Glow

“Monarchs are secretive about their magic. It’s strategic. Knowing when to show your hand and knowing when to conceal it. In some cases, it’s best to make people underestimate you. In others, monarchs are known to show enough power to make everyone either revere you or fear you. Sometimes both.”

From the very start, Queen Kaila makes her position clear. Her standing in the world is defined by the acquisition and expansion of power, introducing the theme of The Corrupting Influence of Power. While Kaila celebrates what power can offer a monarch, she thinks of power purely in terms of self-aggrandizement, not in terms of serving justice or the common good. Her attitude reflects the narrow interests of the kingdoms’ monarchs, who spend their time scheming and plotting against one another instead of seeking to rule wisely and well.

“‘Am I…a Breaker?’ I ask, and it makes me cry a little harder, because I don’t want to be anything like my father. But I somehow broke the stable wall, and I broke the ground, and these spikes broke through my skin…and I feel like a monster. She shakes her head, gently tipping my chin up. ‘No, Slade. Not you. You don’t break things. You protect them.’”

Slade’s rot power first appears when he is eight years old, and he initially fears that this may mean he is a “Breaker” like his brutal, abusive father. Elore points out the difference in temperament between father and son, insisting that power isn’t defined by dominance, but by the desire to use it in service to others. Her teachings suggest that Slade can choose to defy his father instead of following in his footsteps, introducing The Struggle for Personal Agency in Slade’s character arc.