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History of Martin's Sword - Part 1
By: James
One of the few things to appear in most all of the books is the fabled Sword of Martin. But, the history of the sword stretches across many books, and can be difficult to piece together, so, Terrouge Productions is proud to bring you a multi-part article chronicling the history of the famous sword!
When, and by whom, the sword was originally forged is a story never told, but certainly the one who forged it was a master of their craft. It was borne by Luke the Warrior, father of Martin, for many seasons. But, when the opportunity arose, he decided to leave, to chase his mortal enemy (need pirate’s name) to the death. But, knowing that he might never return, he entrusted his sword to his young son, Martin.
Some time after Luke had gone; Martin was wandering around, several miles from the caves of his tribe. But while he was out, he encountered a group of pirates. He tried to defend himself, but was too inexperienced and outnumbered. Martin was chained to the line of slaves. Their leader, the infamous Badrang, took his sword and kept it by his side from then on.
Seasons passed, until one night, with the help of Rose and Grumm, Martin was able to escape. After a long journey, he returned to slay Badrang and reclaim his father’s sword.
Martin then left for the south, trying to leave all the memories of Marshank and Noonvale behind. He went south, eventually reaching a bleak, forested land, dominated by a foreboding castle, Mossflower. He was captured and taken to the castle of the Wildcat king, Verdauga Greeneyes. During an interrogation by the King, Tsarmina, the king’s violent daughter, seized Martin’s sword and snapped it in a fit of rage. Martin was taken to a cell, and the hilt of the sword was strung around his neck.
Martin later escaped, and journeyed to Salamandastron, to ask Boar the Fighter for aid against the oppressive rule of Tsarmina (Verdauga having died by her schemes.) His journey was fraught with peril, but by midsummer he made it to Salamandastron, The Mountain of the Fire-Lizards. During Martin’s stay, Boar reforged the broken sword. Using metal from a fallen star, he worked through the night to soften the metal, and shape it into a sword. Keen as midwinter and strong enough to cut a notch off of Boar’s great anvil, the sword was once again a work of master craftsmanship.
Martin returned to Mossflower in the autumn, when the war with Tsarmina was drawing to a close. Finally, with her castle nearly underwater and most of her soldiers captured, Tsarmina emerged. Martin found her, and they battled sword to claw. But, the sword was not used to kill Tsarmina, for she tried to back into the lake to retreat from the fierce warrior mouse, but she went too far. The water closed in around her, pulling her deeper into the cold darkness of the lake, and she was never seen again.
Martin bore the sword to the end of his seasons. When he died, many of his belongings were buried in a secret tomb beneath the Abbey of Redwall, but the sword mysteriously was not. Where did it go?
This concludes Part 1 of the History of Martin’s sword. Please join us next month for Part 2!