Heir of Fire

“There was nothing left in her, not really. Only ash and an abyss and the unbreakable vow she’d carved into her flesh, to the friend who had seen her for what she truly was.”

This passage exemplifies Celaena’s self-perception at the beginning of Heir of Fire. Her depression is evident, tying into the symbolism of her Fireheart nickname. Here, she is the Heir of Ash, unable to marshal her magic amid her despondency and grief.

“‘Symbols have power, Prince,’ Aedion said, pinning him with a stare. Celaena’s stare—unyielding and alive with challenge. ‘You’d be surprised by the power this still wields in the North—what it does to convince people not to pursue foolhardy plans.’”

The symbol of the Sword of Orynth is developed by Aedion’s conversation with Dorian. The double meaning of his words hints at Aedion’s secret work as a rebel against the Adarlan forces.

“They had always known her, the Little Folk. Even when Adarlan’s shadow had covered the continent, they still recognized what she was. Small gifts left at campsites—a fresh fish, a leaf full of blackberries, a crown of flowers. She’d ignored them, and stayed out of Oakwald Forest as much as she could.”

Celaena has a connection to the Little Folk, or the faeries. The faeries symbolize the innocence and purity of the natural world, and therefore, they lend those qualities to the young girl by extension. Her status as the rightful queen is framed as natural and almost divine.

“The people you love are just weapons that will be used against you.”

Rowan states what both he and Celaena believe to be true at this point in the story. However, as their relationship grows and they open up to each other, they realize that although they fear that vulnerability, it also gives them strength. This realization foreshadows their joint recovery from depression and the power of Redemption Through Self-Acceptance.

“He was helping. And he was willing to meet a horrible fate in order to keep her alive. He hadn’t left her alone. She hadn’t been alone.”

As the narrative has clearly established at this point, Celaena’s worst fear is to be abandoned by her loved ones. As a result, Rowan coming to her help despite their argument signals a shift in their relationship and in Celaena’s recovery from depression. She realizes that she is not alone and that friendship makes her stronger rather than weaker.

“‘Why is my shifting so vital?’ she asked at last.

‘Because it terrifies you,’ he said. ‘Mastering it is the first step toward learning to control your power. Without that control, with a blast like that, you could easily have burnt yourself out.’”

This passage exemplifies how well Rowan understands Celaena. He realizes the connection between her magic and her emotions, which plays into the Fireheart symbolism. This quote also builds into the theme of Staying in Control.

“‘When you access your power, what does it feel like?’

She considered. ‘A well,’ she said. ‘The magic feels like a well.’

‘Have you felt the bottom of it?’

‘Is there a bottom?’ She prayed there was.

‘All magic has a bottom—a breaking point. For those with weaker gifts, it’s easily depleted and easily refilled. They can access most of their power at once. But for those with stronger gifts, it can take hours to hit the bottom, to summon their powers at full strength.’”

This conversation between Celaena and Rowan seems to illustrate her inexperience with magic while also hinting at the true depth of her power, since she has never been able to reach the “bottom” of it. This foreshadows her upcoming exploits and provides important world-building context for the reader.

“Titus growled a territorial warning at the bait beast again, so loud she could feel it in every bone. Instead, the bait beast, small as he was, was gazing at her with something like rage and determination. Emotion, she might have called it. Hunger, but not for her.”

At this point in the narrative, which is seen from Manon’s point of view, the witch has not yet developed her emotional vocabulary. Although she cannot name Abraxos’s feelings, instead describing them as “something like rage and determination” and “hunger, but not for her,” she already recognizes their nuance and complexity. This awareness foreshadows her growth into a more empathetic and selfless character.

“Again, Manon felt that ebb and flow in the world, that invisible current that some called Fate and some called the loom of the Three-Faced Goddess.”

Manon’s belief in bigger forces is exemplified in this quote. Like Celaena’s connection to natural elements, being attuned to “the ebb and flow of the world” characterizes Manon as an innately empathetic character and an almost divinely appointed leader.

“For a heartbeat, Manon wondered when she’d ever earned that kind of loyalty. They weren’t friends—at least, not in the way that humans seemed to be friends. Every Blackbeak already owed her their loyalty and obedience as the heir. But this…”

Manon’s emotional vocabulary is still developing, as this quote exemplifies. She acknowledges the bond between her and Asterin and, for the first time, realizes that it is meaningful and not to be taken for granted. Again, this foreshadows her growth and her later acceptance of love and friendship as powerful forces.

“Vile. The blood tasted rotten, as if it had curdled or festered inside a corpse for days. She glanced at the blood on the rest of her hand. It was too dark for human blood.”

Manon realizes for the first time that something wrong is going on with the king’s men, who are possessed by the Valg. The evil creatures literally corrupt their hosts, symbolically placing them in opposition to the divine and/or natural forces associated with the protagonists.

“Each of the scars, the chipped teeth and broken claws, the mutilated tail—they weren’t the markings of a victim. Oh, no. They were the trophies of a survivor. Abraxos was a warrior who’d had all the odds stacked against him and survived. Learned from it. Triumphed.”

Although it describes Abraxos, this description can be applied to all the protagonists of Maas’s series. This characterizes them as survivors who endure trauma and earn redemption through their actions and relationships. Additionally, this quote emphasizes Manon’s growing empathy.

“Rowan murmured, ‘Hone it—the anger.’

Was that why he’d told her about the body? Bastard—bastard for manipulating her, for making her pull double duty in the kitchen. But his face was unreadable as he said, ‘Let it be a blade, Aelin. If you cannot find the peace, then at least hone the anger that guides you to the shift. Embrace and control it—it is not your enemy.’”

Rowan’s understanding and acceptance of Celaena illustrates the theme of Redemption Through Self-Acceptance. Celaena is significantly characterized by her anger, which is connected to her power because of the relationship between emotions and natural elements. This passage builds into Rowan and Celaena’s developing relationship and foreshadows her complete self-acceptance.

“See what you want, Aelin, and seize it. Don’t ask for it; don’t wish for it. Take it.”

Rowan’s advice marks a turn in Celaena’s growth. Whereas she was initially afraid to claim her identity as Aelin and her rightful legacy, she begins to embrace them thanks to Rowan’s help. This plays into the theme of redemption through self-acceptance.

“‘You are not most people, and I think you like it that way. If it’s a darker set of emotions that will help you shift on command, then that’s what we’ll use. There might come a day when you find that anger doesn’t work, or when it is a crutch, but for now…’ A contemplative look. ‘It was the common denominator those times you shifted—anger of varying kinds. So own it.’”

Celaena is characterized by her anger and her darker emotions, such as her desire for revenge and violence. This passage reveals Rowan’s acceptance of her darker side and his friendship, which builds up to her eventual redemption through self-acceptance. It also highlights the fact that Celaena can be interpreted at least partly as an antihero, since she has some destructive tendencies.

“Fireheart—why do you cry?

‘Because I am lost,’ she whispered onto the earth. ‘And I do not know the way.’

It was what she had never been able to tell Nehemia—that for ten years, she had been unsure how to find the way home, because there was no home left.”

This passage depicts Celaena’s lowest point in the narrative. At the same time, she finally confronts and acknowledges her worst fear, which foreshadows her reclaiming of her identity. This eventually leads to her redemption through self-acceptance and plays into the symbolism of her Fireheart nickname.

“Celaena Sardothien, gloriously mortal Celaena, never had to worry about accidentally scorching a playmate, or having a nightmare that might incinerate her bedroom. Or burning all of Orynth to the ground. Celaena had been everything Aelin wasn’t.”

This quote exemplifies the distinction between Celaena’s and Aelin’s identities. Symbolically, Celaena was created to hide the lost queen’s identity from others as much as from herself—i.e., a way for her to avoid confronting her trauma. This also further illustrates Aelin’s defining characteristic—anger—and foreshadows her eventual fight for revenge and justice against the king.

“‘But maybe,’ he said, quietly enough that she looked at him again. He didn’t smile, but his eyes were inquisitive. ‘Maybe we could find the way back [from our losses] together.’

[...]

Perhaps they would never get out of it, perhaps they would never be whole again, but…‘Together,’ she said, and took his outstretched hand.

And somewhere far and deep inside her, an ember began to glow.”

Celaena and Rowan’s pact signals a significant turn in their relationship. Whereas they were initially at odds, they now decide to work together, building into the theme of redemption through self-acceptance. It also highlights the symbolic connection between Celaena’s emotions and her fire and depicts her recovery from depression.

“Until then, the fact remains, Captain, that you have not picked a side because you are still a boy, and you are still afraid. Not of losing innocent lives, but of losing whatever dream it is you’re clinging to. Your prince has moved on, my queen has moved on. But you have not. And it will cost you in the end.”

Aedion’s words to Chaol characterize Chaol and reveal his weakness, which is his desire to remain loyal to Dorian without taking a personal stand in the upcoming conflict. This marks a shift in his character arc, as Dorian then reiterates this idea, and Chaol eventually realizes that he cannot protect the prince and stay on the sidelines.

“She would remake the world—remake it for them, those she had loved with this glorious, burning heart; a world so brilliant and prosperous that when she saw them again in the Afterworld, she would not be ashamed. She would build it for her people, who had survived this long, and whom she would not abandon. She would make for them a kingdom such as there had never been, even if it took until her last breath.

She was their queen, and she could offer them nothing less.”

Building into the Fireheart symbolism, this passage sets up the main plot points and narrative stakes of the following book in the Throne of Glass series. Celaena’s character arc in Heir of Fire concludes with her reclaiming her identity as Aelin and embracing her responsibilities as a rightful queen, revealing that she is finally able to reconcile her identity with her vow to Nehemia.

“The creatures fed on despair and pain and terror. But what if—what if the victim let go of those fears? What if the victim walked through them—embraced them?”

This quote hints at the characters’ growing understanding of the Valg and a potential way to defeat them. Symbolically, the Valg can be interpreted as a representation of corruption, depression, or other negative human emotions/impulses that can take over one’s mind. This also emphasizes Celaena’s redemption through self-acceptance.

“‘I think,’ Chaol said, and Sorscha turned, brows high, ready to get to work. ‘I think,’ he said again, smiling faintly, ‘that this kingdom could use a healer as its queen.’”

Chaol’s hopeful words to Sorscha set up the upcoming plot twist of the healer’s death. They also indirectly foreshadow Celaena/Aelin’s ascension to the throne in later books, since she also has a small amount of healing magic, and her role in bringing peace to Adarlan.

“Three lines of text scrolled over her three largest scars, the story of her love and loss now written on her: one line for her parents and uncle; one line for Lady Marion; and one line for her court and her people.

On the smaller, shorter scars, were the stories of Nehemia and of Sam. Her beloved dead.

No longer would they be locked away in her heart. No longer would she be ashamed.”

Celaena’s tattoo is a visible expression of her grief and relationships, which she does not view as a weakness anymore but as a strength. Like Rowan’s tattoo, it enables her to turn her vulnerability into a path toward redemption through self-acceptance. This signals the last step in her recovery from depression—i.e., her self-acceptance and reclamation of her legacy.