The Lost Heir

Royal succession is a major element of the plot and world building of the Wings of Fire series. Succession is thus symbolized in two different ways in this novel: Queen Coral’s stories as legacy and her eggs as change. Every queen leaves behind a legacy, which is often depicted as a story. For Queen Coral of the SeaWings, this is literal—she is a prolific writer and creates many books, and she even has a councilor in charge of her writing and publishing. While these stories may seem like mere fairy tales (Tsunami loved The Missing Princess but considered pure fiction), for the SeaWings, these works are “required reading” (44), much like propaganda. In this way, Coral seeks to ensure the longevity and stability of her reign; by forcing her subjects to read her work, she symbolically remains both an unavoidable part of their lives and an influential figure spun in whatever image she desires, both of which are to her benefit. In contrast, Tsunami’s rejection of her books, both as required reading and as material for her Aquatic lesson, reflect her rejection of Coral as a queen and as her parent: Though Tsunami never disowns Coral, by the end of the book, she leaves the SeaWing kingdom and abandons her royal birth privileges, distancing herself from both the queendom and its subsequent legacy.