Gaping like a black mouth
The author introduces the village of Riverside as calm, but she uses a simile suggesting that the village is dangerous. The author writes, "Only here and there a window, its glass long shattered, gaped like a black mouth with broken teach, sucking now into its maw." This simile is fundamental in the opening statement because it makes readers aware that not all will be rosy. After all, the unfolding events in Riverside are scary. The village has sworders who have perfected killing, and one of them is Richard. Richard is merciless, and he rarely misses his targets. The author symbolically uses the "black mouth" in the simile to represent Richard's fierceness in sword fighting.
Peeping like little pink shells
The elegance of Mary, Lady Halliday, and her companion is compared to little pink shells. The author writes, "The tips of their fingers round and smooth peeped continually through the lace-like little pink shells." The unique qualities of Mary Lady Halliday distinguish her from the rest of the crowd. Every man admires Lady Halliday because she is shy, calm, respectful, and beautiful. Most people in town compare Lady Halliday to little pink shell because she makes the best wife to Crescent Chancellor Basil.
Hovering like a black bat
One of Richard's legacies is having a good heart and willingness to train others who want to be like him. One of his student's is compared to a bat. The author writes, "It was his young gentleman, the University student, wrapped in his scholar's robe, hovering like a black bat over the frying pan in the ornamental fireplace." The significance of this simile is rooted in Richard's good heart to share his skills and in the determination of his student, who is ready to perfect his skills.
