the family dynamics of Ridmark Arban

After this weekend’s excerpt from SEVENFOLD SWORD: SERPENT, a few readers had questions about Ridmark’s family, the House of the Arbanii.

(Note that this post has mild !!!SPOILERS!!! for all of FROSTBORN/SEVENFOLD SWORD, so if you haven’t read those series you should probably stop reading this post now.)

Leogrance Arban had five sons, and Ridmark was the youngest. The eldest son Tormark became the new Dux of Taliand after Leogrance died fighting the Frostborn. The second son Valmark is a Swordbearer. The third son Caelmark went into the church and is the archbishop of Cintarra. The fourth son Kalmark is also a Swordbearer. The four of them are generally sober, duty-minded men who take their responsibilities seriously. A revolutionary trying to rouse the peasants to overthrow the nobles would generally find it difficult to raise ire against Leogrance Arban’s sons, who have a reputation for stern fair-mindedness. Though they are not without their flaws – Tormark is something a glutton and spends too much time hunting, Caelmark has a bastard son from before he entered the church (though, oddly, he and his son get on well, and he gave the mother a pension until she died), and Kalmark has had a string of mistresses since he and his wife are more or less estranged.

Ridmark gets on well with his brothers, but they’re not terribly close, since they really didn’t grow up together due to the age difference, and noble children in Andomhaim are typically fostered in other households. For their part, Ridmark’s brothers respect him but think he might be at least slightly nuts. They think he went mad after Aelia died, and are not quite sure that he recovered. None of them are overawed by the legend of the Shield Knight, which Ridmark finds something of a relief.

Calliande, on the other hand, was an only child, so she has a slightly idealistic idea of what the sibling relationship should be like. It always bothers her that Ridmark and his brothers aren’t closer, much to their bemusement. Though all of Ridmark’s brothers like Calliande quite a lot, and agree that marrying her was the best decision Ridmark made in the last ten years.

If you want to read a story where Ridmark rescues his brother Tormark and his niece, check out SHIELD KNIGHT: GHOST ORCS.

-JM