Bane (Mossflower)

### Goals

Help Tsarmina quell the rebellion led against her by the woodlanders to get access to Kotir for him and his men (failed)

### Type of MB

Strategic Leader

**Bane** is a supporting antagonist in the book *Mossflower*, the second book within the *Redwall* novels. He is the leader of a band of mercenary plunderers consisting of 60 in foxes, rats, and weasels that have crossed boundless northern lands through craft, guile, and murder who makes an alliance with Tsarmina and assists her in fighting against the rebellion instigated on her by the woodland creatures, starting off by leading a successful attack on them with Tsarmina and some of their soldiers, so that he and his band could get access to Kotir.

## What Makes Him Magnificent?

* He was able to cross the boundless northern lands with his band of 60 mercenary plunderers by craft and guile to get warmer climes and easier living.
* He manages to create an alliance with Tsarmina through a deal they made where they would share an equal place in ruling over Mossflower once they help each other out, with Bane taking advantage of this in order to be able to get access to Kotir.
* He sets up a strategic plan to lead an attack on the Mossflower woodlanders rebelling against Tsarmina involving starting the attack during the morning the next day by having the full strength out in skirmish line, combing the forest thoroughly, and killing any who resist and take the rest prisoner and in regards to the squirrel archers, to burn the trees or chop them down and to block up holes and fill every possible exit that small creatures might scurry off down into.
* While he doesn't get to complete every step of the plan in one go, this still ends up working with the steps he managed to complete as as the forces led by them hack in madly into the forest while backed up by spears, shooting arrows, and the forces yelling and slashing, they catch the creatures off guard and score a victory against them through forcing them with no alternative other than to retreat and managing to kill 2 squirrels, 3 otters, and a mole in the aftermath.
* He manages to survive the attack led against Kotir by the woodlander rebels who shot arrows at everyone within while he and Tsarmina were within the fortress, being cautious when looking behind posts and quickly pulling back to avoid getting shot in the head by some of the arrows before then agreeing to Tsarmina's idea of shutting all the doors within the fortress and wait until they leave. The text itself even specifies that Bane would have suggested the idea himself earlier had Tsarmina not been in such a towering rage.
* He crafted up a cunning plan to sneak out of Kotir, hid himself and some members in bushes at the edge of the forest to hide right behind the position the woodlanders had held earlier on that morning to t urn the ambush on them should they come back the next day for another dawn attack.
* He shows disgust at the way Tsarmina treats her troops, spitting while conversing with another soldier about how badly she treats them for allowing them to shiver outside all night while she lies in luxury warm and snug with the soldier responding that she's always treated them this way.
* He is established to be a Benevolent Boss, having always given his crew plenty to eat and never hiding in safety himself while allowing them to take all the risks. His men themselves convey that they respect him, talking about how he would let them fight and keep their plunder sacks filled and would also allow them to sleep in similar conditions.
* He supervises a team to replace the door and window timbers burned by the woodlanders and does a pretty good job on account of them being fixed with most of the repair work being well under way by midafternoon on a day.
* After being captured in the talons of Argulor after being sent outside by Tsarmina, he goes out like a fighter with his fighting instincts kicking in as he launches several stabs into the eagle with his sword and while he doesn't end up surviving the encounter due to the talons crushing him to death, he does at least manage to score his own victory in a sense as the stabs he inflicted on the eagle ended up causing Argulor to die right afterwards.
* While he does get sent to his death by Tsarmina who forced him to check on the gates to be killed by Argulor the eagle while wearing the cloak of Ashleg, a pine marten the eagle was obsessed with killing, this doesn't disqualify him as Bane had no way of knowing that this would've happened since he didn't know Ashleg nor Argulor even existed and he does go out like a badass through striking the eagle with his sword as he is carried away in his talons, killing him and giving him a graceful recovery in the process.

## What Makes Him A Baddie?

* Being the leader of a band of mercenary plunderers, he included murder along with craft and guile as a step to help them cross the boundless northern lands, seeking warmer climes and easier living.
* He allied with Tsarmina and was willing to help her flush out the woodlanders from hiding and enslave them to have an equal place alongside her as rulers of Mossflower.
* He assisted Tsarmina in her battles against the woodlanders rebelling against her rule with the intent of crushing them, having led a strategic attack with his forces against them for the first battle and ending up getting 6 of them killed in the process.

## Trivia

* He, Ferahgo the Assassin, and Mokkan are the only characters from the *Redwall* books to qualify as Magnificent Baddies.