Heat of the Everflame

Diem Bellator’s Crown symbolizes The Implications of Power and Duty. The novel begins immediately after Diem’s coronation, meaning she has just assumed the role of Lumnos’s Queen. Diem now holds a position of authority and is adjusting to what her title means. The more time Diem spends as Queen, the more she feels the “weight [of the Crown] on [her] head” (169). The Crown feels heavy to Diem, because it requires her to satisfy her people’s expectations, to assume authority she has never had before, and to make sacrifices she is unsure she is capable of making.

Over the course of the novel, the implications of Diem’s Crown intensify. She initially believes she is only Lumnos’s ruler. Over time, she realizes she is descended from the 10th Kindred Omnos and is thus the Daughter of the Forgotten. In this role, Diem is meant to “guard [her] people well,” to teach “them as much as [she learns] from them,” and to “seek virtue in all things” (598). She gradually gains authority over each of the independent realms as she becomes the supreme ruler of Emarion as a whole. The physical Crown’s changing appearance and magical qualities represent the evolution of Diem’s authoritative role and the lessons she is learning about being a leader.