Storm Hawks Chapter 35: Falkender and Connor

Now would be a good time for a family tree, just to remind ourselves who’s on which branch of the royal lineage of Innis.

First came the Falkenders. Joren the Conqueror, the Lion of Innis, established his rule after he invaded the Isle of Rhynn. His son Jared succeeded him and bartered the treaty that ended the long war with the clans of the North and brought Rhynn into the Kingdom of Innis.

Many generations later, the Falkender line of succession ended. The last Falkender king died without an heir.

After the last Falkender king died, a scribe dusted off the old treaty and pointed out an overlooked detail. If the Falkender line ended, the throne passed to the Connors, the clan with the largest remaining army at the war’s end.

That long-forgotten clause proved inconvenient for the powerful Surdisi governing elite. It incited a Rhynn uprising and ten more bloody years of war. A second treaty set out the compromise that ended the rebellion and put the unlikely half-Surdisi, half-Rhynn, Walter Connor on the throne.

Bring on the Connor Kings

Why the asterisk? Walter’s legitimacy is often the subject of rumors. Few dare voice their suspicions above a whisper.

Only Nigel knows the truth. To ensure the Connor dynasty continued, he orchestrated switching a legitimate stillborn child for a conveniently-born bastard.

All that matters is that the child is of Connor blood.

Aurel blood.