Salamandastron (Redwall)

Salamandastron is the fictional fortress of the Badger Lords in Brian Jacques's Redwall series. Many of the novels take place at or involve this fortress, which is situated in the hollowed-out remains of an extinct volcano, located on the western edge of Mossflower Woods by the shore of the Western Sea. The name Salamandastron is taken from a combination of "salamander", a lizard who was suppposed to live in fire, and "astron", meaning star.

Salamandastron appears in (or is mentioned in) nearly every Redwall novel, but it is an important focal point in "Salamandastron", "Mossflower", "Lord Brocktree", "The Long Patrol", and "Outcast of Redwall".

History

The mountain's original founder is unknown, though the legendary hero and founder of the Long Patrol was Lord Brocktree, who reclaimed the mountain from Ungatt Trunn and his Blue Hordes. Long before him and after his rule, Salamandastron has been ruled by warlike badger lords who could seldom remain in harmony with one another. Brocktree's known predecessor was his father, Lord Stonepaw. Sooner or later, however, every male (and in some cases female) badger seems to feel the call to go to Salamandastron.

Long ago, its core was excavated into a vast network of caverns and corridors and was henceforth made into a nearly impenetrable fortress that guards the shore. The fortress is situated at the western coast as a defense to the more friendly country further east from corsairs, and has since been the bane of sea vermin's existence, and the resident badger ruler and the Long Patrol will defend against any threat in the area even unto death.

Many vermin armies have tried to conquer the mountain, but due to its position and the brave hares of the Long Patrol defending it, the fortress has only been fully occupied once, by the wildcat Ungatt Trunn in "Lord Brocktree."

Description

The complete interior of the mountain consists of the badger's living quarters and study, which are high up, the dining chamber, the cellars, bachelor hare barracks, sickbay, larders, dormitories, meeting chambers, nursery, armory, cells, lookout caves, and forge room. The forge is one of the most prominent rooms in Salamandastron, where only badgers are permitted access except for some rare occasions.

Also inside the mountain are caverns with deafening acoustics and carvings that tell the stories of the heroes of Salamandastron. The battle cry of Salamandastron is "Eulalia" (pronounced yoo-lay-lee-ah) which, incidentally, means victory in ancient Norse.

One of the more mysterious rooms in the mountain is the mausoleum of past Badger rulers. With only a few exceptions, every past ruler of Salamandastron is entombed in the mausoleum. It also contains the prophecies of Salamandastron, carved by Badgers under the influence of the "Bloodwrath", a sort of frenzied state in which the badgers lose consciousness and fight as if possessed. The mausoleum also contains the entrance to the Salamandastron treasure chamber, which contains treasures collected and created over the ages.

Enemies of Salamandastron

The following beasts have led some sort of attack against the mountain:

*Ungatt Trunn (appears in "Lord Brocktree")
*Ripfang (appears in "Lord Brocktree" and "Mossflower")
*Swartt Sixclaw (appears in "Outcast of Redwall")
*Ferahgo the Assassin (appears in "Salamandastron")
*Gormad Tunn (mentioned in "The Long Patrol")
*Damug Warfang (appears in " The Long Patrol")