Noisy rotunda (Auditory Imagery)
At his first conclave, Rowan observes that “The rotunda became increasingly crowded with scythes, and the marble walls, floor, and dome made voices echo into a cacophony. Rowan tried to hear more individual conversations, but they were lost in the din.” In this example of auditory imagery, the sound of the crowd becomes overwhelming, a "cacophony" and a "din" of echoes that prevent Rowan from hearing individual elements.
Thick smell of blood (Olfactory Imagery)
After being beaten by Scythe Goddard and his elegy, Rowan “was covered in blood. It stung his eyes; the smell was thick in his nostrils.” The olfactory imagery here adds disgust, evoking the smell of blood and associating it further with the haptic sensations of stinging and thickness. Specifying that the smell is thick in his nostrils creates the sense that the smell will linger for a long time.
A gold air balloon (Visual Imagery)
High Blade Xenocrates “stood out like a hot air balloon in an otherwise empty field,” literally "festooned" with gold adornments. In this example of visual imagery, Shusterman compares Xenocrates to an enormous and incongruous object, the only thing of its kind in its surroundings. Evoking the visual image of a hot air balloon illustrates Xenocrates's size as well as his colorful, noticeable presentation, even among the many colorful partygoers.
Warm healing nanites (Haptic Imagery)
After Scythe Faraday's ring freezes Citra's finger, her pain-killing nanites react quickly. "She could now feel warmth flowing through her body as her healing nanites released morphine." In this example of haptic imagery, Shusterman uses a familiar touch-based sensation (warmth) to explain something that doesn't exist in our world (nanites), allowing readers to relate to Citra's fantastical experience.
