Salamandastron!

[Dannflower Reguba]

Actually I JUST read Taggerung AND own it. Russano was planning on paying his respects to Cregga and then leaving right away BUT, Mhera insisted that he stay (there was some urging by other beasts too... I think) so they stayed for awhile... And sustaining doesn't mean something has to be big either, there were usually a good number of patrolers out at one point or another.

[W0NWILL]

Seriously, though. I wonder why no other badger lord except Boar ever used it, or even mentioned it.

I'm pretty sure it's because no badger lord ever needed it. They had plenny of hares, Boar had the least ever recorded. He relied on the searat's superstition to keep them away from Mossflower.

[Trigoma]

Whew, I used to talk so grammar-less and horrifyingly Times change.

I just wish Brian had a chance to write a book about Salamandastron itself before he passed on to the great abbey in the sky.

[phoenixfoden]

he wrote salamandaston.

[Lord Gorath]

I think Salamandastron was made into the great fortress it is today by great badgers from the south, more south than Castle Floret.

[Gonff the Mousethief]

why is there only fire in it in mossflower?

[321tumbler]

What?

[Wylder Treejumper]

He means why is it only a "fire mountain" in the book Mossflower.
The answer is, in Mossflower is the oldest (in Redwall time) mention of Salamandastron.

[Blazemane]

I think it's because of the fact that the fire in the mountain in the book Mossflower is deliberately put there by Boar the fighter while he's trying to warn the pirates coming near the shores to stay back. He heats the forge room up and lets the flames show. Apparently none of the other badger lords were ever interested in trying this out.

But Salamandastron never erupts in the Redwall series, so even the "fire" in Mossflower is... literally just fire; never lava.

[321tumbler]

He means why is it only a "fire mountain" in the book Mossflower.
The answer is, in Mossflower is the oldest (in Redwall time) mention of Salamandastron.

Thanks.

[Osu]

Alrighty, here's a question: are all hares who live at Salamandastron required to serve in the military? If not, do "civilian" hares live under a different set of laws and expectations than the Long Patrol hares, or are they subject to a sort of martial law? In the case of martial law, do the Patrol hares have precedence -- that is, would the Patrollers be considered the "higher class?"

In TSQ Buckler's brother and father were evidently not warriors: I got the impression Buck's dad didn't serve in the traditional sense, but rather just acted as an advisor to Brang. Clerun, on the other hand, was specifically mentioned as being on Patrol at one point, and then later on he left the Patrol -- and the Mountain. I got the idea that he had to leave the Mountain in order to leave the Patrol. And later on in the story, Clarinna specifically keeps away from Salamandastron because she doesn't want her babes raised to be fighters: so it seems to me all hares must fight if called upon, period.

But if that's the case it means the commanding officers knowingly send out sub par (for lack of better word) warriors to fight, and that doesn't strike me as a very hare-ish thing to do... using Clerun as the example again: he didn't stand a chance when forced into a fight which killed him, but he was definitely in the Long Patrol. How does that figure, I wonder? Either he was a trained warrior capable of defending himself or he wasn't; of course it's entirely likely he would have been killed in the end regardless, but it's disturbing to think he was left relatively defenseless despite having been a former warrior, especially a warrior by Long Patrol standards. Pretty strange. What do you guys think?

[The Skarzs]

Salamandastron does seem like a bit of a dictatorship, come to think of it, but not one that every beast under it's influence might be miserable about. I think that all hares in the mountain have an obligation to be trained for fighting. But I also think that they are lenient enough to let a hare go if they so desire.
Also, hares are noble creatures in the book, and most would like nothing better than to serve their badger lord in the best way possible, even if they have never been to the mountain and only heard of it.
Now I come to the point of those taking care of the mountain, i.e. cooking, cleaning, apprenticeships for weapon making, infirmary keeping, etc. These are necessary, and the hares in charge of some of these might never see battle. But aren't these all part of a military? "An army walks on it's stomach", so it would be a crucial part of the military. They are a background part of the military, but a part nonetheless.
So to answer your question: Yes, I do think so.

[SilentSam]

Forgive and correct me if I'm wrong, but lots of vermin believe that the hares and the badger lord is hiding treasure in Salamandastron.

Wow.

[James Gryphon]

Mod: Do not make single-word responses to previous posts. It adds nothing to the discussion.

[The Skarzs]

It took me half an hour to type my last post; anyone want to comment on it?