Fall of Ruin and Wrath

“The Prioress had taught me to always trust my second sight, the pull of my intuition, and the urge of my instinct. They were my gifts, she’d told me over and over, given by the gods because I was born from the stars.”

Although absent from the novel, the Prioress plays a key role in shaping Lis’s character. She teaches her about her gifts, instructing her to trust and value them. This moment foreshadows two later revelations: the truth of Lis being a starborn and the fact that the orphanage masked this fact by enchanting her eyes.

“The footfalls of the Hyhborn riders—the Rae—echoed in tandem with my heart. What felt like a thin layer of ice settled over us as the temperature of the chamber dropped.”

The Prologue’s introduction of the Hyhborn establishes the atmosphere of danger and foreboding that surrounds them. This characterization will define Lis’s relationship with Thorne, as she fears his kind based on the rumors and stories surrounding them. The coldness associated with the Hyhborn’s presence symbolizes their unfeeling nature, though Lis’s encounters with Thorne will later complicate this portrayal.

“I feared I’d break her heart, and I was as terrified of losing her friendship as I was of losing the life I’d finally carved out for myself in Archwood. Because more times than not, people really didn’t want the answers they sought, and the truth of what was to come was often far more destructive than a lie.”

Lis’s internal conflict over whether to tell Naomi the truth introduces two key components of her character. First, it emphasizes how much she values friendship and human connection, which her difficult life and gift make rare and precious. Secondly, it conveys the burden of her intuition, thus introducing the theme of Compassion as Vulnerability and Strength. Because she is such a compassionate person, she struggles with telling people about their future and potentially causing fear and anger.