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Prologue

Saelin was a simple rabbit.

Of course that is not a way to begin such an epic tale of battles, bravery, sacrifice, friendship, and of how the woods of Billowbrush changed on stormy night during the Third War of Claw and Tooth.

But she was a simple rabbit nonetheless and that is all that she was.

Just a Toothling.

She lived in one of the smaller oak trees of the woods and kept her home neat and tidy. Each morning, she would wake up at eight, have her tea by nine, finish her washing by noon and then she would celebrate with a bit of lunch and more tea. One could never have too much tea, that was her personal philosophy. Her gardening was finished by two and the rest of her afternoon was spent knitting, or going into town for shopping, or visiting old Mrs. Jormag, the hedgehog down the way.

Everything had to be done by eighty-thirty that evening (seven-thirty in the winter time). That is when the great horns would bellow through the trees. This was curfew time and the time in which creatures of tooth instead of claw, those who scurried and hurried, were forced back into their burrows. Mothers would call their children in from play, feed them their supper, and sing them their lullabies, praying to whoever listened to a Toothling's plea that her kits wouldn't have to hear the screams of one that did not make it back home in time.

The Toothlings lived in Billowbrush and the Clawbeasts lived outside of its trees, past the great stone table. Clawbeasts were the great predators of the area; the lions, the bears, the foxes, the wolves, wolverines and lynxes. The Toothlings were the, squirrels and mice, the hedgehogs, rabbits, opossums and ermines, chipmunks, otters and badgers, raccoons and beavers; the smaller and more peaceful ones of the wood, though it took a few generations to allow the ermines in and, now and then, there were talks of a clan of ermines who still pledged allegiance to the Clawebeasts. Still, all in all, they were mostly trusted. Past that? There was nothing. No one ventured past Clawbeast territory, mainly since no one went to Clawbeast territory, for fear that they would be gobbled up.

No one really knew how the Third War of Claw and Tooth began.The previous wars were always caused by a single event, whether a Clawbeast of great importance was killed by a rogue Toothling or whether a Clawbeast defied the Rule of the Woods and attacked a family of Toothlings in their very home. The books of Billowbrush, kept by the older members of society told of a time before the raids, when Clawbeasts and Toothlings lived side by side, when the great horn did not bellow, and when the Biggest Beast and, which the books gave no species, and the various animal gods of the wood took care of them all. They lived side by side with the mortals. It was disappearance of the gods, and the disappearance of the Biggest Beast, that caused the rift between the two sides.

All had meaning, excpet for the Third War.

This time, the great horn bellowed one Winter's Eve, almost twenty seasons ago, without warning.. Many Toothling didn't believe that it was a real alarm, including Saelin's Mother and Father who were busy tending to the greens in their garden. It was Mrs. Jorgmag who found the orphaned rabbit quivering in the small wooden bathtub of their burrow and shielded her eyes as they walked out of her burrow and past the garden, now covered in bones, blood, and bits of fur that made up the former rabbit parents as they made their way to Mrs. Jorgmag's tree.

The particular evening that our tale begins was on a stormy Thursday night. Saelin was finishing her dinner of acorn stew, carrot loaf, and a small wedge of cheese when the great horn blared out. She locked the door, lit some candles, and shut the shutters and curtains before stroking the fire. It was a rather pleasant evening and she truly did hope that it would not be ruined by the sound of battle. She nestled into her armchair and sipped her tea as she watched the fire crackle in front of her. She noticed a small hole in her sock. That would need mending.

Saelin was really a simple rabbit. A quiet rabbit.

But that crash that she heard outside her window was not quiet at all.

She jumped with fright, her book falling from her paw as her frantic movement caused her tea to splash into her lap. She yelled a word that would have probably made Mrs. Jorgmag gasp and wash her muzzle out with pine soap as she stood from her chair and shook the dripping tea from her lap. Crossing into the kitchen, she grabbed a dish towel to mop her fur and blot the tea that had spilled onto her book.

A clash of thunder, a crash of lightning.

Another crash.

A loud ROAR.

And then...silence.

The rabbit shuddered at the horrible sounds. Of course, they weren't the worst that she had heard in her time of life but they were truly horrible, nonetheless. She glanced over at her window and bit her lower lip, almost daring herself to go out there and to see what had caused the ruckus. However she was not keen on seeing which poor creature would be making a meal for a large Clawbeast.

She pressed her ear to the shudder, her small heart pattering quickly in her chest as she listened for the sound of Clawbeasts feasting on whatever victim they managed to take down.

There was none.

'Odd', she thought to herself.

She slowly opened the shutter and looked out into the darkness. There was nothing. Just raindrops gathering on her windowpane as thunder rumbled in the distance. It was too dark to tell. She decided that she would have to wait until morning.

As if the heavens above sensed her curiosity, a loud clash of lightning struck once more, illuminating her yard, just enough for Saelin to see the large lump of a thing that was stuck in the middle of her garden.

Carrots belonged in gardens. Lettuce belonged in gardens. Even the occasional rhubarb belonged in the garden.

Large lumps did not belong in gardens.

Large lumps that broke her fence certainly did not belong in gardens.

She hesitated, half he her mind screaming for her to shut the shutters and to just go to bed. Perhaps a glass of blackberry brandy would be in order. Yes, that would be the perfect thing. Another cup of tea with a healthy pour of blackberry brandy would do the trick.

Yet, there was that other half of her. That nagging half that didn't know how to leave her be. This was the same half that encouraged her to sneak out of Mrs. Jorgman's tree late at night to go galavanting with the Otters and Ferrets and the same half that told her that she could most definitely drink twice her fill of Green Mosstoad, the strongest spirit in the forest.

She learned not to always trust this voice.

'You must help the lump.'

"This is all rather silly," Saelin shook her head, speaking aloud to her conscious. "This is all rather silly and I should just go to bed with a cup of tea with a healthy pour of blackberry brandy and deal with that..lump in the morning. It's past curfew and, thank you very much, I'd rather not like to become a meal for a Clawbeast."

'You must help the lump.'

She hesitated and grumbled to herself before she grabbed a lantern. It wouldn't provide much light in the pitch black of night and she knew that the light could very well alert her presence to a Clawbeast. But her curiosity was getting the best of her..and, to her knowledge, there was no Clawbeast outside with the lump.

The rain was still coming down in sheets as she slowly made her way outside, the mud making lewd squelching noises as she trekked through it and made her way closer to the lump. Her long ears swiveled left and right, ready to bolt back inside if there was even as much as a twig snap.

She approached the lump and held up the lantern to it. Any hope that it was a fallen tree or a bush blown wayward or even a freakishly overgrown cabbage flew away and carried her bravery with it.

It was fur.

She moved around the form a bit more.

It was a bear.