Cluny the Scourge



Cluny the Scourge was an enormouse male black rat. He had one eye, the other being allegedly lost in a battle with a pike (which ended up the worse off) and covered by an eyepatch. He wore a cloack made of batwings that was fastened at his throat with the skull of a mole. His war helmet was adorned with blackbird feathers and stag beetle horns. One of his most distinguishing features - as well as his primary weapon - was his own tail, which was long, powerful, and whiplike. In battle, he fastened a poison spike to its tip and used it to lash out at enemies.

The Scourge is well-known as being one of the best villains Brian Jacques has to offer. He was extraordinarily strong, fast and agile, but was unusually intelligent and a master strategist as well. He was very observant and ambitious, and remains as the villain that got the closest to taking Redwall Abbey. He commanded a vast horde of rats with a smattering of weasels, stoats and ferrets. His primary captains included Cheesethief, Redtooth, Darkclaw, Fangburn, Frogblood, Mangefur, and Scumnose, and other valuable hordebeasts included Shadow, Scragg and Killconey. He also employed Sella and her son Slagar the Cruel, both healer foxes, when he was injured from a fall from a tree.

Cluny was described variously as a searat and a bilgerat, and apparently hailed from somewhere warm across the sea. Once he arrived in Mossflower Woods, he began collecting an army and made quite a name for himself as a warlord. He caused destruction and chaos as he moved southward across the land, disrupting cities and farmlands. During the Summer of the Late Rose, Cluny and his horde of over 500 vermin waged an intense war against the woodlanders of Redwall Abbey. He suffered from deranged dreams of mysterious warrior mice and often lost control of his temper. Despite this, he was probably the most competent warlord Redwall had ever been up against.

Cluny's various tactics included a false attempt at parlying, tunneling under the walls, a battering ram, boarding the ramparts from a tree, and building a massive wheeled tower to reach over the walls. All of these attempts failed, however, and his final successful plan involved forcing the dormouse Plumpen to open the gates for him after gaining access to the abbey. The dormouse was threatened with the death of his family, which had been captured by Cluny. After gaining entrance to the abbey, Cluny quickly subdued the Redwallers and would certainly have won if not for the timely return of Matthias, who had procured the sword of Martin the Warrior. Though Cluny far outmatched Matthias in skill and experience, the young mouse was able to kill the evil rat by slashing the rope that held the Joseph Bell, which crashed down on Cluny from above, killing him instantly.

Books
Cluny the Scourge appears in Redwall.