Waverider

“You are now the king.”

This line comes at the moment in Trellis’s character arc when he gives up his claim to the throne and acknowledges Gabilan as the true king in Valcor. To do so, Trellis must set aside his understanding of what legitimizes a claim to the throne. His simple, definitive language reflects his measured and thoughtful character and the clarity he feels about his decision.

“I know what you’re doing, IKOL. You want me to hate my family.”

Emily says this as IKOL uses his powers of illusion to take the form of Silas Charnon. IKOL has pinpointed Emily’s emotional core: that her love for her family keeps her grounded despite all the temptations that come with her power. Emily’s self-awareness allows her to see through IKOL’s manipulation and remain true to her feelings.

“I will absorb your hate—and redirect this anger into something new. This is my gift to you.”

Emily says this while fighting against a corrupted Cora and Cala and talking them through the process of overcoming the shadow influence. Rather than thinking of anger as a thing to vanquish or shed, Emily frames it as energy that can be redirected and redefined. She acknowledges anger and, by extension, darkness as fundamental parts of each person, suggesting that they must work with rather than against these qualities—a key idea in the work’s exploration of The Struggle Between Darkness and Light.

“Leave the anger behind and look for the light.”

At the end of Emily’s fight with Cora and Cala, she talks them through the final part of their transformation, recognizing that their inner light will allow them to be their true selves. This line also mirrors the process of passing through the void, experiencing its darkness, and coming out the other side with a renewed sense of self-awareness and commitment to good.

“My family was torn apart by the power of the throne. I have decided to live my life differently.”

This line represents Trellis’s character development, as he is firmly committed to being a different kind of leader than his father. Trellis does not yet have a clear idea as to what kind of leader he will be or whether he will lead at all, so he uses abstract language to indicate that he will continue to seek out and define his own path. He refrains from using any language associated with ambition or power, keeping the focus on his own life rather than his impact on the world.

“Because you always forget about the new kids.”

Ronin delivers this line with a knowing smirk, showing her excitement about subverting Vigo’s expectations about the future of stonekeepers. Referring to them colloquially as the “new kids” emphasizes their youth and the casual way the youth are able to operate without the rigid formality of the old guard. This moment parallels the broader political reality of Alledia, where the old leadership underestimates the youth and fails to invest in their future.

“With everyone fighting over the keys to the past, I figured somebody had to think about our future.”

Ronin here conceptualizes her purpose as a mentor and independent thinker. She distances herself from “everyone” else, indicating the way she was ostracized for suggesting they could cure cursed people. She also frames her job as a mentor as a duty, something she “has” to do, implying how it both required sacrifice and gave her clarity of purpose. More broadly, the passage lays out her understanding of the past as grappling for power within a rigid system versus her understanding of the future as open-ended, requiring building and creativity.

“I saw enough evidence that this loss of control was a phase and not an outcome.”

This line is the core of Ronin’s wisdom and worldview based on her own experience. Treating failure as a phase requires both faith and forgiveness—faith that a stonekeeper can learn from the experience and forgiveness for the harm their loss of control caused. This idea builds on Ronin’s belief that citizens afflicted by the shadow curse can be cured.

“We are from Earth.”

IKOL’s line is a turning point for Emily and marks the moment she learns that IKOL is from Earth, just like her. Emily must grapple with the commonality between her and IKOL and the sense that they are, in a subversive way, family. IKOL also challenges Emily’s sense of duty and empathy in this moment by showing her his hidden masters, troubled machines from Earth who also need protection.

“We have to leave these planets in better shape than we found them.”

As in earlier moments, Emily rejects IKOL’s argument; she refuses to use the plight of the unseen masters to validate a decision to use or abuse the people of Alledia. By using “we,” she associates herself with the unseen masters, implying that they are on the same team and must work together to help Alledia. Her comment also insinuates that as representatives of Earth, they all must consider how they will leave Earth in “better shape.”

“It means we are part of the stories now. It means we are in the legend.”

The students here accept the gravity of their task to bring Cielis to the ground. As the opening and closing quotes of the novel suggest, they realize their actions will ripple beyond their lives and hold symbolic significance in the greater history of Alledia. This process of mythologizing their task points to the way Alledia will heal from the war: through memory, study, and collective understanding.

“Because that is how it has always been. We can’t just change everything.”

This line comes from General Puk, one of the leaders on Cielis who both acknowledges the legitimate power of the student stonekeepers and fears the change they bring. When challenged about why he resists bringing Cielis down, Puk can only refer to the past and precedent, showing how tradition reinforces structures that inadequately reflect modern life. Puk represents the exact kind of narrow-minded, rigid leadership that Ronin seeks to change with a new generation of stonekeepers.

“Close your eyes, Mom. You don’t have to look at them.”

In this moment, Navin shows his empathetic and supportive nature to his mother, protecting her emotionally from the onslaught of shadow forces. His line reflects precocious wisdom and an understanding that one can focus on the light instead of the darkness. As he says this line, they embrace and close their eyes, keeping their focus on each other and the safety of familial love and support rather than the fear and uncertainty of facing the shadows.

“Please help me reach my family.”

In this moment, Emily appeals to the emotions of the mechanical master from the other dimension. Unlike IKOL, who frames everything selfishly and promises to serve the masters, Emily reminds them of her human responsibilities and her connections to others, inspiring the masters to use their powers to help her. Her forthright language and emphasis on the masters’ ability to choose contrasts with IKOL’s manipulativeness and coercion, developing the theme of The Complexity of Autonomy.

“You possessed my family—dismantled civilizations—caused needless deaths—manipulated others for your own benefit—treated people like lab rats for your experiments—no. You are not helpful, IKOL.”

Emily lays out her argument against IKOL, indicting him with a list of crimes and pointing out the harm he has caused in a clear rejection of IKOL’s claim that he means to help. IKOL’s crimes all violate the autonomy of others, whether on a personal scale (possessing Emily’s family) or a societal scale (dismantling civilizations). Despite the challenges of respecting autonomy, Emily firmly rejects the idea that violating autonomy can be seen as a kind of “help.”

“You are nothing like David Hayes.”

IKOL tries to manipulate Emily by attacking the emotional wound that started the series: her unresolved grief about her father’s death. IKOL tries to appeal to Emily’s desire to connect to her father to trap her in an illusion, but she has grown secure enough to reject him and let go of the image of her father.

“You never answered my question, Emily. Are we friends?”

This is the last line IKOL speaks to Emily, which she refuses to answer. IKOL turns to desperate pleas meant to inspire Emily’s pity as a means of reestablishing himself in her mind. He tries to connect himself to all the other friends she has made during her adventure in Alledia, misrepresenting his own role in her story. Unlike previous moments when Emily stands up to him or argues back, she merely ignores his question, refusing to engage with him and thereby eliminating his hold over her.

“Brother, are you not concerned that these children are ill prepared to handle their power?”

This line comes from Luger, Trellis’s brother, and foreshadows the students’ failure to handle the giant forms during the climactic effort to bring Cielis down. By framing this as a question, Luger reminds Trellis that he does have a role to play as a leader. As a result, Trellis watches the students with an increased level of scrutiny and steps in when something goes wrong, revealing The Benefits of Collaborative Leadership.

“Give in to me, West. And you will have ultimate power in return.”

IKOL begins speaking to West, complicating and corrupting his transformation into his giant form. IKOL uses his old tactics, filling West with doubt and separating him from his community while dangling temptation in front of him. Because the students are inexperienced, they do not know how to handle IKOL and reach the limit of their ability.

“I am not afraid. Are you?”

This quote comes from the climactic moment when Vigo Light sacrifices himself and allows IKOL to take him instead of the students. His firm, fearless statement shows his strength and ability to outmaneuver IKOL. Vigo’s fearlessness comes from a desire to understand and a belief that knowledge is a form of power; he turns the lens back on IKOL and uses their time together to understand IKOL.

“We must walk away from power we do not need.”

This line marks the completion of Trellis’s arc as he becomes a leader who encourages balance, restraint, and collaboration; he emphasizes that those in authority must choose the collective over their own personal power. He uses the royal “we” to emphasize that leaders are part of a collective that includes everyone in Cielis.

“In place of fear, we felt a love for life and its many adventures.”

Emily meditates on her adventure as she contemplates the end of her time in Alledia. She personally feels the difference from a life where the shadows feed on her fear, and she finds that she can recontextualize all the suffering, conflict, and loss she has been through in Alledia as an “adventure” worth loving.

“I must remember to walk carefully and follow my compass.”

Emily here looks to the future and acknowledges that her adventure is not over and that she will continue to face the shadows even as she returns to Earth. She crystalizes the lesson she learned through her experience in Alledia: that she contains an inner compass that points to goodness and that self-awareness will help her access that compass. The images accompanying her words show her treading carefully over fallen leaves, representing the cyclical nature of life and the expectation that darkness and winter will return.