The Colossus ("All Hail the River King!" Act 2/2)

[Captain Tammo]

Nice!! I'm glad I was able to do some development here that you guys enjoyed! As for talking heads, Skarzs, I was going for a kind of scenario where all you heard were three voices in the dark. No other senses engaged. Maybe I could have color-coded the text to make it a little easier? All part of the learning process!

But anyway, thank you both for the kind words! It's sometimes nerve-wracking when you release a chapter. To hear the tension felt right and the humor didn't fall flat, and especially that the character development didn't feel 2D: awesome!!!

chapter 6: Marius' Revelation

"Alright, Fiona, that's th' last of it. Everythin' is in place an' waiting fer a final move. What time exactly 's th' meetin' with the two brats tomorrow?"

"Dunno. All I could gather is sometime in the mornin'. We'll have to be ready early, but they'll talk for a while. With the amount they bicker, the meetin' won't go anywhere fast. Except maybe down to the River Moss some ways, hehe."

"Aherm, er, yeah..."

Fiona put a reassuring paw on Theo's shoulders. "I'm sorry about Mogo, friend. I didn't want to do it, cross my heart I did not. But it was either him or us, plus a war between families. We did the right thing. Do you want a war between families? I don't..."

"He had a wife an' a pup, Fiona. It ain't right what we did. An' we even lied to her about it! Said we hadn't seen 'im. Now she curses his name coz she thinks 'e went an' ran off on her when all he wanted was what's best."

"I know, I know, Theo. But don't be going soft on me! We are warriors, mate. We make sacrifices and hard decisions so that our families don't have to. It doesn't mean we get a happy life, but it means a whole lot of others do. Now let's get outta here 'fore we're seen by somebeast. The sentries 'll be back any minute."

~oOo~

Morning larks sang their song under a pleasant, sapphire sky. Peculiar clouds made streaks across the sky, looking like cotton balls that were stuck at one end in the West and carefully pulled to the East until there was no more to pull. The sun was coming up over the trees and warming up the dew-soaked woodlands as the Wunpaw tribe began going about their day-to-day activities (or at least what had become 'day-to-day' with the standoff). The pleasantry of the morning was lost upon the empty, half-muddied trench in the ground where a river had originally flowed. A very long, well-decorated table was in the middle of it all, stretching only a miniscule fraction of the way across the tributary's width. A spread of food was laid out for the guests. In attendance, there would be the two princes, the collection of all six village elders (who were evenly split in who they supported, and devout followers at that), and the two Salamandastron ambassadors, who were to facilitate the meeting. All together, the feast in the mud looked incredibly out of place.

Despite the eyesore, Gilad Gower was in a chipper mood. Standing with Marius at the middle of the table in the riverbed, Gilad clapped his giant friend on the back. "Well done! I thought this day would never come. The hardest bit is behind us and now we must take this meeting as far as we can until a decision is made between the two brothers. Then we can go back to Salamandastron. I can sleep in my own bed again, and you can have your end of Lord Barboun's wager."

Marius smiled at the thought of having Orfeo turned over to him. He had been thinking a lot about the fate that would befall this creature who had caused him so much trouble. This menace! Marius was tired. Not just from his search for Orfero, but also because Gilad had kept Marius awake nearly the entire night before, drilling him on different topics that might come up in the peace talks, and how he should handle himself. Most of it went in through one ear and out the other. He thought about Orfeo for most of the time. Vengeance would feel good, he decided. "What are we waiting for?" he asked Gilad, still smiling to himself, "Where are the princes and the elders?"

"Patience, my friend. They will be out at any moment!"

"Are you certain of that? What if they decide to make us wait again?"

Gilad's ears drooped. Marius could see that he was still a bit frustrated at the events that had transpired now two days prior. He stayed like this for a moment, appearing to be deep in thought. Thankfully, he would not have to hatch an idea to draw the princes and elders out. For there was Prince Ohanko and his stalwarts now, making their way from the ornate longhouse on the North bank to the edge of the riverbed, amid much fanfare from the otters around him. The South bank, as if taking this to be their cue, then rejoiced as Prince Ahote and his supporters did the same.

The processions then quickly devolved into what seemed to be a competition of parades and grand entrances. Here, Prince Ohanko's supporters were tossing flowers to him and laying them at his foot paws. There, Prince Ahote's supporters played on strange, stringed instruments and drums as he descended the slope into the riverbed. But then Prince Ohanko's parade stopped and laid out a long rug for him to walk on to the table, lest he get his foot paws dirty, causing Prince Ahote to reciprocate with... a speech to his supporters? This was, of course, followed by a speech by Prince Ohanko, too, who made sure to speak louder than his brother, and for at least ten seconds longer. And so, it continued, all with Marius and Gilad Gower waiting awkwardly at the table, not yet seated but also not wanting to offend either party more than they had over the past few days. It was a long, thin road to get to where they were, and the pair agreed that they did not want to mess anything up.

Gilad and Marius' deal was still in effect. That was that Gilad would do as much of the talking as possible, for he was one for words and Marius was not, and Marius would prohibit any fighting from breaking out, for he was much more a beast of action than Gilad. Additionally, should the situation call for it, Marius was there to speak as an independent otter.

It took nearly three-quarters of an hour for creatures to finally get seated at the table, immediately after which both parties talked amongst themselves as if the other party was not even present. Perhaps they would have gone on forever had Marius not cleared his throat loudly enough to draw everybeasts' attention. As the elders and princes quieted down, so did those who were crowding around the table.

Gilad, remaining seated, spoke up at the still-growing assembly "Excuse me, everybeast, please listen! For the sake of safety, we kindly ask that everybeast back up at least ten paces from the table. We will speak loudly so all can hear the peace talk... yes, back up, please... ten paces, thank you...

"Now then, onto business. Thank you Prince Ahote, Prince Ohanko, Wunpaw elders and inhabitants, for agreeing to peacefully discuss who shall be chosen as the successor of the late River King Sirus the Great..."

Everybeast present spoke in unison, mostly out of habit, "Seasons bless him."

"... yes, seasons bless him," repeated Gilad. "For all who are unaware, my name is Gilad Gower, of Salamandastron, and this is my associate, Marius, of the Western Mountains."

"Tell him to sit down!" came a heckler.

"Marius is sitting," said Gilad, without missing a beat.

"Oh... well he's a bloody big fellow ain't he..." the heckler trailed off. Gilad ignored them and pressed on.

"We have been sent here on behalf of Badger Lord Barbourn to facilitate the exchange of power from – seasons bless him – the late River King Sirus the Great." Again, the crowd spoke up in unison. Gilad waited before continuing. "It is, in no way whatsoever, my mission nor Marius' mission to select the next River King. That will be entirely based upon the results of this meeting today. Everybeast who is traditionally involved in the decision-making process of a new ruler shall have a chance to speak. That much is guaranteed.

"In order to be sure that everybeast is heard and no single creature dominates the conversation, I have here in my coat pocket a small hourglass. It lasts for exactly one minute before it must be flipped over. Each speaker will be given one minute before the opposing party can reciprocate. It is imperative that respect is maintained and everybeast waits for their turn.

"To decide which of the two parties shall conduct the opening remarks, I will flip a coin. If it is the side I have marked with an 'A' that lands face-up, it will signify that Prince Ahote will start the conversation. 'O' will signify that Prince Ohanko will start."

Gilad tossed the coin in the air so that it spun randomly. It landed on the table, between dishes of various fruits, fish and the like. "It has landed with the 'A' face-up. Prince Ahote, would you like to start the conversation, perhaps by telling us why it is that you believe you should be the next River King?"

"Hey, what'd they have to pay you to give that brat the first word in the conversation?" cried another heckler from the crowd behind Prince Ohanko.

Gilad picked up the coin without spinning it and held it high so that all could see. "It is not a scam, the coin really landed with the 'A' facing up."

"Well I don' believe you..."

"It landed with the 'A' face-up. Prince Ahote gets the first word. Prince Ohanko will get the last. It's even," said Marius. The heckler shut up.

Gilad quietly thanked Marius, then continued, "Prince Ahote, you have one minute starting now."

~oOo~

Farther up the riverbed and around the bend, a kingfisher was flying by overhead. It gave a curious whistle when it spotted a peculiar structure blocking the flow of the water downriver. Turning its course into a wheeling motion about the dam, its indigo feathers shining in the sunlight like a royal banner, it tried to make sense of the monstrous thing below.

As it watched, it saw an earth crawler walking out from a dense shrubbery on the North bank, armed like that of a guard. And for a short time, it waited by the dam. But the kingfisher's eyes were keen, and it saw that something was amiss. For there, in the shrubbery from where the one had emerged lay two more earth crawlers, unmoving. The guard on the Southern bank had not seemed to notice. And so, the kingfisher watched on, unused to seeing sights such as this and curious to discover what it was that was happening.

With a skip and a bound, the one earth crawler left the Northern bank and began dashing its way into the riverbed and prodding at something at the base of the dam with the butt of its sharp stick. The guard on the South bank also jumped into the riverbed and it began to run toward the earth crawler that was prodding at the dam. But the guard did not reach the earth crawler from the Northern bank. For the guard had the sharp stick thrown at it and it sank to the ground unmoving, like the two that were still in the bushes.

The earth crawler, now without their sharp stick, began working again at the base of the dam until they uncovered a different tool. It swung the tool down at the base of the dam repeatedly. Every now and then, the earth crawler appeared to slip or lose its grip on something and it had to reposition itself.

As the kingfisher began to fly lower, careful as not to cast its shadow onto the earth crawler lest it know the kingfisher was there, the kingfisher thought it could hear grunts coming from the earth crawler. But maybe it was only the water behind the dam that was making noises.

Suddenly there came a second earth crawler, also from the North bank, running up to the dam with arms waving about. The kingfisher could hear it more clearly than the noises the first earth crawler was making, and it cried, "Stop, stoooop!"

The first earth crawler only seemed to work more rigorously at their strange task upon hearing this. But when the second earth crawler persisted, "Fiona, stop! Don't do it!" the first earth crawler, evidently Fiona, stopped and looked at who was quickly nearing her.

"Not another step, Theo! It's already about to break and this is the only chance we've got to get rid o' the brats."

Theo stopped short of Fiona and looked at her. His mad dash to the dam had exhausted him and his legs were splattered with mud from the riverbed. He spoke in between gasps for breath, "Half the village... is surrounding the meeting table around the bend... If you let loose this dam now, you'll kill them all..."

The kingfisher's keen eye saw Fiona's expression morph from caution to one of surprise. "Ugh, those idiots! Why are they in the riverbed, too? This is supposed to be a meeting between the brothers only."

"We forgot to think about all the supporters that would want to be around for it. There's at least two score beasts cramming 'round the table! We gotta put off the mission. Maybe we can loose the dam later, when the meeting's over?"

Fiona shook her head solemnly. "I can't do that, Theo. So long as the brats are around, we won't be goin' anywhere fast.  They gotta go an' the best way to do that is to get rid of 'em and force the pike hunt to start."

"But we know the beasts around that table! Mogo's wife is there. You have to stop!"

Fiona pointed a stern paw at her compatriot. "You're in this just as much as I am, Theo. Don't go soft on me now, right as things are taking shape. Pick a side. You're either for peace or against it."

Theo was pleading now, all sternness gone from his voice, "How can you say you have a mind for peace when you'd have to live with all the blood of our friends on your paws! Put down the pickaxe and come back to the camp with me. Nobody has to know about what almost happened."

"Nuh-uh. No way, you've already given up. I can't let you ruin this for the tribe. Mogo tried doing the same thing and it got him killed."

"It got him killed by you!"

Without warning, Fiona charged at Theo with the pickaxe and swung it at him. But the mud in front of the dam was deep and abundant and she slipped when she got to him. This gave room for Theo to dodge out of the way, but only just. He would have been dead had there been no mud.

Theo then pounced onto Fiona and tried to wrestle the pickaxe from her grasp. The two grunted and gritted their teeth with effort as they tumbled about, sometimes being submerged wholly in the mud only to wrestle free just in time for air.

After what seemed like minutes, Fiona wriggled herself free and was back up on her paws; Theo stood between her and the dam. Neither of the two were recognizable, covered in the wet sludge of the riverbed. But the kingfisher figured out who was who based on the voices. Theo held up his paw, "I won't let you kill them like you killed Mogo. It must stop here, you're too far gone. Fiona, let it go and come back to the tribe with me. This is your last chance!"

The intensity of Theo's final words seemed to hit their mark on Fiona. She took a step back but stopped short when her paw hit something. A look came across her face and she looked ahead. Never once taking her eyes from her target, Fiona bent down and picked up the muddy pickaxe. It had been lost during the fight. Holding it carefully in her two paws and testing its weight, she narrowed her eyes.

Theo pleaded, "Fiona, stop. Please!" But she did not stop. Fiona threw the pickaxe. Theo tensed himself and flinched but felt the projectile sail past him, grazing the fur on his cheek as it did. When he opened his eyes, he looked at Fiona, "You... you missed!"

Fiona was panting heavily, threads of red blood could be seen coming from her lip beneath all the mud. She pointed behind the unsuspecting Theo. "I wasn't aiming for you, mate." And with this, she turned and began to run to the nearest bank, stumbling and slipping so much that her sprint might as well have been a crawl.

Blood flushed from Theo's face as he slowly turned around to look at the dam. The final piece that had been keeping it all together was gone, removed by the pickaxe. The towering structure gave a heavy groan and began to bow out toward him. A single curse escaped the otter's lips, but it's sound paled in comparison to that of the entire river coming loose over him.

With a startle, the kingfisher took off from the tree, unaware that they were the only one to have seen the dam come loose and live.

~oOo~

No sooner had Prince Ahote begun talking than did Marius begin to feel strange. A peculiar, high-pitched ringing was in his ears. He made to swat at the air around him, taking the ringing to be a bug from the muddy riverbed. But it was something else. Marius was still lucid and awake when a familiar voice came to him through the ringing:

Claws will slash, teeth will sting,
Scarlet blood will fill the scene,
And together, the voices do sing,
'The battle is over, All Hail the River King!'
The name of the Wunpaw shall be fulfilled.
Prepare yourself, Colossus. Your time is finally here!

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" said Marius, aloud, speaking back to the voice for the first time.

Marius felt Gilad's paw touch his arm and heard him whisper, "Hush, friend. We need silence right now. You'll get a chance to speak, just wait until your time has come."

The giant otter froze for a moment. "My time has come," he murmured.

"What's that?" said Gilad, leaning over to Marius while keeping an eye on the timer.

Suddenly it all revealed itself to Marius. He could remember it all! The visions and dreams he had witnessed so many times leading up to this moment. There he was, sitting in the middle of the river. He smelled the dirt and mud from the riverbed, and the warm food that was cooking on the table – all things that he had smelled and felt in the void. Wind drifted through his fur and surely a large bang would be happening in just a few seconds and he would feel himself being pulled backwards... The realization dawned on him.

"Get back to the bank," he said to Gilad. The hare turned to Marius, his brow furrowed, and he looked at the giant, perplexed. The otter returned the look with one of alarm. "Stop! Everybeast get back to the bank, now!" cried Marius.

Prince Ahote was not amused, he threw up his paws and began berating the giant otter, who kept up his plea for everybeast to get to shore. While some tribe members made their ways to the bank, others began to join in the shouting match.

"Marius, great seasons, what do you think you're doing?!"

"The dam! It's going to –"

KARACK! WHOOOOOOM!

[close]

[The Grey Coincidence]

Good stuff! And you've left us all on a cliffhanger *angry muttering* I wanna know what happens and I wanna know it now!
But I can be patient...
You know, it caught me by surprise that the meeting wasn't really covered- I was expecting a bit more on *why* the otter brothers hate each other so much, but to be fair the fact that you caught me by surprise is probably a good thing- helped give the feeling of sudden disaster.
RIP Theo... I think. I mean, otters can swim and all but the river probably crushed him. At least he kind of redeemed himself at the end there.
Now I want something bad to happen to Fiona- maybe a pike eats her. I'm even more convinced now that her motives are 'to make myself queen's rather than 'for the Wunpaw'. Killing the Prince's is one thing (already very debatable), but the tribe you *know* is there? That's... Non-justifiable... If that's a word.
Hopefully Gilad and Marius manage to get out all right- I'm a *bit* less concerned for the princes- but at the same time don't want to see them gone so soon. I mean, I'd love to get more of them, but the idea of a pike hunt enthralls me (and I kinda think they need to be dead for that to happen... Of course there are ways around that that don't end in their deaths.
I have a feeling Marius is going to end up River King... Can't really give evidence but yeah. One thing I'd like to point out that I thought was funny, despite the fact that Marius' main motivation in doing his job is getting revenge, he's very firmly fixed in the 'good' side of the morality spectrum. Coz revenge is mostly the anti-hero kind of thing.
Very nice, action-packed chapter. Clever trick using the kingfisher as a witness. Neutral third party's you know.
I also thought that, even though comedy isn't what you were going for on the whole, the little details of the Prince's arrival was really funny. A nice break before the tension came back... With force.

[The Skarzs]

Cliff Hanger, hanging from a cliiiiiff. . . And that's why he's called cliff-hanger
Or in this case, watching impending doom in the form of a giant, presumably muddy and full of debris river.

[Captain Tammo]

That's good I've kept you on your toes! It wouldn't be fun if nothing surprised you. I went in feeling really confident with that last chapter, so hopefully I can keep up the good performance with this next bit!

I had originally planned to write out this grand meeting of quips and back-and-forth's, but the only reasons were to develop the princes and expand a bit on the conflict of the Wunpaw tribe. At that point, I was beginning to think to myself, "well, what has been the point of the last several chapters, then? Does this need another 2,000 words?" I didn't want to risk beating people over the head with it, so a pompous entrance by both parties was a quicker way to remind everyone of the princes' characters and move us quickly to the action!

But you've brought up a good point with that. Perhaps instead of stepping through the conflict in conversation like we saw in the earlier chapters, maybe a good move would have been to structure a chapter in the Wunpaw settlement between the princes and going back and forth. A note for next time!

Also Skarzs, is that from Between the Lions? That's a throwback..

chapter 7: All Hail the River King!

Marius was submerged in the void. Despite having seen it so many times before in his dreams and visions, it only was just now beginning to feel familiar. Marius did not hear the voice say anything to him, but he knew it to be present. "All this time you knew what was going to happen. Everything! And you were trying to tell me. I don't understand... why?"

There was a moment of silence before the voice answered Marius back, "Because you were meant to save them."

"But I didn't! So many were still in the way when the water was unleashed."

"You are wrong, there. The ones closest to the Princes and in the way were those who would bring the Wunpaw tumbling down. But those on the fringes..."

"They would have had enough time to escape... How did you know all of this? Who are you to come to me in my dreams like this?" The voice was silent for a time and Marius grew anxious. "Answer me! I must know."

"Heh, heh, heh," the deep, rattling laugh came. It sounded like an old creature. "Who am I? Am, are, I, us: a prophecy you will learn in time. I digress, it is not important that you know who I am. Just know that I am a friend."

The giant otter sat there in the void for what felt like several minutes. "Am I dead?"

"Much less than dead. No, you are very much alive."

"I never remembered the previous dreams until the end. Bit by bit, you told me everything that would happen. But I never remembered it all until you wanted me to. Will I remember this dream, too?"

"Not for a very long time."

"What did you mean about hearkening to the name of the Wunpaw?"

But Marius could already feel himself being pulled out of the void. Behind him, the voice continued to speak, "Enough. Now rise, Colossus! Your time is here!"

Marius came about slowly. There was a staggeringly strong force trying to drag him backward, yet he could not feel himself moving back at all. If anything, it felt as if he was moving very quickly forward. He opened his eyes but all that filled his vision was a sordid assortment of brown and black shapes swirling about the environment. He stuck a paw out to feel where he was but there was nothing to be felt. Upon trying to listen to the world, nothing could be discerned beyond a deafening roar.

Out of the invisible mayhem, something struck Marius in the face. His head snapped backward, and he would have toppled over were in not for an unseen something pinning his shoulder down. It felt like it was biting him. A warm, twinging ache emanated from his shoulder. The skin beneath his fur, his muscles, perhaps the bone as well, Marius suddenly had an acute, discomforting sense of them all. With his free paw, he reached for whatever was biting him and felt a long, skinny and stiff shaft. A bird's beak? Marius squeezed it hard and it broke beneath his grip.

It was now apparent that he had not been breathing. Why had he not been breathing? Or more still, why were his lungs refusing to breath as if out of instinct? This was when all became clear to the otter: he was pinned underwater. The dam had broken and a piece of it must have struck him and fastened him to the floor of the riverbed whilst everything else – the table, the Wunpaw elders, the princes, Gilad Gower, all of it – were washed away. Being an otter, Marius had little immediate concern about the lack of air. At the same time, being pinned against the onslaught of a violent river made the predicament treacherous.

Time seemed to drag on for ages as Marius tried to assess his situation. The force of the current pressed against him and his fruitless struggle to pry himself upright. It was a process that seemed to last minutes. Slowly and steadily, so slowly that it went unnoticed by Marius for some time, the scene opened before him as the last of the loosened dirt and debris were starting to be carried away by the current. A glance at his pinned shoulder confirmed that a piece of the dam had struck him. It was sticking through both sides of the shoulder and buried at one end into the riverbed, presumably buried deeply to have kept him so soundly staked. The grievous wound was spilling a steady stream of blood into the river, being swept away downstream like a ball of scarlet yarn being unraveled. This made Marius realize that it was fortunate that a single spar was the only thing that fixed him to the riverbed. His thoughts wandered to the fate of Gilad Gower and the rest of the creatures who were on the riverbed when the dam gave way, but only for a fleeting moment. For the current was beginning to feel bearable! Marius tried to grip the spar that lay in between him and the ground. Perhaps if he were able to snap the spar like he did the top half, he could swim to safety. Unfortunately for the otter, things would not be so easy. Reaching over to grab the lower part of the spar was proving to be difficult as it was, albeit manageable. However, the real trouble came as soon as Marius tried to snap the spar. It was surprisingly thick and when Marius' paw clenched around it, the spar merely twisted and pried at the gaping shoulder wound. Agony burst through from his shoulder and zipped to his head and feet like an electric shock. This would be too much; there had to be another way.

The air in his lungs starting to feel smaller now, and helpless to move his pinned arm at all below the point of the wound, the sinking feeling that Marius would die at the bottom of the river was a thought that was now poking its way into his head. Swallowing hard and thinking carefully, a new solution popped into the sea otter's mind: making a jump for it. The spar was pinning Marius down, but the thickest piece was still behind him and he was facing upright. So long as he could angle a jump correctly, perhaps there was a chance he could push himself far enough up the spar that it could fully pass through him and leave himself freed. Then again, a single slip could open the wound more and discourage any further action. Think, think, think...

'It will hurt. Do it anyway,' he willed himself.

Marius squatted as much as he could without injuring himself further. It still hurt greatly. With only a momentary pause at the bottom of his squat, where he looked straight up to the surface of the fast-moving river, to the very spot where he planned to emerge, Marius lunged upward as quickly as he could. An extreme, almost burning sensation ripped its way to Marius' head and feet, again emanating from the shoulder wound, now more vicious than ever. A heavy grunt escaped his chest and air bubbles were carried away on the turbulent flow of the river. Air did not matter now; he was away. He was away and moving toward the surface of the water at a high speed. Marius could feel his lungs shrinking in on what precious air he had left. With a free paw he reached for the surface. It just barely stuck out of the water when something big and heavy struck him square in the stomach and sent him rocketing downward again.

Marius felt what little air he had get flattened out of him, and stars began to float in his vision. The pain in his shoulder was diminished by that now in his chest and lungs as he desperately tried not to breath in the water. The surface of the water appeared so much farther away now. It had all within reach – right there! In his paw! And so, the records of the Wunpaw dictate what it is that happened next:

And when The Colossus saw that he had been cheated out of his air, the stream of blood from his wound boiled away. All the blood in him boiled, too. All the water boiled around him like a pot of soup over a fire. For the anger of The Colossus would have been enough to burn the world down had it not been for the river.

He looked up to see what had denied him air and saw it swimming there above him, asserting itself and dashing back and forth with the current in a show of force. The pike! The largest to have ever come from the water. It had stolen the air from the lungs of The Colossus as a challenge. All that could be used was the water of the river, rightfully so, for pike have always been challengers to the throne of River King. Red mist flooded over the eyes of The Colossus, a berserk rage – a bloodwrath – swept over him in that boiling water. The aching of his body diminished but not forgotten, he snarled at it, teeth gleaming like stars. The pike grinned back at The Colossus, not speaking, but insulting him with its eyes. For the pike was confident in itself that it would win the battle and feast for a season off of the great otter's meat. The Colossus needed air to breath or he would certainly die – and the pike knew this. And so, when he leaped from the bottom of the riverbed a second time for the surface, the pike went to strike again.

The titans collided. The sharp mouth of the pike griped about The Colossus' good arm, just above the paw, and began pushing and pulling against it violently. Its body arced to and fro in the boiling water, making a grand 'S' shape and threatening to tear a piece out of the good arm. Red mist still hanging heavy in the eyes of The Colossus, the backward-pointed teeth of the pike would saw through him if something was not done. Even still if he could keep the pike at bay, there was no air in his lungs and he would soon be dead. The Colossus' second paw – his left – could not help. It hung at his side, dislocated, heavily wounded, weakened and immobilized.

Sinking lower still in the river, the titans reached the bottom. Desperate for air and to free himself from the grip of the pike, The Colossus fully lowered his arm until the body of the pike was almost touching the muddy bottom. Still, it pushed and pulled against him, jerking the arm unsteadily and cutting deeper with every ounce of its strength.

Wump!

The pike let go. The heavy, boulder-like footpaw of The Colossus – a footpaw in which could fit three river otter paws – stomped on its long body and continued to press until the pike was forced to release its grip, then the footpaw pressed down even more as The Colossus squatted and thundered upward to the river's surface. This time, the pike was not there to stop him from reaching air.

Nobeast experienced The Colossus' first emergence from the water. Though many heard it, even over the rushing water. The lungs of The Colossus were bigger than any two others combined, and they were empty. He breathed the air in, creating a great wind and a sound that was like that of thunder. Those who had not seen it would have dismissed it as so, too occupied with concern for the river to understand the significance of the battle, nor notice it. Just as quickly as the sound came, it was gone again. With the teeth of the pike once more finding their grip around The Colossus, he was dragged below the surface.

And so, the Wunpaw gathered on both banks, looking across to one another, concerned for their kingdom, but now also for one another. For the river was flowing once more and neither the heirs of the kingdom nor the elders were present to choose the new River King. A dulled anxiety was upon the scene and though the now relatively placid minds of the Wunpaw looked at each other with a mix of worry and relief, all were unaware of the war that was being fought not ten paces below their feet.

Air once again in The Colossus' lungs, the battle of the titans was now evenly matched. The Colossus, there, standing at the bottom of the raging river, fending off nature's River King with only one paw. The pike, jaws always on the offensive, bolting quicker than The Colossus could turn his head, attacked with enough fury to boil the water. The titans locked together many times, tumbling about the riverbed, being flung into the current and back out again. Bruised, battered, bleeding, but not defeated, the dance of death carried on unbeknownst to all those staring at the water above. Only once more did The Colossus resurface during the battle. And when the Wunpaw spotted him, they did not see him disappear back under the water as if he was being dragged. No, they saw the Colossus – his eyes crimson and water boiling with his rage – dive back down into the depths, as if he were chasing something.

The pike made a dash at The Colossus. The Colossus was ready. Like a geyser, his clenched paw moved to deliver the pike a vicious uppercut. But the pike was fast. It snaked around The Colossus' attack and locked its jaws around his body. They were big jaws. Big enough to fit around The Colossus' sides from the waist to his chest! Powerful jaws, they squeezed tightly and dragged The Colossus to the bottom. Bubbles escaped from his mouth with a furious grunt and with his good paw, he clubbed at the monster ceaselessly.

The pike was sideways to The Colossus. Its one visible eye looked up at him and it spoke. It said to him, a voice like that of a deep horn, 'I am Nature's River King! The water belongs to me and it is ruled by my teeth, and so it shall be forever! I will feast upon your flesh for a season, Colossus! Submit to me.'

Though The Colossus was mighty, he was a beast for action and never of words. And seeking to send a louder message to the pike that it to him, The Colossus took his free paw and raked out the eye from the pike's head.

The vicious teeth released The Colossus and the pike made as if to swim away. But the Colossus grabbed the pike by the tail with his good paw. It turned around in an arc as it was being pulled in. Its teeth bared for the counterattack. But the footpaw of The Colossus stretched out and caught the pike on the side of its lower jaw. The footpaw came down and pinned it to the riverbed. It struggled to free itself, but it could not see, for its remaining eye was down in the muck of the riverbed. Continuing to press harder and harder down with his footpaw, The Colossus used his good paw to secure a hold on the pike's upper jaw and began to pull.

The pike frantically convulsed, trying desperately to be rid of its opponent as it felt its jaws being pulled wider and wider apart.

The Colossus pulled harder. Then harder, and harder still, until the jaws of the pike – nature's River King – were unhinged. Never again would they lock themselves onto a creature.

The Wunpaw, for seasons and seasons, had been convinced that the successor to the throne of the River King would be either Ahote, or Ohanko. But once the river was released and the heirs washed away, and all that was left was the giant otter who climbed ashore with a pike slung over his good shoulder, covered head-to-foot with mud, blood and water, and looking every bit a grizzly sight, the Wunpaw were never more sure of their future. Together, both banks fell to their knees.

From the back of the crowd, one soul voice rang out, "The battle is won, all hail the River King!"

[close]

[Captain Tammo]

chapter 8 (epilogue): A Letter to Lord Barbourn

To Lord Barbourn, Badger Lord of Salamandastron, from the desk of Gilad Gower Esquire, abroad and on mission. Dated week ten of the Spring of Promise of the Redwall calendar.

My Lord,

Greetings! It is with great pleasure that I write to you in the tribe of the now peaceful and united Wunpaw. This was a mission of many firsts. Why? You shall soon discover.

To answer what I suspect will be your first question, why I have not yet returned with Marius to the mountain, I must confess that while the mission was a success, there were some consequences for both Marius, the Wunpaw, and myself. Following this letter, you shall find a log of events I have kept since my departure from Salamandastron. I have done my best to record everything exactly as it happened and have drawn in many sources from around the camp to fill in the blind spots. To paraphrase the ending, however, there is a broad scope of emotions. The first item on the list is in regard to the dam. You will be pleased to know that it has been removed. The method of how the dam was removed, however, is still something of debate today. It is suspected that foul play was involved in its sabotage, though the saboteurs themselves are believed to have accidentally wiped themselves out in the process. The dam's demise happened right as a peace talk was occurring in the middle of the riverbed. Both Prince Ahote and Prince Ohanko were washed away, as was I, as were all the Wunpaw's elders, as were many of the members of the Wunpaw tribe who crowded the riverbed. I am lucky to have survived the incident. Almost a score of creatures met their end in the river that day.

The only one who was not swept away, despite being in the direct path of the river, was Marius, who remained pinned to the floor of the river and then got into a skirmish with the largest river pike I have ever beheld. He killed it with one paw and dragged it to shore to discover that he had, in doing so, made himself the new River King of the Wunpaw. It all sounds quite silly, I'm sure. Especially for one who had only been with the Wunpaw for a few days. I think Marius must have felt the same way, as when he realized what he had done, he initially declined to take the throne! In the weeks after, Marius' presence in the community remained large. He was everywhere at once – everybeast wanted a chance to talk to the pike slayer. To invite him into their home. To share a meal with him. To consult him.

So, if Marius was not ruler, and the river through the Wunpaw settlement was flowing, who became the new River King? Enter the rocky and unsuccessful dual monarchy of Prince Ahote and Prince Ohanko. After being washed away, they were both found by a search party downriver. Like me, they were severely battered, but alive nevertheless. Much to the party's consternation, the two immediately accused each other of destroying the dam upon their return to the Wunpaw settlement. I cannot express just how dismayed they both were to find out that they would be sharing the crown. Their rule was both short lived and too long, according to many (myself included). Marius had ascended in the community much more gracefully than the two princes. After a few weeks of immersion, Marius began to come out of his shell. He still did not speak a lot, but when he did the Wunpaw took it as law, even over that which was said by the monarchs! After hunting trips, lead by Marius, returned several times more successfully than either monarch's trips; after local affairs were settled quickly with Marius' terse and kindly nature – faster than it took either monarch to even react; after helping care for the pups who lost a parent in the release of the dam, which the monarchs did not even think to address; after a tree, which had partially crushed a longhouse in its descent, was cleared by Marius' bare paws and the longhouse fixed, all before the monarchs could secure a makeshift crane from a carpenter in a neighboring village of moles (whom they are still arguing with as I write this); it became increasingly clear which creature the Wunpaw truly needed to have as their River King.

It happened quickly. One day, a rumor exploded through the community that Marius would agree to take the throne if he was offered it a second time. That night, nearly the entire village turned up outside his longhouse. They asked Marius if it was true and if he would rule for them. For almost a minute, our giant friend stood there in the doorway of the longhouse, reflecting unto himself. I know he saw the faces of the otters, all pleading for Marius to lead him. The sense of community was strong through him. He did not need me to tell him that this was his new home.

"Yes."

Cheers rang through the night. They could have woken a bear out of its winter slumber with such a noise! King Ahote and King Ohanko were not present when the village appeared outside of Marius' longhouse, but they did come out when they heard yelling. The two lounged on thrones that were carried at shoulder height by their guards, bickering with each other all the while. When excited otters announced that Marius had agreed to become River King, the guards were all too willing to drop the dual monarchs there. The crowns were pulled off their heads and given to Marius. It was the most joyful display of a political coup I have ever seen in my life.

Now, what will befall Orfeo the Contraptionist if Marius is staying here? Remember, my Lord, Marius – who is now referred to as 'The Colossus', 'Marius Colossus', 'River King Marius', 'his Royal Highness', etcetera – is not a creature like me. He does not have anything to return to at Salamandastron except an old, weathered outlaw in the cellars. A new purpose for his life has dropped itself right onto his lap. Justice has already been brought to Orfeo in his capture, and his Royal Highness would like me to inform you that he is relieving you of your end of the bargain. Do with the outlaw as you please. He would also like for me to pass along that you are cordially invited to visit the new Wunpaw tribe settlement. Though he will not say it, I can tell that it would mean quite a lot to him if there could be another wrestling match.

As soon as my injuries heal, I shall take a stroll downriver with his Royal Highness and survey for any damage that was caused by the sudden release of the dam. I hope with all my might that the effects of the surge of water were not catastrophic for those who live on the River Moss. If they were, we will not be traveling alone. Under Marius' command, the Wunpaw shall be helping rebuild the river settlements. I suppose that trip will come with an adventure of its own! I remain uncertain as to when I shall make my return to Salamandastron. Though I assure you that in traveling through the River Moss settlements, I shall continue to be active in my role as ambassador. Monthly reports to follow henceforth.
   
I remain your ever-faithful Stalwart,

         Gilad Gower

[close]

[The Skarzs]

Ah, that had a good ending. Well done, Tammo!
I had a feeling what would happen as soon as there was a mention of blood. Great minds think alike, eh? I suspected from the beginning where Marius would end up, but the "how" was something I wasn't sure of.
Overall this was a very good story. Sort of wish it was longer, but that's how stories go! Sorry for critiquing your writing, it was probably out of place for me to do so. It all came together at the end, the characters were all well-rounded, and there were minimal errors or moments of confusion.

Still was sort of hoping the two princes would have been laid at the bottom of the river for good. Oh well. Guess I can just take it out on my own characters.


Also.

Spoiler

[close]

[The Grey Coincidence]

I-i-it's over!? B-b-but it was just getting good!
Yeah, that's how I feel about stories ending generally... (Unless their's a sequel?)
I'd have liked the quipping match, but that's probably just me... Maybe next time...
Anywho... Chapter 7:
I like the opening scene inside Marius' head where he's questioning everything and stuff. I'm guessing that's Martin the Warrior (even if he's described as old... Unless there's another ghost I'm unaware of?
I also like the underwater sequence which is pretty well-described. And I don't read a lot of underwater sequences these days so that's nice too. I was a bit surprised by the pike. I mean I expected Marius to be King at the end, but I also expected there(?) to be a pike hunt (wherein perhaps, he could by accident, brutally murder Fiona... Even though it's implied that the dam killed her) but I got the Prince's survival instead so I guess I should be happy. (I for one am glad they survived).
I like the way you describe stuff as 'from the records of the Wunpaw', reminds me of all the Redwall prologues even if it is in the penultimate chapter.
Glad the Wunpaw' finally have a king.
The epilogue was nice too. Glad Gilad made it out since there was one note about his 'arrogance coming to an end' while they crossed the river the first time. So I was pretty sure that he was going to bite the... Dam. Glad that's not the case though.
And Orfeo has been spared... Go Marius! Get distracted! And get another wrestling match!
All in all a fitting conclusion to this story. Great work!

[Captain Tammo]

haha, yeah this one's a quickie compared to the others I've written. It was more like two half-stories stuck together as acts 1 and 2 than one full story. But I'm glad that you guys liked it so much, and I can't thank you enough for such consistent feedback as I was posting it. I'd forgotten what that's like and it really warms your heart to see people actually reading and taking interest in the stuff you write!

No need to feel awkward about the critiquing; I hear it now and then and it's never bothered me. This stuff's a hobby! Universal acclaim would be nice, but I went into this knowing I wasn't a pro

Unfortunately, no sequel currently planned for this one :/ but I do have the Simon trilogy, and Marius is actually a character in that! His character arc in Part II ends where All Hail the River King picks up! Then he's mentioned once or twice afterward.

Writing the fight "from the records of the Wunpaw" was a lot of fun! I tried to make it sound like some ancient story passed down through the generations, like the verbal version of a greek epic. Across generations, the characters take on almost mythical qualities (such as Marius' anger boiling the water of the river, or the pike speaking to him as a knowing challenger to the throne)

As for the prophecies, I had a little fun with these. So I don't actually reveal the prophecies in this story, and the reason is that I originally wrote this story for my brother as a present (he is who Marius is based on) and it was his job to figure it out. Kind of like a way to engage the reader after everything's said and done. But if you're curious as to what I had intended with these, I've written the answers in the sections below...

The voice

Recall this part:

"Heh, heh, heh," the deep, rattling laugh came. It sounded like an old creature. "Who am I? Am, are, I, us: a prophecy you will learn in time. I digress, it is not important that you know who I am. Just know that I am a friend."

The idea here was not to be obvious, and that's okay. But take what the voice said: Am, are, I, us --> Am, R, I, us --> AM, R, I, US --> MA, R, I , US --> MARIUS.

My brother didn't find this out until he read it aloud to me over the phone as he was asking a question. The voice is an older version of Marius himself, going back as a spirit to help his younger self as River King of the Wunpaw. It's in every way like something out of Looper. Marius becomes River King partially because of a voice telling him what to do --> Marius grows old and, through some undisclosed means (I've been pretending it was some meditative Wunpaw ritual), he transcends back to be the voice he heard in his past --> Marius becomes River King... etc.

[close]

Why Marius didn't remember the dreams

Right! If you paid close attention, you'd see that with each consecutive dream, more and more of Marius' five senses are being engaged. First it's just his ears; then his ears, nose and taste; then ears, nose and touch; then ears, nose, touch, sight and taste! Each one of these senses feel the same way in each dream, then also feel the same way right before the dam breaks. The reason Marius doesn't remember everything until the last second isn't because he's stupid. It's because the voice was keeping him in the dark. The riddles would only distract Marius and make him on edge if he knew them ahead of time. If you were being told your future way in advance, wouldn't you act differently, too?

So to show it all to him at the last second was a way of making him believe - all at once - that these dreams had been telling him what would happen all along. Now he had no choice but to believe them. Then it was said he would forget the dreams for "a very long time". This is because he has more coming to him. We just don't know what yet...

[close]

The name of the Wunpaw

When you read it, it looks like "Wunpaw". But when you say it aloud, it sounds like "One Paw". The repeated phrase that the name of the Wunpaw would be fulfilled in prophecy was a roundabout way to tell Marius that he would be fulfilling something (becoming River King) but with only one paw. In this case, that's exactly what happened - he fought the pike with one arm hanging limp.

[close]

And Orfeo has been spared... Go Marius! Get distracted! And get another wrestling match!

That made me laugh a lot you sound like my brother

[The Grey Coincidence]

I'm gonna have to (properly) go through that one (The Trilogy in case you don't play  the pronoun game) when I get the time to do so. I mean I have read it... But... (Sixty-seven excuses)... So yeah...
Yeah feedback is always appreciated. Every authors knows it. Though I was just beginning to think... You don't really write stuff on other sites do you? I mean there's nothing wrong with the forum but at the same time something here isn't necessarily going to get the same amount of attention as something on Fanfiction dot net for example. Mostly me rambling, a habit of mine.
Am, I, Are, Us... That's actually really clever but also keeps to the usual Redwall riddle wordplays... Well done on that one. And everything else too.
I admit this kind of flew over my head (just a bit), but I think the smartest thing about this is that the answer to the riddles can be found out by reading aloud. That's a pretty cool way to engage the reader! Wunpaw especially I find, is very, very smart pseudo foreshadowing (though perhaps a little too undercover XD)
I guess that's a good thing. Always good to make people laugh.

[Captain Tammo]

Though I was just beginning to think... You don't really write stuff on other sites do you?

No this is the only one! I tried fanfiction dot net but that fizzled out pretty quickly. I think it's partly because it took a bit longer for me to get stuff posted with their word engine, and I couldn't post pictures - which pop up a few times throughout the story and some of them play important roles in explaining things. So I went in with all this gusto but ended up just dropping it :/

That's okay, though. I write these things for the sake of writing practice and adding to the community. Hearing back is always a lot of fun, though. Good or bad reviews it's always exciting to see people reading your work. Maybe someday I'll try posting these stories somewhere else again. What do you think, would you give it a shot again if you were me?

I admit this kind of flew over my head (just a bit), but I think the smartest thing about this is that the answer to the riddles can be found out by reading aloud. That's a pretty cool way to engage the reader! Wunpaw especially I find, is very, very smart pseudo foreshadowing (though perhaps a little too undercover XD)
I guess that's a good thing. Always good to make people laugh.

No worries there, it wasn't meant to be obvious. I put it there in case someone wanted to pick things apart in-depth. Mainly for talking about the story with my brother! I thought of the exercises we did in high school English, where we just dug and dug for symbolism at every turn in these classic novels with seemingly no end. While it was tedious then, I thought it'd be fun to try mimicking some of that feeling where you can read the story at face value and enjoy it, or go deeper and find things like these. That way it creates something for more than one type of reader. It feels nice, too. Since then you can have different kinds of conversations with the readers based on how closely they look at things. Of course, I did it all on a small scale here. But the effort was put in to add a bit of depth to the story!

I'm gonna have to (properly) go through that one (The Trilogy in case you don't play  the pronoun game) when I get the time to do so. I mean I have read it... But... (Sixty-seven excuses)... So yeah...

DOOOO IT o-0

[The Grey Coincidence]

Eh, yeah I see what you mean. I tried to post on Wattpad once..  only I hated that site's aesthetics. Well, I feel somewhat biased when I say that Fanfiction is the best site for posting stories (I am who I am), but you're right about the pictures. Anyways I like that you're not trying to be internet-famous and write for the sake of writing (those imho are usually the best kinds of writers).
And I loved those classes! (Mainly because my excellent memory allowed for me to bring up previous symbolism and turn it into foreshadowing! And I am so good at waffling- did a half-hour long speech about Macbeth on the spot!) Ahem, yes, I love the way you recreated some of that 'in miniature' while also having a working plot (some people struggle to do that and some can't do either so you should be proud of your work!)
Y-yeah, okay. R-right away.