Captive Prince

Damen has two scars: one on his shoulder, where Auguste stabbed him at Marlas, and one on his stomach, where Kastor stabbed him during “practice.” The use of scars to highlight military prowess and experience is common in literature, and a scar, though the mark of a wound (which could indicate poor performance in battle), is usually associated with tenacity. Surviving the wound shows the soldier’s quality, and many scars indicate many battles survived. In Damen’s case, only one scar reflects a battle in the military sense, but the other reflects the battle Damen fought within his home country with his half-brother. A third scar, implied by the whipping Damen endures on the cross, has this same value: It reveals the tenacity and resilience of his character. However, the two initial scars each have their own meaning.

The scar on Damen’s shoulder symbolizes his fight with Auguste, specifically revealing how Auguste and Damen were evenly matched, though Damen ultimately won the fight. The Veretians call Damen the “Prince-Killer,” but this title doesn’t acknowledge the struggle of his fight with Auguste, in which Damen could just have easily been killed, making Auguste a Prince-Killer himself. Though the Veretians see Auguste’s death as evidence of the Akielons’ violence and barbarism, Damen’s scar highlights how close battles can be and how people’s reaction to news of the battle is driven less by reality than by their desires to frame wars in their own favor.