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Blackavar's Gift is a Watership Down fanfic I wrote some years ago now, between 2003 and 2005. It's not perfect by any means, and there are places I'd go back and change things were I writing it again now, but on the whole I'm quite pleased with it. Comments are very welcome.
The story is written in 14 short chapters, totalling a bit over 22,000 words. In chapter 1, the sudden and unexplained death of a rabbit of high repute brings not only unhappiness but confusion to the Watership warren.
NB: Léaozen's name translates as "morning dew".
I did wonder about rating this Mature, but come on, Watership Down itself isn't and this story is at about that level. If anyone thinks it should be rated Mature, then do let me know. =:)
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Blackavar's Gift is a Watership Down fanfic I wrote some years ago now, between 2003 and 2005. It's not perfect by any means, and there are places I'd go back and change things were I writing it again now, but on the whole I'm quite pleased with it. Comments are very welcome.
The story is written in 14 short chapters, totalling a bit over 22,000 words. In chapter 1, the sudden and unexplained death of a rabbit of high repute brings not only unhappiness but confusion to the Watership warren.
NB: Léaozen's name translates as "morning dew".
I did wonder about rating this Mature, but come on, Watership Down itself isn't and this story is at about that level. If anyone thinks it should be rated Mature, then do let me know. =:)
<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>
Category Story / Fantasy
Species Rabbit / Hare
Size 120 x 120px
File Size 72.9 kB
First of all, thank you very much! *hugs* That was all very interesting to read, and I really appreciate it. =:) And a good point about the stats. Best to take all FA's stats with several tons of salt, I suppose. =:P
Am I right (probably not...) in thinking Blackavar didn't play a particularly big role in WD?
In the book, not a huge one, though of course Bigwig's decision to get him out of Efrafa made that whole escapade all the more dangerous. In the film, he attacks Woundwort in the burrow and is killed. In the series, he's a semi-regular Watership character.
And out of interest, how would Leaozen be pronounced? :)
Léaozen's name is pronounced, roughly, "Lay-ow-zen" -- ie three syllables, though the W sound isn't strong; it's "ow" rather than "owww". =:P In Lapine, É and E are two different letters -- if it had been Leaozen, it would have been more like "Leh-ow-zen". =:)
Something I did pick up on very strongly was the sense of community that is there in the warren
I'm particularly pleased about that, because the interplay within that community is very important for several chapters later on. I really did want to manage Richard Adams' trick of making a warren seem like a real "town of rabbits", as Kehaar would put it. =;)
Am I right (probably not...) in thinking Blackavar didn't play a particularly big role in WD?
In the book, not a huge one, though of course Bigwig's decision to get him out of Efrafa made that whole escapade all the more dangerous. In the film, he attacks Woundwort in the burrow and is killed. In the series, he's a semi-regular Watership character.
And out of interest, how would Leaozen be pronounced? :)
Léaozen's name is pronounced, roughly, "Lay-ow-zen" -- ie three syllables, though the W sound isn't strong; it's "ow" rather than "owww". =:P In Lapine, É and E are two different letters -- if it had been Leaozen, it would have been more like "Leh-ow-zen". =:)
Something I did pick up on very strongly was the sense of community that is there in the warren
I'm particularly pleased about that, because the interplay within that community is very important for several chapters later on. I really did want to manage Richard Adams' trick of making a warren seem like a real "town of rabbits", as Kehaar would put it. =;)
I'm finally getting around to these, and I really am sorry it has taken me so long. But it's nice to see some writing from you again, even if this is an older work. You did a really good job with it, and so far I think it really holds true to the feel of the original book. Your writing style is unique enough that it's clearly your work, but I think this is really the first piece of fan-fiction I've read where I've been able to feel that it was written with more than a passing understanding of the original. It's a very bleak opening chapter, rather like the opening of Watership Down itself, and the rabbits' reactions to the death of their friend just kind of makes you shiver. As 
eliki said above, there's a very nice sense of community between these rabbits, and it's nice that you actually took the trouble to show that rather than assuming your reader would just fill in the gaps from their familiarity with Adams' book. That's a point where a lot of fan fiction kind of falls down. So major points to you!
eliki said above, there's a very nice sense of community between these rabbits, and it's nice that you actually took the trouble to show that rather than assuming your reader would just fill in the gaps from their familiarity with Adams' book. That's a point where a lot of fan fiction kind of falls down. So major points to you!
Thank you very much for all that! I've always felt that this first chapter was one of the better ones, despite its sombre tone, and I'm particularly pleased that you feel it holds true to the original. That's something I've often felt was rather lacking in WD fanfic, and although in some cases it's deliberate (especially with humorous stories) it seemed odd to me that nobody (back then) had tried something a bit closer to the style of what Richard Adams had written in the first place.
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