Power Held and Not Bestowed Is Always at Risk

In the novel, those with power have such because they take it, not because others grant it to them. The world of the novel is not a democracy. It is ruled by those in power because of characters who maintain that power through force.

This is most clearly seen in the case of the knights and the dragons. Devon wants Redemption because she wants to save her son. She does not want him to eat other people, and she does not want him to die. The only other solution is Redemption. Other people seek Redemption for more nefarious reasons. All the Families know they need Redemption if they are to maintain their power because Redemption is the only way to control their main weapons: the dragons. When one family has dragons and another does not, the one with...