Rune

As you can see, Rune and Justin collected the belongings they had shipped ahead of their arrival (including these clothes) since the time we last saw them on Page 25. They did not entrust their swords, however, to couriers. They were carrying them on their backs when they rode to Valheigh.

Rune opted to wear warrior clothes in the style of Tangene (his mother’s homeland, where he trained with weaponsmasters for the past nine years) rather than wear the traditional clothes of Valhesian nobility (i.e. the robes which the Lords are wearing on the previous page). He did this deliberately to intimidate the Lords. He is young and lacks the support of a House, so he’s created a persona for himself, one of a man in control, a man of strength, a man who should not be trifled with. Rune considers himself on stage, and he’s acting the part with his voice, his appearance, and his body language. He maintains this persona until he gets to the Royal Study and closes the door, upon which he collapses from the excruciating pain of Arklomene’s curse.

I opted to tell this scene in Redley’s POV (point of view) because it allows us to see what the Lords see. They don’t see Rune’s doubts and fears. They see a man that they can call king.

I switch to the POV (point of view) of Lord Jonathan Redley, Justin’s father, for this scene. Lord Redley has been ruling Valheigh as Rune’s regent, but he hasn’t heard word from Rune for so long that he fears that the prince is dead.

The saying “that which is written cannot be unwritten” plays a large role in this scene. Redley knows he made a mistake when he disowned Justin, but he doesn’t think it can be undone, because it is written in the Archive.

I love this exterior shot of Radcliffe Castle, built from Castle Creator.

Notice that Redley is wearing his signet ring, as are the other Lords later in this scene.

You can’t read the text of the Archive at this resolution, but it records the history of kings of Valheigh, most recently naming Rune’s father.

Rather than threaten Rune, Justin drew his sword so that he could remind Rune that he is not alone.

This oath is the most binding oath of fealty in Valheigh. We don’t get to see the castle guards reactions, but they are impressed – Rune must be worthy of respect for Justin to have sworn this oath to him.

Lord Dawson swears a weaker oath of fealty to Rune in the short story Allegiances.

Rune is so shocked by the news that his sword falls from his limp hand. The jagged shape of the panels conveys that Rune’s world is shattered. His eyes brim with tears. His first stage of grief is, predictably, denial.

It is extremely unlikely that the fire was an accident, but no one knows who was behind it. It was unusual for the entire extended family to be gathered together and for a fire to consume the manor so quickly, in the middle of the night.

Rune reveals his identity by showing his signet ring. All the nobility in Valheigh have rings like this. The tree in the middle is the mark of House Beowald.

When a male member of a House reaches twelve years of age, he receives a ring with a unique design that becomes his mark for the rest of his life. When Rune is traveling incognito, he wears his ring on a cord around his neck.

Justin has a ring, too, but since his father (Lord Redley) disowned him, he does not have the right to wear it anymore.

Fight scene! The castle guards attack, but they are nowhere near a match for Rune and Justin. Our heroes are actually making an effort to avoid lethal force.

Rune, ever the observant one, notices that the guards are wearing medallions indicating that they work for the castle.

We get to see King Edgar in Rune’s memories. He is sitting on the throne and holding a staff, which indicates that he’s holding court. Rune is observing, since he needs to learn how to be king.

Notice that the kings in Valheigh don’t wear crowns. Other kingdoms in their world have crowns, but not Valheigh. The characters in the book always says “claiming the throne” rather than “claiming the crown.”

The throne itself is a metallic piece, and not very comfortable. The people of Valheigh don’t remember this, but the throne is actually an artifact from before the Purging.

Zara’s bird is here, so the observant reader knows that Zara is watching. As we find out later, Rune is aware of the bird, too.

I have experienced the feeling Rune describes here, of returning to the land where I grew up. It made me wonder if we somehow subconsciously tune in to the latitude where we are born.

A nice, scenic long shot to introduce a new location. This panel uses a photo by frankenstoen. I used Photoshop to remove any modern-day elements and to add Radcliffe Castle. Then I used the posterize effect.

Radcliffe Castle is actually a sprawling complex, a city unto itself in many ways, though there is a town by the river that supports it. The main keep houses the royal family and is the center for the king’s business. It contains the throne. There are seven other keeps around it, one for each of the seven noble Houses. One of those, Beowald Keep, is the setting for the story Evangeline.

The “Lesser Challenge” is how a noble in Valheigh claims the throne when there isn’t a clear line of succession. The “Greater Challenge” is when a noble tries to take the throne from the current king. The consequences for failure in that case are high, which is why the Greater Challenge is rarely invoked.

There are seven noble Houses in Valheigh, and all except House Dawson have held the throne at some point in Valheigh’s history.

Rune drops a hint that there is some kind of family relationship between Justin and Lord Redley, and that it’s currently not in a good state. I wanted him to start to say “father” and stop mid-word, but I couldn’t find a way to make the lettering “read well” for that. The back story for what exactly Justin did to get disowned is in The Hidden Academy of Tangene.

Rune casually notices something in his environment and ponders it. This is a key attribute of his character; he does this all the time. Justin doesn’t ponder deeply; for him, things are the way they are. The moon and sun discussion sets up for a scene with Zara much later in the book. It was helpful having the whole story written before starting the comic so that I could do “long stitches” like this.