In the snowy north, a young hawk named Skarlath is knocked out while flying. He is captured and bound by the cruel ferret Swartt Sixclaw and his group of vermin. He discovers a young badger who has also been kidnapped by the horde, and the two young beasts helped each other escape from the vermin camp. In the scuffle that ensued, the badger used a massive limb to severely injure Swartt's sixclawed left paw. The ferret and the badger both vowed to extort revenge, each declaring the other his mortal enemy.