Lord Stonepaw was the earliest Salamandastron Badger Lord who appeared as an actual character and not just a mention in the Redwall series. He was the father of Lord Brocktree, grandfather of Lord Boar the Fighter, great-grandfather of Bella of Brockhall, and the great-great-grandfather of Lord Sunflash the Mace. He was also a descendant of Lady Sable Brock, great-grandfather-in-law to Barkstripe, and the distant ancestor of Rawnblade Widestripe.
Stonepaw ruled Salamandastron during a time of extensive peace, when the youngest hares of his command left the mountain to seek adventure elsewhere. Towards the end of his reign, the unprotected mountain was besieged by the hordes of the wildcat Ungatt Trunn. Stonepaw and his remaining hares, all rather elderly, hid in the underground passages and catacombs beneath Salamandastron. However, Trunn's Horde, led by Groddil, tracked them down. Stonepaw immediately helped his hares into a secret passage, but stood behind to hold the vermin off while the hares got a head start fleeing.
Stonepaw slew many vermin in his rage, but it soon became evident that he could never escape with the rest, for within a short time the vermin wounded him badly and trapped him in a net. To their surprise, Stonepaw gathered his strength and stood, dragging the net and several entangled vermin with him. He grabbed up as many vermin he could in his paws, and with a final effort lept into the bottomless pool in the middle of the catacombs, drowning himself and the vermin he dragged with him. Lord Brocktree and his band later dropped a flagon of red wine into the pool to symbolize and honor Stonepaw's death. He would later mourn the fact that Stonepaw's remains could not be interred with those of the other Badger Lords.
Trivia[]
- Stonepaw was the oldest badger known to actively engage in battle. It was also claimed that he ruled the mountain longer than any other Badger Lord.
- Badger Lords of Stonepaw's bloodline ruled Salamandastron longer than any other family of badgers.
- Stonepaw, Urthstripe the Strong, and Luke the Warrior are the only named Redwall characters who deliberately took their own lives. In these cases, the action might be considered a kamikaze move, as they killed other enemies in the process.