Triss
Encyclopedia
Triss is a fantasy
novel by Brian Jacques
, published in 2002. It is the fifteenth book in the Redwall
series.
In Redwall Abbey, rebellious Dibbuns Ruggum and Bikkle run away into Mossflower Woods. They discover Brockhall, the ancestral home of badgers, but are chased away by serpents. Fortunately, they are rescued by the Skipper of Otters and Log-a-Log Groo, they bring with them a golden pawring with strange markings.
Sagaxus, heir to Salamandastron, and his friend Bescarum Lepuswold Whippscut (who go by Sagax and Scarum respectively), leave the mountain for adventure with Kroova Wavedog, in his ketch
the Stopdog. Scarum's father, Colonel Whippscut of the Long Patrol, searches for them in the name of Lord Hightor, the Badger Lord. Sagax finds a bow on the ketch (the property of its previous owners) with similar markings to the pawring. They disregard it and decide to journey to Redwall, and on their way, they wind up in possession of a dagger with the same pattern.
Triss and her friends, in their ship, see the same markings. Triss is able to interpret them as an R, H, O, and R, standing for "Royal House of Riftgard". On the journey, they become dehydrated, but are rescued by the hedgehogs of Peace Island. Welfo remains with her newfound love, Urtica, while Triss and Shogg continue south. They cross paths with Kurda
on the Seascab in the middle of a lightning storm, but the contraband vessel escapes.
Meanwhile, the Redwall denizens try to explore Brockhall, but it is inhabited by three serpents, one of which wears a crown with the Riftgard pattern. The adders, Zassaliss, Harssacss, and Sesstra, are the children of Berussca, an adder slain by and who in turn slayed King Sarengo, Agarnu's father; they remain bound by Sarengo's mace and chain. Ovus, a tawny owl, brings Bluddbeak, an ancient red kite from afar to defeat the adders, but in their attempt, both birds die. Mokug, a golden hamster who had been Sarengo's slave, is rescued and brings with him a message in Riftgard script. Martin the Warrior visits Skipper's niece, Churk, in her dreams, giving the Redwallers the hint they need to decode the message, but it is a riddle that's difficult to interpret.
Elsewhere, Sagax, Scarum, and Kroova are captured by the crew of the Seascab, and the Stopdog is destroyed. Triss and Shogg meet up with them, and together they are able to escape. Kroova and Shogg set up a hidden stake that injures Plugg, and his firetail falls off, though he reattaches it with pine resin.
Kurda and her vermin then cross paths with the Redwallers, who fend them off, while Triss, Shogg, Sagax, Scarum, and Kroova enter the safety of the abbey. Triss sees the Sword of Martin and is immediately drawn to it, wielding it as the Redwallers continue to battle the Ratguard army. Bladd is killed by a falling pot of oatmeal, and Plugg is killed by the snakes, while Kurda concentrates her efforts on destroying the denizens of Redwall.
Eventually, Skipper's niece helps solve the riddle, which leads the Redwallers to Brockhall. There they encounter both the Ratguards and the snakes. During the ensuing battle, Shogg, Sagax, and Triss kill Sesstra, Harssacss, and Zassaliss, but Shogg is poisoned and dies by Triss's side. Later, Triss and Kurda face off, but Kurda falls on her own sword and dies.
Triss, Kroova, Sagax, Scarum, Groo, Skipper, Mokug, and others sail to Riftguard and free the slaves. There, King Agarnu is drowned by the slaves. Kroova stays on Riftguard with the sea otter Sleeve, and the others return to Redwall Abbey.
are mentioned as ancient or legendary. For example, the Skipper of Otters in Triss and the Badger Lords of Salamandastron are mentioned as being distant descendants of the Taggerung and Lord Russano, respectively. This gap appears to be bigger than the gap between any of the other Redwall novels, with the exception of the gap between Salamandastron
and Redwall
, which is an indefinite period of time in which all bloodline links to the earlier past and most physical links, with the exception of Martin's tapestry and sword, are lost.
Brockhall is rediscovered in Triss, first by raiders from Riftguard who knew of it from a searat map. Since it appears to have been abandoned between Mossflower
and The Legend of Luke
, knowledge of its location must have been in vermin hands for dozens of generations. How this is possible remains a mystery, as the forces of Kotir never found Brockhall.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novel by Brian Jacques
Brian Jacques
James Brian Jacques was an English author best known for his Redwall series of novels and Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series. He also completed two collections of short stories entitled The Ribbajack & Other Curious Yarns and Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales.-Biography:Brian Jacques was born...
, published in 2002. It is the fifteenth book in the Redwall
Redwall
Redwall, by Brian Jacques, is a series of fantasy novels. It is the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, the name of the Abbey featured in the book, and the name of an animated TV series based on three of the novels , which first aired in 1999...
series.
Plot introduction
Three slaves, Triss, a squirrelmaid, Shogg, an otter, and Welfo, a hogmaid, escape from Riftgard, the stronghold of a white ferret brood. Pursued by the evil ferrets, Triss and her friends join forces with warriors from Redwall and Salamandastron, and together, the woodland creatures fight rats, ferrets, snakes, and more in their quest for freedom.Plot summary
At Riftgard, an isle in the far north, the ferret king King Agarnu and his cruel offspring, Princess Kurda and Prince Bladd hold sway over a Ratguard army and enslaved creatures. One of the slaves, Trisscar Swordmaid escapes with her friends Shogg and Welfo, southward to Mossflower. In the attempt, her friend Drufo is killed. Meanwhile, Kurda hires a pirate ship, the Seascab, captained by Plugg Firetail, to take her to Mossflower, where she must find the royal artifacts of Riftgard in order to seal her queenship.In Redwall Abbey, rebellious Dibbuns Ruggum and Bikkle run away into Mossflower Woods. They discover Brockhall, the ancestral home of badgers, but are chased away by serpents. Fortunately, they are rescued by the Skipper of Otters and Log-a-Log Groo, they bring with them a golden pawring with strange markings.
Ketch
A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...
the Stopdog. Scarum's father, Colonel Whippscut of the Long Patrol, searches for them in the name of Lord Hightor, the Badger Lord. Sagax finds a bow on the ketch (the property of its previous owners) with similar markings to the pawring. They disregard it and decide to journey to Redwall, and on their way, they wind up in possession of a dagger with the same pattern.
Triss and her friends, in their ship, see the same markings. Triss is able to interpret them as an R, H, O, and R, standing for "Royal House of Riftgard". On the journey, they become dehydrated, but are rescued by the hedgehogs of Peace Island. Welfo remains with her newfound love, Urtica, while Triss and Shogg continue south. They cross paths with Kurda
Kurda
Kurda was a second millennium BC land and kingdom in upper Mesopotamia, centered around Sinjar in modern Kurdistan.-Kings of Kurda:Some of the Kings of Kurda were:*Astamar-Addu*Simah-ilane*Bunu-Estar*Hammurabi or Hammurapi...
on the Seascab in the middle of a lightning storm, but the contraband vessel escapes.
Meanwhile, the Redwall denizens try to explore Brockhall, but it is inhabited by three serpents, one of which wears a crown with the Riftgard pattern. The adders, Zassaliss, Harssacss, and Sesstra, are the children of Berussca, an adder slain by and who in turn slayed King Sarengo, Agarnu's father; they remain bound by Sarengo's mace and chain. Ovus, a tawny owl, brings Bluddbeak, an ancient red kite from afar to defeat the adders, but in their attempt, both birds die. Mokug, a golden hamster who had been Sarengo's slave, is rescued and brings with him a message in Riftgard script. Martin the Warrior visits Skipper's niece, Churk, in her dreams, giving the Redwallers the hint they need to decode the message, but it is a riddle that's difficult to interpret.
Elsewhere, Sagax, Scarum, and Kroova are captured by the crew of the Seascab, and the Stopdog is destroyed. Triss and Shogg meet up with them, and together they are able to escape. Kroova and Shogg set up a hidden stake that injures Plugg, and his firetail falls off, though he reattaches it with pine resin.
Kurda and her vermin then cross paths with the Redwallers, who fend them off, while Triss, Shogg, Sagax, Scarum, and Kroova enter the safety of the abbey. Triss sees the Sword of Martin and is immediately drawn to it, wielding it as the Redwallers continue to battle the Ratguard army. Bladd is killed by a falling pot of oatmeal, and Plugg is killed by the snakes, while Kurda concentrates her efforts on destroying the denizens of Redwall.
Eventually, Skipper's niece helps solve the riddle, which leads the Redwallers to Brockhall. There they encounter both the Ratguards and the snakes. During the ensuing battle, Shogg, Sagax, and Triss kill Sesstra, Harssacss, and Zassaliss, but Shogg is poisoned and dies by Triss's side. Later, Triss and Kurda face off, but Kurda falls on her own sword and dies.
Triss, Kroova, Sagax, Scarum, Groo, Skipper, Mokug, and others sail to Riftguard and free the slaves. There, King Agarnu is drowned by the slaves. Kroova stays on Riftguard with the sea otter Sleeve, and the others return to Redwall Abbey.
Inaccuracies
The events of Triss appear to take place several generations after the previous book, as characters alive in The TaggerungThe Taggerung
The Taggerung is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 2001. It is the fourteenth book in the Redwall series.-Plot introduction:...
are mentioned as ancient or legendary. For example, the Skipper of Otters in Triss and the Badger Lords of Salamandastron are mentioned as being distant descendants of the Taggerung and Lord Russano, respectively. This gap appears to be bigger than the gap between any of the other Redwall novels, with the exception of the gap between Salamandastron
Salamandastron
Salamandastron is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1992. It is the fifth book in the Redwall series.-Plot introduction:Ferahgo the Assassin, a terrible weasel warlord, and his son Klitch lead their army of Corpsemakers to Salamandastron, to take over from the Badger Lord, Urthstripe...
and Redwall
Redwall (book)
Redwall is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques. Originally published in 1986, it is the first book of the Redwall series. The book was illustrated by Gary Chalk, with the British cover illustration by Pete Lyon and the American cover by Troy Howell....
, which is an indefinite period of time in which all bloodline links to the earlier past and most physical links, with the exception of Martin's tapestry and sword, are lost.
Brockhall is rediscovered in Triss, first by raiders from Riftguard who knew of it from a searat map. Since it appears to have been abandoned between Mossflower
Mossflower
Mossflower is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1988. It is the second book published in the Redwall series, though the third chronologically.- Plot introduction :...
and The Legend of Luke
The Legend of Luke
The Legend of Luke is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1999. It is the twelfth book in the Redwall series.-Plot introduction:The Legend of Luke is about Martin the Warrior's search for what happened to his father, Luke...
, knowledge of its location must have been in vermin hands for dozens of generations. How this is possible remains a mystery, as the forces of Kotir never found Brockhall.
Characters in Triss
- The Pure Ferrets:
- Sarengo
- Agarnu
- Kurda
- Bladd
- Trisscar Swordmaid
- Shogg
- Welfo
- Urtica
- Plugg Firetail
- Skipper of Otters
- Log-a-Log Groo
- Sagaxus (Sagax)
- Bescarum Lepuswold Whippscut (Scarum)
- Kroova Wavedog
- Lord Hightor
- The AddersVipera berusVipera berus, the common European adder or common European viper, is a venomous viper species that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of Western Europe and all the way to Far East Asia. Known by a host of common names including Common adder and Common viper, adders have been...
:- Berussca
- Zassaliss
- Harssacss
- Sesstra
- Ovus and Bluddbeak
- Mokug the Hamster
Translations
- (FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) Rougemuraille : L'Odyssée de Triss - (Russian) "Трисс Воительница"
Book divisions (English)
- Book 1: A Season of Runaways
- Book 2: Serpents and Paradoxes
- Book 3: The Swordmaid