The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy

The Fyren Hound is a recurring symbol that contributes to the novel’s examination of The Blurred Line between Good and Evil. As a symbol of the Fyren Order, the hound is inscribed as a tācn on the left hands of those who walk the Dusken Paths. It acts as a uniting symbol for all of its members while also providing the unique channel to the members’ shadow-walking ability. To the public, the Fyren Hound is a symbol of potent fear. In addition to spreading the Fyrens’ reputation as assassins-for-hire, it acts as an omen of imminent death. For Osric, the symbol holds a savior-like quality, as his choice to become a Fyren enabled him to avenge his mother by killing his abusive father. The Fyren Order also saved him from abject poverty and allowed him to earn the funds to rebuild the Mordaunt family fortune. These undercurrents also explain Osric’s penchant for saving and adopting abandoned, mistreated hounds. Just as the Fyren Hound saved him, he in turn saves hounds from less-than-ideal circumstances. Additionally, the Fyren Hound becomes a symbol of tragic love because it reminds Osric and Aurienne of the long history of contempt between Haelans and Fyrens.