The False Prince

Conner prizes the protection and promotion of Carthya over all else. He would lie, cheat, and kill if it meant saving his country, and this is why he comes up with a plot to train an orphan boy to act as Prince Jaron. As Sage describes, his eyes are:

dark brown and more tightly focused than [I’ve] ever seen before. He [smiles] slightly as he [studies] me, his thin mouth barely visible behind a neatly trimmed brown bead. He [looks] to be somewhere in his forties and [dresses] in the fine clothes of the upper class, but based on the way he’d lifted me, he [is] much stronger than I expected of a nobleman (3).

Conner’s home is a large estate called Farthenwood, which is the location of the trials select a Prince Jaron from the orphan boys he has collected (44).

Sage despises that Conner “manipulate[s] those around him as though we [are] all pawns in his twisted game” (190). Conner both respects and is irritated by Sage’s wily and irascible nature.

Roden is the most athletic of the three orphan boys Conner is grooming to be Prince Jaron. During the boys’ training at Farthenwood, Roden shows an aptitude for sword-fighting, a skill he picked up because “‘[a]n old Carthyan soldier lives near my orphanage. He used to have me do rounds with him, to keep up his skills’” (27). Roden has a strong sense of duty to his country, and he would rather fight to the death than be called a coward (26). Though Roden is a friendly, if perhaps not so bright, young man, when he is chosen as Prince Jaron, he betrays Sage and Tobias and says he is going to have them killed. Roden is not above corruption. When Conner changes his mind and selects Sage as Prince Jaron, Roden threatens Sage and the two fight a duel to determine who will be the prince. Though Roden is the better swordsman, Sage is able to use Roden’s overconfidence to best him.

Tobias is the most intellectual of three boys being groomed to be Prince Jaron. Sage describes him as “tall and unusually thin. His hair [is] darker than both mine and Roden’s, but his [is] stringy and straight and more in need of a trim than mine, if that [is] possible” (17).Tobias is the smartest of the group because “he’d been educated as a child and continued to read anything he could get his hands on. He was given special privileges at the orphanage because it was felt he was one of the few with any hopes of one day making a success of his life” (18). In addition to being the most intelligent, he is also the most nefarious. In Chapter 28, Tobias conceives of a plot to murder Conner if he is chosen to be Prince Jaron. Tobias also develops a hatred for Sage and even attempts to kill Sage in one of Farthenwood’s secret passageways. By the end of the novel, Tobias comes to reluctantly respect Sage, now that Sage has shown Tobias great mercy. 

Imogen is a servant girl at Farthenwood and is thought to be mute. She is around Sage’s age, and she is embarrassed (and fearful) when Sage gives her special attention. Sage defends Imogen and tries to protect her from harm, especially when he notices that Conner and/or members of his staff are physically abusing her. Imogen came to Farthenwood to work off the debt her family owes Conner, their landlord, because he raised the rent on their land. Imogen has a strong sense of dignity and slightly impudent nature, which endears her to Sage: “‘You’ll be a fine king one day, but I know too much. And I won’t bow to a fraud’” (177).

Amarinda is the princess of Bultain. She is lovely, “with chestnut brown hair swept away from her face and falling in thick curls down her back, and piercing brown eyes that [absorb] her surroundings” (185). Princess Amarinda is originally engaged to Prince Darius, Prince Jaron’s older brother. Though “the alliance between Amarinda and the house of King Eckbert was made at her birth,” Amarinda is not interested in the power that marrying the heir of the Carthyan throne will earn her (186). She genuinely loves Prince Darius and rumors of his death distress her. With Darius deceased, Amarinda will be engaged to Prince Jaron.

Mott is one of Conner’s lead vigils. He is “tall, dark-skinned and nearly bald. What little hair he [does] have [is] black and shaved to his scalp” (11). As he and Sage spend more time together, a friendship forms. Mott is able to help Sage several times, and he and Sage relate to each other through their rejection of authority and their strong moral fiber. Mott says of Conner: “‘I serve him, but he doesn’t own me.’” (70).

Mott’s moral code and its similarity to Sage’s are evident in his attitude about human life. Mott claims he would not take a life, even in service of Conner, but Sage thinks poorly of Mott after Conner has Latamer, another orphan boy, killed when Latamer does not wish to participate in Conner’s plan. Sage believes Mott knew what would happen and feels that knowledge is as bad as killing. Mott later admits, “‘I didn’t know he [Cregan] was going to kill Latamer […] You had it figured out before I did’” (208). This indicates that Mott has a deep moral boundary around life and death.