Lord Verdauga Greeneyes was a male wildcat warlord of Mossflower Woods, who ruled the fortress Kotir. He was the son of Highland King Mortspear, the younger brother of Ungatt Trunn, the father of Tsarmina and Gingivere and distant ancestor of Squire Julian Gingivere. He hailed from the far north and settled in the abandoned fortress of Kotir to rule the native woodlanders for many seasons. He commanded the Thousand Eye Army.
As ruler of Kotir, Verdauga took half the food of the woodlanders as tax, forcing many farmers to work harder or starve. However, Verdauga was not overly cruel and arranged a truce with the woodlanders when they rebelled: in return for he and his army being provided for, he would protect them from other (potentially worse) threats from the North. In contrast, his daughter Tsarmina was evil and tyrannical, and when she succeeded her father, a new era of terror spread across Mossflower.
A leader of flair, his many titles included Master of the Thousand Eyes, Lord of Mossflower, Slayer of Enemies, and Ruler of Kotir. He also at one point during his life assembled his own treasure and hid it in Kotir; it was later found by Redwall Abbey residents. Late in his old age he suffered from an unknown illness and was tricked and poisoned by the joint efforts of his healer, Fortunata, and his treacherous daughter, Tsarmina, who took over his position of royalty.
Verdauga is known to be one of the more merciful of evil warlords and certainly a just ruler, as he spared the life of Martin the Warrior after having his guards bring him to Kotir for trespassing. Verdauga also recognized Martin as a true and courageous warrior. Despite his mercy towards Martin, in previous years he was the complete opposite, having driven the tribe of Luke the Warrior out of their home, St. Ninian's.
Trivia
- "Verd" is the Latin root for "green," and "Auge" means "eye" in German. Hence, Lord Greeneyes.