Heir

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child death, graphic violence, and death.

Heir depicts power, both magical and political, as being easily corrupted by ambition, fear, and desperation. Quil is particularly aware of this fact, as he has to contend with the legacy of his father, Marcus Farrar, one of the most despised emperors in Martial history. He fears inheriting this legacy and becoming another corrupt ruler. He notes, “He’d read enough history to know that power corrupted” (44). While Quil is aware of the dangers, other characters fall into the trap. Aiz, in particular, is the clearest embodiment of this theme.

At first, Aiz wants to save her people from starvation and displacement. To convince Aiz to begin the mission that forms the backbone of her narrative, Mother Div tells her, “Corruption eats at the heart of our land. It grows most virulently among those who rule our people” (95). She deliberately calls out the corruption already existing in Kegar’s leadership. The Triarchy are complacent, and Tiral plans to falsely claim the mantle of the Tel llessi to consolidate power.