Thinking again about Erik and Istvan, and in particular the parallels between Erik and Henry - two orphans, both of their lives ruined at least in part by Istvan, both of whom latch on to him.
Unlike Erik, Henry had his whole adolescence with his parents, and after they were killed he was surrounded by people who cared for him, even if in their own way sometimes - when he returns to Rattay, people call out his name to greet him. We can safely assume that Erik didn’t have such a network and that likely from a very young age his main source of comfort in what must have been a brutal upbringing was Istvan.
We know that again similarly, Henry can have a cruel streak a mile wide and has quite a temper. Erik is shown as revelling in a violent fight - after speaking to Godwin in KCD2, if you watch Erik fight he shouts “this is the kind of sermon I like! Pray, you bastard!” as he kills a man.They’re both stubborn and driven, pursuing their cause endlessly.
After Vranik and Talmberg, Istvan seems to eclipse von Aulitz as THE villain despite him having (marginally) less involvement in the murder of Henry’s parents. I think this is at least partially due to Istvan’s dramatic flair (and to be honest, if he’d taunted me with the sword like he taunts Henry after Talmberg I’d want to cut a bitch too), which Istvan absolutely wields like a knife.
This is a great cover for Istvan, who is tripping from one failed escapade to the other in both KCD and KCD2, but I do think it’s only a cover as he loses his cool quickly when confronted by Hans and Henry in Nebakov and exposes himself in the moment to Zizka before he can regain his swagger.
While Henry is being tortured Istvan himself admits that he’s had a couple of hard, nervewracking days, but I think this extends further back - his men were repelled and his plans failed at Merhojed, which exposed his counterfeiting operation, his camp at Pribyslavitz was discovered and raided - even if he had planned to take Talmberg after Vranik, to what end? There’s no way out of there, no possible way that someone is going to ransom him out - even if he is personally working for and supporting Sigismund, the man can’t even pay his Cuman army and there’s no way he’s going to bail out a minor noble who’s backed himself into a corner. Istvan had no way of reinforcing his position after the supporting forces were defeated and Erik was captured - he was very lucky he had Radzig and Stephanie to bargain with or he would have been fucked.
Istvan is a man who has had to claw for every single inch that he’s gained in life and I do believe he’s impressed that on Erik, but at what cost? Was he beginning to feel jaded, tired of the constant fight? As much as he might want to reclaim any lost glory or riches, or push back against the threat of Turkish invasion, is that more important to him than Erik? Does he have this conversation with Erik, even idly, about cutting their losses, fuck the king, fuck the war - he says to Henry that “we’re just pawns on the chessboard. You can’t change anything. Nobody will give you anything. You’re there to be exploited and sacrificed.” Does Erik dismiss this as needless worry, like he does at Trotsky?
When he sends Erik away he’s downbeat despite their recent success, and I think he knows that luck is running out. He doesn’t seem truly shocked to see that Henry escapes the dungeon, almost like he expected the pattern again of Henry overcoming the odds and turning up like a bad penny. Does he send Erik away against his best judgement in a scene that very much feels like there is something unsaid between them? Do they disagree about the best way to proceed? Erik is young, believes wholeheartedly in Istvan and loves the fight - why would they quit when they’re winning?
When Henry threatens Erik, Istvan does not hesitate to roll over and beg - there’s no pretense, no bluffing, only fear and the desperation to protect Erik. He asks Henry where revenge stops for him, presses urgently that revenge doesn’t give you meaning, it doesn’t feed you, you can’t fuck it.
This brings me back to the parallels.
But by the grace of god Henry could have been Erik and they both know it. Istvan knows that just as Henry is doggedly chasing revenge, Erik will too.
I think the whole conversation is an attempt to impress on Henry the futility of living a wasted life in pursuit of vengeance, partly because it’s true, and partly in a bid that unlike Erik, maybe Henry will listen, and Erik will be protected.
Erik in his white armour, Erik carrying Istvan’s hopes of breaking the cycle in a way that Istvan can’t, won’t – the desperate hope that he can get through to Henry, loved, lucky Henry, in a way that he can’t get through to Erik, who has nobody else, and is only a dead mercenary's lover.
