John MacGarran

From Redwall MUCK Wiki

John MacGarran is a red squirrel from the north-east borderlands.



History

Born sometime around the seasons of the Plague that swept through Mossflower before Abbot Lorimis' reign, John came to the Abbey of Redwall just after he grew out of his Dibbun-hood and spent several seasons there. Most notably during this time he first met the squirrel maid Trillis McCullough, who would go on to be his main traveling companion in his youth.

Collinsel & Trillis

By the time John was coming of age, he set out from Redwall Abbey with Trillis to seek out each others' families in the north lands; they never succeeded.

Traveling east from the road, they came first to the city of Collinsel on the shore of the Eastern Sea, before moving up the coast with the help of the otter ranger Tristan to the old, ruined fortress of Marshank. Finding no answers there, they turned back south to the great city where they spent the next several seasons living as outlaws.

Return to Mossflower

In the Summer of Remembrance during Lorimis’ 21st season as Abbot, John & Trillis returned to the Mossflower area and became swiftly embroiled with the war taking place at that time; helping the fellow squirrel Anomen become chieftain of the Gawtribe and taking part in the liberation of Redwall Abbey. John never saw the squirrelmaid again after he left to fight in the siege of Redwall, and he never found out what happened to her. For this and the deaths of many dear friends both new and old during the struggle, John MacGarran grew to hate Marek and all vermin who followed him.

Voluntary Exile from Redwall

He spent the next seasons back at Redwall as Mossflower recovered from the war, helping where he could. When an old badger from the north, Elder Zork, began claiming the beast Marek had repented of his actions, John objected vehemently and was subsequently mocked by the old badger - had weapons or fighting been allowed within the abbey the still young and rash squirrel would have attempted to fight Zork right then and there. As it was he restrained himself and left Redwell quietly to search for the missing Trillis, vowing to not return while creatures like Zork who defended murderers still breathed. Ever since he has held a more wary opinion of many of the Abbey Elders.

Second Return & Wanderings

Over the next seasons his search proved fruitless. Returning to Redwall, the squirrel shed no tears to hear of Zork's passing. Yet the defense and acceptance of Marek as a "reformed" beast remained at the abbey and John became more and more reclusive, coming and going at will for seasons at a time acting as a mercenary.

The Redthorn War

Returning to Mossflower after his longest journey of several seasons, John first came into contact with the badger Xander Winters who at the time led the group known as the Mossflower Defenders. The land at the time was once again under threat of vermin beasts, and John tried his best to stem the tide - though as time went on he became more and more hopeless as it became more and more clear how unprepared the woodlander beasts around him actually were. In the end, the squirrel was grievously wounded by hordebeasts and left for dead in a ditch.

Recovery & Afterwards

Saved by a group of traveling merchants, John was brought to the southlands where he spent several seasons recovering. Staying on with the group to travel back north to Mossflower, the squirrel became content for a time. While in the Redwall area the caravan was attacked and sacked by vermin while John was visiting the Abbey. Since hunting down the beasts guilty, the squirrel remained at Redwall for a time before tracking the kidnappers of Xander's son, Oz, to the western lands.

More recently, he has returned to Redwall Abbey.

Characteristics

Personality

He has grown out of the brash and foolhardy youth he once was into a more reserved and cautious creature by nature. Rarely sharing his true thoughts or worries, he is still quick to share an opinion - sometimes exaggerated to make a point. Intelligent, he enjoys reading and studying old works when he gets the chance and has an almost dibbun-like curiosity about the world around him, even if he does his best to play down this side of himself.

Having a strong sense of loyalty to those he is fond of or feels gratitude towards, John will often go to great lengths to help those who have helped him in the past or those in need; chief among these being the Order of Redwall Abbey towards whom he has always felt a deep sense of thankfulness for taking him in during his youth, even if he has rarely seen eye-to-eye with the order.

Appearance

As he has spent the better part of the past twenty seasons fighting, John has a strong physique and a powerful build, aided by his considerable height compared to the rest of his species. Having been injured repeatedly in the past, he developed a limp in his left leg and several scars cross his face with part of his left ear missing; giving him a somewhat intimidating look furthered by a rather intense gaze in his eyes.

Accent & Dialect

Over the years John has switched back and forth from a brogue to a more clear speaking pattern depending on who he is communicating with and where he happens to be. However, in more recent years he has become much more free with his natural voice and rarely switches from it.


OOC

Originally created in March 2012 as "John McGrove" by A random beast (currently OlRandom/Ol'random), the character went through several changes from 2013-2015 (most notably the change of his last name and overall "soft" retcon of his original backstory) to become roughly the same character played today.

He has little to no relation to the character Brother Garran, a former healer at Redwall from 2008.

Pages Related to John

Logs Featuring John in chronological order
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