Tercero Padilla

Tercero Jerónimo Padilla Ortiz (851 – May 3, 917) was a 9th century Montañan, , and best known for his Locufaric Ocean voyages. Although his life pre-dates the Kingdom of Ventora by about a half century, he is often described as Ventoran. He and several of his crew settled on the Salian island of Melesa around 883. After he stopped exploring in 888, Tercero summarized his ship's logs in a work that became known as Tercero Padilla travels (Viajes Tercero Padilla). It became the basis for Geschichte Chronicles: the Saga of Tercero Padilla, a 2006 Renesian  TV series. The show gave Padilla a degree of international fame and renewed an interest in his exploits among Ventorans.

Early life
Tercero was born during September, 851, as the third child to Néstor Padilla Tadeo, of, and Etelvina, née Ortiz Flor, in. A well-to-do family, with a flourishing shipping business on the Gulf of Eshar, the Padillas hired tutors to give their children a good education. Tercero, in particular, was described as bright and quick-witted. Due to this, he was reportedly not well liked by his peers and other. As a result, he was often involved in scuffles with his peers and these soon became sabre duels at which Tercero became quite adept.

The dukes of, of which Serat was a part, tended to have designs on territorial expansion and that was the case during Tercero's youth, as well. By age twenty, he had been levied for no less than three expeditionary forays across the Lávar River building Tercero's martial skills. However, his dislike of warfare only fueled his desires to set to sea and "discover new lands beyond the horizon."

Background and preparation
As the third child, Tercero was not likely to inherit the family business nor become the ruling count. Nonetheless, his eldest brother Leonel felt threatened by the younger sibling and became obsessed in intrigues against him. Their father had long considered the animosity between his sons disruptive to the family business. He eventually concluded Tercero was not likely to fall in combat in one of the dukes' wars due his military proficiency. Concluding a war death was not a likely resolution to the problem, Néster offered to give Tercero a ship with provisions for his explorations in exchange for him relinquishing his inheritance. Leonel promised to help his younger brother hire a suitable crew if he promised to leave Serat for good. Over the next year, a handful of Tercero's few close friends became officers and assisted with hiring the rest of the crew. By 874, the ship, a two-masted of about 32 m, and crew of 34 were ready to set sail.

Abayadi voyages
Fluent in the Manuak language, Padilla's first destination was Haksarad, likely also influenced by his homeland's tributary relationship to the Haksar emperor. While en route, Padilla learned about and became proficient in navigation, according to his journals. He also recorded an encounter with a which ended with Padilla's crew victorious and the surviving pirates becoming part of the crew, an uncommon occurrence. While in Haksarad, the ship's damages were repaired and new provisions taken aboard.

Although Padilla's plan was to explore the Abayadi Sea, he agreed to take on some Haksar merchants who sought to take their goods to Duomo with the understanding he could stop at various ports along the southern Abayadi. At one such port stop, another ship's captain overheard the Haksar merchantmen complaining about the time Padilla was taking to reach Duomo and offered to take on the merchantmen. To counter this, Padilla proposed a race between his crew and that of the other captain's, with the merchantmen offering to pay a bounty to the winning crew. The three-day race was close but Padilla's ship entered Udo harbor ahead of the other vessel. While drinking to the victory, the other captain told Padilla about lands around the horn of Skephon and Padilla was intrigued by the far-off lands.

Osamian voyage
After a long refit in Duomo, including waiting for favorable weather, Padilla and crew set sail south-southeast into the Locufaric Ocean. After a stop at the eastern end of Skephon, the ship rounded the horn and passed through the Ornyenka-Sthulista Strait, the first known Ventoran vessel to reach the Osamian Ocean. After encountering pirates, the vessel was damaged and low on provisions, so Padilla made landfall in Mitruhmoer for repairs and resupply. The local governor offered to underwrite the repairs if Padilla and crew agreed to put an end to the pirates plaguing the area. After eking out a victory over the pirates, the governor reneged and attempted to seize Padilla's ship, but Padilla and crew were able to make their escape.

Reaching another Mudruvese port further west, Padilla attempted to refit but found the port overrun with pirates and dishonest merchantmen. After they were attacked by a mob of unsavory characters, the crew was barely able to prevail. Some poor portsmen, grateful for the defeat of the criminals, offered Padilla supplies at a low cost, which the crew accepted. Padilla then made haste to set sail away from Mudruvese waters, setting course due east for Gemurtrak.

Arriving in Ornpyat in the duchy of Suzhya, Padilla found Gemurtrak in turmoil and expensive. The situation discouraged him from his original plan to explore further south along the Osamian shore. Having encountered some Trakians seeking to escape the Confederation of the North, Padilla agreed to transport them in exchange for needed supplies. The deal would prove less than ideal since Padilla's vessel was confronted by ships of the Southern Empire after sailing from Ornpyat. Despite the the persistence of the raiders, Padilla and his crew were able to repell one ship and then evade three others only with great difficulty. They finally managed to escape after transiting the Ornyenka-Sthulista Strait northward, marking the end of Padilla's southerly exploration.

Locufaric voyages
Padilla was one of the earliest Ventorans to sail extensively in the Locufaric Ocean, venturing as far south as Ecoralia. Reaching Asidama in May 878, the captain and crew were amazed by the wealth and vitality in the port there which exceeded its reputation. Although Padilla had planned to sail northward along Alutra's coast, he learned about Salia in Asidama and determined to visit what he felt was a land of fellow explorers. The ship did not reach Scrá until 880, however, due to intervening stops on mainland Alutra in modern-day !southeastern-country, Martland, and Gožyaries. Padilla reports being able to communicate with the Gožyars due to some commonalities with the Ventoran language.

Most of 880 was spent in and around Salia. Having found respite on the island of Melesa, with its agreeable chieftain, Padilla agreed to a less ambitious exploratory scheme. This owed, in large extent, to a weariness of his remaining original crew. With some new crewmembers, Padilla set sail for Lathadu and Ordrey in the spring of 881. In the following year, he reached Gladomyr and Edury. By 883, however, an older Padilla was ready to settle down and so returned to Melesa. Even so, he took his ship out on short duration excursions of a month or two a few times each year.

In 886, Padilla sought to mount another long expedition. From his previous visits to Edury, he knew of Ecoralia and had heard of Renes lying beyond the far-northern Ecoralian peninsula. The journey was long and arduous and Padilla recorded the dangers of the extreme cold, icy conditions, and iceburgs. Having rounded the peninsula, Padilla was the first Ventoran to sail the Onse Bay. The ship and crew reached Monstad, where they refitted. Padilla made landfall at Renes in summer 887. Having heard of their journey, Renesian merchants hired Padilla to take them and a cargo of metals to Edury, beginning the return trip in the new year of 888. This was fortuitious since the ship reached the northern tip of the penninsula in summer, greatly reducing the hazardous conditions from the previous journey. Reaching Godenhaven in the fall, the Renesians sold their cargo and hoped for return passage. Padilla's crew longed for home, however, so took their compensation from the merchants and set sail for Melesa.

Later life
Finding the climate and people on Melesa agreeable, Tercero decided to settle down on the island around 883. While he sailed on several more journeys until his last in 888, he gradually became more assimilated into the Cadâlig lifestyle. He learned the language and began to use the Cadâlig version of his name, Terth.

Legacy
Tercero Padilla is remembered as a historical figure on Melesa, and some Cadâlig can trace their ancestry to him. His legacy on the island consists of some statues and a few places bearing his name. Although primary school history lessons in Ventora mention Tercero as an explorer, particularly for his Locufaric sailings, he was generally not well known. The 2006 Saga of Tercero Padilla animated series by Knight9 Animationsstudio and its 2007–2016 comic book continuation, Saga of Tercero Padilla: Continue! are credited with a increased interest in Ventora concerning the adventurer's story.

Geschicte Chronicles
In 2006, Renesian Knight9 Animationsstudio released the animated TV series Geschichte Chronicles: the Saga of Tercero Padilla depicting the life and adventures of Tercero Padilla. Although sensationalized, the series is credited with making Padilla famous in Alutra. In addition, although Padilla's voyages into the Locufaric had been a standard historical topic in Ventoran primary schools, the Geschicte Chronicles raised Padilla's popularity across Ventora. The series saw generally positive reviews but its author, Caroline Abt, did not want to undertake a second season. Instead, she produced a comic book series called Saga of Tercero Padilla: Continue! which lasted from 2007 to 2016.

Writings
Since he was well-educated, Tercero kept detailed ship's logs for his sailings and was known to keep extensive journals. While some examples of these remain, many have been lost to time. Nonetheless, those that exist have been used to substantiate the text of the work published in Tercero Padilla travels. After the Knight9 series release, Padilla's book became fairly popular in Ventora; it was the 47th most requested work in 2011.