Darkness of Dragons

The action in Part 2, “King of Shadows,” takes place in the hidden NightWing Kingdom, and Darkstalker moves to the foreground in Qibli’s journey for Identity and Self-Discovery. Like Part 1, the title of Part 2 suggests Darkstalker’s significance in the two roles he fills in the novel. He becomes king of the NightWings, but his position as a shadow character becomes more pronounced as well.

Within the hero’s journey, the NightWing kingdom symbolizes the abyss, a place of death and rebirth for Qibli. The darkness and mystery represent the netherworld. Instead of a challenge or temptation, the action is largely symbolic and represents Qibli’s desires and insecurities as illustrated through his interactions with the shadow world. The manner of confrontation foreshadows the resolution of the internal and external conflicts in the novel, highlighting Qibli’s tendency towards observation and reflection.

Qibli’s empathy and perspective become more complex in Part 2. He considers the antagonist with a more open mind. While Qibli’s reflections during Part 1 focus on the comparisons between himself and Darkstalker, his reflections in Part 2 focus on gaining a better understanding of Darkstalker’s character and point of view.

Moon and her unceasing attempts to convince her friends of the goodness in Darkstalker are important to Qibli’s willingness to empathize with Darkstalker. Darkstalker’s role is the antagonist, but he is also a shadow archetype. The shadow often includes an element of good because of the relationship between the protagonist and the shadow. When she sees Darkstalker suffering and confused because of his love of Clearsight, she explains, “That’s the dragon I see […] underneath the other dragon” (269). Qibli responds that “underneath the brainwashing genocidal murderer is a very lonely brainwashing genocidal murderer” (269). While humorous, Qibli demonstrates a growing empathy with the dark representation of himself.

Because of the its emphasis on Identity and Self-Discovery and the metaphoric confrontation with his shadow, Chapter 16 is the first of several chapters that are heavy with dialogue and internal revelations. These conversations mainly occur between Qibli and Moon and Qibli and Winter, who fills the role of the helper within the hero’s journey. Moon and Winter reveal opposite sides of certain thematic issues, allowing Qibli to obtain a more nuanced understanding of their world and his place in it.

Many of these internal revelations are extensions of elements of Part 1. For example, Winter compares Qibli’s cleverness and mastery of words to Vulture’s. He also compares his abilities to Darkstalker’s. Realizations such as this are uncomfortable for Qibli, but they represent important moments in the theme Identity and Self-Discovery as well as Darkstalker’s characterization.

In Chapter 18, Qibli’s reflections turn toward tribal issues of Power, Corruption, and the Abuse of Power and Loyalty, Family, and Friendship. Qibli notices the intense loyalty the NightWings have toward Darkstalker. He considers where this devotion comes from and recognizes the lack of power the NightWings have in Pyrrhia. This reminds readers of the goal of intertribal unity at the foundation of the Wings of Fire universe. The NightWings are loyal to Darkstalker for the power he represents within the broader context of Pyrrhia.

Chapters 21 through 24 continue to develop the issue of free will and magical compulsion, and Winter establishes a voice of moral authority on this issue. He demonstrates extreme aversion to attempts at mental coercion or compulsion. While Qibli’s feelings for Moon encourage him to carefully consider Moon’s opinions, Winter represents moral decisiveness. His certainty and moral self-righteousness are an important aspect of his role as a Qibli’s helper in the hero’s journey. And Winter’s concerns about the danger that Darkstalker’s mental compulsion represents is fully justified when Moon and Qibli discover Darkstalker is enchanting another dragon mimic Clearsight. This passage foreshadows Darkstalker’s coercion and control of Vulture at the climax of the novel.

Once again, Qibli’s earring is an important symbol within the motif of free will. Once Qibli sees Moon, he encourages her to wear a copy of his earring, an active symbol of her loyalty to Qibli. Later, when Darkstalker seeks out Moon, he recognizes the earring as a challenge to her loyalty and commitment to their friendship, further positioning free will as a nuance within the Loyalty, Family, and Friendship theme.

As Part 2 moves towards a conclusion, Qibli’s developing empathy plays an important narrative role. It foreshadows the resolution of the NightWing and IceWing war in Part 3 as well as the resolution of the conflict between Qibli and Darkstalker as the protagonist and shadow.

Leaving the NightWing kingdom with a well-developed sense of empathy, a series of self-discoveries, and a soulreader completes Qibli’s experience in the metaphorical abyss. Returning to Jade Mountain Academy to stop Darkstalker and the battle between the IceWings and NightWings constitute a rebirth that signals his final steps on the hero’s journey.