Genre
Fantasy
Setting and Context
Set in modern-day Canada and the mystic realm of Fionavar.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narration from the perspective of the five students.
Tone and Mood
Foreboding, Mythic, Distressed, Miserable
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonists are the five students Kevin, Paul, Dave, Kimberly, and Jennifer and the antagonist is Rakoth Maugrim and his dark forces.
Major Conflict
After Rakoth curses Fionavar with prolonged winter, he proceeds with his dark minions to fight with the forces from the Light. Meanwhile, Darien battles with the choice of whether to embrace his father’s dark side or fight for the light.
Climax
The climax occurs when Lisen's Circlet lights up after Darien chooses to reject the dark and destroys his father.
Foreshadowing
The Circlet of Lisen failing to glow in Ysanne's cottage foreshadows Darien’s choice in the final battle.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
The book references Norse and Celtic mythology and the Arthurian legend with the introduction of King Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere.
Imagery
“The breeze was still blowing. There were flowers, green grass, the lake, the summer sun. And fear, densely woven, at the very root of everything, threatening to take it all away: across a chasm, along a shadowed road, north to the heart of evil.”
Paradox
Rather than intervene in Darien’s decision to seek his father, Jennifer lets him leave which paradoxically prompts him to come back.
Parallelism
The narrative parallels the Arthurian character, Guinevere, with Jennifer as she is reincarnated within her. Furthermore, Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere attempt to amend their sins in their renowned fate.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
“The wind carried lashings of sea spray that stung when they struck, and the sky had grown darker even in the moments of their descent.”
