trees to meet you!

My personal headcanon is that since Viren obviously didn't grew up very privileged, if not straight up poor, he might actually know what real hunger feels like. Which is why Viren (unlike Harrow for some reason??) knows/keeps track of how much food Katolis has, why - according to the novel - he's disgusted that Harrow refuses to not let the people of Katolis suffer from hunger instead of protecting them from it and why, after consulting Harrow about it and being shut down, he's apparently the only person who's actually dead set on ensuring no one has to starve at all, while everyone else is just like "welp, we tried nothing and we're all out of ideas". Because, let's be real, a) he was never tasked with finding a solution to all of this, it's not his job and b) neither he nor his children would have to starve, just like Harrow and his family wouldn't have to. Viren doesn't have to do any of this. Don't get me wrong, I think he would have at least tried to find a solution regardless of his past, but the entire thing seems more personal to me. Like, look at him :C

Aaravos gets out of jail and gives Claudia this first thing