| abstract | - Rakkety Tam MacBurl was a border squirrel from the far north. His main companion was Wild Doogy Plumm. Together the two of them traveled south as mercenaries and eventually arrived at the territory of Squirrelking Araltum and Idga Drayqueen. Once there, they pledged their swords to the royalty and quickly became two of the most revered fighters within the entire kingdom. After several seasons, however, the land soon had little need for active warriors, and the two became bored. To make matters worse, the two they had pledged loyalty to were prone to ordaining the most trivial of ceremonies and regulations. Tam was imprisoned along with Doogy for insulting Araltum and Idga when asked to participate in such a ceremony. The arrival of Gulo the Savage in Mossflower gave the warrior the excitement he was looking for. When the Squirrelking's soldiers were ambushed by Gulo, Tam and Doogy were sent to investigate and recover the royal banner which Gulo stole, in exchange for freedom from their pledge. At the scene, they were caught and knocked unconscious by some members of the Long Patrol who suspected that they were in league with the beasts who slaughtered 8 of their hares. A young sea otter who had witnessed the slaughter, Arflow, identified them as being innocent, and the true murderers -- Gulo and his vermin -- were revealed. Tam, Doogy, and the Long Patrol united and eventually arrived at Redwall Abbey. It is here where he received the Sword of Martin and he met Sister Armel, the Infirmary Keeper, and future wife of Tam. After a series of skirmishes with the wolverine, Tam eventually faced off against Gulo in a duel. Tam successfully beheaded his opponent when Gulo fell against the sharpened rim of his shield and ultimately saved Redwall. He mentioned that Martin the Warrior tipped him to sharpen his shield. Afterwards, he settled down and married Armel and had a daughter, Melanda MacBurl. Tam and his family eventually traveled back to Squirrelking Araltum to finally be released from his and Doogy's pledge. After they were freed, Araltum and his family were dethroned, and Rakkety Tam was offered lordship over the Groves. However, Tam refused and traveled back to Redwall. Before wielding the Sword of Martin, Tam was known to use a double-edged claymore with a cup hilt. He also carried with him a dirk (essentially a long dagger), a Sgian Dhu (a small skinning knife), and a buckler shield. He wore a tartan and a feathered cap.
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