Padra

Captain Padra is an easygoing otter and the senior captain of Mistmantle. He is the older brother of Fingal of the Floods, husband to Captain Lady Arran, and father to Tide, Swanfeather, and Fionn.

Urchin of the Riding Stars served as his page during the first books of the series, and his best friend since childhood was King Crispin. He is a senior member of the Circle.

Biography

Early life

Padra was born to a unknown otter pair, who later had his little brother, Fingal. When the first Rage Tide came, his father died, and it is implied that his mother died as well. Because of this, Padra made a vow to take care of his baby brother. Padra grew up with his best friend, Crispin, and eventually became a Captain of Mistmantle alongside Crispin and Husk. When Captain Husk came to power, Padra sent Fingal to a place far away from the Tower so he would be safe and out of the way.

Urchin and the Riding Stars

Padra is introduced as an easy-going captain of Mistmantle. He's Crispin's best friend and they are captains together along with Husk.

When Crispin is exiled from Mistmantle, he takes on Crispin's new page, Urchin, as his own, although he does say that it's unusual for an otter to take a squirrel as a page. He, along with Urchin and Brother Fir, begin to work together to prove Husk's treachery.

When Crackle and Needle inform Padra and Brother Fir of Husk's plans to have Urchin slain, they make plans to send him away from Mistmantle and bring back Crispin from his exile. Just as they were going to launch Urchin's boat from the North shore, Padra doubles back to find Lugg and get him to go with Urchin. However, Urchin disobeys and asks Brother Fir to push him out while Padra is gone, asking Fir to say goodbye to Padra for him. Padra remains concerned for Urchin throughout his journey until he arrives safely home.

Padra makes a speech during the Spring Festival which discredits and brings down Husk and spurs the movement that saves the island. He and Husk were going to duel, but were intervened by the appearance of Urchin and Crispin riding on swans, and the arrival of riding stars, at which he backs down and allows Crispin to take his place.

After the battle is won, he and Arran admit their feelings for each other and he asks her to marry him, after which Arran hits him gently and he laughs. When he and Arran go to ask Crispin for permission to be wed, Crispin says yes, guessing that they would be asking soon.

Wedding

"...Padra and Arran had a very simple wedding early in the morning beside the sea and celebrated with a long swim afterwards. Brother Fir married them and not many people were present – Urchin, and Crispin, of course, Needle, Fingal, Hope, and a few close friends. They asked Sepia to sing. Then invited all the island to a party later that day. It was summertime, they were all on the shore, and there was a lot of fun and splashing."

-From an email sent by Margaret McAllister on October 3, 2017.

Urchin and the Heartstone

Padra gets Urchin to meet Juniper because Juniper doesn't know many squirrels his age but has heard of Urchin. When Hope and Fingal got lost in the cave, Needle first tells Padra what happened. He comforts her and leads her to the Throne Room. When it is discovered that the two made it out mostly unharmed, Padra shows his worry by repeatedly looking over Fingal to see if he was unharmed and quietly listens while Fingal relays the story of what he and Hope did.

He and Arran have twins, a boy and a girl. They name the boy Tide and have some difficulty naming the girl, but eventually decide upon Swanfeather, after the swans that carried Crispin and Urchin home.

During the Hedgehog Host's rebellion against King Crispin, Padra stands and fights at his king's side and later comforts Sepia when her voice is hurt from Gorsen's attempted strangling, which leaves her unable to sing.

When Urchin, Juniper, and Lugg return on the ship from Whitewings, he, along with Arran and Fingal, swim out to greet them and tow the boat into the jetty.

The Heir of Mistmantle

Padra is first seen eating with his wife, younger brother, and twins, Swanfeather and Tide, on the beach. He announces to Urchin as he brings out the soup that he'd won their bet as Fingal had started talking about his new boat before he arrived. Loser had to polish the sword belts for Princess Catkin's naming ceremony the next day.

Before Catkin's naming ceremony, he tells Urchin that, as he was going to be admitted to the Circle soon, he didn't have to call him "sir" anymore. However, Urchin replied that he liked it.

When Princess Catkin goes missing, Padra reports that he and Captain Lugg had stationed guards along the shore and in the tunnels so Linty couldn't leave the island with the princess. In the days that pass, Padra notices knots of younger animals gossiping and spreading rumors that Captain Husk had returned and reports this information to King Crispin. When Crispin calls a meeting of the Circle animals as well as Urchin, Needle, and Sepia, Padra confirms that he did indeed see Husk fall into the pit during the battle of Mistmantle and that he was indeed dead, and Urchin and Brother Fir also agree to this.

During the landslide that happens due to the amount of rain, Padra leads a team who was making a dam to hold the water back.

Urchin and the Raven War

When Lord Arcneck and the other swans land on Mistmantle, he is summoned by Crispin to appear alongside him in the Throne Room, in addition Cedar and Urchin. During the ravens' attacks on Mistmantle, Padra fights faithfully at Crispin's side as well as defending the Spring Gate with Arran. He also pledges to remain in the Tower should the ravens break in.

After the war, he is seen holding Fir's grave box at his funeral and later he appears in a meeting to talk about Corr.

Urchin and the Rage Tide

Padra asks to resign due to the guilt he feels for letting Corr leave the island without consulting anyone. Crispin declines his request for he feels what Padra had done was right and that it was something he would do. He was one of the three animals who knew of Crispin's injury which would kill him. After Crispin sacrifices himself, the loss of his lifelong best friend hits Padra very hard.

Padra is last seen when Urchin gives him a hug after Sepia of the Songs said yes to Urchin's proposal.

Appearance

Padra is a tall otter who has been described as having a pleasant expression and looks as though he is always about to laugh.

Personality and traits

Generally, Padra is easy-going, intelligent, considerate, and sympathetic.

He has also been shown to have a rebellious and secretive side, though only when it comes to resisting evil. During Captain Husk's reign over King Brushen, he, along with Lugg, Arran, Moth, and Mother Huggen, rescued many of the babies who where put on the list to be culled due to birth abnormalities or simply for being "too small".

Relationships

Arran

Padra has been shown to deeply love Arran, a fact that was obvious to virtually everyone. For some time, various friends urged him to ask her to marry him. However, Padra would always reply that "she'd only hit me". He later learned that the only reason Arran hadn't asked him to marry her was that she thought he would just laugh.

The two worked closely together during Husk’s virtual domination of Mistmantle, with Padra trusting Arran with a variety of important tasks and secrets. He was also familiar with the sound of her footsteps. The two enjoyed swimming together, and Urchin, Padra’s page at the time, usually made a point of leaving them alone when he saw this happening. Padra finally proposed to Arran after Husk’s fall: she did hit him, and he did laugh, but they were finally able to move forward in their relationship.

Tide, Swanfeather, and Fionn

Tide, Swanfeather, and Fionn are Padra’s three children by Airen. His son Tide and daughter Swanfeather are twins and were born during the conflict with King Silverbirch of Whitewings Island. Padra loved the pair deeply from the beginning.

Fionn was born some years later, after the events of the Raven War.

Fingal

Fingal is Padra’s younger brother, and the two are very close. Padra promised to watch over Fingal after their father was killed during a Rage Tide, and has held to that vow ever since. This was seen in particular during Husk’s time in power, when Padra made a point of hiding the outspoken Fingal “about as far away from the Tower as [Padra could] get him.” Padra later berated Fingal for taking part in the battle with Husk’s forces, though he also acknowledged his younger brother’s bravery.

Crispin

Crispin and Padra were been good friends for many years, and served together in the Circle and as Captains of Mistmantle. Padra often expressed his fondness for Crispin with teasing comments, but was quick to come to his defense or aid. When Crispin was framed for murder and sentenced to exile, Padra went to see him in his cell and tasked Urchin with making preparations for Crispin’s departure. The injustice of these events still smoldered in Padra some time later.

Urchin

Padra and Urchin’s relationship began when Urchin was invited to the Tower by Crispin, who wanted Urchin to serve as his page. Padra showed every kindness to the young squirrel, even during the ensuing difficulties surrounding Prince Tumble’s murder and Crispin’s trial and sentencing. Afterwards, Padra offered Urchin a place as his own page, which Urchin gladly accepted. Padra quickly grew to admire and care for his young charge, and wished to keep him out of the brewing conflict's with Husk. Only when Brother Fir counseled otherwise did Padra reluctantly bring Urchin on in his campaign against the villainous Husk.

Fir

Fir served as priest of Mistmantle for much of Padra’s life, up until just after the Raven War. The two presumably became close acquaintances during Padra’s years at the Tower. As a captain, Padra was often invited to, and felt free to visit, Fir’s turret to converse with Fir and think. Fir and Padra occasionally disagreed, but Padra trusted Fir’s wisdom and experience and typically deferred to him.

Husk

Like Crispin, Husk was once Padra’s friend or at least pretended to be. Husk became a captain some time before Husk, and for a time Padra at least respected his colleague. But Husk secretly despised Padra for being an otter, and was jealous of Padra and Crispin’s friendship and the secret knowledge he suspected that they shared. For his part, Padra began to see the truth about Husk after Prince Tumble was murdered and Crispin was exiled, leaving Husk as lawful heir to the throne of Mistmantle.

Gallery

Take a look at our gallery for Padra by clicking here.

Trivia

• The name Padra is Irish and is a variant of Patrick, meaning “nobleman.”^[1]

References