The Dales are tied to Jarl Resgar Vasa and the rebellion destabilizing the authority of King Erik.
Roo's society includes free farmers, warriors, merchants, priests, craftsmen and enslaved people. The treatment of the Arwen and the question of slavery are becoming impossible to separate from the political conflict.
Resgar's rebellion forces questions that the kingdom had been able to postpone: who deserves freedom, what loyalty to a king means, and how much of the old order can survive.