Ruggan Bor was a fearsome fox warlord and chieftain of the Juskabor. His fur was an unusual golden color, and he had green wavy lines tattooed on his forehead, along with yellow circles on the cheeks (this was his clan symbol).
Ruggan was an imperturbable and persistent beast. He also displayed the strange ability to get a beast's attention by simply staring at the back of its head, demonstrated when he needed to contact guards outside his tent. He was also described as very skilled in swordplay, although the book never actually portrayed him fighting anyone.
Ruggan took over the Juskazann tribe while its current leader Gruven Zann was off hunting Deyna the Taggerung. Gruven's mother Antigra plotted to remove Ruggan from power, but was discovered and executed by the fox. When Gruven returned and found he had been deposed, he lied to Ruggan, claiming that he had killed the otter, which would make him the new Taggerung. As a visibly unnerved Gruven kept changing his story, Ruggan patiently continued to question him on the subject, also consulting his seers Grissoul and Ermath to see if they could tell him the truth.
Upon arriving at Redwall Abbey with Gruven to test the stoat's latest lie (he claimed to have killed Deyna in the ditch outside Redwall Abbey), Ruggan demanded the Abbeybeasts tell him the truth. Deyna, who had had his Juska tattoos removed and was unrecognizable, decided to confirm Gruven's story that the Taggerung was dead. Since this made Gruven the new Taggerung, Ruggan slew the stoat and proceeded to proclaim himself to be Taggerung. Elated by his newfound power, Ruggan laughed for what may have been the first time in his life, and prepared his troops to attack the Abbey. Lucky for the Abbeybeasts, Russano the Wise arrived with Long Patrol hares at that very instant. Ruggan, having heard of the Badger Lord's might, wisely refused to fight him and surrendered. After his surrender, he was forcibly escorted back to the south coasts with his clan by the hares.
Trivia[]
- Ruggan Bor, along with Badredd and Cap'n Tramun Clogg, is one of the few major villains in the series not to die by the end of their respective books.
Note[]
He is not to be confused with Ruggan Axehound.