Taking vows and marriage are important motifs within the novel and are the basis of its plot. To the Timoran royals, marriage is paramount for maintaining proper order and control, particularly of women, so much so that a “Vow Broker” is a prominent profession. Vows and marriage are often treated like a business transaction, and it is common for royal men in New Timoran to have multiple wives and several other less-official consorts, even though women are generally forbidden from making choices regarding their own marriages. Elise has always felt that something about this isn’t right, and is surprised when she learns from the well-traveled Legion that this is not how marriages work in most cases. She reads about the loving, monogamous marriage of the Ettan rulers in Lilianna’s journal and becomes particularly interested in the idea that marriage should be monogamous and only for love and support, rather than power.

While the brokering of Elise’s vows is the basis of the novel’s plot, Elise and other characters make less official but even more important vows throughout the novel. These vows, whether they be romantic (like those Elise and Legion make when they take Bevan’s elixir) or platonic (such as those that Siv and Mavie make to try and convince Elise of their loyalty), symbolize trust, love, and connection, and are more significant to Elise because she gets to choose whether or not she makes them. In Timoran royal society, vows and marriage are portrayed as necessary evils, but there is more complexity to their purpose outside of the royals’ marriage market.