Edward Starling

Edward Starling was the Mayor of Mineral Town, serving after the death of his father until his own death from the Sickness. His death began the succession crisis called the Game of Towns.

Pre-Game of Towns
Edward was born in Mineral Town to the ruling Starling family. As a child, he grew up with John Hawthorne and his sister Lucia Hawthorne. He eventually married Lucia while John married Romana Stills, a member of the wealthy Stills family of the Sunshine Islands. After his father's death, Edward became Mayor of Mineral Town, appointing his friend John the Warden of Forget-Me-Not Valley. John and Romana relocated to Forget-Me-Not Valley, building a large Villa in the Valley, the most luxurious estate among the Town and Valley.

Edward and Lucia had four children, John Starling, Murrey Starling, and the twins Manna and Anna. John became Edward's heir. Murrey was believed to have been lost in the Wood, though it was later discovered that Lucia had given him up to her brother and Romana to be raised in the Villa when they found that Murrey was mentally disabled. John eventually married Nora Hill and had one daughter, Muffy Starling, though this daughter was never known to be a Starling. Manna would marry Duke Standish and have one daughter, Aja. Anna married Alderman Basil Randolph and had one daughter, Mary Randolph.

Later, Ezra Stanton, then the Warden of the Wood, declared himself Mayor of the Pass. Edward and John Hawthorne united forces to fight Stanton, winning what became known as the Stanton War. Manna and Anna were born during this time and, it was later discovered, they were not actually the daughters of Edward Starling, instead being born in an affair between Lucia and Billings Dempsey.

Game of Towns
After the Sickness ravaged Mineral Town, Edward Starling lost his Lucia, his son John and John's wife, Nora. With the loss, the issue of succession was between Manna and Anna. The concern, however, was that Manna, the older of the twins, was weaker willed and her marriage to the boorish Duke Standish would allow the low-born and difficult vineyard keeper to have control of Mineral Town. Edward preferred his younger daughter, the strong-willed Anna, to succeed him. However, Manna asserted her rights to succession at Duke's influence. Edward, one of the last dying patients of the Sickness, asked his Deputy Mayor Thomas Moore to lead the debates between the Aldermen about which of his daughters would succeed him. His eventual death at the beginning of the story spurred most of the events in the Game of Towns.