Sage resists Conner’s authority at every turn, even though it may cost him the competition. Tobias shows an aptitude for feats of intelligence, while Roden excels at swordsmanship and physical trials. At the end of two weeks, Conner will select the boy who is the most believable Prince Jaron. This includes horseback riding, swordsmanship, courtly manners, and the history of Carthya. The boys have two weeks to learn everything the chosen one must know to fool the king’s court into believing he is Prince Jaron. Sage, Roden, and Tobias arrive at Farthenwood, Conner’s lavish estate. The boys understand that their participation in Conner’s competition is mandatory. Conner calmly says that that is fine, but before Latamer can leave, Cregan shoots him with a bow and arrow, killing him instantly.

Latamer says that he is ill-equipped to compete, sickly as he is, and so he wishes to return to the orphanage. Any boy who wishes to opt out of the competition can do so now. Whoever is named Prince Jaron will take the throne. The boys will compete against one another to see who can most convincingly imitate Prince Jaron, the youngest son of King Eckbert who has been missing for the past four years. The mission will affect the fate of Carthya and all its citizens. When they stop the wagon to rest for the night, Conner tells the boys about the covert mission for which he is recruiting them. The group, along with two of Conner’s vigils, Mott and Cregan, rides in the wagon to the Gelvins Orphanage, where yet another young man, Tobias, joins the group. There is Roden, a strapping, athletic lad, and then there is Latamer, a sickly boy who coughs a lot. Sage is a wily orphan boy of about 15, known for his sharp tongue and mischievous ways.Īfter resisting, Sage is loaded into Conner’s wagon along with two other orphan boys who have been taken from different Carthyan orphanages. Conner is there to collect Sage, the narrator of the story, for a royal mission, though the exact nature of the mission is unclear.

Turbeldy’s Orphanage for Disadvantaged Boys. The story opens with Bevin Conner, a powerful regent in King Eckbert of Carthya’s court, arriving at Mrs.

The runaway prince