Urgan Nagru is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Silvamord) of the book The Bellmaker, the seventh book in the Redwall novel series. Along with his mate, Silvamord, he was the commander of a vast horde of savage grey rats who eventually came across the kingdom of Southsward with his army, proceeding to trick the rulers, Gael Squirrelking and his wife Queen Serena, into letting him and his horde in before holding their son hostage to usurp them, killing those loyal to the former rulers, and taking over the kingdom. Eventually, Gael and his family escape with the help of some friends with the plan of taking back Southsward and freeing it from Urgan Nagru's tyranny, with Urgan Nagru doing all he can to try to kill them.
Biography[]
Urgan Nagru was, along with his mate, Silvamord, the leader of a vast horde of savage grey rats and had ravaged the northlands unopposed with them with tundra, forest, and mountain lying under the claws of Nagru and his vixen to the point of where they despoiled the country and stripped it bare, with Urgan Nagru being feared by the names he had taken. At one point, he would begin to wear a wolf's hide, which is now with eyeless sockets, on himself and replace the wolf's claws with sharp iron hooks, which is how he got his nickname "Foxwolf" and how he got his own name since the wolf's name was Urgan and he decided to make his own name be the wolf's name and the last name the wolf's name backwards to let his enemies know that he can come at them backward or forwards, both ways. According to him, he had slain the wolf, though Silvamord argues otherwise. Eventually, winter had arrived with snow, howling blizzards, and famine, forcing Urgan Nagru and Silvamord to yield and search for the sun with their horde in three great ships. They encountered various obstacles throughout their search and their journey was difficult, though they eventually make it into a kingdom called Southsward. After stowing the three ships up a heavily wooded creek, Nagru waded ashore with Silvamord and their followers, pressing hurriedly inland lean from hunger and privation and eager for loot and conquest.
Soon, he and Silvamord arrived to the gates of Castle Floret where the rulers of the kingdom, Gael Squirrelking and his wife Queen Serena were, while their horde was elsewhere and manage to convince the king to let them in in spite of his wife's protestations. After two sunsets within the castle, the foxes took over everything with Silvamord having lured Muta to a side chamber and locking her in and Nagru snatching their son, Truffen, and holding him hostage with his hooded wolfclaws near his throat, threatening to kill him if they do not surrender. He then forced Gael to lower the drawbridge, letting in their horde. Afterwards, he and Silvamord would have all loyal friends and courtiers of Gael and Serena who resisted be slain or imprisoned in Floret's dungeons. Those who weren't considered dangerous were forced to wait on the foxes and their officers as they have officially usurped the king and queen and seized power over Southsward. During their reign, they were conveyed to terrorize the creatures of the kingdom, with their guards doing this to a mole who refused to bow to them and another instance being Beny, whose parents were killed by Nagru's rats with every creature on his ship being driven out by him too.
A season later, Nagru and Silvamord occupied the positions of honor at high table, surrounded by their rodent captains as Gael and Serena's son, Truffen, sat alone in the center of Castle Floret's banqueting chamber, having been forced to spend his days and nights in captivity, often separate from both parents with only his badger nurse, Muta, to protect him. Serena and Gael sat together at one side of the chamber with Truffen at his bench. They sipped elderberry wine from Floret's cellars and ate gamey meat of a long-dead plover before Nagru has a fat old rat named Yoghul play his song on a stringed lutelike instrument. He then converses with Gael, explaining to him why he's called Foxwolf and about the wolf's hide he was wearing before taunting him for letting him in and allowing him to be able to take over the place as he continues to eat and drink. After this, he watches Silvamord forces Muta to dance by threatening to harm Truffen while having Yoghul play the music for her to dance for her own amusement, though this ends up making Truffen and Muta happy as the latter realizes she is entertaining the former with her dances, prompting Silvamord to order Yoghul to stop the music while flinging a bowl at him.
Gael and Serena then come over to take Muta and Truffen away for Truffen's nap and leave the room. Silvamord tries to halt them, though Nagru, seeing no reason not to as they're not going anywhere, permits it while idly flicking a damson at his mate, which causes the two to get into an argument before Silvamord grabs a spear from a captain named Jooktail and pointed it at him, threatening to gut him if he puts those claws near her and ordering two rats, Sourgall and Ragfen, to stop them from leaving. Unbeknownst to the both of them, Gael and his wife had set up an escape plan where a group of otters would help them and Muta would escape with his wife and son out the window. Nagru comes bounding out over the drawbridge and notices his mate Silvamord, whom Muta had taken into the moat with her before stepping on her head to swim out and go onto the bank, being hauled from it by the rats. They then argue briefly over them escaping before Nagru orders the rats standing on the bank to follow him to catch them. Before they do so, Nagru ironically tells Silvamord to stay and dry off before giving her a hefty slap on the back and causing her to fall back into the moat.
Soon, he halts at the bottom of the causeway steps leading down from the castle plateau as a rat captain named Gatchag stuck his sword into the ground, telling Nagru that he can't catch them due to how far and fast they are only for Nagru to kill him with his own sword much to the shock of the other rats before he orders Mingol to take twelve and circle right, Riveneye to take another twelve and circle from the left, and the rest to follow him to try to catch up to them faster while threatening to kill any who are too slow. However, Rab Streambattle, who was assisting the family, ambushed Nagru and his forces and began shooting arrows at them. Nagru had leapt to one side to dodge the arrow, showing no remorse over the rat who was killed by one. Wishing he had brought a bow and arrows along, he yells at the rats to duck and dodge and fire their arrows and spears. Eventually, Rab was struck in the side by a spear, though he ignored the pain and dropped a rat with an accurate snap shot as Nagru's rats were beginning to surround him. However, before they could kill him, Muta comes in swinging a large limb above her head and strikes at Nagru and his rats, the end managing to catch Nagru, sending him flying high into the air before thudding painfully against a hordebeam while Muta fights his hordebeasts. Regaining enough breath to shout, he orders his rats to kill the both of them as the two continue fighting in a wild battle.
Back at the castle, Nagru gets into another argument with Silvamord who hurls a three-branched candlestick at him as he is wincing with the pain of his injuries, which he dodges. Afterwards, he orders his rats to get his Dirgecallers, his legendary trackers who were two fully grown female ermine that Nagru had kidnapped and brought across seasons of heaving seas from the lands of ice, maddened through a life of confinement, crazed from lack of live prey, and turned into his killing machines, ready much to their fear. Once Nagru and his horde arrive to a cage brought up by other rats, Nagru makes a hunting call to the sky before dangling two scraps of cloth into the cage, one being a torn kerchief that belonged to Serena and the other a feeding bib of Truffen's while making a chant to the Dirgecallers, who would snatch the bits of fabric. He jumps back laughing as the Dirgecallers tear it apart and work themselves into a bloody frenzy as they took the scent of their quarry. He then chants with his horde before the Dirgecallers were unleashed and went down the trail Serena and Truffen had taken to hunt them down, Nagru and masses of armed rats following behind.
Eventually, they come across the two on a floating log on a streambank being pushed by a group of otters while two other otters, Iris and Greenbeck, protected the squirrels with their bodies, ready to face whatever onslaught might happen. Howling triumphantly, Nagru halted his horde on the streambank as the Dirgecallers snuffled and wailed. He then orders some who were beginning to string their bows up and select arrows to put them away, declaring that while the Dirgecallers can have the otters, he wants the two squirrels alive and to await his orders. However, Mariel and Dandin, who had previously defeated several of Nagru's soldiers that were terrorizing a mole who refused to bow to Nagru with the help of friends, arrived to rescue them and hurled stones at Nagru and his forces, a stone managing to strike Nagru's wolfhide before he peers into the bushes and hurls back a good-sized pebble at a bush where the stones where being thrown, causing the two to reveal themselves as they ran to deep cover of thicker foliage. Nagru proceeds to grab stones and throw them at where they were hidden as he orders his troops to attack them, prompting the two to run while Nagru chases them with the Dirgecallers and his horde, ordering for them to be torn to bits.
Unbeknownst to Nagru, they had a group of creatures accompanying them in a plan to ambush his troops that were led by a hare named Meldrum the Magnificent, who had caused an avalanche on a hill that Mariel and Dandin had climbed when given the signal by her, causing the Dirgecallers and a score of the rat horde to be wiped out by countless tons of sand with Mariel Dandin, and Meldrum surviving albeit buried almost to their necks in the sand. Nagru had arrived with the surviving horde, gaping in amazement at the scene before glaring at a mocking Meldrum, commenting on how he's killed his Dirgecallers. After being jeered by the three, Nagru, controlling his rage, tells them that they'll be imprisoned in his dungeons to starve before dangling by their footpaws as target practice for his archers. He then orders Wetchops to take fifty archers, finish the otters off, and bring the queen and her son to him and the rest to dig the three out and bind them tight, with them doing just that. As they dig them out, they get verbally abused even further while Nagru circles them, kicking them as he speaks, telling them that he's considering having them be served as food after he's finished with their carcasses.
After a while since the three have been imprisoned, Nagru comes in with Silvamord, telling her about what they did before interrogating them while being insulted by them. Silvamord at one point ordered for them to be killed, though Nagru restrained her, wanting them to be kept alive for the moment and then threatened them with his metal claws. He then offered to allow them to join his army as warriors, though they only continue to insult him and Silvamord, who Nagru had rats restrain as he reminds them that they are his prisoners now, not warriors free to do battle anymore, declaring that he'll starve them so badly like he did before with others to the point of where they'll be reduced to whining, cringing wretches who will betray one another for a cup of water or a crust of bread before leaving them to starve and slamming the cell door shut while yelling that bravado won't feed them and stupidity will kill them. However, they manage to escape their cell and freed Gael and a shrike called Glokkpod, who had flewn in there while they were replacing the old bars and blocked the window to live in the dark and be tormented with spears just for fun, though the rat sentry they had temporarily knocked out would alert the others of their escape.
Nagru's rats would proceed to chase after them, leaving them trapped in the high tower room. As they remained in there, Nagru would exhort them on and order them to hack the door to splinters and kill them. However, Gael would point out that there is an attic above them since they're in a tower with a pointed top which they would go up into to keep themselves safe while Glokkpod attacks the rats once they've broken into the room with Nagru being almost knocked flat, Pulling himself upright, he yelled at the rats to charge the door while threatening to flay them alive. As they were pushed through, however, they would be slain by Glokkpod's talons. Silvamord then comes in and berates him as the bird can hold the doorway as long as it likes before taking charge and giving orders to select ten good archers and have them fire heavy volleys at the bird, though Glokkpod would fly back into the attic after being provoked into doing so by Meldrum who insulted him since he didn't come up when Mariel merely told him to. Afterwards, Nagru and Silvamord have a rat send in a message to the group that if they surrender, Nagru will spare them, except Gloddprof since he is deemed too dangerous to live with this being answered by Meldrum flinging a tile at the rat. Nagru would then continue commanding archers to shoot ceaseless arrows into the tower room ceiling for some time.
Later, as he stands in the doorway of the tower room, he was confident that he would recapture his prisoners and has Wetchops and Ragfen keep stabbing the ceiling with spears so they can later bring them down with arrows, though he orders that they only be wounded instead of killed since he wants them alive for a bit of fun. Bluebane then comes in, informing him of what Silvamord is up to and that she had Graywort be sent to get a squad to find out what beast is at the bottom of the murders of their guards. Patting his informant's back, Nagru tells him to find Graywort and to tell him he wants to see him up there right away. When Bluebane still stands there, Nagru asks him what he is waiting for to which Bluebane replies by saying that Silvamord rewarded him with a beaker of elderberry wine. Deducing that he wants a reward from him too, Nagru tells him that he'll let him live as a reward, but will slay him for his treachery to him and his queen before telling him to go do his bidding, to which Bluebane sped gratefully away. When it starts raining, once Graywort arrives, Nagru puts on a polite facade, telling him that Silvamord has told him that he is a good trustworthy beast capable of giving orders and pretends to promote him to captain before sending him into the room to tell the escaped prisoners to surrender again. This, however, leads to Graywort being killed by four well-aimed tiles. Nagru then sits upon the stairs, putting on an expression of heartfelt pity as he speaks to Sourgall, telling him that they'll leave the prisoners to soak until morning since it's still raining heavily before telling him to tell Silvamord of Graywort's death.
Bluebane later overhears the plan between the group where Glokkpod had brought them a rope that they plan on using to swing across to the west-wing edge where they can land on the battlements to get down to the moat and informs Nagru of this. With this information, Nagru tells him to tell Silvamord he wishes to speak with her. After informing her of the plan, Nagru suggests that they avoid fighting each other so that they could focus more on fighting the enemy. As they converse, Nagru suggests she takes a patrol down to the valley floor to catch them as they climb down the plateau, though Silvamord instead suggests her own idea where they take a good squad up to the west battlements and grab them one by one as they swing in, which Nagru commends on being a good idea though he says that he is puzzled that she doesn't want to go down to the valley floor. Silvamord responds by telling him that he should know since his eyes and ears are everywhere before whispering to Sicant that it was Bluebane who had Graywort slain. As Mariel goes down, Nagru and Silvamord lead thirty horderats armed with pikes and archery equipment onto the west battlement ledge. When they get there, Silvamord gives orders to them to hook the group in by the footpaws before Bluebane notices and points out Mariel swinging down on the rope. Nagru then orders for her to be yanked in only for Mariel to shoot outwards after kicking hard against the wall, her rope to be torn, and her to land on Nagru. As she speeds off, Nagru sends the horderats after her before sitting up, feeling his head where the fangs of his wolfhide had pierced and realizing he was alone as he looks around, leading to him running after the horderats while yelling at them to wait for him.
Back at the castle, Nagru searched for Mariel, roaring orders, tearing down wall hangings, smashing doors, and generally abusing his searchers while Silvamord gets into yet again another argument with him while a rat named Mingol reveals to them that the prisoners have all escaped from the attic to outside before another named Wetchops reveals that the drawbridge is being attacked, though they only know that arrows, stones, and lances are being launched and not who is launching them. Nagru deduces it as a diversion which Silvamord agrees on, deciding to make plans to double the guards on the walls and in the turrets in case they try a surprise attack from another part of the valley. However, unbeknownst to them, Mariel, who was provided help by Muta and Rab (both of whom survived their encounters with the foxes' rats with the help of a scholar mole named Egbert who helped Mariel too), had taken over the gatehouse and kills several of their rats. This would be revealed to them by a surviving rat, much to Silvamord's fright and Nagru's fury as the latter chalks it up to a double-bluff with the both of them being surprised that the badger and otter survived their encounter. Suddenly, they heard a loud bump below, which Silvamord goes to see what it was, realizing they've lowered the drawbridge. As such, Nagru sends a bunch of rats to the stairs outside the gatehouse, though he didn't send in any to charge the room since he knew he would only lose valuable hordebeasts through doing so. Instead, he has them fire arrows at Dandin, Meldrum, and Iris, who had arrived to help Mariel, joining the rats on the battlements with Silvamord in shooting arrows before ordering them to stop once they're out of range and to go to the drawbridge. Afterwards, he has a rat named Grutch have the entrance guarded day and night, knowing that the three in the gatehouse have received a message from their friends due to noticing an arrow with one launched at them.
Later, as they continued ordering their rats to fire at the three, Mariel came up with an idea and had Muta and Rab lift up the drawbridge before bringing it back down, causing three rats to be flung into the moat before they lifted and dropped it again in small movements to warn the horde that they couldn't use the drawbridge. Furious, Nagru orders Grutch to take archers up to the south battlements and continue firing arrows from there through the gatehouse window. He then has Lumba take fifty good fighters and do what they can do break down the gatehouse door and behead Mariel, Muta, and Rab and has Silvamord take a third of their entire force up onto the battlements to make it easier to fire on the enemy. When Silvamord asks where he will be, Nagru explains that he will be downward with the rest of his horde, declaring that they must defend the open gateway night and day until the gatehouse is recaptured, Silvamord approving of this. He later joined Silvamord on the battlements to see how she was faring and she explains the position to him where they are keeping them in the valley pinned down but his gatehouse scheme has failed. Nagru then tells her to keep the archers trained on the window, Mingol to get rags, wood, and lots of straw, with the intent to smoke them out. Suddenly, Sicant points out that they're breaking and scattering much to Silvamord's amusement as she orders the archers to fire. Nagru, however, countermanded her order, demanding that they cease with the intent of teaching them a lesson they won't forget before going to show he's not afraid to attack.
After preparing his army, he proceeds to lead a charge out of Castle Floret down into Southsward and attack while Silvamord and the other rats attacked the gatehouse after Mariel had the drawbridge be closed, though she would be rescued by Dandin, Meldrum, and a group of otters and shrews who would engage in battle against Silvamord and her forces. While this was going on, Nagru was on the wooded hillside, searching for them around the trees and was nearly at the top when a scream caused him to look upward. Once they reach it, he notices an army lead by Bowly Pintips consisting of otters, mice, moles, hedgehogs, and squirrels, who have arrived to put an end to Nagru's tyranny and help Gael get his place back as ruler of Southsward. Being a seasoned warrior, Nagru rallies his horderats and the two forces proceed to clash. During the battle, Nagru kills some hedgehogs by throwing spears and pikes straight at them before soon having them retreat once they're surrounded, declaring that they'll take them on the valley floor. Once they move to the open valley, Nagru has a line of archers fire at the first wave of Southswarders emerging from the trees, killing some while the rest grouped behind and while it was hastily done, Nagru was satisfied in that his horde would triumph against them. Then, he ordered his archers to drop back and soon assessed the situation now that the field of combat had been established, laying plans through having Bladetail and Coldclaw take two squads, drop back, retreat until they're out of range, split up, go to opposite sides of the valley, and attack from both sides while creating lots of noise to distract them while his main force mounts a surprise charge from the front.
Back at the castle, Silvamord would be killed by the otters while Nagru, unaware of what happened to his mate as well as the events in the castle, would continue attempting to lead a trap. However, Joseph and Finnbarr (who had lead the battle in the castle), realizing the trap Nagru attempted to set up, come in with their army and foil it by attacking them from both sides of the plateau. Busy directing his rats to keep up constant barrages of arrows, javelins, and slingstones at Southswarders in the trees, he laughed savagely as he was in his element, confident that he will cause them to weep blood before he is done with them while reveling in the screams of the squirrels who had fallen from the rowans pierced by arrows when Bladetail tumpled into the tip and collided with him, informing him of the army that was coming lead by Finnbarr as they join in the clash against Nagru's horde. Eventually, Nagru begins to make plans to escape, knowing that the Southswarders were fighting to free their homeland and that his horderats had only the fear of him to keep them fighting which was not enough. He then notices Finnbarr charging at him with his twin blades and, not relishing the prospect of having to face him, he urged his spear rats toward the wooded hillslope, telling them he'll get them away safe and that they'll go to the cove where their ships are hidden, believing they won't follow them into the sea.
However, Mariel and a small force circled around the outer edges of the fray until they were in the trees and combined with Joseph's heavy stave and Finnbarr's twin blades, they broke through the surprised rats. Finnbarr then comes face to face with Nagru. Creatures from both camps leaped aside as the two proceed to engage in battle where Nagru raked viciously at Finnbarr's face with his metal wolfclaws while ordering his guards to help him kill him. When Bladetail drove his spear into Finnbarr, the handle snapped as the two creatures on the ground rolled over and over with Bladetail being finished off by Dandin before he could grab another spear, leaving Finnbarr and Nagru to continue fighting. Soon, Finnbarr was standing upright, grabbing Nagru by his neck and tail before running him across the open space, running his head into the unyielding trunk of an oak tree. This would result in the wolf fangs of the skull that rested on Nagru's head to be driven deep into his brain, killing him and putting an end to his tyrannical reign once and for all as well as allowing the Southswarders to win the battle in the end.
