Every epic needs its steady heart, though sometimes that heart beats in shadows and sometimes it may even feel at times like a villain who guards with silence. In Heart of the Worlds, that figure is Rune—the father of Aunia, a man who has given up nearly everything for the sake of his daughter’s safety… even if she doesn’t realize it.
Rune was born in Bellatine, a city of canals and sails, raised by a merchant captain who taught him tides, trade winds, and loyalty. He could have lived out his life as a mariner, but the ocean had other plans. Called into service by the sea-witch herself, Rune sailed far from Bellatine’s glimmering waterways to Adar and eventually Tamore, carrying with him a mission from the ocean itself.
As the series unfolds, more about Rune will unravel as well but suffice to say he was sent to fix the broken augury (a fancy term for prophecy) by finding a way between the worlds and rescuing Olivia. She is one of the humans magicked and cursed as one of the seven who will become the new heart of the worlds. He was diligent in his search and has connections with the Mystic Court, an institution recreated by faebloods (humans with faery heritage) and who have faery familiars. However, he failed in his quest though he found something more precious than destiny: Leia, the love of his life and afterward their daughter, Aunia, who was born under extraordinary circumstances.
But love is rarely safe in a world split between faery and mortal. When the Boggleman (a soul-sucking ghoul) came hunting, Rune was torn from Leia. He was left with only his infant daughter and the duty of keeping her alive. That duty led him to Naoma Sacella—the fabled hidden village of Edvaras (another of the prophesied seven) which lay west of the Grashbear Mountains. There, Rune became protector, father, and reluctant exile.
The ESFJ Father
Rune’s personality shines through the lens of his ESFJ type. Warm-hearted yet anxious, dependable yet conflicted, Rune embodies the tension between duty and affection. And because of the secrets he holds, he has killed off much of his ‘easy-to-talk-to-anyone’ ways.
- The Provider – Rune’s love language is sacrifice. He gives up his own peace, his own desires, even his reputation, to make sure Aunia remains safe.
- The Protector – He surrounds Aunia with Leiaphae flowers, wards spun of magic and memory, to shroud her presence from the Boggleman.
- The Silent Father – For all his sacrifices, Rune struggles to show affection openly. His love for Aunia runs deep, but she often sees his distance more than his devotion.
Where ESFJs are usually social and open, Rune carries grief like ballast. His sorrow makes him quieter, heavier—but his core impulse to care never dims, even if he keeps it hidden. It’s part of the reason why Aunia, who sees people’s auras, sees her father’s as a brilliant brick-red color.
Brick red isn’t the fiery, aggressive crimson of raw anger, nor the soft rose of romantic love. It’s earthy, grounded, and strong and tied to stability, resilience, and determination. It also carries undertones of burden, duty, and suppressed frustration.
Aunia often frustrates him. He sees much of her mother in her demeanor, in some of her looks, and definitely with her impulsive personality. It fills him with both pride and anguish. However the emotion he feels most is fear for her and he is willing to do what is necessary to keep her safe, even if to Aunia it seems cruel. He does what he can to suppress her faery sight and her wild magic as he knows it will attract the Boggleman to her. She was fairly young when he noticed that Aunia when subdued draws less magic. Because of that, he began allowing his younger pal, Sigmus, to bully her. He thinks he has kept Sigmus from being too abrasive and it’s for her own good as it protects her from being discovered by the Boggleman. The Boggleman, if he caught her, would kidnap her into his dark kingdom and use her magic until she died.
A Daughter’s Frustration
From Aunia’s sixteen-year-old perspective, her father is more wall than warmth. His constant hovering feels like control, not care. His silence about her mother feels like betrayal, not protection. She sees only what he withholds:
- He is distant. Quick to guard, slow to comfort.
- He is uncaring. At least, that’s how it feels when every question about her mother is met with refusal.
- He is secretive. Aunia knows he has told something to Gaitha, the Eldest Daughter of the village. But when Aunia presses, Gaitha only shakes her head and says, “If anyone will tell you of your mother, it has to be Rune.”
Things come to a head when pegasus flyers arrive in Tamore. Rune, panicked at the sight of these arriving soldiers, carts Aunia home over his shoulder. He is determined to hide her from prying eyes. In desperation, he bargains: if Aunia will remain hidden until the flyers leave, he will finally tell her of her mother.
But Aunia has already heard Sigmus slip once—that her mother was from Tamore. And now the flyers are from Tamore too? She is torn: obey her father’s command, or risk everything to see those who might carry a piece of her mother’s world.
To a girl starved for answers, Rune’s silence is unbearable. His love becomes invisible, and her anger erupts.
Burdens and Secrets
Rune is haunted by several secrets. One is he cannot kill. Not a beast, not even to defend his family. Some believe it is a curse of conscience but the true reason behind it is teased in Book 2, Faeries Don’t Forgive, along with other secrets he holds. Bottom line though… this vow left him helpless the day Nehla, Aunia’s foster mom, was gored by a boar. He stood powerless, and her death only deepened the shadow of his guilt.
It is little wonder why Rune drinks more than he should. And when in the arms of apple brandy he ends up confiding too much to Sigmus, a younger man with alcohol issues who sees Rune as a mentor and Aunia as a weight holding Rune down.
And then there’s the Starbook, a tome of magic and prophecy that Rune keeps hidden. Its pages might reveal truths Aunia yearns for, but Rune guards it with a fierce secrecy. To protect her because knowledge is a weapon as sharp as any blade—and Aunia is not yet ready to wield it.
As the series progresses, more secrets come out about this character including his true name in Faeries Don’t Forgive. And more of his lineage is revealed in the upcoming Faeries Don’t Hide.
Love, Loss, and Loyalty
For all his flaws, Rune is defined by love:
- For Leia, his lost beloved, whose absence no one can fill.
- For Aunia, his daughter, for whom he would stand against monsters, men, and fate itself.
- For the ocean, which claimed him once, and perhaps still waits to claim him again.
Rune is not the loudest hero and he certainly can appear morally gray. He doesn’t wield a sword or stride into battle. But his choices—the flowers he plants (that has magic to keep Aunia shrouded), the secrets he guards, the sacrifices he makes—shape the path Aunia walks.
And yet, from Aunia’s view, those choices feel like cages. She sees a father who withholds the very thing she longs for most: the truth about her mother because how can she know herself without knowing her mother. While Rune sees a daughter he cannot bear to endanger with that truth.
In the end, Rune is a reminder that some battles are fought not with blades, but with endurance. That even silence can be a shield. And that love, however imperfect, can still be the strongest anchor of all.
✨ Rune’s story is one of grief and devotion, of hidden prophecy and unspoken love. His shadow falls long across Aunia’s journey, reminding us that even the quietest fathers can leave the loudest legacies.