The Thief

These chapters introduce the main characters and conflicts, both interpersonal and external, of the novel. Gen is the protagonist and an unreliable narrator. He keeps the secret of his true loyalty to Eddis until the very end of the book, and as a result, his actions are seen differently before and after the truth is revealed, making him an example of the manner in which Loyalty Is a Relationship. Additionally, How We Use One Another is also shown by the secrets the group members keep from one another and how each nudges events toward their own desired outcome. Gen is truly an agent of Eddis who purposefully got himself captured in Sounis so he could learn where Hamiathes’s Gift is hidden in order to retrieve it so that his cousin can claim the throne. Gen fools all the others, even as they believe they have the upper hand, which symbolizes the power of secrets. The magus later reveals that he set Gen up to be imprisoned because he needed access to a masterful thief and leverage with which to secure Gen’s assistance. Prior to the group’s adventure, Ambiades became a spy for Attolia with the intention of delivering the stone in exchange for riches that would allow him to regain the status he lost to his father’s gambling. Pol and Sophos are the only two in the group who do not have a grand plan to trick the others, and together, they represent the innocent bystanders who get caught in the crossfire of betrayals and lies meant for someone else. They also represent the way in which individual identity can be lost within a group, as Gen is wary of all of his traveling companions.

Gen’s unique narrative style and biting humor contribute to how the world and dynamics within the story are viewed. The nicknames Gen gives the apprentices in Chapter 2 shows how little regard he has for rank and those he deems lazy. In truth, Ambiades is more devious and cunning than Gen guesses, and Sophos and Gen end the book as friends, despite Sophos having little aptitude for anything but book learning. Together, the apprentices identify Gen’s tragic flaw of arrogance by illustrating the problem with underestimating people based on what we want to believe. Gen’s arrogance makes him believe he is better than everyone else, and his unmatched skills make him sure no one can fool him—ideas that are later disproved. Ambiades does fool Gen and the rest of the group, almost leading to Gen’s death, and the unlikely friendship between Sophos and Gen suggests that, no matter what one thinks of another person, they have something they can offer, even if their skills are unexpected. This also serves as a reminder not to be wholly convinced by first impressions, particularly as characters who scheme may project such motivations onto others as well.

How We Use One Another is strongly explored by Gen’s relationship to the rest of the group. In these early chapters, Gen is thought of and treated as little more than a tool. His skills are needed to retrieve Hamiathes’s Gift, which is the magus’s main motivation for offering Gen extra food and making sure Gen’s wounds are tended—a thief that can’t steal because he is starved and wounded is of no use to Sounis. In Chapter 3, Gen wakes to find himself chained to Pol’s bed, which shows how little the group trusts him and how much they don’t care about his comfort beyond having his basic needs fulfilled. So long as Gen can rest so he is feeling well enough to steal, the group thinks nothing of binding him. In Chapter 4, the magus states his intention to take the credit for finding Hamiathes’s Gift, showing that he thinks of Gen as his personal tool at this point. Gen is only as important as his skills, and once the stone is stolen, he doesn’t matter and is, in fact, in the way.

Chapter 4 introduces the setup of the major countries and the two sets of gods (old and new), which speaks to the theme of Beliefs Are Not Truth. The new gods are given little explanation, but tales of the old gods are visited in different forms. The pantheon itself is fictional, but it shares similarities with the gods of Greek and Roman myth in the way the gods interact with mortals and argue amongst themselves. In relation to the gods, Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia offer different versions of loyalty within beliefs and show how different cultures respond to the same event—invasion—differently. Sounis and Attolia have little loyalty to their original beliefs or culture, but Eddis remains loyal to the old gods, showing the country’s strong dedication to maintaining a long-standing identity. The countries also offer context to how Loyalty Is a Relationship by showing how and why people are loyal or disloyal to a ruler. The magus’s comment about people being infuriated by their loss of freedom reveals how conflicts and grudges may be held for hundreds of years. Cultural memory is strong, and the desire to hold on to identity can create a desire to remain angry at those who tried to take it away. The magus delivers the line to Gen, serving as irony since Gen lost his freedom when he was imprisoned in Sounis and now either does not realize or acknowledge the anger he holds toward Sounis.