Vilaya the Sable Quean

Gender: female

Species: sable

Appears In: The Sable Quean




Vilaya - a word that can mean various things such as tireless and focused - is the tall leader of the Ravagers army who has beautiful brown fur, dark eyes, and has Dirva as her personal aide. She wears a violet cloak and a necklace of adder fangs with a crystal sheath filled with venom; it is so potent that the tiniest prick of the knife held within this sheath can instantly kill. She commands her soldiers from Althier (an anagram of "The Lair", which is really Brockhall) and is obsessed with keeping its true location a secret, with only a select few in the know. Upon her orders, the Ravagers army kidnaps young woodlanders to be used as hostages as she feels this will allow her complete control over Redwall and Mossflower. She has Zwilt, the only other sable in the horde, to command this despite him wanting to attack the Abbey instead. Their relationship appears to be okay until the young captives escape, then she has Dirva sneak off to spy on Zwilt while they are searching for the babes. The old female rat is killed by the Commander's spies (Lugg and Gliv respectively), and Vilaya swears revenge. By the time she meets up with him he is preparing to lead the army to Redwall and she attempts to kill him, but he is much swifter and rips open her side with one slash of the Kordyne broadsword he had previously stolen from Clerun. Now unconscious, Vilaya is almost decapitated by him until Gliv steps in and offers to bury her, however after Zwilt leaves she secretly nurses the Quean back to health and reveals that she wants revenge against Zwilt for her mate Lugg's death. After Vilaya is fully recovered they both head to the vermin camp where she is dressed as a soldier and treacherously kills Gliv with her vemon-laced knife, stating she is no longer of any use. She goes to Redwall to find Zwilt but discovers he is already over the walls, so she strides boldly into the camp and is confronted by a suspicious Fallug who is then swiftly slain by the Quean. She names Grakk the new Commander, takes over the horde once again, launches a new attack on the Abbey, and continues to push her soldiers even after Zwilt is killed. The fight stops when Ambry and Axtel suddenly charge out of the main gates, slaying many a vermin while trying to get to the Quean. Vilaya murders Grakk and succeeds in outrunning a wounded Axtel but cannot escape from Ambry, who leaps onto her from behind. When the badgermaid turns her over she discovers that the crystal sheath has broken in the fall and stabbed Vilaya in the heart, thus allowing the venom into her bloodstream. She dies almost immediately, and Ambry leaves her twisted body on the path. A sable is a dark colour as well as a member of the marten family, and "Quean" means "a female views as disrespectful". Vilaya is the only female member of her species to appear in the series.