Ætharr of Calador

Book Four: The Bane of Ætharr

Note- I do not own Redwall, songs by the Doors, Lord of the Rings, The Godfather, or Oliver Stone's film "Alexander"

Prologue

"I have come to believe,' Judos stated, 'that every one of us is fated to be faced with a bane in our lives."

He paced along, weaving in between the students as he spoke. They had been with him now for two seasons. It was remarkable to Judos that this was so. They had learned much, making great progress in their education. Soon they would be learning how to use weapons rather than mere wrestling.

It seemed odd to Judos, who taught these little pupils, to see that they were no longer as little as before. They were taller, fitter, and spoke with more confidence. As soon as they hit adolescence they would lose their unbroken voices and would get even bigger. Judos smiled, thinking that he would always remember the time when he could pick them up in his paws if he wanted to.

Though indeed, some of them were already too big to carry. Nearchus, the once chubby little son of the mighty Craterus, was losing weight with the wrestling, but Judos could see that he would be husky for most of his life. Meleager and Kerouac, Ptolemy's sons, had an insatiable thirst for knowledge, inherited from their father, and had a fierce brotherly competition between them. Ælfhere was growing tall, and was even looking a lot like his father Ædall. Carolis, Cynefrid's son, was preparing to end his studies and go home to his parents permanently. Judos was proud of him, proud of all the youngsters

Of course, he was especially fond of Ætharr's sons. They had changed along with everyone else, and Judos had enjoyed getting to know them as they grew up.

Ædron was still filled with a child-like pride, but Judos was confidant that he would out-grow it and turn it into a warrior's pride. He was fit and eager to compete, which showed that he would not be overly prudent, though he had not built as much on his intelligence as Judos had hoped.

Lorcan was physically the superior of his brothers. The strength of the Falcarragh and Calador weasels coursed in his still very young veins, and Judos could tell that he would be a mighty warrior.

But it was Ædelmær that fascinated him the most. He had always seemed frail in body, but his intelligence was certainly something to be remarked on. He participated actively in discussions, far more than some of the others, and he thought things out before speaking.

Interestingly, he did not become arrogant from it. He was still bogged down from the troubles with his size, and his self-consciousness negated any excess pride in his education. Judos would have thought that Ædelmær would hate his brothers for being better than him physically, but the third son of Ætharr did not begrudge his brothers: he would silently blame himself instead, and try to do better. Judos worried for him, but tried not to show it.

Judos could see that friendships were forming amongst the group. Nearchus and Ædron were becoming fast friends, and the Heir would often pick the son of Craterus as a partner as opposed to his brothers. Ædelmær would often sit with the two sons of Ptolemy, for indeed, these three were the most intelligent in the group, and paid most attention to Judos during his lectures.

"I have come to believe,' Judos stated again for effect, 'that every one of us is fated to be faced with a bane in our lives."

He paused, letting it sink into the group, and then spoke again, "In history, we can see that this trend is seen among the greatest of conquerors, down to the simplest, most honest farmer. Everyone is faced with a great bane in their lives, and they can either overcome it, or be destroyed by it. Sometimes, we are meant to be destroyed by our banes. Can anyone think of such an example?"

Meleager lifted his hand, "Aleksandros, who died at a young age, unable to fulfill his dream of securing his empire."

Judos nodded, "That is disputable, of course, for one can say that it was the death of his beloved that broke his heart."

He looked at the others, "But that is ancient history. How about something closer to us?"

Ædelmær raised his paw, "The bane of Martin the Warrior's life was the death of Rose, his beloved."

Judos nodded, astounded that the little weasel had remembered that from his lessons, "Very good. Someone else?"

Antigonus raised his paw, "The bane of Keld's life was that he betrayed his country."

Judos stiffened suddenly. Keld had been murdered for reasons not publicly stated. The public believed that he had been a co-conspirator with his fellow theign Æđelstan, but in truth, he had been innocent of open betrayal. He had merely been a complainer, an overly cautious creature, who disliked Ætharr. It was the first time that Judos had seen the dark nature of Ætharr given reign.

He recovered his posture quickly, "Yes that is certainly an example of a bane."

A third student raised his paw, "The bane of Oorlog's life was to make an enemy out of Ætharr."

Judos nodded. Oorlog's defeat at the Battle of Verfluchtes Land was fast becoming a legend in Calador. Ætharr had organized the leaders of the Falcarragh and the Vireo, together with some Hunan who knew to change sides, and crushed the Millar and the Hunan in a terrifying battle that was fought in a place already riddled with centuries of the dead.

Judos clapped his paws together, "Well, now the time has come for lunch. Come back here in an hour."

The weasels obeyed, silently putting their notes away and heading out of the hall that made up the large part of Judos' manor. He was a theign, one of the nobles that ruled plots of Calador lands, and he had been appointed by Ætharr after the war.

Judos stretched and went to drink from a tankard of water left on the great table. Normally the hall was meant for feasting, councils, or gatherings, but Judos thought it served well as a classroom.

Then an adult's voice suddenly spoke in a quiet, tone, "And the bane of your life was to be an otter in a land of weasels."

Judos turned around. It was Selma, his most loyal servant, and whom he was most fond of. She was around his age and the two of them had deep feelings for each other that were doomed to fail due to the fact that he was an otter and she a weasel. However, they had built up a friendship of deep respect for each other, and Judos found her a very intelligent and shrewd companion and aide.

Judos smiled faintly, partly out of happiness to see Selma, but also in worry about what she had said, "I hope that is not my bane."

Selma raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Judos paused, and spoke, "Because then my bane would be to have met Ætharr."