| abstract | - "A nice fellow, but very warlike"- Corkly G. Battlescut [[File:|190px|center]] Species Squirrel Gender Male Place of Origin Age Weapon Bow and arrows, dagger Skills Fate Appearances Mentioned Spruce Longbrush was the leader of a clan of squirrels that lived in eastern Mossflower Woods at a place known as the Longbrush Glen. He was big and extremely strong (for a squirrel). Spruce and his Longbrush squirrels protected Redwall Abbey from a tribe of vicious pine martens called the Pineshadows. They were in constant battle with them, and the leader of the Pineshadows, Lord Valkarano, had a personal vengeance against Spruce because the squirrel gave him a long scar in a past battle. One of Spruce's mentors when he was young was another squirrel named Hampa Swiftbow. The old squirrel had moved off to a faraway land after an argument with Spruce's father, and he happened to be on the coming back on the same ship the Wengle Brookrudder was on. Hampa told the young otter to "Go to the Longbrush Glen" just before he died from an attack by Rackorg Vinn and his corsairs. Wengle did as he was told and found his way to the Longbrush Glen with the help of the hare Corkly. Spruce had two children named Garrow and Oakflower. They became fast friends with Wengle and Spruce told him about Redwall Abbey, since Wengle had been having dreams about Martin the Warrior. They got to the Abbey and found out that the Pineshadows had joined forces with the corsairs to attack and conquer Redwall. Spruce helped Wengle to learn how to use the famous sword of Martin in the oncoming battle. When the vermin did successfully invade the Abbey, Spruce and his clan helped to defend Redwall. In the battle, Spruce met up with Valkarano, and the twain fought on the battlements. The pine marten knocked the squirrel unconscious and would have killed him had it not been for Spruce's son Garrow, who leaped onto Valkarano and knocked them both off the wall. Later, after the battle had been won with help from an army of freed slaves lead by Wengle's friend Riddy, Spruce found both his son and his enemy dead on the ground below. The squirrel leader was broken hearted by the loss, but soon after a feast was made at the Abbey in honor of the victory and in respect of Garrow's sacrifice. Spruce and Oakflower lived at Redwall for awhile before going back to the Longbrush Glen.
|
