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{{quote|"He was called Urthblood, and his armor shone as red as his name..."|Opening line of The Crimson Badger´}}
 
During a great feastday, the [[Funny Animal|beasts]] inhabiting [[Redwall|Redwall Abbey]] are stirred from their reveries by the thunderous cry of Urthblood, a grim, emotionless badgerlord of Salamandastron dressed in [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|blood-red armour]], who possesses the gift of [[Seers|prophetic foresight.]] Invited into the abbey, he tells the gathered beasts of a dire prophecy he received in his youth; a prophecy foretelling a great crisis that will sweep over the lands of Mossflower, and cast them into war, conflict and calamity, but leaving it unclear as to [[Vagueness Is Coming|whom or what will be causing it.]] Ever since, he has striven tirelessly to gather a great army, fight against the evil beasts of the lands and to unite Mossflower and its surroundings into a strong, unified nation that will be able to withstand or even avert the coming darkness. Now he is offering the Redwallers to strengthen their defenses and help them prepare for the times ahead, for great changes are coming to the lands, and old certainties and beliefs will be challenged in extraordinary and unexpected ways...
 
Thus begins the Urthblood Saga, the [[Magnum Opus]] of veteran Redwall fanfic author Highwing, and one of the old classics of the Redwall Online Community. Drafted between 1995 and 1997 and published on the [http://www.redwallfanfiction.com/forum/ Redwall Fanfiction Board] in the early 2000's, this [[Doorstopper]] fic so far spans two novels, [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6788438/1/The_Crimson_Badger_Book_I_The_Warlord The Crimson Badger] and [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7242385/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_I_A_Fire_in_the_Night_Sky The Shrew War,] with a combined 200 chapters, plus related side stories.
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Sadly, the story is [[Dead Fic|not yet finished.]] By the time the final chapter of The Shrew War was published in the spring of 2004, the popularity of the Redwall books and the ROC was beginning to wane. Since then, partly due to personal issues and due to the lesser chance of exposure to new readers, the author has yet to write the third novel, leaving the series with a massive [[Cliff Hanger]]. That may change now, however; the story is being published on [http://www.fanfiction.net/ Fanfiction.net] for the first time, gaining new attention and fans, and if enough people want to see the saga continue, that might just happen! So head over there if you have any interest in [[Redwall]], [[Furry Fandom|furry/anthropomorphic fiction]], or just [[So Cool Its Awesome|fantastic stories]] in general; you won't get disappointed.
 
Note: The saga is so far composed of two novels. The novels in turn are composed of seperate parts, or "books" of several chapters each, and they are published on the site in those parts. The Crimson Badger is composed of [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6788438/1/The_Crimson_Badger_Book_I_The_Warlord Book I: The Warlord], [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6821027/1/The_Crimson_Badger_Book_II_Armies Book II: Armies], [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6865628/1/The_Crimson_Badger_Book_III_Journeys Book III: Journeys] and [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6947288/1/The_Crimson_Badger_Book_IV_Fire_on_the_Mountain Book IV: Fire on the Mountain]. In addition, there's a [[Bonus Material|series of outtakes]] from an early version of TCB called [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7032661/1/The_Continuing_Adventures_of_Martin_the_Turd The Continuing Adventures of Martin the Turd], that takes place about [[What Could Have Been|half a generation after Mattimeo]], [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7073186/1/The_Obligation The Obligation], the first story the author posted on the web, [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7076532/1/Highwing_A_Sparras_Tale Highwing: A Sparra's Tale], a [[Prequel|prequel]] about the sparrow Highwing's early days when he was adopted by the Redwallers, and [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7197449/1/The_Chains_of_Love The Chains of Love], a [[Hotter and Sexier|a sex farce]] that details the romantic exploits of two of TCB's characters before the novel takes place (slightly more risque version [http://www.oocities.org/redwalldigest/short62.html here]). The Shrew War begins with the lead-up story [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7238599/1/Tug_of_War Tug of War] about a struggle between Urthblood and the searats to gain the services of a pine marten for a [[Lensman Arms Race|weapons project]], and the novel itself is composed of [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7242385/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_I_A_Fire_in_the_Night_Sky Book I: A Fire in the Night Sky], [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7261856/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_II_The_Winter_Coast Book II: The Winter Coast], [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7321178/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_III_A_Nameday_Like_No_Other Book III: A Nameday Like No Other], [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7366075/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_IV_The_Thunder_and_the_Fire Book IV: The Thunder and the Fire], [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7396184/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_V_The_Red_Tower Book V: The Red Tower], [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7440215/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_VI_Doublegate Book VI: Doublegate], [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7580169/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_VII_The_Isle_of_Death Book VII: The Isle of Death] and [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7634582/1/The_Shrew_War_Epilogues three epilogues.] More will hopefully come in the future...
 
== This work contains examples of: ==
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* [[Always Chaotic Evil]]: One of the main points of the series is averting this, and the novel goes to great lengths to discuss the concept and its consequences for the Redwall universe.
* [[Ambadassador]]: At his [[Jumped At the Call|own insistence]], Winokur is sent by the abbey as a representative to try and get Urthblood and Urthfist to settle their conflict peacefully.
* [[An Arm and Aa Leg]]: {{spoiler|Perret the ferret captain}} gets his leg cut off by Urthfist in the final battle, but still [[Dying Moment of Awesome|manages to slay two Long Patrol hares before he dies.]]
* [[Atlantis Is Boring]]: Wonderfully [[Averted Trope|averted]] when Winokur, a river otter who at first feels a great deal of trepidation at the prospect, decides to take a swim in the sea by the side of Salamandastron. The chapter goes into a great deal of [[Incredibly Lame Pun|depth]] about all the wonders of the underwater world, with [[Scenery Porn|lavish descriptions]] of the countless varieties of ocean life.
* [[Ax Crazy]]: Wolfrum certainly comes across as this. So does Urthfist, to an extent.
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* [[Dark and Troubled Past]]: Plenty of the soldiers in Urthblood's army has this as their background, having been recruited from various slaver gangs and pillaging hordes. Urthblood's own past also turns out to not have been squeaky clean either.
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: The series as a whole is [[Darker and Edgier]] than the official novels, and The Shrew War is noticably [[Darker and Edgier]] than The Crimson Badger.
* [[Death Ray]]: [[Discussed Trope|Discussed.]] Early in TCB, Urthblood speculates that it may be possible to build a device of giant lenses and mirrors that would focus sunlight to such a degree that it would be possible to [[Kill It Withwith Fire|incinerate an enemy army.]] He never comes around to doing it however, mostly because that wouldn't [[You Fail Physics Forever|mesh with physics]], even in the Redwall universe.
* [[Defeat Means Friendship]]: Most of Urthblood's vermin troops (see [[Heel Race Turn]] below) come from former pillaging hordes and slaver bands that he defeated and whose leaders he killed, offering the survivors a chance to join his army instead.
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: During his early days in the army, Broggen and his close friend Brigger had an [[The Alcoholic|had an overactive fondess for spirits]], and when finding a large cask of wine they drank themselves into a crazed stupor, wandering around terrifying the local beasts and destroying much of the trust that Urthblood had hoped to win in the region. While their actions were indeed damaging and stupid, Urthblood's punishment for them consists of ''[[Quicksand Sucks|throwing them into a bog for them to drown.]]'' Brigger died in the bog, while Broggen was just barely saved by the mouse Jans, leading to their [[Chained Heat|unusual predicament.]] Curiously, despite Urthblood killing his best friend, Broggen apparently [[Easily Forgiven|bears no real ill-will towards him.]]
** After being [[Minor Injury Overreaction|accidentally and lightly pricked on the rump]] by the soft spikes of the young hedgehog Droge, Wolfrum is ready to draw blood from him with his sword, and when Balla interferes, he's comes close to lopping one of her ears of. Fortunately, Machus [[Oh Crap|interferes]] before he has a chance to do so.
* [[Doing It for Thethe Art]]: Much of The Crimson Badger was written in the late 90's before the author found out about the ROC or expecting anyone else to ever read it. That's right: a ''novel-length'' fanfic was written by someone who never thought it would ever get read by anyone except himself! And not only that, but most of both TCB and The Shrew War was ''written by hand!!''
* [[Dreaming of Things to Come]]: Urthblood apparently receives some of his [[Fate and Prophecy Tropes|prophetic visions]] through dreams. Of course, his first instance of this in the story, where he claims he's found out about his brother's enmity for him, is a [[Blatant Lies|patent lie]] as he has already prepared for war with him for a long time.
* [[Dude Magnet]]: Lady Mina, the squirrel archer who follows Urthblood's army to Redwall as an envoy, is immediately courted by most of the male squirrels of the abbey, including Alexander, it's chief archer.
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* [[In Vino Veritas]]: The Redwallers invite some of Urthblood's captains for a private gathering in order to hear their thoughts about their master when he's not around, during which they uncork a bottle of blackberry brandy and encourage them to help themselves, in order to loosen their tongues. It works quite well, but leaves Vanessa with a [[Hangover Sensitivity|splitting headache the morning after]].
* [[Instant Sedation]]: Urthblood's forces employ a knockout gas called Flitchaye gas, after a savage weasel tribe they got it from, in the form of a clay cannisters containing two liquid extracts that mix together when they're shattered, producing a white vapor that almost instantly puts anyone breathing it in to sleep. {{spoiler|This proves essential to him since it allows him to [[Storm the Castle|capture Salamandastron]] in a covert raid without losing a single one of his otters or killing any of the guarding Long Patrol hares.}}
* [[Jumped At the Call]]: After learning that Urthblood's army is travelling to Salamandastron to confront Urthfist, Cyril decides to sneak out of Redwall, dress as a soldier and come with them, [[What an Idiot!|despite not having any combat experience or fighting skills]]. Subverted, quite fortunately, since he's immidiately found out and [[Refused Byby the Call|told to go back to the abbey.]]
* [[Living Lie Detector]]: As a result of his [[Seers|prophetic powers]], Urthblood is able to detect whether someone is telling the truth or not almost flawlessy, and is even able to engage in limited [[Telepathy|mind reading]] to gauge the general character and trustworthiness of his target.
* [[Look Behind You!]]: Balla does this twice with Wolfrum during her confrontation with him after he's been pricked by her nephew Droge. First she tells him that Machus is right behind him to distract him when she hits him in the stomach with her staff. During the resulting fight, when Wolfrum has gotten the upper paw over her and is about to extract a bloody vengeance, she does so again, prompting him to mock her for thinking that he'll fall for it twice. Only this time, [[Oh Crap|Machus really is right behind him...]]
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* [[Training the Peaceful Villagers|Training The Peaceful Abbeydwellers]]: Not exactly a straight example, since the Redwallers are already good fighters and knowledgable about how to defend their abbey. However, they have lived in peace for so long that their standards have become rather laxed, and Urthblood reminds them of this and introduces changes to their security that they wouldn't have thought of otherwise.
* [[Treasure Room]]: Salamandastron is revealed to have a magnificient one underneath the throne room were Urthblood first carved his prophecy.
* [[Twenty Four 24-Hour ArmourArmor]]: Urthblood is never seen without his namesake armour. He does not sleep in it though... because, apparently, he ''[[The Sleepless|never sleeps.]]''
* [[Uncleanliness Is Next to Ungodliness]]: This trope was in effect with most of the vermin in the official series, and it's [[Discussed Trope|discussed]] here. It's mentioned a couple of times that ever since joining Urthblood's army, the vermin have to take regular baths and look after their hygiene, which many of them apparently didn't do before. Despite this, the woodlanders often make comments about them being more "dirty" than they are; whether this is just friendly jabs, prejudice or actually true is unclear.
* [[Unfortunate Names]]: Of the "Rhyming Names" variety; one of Urthblood's captains is called Perrett... the Ferret.
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