Salamandastron
Encyclopedia
Salamandastron is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques
, published in 1992. It is the fifth book in the Redwall
series.
Meanwhile, two stoats, Dingeye and Thura, have recently deserted Ferahgo's army. They manage to find their way to Redwall Abbey and are taken in by the kind beasts that reside there. While tension mounts as to their presence, the ruling beasts of the Abbey decide they may stay: the two stoats, while rude, have done no harm.
Mara and Pikkle, meanwhile, have escaped Ferahgos' horde and have taken refuge in a cave. Unfortunately, the cave is inhabited by a sand lizard called Swinkee. A fight ensued, and Mara accidentally pulls off Swinkees' tail. After the fight, Mara and Pikkle ask Swinkee if he can take them to Salamandastron. To get Swinkee to do it, they promise him a large bag of live swampflies and marshworms. Swinkee double-crosses them, however, and leads them straight to a tribe of cannibal toads. They are presented to the chieftain, a large, repulsive, fat toad called King Glagweb. He throws them into a pit where 36 young shrews are kept captive as well, one of these is Nordo, son of Log-a-Log. The shrews explain what the toads are going to do to them and their escape plan. Later, when they are nearing a feast day, an acorn drops into the pit, signalling the captives to throw whatever they have at the toads. After a few minutes of hard fighting, Log-a-Logs shrews come and free the captives while fighting and killing the toads. Mara attacks Glagweb, only to be stopped by Log-a-Log, who throws Glagweb into the prison pit, along with a large, healthy, young pike. Later, Log-a-Log asks a boon of Pikkle and Mara, asking them help in retrieving the Blackstone, the symbol of leadership among the Guosim (Guerilla Union Of Shrews in Mossflower). He explains he had been ruling only through sheer strength, and that a badger ghost had taken the stone. When Mara and Pikkle and the Guosim reach the island, they delve into the islands forest, meeting the 'ghost' badger, who is really a living badger named Urthwyte, the long-lost brother of Mara's father, Urthstripe, and Urthstripes' mother and Maras' grandmother, Loambudd.
Meanwhile, a young squirrel
named Samkim and his good mole
friend Arula
are wreaking havoc, as will happen with youngbeasts. They start playing with bows and arrows and frighten one of the Redwall abbey dwellers. One night, a lightning bolt strikes the weathervane of Redwall, and the sword of Martin the Warrior falls from its resting place high above the Abbey grounds and falls at the feet of Samkim, who is dumbfounded by his discovery.
Dingeye and Thura's stay is cut short when they are forced to flee the Abbey after accidentally killing one of the Redwallers (Brother Hal) with the same bows and arrows that Samkim and Arula had used. Dingeye and Thura head towards the countryside, with Martin's stolen sword in hand. Samkim and Arula pursue the two beasts, intent on not only rescuing the legendary sword of their Abbey Champion, but exacting vengeance upon the murdering vermin. Thura falls dead from Dryditch fever, and is left behind by Dingeye. His body is discovered by Samkin, Furgle the Hermit, and Arula. Furgle recognizes the disease symptoms and goes to warn Redwall. Dingeye, however, is caught by a group of six vermin from Ferahgos' horde, and is beheaded with the Sword of Martin the Warrior. The vermin leader is Dethbrush, and he in turn takes the Sword from Dingeye's headless carcass.
Back at Redwall, a terrible disease has begun ravaging the Abbey. A local woodvole hermit by the name of Furgle determines that it is Dryditch Fever. There is an old wives' tale saying that the Flowers of Icetor from the Mountains of the North boiled in springwater can cure Dryditch Fever, so the brave otter Thrugg sets off to find them. With the dormouse
babe Dumble along for the ride and an injured falcon who they meet on the road, Thrugg succeeds in securing the flowers from the ruler of the mountain: the mighty Golden Eagle, Wild King MacPhearsome.
Mara and Samkin's paths eventually cross when Samkin catches up with Dethbrush in a storm and punches him overboard. He is in turn eaten by the Deepcoiler, a giant feared water serpent. Samkin grabs the Sword of Martin the Warrior from the body of Dethbrush before the Deepcoiler can dive. Then, after the Deepcoiler dove, it rose again, attacking Spriggat. Then, when the serpent has Spriggat in its jaws, Samkin stabs the Deepcoiler in the roof of the mouth. The serpent than vanishes. Later, Mara and the Guosim find the body of Deepcoiler and retrieve the Sword from it. Along their way, they meet each other and Mara gives Samkin the Sword. Heading back to Salamandastron, the group arrives in time to find Urthstripe seized by the Bloodwrath, leaping from the towering mountain with Feragho in his grasp.
Soon after Thrugg returns with his haversack full of flowers, Samkim and Arula, along with Mara and Pikkle, return to Redwall Abbey. Mara becomes the Badger Mother of Redwall. Urthwyte remains behind as Lord of Salamandastron, along with the surviving members of the Long Patrol.
The epilogue shows Klitch, son of Ferhago, still trapped within Salamandastron. After wandering some way, he gets thirsty and thinks that it is his 'Lucky Day' when he finds some barrels with some water in it. He has promptly forgotten the fact that the Poisoner, hired by Feragho, has poisoned everything he saw while on his last mission before his death. Klitch drinks the dregs, and is eventually beset by lances of pain and numbness. He wedges himself on a mountainside opening, and dies of the powerful poison.
Brian Jacques
James Brian Jacques was an English author best known for his Redwall series of novels and Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series. He also completed two collections of short stories entitled The Ribbajack & Other Curious Yarns and Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales.-Biography:Brian Jacques was born...
, published in 1992. It is the fifth book in the Redwall
Redwall
Redwall, by Brian Jacques, is a series of fantasy novels. It is the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, the name of the Abbey featured in the book, and the name of an animated TV series based on three of the novels , which first aired in 1999...
series.
Plot introduction
Ferahgo the Assassin, a terrible weasel warlord, and his son Klitch lead their army of Corpsemakers to Salamandastron, to take over from the Badger Lord, Urthstripe the Strong. Meanwhile at Redwall Abbey, two stoats run off with the Sword of Martin the Warrior after accidentally killing Brother Hal with a bow and arrow lying out from a carnival the night before, and young Samkim, a mischievous squirrel, and his partner Arula the molemaid set off to claim back the sword. At the same time, Mara, the badgermaid leaves Salamandastron with Pikkle Ffolger, her friend the gluttonous hare, only to be tricked by Feragho's son Klitch and his lackey, Goffa.Plot summary
The book follows the tale of the Badger Lord, Urthstripe the Strong, and his battle against Ferahgo the Assassin. Mara, Urthstripe's young adopted daughter, and her hare friend, Pikkle, decide to leave the great mountain stronghold, Mara having become tired of the way Urthstripe treats her.Meanwhile, two stoats, Dingeye and Thura, have recently deserted Ferahgo's army. They manage to find their way to Redwall Abbey and are taken in by the kind beasts that reside there. While tension mounts as to their presence, the ruling beasts of the Abbey decide they may stay: the two stoats, while rude, have done no harm.
Mara and Pikkle, meanwhile, have escaped Ferahgos' horde and have taken refuge in a cave. Unfortunately, the cave is inhabited by a sand lizard called Swinkee. A fight ensued, and Mara accidentally pulls off Swinkees' tail. After the fight, Mara and Pikkle ask Swinkee if he can take them to Salamandastron. To get Swinkee to do it, they promise him a large bag of live swampflies and marshworms. Swinkee double-crosses them, however, and leads them straight to a tribe of cannibal toads. They are presented to the chieftain, a large, repulsive, fat toad called King Glagweb. He throws them into a pit where 36 young shrews are kept captive as well, one of these is Nordo, son of Log-a-Log. The shrews explain what the toads are going to do to them and their escape plan. Later, when they are nearing a feast day, an acorn drops into the pit, signalling the captives to throw whatever they have at the toads. After a few minutes of hard fighting, Log-a-Logs shrews come and free the captives while fighting and killing the toads. Mara attacks Glagweb, only to be stopped by Log-a-Log, who throws Glagweb into the prison pit, along with a large, healthy, young pike. Later, Log-a-Log asks a boon of Pikkle and Mara, asking them help in retrieving the Blackstone, the symbol of leadership among the Guosim (Guerilla Union Of Shrews in Mossflower). He explains he had been ruling only through sheer strength, and that a badger ghost had taken the stone. When Mara and Pikkle and the Guosim reach the island, they delve into the islands forest, meeting the 'ghost' badger, who is really a living badger named Urthwyte, the long-lost brother of Mara's father, Urthstripe, and Urthstripes' mother and Maras' grandmother, Loambudd.
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
named Samkim and his good mole
Mole (animal)
Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
friend Arula
Arula
Arula is a village in Otepää Parish, Valga County in southeastern Estonia. It has a population of 65 ....
are wreaking havoc, as will happen with youngbeasts. They start playing with bows and arrows and frighten one of the Redwall abbey dwellers. One night, a lightning bolt strikes the weathervane of Redwall, and the sword of Martin the Warrior falls from its resting place high above the Abbey grounds and falls at the feet of Samkim, who is dumbfounded by his discovery.
Dingeye and Thura's stay is cut short when they are forced to flee the Abbey after accidentally killing one of the Redwallers (Brother Hal) with the same bows and arrows that Samkim and Arula had used. Dingeye and Thura head towards the countryside, with Martin's stolen sword in hand. Samkim and Arula pursue the two beasts, intent on not only rescuing the legendary sword of their Abbey Champion, but exacting vengeance upon the murdering vermin. Thura falls dead from Dryditch fever, and is left behind by Dingeye. His body is discovered by Samkin, Furgle the Hermit, and Arula. Furgle recognizes the disease symptoms and goes to warn Redwall. Dingeye, however, is caught by a group of six vermin from Ferahgos' horde, and is beheaded with the Sword of Martin the Warrior. The vermin leader is Dethbrush, and he in turn takes the Sword from Dingeye's headless carcass.
Back at Redwall, a terrible disease has begun ravaging the Abbey. A local woodvole hermit by the name of Furgle determines that it is Dryditch Fever. There is an old wives' tale saying that the Flowers of Icetor from the Mountains of the North boiled in springwater can cure Dryditch Fever, so the brave otter Thrugg sets off to find them. With the dormouse
Dormouse
Dormice are rodents of the family Gliridae. Dormice are mostly found in Europe, although some live in Africa and Asia. They are particularly known for their long periods of hibernation...
babe Dumble along for the ride and an injured falcon who they meet on the road, Thrugg succeeds in securing the flowers from the ruler of the mountain: the mighty Golden Eagle, Wild King MacPhearsome.
Mara and Samkin's paths eventually cross when Samkin catches up with Dethbrush in a storm and punches him overboard. He is in turn eaten by the Deepcoiler, a giant feared water serpent. Samkin grabs the Sword of Martin the Warrior from the body of Dethbrush before the Deepcoiler can dive. Then, after the Deepcoiler dove, it rose again, attacking Spriggat. Then, when the serpent has Spriggat in its jaws, Samkin stabs the Deepcoiler in the roof of the mouth. The serpent than vanishes. Later, Mara and the Guosim find the body of Deepcoiler and retrieve the Sword from it. Along their way, they meet each other and Mara gives Samkin the Sword. Heading back to Salamandastron, the group arrives in time to find Urthstripe seized by the Bloodwrath, leaping from the towering mountain with Feragho in his grasp.
Soon after Thrugg returns with his haversack full of flowers, Samkim and Arula, along with Mara and Pikkle, return to Redwall Abbey. Mara becomes the Badger Mother of Redwall. Urthwyte remains behind as Lord of Salamandastron, along with the surviving members of the Long Patrol.
The epilogue shows Klitch, son of Ferhago, still trapped within Salamandastron. After wandering some way, he gets thirsty and thinks that it is his 'Lucky Day' when he finds some barrels with some water in it. He has promptly forgotten the fact that the Poisoner, hired by Feragho, has poisoned everything he saw while on his last mission before his death. Klitch drinks the dregs, and is eventually beset by lances of pain and numbness. He wedges himself on a mountainside opening, and dies of the powerful poison.
Major characters in Salamandastron
- Urthstripe the Strong
- Ferahgo the Assassin
- Wild King MacPhearsome
- Urthwyte the Mighty
- Loambudd
- Tubgutt
- Dingeye
- Thura
- Furgle the Hermit
- Mrs. Faith Spinney
-
- Windpaw
- Big Oxeye (Lieutenant)
- Sergeant Sapwood
- Bart Thistledown
- Moonpaw
- Seawood
- Shorebuck
- Starbob
- Catkin
- Pennybright
- Lingfur
- Barfle
- Migroo
- Raptail
- Dethbrush
- Tracker Rats
- Brother Hal
- Ashnin
- ClarissaClarissaClarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady is an epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson, published in 1748. It tells the tragic story of a heroine whose quest for virtue is continually thwarted by her family, and is the longest real novelA completed work that has been released by a publisher in...
- Brother Hollyberry
- The Lazy Old Trout
- Foremole
- Farran the Poisoner
- Mother Rabbit
- NordoNORDONORDO, short for "No Radio", is a North American aviation term for aircraft flying without a radio. The term originates from the 5-character uppercase abbreviated notation "NORDO" displayed on controllers' radar scopes when an aircraft transmits the "radio failure" code on its transponder...
(Log-a-Log's son) - Log-a-Log
- Sister Nasturtium
- Bremmun
- ArulaArulaArula is a village in Otepää Parish, Valga County in southeastern Estonia. It has a population of 65 ....
- King Glagweb
- Goffa
- Swinkee
- Clarence
- Sickear
- Alfoh
- Abbess Vale
- Forgrin
- Laird Mactalon
- Tammbeak
- Crows
- Rocangus
Book divisions (English)
- Book 1: Questors and Runaways
- Book 2: Warriors and Monsters
- Book 3: Destinies and Homecomers
Translations
- (FinnishFinnish languageFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
) Salamandastronin aarre - (FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) Rougemuraille : Salamandastron- Tome 1 : Ferrago l'Assassin
- Tome 2 : La Fièvre du fossé tari
- Tome 3 : Le Serpentissime
- Tome 4 : Mara de Rougemuraille
- (GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) Die Jagd nach dem Schatz- Von Abenteurern und Ausreißern
- Von Kriegern und Ungeheurern
- Von Shicksalen und Heimkehrern
- (RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
) old version – Мара, или Война с Горностаем, new version – Саламандастрон