Artham P. Wingfeather is the firstborn of the royal Wingfeather family of Anniera. Normally, this would mean he would be king, but in Anniera, there is a different system. The second-born, boy or girl, is destined to be ruler, who, in this case, was Esben Wingfeather. The firstborn is given the title of Throne Warden, and their duty is to protect the King or Queen at any cost.
Children in Anniera are also expected to learn their T.H.A.G.S., Three Honored And Great Subjects, Writing, Drawing, and Song. (Some people argue that there are four Honored And Great Subjects, but those mathematicians are woefully mistaken.) The firstborn is taught Writing, the second-born Drawing, and if there is a third, he or she is taught Song. If there are four or more royal children, they are given the title of storyteller, and wander the wide world of Aerwiar telling tales of Anniera.
Pre-series
Artham was the older brother and Throne Warden to Esben, who was the last High King of Anniera before the series. Nine years before the series begins, Anniera was attacked by Gnag the Nameless and destroyed; it is still burning when the remaining Wingfeathers travel there again in The Warden and the Wolf King.
Esben told Artham to escape from Castle Rysen with then-Queen Nia Wingfeather, Podo and Wendolyn Helmer, and the three Wingfeather children - Janner, Kalmar, and Leeli. Artham did so and helped them escape on a ship to Glipwood, Podo's place of birth (though Leeli's leg was mangled by a Fang and Wendolyn perished in the process). After that, he attempted to return to Esben, but they were both captured by Gnag's forces and taken to Throg, where, upon refusing the Stone Keeper's offer to transform them into Fangs, they were placed in the Deeps of Throg. The brothers resisted the urge to sing the song for a long time, but Esben gave in, sang the song, and was turned into a bear. Artham, having failed in his lifelong mission as a Throne Warden to protect his brother, began to sing the song but changed his mind in the process, which drove him insane and halfway transformed him into a bird (Artham's hands became talons and his hair became white). He escaped from the Deeps, but the memory of leaving Esben continued to contribute to his madness.
Artham managed to travel to Glipwood, where Nia and Podo were living with the three Wingfeather children, (who had no idea of their true heritage at the time), to protect them from anything he could since he had already failed Esben. Nia and Podo barely recognized him, and Artham stayed away from them, living in a tree house in Glipwood Forest, for years due to his insanity. He knitted socks to hide his talons, and due to this became known as Peet the Sock Man by the villagers.
He appears in every book in the series, but plays a larger part in the first book than in the others, though he is still a crucial character in the latter part of the series.
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
Artham, or Peet the Sock Man (mostly shortened to Peet) as he is known throughout almost the entire book, is first seen by the Igiby children near the jail, doing a dance while chanting. According to Janner, the Blaggus boys (the sons of the Mayor of Glipwood) had seen Peet riding a toothy cow near the edge of the forest; Peet had probably not ridden one of the cows, but did live in the forest as the children thought.
Peet appears again when Leeli is kidnapped from behind Books and Crannies and attacked by Slarb the Fang in the forest, when he knocks Slarb into unconsciousness to save Leeli; Peet then takes Leeli to his tree house. Podo later finds the tree house and returns with Leeli to the Igiby cottage.
Peet is next seen running away from the village after Podo finds him in an alleyway and hits him, and the Igiby children follow him. They find their way into Glipwood Forest and eventually come across a ladder that can be used to access a bridge high in the trees, which is what Peet used to get to his tree house. The children stay with Peet for awhile, and attempt to talk to him, which was complicated by Peet's habit of mixing up the starts of words, and his incorrect uses of the children's names (though they weren't entirely incorrect, since Peet sometimes would say 'Wingiby' or 'Iggyfeather', which is a cross between their real last names and the last name they thought they had. He also asked them if Igiby was really their real name, foreshadowing later parts of the book). The children leave to find the Igiby cottage aflame.
The Igibys and Podo next meet Peet shortly after the burning of their cottage and their capture; when they are about to be taken inside the Black Carriage, Peet appears and, killing the Fangs around him, rescues the family. They go inside Books and Crannies to take refuge with the proprietor, Oskar N. Reteep. Podo prevents Peet from following them inside and kicks him out. They are found out, however, by ridgerunner Zouzab Koit, who is a spy for Gnag and was placed in Glipwood. As the Igibys and Podo are struggling to escape from the Fangs yet again, Peet, riding on the back of a newly restored and enlarged Nugget (Leeli's dog), attacks some the remaining Fangs. After the Fangs' defeat, Podo, Peet, Nugget, and the Igibys travel to Anklejelly Manor, where Peet and Nugget attempt to make a last stand to hold off the other Fangs. Podo is mortally wounded by a spear of a Fang inside the manor (one of many who were chasing them inside). After Peet tells Nia why Nugget returned, he travels to the First Well and back and heals Podo with the water. The Igibys, Podo, and Peet then escape from the manor once daylight arrives. They go to Peet's tree house, where the Igiby children finally learn the truth about themselves.
| Categories | About Artham |
|---|---|
| Names: |
Artham P. Wingfeather |
| Eyes: | Blue/Gray |
| Hair: | Gray |
| Age: | Unknown, but somewhere in his late 30s/early 40s. |
| Family: |
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A Throne Warden's Duty
A Throne Warden is the title given to the firstborn child the Annieran royal family. Throne Wardens are charged with the most important duty in the land, to protect their younger sibling who will grow to be the King or Queen of Anniera. The Throne Wardens usually stay very close to their King's side.
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