“All of your drive, your focus, your mental and physical energy, is funnelled away by these pale stone beds to be received by some distant, particularly favored Septimus.

In my eyes, death would be a preferable fate.”

Part of the book’s early world-building exposition, this passage defines Will as a physical thing that can be taken from one person and given to another and explains the technology of a Sapper as a form of punishment for prisoners. Vis makes his disgust with the system clear, establishing his character early on in the novel.

“My mother was a scholar, fluent in three languages herself. And I was groomed by both them and my tutors for fourteen years to be a diplomat, to support my sister in her eventual rule by travelling to other nations.”

The narrative divulges details about Vis’s life in small pieces, allowing the reader to build an image of him over time. Though the reader does not yet know his precise history, this passage hints at his Royal upbringing while also establishing his skill with languages, a detail that becomes increasingly important as the story progresses. The gradual revelations about Vis build mystery and suspense and also promote a sense of verisimilitude.

“Chain your anger in the dark, my mother used to tell me, and it will only thrive. I never really understood what she meant, growing up. […] When I had to swallow rage in every reply and pretend to agree with their excuses for their slavery, my slavery, just to survive. Then I understood.”

Vis considers his mother’s warning that swallowing one’s anger and keeping it buried only makes it stronger and more difficult to manage over time. He does not understand what she means until he nearly beats the Sextus to death in the fighting ring. Vis’s anger is a defining character trait and his biggest weakness in the novel. This passage and its