The irony of sexuality
Ironically, the caravan brothers never knew about the romantic relationship between Demane and Isa although the readers know. Given the time they spent together with the two, they should have been able to tell that something was going on with them. Their ignorance of the situation is apparent when they ask Demane to tell them about his former lover referring to the lover as a woman and not a man. They just expected that if Demane was talking about a lover then it has to be a woman. The idea of him dating another man had not occurred to them at all.
The irony of downplaying the strength
It is ironic how Demane downplays his strength when he is complimented by one of the brothers for defeating Isa during training. They expected him to gloat and show off like a normal person would with strength like his. He was a very strong man owing to him being a demigod as well.
The irony of the headscarf
Issa had beautiful hair as described severally in the book. Ironically, he hides that hair under a headscarf instead of showing it off. People of all gender are known for showing good hair so Issa acts on the contrary having all that good hair and hiding it.
The irony of seeking death
It is ironic how Issa is seeking death although trains hard to keep himself and the others safe. He wants Demane to be the one that gets to kill him which is ironic because who wants their lover to kill them? You would expect that a lover would protect you from death but not in his case. He has a twisted way of being at peace with Demane killing him although Demane is not aware of this making it a situational irony.
The irony of taking the Wildeep route
The merchant had warned Demane about the Jukiere who killed their men through the wildeeps and therefore should not follow that route. It is only expected for Suresh to heed that advice and change the routes but instead, he is still determined to follow the wildeeps where danger lurks.
