Luke the Warrior

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Luke the Warrior is an anthropomorphic mouse, best known the father of Martin the Warrior in the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. During Martin's flashback scenes in Martin the Warrior, Luke's voice is and provided by Colin Bean.^{[citation needed]}

He was born in Saint Ninian's Church, in Mossflower Woods south of what is now Redwall Abbey. However, with the arrival of the wildcat Verdauga Greeneyes, as a child he was forced away from his home. He became the chief of a tribe of nomadic mice, who soon settled in caves on the frigid northland shore. Soon after settling, his wife, Sayna, gave birth to Martin, who was always groping for his father's sword. While lighting a bonfire to celebrate his son's birth, Luke's tribe was attacked by Vilu Daskar's corsairs, who killed Sayna and other members of the tribe.

Luke, furious at the loss, began making plans for his revenge. He crafted weapons for fighting the pirates, and kept observations of their activities. His closest confident was his little son Martin, who grew up learning his father's love of battle and knowledge of fighting. Eventually, Luke and his allies ambushed a landing pirate ship, taking it over and repairing it in preparation to go after Vilu Daskar. During this time, his son Martin attempted to adopt a pirate sword for himself, but Luke had him throw it away, since Luke's own sword was his inheritance. Luke also told his son, to Martin's displeasure, that he would not be coming on the journey. In a fit of tears, Martin told Luke to name the ship Sayna after his mother.

Upon leaving, Luke left Martin his sword, leaving Timballisto in charge of the tribe. He told Martin to keep his sword safe, to use it in the defense of others, and to never let any creature take it from him. Once this was done, he sailed off, vowing to return one day.

Luke and his companions journeyed for many weeks, trailing Vilu Daskar. They faced several obstacles, including storms and an island wherein dwelt a tribe of murderous vermin and a giant snake. Unfortunately, Luke's ship was spotted by Daskar, and he laid an ambush for the Sayna, destroying her and killing most of the crew. Luke and a handful of others survived, Luke climbing aboard and attempting to throttle Daskar. He was pried off, and placed below in the oars.

Luke vowed to slay Daskar, and met a fellow warrior named Ranguvar Foeseeker. The two along with the other slaves and a couple of Luke's comrades who had escaped death, to escape. Luke tricked Daskar into thinking he knew the location of a hidden treasure, buried by his tribe, and convinced the pirate to let him steer them that way. He headed for the shoreline where his tribe dwelt, hoping that his by now grown son Martin would be able to aid him.

To Luke's shock, the shore was deserted. Taking a new course of action, he turned the ship towards the nearby tall rocks. Giving the signal to attack, he grabbed Daskar and began strangling him as the ship headed for the rocks. Ranguvar, free from her chains, helped fight off the pirates as the ship smashed into the rocks, breaking in half. One half, carrying Luke's surviving companions, became wedged in the rocks. The other, upon which Luke and Ranguvar fought, sank to the bottom of the sea.

Young Martin did not learn of his father's fate until years later, when he set out on a journey to find out what had become of his father. He found Luke's comrades aboard the wedged half of the vessel, named Arfship because of being broken in half. After hearing the account, Martin looked at a bag of things that had belonged to his mother, and took out a small colored stone. He dropped it into the sea, as a farewell gift to his father and Ranguvar.

Luke's sword would be passed down among the warriors of Redwall. His grandfather was also named Martin, and Luke was the third of his family to carry the sword. A tapestry of this Martin, the image of his great-grandson, became the centerpiece for the great Redwall tapestry.