60 pages • 2 hours read
All This Twisted Glory
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Symbols & Motifs
The Book of Arya
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence.
The Book of Arya is a key motif in the text, illustrating the theme of Cultural Heritage as a Source of Power and Conflict. An ancient tome, the book is highly coveted by humans and Iblees, since it contains a map to the mountains of Arya. The mountains of Arya contain minerals with the most powerful magic on earth: in the series, magic is mined from rock and ore. Though humans have tried to access the minerals of Arya for centuries, the mountain has proved impossible to quarry. Cyrus steals the book from Arya in the first book of the series, planting a decoy in her carpet-bag. Kamran reads the inscription on this decoy—same as the one on the original—and understands its prophecy to imply he must marry Arya. The prophecy says, “Melt the ice in salt, braid the thrones at sea. In this woven kingdom, clay and fire shall be” (36).
However, the prophecy may allude to the vision of a new world, in which Jinn, made of fire, coexist in equality with clay-born humans. Historically, Jinn and humans were considered elementally antithetical, as dirt or clay extinguishes fire. The narrative suggests that Alizeh may find a way for fire to blossom in clay. The references to braiding and weaving suggest this union does not mean either Jinn or humans will subsume their identity; rather, they will harmoniously knit together as strands. The Book of Arya also proves Alizeh’s power, since only she can access the map inside. Iblees asks Cyrus to steal the book and bring Alizeh to him so he can know—and exploit—the extent of Alizeh’s magical abilities. Another important bit of information revealed in the book is that five people must be willing to die for Alizeh before the mountains can reveal their secrets to her.
Cyrus’s Expulsion from the Temple of the Diviners
Cyrus’s banishment from the land of the Diviners has a parallel in Iblees’s fall from grace. In both cases, the banishment creates the feeling of being bereft, lost, and sundered from wholeness. However, while in Iblees’s case the banishment leads to resentment, which he directs against humans, Cyrus does not grudge the Diviners for expelling him. Though he misses losing himself in Divining, Cyrus can also see why the healers would shun contact with him: Cyrus’s forced proximity with Iblees may give the devil access to the Diviners. Thus, the differing arcs of Cyrus and Iblees emphasize the difference between the two characters and emphasize the theme of The Complicated Cost of the Devil’s Bargain.
Cyrus’s banishment works both as a symbol and a motif in the text. As a symbol, the expulsion represents a state of spiritual alienation, in which the soul feels adrift. To exist in unity with nature and the divine, the soul must seek a new path into grace. For Cyrus, that path may be selfless sacrifice for Alizeh, his people, and the communities of human and Jinn: Cyrus repeatedly stresses that he has forfeited his life for a larger—though yet unknown—purpose. The banishment works as a motif by highlighting the theme of the complex cost of the devil’s bargain as well as the subject of free will. That Cyrus has to forsake his life’s purpose after dealing with the devil shows that the bargain extracts a tremendous price. At the same time, Cyrus’s hand may have been forced into the deal, raising the question of whether it was ever an independent choice. If Cyrus’s free will is compromised, the corresponding punishment appears too severe. Thus, the text raises the question of whether free will is ever entirely free.
Iblees’s Riddles
A key motif, Iblees’s riddles illustrate the themes of the cost of dealing with the devil and the confounding nature of evil. In the series, Iblees communicates with Alizeh and Cyrus through rhyming riddles, which sometimes make sense in retrospect, such as when Cyrus realizes that the clod tied to the feather alludes to Kamran. In other instances, the riddles are not prophecies, but insinuations meant to cause fear and despair, such as Iblees’s suggestion that Alizeh will choose Kamran over Cyrus.
The choice to communicate in whispered riddles is deliberate, as Iblees himself notes that he loves to toy with clay boys and girls. By voicing his victim’s deepest fears and turning them into childish, nonsensical riddles, Iblees makes a mockery of the fear. For instance, in the cave Iblees taunts Cyrus that he shall never have Alizeh “since her fate is twined with ours” (64). Iblees knows Cyrus has fallen in love with Alizeh, and thus, delightedly tortures Cyrus with the suggestion that the angelic Alizeh is secretly meant to be the devil’s bride. Thus, Iblees not only feeds on Cyrus’s anxiety, but also makes it a game. However, Iblees’s riddles also represent confusion and lies. If Cyrus does the right thing despite Iblees’s planted suggestions, the text hints that he may be able to make his way past them.
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