Redwall: A Visitor To Loamhedge

Redwall: A Visitor To Loamhedge

I hope you enjoyed the book!!

I am particularly interested in your first bullet point about the Dark Forest vs. Hellgates. I know Jacques has said that he purposefully did not include religion in the Redwall books, although the Abbey itself has obvious roots in real-world religion (and, for that matter, the word "Hellgates").

"There is no religion in my stories and no hidden meanings. What you see is what you get." -Jacques, via the Redwall Wiki

The way I always thought about it, the Dark Forest isn't really a direct metaphor for heaven in that it's not a place goodbeasts go when they die, but a way for woodlanders to speak about the death of their peers.

The Dark Forest can be a safe place, as Mossflower is familiar to its woodland inhabitants, but it can also be frightening. I remember that characters from The Rogue Crew get lost in a dark part of Mossflower wood where birds don't sing and the sun doesn't shine through the branches. The Dark Forest is also not the only place that is used in talks of death. Vermin, of course, are often damned to Hellgates. Goodbeasts also speak about peaceful meadows in which their friends now lie (a metaphor that I have always particularly loved).

I've seen people talk about the Hellgates as a curse. That is, beasts will be cursed to Hellgates or speak fearfully of the Hellgates, but they are using the word primarily as a linguistic and cultural idea. I thought that was interesting. My partner suggested that the Hellgates were inside the Dark Forest, which is also fun.

So, upon reflection sparked by your comment, I think that anyone could "go to the Dark Forest." This includes Gormad Tunn. However, the Hellgates may be reserved only for villains.

However! I am only speculating about my favorite stories in the world, so I don't mean to correct anything you said. Thank you for the post and the thoughts it provoked <33

Thoughts on The Long Patrol

ok we're almost done this blog will be about Other Things again

Soon Gormad Tunn’s spirit would be at the gates of Dark Forest. Dark Forest is the equivalent of a peaceful afterlife. Hellgates is...not. Was this killer under the impression he was going to heaven lmao 

Seeing young uns pick their weapons at the mountain forge and learn to be Salamandastron hares is nice. 

💯 Forgot Cregga was Ruler of Salamandastron. 

Abbess Tansy my girl 🌟 Arven is the only known animal to go from Warrior to Abbott and that's only bc he was truly the last option (mentioned in Marlfox).  

There's a mention that if Salamandastron did not stand, the entire country would be overrun with vermin. Chapters later, Eyebright says they can only defend the West and shores in front of them. We never see a recurring other fighting force in the series with a permanent dwelling. Smaller bands and groups fill in the blanks but the mountain really doesn't cover a wide swath. 

We have another odd throwback to how the time periods differ or what their lengths may be. This book iirc is kind of the barrier between fairly directly chronological (Arwen acknowledged Auma, who was Badger Mother in Pearls of Lutra and the young kidnapped badger in Mattimeo) and great centuries may have passed (in Triss, Skipper is noted be the distant descendant of The Taggerung.)

all that to say how did Russa’s tomb never become a landmark? She also died too early I feel. Should have been more like halfway in the book.

Gaduss unlooped from his belt a greased strangling noose 4 fashioned from animal sinew. This vermin probably skinned some creature down to the muscles and ripped out the sinew to use as a noose. Wow. 

Squirrels don't really have a subculture in this series after like book 3. The Squirrelqueen stuff amounted to nothing, there's a minor mention in Outcast of a squirrel language, a handful of squirrel characters have surnames and familial legacies (mainly Dann, Tan, and Triss) but that's it. Even hedgehogs have Waterhogs. Mice subculture is truly just Redwall as a whole. There are more mouse brothers and sisters and rulers than any other species, although after the initial trilogy, Mariel and Joseph, and the Martin/Luke stories, mice aren't the main characters again until doomwyte.  For a series that's stereotyped as “fighting mice”, that's incredible. 

“O’er The Hills” could have a nice melody 

It's a lot fresher than I recall. The tropes work because the Patrol naturally wanders the country. The villain is smart. Redwall itself undergoes a change. The only tiresome part is Pasque marrying Tamm, it's always a Gentle Healer Maid who can sorta fight marrying the lead.

This also happens to Salixa in Eulalia...also on that ridge.

I'll elaborate more but I don't think most of this series is as repetitive as people like to say .

OKAY! IN REDWALL, THERE IS A PATH GOING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH THAT APPARENTLY HAS BEEN THERE FOREVER. NOW, THE THING IS PATHS NEED SIGNIFICANT TRAVEL TO BECOME DIRT PATHS THAT ARE COMPACTED ENOUGH TO STAY DIRT PATHS OVER THE YEARS. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT EVENT DID THAT!? OR IS THERE JUST A LOT OF TRAVEL!?

Redwall Abbey

Been listening to the Redwall audiobooks and I just realized that at least one of the mice to carry the sword of Martin is a descendant of Gnoff (Dandin). Since Gnoff seems to have a large number of descendants in the Mossflower area and all of the mice who are Redwall Champions (with the exception of Mariel, who counts because I say so) grew up in Redwall, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that all the mice who take up the sword are descendants of Gnoff.

Also it seems fitting that Martin would choose mice from his best friend's family tree.

A couple prototype minifigures from the upcoming Rocky Mountain Minifigs woodland creatures 6-figure initial release.

Planned figures:

Dark Tan Abbey Mouse with Sword

Orange Abbey Mouse with Sling

Long Patrol Hare Officer with Spear

Long Patrol Hare Soldier with Spear

Corsair Rat with Cutlass

Vermin Wildcat Sage with Staff