Direbound

Thematically supporting The Effects of False History, monarchical regalia include the magical sword Diren Blæd, the twin-wolf and opal crown, and the opal necklace that Meryn’s mother gifts her before the Forging Ball. The sword symbolically attests to the overall structure of the kingdom of Nocturna and its fundamental social structure: the relationship between humans and direwolves. In the hands of King Cyril, however, the sword symbolizes abuse of power, as the sword allows him to order more death among the Rawbonds at his whim and pleasure.

The crown symbolizes the unified power and magic of the kingdom’s rightful rulers, but its meaning is once again corrupted through King Cyril and his predecessors. Through the centuries of Valtiere rule, the crown becomes a symbol of past and present history because it attests to the lost memories of the Sturmfrost queens while acting as the catalyst for the Siphons’ blood curse to erase memories of the past. Given that it’s also recurrently drenched in the blood of Bonded riders and direwolves, the crown also represents pack sacrifice and the cost of an abusive monarchy.

The opal necklace symbolizes both dawning hope and resistance. Since it has remained a hidden secret in