Trial of the Sun Queen

“There’s no lock—that’s the problem. Nothing actually belongs to anyone here. Everything is on temporary loan, including our bodies and definitely our souls. The only thing they haven’t claimed yet is my mind, though that seems less true with each passing year.”

Lor’s internal monologue establishes the psychological and physical totality of imprisonment in Nostraza. The analysis of ownership, where even bodies and souls are on “temporary loan,” defines the theme of Self-Determinism and Justice as Conditions for Freedom. This passage frames confinement as a spiritual and mental erosion. Lor’s stated fear about this reveals her strength and self-awareness but also the acute dangers of her situation, establishing narrative tension at the novel’s opening.

“If they named the Void for its ability to suck people in, then the Hollow is named for the way it drains you out and leaves you empty and gasping for air.”

Lor explicitly defines the symbolic weight of the Hollow, a key symbol representing dehumanization through cruelty. By directly comparing the Void and the Hollow, the text differentiates between a physically dangerous space and a place designed for psychological destruction. This characterization of the Hollow serves as a metaphor for the prison system’s ultimate goal: to leave an inmate spiritually and emotionally vacant and compliant.

“A blue sky is something I remember only in a shadowed memory. Like the images of wildflowers and the sound of my mother’s cheerful laughter.”

Lor’s first observation upon waking in the Sun Palace creates a stark tonal and visual contrast with the oppressive and violent settings of the novel so far. The simile comparing a blue sky to other fragmented, positive memories illustrates the profound psychological damage of Lor’s long-term imprisonment.