The Bone Season

Warden is Paige’s Rephaite “keeper” who is tasked with training her for red-jacket status. He is also the “blood-consort” and betrothed of Nashira, albeit against his will. His rank and title place him in a particularly delicate position, for he swears outward allegiance to Nashira and the dominion over humans that her regime represents while secretly plotting against her. For the past 20 years, he has worked to regain her trust after conspiring with an earlier rebellion and suffering the pain and shame of betrayal. Further complicating his current task of secretly planning a new rebellion, he covertly battles the Emim against Nashira’s explicit orders and trains Paige with his own agenda in mind. He has shed blood more than once in service to humanity, but his dual identity—loyal Rephaite and secret human ally—confuses Paige, whose rough life has taught her to distrust almost everyone.

Warden is thus a prime example of the mentor archetype as described by mythology scholar, Joseph Campbell, whose work outlines the many motifs and themes of fantasy literature (and incidentally, directly influences George Lucas’s original Star Wars trilogy). In this light, Warden thus becomes Shannon’s version of the wise sage who must lead the initiate through the minefield of danger to achieve their ultimate destiny as hero and savior of humanity. To complicate matters even further, he must first earn the right to be a mentor by gaining Paige’s trust while simultaneously appearing to serve Nashira’s ends. In the end, he does gain her trust, and her love as well, helping her to lead the rebellion and initiate her journey to save humanity, the saga of which will continue in the next volume in the series.

Nashira, the elegant and merciless “blood-sovereign,” leader of the Rephaim, quickly becomes the narrative’s primary antagonist and Paige’s looming archnemesis. She can appear gracious when it suits her needs, (feigning concern for Paige’s injury, for example), but that concern can transform to brutality in a moment if she senses defiance. She is no paper tiger, for her power—no less than five angels at her command—is formidable, and she never hesitates to kill if she deems it necessary. She collects voyants, particularly those from the Syndicate, and feeds on their unique talents, and she covets Paige’s ability most of all.

Nashira has one potential vulnerability, however. She fears the Syndicate and its loose affiliation of crime lords and voyants, which is why she is so eager to expand the Sheol penal colonies. If she can round up even more voyants in order to contain and control them, she can gradually remove the threat that the Syndicate represents. Like all tyrants, her biggest fear is that those she oppresses will organize and rise up against her.

Nick is Paige’s first source of combined love and heartache, for he arrives during one of Paige’s most formative moments, in which she is suddenly aware and terrified of her ability as she is severely wounded by a poltergeist attack. Nick not only nurses her back to health, but he also provides her with a support network of other voyants and a means to survive, safe from the persecution of Scion. Paige’s attraction to Nick is thus based on gratitude more than actual love; he is young and handsome, and he saves her life and reveals himself to be one of her own kind. Enamored of him in this most vulnerable moment, Paige goes on to silently nurture these feelings for years until Nick confesses his love for Zeke, another voyant recruited by Jaxon. Nick’s unintentional rejection sends Paige deep into her own protective shell, and it is not until Warden gains her trust—and also saves her life—that she risks allowing herself to become vulnerable again. Paige’s eventual feelings of love for Warden allow her to see Nick in a new, platonic light: as a friend she will always love and trust, and whose presence is a gift rather than a reminder of a love that she can never have.

Jaxon is Paige’s mime-lord: a protector, yes, but a cruel and self-interested one. His relationship with Paige is strictly a business arrangement, and the moment she threatens to violate that contract by severing their relationship upon their future return to London—he shows his true colors: that of a ruthless businessman who will go to any lengths to protect his investment. He is acutely perceptive, seeing in Paige something uniquely profitable, and for a time, Paige values his stewardship. In fact, after her capture by the Rephaim, she longs to return to him and his gang, seeing him as the far lesser of two evils. At first glance, he appears to be a manipulative yet relatively non-violent guardian. Once Paige and the red-jackets interfere with his meeting with Antoinette Carter, however, he beats her viciously (although he is ignorant of her identity at the time). Even so, the episode illustrates just how far he will go to defend his business empire, for although he remains amicable as long as all parties adhere to prior agreements, he possesses the mercurial nature of a true mob boss in his determination to show no mercy to turncoats.

Liss is a vital source of information for Paige when she first begins to explore the Rephaim-controlled compound of Sheol. As a yellow-jacket living in the squalor of the neighborhood known as the Rookery, Liss has no reason to help Paige, but her natural empathy will not allow her to ignore a fellow voyant, especially a new and inexperienced one. She is fiercely protective of her fellow “harlies,” and she sees the red-jackets as traitors who collaborate with the enemy. Although she lives in poverty and is shunned as a coward for failing to achieve red-jacket status, she holds fast to her ethics. She has not “failed” to earn a red jacket, but rather has refused to swear allegiance to the Rephaim.

Liss is a talented performer, the most skilled contortionist in the Rookery, and although she performs for her overlords and balks at the talk of rebellion, she ultimately becomes a part of the uprising. Unfortunately, she is killed in the process. Paige spends much of the narrative trying to protect and care for Liss, her first true ally in this strange new environment. When Liss’s connection to the aether is severed, Paige risks her life to restore it. When Seb dies, Liss blames Paige, and their relationship falters, but like any true friendship, the deeper the bond, the greater the hurt. Eventually, clarity overcomes misunderstanding, and their friendship grows even stronger.