The Hero and the Crown

Tor is Aerin’s other love interest. He is characterized as stubborn, good-hearted, sweet, and somewhat dense; he cannot hide his emotions and often reacts angrily to defend Aerin when she is insulted or threatened. Throughout the book, Tor’s primary function is to pine after Aerin, who does not notice his affection even when everyone else does. While he eventually serves a key role as Aerin’s equal in defeating the Northerners and reclaiming Damar, his position in the rest of the novel is to support Aerin’s father, Arlbeth, and serve as Aerin’s only loyal friend in the court. Tor’s loyalty is an important characteristic, as this loyalty draws Aerin to his side and helps her to love him just as genuinely as she loves Luthe. Tor becomes king at the end of the novel, which Aerin supports and insists upon.

It is implied that Aerin and Tor are cousins, but this familial connection does not interfere with their romantic relationship in the world of the novel. Instead, it is an accepted truth in Damar that the royal family intermarries to preserve the bloodline and the Gift. Tor’s love for Aerin may cause gossip, but only because of his steadfast devotion to a girl who is thought to be a witch; their blood relationship is no scandal in the Damarians’ eyes.

Arlbeth, the king of Damar, is Aerin’s father; he occupies a relatively static role in the novel, although Aerin’s perception of him changes as she grows. Arlbeth is characterized as wise, kind, and steady. He makes complex decisions for the good of the kingdom, as when he chooses to rout Nyrlol rather than fight Maur. He supports Aerin’s dragon-slaying but does so by making her a knight of the kingdom so that he can make her role official and strengthen her political standing. At times, however, Arlbeth’s royal persona takes over his actual personality, and he becomes more of a king than a father, which Aerin despises. To this point, his last words in the novel before his death are “Save Damar.”

Despite this, a key piece of Arlbeth's—and Aerin’s—development occurs when she becomes more aware of his abiding love for her. As she grows older, she realizes that he loves her deeply but does not know how to express it. Arlbeth’s love is also shown when he refrains from judging her; he never lends credence to the rumors surrounding Aerin or her mother, although this also means that he refuses to speak to her of them. As Aerin’s greater quest takes precedence, Arlbeth eventually fades from importance in the narrative and only reappears after Aerin returns; even then, he soon dies from his injuries, ceding both the throne and the narrative focus to his daughter and Tor.

As Aerin’s foil, Galanna initially serves as a petty antagonist for the younger Aerin. Galanna is described as being stunningly beautiful, but she is also vain, vindictive, and ambitious. Her dislike for Aerin is multifaceted, but it is mostly fueled by her belief that Aerin has replaced her in the social order of the castle. Galanna’s quest for social power and dominance causes her to harm Aerin physically and socially over the years, whether by daring Aerin to eat surka or by spreading damaging rumors about Aerin’s mother. Additionally, Galanna possesses the royal Gift, but as with most royal characters, her specific Gift is not shown in detail and is relatively minor.

Galanna is thematically linked to her eventual husband, Perlith, for he shares her love of petty cruelty and acts as a foil to Tor. Perlith is described as slippery and charismatic; he surrounds himself with servants to make himself look more important, and like Galanna, he is constantly striving to look powerful in the eyes of others. Perlith’s Gift takes many forms, but it usually enables him to have specific powers over others. Perlith is equally capable of insulting or complimenting others and often manages to do both simultaneously. Since the novel’s point of view is focused on Aerin’s perspective, Perlith is typically shown using his powers to harm or insult her. Still, Perlith is devoted enough to his kingdom to die for it, which devastates Galanna to the point that her beauty fades and her hair turns white.

As the ancient Black Dragon of legend, Maur is a major antagonist in the novel. His massive, black-scaled body far transcends the size of smaller, modern-day dragons, which are merely dog-sized. His fierce appearance and overwhelming size utterly terrify Aerin when she first meets him in battle. While he does not speak in life, he takes on a more complex antagonistic role after his death, when Aerin begins to hear his taunting voice in her head. His voice is characterized as cunning, cruel, and mocking, and his words highlight Aerin’s weaknesses and cause her psychological damage that manifests in her body.

It is unclear whether Maur’s voice is real or imagined, but the magically poisonous presence of his skull wreaks havoc on Damar, even weakening the people physically from the sheer evil that it exudes. Thus, although Maur is only alive for a single chapter of the novel, he lingers on and exerts an intense influence on Damar throughout the rest of the story, unbeknownst to the citizens.

Agsded is a major antagonist in the novel. Although, like Maur, he only appears physically in a single chapter, he serves as the climactic final enemy in Aerin’s Hero’s Journey. He is Aerin’s uncle on her mother’s side and is characterized as intelligent, wicked, and devious. However, he is a static character who undergoes no growth; he is an archetypal villain that is intended to represent Aerin’s worst fears and struggles.

Agsded’s physical appearance assists in this characterization. He dresses in white, which creates contrast with the villainous stereotype of wearing black; this choice also reflects his efforts to appear positively to Aerin as he tries to convince her that he, not Damar or Luthe, has her best interests in mind. He resembles Aerin and Aerin’s mother immensely (at least prior to Aerin’s transformation from the dragonfire), and he has red hair, green eyes, and pale skin. This resemblance briefly torments Aerin, representing her psychological struggle with her belief that she is the source of Damar’s troubles. She overcomes this momentary weakness by separating herself from Agsded and killing him with the combined power of the surka and the dragonstone. Agsded dies in fire, an important symbol of Aerin’s control.