Slagar

Slagar the Cruel (born Chickenhound) is a villainous anthropomorphic fox in the book "Mattimeo" from the Redwall series by Brian Jacques.

He has many hidden plans and reasons which he only reveals by his own free will. Although only named in one book, he also appears in another book from the same series, adding to his mysterious history. Although he is the main villain, he himself is second to other, greater villains in all but his own plans. His most characteristic trait is his desire for revenge and his pursuit of it, leaving death and misery in its wake. He was voiced by Simon Smithies in the full-cast audiobook of "Redwall" (as Chickenhound) and by Paul Braithwaite in "Mattimeo", and by Tim Curry in the animated series.

Biography

Early life

Slagar revealed himself as Chickenhound, the young fox from "Redwall", to Mattimeo during their journey. He gave Mattimeo a biased story in which he was an innocent youngster whom the Redwallers were responsible for injuring, and he had personified them in Matthias. In truth, he was the son of the healer-vixen Sela. His mother was a traitor to both the horde of Cluny the Scourge they were employed by, and the Redwall creatures who took them in, to exploit the most benefit from each side. Chickenhound was Sela's assistant in her plans.

Cluny suspected the foxes were planning to double-cross him, and set a trap to expose them. They were caught, and Cluny ordered their execution by spearing. Sela was slain, but Chickenhound survived and dragged himself wounded to Redwall. He was cared for in the infimary, and told the Redwallers about Cluny's plans to tunnel into the abbey, an act that quite likely saved Redwall from being conquered. After he recovered, he began to believe that he was being imprisoned and escaped, stealing valuables on his way out. Pursued by the Redwallers, he accidentally killed an old mouse named Methuselah in his haste to escape.

Running for his life, Chickenhound hid in an old log where Asmodeus Poisonteeth found and bit him, ripping away half the skin on his face. Chickenhound escaped from the snake's lair and nursed himself back to health with the 'art of the healers'. His face remained horribly disfigured by the wound, and so Chickenhound began wearing a harlequin hood to conceal it. His mind was warped by the venom, and he began to believe the Redwallers responsible for his condition. Eventually he renamed himself - becoming Slagar the Cruel - and began to plot his revenge.

As a slaver

Slagar was a prolific slaver. This also demonstrated that although his most driving ultimatum was his revenge on Redwall, he also had some other plan for collecting the slaves. Eventually, it is discovered that he acts as a slaver for Malkariss, a speaking statue which contained a prideful polecat, in an underground city of rats. Slagar had been slaving for many seasons before he came to Redwall, as he had allied with Malkariss to provide him with new slaves. He had become infamous even before his attempt at Redwall and therefore, although not in view of Redwall, had made slaving a practice, but not his future.

Slagar's future, as he determined it, was the command of the evil realm of Malkariss within the ruins of old Loamhedge, the abbey that preceded Redwall. His plans centered on bringing the unfortunate young slaves to Malkariss, to align himself with the evil forces within. The lust for sweet revenge drove him on to kidnapping Mattimeo and the Redwall young ones, but his insatiable hunger for power - and having his reward delayed - drove him to plot further to overthrow his master and rule the above and the below lands. Yet, before he could do this, the warriors of Redwall and Mossflower destroyed Malkariss and freed the slaves. Slagar met with the bitter fate of being chased until he fell down a well leading into the depths of the earth, never to be seen again.

Origin

In Britain, foxes have been hunted as a sport, yet always had some sly way of escaping. This observation, which existed even before foxhunting, led to foxes becoming the personification of all that is sly. This tradition has been demonstrated as far back as Aesop's Fables, and even in modern stories, foxes are very seldom dull-witted or naive. This tradition was doubtlessly followed in making Slagar a fox. Of all the other fox villains in Brian Jacques literature, Slagar proves the best caricature of the fox's personifications, from cleverly eluding the Redwallers to his pride and treachery.

Jacques himself stated at [http://www.redwall.org/ Redwall.org] that he uses certain hard phoenetic sounds for naming his villains. It can be observed that in replacing the 'g' with a 'v', his name is pronounced "slaver". The writer makes frequent use of these clever tricks, both intentionally and unintentionally.