Characters Two Twisted Crowns Rachel Gillig

Hauth Rowan: The Brutal High Prince of Blunder

Overview

Hauth Rowan is the primary antagonist of Rachel Gillig’s Two Twisted Crowns, the second book in the Shepherd King Duology. As the High Prince and heir to the throne of Blunder, Hauth embodies the cruelty and corruption that have defined the Rowan dynasty for five centuries. He uses Providence Cards—particularly the Scythe and the Maiden—as instruments of control, forcing others into obedience while pursuing absolute power. His arc culminates in a violent confrontation that ends both his reign and the mist that has plagued the kingdom.

Plot Role

Hauth serves as the central obstacle to the protagonists’ mission throughout the novel. After being gravely injured in an earlier attack, he recovers using the Maiden Card and returns to Castle Yew, where he consolidates his power. He murders his father by poisoning his wine during a feast, frames his brother Elm, and seizes control of the court. Hauth uses his Scythe to keep Elm and Ione under compulsion, systematically tracking down the missing Providence Cards. He captures Ravyn’s family, tortures prisoners, and ultimately steals the full Deck of Cards after stabbing Ravyn with a ceremonial dagger. The climax takes place in the Shepherd King’s stone chamber, where Hauth is dragged by the yew trees and finally killed by Elm and Ione using the Shepherd King’s sword, his body consumed by the mist.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Hauth’s primary motivation is the preservation and expansion of Rowan power. He believes that cruelty is necessary to rule and that the ends—controlling magic, lifting the mist—justify any means. His actions reveal a cold, calculating nature devoid of empathy. He uses the Maiden Card to suppress Ione’s emotions and force her compliance, and he employs the Scythe to compel his own brother to serve him. He shows no hesitation in poisoning his father, torturing prisoners (including Elm and Emory), and attempting to murder Ravyn. His arrogance is demonstrated when he tells Ravyn, “I’d always hoped I’d be the one to kill you,” even as his own defeat approaches. Hauth views people as tools: Ione is a means to secure the Maiden Card; Elm is a scapegoat; his father is an obstacle. He believes in the Rowan legacy of rule through pain, as illustrated in his interactions with Elm and his use of the Scythe.

Chronological Arc

Hauth’s arc in Two Twisted Crowns follows a trajectory of rising power followed by catastrophic fall. Initially recovering from his wounds, he returns to court and manipulates the dying King. He takes back the Maiden Card from Ione, uses it to heal himself, and then poisons the King at the feast. After seizing the throne, he consolidates control over the court and the Destriers. He tortures Elm and others in an attempt to locate the missing Cards. On Solstice, he parades his prisoners in the meadow, confronts Ravyn, and wounds him with a dagger, stealing the Nightmare and Mirror Cards. Fleeing into the wood, Hauth is captured by the Nightmare’s yew trees and dragged to the stone chamber. There, Elm and Ione confront him; Elm removes his horsehair charm, allowing the mist to infect him, and together they stab him over the Deck of Cards. The mist drags Hauth’s body out the window, and he vanishes—the final Rowan king to die.

Relationships

Hauth’s relationships are defined by manipulation and cruelty. With his brother Elm, he creates a history of physical and emotional abuse (Elm confesses under the Chalice that Hauth abused him as a child). He uses the Scythe to control Elm throughout the novel, forcing him to witness his father’s murder and to serve as a puppet. With Ione, his betrothed, Hauth uses the Maiden to suppress her desires and the Scythe to command her obedience. He orders her to hide her emotions and wear gray dresses, and he wounds her without remorse. With his father, the King, Hauth feigns loyalty while plotting regicide, poisoning him and blaming Elm. With Ravyn Yew, Hauth displays a mixture of rivalry and contempt; he views Ravyn as a traitor and is eager to kill him personally. With the Nightmare and Elspeth, Hauth shows arrogant disdain, believing himself untouchable until the very end.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Hauth’s central decision is to murder his father and seize the throne, which sets in motion the final conflict. This act forces Elm to become the heir and ultimately to oppose Hauth. Another pivotal choice is his use of Providence Cards to control others—the Scythe and Maiden become symbols of his tyranny. He also decides to steal the full Deck after stabbing Ravyn, a moment that seems to give him victory but actually leads him straight into the Nightmare’s trap. His refusal to show mercy—particularly when he orders the prisoners killed in the meadow—unites his enemies against him. The consequence of these choices is his own death and the destruction of the Rowan legacy. The mist lifts, the Cards vanish, and Elm becomes the new king, ending five centuries of Rowan rule.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Hauth embodies the theme of power and corruption—his use of the Scythe and Maiden cards mirrors the novel’s exploration of how absolute control dehumanizes both the wielder and the victim. He is a symbol of the Rowan legacy of pain, the bloody history that the protagonists seek to overturn. The crown he wears throughout the story represents unearned authority; in the end, it falls beside the Shepherd King’s own crown in the stone chamber. The yew trees that capture him are symbols of the natural world’s judgment—the wood itself turns against the Rowans. Hauth’s death by mist infection (through Elm’s removal of the horsehair charm) ties him to the theme of sacrifice and redemption: only by letting the mist enter can the cycle be broken. He also serves as a dark foil to Elm, showing what happens when ambition is paired with cruelty rather than with love and reform. Finally, Hauth’s refusal to change illustrates the theme of identity and transformation—unlike Elm, he remains trapped in the Rowan identity of brutality, leading to his destruction.

5 Book-Specific Questions and Answers

1. Why does Hauth use the Maiden Card to control Ione?
Hauth uses the Maiden Card to suppress Ione’s emotions and force her compliance. He wants her to appear as a perfect, obedient betrothed while he maintains control over her actions. This also prevents her from using the Maiden on him.

2. How does Hauth die?
Hauth dies in the Shepherd King’s stone chamber. Elm removes his horsehair charm, allowing the mist to infect him. As Hauth writhes, Elm and Ione stab him with the Shepherd King’s sword over the Deck of Providence Cards. The Cards vanish, and the mist drags Hauth’s body out the window.

3. What is Hauth’s relationship with his brother Elm?
Hauth abused Elm physically and emotionally from childhood. In the novel, Hauth uses the Scythe to compel Elm to serve him, forces him to witness their father’s murder, and tortures him in prison. Their relationship is one of victim and abuser, with no brotherly affection.

4. How does Hauth’s use of Providence Cards reflect the theme of power and corruption?
Hauth treats Cards like the Scythe and Maiden as tools to dominate others—making puppets of his family, suppressing free will, and inflicting pain. His reliance on these cards shows how absolute power corrupts, turning him into a monster who values control over human life.

5. What does Hauth’s death symbolize for Blunder?
Hauth’s death symbolizes the end of the corrupt Rowan dynasty. The mist lifts for the first time in five hundred years, the Providence Cards disappear, and Elm (neither fully Rowan nor Yew) ascends the throne. Blunder gains a chance at a new, just beginning free from the old legacy of cruelty.

Further Exploration