Sela, also known as Old Sela and Sela the Vixen, was a female fox healer who resided in Mossflower Woods. She was the mother of Chickenhound. Together, the pair lived with an unnamed band of foxes. Sela had golden eyes, and was a crafty double-dealer of information. After she was ordered to provide medical assistance to Cluny the Scourge, she and Chickenhound stole what they believed to be his battle plans.
Cluny intended for this to happen. The plans indicated that Cluny was only going to use a battering ram in an attack against Redwall Abbey when, in actuality, he intended to use a tunnel in addition to the battering ram as part of his strategy to infiltrate Redwall. When Sela tried to sell the fake plans to the Redwall residents, they were forcibly taken by Constance, who knocked the fox unconscious.
Eventually, Sela and Chickenhound became desperate as even after Cluny's health was restored, he would not let them depart his camp. Soon, they were caught eavesdropping by a couple of guards. To punish their continuous attempts to betray him and the fact that they now knew his real plans to tunnel under the Abbey, Cluny had the two traitorous foxes speared by his soldiers. Their bodies were thrown into a ditch, and while Chickenhound survived, Sela died from her wounds.
Nelvana Redwall TV Series[]
In the Nelvana Redwall TV Series, Sela and Chickenhound escaped to Redwall to deliver the fake plans to Abbot Mortimer and a suspicious Constance. As soon as the two got the chance, they robbed the Abbey of its silverware. When Methuselah caught them red-handed, Chickenhound brutally beat him over the head with a long iron candlestick, shocking Sela.
Despite her best efforts, Sela was injured by Matthias and caught by Constance while Chickenhound abandoned her. As punishment, a begging Sela was thrown out of the Abbey where she was instantly confronted by Cluny and his horde, though he sarcastically advised her to run, Sela could only scream as she was slain by either Cluny or one of his soldiers.
Though a criminal who had no problem betraying clients and robbing those who offered her and her son hospitality, even Sela was shocked and horrified when Chickenhound mortally wounded Methuselah.
Trivia[]
- Redwall implies that Methuselah knew of her, since he mentions "you are far worse than your wicked mother" to Chickenhound when seeing him running from Friar Hugo with the stolen goods. In the Nelvana TV series, when Mortimer and Constance look over the fake plans, Mortimer believes them, but Constance warns him that the pair of foxes had a reputation of double crossing clients.
- It's not exactly clear if Sela actually was a healer, given the medical aid, or lack thereof, she provided. It could have been an elaborate act as part of her scheming ways, given her unusual methods. (Sela did know about medicinal herbs, but she could be a herbalist instead of a doctor.)