the pain; it conquered everything else. I'm dying, he realized. ''She's finally had her vengeance; she's killed me. But... how?'' He didn't know how the pain had started. The laugh filled his ears, and suddenly, everything ceased. He fell backward into a frighteningly-filling darkness, the laugh of the Avenger as the last memory he ever had.

Pre-Voyage: Day One
Marian Seaspray watched the sea in front of her, marveling. It glittered to the end of the horizon, where it met the sky, which was a beautiful, cloud-dotted expanse. A ship with sails furled was a distance away, but Marian had eyes for only the water itself. The deadly rock cliffs behind her loomed, but she had no fear of them; wasn't this the place where she had lived for her whole life? Marian herself was beautiful; she had silver eyes, rimmed by sea-blue spectacles. Her tan-brown fur was the color of a thrasher on the wing, and her paws, which had never been in fights, were unmarred. She wore a lavender tunic with a green cloak; her sister absolutely despised Marian's choice of clothes, but the ottermaid herself couldn't care less about her appearance, although all the male otters in her Holt, Holt Seaspray, sighed with delight at the mention of her name. Coupled with the fact that she was the Skipper's daughter... well, Marian tried to avoid all the males in the Holt, as she made a nice prize. Except for one. Hawk Thornfall. She felt nothing for him beyond a deep friendship, but Marian appreciated him as a best friend. She asked Hawk for everything, and he answered everything. He was an outcast among the males his age; he longed for adventure, unlike the rest of the lazy male in the Holt, who merely wanted to impress the females. Especially her brother, Cisirn. He was the worst of them all, always preening himself and all that. Now Marian, that's not nice, she half-heartedly scolded herself. But she knew it was true. Hawk would never practice swimming for the muscles, she thought. He would practice swimming because he might need it one day if he got captured by a corsair ship. Hawk was always thinking ahead like that. He was also the only one who knew anything about her mother. ''Well, except for Dad. But he gets all stony whenever I ask about her.'' Marian didn't hold against her father, though. He was a good father; well, as good as a father could be when you never saw him. Marian mostly lived with Cisirn and her older sister, Daryn, who was a lot like Cisirn- self-centered. Hawk was well-respected by all of the senior members of the Holt, and he knew a lot that even the Skipper didn't know. Marian knew nearly everything from him, as she was an outcast with the females, who mostly spent time trying to impress the males. The whole Holt was boring except for Hawk and his older brother, Nyrad. The Thornfall Brothers, coupled with Marian, were often in trouble, but nothing serious; sneaking off after dark, helping someone in trouble (which wasn't often), or for accidentally hurting each other in play-fights. Marian was as strong as Hawk or Nyrad, and she often forgot she wasn't a male like them. They were inseparable, their close friendship looked upon with disdain by Marian's siblings and their friends, but none of them cared. Marian knew that if one found an adventure, all would be included. The Three had formed a little group they called the Avengers. Of course, since their Holt had lived in peace for centuries, there was nothing to avenge, but Nyrad had come up with it, and it had stuck. Daryn had once been an Avenger, but that was before she had... well, nobody in the Holt liked to think of the day that she and Nyrad had decided that... maybe they shouldn't get married. Daryn had been hurt beyond belief, through no fault of either, but Daryn had hated Nyrad's guts ever since. She had quit the group, leaving Marian and Hawk puzzled... but Marian had begun to think it was all for the best. The ottermaid sighed and looked up at the sky. She had been here all afternoon thinking, and the sky had begun it's daily evening painting of itself. Marian smiled. No matter what Daryn said, she was perfectly fine with herself; she was the ottermaid she wanted to be. Stretching, Marian stood up. She yawned, and lazily wondered if she should return to camp. Hawk and Nyrad would be looking for her soon for their nightly sparring after supper, but supper was in a few minutes. Suddenly, she remembered Filburr's promise to tell her a story tonight. Spurred by the prospect of a story from Hawk's grandfather, who rarely talked, Marian raced up the hidden path up the cliff on paws made of wind. She looked down once more at the sea, her silent friend, and noticed that the ship was much closer. Oh well, probably a trader for the Nyts, Marian shrugged, and turned her paws towards the camp. The Nyts were a group of creatures on the other side of the island; Holt Seaspray kept well away from them, and they away from the Holt, except for one night, the lightest day of the year- Trading Day on the Summer Solstice. Marian raced on, towards the Holt's camp. Ahead, she heard the roar of a waterfall. Erupting from the trees, Marian smiled at the powerful force that lay in front of her. Edging close to the pool, soaking with the spray, the otter dove into the water. The frigid water cooled Marian and filled her with a tingling sensation. All too soon, she was at the other edge. She hauled herself out and lay on the bank, half-dozing, for a few moments, letting her soaking garments dry a bit. Daryn would have a heart attack if I went into camp like this. The thought was tempting, but Marian shook the rest of the water off, leaving her pleasantly damp. She sighed with contentment. Tranquility Isle really is pretty, Marian thought proudly. She stood up and stretched again. The sun, even if it was setting, had always made her sleepy. Marian sighed again, and walked on, literally right into the middle of Holt Seaspray. She looked around at the huts built in front of trees. They were special; apparently Marian's mother had come up with the design. The huts were tall, and only three-sided. The fourth side was the tree; Tranquility Isle had the fattest trees in Mossflower, which Nyrad called a 'Redwood' tree. Inside the hut was everything that the families needed or wanted. There was also a door that led into the tree itself, which the family could shelter in if a storm was coming. There were about sixteen huts, all built by each other. Marian felt a surge of pride that her mother had come up with the strategic idea. She wondered, once again, who she had been. Marian didn't even have a name; all she knew was that her mother had come to the Isle, married Skipper, had Cisirn, Daryn, and Marian, and she had sailed off, never to come back. Marian had been ten days old when her mother had left; Cisirn had been one and half, and Daryn had been ten months old. Nobody seemed to want to talk about her mother and it was the one subject she had never been teased about. Marian watched a few otters milling around the giant redwood in the middle; it was a tradition of her Holt to eat at one long table in a circle around the Great Tree, as the large redwood was called. The food was cooked in a pot inside the tree, very carefully, and brought out and served before supper was called. Marian often wondered where this tradition had begun, as the otters had honored it long before Marian's mother was born. A shrill scream from inside a hut to Marian's left made her jump high into the air. Marian turned and, with eyes blazing, she turned into the hut. ''My hut. The one I live in.'' She scanned the shelves, glancing at the scrolls of parchment her father collected, to the cot her brother owned, which was filled with tunics and pictures of muscular body-builders. She sneered silently, and looked at her sister's area. A tidy mess of powders and pictures of overly-vain otters adorned her cot. Marian sneered again. Disdain and a feeling of pity was in her heart for her two siblings. Her cot had a dagger she had found and her stick she used to spar with Nyrad and Hawk. Under it was a bag of beechnuts for almond bread as well as her clothes and a few other things of her mothers'. It also held a book on swords and battle strategies that had been her mother's, which Skipper had given to her. Marian, forgetting about the scream, went over and opened the cover of the book for the thousandth time, looking at the cursive A.S. on the inside cover. It was a faded black signature, and Marian wondered for the millionth time what her mother's name had been. Is, she reminded herself. She's not dead. There was another scream, this one coming from behind her hut. Marian frowned. Most otters never went in the trees unless a storm was coming because, despite the fact that an otter in a tree was mildly funny, there were only emergency supplies in there. Mostly empty space, however, Marian kept some scrolls in her part of the tree. So who could be in our tree? It was very disrespectful to go into another family's tree unless the father or mother of the family had invited you, or unless you were offering help to that family. As far as the ottermaid knew, her father had been gone all day with the fishing parties he had organized to help prepare for the winter. Once again, Marian wondered who was in her tree. Pushing aside silver silk curtains between Daryn's side and the library, Marian grabbed the key to the door leading into the tree. She tossed the heavy lead thing between her paws. Something on it glinted, and she looked at it carefully. A. S... Mother! Marian backed out of the entryway and let the curtains fall. Carrying the leaden key carefully, she went over to her mother's old book. She matched the signatures; apart from the fact that the signature on the key was metal, they matched perfectly. “Marian!” The ottermaid looked up guiltily. Her glasses fell down off her nose, and she replaced them. “What are you doing?” It was her sister. Marian studied her, wondering what was different. Same hazel eyes. Same sleeked-down dark brown fur. Same pearl-white teeth. Ah, her outfit. This one was a deep blue dress, with studded diamond buttons going down the front. It flowed glamorously on Daryn, down to her paws, where sapphire-colored slippers, complete with a diamond on top, adorned the petite paws. “You look nice.” Daryn flashed a brilliant, one-second smile. “Thank you. You might finally have some fashion sense coming.” Not on your life, Marian thought sourly, but kept her pretense of admiration. “I might. Who gave you this outfit?” Her sister sighed dreamily. “Caron.” Caron was Hawk and Nyrad's cousin, a strong, brawny otter. He and Daryn had been pretty close, closer than friends, ever since Daryn left Nyrad. Marian secretly wondered why he hadn't asked her father if he could have Daryn's hand yet. “Did he ask?” It was the only part of her sister's life that Marian cared or asked about, because she wanted her sister to be happy. “No. But he will. Soon.” She had said this as a reply ever since Marian had first asked. “What are you doing?” “Nothing.” Marian closed the book and moved toward the silken doorway. ''Daryn wouldn't care at all. Not in this mood.'' The otter's hazel eyes narrowed. “You have the key to the tree? Why?” Marian lifted the curtain and replaced the key before crawling out again. “I thought I heard a scream from in there.” “You did,” someone barked. Marian turned around to see her brother, Cisirn. He was strong and lean, with sharp, mud-brown eyes, tan fur, and a scar on his left paw from when he fell on a sharp stone as a baby. He wore a grey tunic with green plaid on it, and khaki pants underneath which fell to show his black shoes. He also wore a black cloak, not because he was cold, but because it made him look 'dashing'. “Ivy and I were in there.” Ivy was Cisirn's girlfriend. She was, next to Marian, the prettiest ottermaid in the Holt, but also the brattiest. She hated Marian, and Marian hated her. She was also unkind to Daryn, but she was sickeningly sweet to Cisirn. “You were in the tree?!” Daryn screeched. “Why? The South Stream not private enough for you?” It was well known in the Holt that they were also getting serious. “Why? Because we wanted to.” Cisirn met his sister's gaze head-on. “I talked to her father.” Marian shook her head. Ivy as her stepsister... “What did he say?” Cisirn gave her a weird look. “Hey, sis. Since when did you care?” “Since she'll end up being MY sis!” Daryn answered for her. Cisirn gave them both a look. “Isn't it obvious? He said, “Sure!” and Ivy said...” “Yes,” Daryn and Marian grumbled. Cisirn beamed at them. “And then she screamed the first time. When I gave her her wedding outfit... she screamed again.” Marian groaned. Cisirn turned on her. “What's your problem, sis? Don't you like Ivy?” “Um...” Marian thought fast. “She's... I really don't have that much in common with her, so things are probably different for me than for everyone else, but she isn't that... friendly... with me.” Her brother looked thoughtful for a minute. I love her...! Daryn thought, hopeful that Cisirn might withdraw his offer... “That's probably just you, sis,” he decided. “You're not very tactical.” “Ugh! Cisirn, I really don't want her living here with us.” Daryn offered. “She-” “Sis. It's my choice. I don't want Cilon living with us.” “Caron. And he's not,” Daryn defended. Cisirn gave her a look. “He will soon. Trust me, I would know.” Marian gagged and backed out of the hut. Caron and Ivy, her siblings-in-law! Her siblings, too busy arguing, didn't even notice she was gone. Back outside, she looked around the camp. She needed a story now. Filburr... where are you? Across the clearing, there was a short, stout otterwife heading towards a hut on the far side. Frond! Frond was Hawk's mother, and the daughter of Filburr. She was incredibly nice, and Marian loved her as she would her own mother. Marian put her head down and trudged around the long table, where the cooks were ladling good-smelling things into pots and pans on the table. It was disrespectful to drool at the food, and Marian knew that if she looked at the supper being served, she would certainly drool. Passing by a group of ottermaids her own age, she heard “Cisirn and Ivy” and decided to stop and listen for a minute. Maybe they know something I don't, she excused herself. She paused and listened as a snooty-sounding otter talked. “Yeah. Cisirn brought her into the Seaspray Redwood and showed her the wedding outfit. She liked it and finally he asked her to marry him she screamed. When he told her the outfit was hers... she screamed again. Their wedding is tomorrow. And guess what? The outfit was PURPLE! It had emeralds and opals on the front with...” Marian drifted away, not caring anymore. Tomorrow...! She wandered for a few moments as if in a daze, then remembered she was trying to find Frond. The otterwife was nowhere in sight. Probably in her hut, she decided. Marching over to the Thornfall hut, she knocked softly on the birchbark wall, as they had no doors. “Mistress Frond? It's Marian Seaspray.” Frond came over to the doorway. She wore a white apron with a thorn poking through a waterfall on it, the symbol of the Thornfall family. She had beautiful green eyes with brown flecks, and hawk-colored fur. Under the apron was a faded, once-sky-blue dress, and she held some dough in her paws, kneading it to make almond bread. “Marian! Hawk and Filburr were both asking about you!” Marian smiled with delight. She loved Frond. “Hawk and Nyrad went out to the South Stream to get Caron, but they'll be back soon. Filburr went for a walk with Nakurra; he'll tell you your story after supper. Would you care to help me with the bread?” Nakurra was Ivy's father, the deputy-Skipper of Holt Seaspray. Filburr and Nakurra often discussed past battle stories with each other, and Filburr helped Nakurra with any decisions that Skipper had left to him to discuss. They often walked together in the evenings. “Of course!” Marian smiled. She usually helped with the almond bread, and, although they never told the other Thornfalls, Marian always put a beechnut in the center of the loaf, where Hawk and Nyrad cut their pieces. After baking, the beechnut was soft, and it was Marian's way of saying that she found them special. As Marian stepped over the doorway, she heard someone call her name. Hufjur Blackstone, a muscular male otter with blue eyes wearing a brown tunic with a black cloak, came running up to her. He bent double, wheezing for a few moments, then stood up to his full height. He was a full three inches taller than Marian, but she wasn't intimidated. He took her paw tenderly. “Come with me,” he begged. “Just for a moment.” Marian looked from him to Frond. “One second.” She called into the hut, “Frond, I'll be back in a minute. I have to go get a beechnut.” The stout otterwife smiled. “Of course dear. I'll be right here.” Marian turned back to Hufjur. “This needs to be quick,” she warned. “And I have to go get a beechnut.” He smiled a perfect smile at her. “Of course.” He pulled her paw lightly, pulling her toward the Blackstone hut. As soon as Marian saw where she was going, she pulled away. “No! I can't go there!” Hufjur bent on one knee. “Then I'll ask you here. Marian Seaspray, will you marry me?” Marian stared at him. No. No. No. No. There was no doubt in her mind. She would rather go unmarried then marry Hufjur. “D-did you ask my father?” She looked away, unable to meet his solemn eyes. She was aware than a crowd of stunned and heartbroken ottermaids had assembled. Hufjur was popular. “Yes. He said the decision was yours; he'd support you either way. So I ask again: Marian Seaspray, will you marry me?” Hufjur blinked slowly. Yes, yes, yes, yes! “I-I can't. I hope you understand, but...” Marian looked him in the eye now, and she adjusted her glasses so she could see him better. There were gasps from the surrounding ottermaids. Tears glimmered in his eyes, but he nodded. He stood up and kissed the top of her head. “I understand,” he smiled. “Thank you,” she gasped hoarsely. “If you excuse me...” She looked back at the Thornfall hut. “Of course,” he smiled again, but the tears were still in his eyes. Marian hurried away as fast as she could without making it look as if she was running away. She stopped by her hut and grabbed a beechnut, then sprinted back to Frond. She looked up happily as Marian approached. “What happened, dear?” Marian grabbed a hunk of dough and pulled at it savagely. “Nothing,” she muttered. “Something did, because you never tear the dough,” Frond pointed out. Marian looked down at her paws and noticed a gash in the dough. She rolled it back into a hunk and began kneading again. “Hufjur asked me to marry him.” “And you said...?” Frond gently pressed, but Marian could hear the worry in her voice. She obviously wanted Marian to marry Hawk or Nyrad. “I'd have to be a fool to say yes,” Marian sighed. She placed her customary beechnut in the dough, and rolled the rest in almonds. “Oh dear... isn't this the fifth proposal in...?” Frond took the almond-rolled dough and placed in a leaf, and put the leaf over the fire in her stove. Marian took more dough and began kneading it. “Ten days. Five in ten days. Five proposals, five times I have to decline.” “Just like your mother,” Frond sighed. Marian stopped kneading the dough and stared at her. “You knew my mother?” “Oh dear yes! Keep kneading or it'll get lumpy again.” Frond smiled. “I never told you?” Marian began kneading again, but her eyes were on the plump otterwife. “No. Who was she?”<Br> Frond sighed, kneading her own dough. “Her name was Asaria Seaspray. Beautiful gal. Just like you, actually.” “What happened to her? What did she do? Why did she leave?” Marian asked. ''Finally, some answers! Why didn't I ever ask her?'' She placed a beechnut in the dough and rolled it into almonds before handing it to the otterwife. Frond placed it in the stove as well, and took out the other loaf. “Mmm... nice and hot! Good gal, Marian. It's perfect.” She took out a knife and prepared to cut a slice; another tradition was that in a batch of five loaves, the first was to be eaten by those who cooked it. But Marian stared at the loaf with a look of growing horror. “You can't eat that.” Frond shook her head. “Nonsense. Why shouldn't I?” By way of answer, Marian grabbed another knife and cut the loaf open, exactly halfway through, where Hawk and Nyrad would have cut it. Instead of turning a tan color, the beechnut was purple with green, white, and black flecks. The bread around the nut was the same color. Frond turned pale, all the blood gone from her face. Marian let the knife slice into the tender nut. It was filled with a green liquid. “B-but... how...?” The otterwife stuttered. Then she paled even more. “Those were the nuts the Nyts gave us, weren't they?” Marian bit her lower lip. “Only that one. The rest were gathered by Hawk and I last fall. That one was the last of the Nyts' nuts.” Frond grimaced. “How did you know it was poisoned?”<Br> “I-I just did.” Marian was trembling now. “I don't know how...”<Br> “I smell almond bread! Don't you?” A tall otter marched through the door in a ragged blue tunic with a green cloak a lot like Marian's. He had a sword belt at his hip with a knife in it, and silver eyes like Marian's. Behind him was an even taller otter wearing the same thing, except he had a real sword in it and golden eyes. Walking behind that otter was a prissy-looking male wearing a silken black tunic with a silver cloak, silver pants, and black slippers. He was scowling. “Hawk!” Marian smiled at the first otter with the knife. “And Nyrad!” The otter with the sword smiled back. “And... hi, Caron.” Caron scowled. “You're Daryn's sister, right? I need to ask her something.” “My name is Marian, and my sister is in our hut.” She nodded at the Seaspray hut on the other side of the Great Tree. <Br> “Thanks.” He stomped out, pausing only to collect a bundle from the hut next door, his hut, the Rapidrock hut. Hawk looked at the grim face on his friend to the horrified one on his mother. “What happened?”<Br> Marian motioned them over, and they looked at the bread. “Oh my stars,” Nyrad gulped. “From the Nyts? What were you doing with them?” “Dad was trading with them. Daryn and Cisirn were trading clothes, so I traded them a few scrolls for my dagger and the nuts.” Marian's face looked frightened. “Th-they tricked me.”<Br> Nyrad motioned the ottermaids to a chair. Frond took a large chair and Marian sat on the floor, hugging her knees as her eyes stared unseeingly into the distance. Hawk sat down next to her and put his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder, but neither relaxed. Nyrad smiled at his brother and best friend; he would be fine with her as his sister-in-law. <Br> “So... how did you find out?” Nyrad asked his mother. “Marian. She warned me...” Frond looked as if she was in shock as well.<Br> Nyrad's eyes darkened. “How did you know, Marian?”<Br> She raised her head from Hawk's shoulder. “I-I just had a feeling that it had evil surrounding it. And it did.” Hawk rubbed her shoulder, and she sighed, content, and lowered her head back on his shoulder. Nyrad nodded. “I-I'm sorry, but your beechnut, and you being the one to find out...” “Oh no, son. You can't suspect her. It looked perfectly normal before she baked it.” Frond shook her head, and looked at Marian with affection. “The poison must have been designed to only activate after I baked it.” Nyrad looked skeptical. “But why would the Nyts want to poison us?” Marian raised her head again and, giving Hawk a grateful look, she stood up. Marian lowered a paw to help him get up, and he took it, smiling. What a good friend! “I believe we need to pay the Nyts a visit.” The other two Avengers looked happily at each other. “Yeah! We'll make 'em pay for trying to kill Sissy and Mom,” Hawk vowed. 'Sissy' was a play-nickname that Nyrad and Hawk had given Marian, as she was like a sister to them. Frond shook her head, and Marian wondered if her mother was anything like Hawk's. “Not tonight. It's nearly suppertime. I won't stop you going tomorrow, but you ain't goin' nowhere tonight.” Hawk frowned and opened his mouth, but Marian nodded. She shot him a warning look. “Alright, but tomorrow morning, early. We have to go early, or Daryn'll never let me go,” she explained. “Fine. But stay safe,” Frond ordered. “Of course. But... aren't we baking bread right now?” Nyrad pointed at the stove; smoke was billowing out. “Oh dear.” Frond shook her head. She reached in and pulled out the charred loaf. Swiping at the smoke, Hawk and Marian got it out the window. Their eyes stung. Nyrad pulled out a bucket of water. He set it at their feet, and Hawk shoved his face into it, eyes wide open. After he raised his dripping face, Marian dunked hers. They came up, eyes feeling much better.<Br> “Maaaaaaaaaaaaarian!” The call came from across the clearing. “Dad.” Marian looked up, a smile lighting her features. “Thanks for everything, Mistress Frond. I'll see you two tomorrow morning at the South Stream, then? When the sun rises? Bring your weapons.” Hawk nodded. “Of course.” He hesitated, then added, “Take care.” “I will. See you tomorrow!” As Marian swept out of the hut, she wondered why she felt so excited. ''Is it the adventure... or Hawk?''