Rune

We meet Lord Neville Hawthorne and Lord Jonathan Redley, the two most powerful men in Valheigh. As Rune’s regent, Redley has been acting as king since the death of Rune’s father, King Edgar Beowald.

At the surface, these two are speaking politely to each other, but they are already locked in a conflict that could lead to war.

Art notes: The view outside the window in panel one is the same vista we saw on the previous page. This helps continuity as we move the action inside the castle we saw on that page.

This page elaborates on the political situation that Rune and Justin discussed on Page 8. Hawthorne wants the throne. He feels entitled to it because the first king of Valheigh was from his House. He thinks Redley has done a poor job of running the kingdom. Times have been hard in Valheigh, particularly in the previous winter, when there wasn’t enough food. There was also the tragic loss of the Beowald family, which Hawthorne alluded to in the last panel of page 12.

What Hawthorne doesn’t acknowledge is his own role in the hard times. House Hawthorne is the wealthiest of the seven noble Houses. Hawthorne has been using that wealth to amass an army. He let an entire town die in the previous winter rather than sending aid. The survivors of that town are the bandits who attack Rune and Justin later in the story. In contrast, years earlier King Edgar saved a town by sending aid in a harsh winter, forcing all the Houses to contribute food from their own limited supplies. Though it was a politically unpopular decision among the Lords, the people of that town were grateful. One of them became the Captain of the Guard at Radcliffe Castle, who first appears on page 16. Because of his history, he is instantly loyal to Rune. Jeremy Dawson mentions the town in the short story Allegiances.

Hawthorne is punching Redley’s buttons by mentioning that his family is not prospering. Everyone knows that Redley disowned his only son, though few know how much he regretted it.