Raventail was a barbaric ferret, the leader of a group of approximately 20 other ferrets who had distinctive accents. He got his name from a raven's feather that was braided in his tail. The band originally resided west of Redwall Abbey, where they would ambush and imprison other creatures, presumably to torture them for fun. Their method of torturing included dunking their captives in water for long periods of time.
When they stumbled upon Song, Dann, Dippler, and Burble, they attacked them and took the latter two captive. The other pair, however, escaped and later returned and chased off the ferrets with their slings. Raventail was savagely attacked by Dann, who wounded him and would have ended his life but for Song's intervention on the ferret's behalf.
Raventail later had an unseen encounter with the Marlfoxes and their army, initially being chased off. However, Vannan, Ascrod, and Predak, who were besieging Redwall at the time and were in need of reinforcements, sought out the ferret. He was convinced that the Marlfoxes were magic, and joined them in their attack on Redwall. Raventail managed to gather over 100 other vermin to add to his gang. Due to this large body of soldiers, he was treated with almost as much respect as an actual Marlfox and became a commander, though he and Ascrod were often at odds with each other.
His first, rash plan of attack, a full-on charge upon the Abbey with torches to burn down the gate, failed. Derided by the Marlfoxes (Ascrod especially) for his lack of cunning and subtlety, Raventail soon fell victim to the failure of their plan, as the tree the Marlfoxes were cutting down in order to crush the walls with was inhabited by termites and bees. Raventail's head was disfigured by bee stings, almost beyond recognition.
In the final battle, Raventail fought with Florian near the Abbey door when the hare knocked on the gate and alerted Lady Cregga Rose Eyes of the ferret's presence. The badger's paws shot out, grabbed the terrified Raventail and pulled him into the Abbey, never to be seen alive again.
Trivia[]
- Throughout most of Marlfox, Raventail is described as carrying a long scimitar as his weapon. However, during the last battle against Redwall, he is stated to be carrying a cutlass. As both words mean a curved sword, this is more likely due to an interchangeable use of the words rather than an actual change of weapon.