In The Sword in the Tree, Shan must somehow right the terrible wrong that his uncle Lionel has done against his family. While Shan faces many setbacks and dangers in his quest, he never gives up and remains committed to his cause. Through Shan’s journey back to reclaiming his inheritance, the novel explores the importance of fighting for justice. 

While Shan works tirelessly to unseat Lionel and reclaim Weldon Castle, the actions of secondary characters also support this theme. From fleeing the castle to coping with exile and his journey to Camelot, Shan finds support from all kinds of friends. The castle doctor, Nappus, helps him and his mother understand that Lionel is carrying out a coup and that their lives are in danger by “writing in the ashes” in Lady Marian’s room (40). He then cares for Lord Weldon when he later finds him in the dungeon. Without Nappus’s role in the struggle for justice, Shan and his mother—as well as his father—may not have survived to continue the fight.

While Shan is in exile and living with the herding family, he finds an ally in Adam, Magnus’s father.