Son Ward

by E.A. Loghry

Grades 8-12; Genre - Action Adventure

In a quiet valley kingdom untouched by war and strife, King’s falconer Shain becomes the unexpected choice for Son Ward- the heir to the throne. Holim, the King’s nephew, full of jealousy and wounded pride, strongly opposes the decision. As Shain wrestles with his new calling and the responsibility it entails, he must choose whether to become the man the King sees in him or give in to his own doubts and insecurities. Will Shain rise to his King’s call and prove himself as the kingdom’s leader, or will Holim’s schemes succeed in derailing his path to the throne?

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

1. Summarize the introduction to this story. Shain is the king’s Master Falconer; he was called in to the king, and the king chose him to be the heir to the throne after he dies; Shain accepted, but wasn’t happy about it; he wants to rebel against the idea; the king’s nephew was there and could possibly cause problems p.1

Chapter 2

1. Summarize Shain’s background? His great-grandfather betrayed the king and let assassins in the castle to kill the king; the king was well guarded, and didn’t die; Consequently, Shain’s great-grandfather had to clip his favorite falcon’s feathers so he couldn’t fly again and he was banished from the castle p.16
2. Why is Holim such a threat to Shain? He is the king’s nephew and wants to be king; he killed his brother so he could easily kill Shain; there’s also speculation he hurt his uncle the king p.20

Chapter 3

1. Describe Shain’s attitude about being king. Why? Grumpy; negative; he’d rather be out with his birds; he feels out of place in the castle p.26

Chapter 4

1. What characteristics does Shain have that the king has chosen him for? Loyalty; love for what he is dedicated to; strong and can withstand Holim p.40
2. How do those qualities make him a good king? Once Shain has accepted his role as the king, he will give all that he has to serve and be a good ruler; has confidence not to let Holim manipulate him and is strong so fight off Holim

Chapter 5

1. Describe Trygve and why it is strange the king would tell Shain to trust him? He is the castle cook and we found out he is the king’s counselor; he is also Tok’s brother; he’s an old man full of wisdom and authority p.47

Chapter 6

1. Do you think Shain should trust Brindel? Why, or why not? Listen to your child’s answer p.62

Chapter 7

1. What attitude did Shain begin to have in this chapter? He started to embrace his new life and realized he needed to get the guards’ respect and approval p.68

Chapter 8

1. What is holding Shain back from embracing the kingship? He’s worried he will fail; he is short-sighted and can only see one path to earning back the respect for his family p.76
2. What will the scuffle between the guard and Holim’s mercenaries hopefully do? Discourage the mercenaries and Holim from trying to take the kingdom p.85

Chapter 9

1. How could the scuffle possibly backfire and work against Shain? One of the guards was injured badly. If he dies, the guard will blame it on Shain p.94
2. Why does it show good character of Shain to work with Karth and seek out Trygve’s counsel in this chapter? He is showing humility which is exemplary of a good leader p.95
3. Now that we know Holim a little better, describe him. He’s the nephew to the king; he wants the throne; uses his charisma to manipulate others to get what he wants; he’s selfish, devious, a liar, seeks power instead of seeking to do good p.100

Chapter 10

1. Summarize Trygve and Tok’s history; they are foster brothers; Trygve’s father was the king’s cook and when his father died, Trygve became the cook but he was young so the king had a noble family take care of him; this family was Tok’s; Tok’s father led an important battle against robbers and won; the king was grateful and promised to take care of his family since he died soon after; the king did, but the next king wasn’t aware of the deal and Tok and Trygve lost everything and they had to move to a small house in the village; their mom lived with them then died at a young age due to the loss she had throughout her life p.112

Chapter 11

1. What did the king mean when he said, “he has changed his love “on page 123? Listen to your child’s answer
2. Why can’t Shain take the man who attacked him prisoner? Holim will kill his father p.129

Chapter 12

1. Describe the shift in Shain and how it came about? He began to take on the responsibility of being king; he was attacked on the way to visiting his father and he lived; the guards went on strike until there was a coronation; three guards became friends to Shain p.136

Chapter 14

1. How has Karth been a good friend to Shain, specifically in this chapter? He helped him put his father’s affairs in order; he accompanied Shain to his father’s and buried him while Shain retrieved what he needed from the house; he took the box and let Shain run ahead to see what was going on with the King; he warned Shain about Holim’s reinforcements and helped him come up with the good idea to have the king sign a declaration to remove Holim from the castle p.147

Chapter 15

1. Who was the person who wounded Shain off the path when he was traveling to his father’s? Holim in a disguise p.160
2. Why does Shain think some guards have changed their loyalty? The guard stopped Holim from killing the king and didn’t hurt Shain or Karth p.164

Chapter 16

1. What decision did Shain need to make during the battle in this chapter and what did it mean? Whether or not to go to the mews and save the falcons; he didn’t, he stayed to fight for the king and the kingdom; it means Shain has accepted his new responsibility and has given up his old dream p.174

Chapter 17

1. Why did Shain release Tok from the army? The army had been divided and needed to be rebuilt with a new leader p.180
2. How did Shain convince the people to love him? They saw his loyalty and love for the king as they fought Holim and army p.182

Chapter 18

1. Did you agree that Shain became the person he wanted to become? Listen to your child’s answer. Why, or why not? Listen to your child’s answer
2. What did you like most about this story? Listen to your child’s answer