A Curse Carved in Bone

“In Nordeland, Harald was a savior. A liberator and a champion of the weak. I’d seen with my own eyes his good deeds. Owed him my life, as did so many of those who served him. Yet he was no more a hero than he was a villain. Only a man, and no man’s choices were wholly altruistic, least of all one who had clawed his way up from a small jarldom to become king.”

This description of Harald is introduced at a point in the narrative when his character’s centrality is not yet apparent. In early chapters, subtext and subtle foreshadowing suggest there is something important the narrators—and the readers—don’t yet know about Harald. Eventually, the deceptive nature of his character proves fundamental to the story. Harald’s acclaim as a savior and liberator, especially among the Unfated, is at the center of the book’s theme of The Freeing Power of Truth.

“Then he turned to me and extracted an arm ring from his pocket. The band of silver was deeply familiar, for it had been given to me by him long ago, and then given back for safekeeping when I went to Skaland in search of the shield maiden and vengeance. […] ‘Forever a Nordelander.’ I slid it up my arm to its familiar place above my elbow. ‘It’s good to be home, Father.’”

Freya calls this arm ring a “symbol of family and fealty” (22). While it doesn’t take on a larger symbolic role in the novel, it does help establish the thematic importance of Loyalty as Mutual Responsibility. Already, Freya and Bjorn’s respective loyalties to Skaland and Nordeland have led to betrayal and heartbreak and created a rift in their relationship. As future events challenge their patriotism, they’ll explore the relationship between loyalty to country and loyalty to love. This quote also characterizes Bjorn and establishes the importance of his relationships with Harald and Nordeland to his sense of identity.