A Slave-drivers Song

Mariel of Redwall is the forth in Brian Jacques’s Redwall series. Although I do have the next in the series on the stack, I may not visit this series again for a while. The series tells of the exploits of the woodland characters of the Redwall Abby. The series has provided many ideas and fodder for future fantasy war-games.

‘Up an’ one down an’ two,
Bend yer backs an’ curse yer birth.
Up an’ one down an’ two,
Pull those ours fer all your worth!’

“The grating voice of the slave-driver echoed across the benches. As he strode up and down he flicked his cruel whip.”

‘Up an’ one down an’ two,
Some have backs without hide,
Up an’ one down an’ two,
Those who couldn’t row have died.
Up an’ one down an’ two,
Here is a gift from me to you!’

Down came tip of the slave-drivers whip on the back of poor oar-slave.

Beware of the Light that Shows the Way

“Mariel stood over the stunned toad. It was an indescribably ugly specimen, completely covered in large wart like growths. Next to the toad lay a lantern. The lantern was on a small carrying frame and wonderfully made from thin-cut rock crystal. Inside the lantern half a dozen fat fireflies buzzed, giving off a pale golden light.”

Marial of Redwall, Brian Jaques

Frogs and Fishes

Merill of Redwall, Brian Jacques

A Map to Terramort (in a rhyme)

“ ‘If I were fool of any sort,
I’d leave Redwall and travel forth,
For only fools seek Terramort,
Upon the pathway leading north.
This trail brings death with every pace;
Beware of dangers lurking there,
Sticklegs of the feathered race
And fins that in the ford do stir.
After the ford, one night one day,
Seek out the otter and his wife
Forsake the path, go west lands way,
Find the trail and lose your life.
When in the woods, this promise keep,
With senses sharp and open eyes,
‘My nose shall not send me to sleep’
For the buried ones will surely rise
Beat the hallow oak and shout,
‘We are creatures if Redwall!’
If a brave one is about,
He’ll save any fool at all.
Beware the light that shows the way,
Trust not the wart-skinned toad,
In his realm, no night no day.
Fool, stay to the road.
Where the sea meets with the shore,
There the final clue is hid;
Rocks stands sentinel evermore,
Find it as I did.
The swallow who cannot fly south,
The bird that only flies one way,
Lies deep beneath the monster’s mouth,
Keep him with you, night and day
His flight is straight, Norwest is true,
Your fool’s desire he’ll show to you.’ “

Mariel of Redwall, Brian Jacques

A Ballad of Hares on Long Patrol

“Oh, it’s hard and dry, when the sun is high,
And the dust in your throat.
When the rain pours down, near fit to drown,
And soaks right through your coat.
But the hares of the long patrol,my lads,
Stothearts they walk with me,
Over hill and plain, and back again,
By the shores of the wide blue seas.
Through mud and mire to a warm campfire,
I’ll trek with you, old friend.
O’re lea and dale, in a roaring gale,
Right to our journey’s end.
Yes, the hares of the long patrol, my lads,
Love friendship more than gold.
We’ll share good days, and tread long ways.
Good comrades brave and bold.”

Tarquin Longleap Woodsorrel

Mariel of Redwall, Brian Jacques

Prophetic Carvings

‘The prophecies carved on Salamandastron’s walls tell of a time coming when trouble will become a byword. Our fortunes and fates are written in these rocks… Leave the worrying and wondering to the waves and clouds.’

Rawnblade Widestrip

Mariel of Redwall

Dangerous to Serve and Deadly to Trust-A Host of Characters

"There hasn’t been another rat on the high seas like Gabool the Wild. Gabool was the dreaded Lord of Terramort Island, King of the Searats, Warlord of the Rodent Corsairs, and Captain of Captains. Gabool the Wild was the biggest, the most savage, the cruelest, and the most ruthless badass upon the high seas. He was one formidable character.

Gabool wore large gold hoops in his ears and having lost is fangs in previous battles had his fangs replaced with sharp, jutting, gold canines. Each set with an enormous glinting green emerald. Below his weird yellow, blood-flecked eyes, his dark beard over-flowed, sprouted and curled down his broad chest with silk ribbons of blue and red woven through it. Whenever Gabool moved his gold, silver, and ivory rings, bracelets, medals, and buckles jangled. In his purple sash he carried several wicked looking swords and daggers."

Mariel of Redwall, Brain Jacques

Abbot Saxtus Recites a Prophetic Rhyme

Abbot Saxtus recites one of his favorite rhymes found within the many scrolls archived at the abbey gatehouse.

“This wind’s icy breath o’er the land of death
Tells a tale of the yet to come.
‘Cross the heaving waves which mark ship’s graves
Lies an island known to some,
Where seas pound loud and rocks stand proud.
And blood flows free as water,
To the far northwest, which knows no rest,
Came a father and his daughter,
The mind was numb, and the heart struck dumb,
When the night seas took the child,
Hurled to her fate, by the son of Hellgate,
The dark one called The Wild.
You whom, they seek, though you don’t speak,
The legend is yet to be born;
One day you will sing over stones that are red,
In the misty summer dawn.”

Preamble to Mariel of Redwall

“Old stories told by travelers,
Great songs that barbs have sung,
Of Mossflower summers, faded, gone,
When Redwall’s stones were young.
Great Hall fires on winter nights,
The legends, who remembers,
Battles, banquets, comrades, guests,
Recalled midst glowing embers.
Draw close now, little woodlanders,
Take this to sleep with you,
My tale of dusty far-off times,
When warrior’s hearts were true,
Then store it in your memory,
And be the sage that says to the young in the years to come:
‘Ah yes, those were the days’”

Mariel of Redwall, Brian Jacques

This is the forth book in the Redwall series. The books in this series, with their woodlander characters have always been a pleasure to read.