Martin the Warrior
Voiced by: Benedict Campbell (adult), Marc Donato (young) and Amos Crawley ("Martin the Warrior" series), Thierry Bourdon (European French)
Possibly the most important character in the setting, Martin was a warriormouse who helped to found Redwall Abbey. Raised in the north by his father, Luke, Martin was captured by Badrang the Tyrant, when his father left to hunt down Vilu Daskar. Martin played a key role in the rebellion against Badrang, reclaiming his father's sword from the dictatorial stoat. Wandering into Mossflower country, Martin was caught up in the local revolt against Tsarmina Greeneyes, whom he would eventually slay, though not before having had his father's sword reforged by Badger Lord, Boar the Fighter. Long after his death, Martin's ghost would live on, protecting the Abbey, and bestowing his now indestructible sword upon those warriors he chose as his successors.
- The Ace: He's the original hero of Redwall Abbey and his memory is still revered hundreds of generations after his time. Most would-be heroes aspire to be like Martin.
- Armor Is Useless: Averted during his battle with Tsarmina. Sure, her claws easily tear through his armor and cut into his flesh to cause heavy damage, but it keeps him from literally being torn to shreds by the physically superior wildcat long enough for her to have a Freak Out about how he's still alive.
- Badass Preacher: What he seemed to be in Redwall due to Early-Installment Weirdness.
- The Berserker: Just the once, at the end of Martin the Warrior; it's pretty unsettling.
- Big Good: Of the whole series. Even after his death, his legend inspires people, and he gives wielders of his sword tips from time to time.
- Broken Ace: After Rose's death, he changed. Not that he lost his heroic spirit and had a complete personality overhaul, but he was far more lighthearted in Martin the Warrior compared to Mossflower.
- Celibate Hero: After Rose's death, it appears Martin never found love again.
- The Champion: He was Redwall Abbey's first champion, and the template for all those that follow.
- The Chooser of the One: Martin's spirit will appear to any beast destined to wield his sword and become Abbey Champion.
- Clingy Macguffin: A benevolent version. If stolen, the sword always returns to Redwall. If anything evil touches it, they're doomed to a messy end, though they can still use it before karma catches up with them. Even the Deepcoiler, who ate the sword by accident, was killed by it.
- Conveniently an Orphan: Martin's mother died in a raid and his father left soon after to seek vengeance. Notably if both parents remained, Luke especially would have prevented Martin from being enslaved and starting his Hero's Journey.
- Cool Sword: The sword's appearance is rather plain. However, while its original blade was broken by Tsarmina, it was replaced by one forged from a falling star by one of the most skilled metalworkers in Salamandastron's history, weighs next to nothing, and will never wear, rust, dull or bend. Its perfection is remarked upon Once A Book, and the Champion that doesn't like swords says it feels good in his paws. It is noted in Salamandastron that the sword is too large for shrews and too small for badgers though. As a bonus, it's technically haunted.
- David Versus Goliath: The David to Tsarmina's Goliath.
- Dead Guy Junior: It's offhand, but Luke named him after his own father. In turn, Martin in Pearls of Lutra is named after him.
- Dead Person Conversation: His spirit often shows up in dreams or visions to converse with characters, particularly potential Warriors.
- Delighting in Riddles: It's not clear if he delights in them, but when his spirit appears, it often presents a puzzle or riddle to those it's speaking to.
- Determinator: It ultimately allows him to survive Tsarmina's final attack, albeit barely.
- It is also his most evident quality as a hero. In Martin the Warrior, despite being strung up for seagulls to devour, he refuses to show fear and in fact, yells for the birds to come get him. It also appears to be what allows him to keep living after Rose's death. In Mossflower, his determination means that, despite being near-dead and sorely wounded, he made Tsarmina afraid of him. Note, he's half the size of his opponent, nearly dead, and yet made his enemy so afraid of him, that she backed into the water and essentially killed herself.
- Expy: Of Matthias, his in-universe successor (Redwall was written before any of the books featuring Martin). Justified, since Martin's ghost chose Matthias and he would logically select a mouse who was a lot like himself.
- Failure Hero: His portrayal in the books that actually feature him in life is rather short of the pinnacle of awesomeness as which he is remembered by the time of original Redwall. Unlike some other good guys in Redwall books, life cuts Martin absolutely no slack. His mother dies before he's old enough to remember her. His father goes off to avenge her when Martin is still small and never returns. Martin's stubbornness and brattishness as a youngster get his grandmother killed and condemn Martin himself to many seasons in slavery. His quest to take revenge for what was done to him gets the love of his life killed. Martin's attempt to just run away from all the tragedy? Ends up with him in prison, and his heirloom, the last thing left to remind him of his family, broken. Oh, and it is very heavily implied that while he was doing that, the rest of his tribe was wiped out or enslaved, with only one survivor (who is stated to die the next winter after being released from slavery). He finally finds a wise mentor and a father figure in Boar the Fighter? Guess what, despite trying his best to help when danger comes, Martin is forced to leave Boar to die, because You Can't Fight Fate. Sure, Martin succeeds in killing his archenemies (at the point where their forces are already defeated and doing one-on-one battles with them means little more than settling Martin's personal grudges), but he hardly ever manages to protect anyone truly important to him, coming to, in his own words, 'a bitter and a sad reward' without a wife or children by the end of his life.
Martin's story is an example of Legend Fades to Myth. The Redwallers remembered him as a founder and liberator and with the combination of poor recordkeeping and general embellishment, pieces of Martin's legacy got ignored while other parts of it downplayed. It also doesn't help that Martin was The Stoic and doesn't talk about his past or traumas or even remember half of them.
On the flipside, Martin's failures as a hero also make him one of the most enduring, persevering and heroic characters in the series. He never stops trying to protect his friends and those he loves despite his inability to do so at times, all due to his code of honor and morals. This is best exemplified by how he willingly puts away his sword in Legend of Luke and became a monk, serving as a healer in Redwall until he died a peaceful death. Moreover, he was far-seeing enough to make sure to hide away his legacy, his sword, for the next generation in Redwall's weathervane. - Greater-Scope Paragon: In some of the books, Martin the Warrior takes on this role after he has died, from either an invisible influence acting through the heroes to an occasional Spirit Advisor in dreams. However, his power from beyond the grave is limited. Though Martin's legendary sword is powerful in the hands of a hero, he himself warns that nothing stops any villain who obtains it from using it for evil.
- Heartbroken Badass: After Rose's death, he becomes more stoic and celibate.
- Heroic BSoD: After Rose's death he goes days without speaking, and when he finally does start talking again, he spends only one heartbreaking conversation with his friends before leaving.
- Implacable Man: What so unnerves Tsarmina about him is how he never stops pursuing her, no matter what injuries he takes.
- It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: Some of his riddles acknowledge that sometimes it isn't fun to be guy that needs to step up and save the day, such as the one in Bellmaker with the lines, "Bellringer who would love to stay" and "Digger who would rather walk".
- Informed Attribute: Not him, the sword. Several characters throughout the series remind an idealistic young beast that the sword is just a very sharp inanimate object. Sure it is.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: The wounds he suffered when he battled Tsarmina destroyed a good portion of his memory. Legend of Luke is all about him recovering his childhood memories and learning about his father.
- The Lost Lenore: Again, Rose, the love of his life, died a violent death before they could start a life together.
- Master Swordsman: Not initially, but after tutelage by the Lord of Salamandastrom, Boar the Fighter, and his Long Patrol Hares, he turns into a Badass that can rout hordes of enemies and impress his allies. Backed up by the fact that it's not his strength, but sheer skill and willpower with his blade that make him such a master.
- Memetic Badass: Both he and his sword are in-universe examples. Redwallers acknowledge his bravery and skill, and villains universally believe his sword to have magical powers. In reality, Martin, while certainly accomplished, was nowhere near the perfect, unstoppable badass that he is believed to have been.
- The Mourning After: Following Rose's death, Martin never fell in love again, and died leaving no descendants behind.
- Posthumous Character: All but three of the books that involve him take place after his death.
- Soul Jar: Possibly, since Martin's spirit seems to hang around the sword and the abbey.
- Spirit Advisor: To all inhabitants of Redwall Abbey, as well as those destined to protect it.
- Walking the Earth: How he spent his time between Martin the Warrior and Mossflower.
Lady Cregga Rose Eyes
The Badger Lady of Salamandastron at the start of The Long Patrol, Cregga was once a near-mad berserker whose hatred of vermin drove her to push her soldiers to their limit. After the final battle with the Rapscallion horde, wherin she lost her eyes and her connection to the Bloodwrath in battle with Damug Warfang, she moved to Redwall and Took a Level in Kindness by becoming their beloved Badger Mother. Cregga is one of the longest-lived characters in the entire series, appearing in Marlfox and Taggerung, in addition to the book she originated in.
- Archenemy: Of Gormad Tunn and the Rapscallions. When Gormad dies, Cregga shifts her hatred to his son, Damug.
- The Berserker: Her defining characteristic when she was Lady of Salamandastron. The "rose eyes" became inflamed with blood in battle.
- Big Good: Of The Long Patrol. She is the heroic, respected commander of the titular army and the most powerful fighter on the heroes' side.
- The Blacksmith: She forges all her own weapons.
- Blood Knight: Cregga loves a fight which exacerbates her Bloodwrath. Most Badger Lords view the Bloodwrath as a necessary evil or useful tool. Cregga glories in it. Even after she Took a Level in Kindness, it's shown that she misses the days when she was a warrior and the Lady of Salamandastron.
- The Dreaded: A rare case of a hero who is dreaded by the villains. You're a goodbeast who does the right thing, and, if you work for her, you do your job well? She will treat you with kindness and respect. You're a murderous, thieving criminal? Say your prayers. Even the Big Bad, Damug, is aware of just how dangerous she is, and spends the whole book trying to stay far away from her.
- Fluffy the Terrible: As pointed out in-story, "Rose Eyes" doesn't sound like a particularly menacing sobriquet until you consider the implications of why she has it (namely, being on the verge of Bloodwrath all the time).
- Frontline General: Exaggerated. She absolutely despises the evil Rapscallion army because they plunder and kill innocent beasts, and she's very, very eager to finish them off. To this end, she forges her own weapons, pushes her army to be the best it can be, and at one point, actually runs ahead of her army, hoping to cut the Rapscallions off and fight them herself. Deconstructed when she runs so far ahead of the Long Patrol that they can't find her, leaving them without a leader and worried sick. They do eventually find her, and she joins them in the final battle, even killing the Big Bad herself. May be justified, since she, like most Long Patrol leaders, is a badger, making her one of the largest and most formidable creatures in the forest.
- Good Is Not Soft: She may be nice to her soldiers and a good person overall, but she hates the Rapscallions with a passion, and wants nothing more than to destroy them all to stop them from taking any more innocent lives.
- Go Out with a Smile: Dies with a smile on her face at a celebration feast after her abbey is safe.
- Large and in Charge: She's the current leader of Salamandastron, and is enormous even for a badger. She is described as towering over the hares, and compared to both a mountain and an oak tree.
- Handicapped Badass: With a little assistance, even the blind old nanny can still fire a powerful longbow.
- Methuselah Syndrome: When you remember the (relatively) enormous span of time between books, you have to realize just how old she is.
- A Mother to Her Men: She may be big and intimidating, but she's very kind and respectful to her soldiers.
- Never Mess with Granny: Even when blind and extremely old, she can still scare vermin into submission.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: She's called "Rose Eyes" because she has red eyes. Although she is a good person, she can be terrifying to the villains.
- Red Is Heroic: She is the Big Good of The Long Patrol. She is known as "Rose Eyes" for her red eyes, and she is depicted wearing red in the artwork above.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: A badger ruler of Salamandastron with a knack for smithing, a burning hatred of a (sometimes, in this case) sea-faring vermin leader and an unhealthy love of battle, who blindly charges at said leader when their armies clash? Sounds a lot like Boar the Fighter. Though unlike Boar, she only gets blinded rather than killed as a result.
