Penderrin Ohmsford, or Pen Ohmsford for short, is a character in the High Druid of Shannara trilogy. He goes on a quest to save his aunt Grianne Ohmsford when Grianne's assistant Tagwen arrives at his home in Patch Run looking for help.
Biography
Pen is the son of Grianne's younger brother Bek Ohmsford and the Rover Rue Meridian. He grew up around airships and was an expert pilot at an early age. However, unlike his father or aunt, Pen did not possess the magic of the wishsong, and his parents' distrust of the Druids led to little contact between him and his aunt. However, Pen did possess a kind of magic, an empathy with living things that allowed him to understand their communications.
When Grianne was imprisoned in the Forbidding, Pen was approached by her loyal servant Tagwen, seeking the help of Pen's father. However, they were forced to flee the Druid forces, led by Terek Molt, that had been pursuing Tagwen. On their way to the Westland village of Emberen, Pen was approached by the King of the Silver River. The Faerie creature warned Pen of Grianne's predicament, and tasked him with finding the legendary Tanequil, a tree from the Age of Faerie. From this tree, Pen was to obtain a darkwand, a magical talisman that allows passage between the Four Lands and the Forbidding.
After meeting with Ahren Elessedil and his niece Khyber in Emberen, Pen and Tagwen accompanied them into the Northland in search of the Tanequil. Along the way, Pen met and fell in love with a blind Rover girl named Cinnaminson. However, he was also stalked by Druids and their assassin accomplice Aphasia Wye. Finally, Pen reached the Tanequil within the ruins of the Old World city of Stridegate, but he was forced to sacrifice two fingers and Cinnaminson in order to gain the darkwand.
Shortly after receiving the talisman, Pen was abducted by the Druids and taken to Paranor. With help from Khyber, he was able to recover the darkwand and enter the Forbidding. While inside, he discovered that the darkwand had unlocked the magic of the wishsong within, which he used to his advantage. After returning back to the Four Lands with Grianne, he joined Khyber and his parents on an expedition to find and send the Moric back into the Forbidding with the darkwand. After the party had disguised themselves as part of Shadea a'Ru's mutinous Druid faction to get close to the Moric, Pen was able to trick the Demon into grabbing ahold of the talisman, which banished it for good.
Some time later, Grianne traveled back to Stridegate with Pen, promising him that she would rescue Cinnaminson from the tree. She did so, but only by taking Cinnaminson's place as a prisoner to the tree. Her body was taken by Mother Tanequil, while her soul was able to roam free as an aeriad, a spirit of the air.
Legacy
While Pen's son Kierst did not inherit the magic of the wishsong, his grandsons, the twin brothers Railing and Redden Ohmsford, both possessed and used the wishsong in their adventures.
Physical Appearance
Pen is described as looking quite ordinary and unremarkable, from his plain face and average build. His most distinctive feature is his shoulder-length red hair which he keeps tied back with scarves and sashes in the Rover fashion.