Gruven Zann

Gender: male

Species: stoat

Appears In: The Taggerung




Gruven Zann - commonly known as Gruven - is a young member of the Juskarath clan who lives with them in northwest Mossflower and sports their facial tattoos, a black strike down the muzzle with crimson dots on either side. He is the son of Gruven and Antigra, and in infancy he loses the former to Sawney who then forces his mother to rename him after his "foolish father". He is a cowardly bully, about the same age as Deyna/Tagg, wields a sword, a horrible tracker, and is skilled at lying to get his own way. About fifteen seasons after his father's death he fights Deyna/Tagg after the otter tricks him into following a false trail when they are both pursuing Felch. He is almost killed as a result and does not thank Deyna for sparing him until Antigra and Grissoul force him to. After Sawney is killed by his mother and Deyna deserts the clan, Grissoul claims to summon the ferret Chieftain's spirit to "choose" Gruven as the new leader and he heads out with the tribe to find and kill the otter (whom he secretly fears) as this will make him the Taggerung. Along the way he proves to be totally incompetent, with the others looking to Eefera and Vallug. When these two desert to find the Taggerung on their own he decides to follow them instead as he has no particular interest meeting Deyna/Tagg again, and he starts the landslide that results in the deaths of many Cavemob shrews. He runs in terror when he realizes that Deyna is with them, and when he eventually finds Eefera and Vallug by Redwall he is captured by them. They are forced to scatter when Deyna charges out from the Abbey wielding Martin's sword, and he tricks Rawback into hiding in a swamp before heading back to camp and conceiving a lie that he has decapitated the otter. Upon returning he discovers that the Juskarath has been conquered by the much larger Juskabor tribe, and Ruggan Bor reveals that he has slain Antigra for plotting against him. Gruven, who doesn't really care about his mother's death, tries to convince the fox that he really has killed the otter. He denies Rawback's claims when the stoat (now completely insane thanks to his time in the swamp) is interrogated, and Bor decides to travel to Redwall and ask the inhabitants. When they arrive he asks the guards on the walltop if they had witnessed Gruven decapitating the otter, and Deyna immediately recognizes his former enemy. He tells Bor that the Taggerung is indeed dead (he has since had his clan tattoos and birthmark removed). Nimbalo voices his agreement, causing a surprised Gruven to dance happily before being beheaded by Bor as whomever kills the Taggerung earns that title. His head is then kicked into the ditch.