In Crowntide, characters must face the past if they hope to claim their identities and build new futures. Aster shows that personal and historical wounds linger until characters choose to address them and begin the healing process. Through trials rooted in magic, psychological pressure, and enchanted objects, the book uses the lens of fantasy to depict agency as something that grows out of confronting one’s history rather than trying to escape it.

The author develops the theme by placing Isla and Grim in magical landscapes that force them to face painful memories. To obtain the Infinite diamond for Isla, Grim must relive “every death, every mistake” in his violent history (13), including the accidental killing of his sister. Seeing Laila’s apparition reminds him that he “turned his emotions off for years” because the “pain had been too great” (14). However, he chooses to face his memories and keep his heart open for Isla’s sake, signaling his determination to create a new future instead of perpetuating his destructive, centuries-old habits. The protagonist faces a similar trial in the Forgotten Forest, which traps her inside her worst memories. Isla must revisit her childhood training and the isolation that shaped her, ultimately achieving a greater appreciation for her own resilience. These settings become crucibles where characters must confront traumas that they have tried to forget to gain healing and self-knowledge.

Cronan’s ability to manipulate the characters’ memories complicates the theme by revealing the fragility of identity. He reshapes Isla’s past to torment her, twisting moments of weakness until they resemble acts of cruelty and calling her a “Queen of darkness.” He claims, “It doesn’t matter what you want…when I can shape your mind into whatever I need” (122). This threat also applies to Cronan’s manipulation of Grim. By removing his memories of Isla. Cronan alters Grim’s identity, reshapes his future, and turns his descendant against the person he swore to protect at all costs. Aster uses the antagonist’s actions to show how memory anchors a person’s sense of self and its distortion changes the course of their lives.

Magical artifacts give characters another way to engage with their histories. The Threads of Time let Oro observe thousands of years of Lightlark’s history and identify patterns that repeat over time. In addition, the Pool of Possibilities allows Isla to explore alternate versions of her past. When she sees a life in which her parents survive, she finds peace with her lonely childhood and recognizes that their love still lives on through her. These mystical objects allow characters to study the past so they can make clearer choices in the present. By learning from what came before, they resist the cycles that once defined them and take agency in shaping the future.