As a bookseller, Fern alludes to numerous in-world texts throughout the novel, particularly in reference to famous figures, including Astryx. Fern’s life revolves around bookselling, which inspires her belief at the beginning of the novel that reopening a bookshop near her friend Viv will satiate her existential dread. In reality, what she craves is a complete divergence from her current path and a rediscovery of the role of books and storytelling in her life.

The book most often mentioned is Ten Links in the Chain, which is initially offered importance due to its historical significance in her and Viv’s friendship. However, when Fern stows away on Astryx’s cart, all she possesses is the book, some parchment, and writing utensils. It takes on new meaning then, representing Fern’s lingering attachment to the life she idealized in Thune. When Fern sells her copy, it signifies the gradual abandonment of her old identity in favor of a new purpose and new relationships. The book returns in the monastery, where Fern reads the monks’ copy to the injured Astryx, and Ten Links then renews its purpose as a marker of friendship applied to a new companion. The bond that Fern once kindled with Viv is now being created with Astryx.

Nonetheless, Fern’s most important development lies not in reconnecting with books as a seller or conveyer of others’ stories. Instead, she learns her own capacity for storytelling, alluding to her broader character arc of authoring her “narrative” in life. She first discovers this when telling a story about her life to Astryx in a restaurant, enrapturing the elf and nearby patrons so completely that Zyll is able to escape. Later, when Fern chooses to travel in the epilogue, she observes her own book in someone else’s shop. She has embraced agency and power in her life, acknowledging that she has talents and her experiences have value, and this is represented by the presence of a book that she writes rather than reads or sells.