Title:
- Mariel of Redwall
Authors:
Genres:
Series:
Editions:
| # | Date | Publisher | Binding | Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1991-00-00 |  |
Buy this book from Amazon (US)
- Blurb:
- This tale begins with a young mousemaid being washed ashore onto a beach, not knowing where she is, or even how she came to be there. When she asks herself, "Who am I?" she thinks long and hard, and cannot come up with an answer even to this, the most personal of questions. No matter. She will choose her own name. Storm, because she was brought to land by a great storm, and Gullwhacker, after her only possession, the knotted rope which she uses to fight off the seagulls. Thus, she becomes "Storm Gullwhacker"! All she can gather of her surroundings is water to the West, as far as the eye can see, and miles, and miles of sand dunes in any other direction. She begins her unexpected adventure to...to... Storm has not the slightest idea where she is headed, but she continues her journey, nevertheless. She finally makes her way to a larger, harder to climb dune. After a long ascent upwards, Storm rolls down the other side, wipes grit out of her eyes, and finds herself staring into those of some sort of a reptillian creature... Meanwhile, in Redwall Abbey, Dandin, a young mouse, is helping to prepare a feast in honour of Redwall Abbey. But before the feast can begin, a loud thumping noise is heard at the door. Carefully, it is opened. Outside stands a ragged, and bruised mousemaid. She is immediately invited in, and is bathed, fed, and dressed. She introduces herself as Storm Gullwhacker, but no one belives this to be her real name. She quickly learns the Redwall ways, and decides to attend the feast that night. When the preparations are completed, the feast begins, and songs are sung. Saxtus, a mouse friend of Dandin, recites a mysterious poem that he has found among the strange, and unknown parchments in the gatehouse: [i]The wind"s icy breath o"er the land of death Tells the tale of the yet to come. "Cross the heaving waves which mark ships" graves Lies an island known to some, Where seas pound loud and rocks stand proud And blood flows free as water, To the far northwest, which knows no rest, Came a father and his daughter. The mind was numb, and the heart struck dumb, When the night seas took the child, Hurled to her fate, by a son of Hellgate, The dark one called The Wild. You who they seek, though you do not speak, The legend is yet to be born; One day you will sing over the stones that are red, In the misty summer dawn.[/i] The mystery and dreadful lyrics of such a poem cause the whole crowd to be overcome by an eerie silence. After a spell, the silence turns into whole-hearted cheers for Saxtus. All clap hands joyfully, all except Storm... She is remembering something... Like a friend emerging from a cloud of blinding mist, her memory is beginning to return. The poem has told her of her past. The one called The Wild...The Wild...Gabool the Wild! An overgrown sea-rat who has more riches than any normal creature can imagine. She is the child. Storm is the child who was tossed into the sea. But why? Gabool"s treachery of course! He threw Storm into the sea, and assumed her dead. It is all coming back to her. She is not Storm Gullwhacker. She is Mariel, daughter of Joseph the Bellmaker! And what action should she take now???