Tsarmina Greeneyes, Queen

Gender: female

Species: wildcat

Appears In: Mossflower

Mentioned In: The Legend of Luke, Mariel of Redwall, and The Sable Quean




Tsarmina - a play on the word "Tsarina" which is the Russian title for a female ruler, and the word "mean" - is the large Queen of Kotir who originates from the Northlands and wields various weapons. She is the granddaughter of Mortspear, niece of Trunn, daughter of Verdauga, sister of Gingivere, sister-in-law of Sandingomm, and ancestor of Julian. She is extremely cruel, intelligent but also partially insane, terrified of water, and angrily snaps Martin's sword in half after Verdauga goes against her wishes and orders the mouse Warrior to "cool his paws" in the Kotir prison cells, and she dismisses Martin's vow to kill her one day. As she wants to be ruler she fatally poisons the ailing Verdauga, blaming her kind-hearted brother for the murder and throwing him into a cell where she plans on him rotting for the remainder of his seasons (she also forbids his name to be spoken). After this act she takes complete control of Kotir and becomes obsessed with enslaving all of Mossflower. Her main title is "Queen of the Thousand Eyes" but she also goes by "Queen of Mossflower", "Conqueror of all Creatures", "Tsarmina the Magnificent", "Slayer of Enemies", "Lady of the Thousand Eyes"", and "Ruler of Kotir" as she refuses to use any title that mentions her father's name. She is secretly scared of Argulor and thus attempts many times to slay him, though he is always out of range of her bow. She wages an ongoing war against the CORIM who fight back as they will not bow down to tyranny, and receives assistance when Bane's mercenaries arrive in the area. The two strike an alliance until she learns that he wants to conquer Kotir, so she tricks him into wearing a deserted Ashleg's cloak before locking him outside as she knows that Argulor has always wanted to taste pine marten flesh; this plan works as the ancient eagle thinks Bane is Ashleg and attacks, and the two kill each other. As time goes on and the CORIM start flooding Kotir as well as launching ballista boulders, she begins to grow mentally insane as she believes that Gingivere is plotting against her - though in reality he has escaped and moved far away. She survives the castle flooding and is confronted by an armoured Martin, with the two engaging in a vicious duel. She inflicts horrific wounds on him thanks to her claws and teeth but he always rises, and she eventually finds herself being forced into the lake that has formed from Kotir's sinking. Her injuries, coupled with her fear of water and inability to swim, results in her drowning. Her once powerful army is defeated and Mossflower becomes free once again.