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Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Alina’s Nichevo’ya Bite
The nichevo’ya bite on Alina’s shoulder reminds her of the many ways she remains connected to the Darkling. After she is bitten, she and the Darkling become spiritually joined in ways that she does not understand, most notably in the fact that he appears to her seemingly at random. The bite was delivered by a shadow creature the Darkling summoned into being from nothing. Unlike the volcra, who used to be human, the nichevo’ya are the result of merzost, a deeper, more powerful, and potentially more dangerous magic than the Small Science that the Grisha wield. In some ways, Alina herself is to blame for the Darkling’s newfound power, which he gained by forging the stag collar around her neck and sharing in her power. Thus, it’s fitting that she must live with the painful, throbbing reminder of the Darkling. Even as Alina’s power is further amplified, the bite reminds her of the risks she faces. She remains vulnerable, not only to the Darkling’s army but also to the temptation of power itself, which may lead her closer to the Darkling than she realizes.
Rusalye
Alina is shocked to realize that the mythological creature Rusalye actually exists, and it opens her eyes to the possibility that other myths and legends may disguise deeper truths. Alina learned about these stories through the Istorii Sankt’ya, an illustrated book of saints’ lives given her to by the Apparat, which she at first consideres a collection of tragic lessons used to frighten small children into obedience. Now, face to face with the subject of one such myth, Alina sees the illustrations in a new light and realizes the firebird, too, might be real. Alina watches the hunt for Rusalye in awe, that is, with a mixture of wonder and fear. The beast is beautiful, powerful, and desperate, and its capture and subsequent scaling feel sacrilegious to Alina. She wears its scales and uses the power they give her to fight the Darkling’s forces, even as she feels herself succumbing to the lure of that power. That lure feeds her thirst for the firebird, to whose physical existence she gave little thought before then. Rusalye raises the possibility of its existence, but Alina is yet too short-sighted to see it as a living creature, akin to the one she killed aboard the Volkvolny.
The Golden Dome
Shortly after returning to Os Alta, Alina cracks the Golden Dome in a dramatic demonstration of her growing power and the institution of a new order. The gilded, ornate spectacle of a rooftop is the centerpiece of life at the Little Palace, the closest thing Alina has known to home since her time at Keramzin with Ana Kuya and Mal. Its destruction marks a turning point in her relationship to Ravka and the Grisha. Alina is done being an outcast. She has returned as a leader and will broker no dissent, not even from a Grisha like Sergei. The Golden Dome graces the hall where the Grisha gather for meals, so its destruction serves as a constant reminder of Alina’s power and the consequences of crossing her. This lesson is reinforced by the less destructive break unfolding beneath the Dome as the Grisha hierarchy is dissolved at Alina’s command. Whereas her first act was destructive, her second is healing and results in a unified army that has at least a chance of defeating the Darkling.
