->''"He was called Urthblood, and his armor shone as red as his name..."''
-->--Opening line of ''The Crimson Badger''

During a great feastday, the [[FunnyAnimal beasts]] inhabiting [[{{Literature/Redwall}} Redwall Abbey]] are stirred from their reveries by the thunderous cry of Urthblood, a grim, emotionless badgerlord of Salamandastron dressed in [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin blood-red armour]], who possesses the gift of [[{{Seers}} prophetic foresight.]] Invited into the abbey, he tells the gathered beasts of a dire prophecy he received in his youth; a prophecy foretelling a great crisis that will sweep over the lands of Mossflower, and cast them into war, conflict and calamity, but leaving it unclear as to [[VaguenessIsComing whom or what will be causing it.]]

Ever since, he has strove tirelessly to gather a great army, fight against the evil beasts of the lands and to unite Mossflower and its surroundings into a strong, unified nation that will be able to withstand or even avert the coming darkness. Now he is offering the Redwallers to strengthen their defenses and help them prepare for the times ahead, for great changes are coming to the lands, and old certainties and beliefs will be challenged in extraordinary and unexpected ways...

Thus begins the Urthblood Saga, a {{Literature/Redwall}} fanfic written by [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/76153/Highwing Highwing]], and one of the old classics of the Redwall Online Community. It was drafted between 1995 and 1997 and published on the Redwall Fanfiction Board in the early 2000's, which is now gone.

The saga develops and examines ideas never touched upon in the official Redwall novels, and ditches their strict BlackAndWhiteMorality for a [[GreyAndGreyMorality complex moral conflict]] that constantly forces the reader to reevaluate whose side he should be on and who is good or evil. It starts simple enough, but soon turns into a complex, multifaceted epic involving [[AlwaysChaoticEvil vermin]] being taken under Urthblood's arms and retrained into noble warriors, two badgerlords at war, a massive conflict with the [[ArchEnemy searats]], a shrew rebellion, [[LensmanArmsRace escalating arms races]], dozens of characters all getting their own time in the spotlight, unexpected plot twists and character development and all the action, drama, humour, horror and tragedy you could possibly hope for in a story.

The saga is so far composed of four completed novels. The novels in turn are composed of separate parts, or "books" of several chapters each, and they are published on the site in those parts.

[[folder:Full List of Links]]
{{Prequel}}:
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7076532/1/Highwing_A_Sparras_Tale Highwing: A Sparra's Tale]]

The Crimson Badger
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6788438/1/The_Crimson_Badger_Book_I_The_Warlord Book I: The Warlord]]
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6821027/1/The_Crimson_Badger_Book_II_Armies Book II: Armies]]
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6865628/1/The_Crimson_Badger_Book_III_Journeys Book III: Journeys]]
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6947288/1/The_Crimson_Badger_Book_IV_Fire_on_the_Mountain Book IV: Fire on the Mountain]].

The Shrew War
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7242385/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_I_A_Fire_in_the_Night_Sky Book I: A Fire in the Night Sky]]
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7261856/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_II_The_Winter_Coast Book II: The Winter Coast]]
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7321178/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_III_A_Nameday_Like_No_Other Book III: A Nameday Like No Other]]
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7366075/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_IV_The_Thunder_and_the_Fire Book IV: The Thunder and the Fire]]
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7396184/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_V_The_Red_Tower Book V: The Red Tower]]
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7440215/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_VI_Doublegate Book VI: Doublegate]]
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7580169/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_VII_The_Isle_of_Death Book VII: The Isle of Death]]
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7634582/1/The_Shrew_War_Epilogues three epilogues.]]

Latura of Redwall
* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9760184/1/Latura-of-Redwall-Book-I-A-Pageant-Festive-and-Myriad Book I: A Pageant, Festive and Myriad]].
* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10454885/1/Latura-of-Redwall-Book-II-A-Meeting-Unexpected-and-Ordained Book II: A Meeting, Unexpected and Ordained]]
* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10852954/1/Latura-of-Redwall-Book-III-A-Haven-Beleaguered-and-Besieged Book III: A Haven, Beleaguered and Besieged]]
* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11211462/1/Latura-of-Redwall-Book-IV-An-Abduction-Nefarious-and-Necessary Book IV: An Abduction, Nefarious and Necessary]]

Latura of Redwall, 2nd Iteration: Of Prophets and Kings
* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11934759/1/Latura-of-Redwall-2nd-Iteration-Of-Prophets-and-Kings 2nd Iteration: Of Prophets and Kings]]

BonusMaterial:
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7238599/1/Tug_of_War Tug of War]]
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7032661/1/The_Continuing_Adventures_of_Martin_the_Turd The Continuing Adventures of Martin the Turd]] takes place about half a generation after Mattimeo.
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7073186/1/The_Obligation The Obligation]] is the first story the author posted on the web.
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7197449/1/The_Chains_of_Love The Chains of Love]] is a [[HotterAndSexier a sex farce]] that details the romantic exploits of two of TCB's characters before the novel takes place (slightly more risque version [[http://www.oocities.org/redwalldigest/short62.html here]]).

[[/folder]]

!This work contains examples of:
[[folder:Tropes A-F]]
* AcquiredPoisonImmunity: Urthblood has made himself pretty much immune to poisons, and it's hinted though not outright stated that he did it through this method. One of the captains recall an incident when a ferret in his army tried to poison him with a rigged knife in order to take it over for himself. The badger simply stood up, pulled out the knife, had the ferret dragged out in front of the other soldiers and [[CruelAndUnusualDeath forced him to eat the knife...]]
* ActionGirl: Mina, the Gawtrybe squirrel lady, who's a master of the bow and arrow to the point of ImprobableAimingSkills.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: One of the main points of the series is averting this, and the novel goes to great lengths to discuss the concept and its consequences for the Redwall universe.
* {{Ambadassador}}: At his [[JumpedAtTheCall own insistence]], Winokur is sent by the abbey as a representative to try and get Urthblood and Urthfist to settle their conflict peacefully.
* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler: Perret the ferret captain]] gets his leg cut off by Urthfist in the final battle, but still [[DyingMomentOfAwesome manages to slay two Long Patrol hares before he dies.]]
** [[spoiler: Urthblood]] loses his swordpaw in the duel with [[spoiler: Urthfist, but still manages to slay him.]]
* AwesomeUnderwaterWorld: Winokur, a river otter who at first feels a great deal of trepidation at the prospect, decides to take a swim in the sea by the side of Salamandastron. The chapter goes into a great deal of depth about all the wonders of the underwater world, with [[SceneryPorn lavish descriptions]] of the countless varieties of ocean life.
* AxCrazy: Wolfrum certainly comes across as this. So does Urthfist, to an extent.
* BackToBackBadasses: Jans and Broggen, due to being [[ChainedHeat chained together]] at the wrist, pretty much always have to fight back to back, and they're some of Urthblood's best soldiers.
* BatDeduction: From a quick look the sword that Snoga took of the corpse of a slain slaver fox, Urthblood deduces that it's a searat sword, that the foxes have traded it for their recently captured slaves, that they would have made the exchange with the rats at a nearby river, and how long ago this would've taken place.
* BedSheetLadder: The Long Patrol hares use one to escape from their room [[spoiler:where they're held in captivity by Urthblood. It turns out that he's already waiting for them outside, but he lets them go anyway.]]
* BigBadassBattleSequence: It takes quite a while before we get to it in TCB - not until the final chapters - but when it does it's [[WarIsHell brutal.]]
* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: After the Battle of Salamandastron, [[spoiler: Urthblood]] proclaims that he will charge [[spoiler: Hanchett]] with treason for having attacked him during his [[spoiler: duel with Urthfist]] and costing him his right paw, while implying that he'll probably spare him if the [[spoiler: remaining Long Patrol]] join up with him. Subverted since the [[spoiler: Long Patrol]] refuse to do so, and [[spoiler: Urthblood later spares Hanchett's life anyway.]]
* BlingOfWar / BlingBlingBang: Before their [[spoiler: battle with Urthfist,]] Urthblood provides some of his soldiers with weapons from Salamandastron's TreasureRoom, consisting of gold-plated, jewel-encrusted weapons and shields emblazoned with artworks. It's [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]] however, when [[spoiler: these weapons and shields turn out to be completely useless against Urthfist's berserker rampage. Of course, that might've been [[ThePlan part of Urthblood's plan all along...]]]]
* BoisterousBruiser: Montybank is fearsome warrior, but fun-loving, brash and outgoing.
* ButtMonkey: Fitkin the ferry shrew constantly seems to have misfortunes happen to him. First Urthfist collapses his hovel around him, forcing him to dig his way out, then after Urthblood raises it for him Urthfist nearly kills the shrew on his return trip, and after the Battle of Salamandastron, Clewiston collapses the hovel again. Of course, most of those misfortunes are his own damn fault for his often unreasonable demands to people who need to use his barge, even in emergencies, his incessant greed and his insults [[TooDumbToLive to Urthfist's face]] [[spoiler: (and to his memory, in front of the Long Patrol).]]
* CainAndAbel: Urthfist, Urthblood's younger brother who've taken over as lord of Salamandastron while he's been away on his campaigns to unite the lands, considers his brother his mortal enemy. He has [[ProphecyTwist interpreted the prophecy]] to mean that it is ''Urthblood'' who's the true threat that will descend upon the world, and that the powers of fate have turned him wholly evil; he considers him taking vermin under arms as [[FantasticRacism proof of this]]. The Crimson Badger largely revolves around their conflict.
* CarnivoreConfusion: The series inherits this from the official novels, and discusses it occasionally. In a scene where Urthblood's vermin captains are allowed into Redwall for the first time, it is admitted that the soldiers have been allowed to kill and eat birds on occasion, and Montybank makes a jab of vermin eating other furred beasts, though his comment is mostly just prejudice as they regard that as cannibalism as much as the Redwallers do. And of course, like in the official series, no-one has any problems with eating [[NoCartoonFish fish and shrimps.]]
* ChainedHeat: Jans and Broggen, a mouse and a stoat who are soldiers of Urthblood, are a rare ''willing'' example of this. Broggen's [[TheAlcoholic alcoholism]] caused trouble for him in his early campaigning days when he soured relations between the badger and the locals he was trying to impress during a drunken binge, and he punished him by [[QuicksandSucks throwing him into a bog.]] Jans felt pity for him and saved him against his master's orders, who then declared that he would be responsible for the stoats behaviour for the rest of his life. To better keep an eye on his charge, he had a length of chain forged around their wrists, which they've been carrying ''for years''. Despite their situation, they've learned to [[BackToBackBadasses work perfectly as a team]], and are one of the most effective soldiers in Urthblood's army.
** After Smallert's accidental killing of Speeg and wounding of Cyrus, this trope comes into play in more traditional fashion, as Machus decides to chain him together with Hanchett, whom Urthblood has asked the Redwallers to keep at the abbey for ten days, in order to prevent the hare from escaping. This turns out to save Smallert's life, as he's kept from being executed while chained to the hare for a couple of days, enough time for Cyrus to re-awaken and forgive the weasel, and the Redwallers to adopt him into the abbey
* CombatMedic: The swordfoxes, in addition to being one of Urthblood's [[BadassArmy best troopers]], double as healers for the army.
* CommanderContrarian: Snoga, the shrew who insists that he should be in command of the Guosim, acts like this to everything that both Log-a-Log and Urthblood does or says.
* ConsummateLiar: Urthblood is ''not'' forthcoming either about the details of his prophecy or his true aims and methods, and is more than willing to bend the truth or [[BlatantLies outright lie]] to both enemies and allies in order to achieve his goals, and shows [[IDidWhatIHadToDo little to no remorse in doing so.]] The first obvious example in the story is his claim that he didn't know about his brother's [[CainAndAbel hatred for him]] until he met with a [[HairRaisingHare Long Patrol hare]] who tried to kill him on sight after arriving at Redwall. This is despite that several chapters earlier, he is seen giving orders to Browder to travel to Salamandastron to lure Urthfist out with a story of him conquering Redwall, in order to take the mountain for himself.
** Browder himself is very skilled at lying when he puts his mind to it, perfectly succeeding in getting Urthfist and most his Long Patrol out of Salamandastron. He doesn't seem to consider himself one however, maintaning that he is simply an [[ImplausibleDeniability actor telling a particular kind of story.]]
* ContrivedCoincidence: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]]. The fox Machus carries a sword that is an almost exact replica of the sword of Martin, which Urthblood forged for him in the Northlands despite never having seen the latter. Urthblood speculates that Boar the Fighter. the badgerlord who crafted the original sword, may have been present [[SpiritAdvisor in spirit]] and guided him when he made it.
* CoolBoat: The fish-shaped searat submarine, complete with a propeller and periscope.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Urthblood once invoked this by forcing his would-be assassin, a ferret named Kedrin, to eat his own poisoned knife. It gets stuck in his throat halfway down, causing him to cough up blood, and Kedrin dies from the poison.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Plenty of the soldiers in Urthblood's army has this as their background, having been recruited from various slaver gangs and pillaging hordes. Urthblood's own past also turns out to not have been squeaky clean either.
* DarkerAndEdgier: The series as a whole is DarkerAndEdgier than the official novels, and The Shrew War is noticably DarkerAndEdgier than The Crimson Badger.
* DeathRay: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed.]] Early in TCB, Urthblood speculates that it may be possible to build a device of giant lenses and mirrors that would focus sunlight to such a degree that it would be possible to [[KillItWithFire incinerate an enemy army.]] He never comes around to doing it however, mostly because that wouldn't [[ArtisticLicensePhysics mesh with physics]], even in the Redwall universe.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Most of Urthblood's vermin troops (see HeelRaceTurn below) come from former pillaging hordes and slaver bands that he defeated and whose leaders he killed, offering the survivors a chance to join his army instead.
* DisproportionateRetribution: During his early days in the army, Broggen and his close friend Brigger had an [[TheAlcoholic had an overactive fondess for spirits]], and when finding a large cask of wine they drank themselves into a crazed stupor, wandering around terrifying the local beasts and destroying much of the trust that Urthblood had hoped to win in the region. While their actions were indeed damaging and stupid, Urthblood's punishment for them consists of ''[[QuicksandSucks throwing them into a bog for them to drown.]]'' Brigger died in the bog, while Broggen was just barely saved by the mouse Jans, leading to their [[ChainedHeat unusual predicament.]] Curiously, despite Urthblood killing his best friend, Broggen apparently [[EasilyForgiven bears no real ill-will towards him.]]
** After being [[MinorInjuryOverreaction accidentally and lightly pricked on the rump]] by the soft spikes of the young hedgehog Droge, Wolfrum is ready to draw blood from him with his sword, and when Balla interferes, he's comes close to lopping one of her ears of. Fortunately, Machus [[OhCrap interferes]] before he has a chance to do so.
* DoubleStandard: The hares consider [[spoiler: Machus]] to be treacherous for stabbing Urthfist in his unofficial duel with Urthblood. They see absolutely nothing wrong with the hare [[spoiler: Hanchett]] having stabbed Urthblood a few moments before.
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Urthblood apparently receives some of his [[FateAndProphecyTropes prophetic visions]] through dreams. Of course, his first instance of this in the story, where he claims he's found out about his brother's enmity for him, is a [[BlatantLies patent lie]] as he has already prepared for war with him for a long time.
* DudeMagnet: Lady Mina, the squirrel archer who follows Urthblood's army to Redwall as an envoy, is immediately courted by most of the male squirrels of the abbey, including Alexander, it's chief archer.
* EasyLogistics: Semi-averted. Urthblood's troops are mostly stated to forage for their food, as well as receiving supplies from farms and settlements in the Northlands that he controls. He also regularly holds councils with his captains to discuss the supply of weaponry, food, clothing etc.
* EnhancedInterrogationTechniques: Urthblood has [[AntiHero no qualms]] about using these methods to gather the information he wants from captured enemies. In some cases, like when dealing with captured [[ArchEnemy searats]], it's implied that he's willing to go all the way into [[ColdBloodedTorture outright torture.]]
* EvilFormerFriend: It is revealed that in his early days of campaigning, [[spoiler:Urthblood saved Tratton, his later nemesis, from a shipwreck, sailed with him for a number of months and even cleared the way for him to rise as the king of the searats.]] He [[HandWave hand waves]] this as being necessary because he foresaw him as a future enemy, but the exact nature of their early relationship is kept ''very'' diffuse...
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Major Safford]] takes an arrow through the eye, courtesy of Alexander, as he's about to slay Winokur at the Battle of Salamandastron.
* FantasticRacism: The series deals with and [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructs]] this trope a lot. It takes a long time for the Redwallers, who are generally good and kind, to accept and treat the vermin in Urthblood's army as equals, and the other beasts of Mossflower have an even harder time of it. Considering that the vermin [[RapePillageAndBurn have done to them throughout the ages however]], [[JustifiedTrope it's understandable.]]
* FauxActionGirl: The number of female soldiers in the cast is tiny, and [[QuicklyDemotedWoman nearly all of them end up married, saddled with babies, and gently pushed out of the action]] as the story progresses. Not that they ever did much to start with...
* FoodPorn: Can compete with the original novels in places.
* FoodSlap: Clewiston throws a goblet of wine in Urthblood's face when the badger tells him that, as the Long Patrol, [[BerserkButton he and his hares are duty-bound to serve him.]]
* FunnyAnimal: Naturally, considering the [[{{Literature/Redwall}} series]] it's based on.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes G-M]]
%%* GadgeteerGenius: Lorr the bankvole, with a sprinkling of AbsentMindedProfessor.
* GovernmentInExile: Urthfist and his Long Patrol hares briefly become this after Urthblood conquers Salamandastron while they're at Redwall. [[spoiler:It becomes semi-permanent after Urthfist is killed and his remaining hares choose to settle at Redwall.]]
* HairTriggerTemper: In [[RedOniBlueOni contrast]] to [[TheStoic his brother]], Urthfist occasionally (read: all the time) comes across as a walking time-bomb. His Long Patrol subordinates basically have to restrain him on several occasions to prevent him from going berserk on someone being rude/voicing an opinion contrary to his own/[[FantasticRacism being a fox, weasel or rat.]]
* HeelRaceTurn: One of the [[CentralTheme main themes]] of the saga. Early in The Crimson Badger, it's revealed that Urthblood has taken rats, foxes, ferrets and weasels and other traditional [[AlwaysChaoticEvil "vermin"]] from the Redwall universe, and put them under arms in order to transform them into decent, upstanding soldiers, hoping to end the ages-old conflict between them and the [[AlwaysLawfulGood "goodbeasts"]] of the lands, and to be better prepared for the coming crisis his prophecy foretells of.
* HeroicBSOD: Happens to Smallert when he realized that he's mortally wounded Cyrus in his rageful attempt to get revenge on Wolfrum for lopping off his ear.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Jans]] [[TakingTheBullet throwing himself in front of the spear]] meant for [[spoiler:Broggen]] during the final battle. Later, during Urthfist's and Urthblood's duel, [[spoiler: Machus stabs Urthfist just as he's about to slay his master, saving Urthblood's life but [[OffWithHisHead losing his head]] in the process.]]
* IJustWantToBeBadass: Cyril, the young bellringer mouse, wants to be a warrior, and is spurred on by the appearance of Urthblood. The other inhabitants of the abbey are not impressed by this.
* IKissYourFoot: Smallert to Vanessa, out of gratitude once he realizes the Redwallers have forgiven him for his wounding of Cyrus and are going to adopt him into Redwall, sparing him from execution at the hands of Machus.
* InVinoVeritas: The Redwallers invite some of Urthblood's captains for a private gathering in order to hear their thoughts about their master when he's not around, during which they uncork a bottle of blackberry brandy and encourage them to help themselves, in order to loosen their tongues. It works quite well, but leaves Vanessa with a [[HangoverSensitivity splitting headache the morning after]].
* InstantSedation: Urthblood's forces employ a knockout gas called Flitchaye gas, after a savage weasel tribe they got it from, in the form of a clay cannisters containing two liquid extracts that mix together when they're shattered, producing a white vapor that almost instantly puts anyone breathing it in to sleep.[[spoiler: This proves essential to him since it allows him to [[StormTheCastle capture Salamandastron]] in a covert raid without losing a single one of his otters or killing any of the guarding Long Patrol hares.]]
* JumpedAtTheCall: After learning that Urthblood's army is travelling to Salamandastron to confront Urthfist, Cyril decides to sneak out of Redwall, dress as a soldier and come with them, despite not having any combat experience or fighting skills. Subverted, quite fortunately, since he's immediately found out and [[RefusedByTheCall told to go back to the abbey.]]
* KickTheDog: Tratton hits his wife in his first on-screen appearance, though considering that she'd angrily sank her fangs into his paw as he tried to caress her it might be considered payback. A better example would be that he has apparently [[BadBoss had his own rats killed for standing too close to him in a bad mood.]]
* LivingLieDetector: As a result of his [[{{Seers}} prophetic powers]], Urthblood is able to detect whether someone is telling the truth or not almost flawlessly, and is even able to engage in limited [[{{Telepathy}} mind reading]] to gauge the general character and trustworthiness of his target.
* LookBehindYou: Balla does this twice with Wolfrum during her confrontation with him after he's been pricked by her nephew Droge. First she tells him that Machus is right behind him to distract him when she hits him in the stomach with her staff. During the resulting fight, when Wolfrum has gotten the upper paw over her and is about to extract a bloody vengeance, she does so again, prompting him to mock her for thinking that he'll fall for it twice. Only this time, [[OhCrap Machus really is right behind him...]]
* LostInTranslation: In-universe example. An old nursery rhyme that is popular with the abbey children was originally a poem describing the effects a seer has on the [[PsychicBlockDefense time he lives in.]]
* MadeOfIron: Due to a combination of [[BioAugmentation medical]] and [[AlchemyIsMagic alchemical]] treatments, his status as being [[TheChosenOne chosen by fate]], and just general badassery, Urthblood is able to shrug off wounds that would kill most other beasts.
* MeaningfulFuneral: [[spoiler: Urthfist is given one by his brother]] after the Battle of Salamandastron, by being placed on the throne in the room where Urthblood's prophecy was first written. Clewiston speculates that it may have reflected something Urthblood had said earlier: [[spoiler: that he'd let Urthfist have the throne of Salamandastron when he was "worthy" of having it...]]
* MotiveRant: While Urthblood is usually content to just do what he feels is necessary without others understanding him, he does give a few of these throughout the saga.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes N-S]]
* NeverMyFault: Aside from his [[HairTriggerTemper violent temper]] and general [[JerkAss unpleasantness]] to those around him, this is the major flaw of Wolfrum, a rat in Urthblood's army. He's apparently utterly unable to understand that he's done anything wrong or take any responsibility for the bad things that happens to others because of him, even when he's thrown a fellow soldier to be killed by Smallert, and done the same to young Cyrus, who just barely survives the wound he receives.
* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: A heroic example ([[AntiHero more or less]]): Urthblood invites Colonel Clewiston, the lead hare of the Long Patrol [[spoiler: who've been taken captive after his takeover of Salamandastron,]] to dinner to try to persuade him to switch loyalties from Urthfist to him. It goes about as well as you'd expect.
* NobleBigot: Many characters in the series could be classified like this, due to their general opinion of the vermin species; because of their history of conflict with them, they have a very hard time accepting and welcoming rats, foxes and stoats into their midst. Over the course of the series, most [[CharacterDevelopment gradually learn]] to be more tolerant and even manage to count individual vermin as friends, but it takes quite some time, and some never truly get over their old prejudices.
** The Long Patrol hares embody this especially, since their hatred of vermin is stronger than most, while still being good guys. With their master Urthfist, however, there's very little emphasis on "Noble" and very strong emphasis on [[FantasticRacism "Bigot"]]
* NobleBirdOfPrey: Urthblood employs several of them, including an eagle, a kite and a falcon, as messengers, spies and occasionally as fighters. And they're armoured.
* OffWithHisHead: Happens to [[spoiler: Machus]] during Urthfist's and Urthblood's final duel as he saves his master's life in the process. [[spoiler: Urthblood]] later sews it back onto his body so he can be be buried in a dignified state.
* ParentalNeglect: A very mild example with Winokur the otter's father, Warnokur. When [[MissingMom his mother died]] shortly after his birth, Warnokur left his son at the abbey and spends most of his days travelling, only visiting his son a couple of days each season. [[SubvertedTrope He's still a very warm and kind dad]] whenever they get together however, and is treated sympathetically, not to mention that the other characters often [[CallingTheOldManOut call him out]] on his irresponsibility. [[spoiler: It's a shame that he doesn't survive the Battle of Salamandastron...]]
* PlayfulOtter: Montybank.
* PsychicBlockDefense: Urthblood is apparently able to do this to the ''entire era he lives in.'' More specifically, Geoff the recorder finds an ancient version of an old nursery rhyme that turns out to have been a poem about how a seer living in a specific era prevents past seers from being able to make predictions and prophecies about that era.
* [[RealMenDontCry Real Warriors Don't Cry]]: Cyril is of this opinion. At first...
* SchizoTech: The series introduces several unusually advanced devices as the series go on, mostly due to efforts by Urthblood and Tratton to keep a [[LensmanArmsRace technological edge]] over each other. The first we see are an [[CoolBoat iron submarine]] built by the searats, and a [[InstantSedation knockout gas]] used by the badgerlord's forces.
* ScrewDestiny: Urthblood does what he does partly to avert the coming crisis, or at least to weather it.
* SecretPath: It is revealed that there is one through the mountains that seperate the Western Plains, and Redwall, from Salamandastron. This becomes important for several events in The Crimson Badger.
* SelfMadeOrphan: There is a sympathetic example of this in Machus. After he and his clan was saved from being wiped out by searats by the interference of Urthblood, he killed his father, who was the leader of the clan, when he refused to allow him to join the badger's nascent army. However, he's deeply remorseful about it, it is established [[DarkAndTroubledPast as a shameful sin of his past]], and Urthblood [[HandWave brushes it off]] by saying that his father was an [[OffstageVillainy evil beast]] who would probably have [[OffingTheOffspring killed his own son]] rather than lose him to the badger.
* ShadesOfConflict: The series examplifies several shades during its run.
** WhiteAndGreyMorality: The general shade of the conflict between the Redwallers, who are for the most part truly good and striving to do what's right, and Urthfist and the Long Patrol (and to a lesser extent Urthblood and his forces) who are also convinced they're doing what's right, but are decidedly more willing to use more [[ShootTheDog questionable means]] in their struggle.
** GreyAndGrayMorality: The conflict between Urthblood and Urthfist.
* ShootTheDog: Urthblood has no problem with this trope if he believes it's for [[WellIntentionedExtremist the greater good.]] The earliest clear-cut example is when he chooses to execute the captured searats from the submarine, apparently after having applied some brutal [[ColdBloodedTorture "interogations"]] on them first. He justifies it to Winokur, by whose Redwall standards such acts would be appalling, by claiming that they would only have caused more trouble and misery if they were set free, that they would have slowed them down too much if they'd brought them with them to Salamandastron, that the Guosim they'd stolen their children from would have done the same if they were handed over to them, and that by gazing deeply into their eyes, he [[MindProbe could see]] that their souls were completely beyond redemption. While his reasons in this case does appear to have merit, it's always left ambiguous whether he's telling the truth or doing these things out of simple convenience.
* ShoutOut: The sandal that hangs by the tapestry along with the sword of Martin is a reference to "Highwing: A Sparra's Tale", an earlier story of the author that takes place within the same continuity.
** The searats' fish-shaped submarine that Urthblood discovers is possibly a shout-out to the [[Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Nautilus.]]
** The title of the fourth book of TCB comes from a song by Music/TheGratefulDead.
** In the Long Patrol there is a sergeant by the name of [[Music/TheBeatles Peppertail.]]
* SiblingYinYang: Cyril and Cyrus have some of this, with [[RedOniBlueOni Cyril being more headstrong and eager for adventure and resenting his place as a bellringer at Redwall, while his younger brother is more calm, gentle and accepting of his status.]] Despite their differences however, they deeply love and care for each other, and demonstrate it several times in the series.
** Urthblood and Urthfist are a darker version of this trope, Urthblood being [[TheStoic cold and calculating]] and Urthfist [[HairTriggerTemper being hot-blooded and short-tempered.]] And unlike Cyril and Cyrus, [[CainAndAbel they're mortal enemies.]]
* SituationalHandSwitch: Broggen is actually right-pawed, but since the manacle to his chain is bound around it, [[TheDeterminator he's trained himself to fight with his left paw.]]
* SlaveLiberation: Type A. Urthblood's forces rescues Log-a-Log's son and a number of other beasts who are aboard the searat [[CoolBoat submarine]], by throwing their [[InstantSedation Flitchaye gas]] down the hatch.
* SociopathicSoldier: Wolfrum is so [[JerkAss rude]], [[HairTriggerTemper aggressive]] and [[DisproportionateRetribution violent]] that it's a wonder he's [[FridgeLogic allowed to serve in Urthblood's army at all]].
* StandingBetweenTheEnemies: Winokur does this at the first meeting of Urthblood and the Guosim shrews, who are about to come to blows since Log-a-Log's son has just been kidnapped and they are determined not to let any vermin, including the ones in the badger's army, to leave their forest alive. His actions saves hundreds of lives.
* StormingTheCastle: Storming The Mountain / AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs All Your Mountain Are Belong To Us: [[spoiler:Urthblood does this to Salamandastron via his otters sneaking up on the mountain and throwing in their canisters of [[InstantSedation Flitchaye gas]] to put the guarding hares, who are stationed there while Urthfist is trying to meet his brother in battle at Redwall, to sleep.]] Which trope you regard it as depends largely on [[GreyAndGrayMorality which side in their conflict you're on.]]
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[[folder:Tropes T-Z]]
* TacticalWithdrawal: At the end of The Crimson Badger, Tratton shows up at Salamandastron with a fleet of dreadnoughts to survey the place, but decides to turn back since he doesn't know its true capabilities yet, despite the advice of his captains and his own queen. This turns out to have been a monumental mistake [[spoiler: since Urthblood's troops are decimated after the Battle of Salamandastron]]. If he'd chosen to attack then, he might've won.
* TearsOfJoy: Despite Cyril's earlier insistence that [[RealMenDontCry real warriors don't cry]], he openly weeps with joy at seeing his younger brother recover from his grievous wounds. Smallert's eyes also brim over when he finds out that the Redwallers have convinced Machus to let him live, and will adopt him into the abbey.
* TheMole : [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant No, not the moles]] Urthblood employs as his [[TheEngineer Tunnel and Trencher Corps.]] Browder, a woodlands hare and [[ThePowerOfActing travelling thespian]] that he employs as a spy and infiltrator, and uses to lure Urthfist out of Salamandastron by having him claim that he's put Redwall under siege. YMMV on which type of mole he is, [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation depending on which badgerlord you view as the "bad" one]], and in any event Browder himself is not a bad creature.
** Halpryn and Klystra briefly become this when the Long Patrol unknowingly hire them to spy on Urthblood, their own master. Nothing comes of it though.
* TheSiege: Urthfist threatens to put Redwall under this in order to flush out the vermin troops inside, but is eventually talked out of it.
%%* TheSleepless: Urthblood, apparently.
* TheSquad: Urthfist regularly sends out squads of three Long Patrol hares to [[ArmyScout scout out]] the regions around Salamandastron, both to be alerted of searats and his brother. There is a special squad consisting of only a single hare called [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Traveller]], whose role is to go father afield to spy on Urthblood and his army.
* TheStoic: Urthblood. The number of times he shows any strong emotion in the series can be counted almost literally on one paw.
* TrainingThePeacefulVillagers: Not exactly a straight example, since the Redwallers are already good fighters and knowledgable about how to defend their abbey. However, they have lived in peace for so long that their standards have become rather laxed, and Urthblood reminds them of this and introduces changes to their security that they wouldn't have thought of otherwise.
%%* TreasureRoom: Salamandastron is revealed to have a magnificent one underneath the throne room were Urthblood first carved his prophecy.%%A magnificent what?
* TwentyFourHourArmour: Urthblood is never seen without his namesake armour. He does not sleep in it though... because, apparently, he ''[[TheSleepless never sleeps.]]''
* UncleanlinessIsNextToUngodliness: This trope was in effect with most of the vermin in the official series, and it's [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] here. It's mentioned a couple of times that ever since joining Urthblood's army, the vermin have to take regular baths and look after their hygiene, which many of them apparently didn't do before. Despite this, the woodlanders often make comments about them being more "dirty" than they are; whether this is just friendly jabs, prejudice or actually true is unclear.
* UnholyMatrimony: The marriage between Tratton and Queen Regelline. As you might expect, [[NoAccountingForTaste they rarely show any obvious displays of love between each other]], but the exact nature of their relationship has yet to be explored.
* WackyMarriageProposal: Mizagelle to [[spoiler: Browder]], she planned on killing him, but ended up proposing.
* WhatTheHellHero: Urthblood receives plenty of these over the course of the series for his many questionable actions. Usually, [[IDidWhatIHadToDo he just ignores them.]]
* WhoWatchesTheWatchmen: Phrased almost literally by Arlyn who wonders about who will watch Urthblood's [[EliteMook swordfox brigade]] that serves, among other things, as the police force in the army to keep unsavory elements from rebelling. The answer from Tillamook, the hedgehog captain, is simply: [[CircularReasoning "They watch themselves."]]
* WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide: During a meeting between the Redwallers and the Long Patrol, it's revealed that shortly after Urthblood ran away from Salamandastron after receiving his prophecy, he was captured by a tribe of pygmy shrews who planned to use him as forced labour. Since he had much less control over his inner Bloodwrath in those days, and [[BerserkButton hated slavers]] above all other types of villainous creatures, he flew into a [[TheBerserker berserker rage]], breaking free of his restraints and slaughtering most of the tribe, including several children.
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