#noonvale

[stearleartwork]

Bitter sweet memories

Digital illustration of Martin the Warrior from Brian Jacques’ Redwall series, brooding alone in the Abbey hall. Martin sits with a pint of October Ale in one paw and a late‑blooming rose in the other, reminding him of his lost love, Laterose of Noonvale. Suddenly, he’s struck by the sense that he’s not quite alone; he swears he feels the faint suggestion of a hand squeeze his shoulder.

[albumarchives]

Various Artists | The Reliquary of Terror Vol. 3 (2023)

[raphcrow]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

A fic about the Marshank crew, kind of. 

[kazenoshun]

How far is it from Redwall to Noonvale?

A while back I saw a fic where Martin and co. took a detour inland at the end of Legend of Luke and ended up finding Noonvale… and it got me wondering, how far is it from Redwall to Noonvale?

In Legend of Luke, Trimp arrives at Redwall on the first day of summer. Martin’s journey North begins shortly thereafter (presumably no more than a week or so later since the time isn’t specified, but it’s mentioned that it didn’t take long for the other Redwallers to notice the change in Martin’s mood). Martin and co. arrive back at the abbey at the beginning of autumn. At this point I think it’s safe to assume the trip took approximately three months. The first half-day of travel is done on foot (I got the time frame from the fact that the group finds the River Moss, and in the original Redwall book we learn that the river is less than a day’s journey from the abbey). After the group reaches the river, all travel is done by water, significantly decreasing the time needed for the journey (which makes one wonder how long the group had anticipated being away since they don’t seem to be making for the river in the first place). On the return trip the group travels upriver, but with a larger crew, so they would presumably make the same time going both ways. Taking this information into consideration, we can deduce that it takes approximately 1-½ months to travel from Redwall to the caves of the tribe of Luke if traveling by water. When traveling by foot, we’ll assume 2-3 times that time which gives us 3 to 4-½ months to travel to the caves on foot.

In Martin the Warrior, we learn that the distance from west coast to east coast takes approximately two seasons (or six months) on foot. Noonvale is no more than a week’s journey (on foot) from the east coast (based on the two-day river trip back to Marshank, which is on the coast). Noonvale is also presumably north of Marshank. This makes Noonvale approximately six months away from the caves of Martin’s tribe, and no more than a week away from Marshank when traveling over land. For this reason, the fic where Martin and co. find Noonvale does not work since the fic supposedly fits within the time frame of Legend of Luke. This still doesn’t answer my question though.

So, to find a final answer…

When Martin travels south at the end of Martin the Warrior, he leaves from the house of Poleekin. Poleekin’s house is approximately 2-3 days south of Marshank (since it is about half a day’s walk from the pigmy shrew caves, which are over a day’s journey south, but still close enough to be a reasonable distance to transport a heavily wounded mouse). Martin leaves Poleekin’s house near the beginning of autumn, he arrives in Mossflower in early- to mid- winter. Assuming that this is the winter directly following Martin the Warrior, and that he arrives in early winter, his journey would have taken him approximately three months. This makes sense with the north - south timing (3 to 4-½ months), but not with the east - west timing (Redwall is closer to the western coast, so Martin would have had to cut a diagonal traveling southwest to go straight to Mossflower, which would likely add at least a month to his travel time). However, if we assume that he arrived in Mossflower around mid-winter, the timing fits. This is, of course, assuming that Martin didn’t waste time wandering around during his trip southwest. If he did stop along the way/wander in a different direction for a while, it likely was for no more than a year or so, since in Mossflower both he and Gonff are referred to as young adults.

This brings me to the conclusion that Noonvale is approximately 4-6 months travel from Redwall. The timing doesn’t quite fit with the travel time given by Aubretia in the epilog of Martin the Warrior, as her companion Bultip says that it’s been over a full season since they left Noonvale, but Aubretia states that they left early the past summer (they arrive at Redwall in the middle of winter). At this point I am given to assume that Bultip’s statement of a season is used to refer to a year, and that Aubretia was referring to the summer of the previous year, in order to reconcile the two times given. This would make their travel time greater than the approximate time needed to travel from Redwall to Noonvale, however this problem can also be reconciled when we remember that the two did not have a map, and thus could easily have taken longer than necessary due to traveling in the wrong direction.

[redwall-lyrics]

See the roving river run Over hill and dale to a secret forest place, O my heart, Noonvale. Look for me at dawning When the sun’s reborn In the silent beauty Twixt the night and morn. Wait till the lark ascends And skies are blue. There where the rainbow ends I will meet you.

-Laterose of Noonvale, Martin the Warrior

[rhulainart]

"See the roving river run Over hill and dale To a secret forest place O my heart, Noonvale. Look for me at dawning When the sun's reborn In the silent beauty Twixt the night and morn. Wait till the lark ascends And skies are blue. There where the rainbow ends I will meet you..."

[wobblypaws]

[Martin the Warrior spoiler]

"Martin, would you do something for me?"

"Could you take your sword and hang it by the door?"

"I promise no one else will touch it."

"I promise you, I will take greater care of her life,"

"...than I will my own."

[theredwallrecorder]

I've never quite thought about it this way before, but in all of Mossflower Wood and beyond, Redwall is legendary. Vermin share snatches of whispered gossip about the Abbey... they fear the courageous "warriorbeasts" who dwell there, and remind each other about this or that vermin lord who attempted to seize Redwall and was soundly defeated. Goodbeasts are cheered by the sight of the Abbey's bell tower, take heart in its protective existence, and boast about the dependability of its creatures and the scrumptiousness of the kitchen's edible delights. Creatures what call themselves Redwallers are proud of their home, and will let you know about it.

Redwall is kind of like the Noonvale of the south, taking the best of what Noonvale has to offer and partnering it with a steadfast resilience and a bold readiness to protect and defend. What Redwall lacks in secrecy it makes up for in defense and strength.

That's so cool.