Silth is the overarching antagonist of Marlfox, the eleventh book in the Redwall novel series. She is the queen of Castle Marl, the castle of an island she took over with her mate as the leaders of a tribe of foxes with water rats before slaying all the foxes and then slaying her own mate herself after having a brood of seven cubs called Marlfoxes. She is shown to be egotistical and vain, believing that she must be surrounded by beauty and even has her sons and daughters get more items for that despite having a lot of possessions and has her water rats play loud music to outplay the noise of the storm due to her believing to be much mightier than said storm. She is, in some way, responsible for the events of the book, as the assignment she gave to the Marlfoxes to go bring more beautiful things to her led to them (excluding Mokkan) trying to conquer Redwall Abbey after Mokkan left them upon taking the abbey's tapestry to take back to Castle Marl.
Back at the castle, she is often terrorized by Lantur, who has a sheet heavily flecked with fish scales, black charcoal and red dye marking out the face hauled into the room every one in a while to make it look like a white ghost is in her room.
Biography[]
Silth was, with her mate, the leader of a tribe of foxes with water rats to serve them as they'd be known as Marlfoxes. Upon coming across an island, they took it over and built a big castle there that they'd call Castle Marl. Afterwards, she and her mate get the water rats on their side and wipe out all the other foxes in a war. They'd have a group of magpies led by Athrak that would serve them as well with them having once chased off a kingfisher that lived on the island and was fishing off it before leaving him for dead in the lake shallows (though said kingfisher would survive). At some point, Silth had slain her own mate just for wanting to call himself king after having a brood of seven cubs, all of whom would be known as Marlfoxes with their names being Mokkan, Ascrod, Gelltor, Lantur, Predak, Vannan, and Ziral.
As ruler of the island, she would be carried around on a palanquin, a long boxlike affair with silken tasseled drapes around its sides, borne on four thick poles running beneath its length and width. It would be carried by over a score and a half rats that would tread with carefully measured paces so that the box was kept perfectly steady at all times. She sometimes gives orders from inside after making a sharp tapping noise first behind silken curtains. She would prove to be a tyrannical ruler of the island, occasionally executing her water rats for minor reasons by throwing them into the lake of the island which has flesh-eating pikes. Silth would also have plenty of slavebeasts, squirrels, otters, hedgehogs, and mice enslaved in the courtyard watched by the sadistic slave captain, Ullig, who would often whip them as some work in the fields and orchards and others in the workplaces making things of beauty to grace her chambers while being starved before being shut in their pens after their work is done for years. If anyone attempts to break free, they'd be thrown into the Teeth of the Deeps, which is the lake surrounding the island with pikes, with this happening to lots of slaves. She even makes a law about making speaking about her in a contemptuous manner treason and against doing so much as look at her.
Years later, during a heavy storm that raged the night throughout the hours, Silth has her water rats play loud music to outplay the noise of the storm due to viewing herself as mightier and declaring that the storm stopped her sleeping. When it doesn't seem to have worked, she tells Lantur to decree to them to play louder. Lantur does so while also having the chanters be brought to add to the music by singing Silth's praises. She then drew close to the palanquin and told her mother that whatever she desires is hers with Silth responding by childishly complaining that she cannot bear not to be surrounded by beauty and calm before telling Lantur to tell them to play louder due to her head hurting with the noise of the thunder with Lantur doing just that.
After the storm soon stopped, she has Lantur assemble threescore rats of the Graud Command in the main chamber. Once she does so, Silth berates them for the noise that she hears of the waters of the lake and the night breeze swirling around the castle and doing nothing to stop them, declaring that sleep will not come before asking why. Lantur, herself, would pretend to berate them some more while informing them of the White Ghost wandering the rooms and corridors of Castle Marl (said White Ghost actually being Lantur disguised terrorizing Silth) as Silth declaring that she knows what they are thinking, though she has seen it. At that point, one of the Guard Commanders dropped his shield, leading to Athrak and his tribe flying down, picking him up, dropping him in front of the marble block, and surrounding him as Silth asks him if he's seen the White Ghost. The rat hesitated for a bit due to knowing that Silth would make him describe it if he lyingly said that he did and chose to truthfully say that he did not see it. Silth then ragingly berates him, saying that he didn't due to sleeping on duty and idling his time away before having Athrak have his tribe execute him by tossing him into the lake of Castle Marl to be devoured by the pike within. She watches the scene from an upstairs window as the head of the Guard Command threw in dead fish chunks into the water to summon the pike who devour the rat as he then pleadingly declares that he lied and had seen the White Ghost. Silth then listens to his body splashing into the waiting pike shoal as she chuckles while closing the curtains, declaring that she knew he was lying.
Later on, Lantur hauls in a sheet heavily flecked with fish scales to make it appear luminous with black charcoal and red dye marking out the face as she usually does and terrorizes Silth by pretending to be the White Ghost, causing Silth to panic as she calls for her guards. When they arrive, though, Lantur hauled it back in before they could see it, much to Silth's anger as she rants on about it being here again before calling for Lantur. As she does so, Lantur directs a final moan into the cupboard's bottom section which connected with a similar cupboard in the Queen's bedchamber, terrifying Silth as she asumes it's the White Ghost. Lantur then arrives and converses with Silth about the White Ghost before being ordered by Silth to get out after she suggested that the White Ghost is a spirit seeking for vengeance upon her for killing it. However, Lantur offers to stay to guard her while secretly dismissing the guards and telling Wilce to send down the White Ghost, start moaning, and pull it back up again when Silth screams.
Much later, Silth decides to pay the slaves a visit by having guards carry her in her palanquin down to the rear courtyard as Ullig cracks his whip to have them be still in her presence and Athrak and his magpies strut about in front of the bars. Silth then asks Ullig if they're working hard for the food they give them with Ullig affirming it before Silth has him remind the slaves of the rules. After a short silence, she decides to return to her chambers and orders her guards to take her back inside. Just as they do so, Silth halts them screeching upon seeing the "White Ghost" floating back and forth across a window of an upper chamber and calling her name to tell her death is all she has. She orders her guards to slay it with Ullig running to go get it only for it to disappear (Lantur pulled it back) as usual.
During the night, Silth would be terrorized by the "White Ghost" once again with Wilce being the one who impersonates it this time. After a while of this, Lantur has her stop before going in to bring a tray with two goblets on it, one being Silth's own drinking vessel and the other being a plan serviceable pewter type. Cowering, Silth asks where her guards are to which Lantur responds by explaining that she dismissed them before offering her a drink made from warm damson wine and special herbs, both of which she poured in both cups, one of which she poisoned to kill Silth. Silth at first refuses under suspicion that Lantur poisoned one of the cups and as Lantur was about to drink hers, she suspects that Lantur placed the goblets on the tray so that her personal one was closest to her and has her switch cups before switching again and forcing Lantur to drink it under threat of killing her. As Lantur feigns fright while drinking it to trick her into thinking that she did indeed drink the poisoned one, Silth laughs at and taunts her for thinking she could outwit her before drinking her goblet. After she does so, however, Lantur reveals that it was indeed Silth's personal goblet that was poisoned. Realizing her mistake too late, Silth begins to die from the poison while Lantur plumped up the pillow behind her hhead and folded the satin coverlet neatly under her mother's chin. With no one (except Ullig and Wilce who had been helping her) knowing that Lantur killed her, Silth gets her funeral in a burying ceremony at the lakeside as Lantur becomes the new queen of Castle Marl. Moments later, however, Mokkan, who had left his siblings and taken the tapestry they stole from Redwall Abbey, returns during the funeral and kills Lantur by tossing her into the lake and becomes king himself, though his rule would also be temporary as the Redwallers would arrive at Castle Marl and engage in a battle that frees all the slaves and gets Mokkan killed too.