Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Children of Virtue and Vengeance

by

Tomi Adeyemi

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Power and Systems of Oppression Theme Analysis

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Power and Systems of Oppression Theme Icon
Cycles of Violence Theme Icon
Tradition and History Theme Icon
Love vs. Duty Theme Icon
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Power and Systems of Oppression Theme Icon

Children of Virtue and Vengeance, the second installment of the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy, picks up a few weeks after the finale of Children of Blood and Bone. Zélie, the novel’s protagonist, is a maji (a person with magical abilities). She and her kosidán (non-magical) brother, Tzain, bury their father, Baba, who died during Zélie’s attempts to perform an ancient ritual that would ensure magic’s continued existence in Orïsha. Rather than simply performing the ritual as written, Zélie unwittingly reestablished magic in Orïsha not just for maji, but for nobles of maji descent too. Thus, at the beginning of the novel, Zélie finds her world turned upside down. Before, nobles and the monarchy didn’t have magic and were afraid of it, so they channeled those fears into brutally oppressing those with the potential to do magic (divîners). Now, those same nobles—now known as tîtáns—begin to harness their newfound power and use it to fight the maji’s magic with their own magic that seems, at times, to be even more powerful. With both sides now wielding comparable fighting power, fighters on both sides come to understand that the existence of magic isn’t actually the problem plaguing Orïsha, as they once thought. Rather, the issue lies with the systems—like the monarchy—that give a select group of people disproportionate power to oppress others. Overwhelmingly, the book suggests that these corrupt systems ultimately allow people a dangerous level of influence over others and encourages those in power to violently oppress other people in order to maintain their station.

Throughout the novel, magic functions as a broad symbolic parallel for power—and specifically, it embodies the idea that the kind of power inherent to magic means that one who wields it also wields great responsibility. The novel illustrates this by showing maji from a variety of clans using their magic for good, as well as to cause major harm. Zélie, a Reaper, can use her magic to fly using summoned spirits, but she can also use her magic to kill others. Welders, meanwhile, can fashion exceptional armor, as well as use their powers to torture others with knives or molten metal of their own making. The fact that there is seemingly no maji or tîtán whose powers are exclusively good or bad begins to make the case that magic itself is a relatively neutral thing; what’s not neutral is how someone chooses to use it. In this sense, magic can be thought of as an equivalent to something like wealth in the reader’s world. Having wealth doesn’t make a person good or bad, but it does mean that a person has far more power to influence their surroundings to their advantage.

Within the world of the novel, that influence and power manifests as the monarchy and noble class. Throughout Orïsha’s recent history, it’s the monarchy that has, for the most part, vilified magic—but in the novel’s present, in which the monarchy suddenly has power to rival the maji, the power balance begins to shift. While in the last novel magic was almost exclusively a power that rebels like Zélie possessed, tîtáns now have access to a similar degree of power. However, tîtáns must also reckon with the fact that their magic is something entirely different from that of the maji. While the maji can, with training and through the use of spells, control the flow of their magic (unless they’re using dangerous blood magic), tîtáns often experience pain and can even lose control and die while using their magic—this power isn’t something that comes naturally or rightfully to them. In this sense, even though the tîtáns are now on more equal footing with the maji in terms of magical abilities, it’s the combination of magic and monarchical power that turns the tîtáns into formidable adversaries.

Adeyemi illustrates the intersection of raw power (magic) with systemic power (the monarchy) through Queen Nehanda’s actions. Queen Nehanda is the power-obsessed, ruthless queen of Orïsha; she’d like to see her son Inan on the throne and her daughter Amari, one of Zélie’s allies, killed. Though Nehanda believes fully in the righteousness of the monarchy and the ills of magic, she’s nevertheless willing to use her power to get her way when she needs it. Zélie and Amari eventually discover that Nehanda is what Zélie terms a cênter, or a tîtán who can draw power from tîtáns around her and combine theirs with her own. Practically speaking, this means that in battle, Nehanda’s tîtán soldiers surround her so she can take their power—and the soldiers die in the process. This continues to show that Nehanda and the monarchy she represents are ruthless and willing to hold onto power at any cost—even if it means embracing tools, like magic, that she once thought dirty and evil.

In the end, Inan is the one who comes to the conclusion that the real issue isn’t magic—it’s the monarchy. As king of Orïsha, Inan has the power to dissolve the monarchy and, in theory, create a country whose population will be able to reevaluate the purposes and appropriate roles of both the position of a monarch and of magic in general. Inan is unfortunately unsuccessful—a mysterious force sedates and captures everyone before he can formally dissolve the monarchy. However, his final leap sets the stage for the final installment of the trilogy in which Zélie, Inan, and their friends continue to challenge systems that boost some people at the expense of others.

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Power and Systems of Oppression ThemeTracker

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Power and Systems of Oppression Quotes in Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Below you will find the important quotes in Children of Virtue and Vengeance related to the theme of Power and Systems of Oppression.
Chapter One Quotes

The moment magic breathes under my skin, I can’t find my voice. The purple light of my ashê glows around my hands, the divine power that fuels our sacred gifts. I haven’t felt its heat since the ritual that brought magic back to Orïsha. Since Baba’s spirit tore through my veins.

I stumble back as magic bubbles inside me. My legs go numb. Magic shackles me to my past, dragging me under despite how hard I pull—

“No!” The shout echoes against the ritual walls [...]

Related Characters: Zélie (speaker), Tzain, Baba
Related Symbols: Yoruba
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Two Quotes

“I can’t be expected to carry the plight of my people forever.”

Related Characters: Zélie (speaker), Amari, Roën, Tzain
Page Number: 11
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Four Quotes

I tuck away my white streak, wishing I could just chop the lock from my hair. Tzain may not notice the way Zélie looks at it, but I always catch the snarl it brings to her face. For so long, she had to suffer because of her gift. Now those that hurt her the most wield that magic themselves.

I can understand why she despises it, but at times it feels like she despises me.

Related Characters: Amari (speaker), Zélie, Tzain
Page Number: 22-23
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Six Quotes

“But the return of magic and the birth of tîtáns are living proof that we are finally returning to the Orïsha the gods have always wanted for us! We’re so full of hatred and fear, we’ve forgotten what blessings these abilities are. For centuries these powers have been the source of our strife, but the gods ordained us with magic so the people of Orïsha could thrive!”

Related Characters: Amari (speaker), Zélie, Tzain, King Saran
Page Number: 33
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Twenty-Three Quotes

“For so long we’ve been defenseless against the havoc the maji wreak, but now the gods have blessed us as well. We’re powerful enough to annihilate them, Inan. The only way to achieve lasting peace is to cleanse the maggots from this land.”

Her words make my fingers grow cold. To cleanse Orïsha of maji would be finishing Father’s work. It would be another Raid.

Related Characters: Inan (speaker), Queen Nehanda (speaker), King Saran
Page Number: 111
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Twenty-Four Quotes

“Yoruba is sacred to our people. It’s not just something you can learn.”

“This is bigger than that,” I wave my hand. “For skies’ sake, we’re at war—”

“Our magic isn’t about the war!” Zélie shouts. “Our incantations are the history of our people. They’re the very thing your father tried to destroy!” Her chest heaves up and down and she shakes her head. “Titans have already stolen our magic. You can’t steal this, too.”

Related Characters: Zélie (speaker), Amari (speaker), Queen Nehanda, King Saran
Related Symbols: Yoruba
Page Number: 118
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Twenty-Seven Quotes

“These rebels burned your city to the ground. They wanted you and your people to starve. They are the poison of Orïsha! If you do not cut off the hand now, eventually you will be forced to sever the entire limb.”

I clamp my mouth shut, digesting her words. I know as long as these rebels terrorize us, every maji in Orïsha will be seen as a criminal. The Iyika have to go.

But despite knowing this, my insides twist as Ojore grabs the Burner by her hair.

Related Characters: Inan (speaker), Queen Nehanda (speaker), Ojore, Raifa
Page Number: 138
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Twenty-Eight Quotes

Even before Mother interrupted my rally, the support of the Orïshans didn’t touch the boundless joy of these maji. I wonder what it would be like to be embraced like that. To actually have a place where you belong.

[...]

I nod, beginning to understand what it means to be an elder. All this time I assumed it was like occupying the throne, but now I realize that it’s so much more. It isn’t simply a position of power. An elder forms the foundation of their clan’s home.

Related Characters: Amari (speaker), Zélie, Tzain, King Saran
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Thirty Quotes

“If you’re going to be an elder, you need to understand that true magic isn’t about power,” I explain. “It’s something that’s a part of us, something that’s literally in our blood. Our people have suffered for this. Died for this. It’s not something you can just learn. You may have helped us get it back, but right now we’re still being hunted and killed for the very magic tîtáns like you use against us.”

Related Characters: Zélie (speaker), Amari, Ramaya
Page Number: 152
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Thirty-Eight Quotes

“Everyone, fill the bags with as many scrolls as you can. Kenyon, burn the rest.”

“Amari, you can’t!” I whip around, blinking as the ringing sensation in my ears grows louder. [...]

“These are sacred incantations,” I explain. “Histories of our people that will be lost to time!”

Related Characters: Zélie (speaker), Amari (speaker), Inan, Queen Nehanda, Kenyon
Related Symbols: Yoruba
Page Number: 188
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Forty-Two Quotes

“No!” I jerk up, wincing at the pain that shoots up my side. “This temple may be the oldest Orïsha has. It holds the stories of our past!”

Though Chândomblé wasn’t created for me, I feel its pulse like the beating heart of this land. I remember wandering its hallowed grounds in search of Zélie’s path moons ago. Kneeling before the portrait of Ori. This temple was the one place that could quiet the noise in my head.

Related Characters: Inan (speaker), Zélie, Amari, Queen Nehanda
Page Number: 203
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Forty-Five Quotes

“I do not think you’ve gone far enough,” she says. “You speak of this war as if it is the start, but the maji and the monarchy have been fighting for decades. Centuries. Both sides have inflicted great pain on each other. Both sides are filled with mistrust.” [...] “You cannot blame Zélie for her actions any more than you can blame Inan for his past mistakes. You have to look beyond the surface if you truly want to achieve the peace you seek.”

Related Characters: Mama Agba (speaker), Zélie, Amari, Inan, King Saran
Page Number: 230
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Sixty-Four Quotes

“This war didn’t start when magic came back, Inan. You are only seeing the end of a battle countless have given their lives for. By winter’s dawn, we will have wiped the scourge of maji from this land. Even your wretched father couldn’t achieve that.”

“Mother, what are you talking about?” I grab her arm. “We’re fighting the Iyika. Not the maji.”

“We’re fighting them all. We have been for decades. This war started long before the Raid. It began before you were even born.”

Related Characters: Inan (speaker), Queen Nehanda (speaker), Amari, Mama Agba, King Saran
Page Number: 306-07
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Seventy-Six Quotes

Even from afar, I see the blackened corpses that lie in the streets. Corpses that lie there because of me.

I picture Inan and Mother among the dead.

I picture my best friend.

Strike, Amari.

Father’s voice fills my mind as the tears fill my eyes. Though I breathe, my chest stays tight. It feels like I’m being buried alive.

“Orïsha waits for no one,” I whisper the words. “Orïsha waits for no one.”

I will the words to be true as I ride through Ibadan’s gate.

Related Characters: Amari (speaker), Zélie, Inan, Queen Nehanda, King Saran, Jahi, Imani
Page Number: 350
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Seventy-Eight Quotes

“He attacked the king. That foolish boy killed himself.”

It’s the last sword in my gut. I’m surprised when I don’t feel blood. Ojore saved me more times than I could count. He needed me today.

But instead of backing him, I let him down.

I let Mother sacrifice him for the throne.

“He was right,” I whisper. “We’re poison.”

Related Characters: Inan (speaker), Queen Nehanda (speaker), Ojore
Page Number: 355
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Eighty-Three Quotes

Strike, Amari.

I pull at my hair, wishing I could pull his claws out of me as well. His whispers are like the bars Kâmarū crafted from stone, a prison I can’t escape. For so long he was the scar on my back. The tyrant I had to vanquish.

How in the skies did I allow his ghost to become my guiding force?

Related Characters: Amari (speaker), King Saran, Kâmarū
Page Number: 372
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Eighty-Five Quotes

“I see the truth now. We pretend that magic is the root of our pain when everything rotten in this kingdom begins and ends with us. There’s no helping it.” I clench my fist. “Amari proved that in Ibadan. This throne corrupts even the purest of hearts. As long as it exists, people will continue to tear this kingdom apart.”

Related Characters: Inan (speaker), Amari, Queen Nehanda
Page Number: 384
Explanation and Analysis: