Weasels

Kine

The titular character, Kine is a proud, aggressive young weasel. Known as an impetuous braggart, he has few friends until fiery Kia wins his love.

Kia

A red-furred female weasel, and the great love of Kine's life. With a fiery spirit but gentle nature, Kia is highly popular in the forests and hills, and even Watchman admits to a fondness for her. She appears in Marshworld, and her spirit appears in the land of lost dreams in Witchwood.

One-Eye

Kine's father. One-Eye is among the weasels who gather from the surrounding countryside to avenge Kia's death. While Kine leads the younger weasels in a sneak attack on the mink fortress, One-Eye discovers a newly released weasel, whom he discovers to be Kine's sole-surviving daughter, and names her "Wonder." One-Eye is killed by Gru in the final attack upon the pump-house, and so appears only in the first volume.

Wonder

A female weasel. Kine and Kia's only surviving daughter, Wonder bears a strong resemblance to her mother. When Kia and the other kits were killed by the mink, only Wonder escaped into the forest. There she was found by the aging Poacher, who raised her by hand and later sets her free. She soon meets One-Eye, who recognizes her as Kine's daughter due to her similarity to Kia. Upon learning about her past, One-Eye gives her the name "Wonder" and reunites her with her father, Kine. Cheerful and naive at first, Wonder bravely helps the other weasels defeat Gru, and then returns to Heath's territory as his mate.

In Witchwood, Wonder and Heath once again fight beside Kine against the Rat King, this time with the help of their five unnamed kits. By the time she is sent for in Dragon Pond, Wonder has grown into a graceful and powerful fighter. Together with her father and his allies, Wonder helps rid the forest of Hob.

Wonder appears in all three books.

Heath

A robust young male weasel who joins Kine and the others in the Mink Wars. He later becomes Wonder's mate. Heath joins Kine in battling both Rattun and, later, Hob. He appears in all three books.

Ford

A large, strong male weasel who enters Kine's territory in hopes of winning Kia as a mate. He returns with One-Eye and the other local weasels to fight the mink alongside Kine. Brash, courageous, and good-humored, he proves a valuable ally to Kine in the final assault on the mink fortress. Ford appears only in Marshworld.

Chuk-Chukra

A female weasel from the plains many miles away from Kine's home. She is the first creature Kine encounters after escaping from the truck, and the female weasel is immediately flirtatious towards him. While she tries to convince him to remain on the plains with her, Chukra quickly sees Kine's devotion to his home and Kia's memory, and decides to help him find his way home.

Through the course of the journey, Chukra shows herself to be brave and intelligent, and Kine, likening her spirit to that of Kia's, finds himself enamored with her. Chukra makes up her mind to live at the Moon Pond as Kine's mate, but is tragically killed by electrocution on a railway less than halfway through the journey, leaving the heartbroken Kine to travel on alone. Her spirit later appears to him along with Kia's, encouraging him to continue. Chukra appears in Witchwood only.

Clary

A female weasel from an apple orchard not far from Kine's territory. Having heard stories of Kine's battles against Gru and Rattun, she comes to his territory seeking him as a mate. After winning him over through her flattery and sheer charisma, Clary tells Kine she will only live in the Life Tree if he slays the Pond Dragon. When the eel is killed in the night by Hob, Clary, believing Kine to be the eel's killer, moves into the Life Tree and bears four kits. At length Kine reveals that he hadn't killed the eel, and although annoyed, Clary quickly forgives him.

When Kine learns of the Alliance between Hob, Mag, and Athene, he sends Clary and the kits back to safety the orchard. Reaching the orchard, Clary sends her friends Brat, Scoter, and Bald-ear to Kine's aid, and later comes alone to join them in the fight against Hob. In the end she returns to the orchard for the winter, promising to reunite with Kine in the following summer. Clary appears only in Dragon Pond.

Growler

One of Kine and Clary's sons. He is killed by Athene to spite Kine. He appears only in Dragon Pond.

Brat

A brawny young male weasel from the orchard. Having grown up with Clary, he has a deep concern for her well-being. It is at Clary's request that he leads Bald-ear and Scoter to Kine's territory to fight against Hob, Mag, and Athene. When the Alliance has been defeated, he returns to his home in the orchard. Brat appears only in Dragon Pond.

Scoter

A smokey-brown male weasel from the orchard, and one of Clary's many suitors. He is described by Brat as being very clever. He joins Brat and Bald-ear in coming to Kine's aid, but is killed by Mag while defending the Life Tree. He appears only in Dragon Pond.

Bald-ear

A male weasel from the orchard. Missing fur around one ear from a battle scar. While strong and determined, he is not regarded as being particularly smart. Nevertheless, along with Brat and Scoter, he comes to help Kine fight the Alliance. In the end, he returns to the orchard with Brat. Bald-ear appears only in Dragon Pond.

Birds

Watchman

A very old rook. Cynical and abrasive, Watchman serves as the sentinel for the local rook colony, alerting them of danger. Though he professes to dislike Kine and his ilk, he helps them repeatedly, and even admits to having a soft spot for Kia. Watchman appears in all three books.

Flit-Cat, Peck, and Farthingfeather

A trio of house sparrows. Initially mocking towards Kine, after Peck is murdered by Rattun's followers, Flit and Farthing devote themselves to helping the weasel rid the Witchwood of the rats. The sparrows are extremely fond of fighting, as well as watching other creatures fight, and are always on the lookout for another "dust-up" to egg on. They appear in Witchwood and Dragon Pond.

Other animals

Old Scrat

A male common shrew. A neurotic little creature prone to a pessimistic outlook. Though regarded as an annoyance by most of the animals, Kine finds a use for him as a spy against the mink. Old Scrat appears only in Marshworld, having died of old age before the beginning of the second book.

Scrat II

Old Scrat's grandson. He has a deep admiration for Kine, having grown up hearing stories about the Mink War. In spite of his inherited cowardice, he plays a vital role in tricking Rattun into believing Kine has died. Scrat II appears only in Witchwood.

Scrat III

Grandson of Scrat II. Like his predecessors, Scrat III serves as a worthy, if not timid, spy for Kine. He appears only in Dragon Pond.

Bunda

A male marsh frog. Considered the Frog Oracle, he knows many stories about the surrounding countryside and tells Scrat about the invading mink. Shortly after, he and most of the marsh frogs are killed by Gru and her family. Bunda appears only in Marshworld.

Bufo

A female common toad. Scrat presses her for information about Rattun, but upon returning a second time, he finds that she has been murdered by the rats. Bufo appears only in Witchwood.

Chessel-crumb

A male hazel dormouse. The contemplative Chessel offers advice to Scrat and Kine regarding the Pond Dragon, before he himself is devoured by the eel. Chessel appears only in Dragon Pond.

Marshworld

Gru

A black-furred female American mink. Descended from mink that escaped from fur farms, Gru and her kind seek revenge against the humans, and so travel the countryside massacring wildlife and livestock alike. Taking up residence under a nearby pump-house, Gru sets about taking over the marshland. In anticipation of meeting Kine's resistance, Gru heads an attack on the Life Tree, murdering Kia and four of her kits. In the final assault on the pump-house by Kine and the weasels, Gru is thrown into the dyke and crushed by the pump.

Liverskin

A brown-furred male American mink. Gru's brown-furred mate. Not quite as cunning as Gru, but just as vicious. Liverskin is killed by Kine, Heath, and Wonder.

Witchwood

Rattun the Rat King

An enormous male brown rat. Due to overexposure to Warfarin in small doses, Rattun and his colony have developed a tolerance to the poison, effectively creating a race of "Super Rats." Setting his sights on the Witchwood and surrounding territory, Rattun invades and defiles the Life Tree, infuriating Kine.

The Sow Queen

Rattun's mate, a huge female brown rat intended to bear his offspring. She retreats with the other rats after her mate's defeat. The author mistakenly calls male rats boars and females sows - the correct terms are bucks and does.

Dragon Pond

The Pond Dragon

A very large European eel dwelling in the Moon Pond. The Pond Dragon terrorizes the pond-side community before being slain by Hob, for which Kine is mistakenly given credit.

Hob the Berserker

A large male European polecat. Taking Mag as his mate, he rallies the ferret and Athene the owl to help him ravage the countryside. Like Gru before him, Hob takes the pump house as his den. He is immensely strong and possesses a vicious temper, and the loss of Mag drives him over the edge. In the climactic battle with Kine on the Life Tree, Hob falls into the partly frozen pond and drowns.

Mag

A dusky-coloured female ferret. Once a hunting ferret belonging to Poacher, the cruel-natured Mag escaped after her owner's death and became feral. Out of spite towards the humans, she joins forces with Hob and Athene, becoming Hob's mate. After she kills Scoter, Mag is lured into a fallen tractor and killed by Kine, Brat, and Bald-ear.

Athene

A female little owl. An aggressive, foul-mouthed creature, she joins Hob and Mag in terrorizing the countryside. She is extremely jealous of Mag's standing with Hob, and abandons the ferret in the fight against Kine and the weasels from the orchard. Before the attack on Hob, Athene is mobbed by Watchman and the sparrows and flees for the hills.