63 pages • 2 hours read
Ashlords
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Themes
The Relationship Between Mercy and Power
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
In Ashlords, the Ashlord Empire reigns in “blood and fire,” a motto that highlights how its power is derived from the threat of violence against the Dividian and Longhands. The novel interrogates notions of power, and how to maintain it, through the relationships between the Ashlords, the Longhands, and the Dividian. Historically, the Ashlords have maintained their power through ruthlessness and violence. However, the novel argues that the way the Ashlords maintain their power isn’t sustainable, as evidenced by the rebellions plotted by both the Longhands and the Dividian, and therefore doesn’t equal true power. Over the course of the novel, Adrian comes to understand the true nature of power and its connection to mercy through both history and personal experience.
In early scenes, the novel establishes the Ashlords’ methods of holding power through Adrian’s family history, offering the Longhands’ perspectives on the Ashlords. Before sending Adrian to Furia to compete in the Races, Ben takes him to the cemetery where Adrian’s mother is buried. He reminds his son of the peaceful day they spent at the Crossing match, telling him, “That’s all an illusion. A false piece the Ashlords allow us to have. […] They did all this to send a message. You are not free. You are at their mercy. And if you rise again, this is what they will try to take from you” (63). This is a pivotal moment for Adrian, who never knew that his mother was among the 907 firstborn Longhands killed in the Purge after the Rebellion. Although he knew the history, it had never felt so personal. In this moment, Adrian comes to understand that the Empire’s false peace is bought with merciless violence.
Adrian comes to understand the relationship between mercy and power through his own experience as well. He gradually adopts a different perspective on the relationship between mercy and power through his interactions with Capri during the Races. When he almost kills Capri, Adrian is faced with a difficult decision: Leave Capri behind to die or take him along and risk being slowed down. His decision to save Capri’s life is not only to save himself from a murder charge but also to set himself apart from the Ashlords. Capri himself admits that his family will not take him back, paralyzed from the neck down as he is, a reminder of how merciless the Ashlords are. Adrian’s decision to let Capri live differentiates him from them, a fact that he reminds Capri of:
I don’t care what you do after this. I don’t care if you ever walk again. But every breath you take from here on out? Mercy. Every time your parents give you a hug? Mercy. Every time you see the sun rise? Mercy. You’re alive because of me. I gave you everything from here on out, and you’ll never forget that (295).
Capri’s life, however short, is a testament to the fact that a Longhand was more merciful than the Ashlords. Adrian recognizes that the cycle of violence will never end until the victor shows unconditional mercy rather than merciless subjugation. Through the example of Adrian’s behavior, contrasted with the actions of the Ashlords, the novel argues that the only answer to the end of violence is mercy and that true power comes from sustaining that mercy. By juxtaposing Adrian’s actions against the Ashlords’ historical mercilessness, the novel sends the message that true strength is the ability to show mercy, even when one has the power to do the opposite.
The Effects of Familial Pressure
While the protagonists of Ashlords come from radically different backgrounds, they share one fundamental trait: They all value family and look to family for validation. Both familial support and pressure drive Imelda, Adrian, and Pippa throughout their character arcs, informing their actions and decisions before and during the Races.
Imelda’s love for her family is complicated by her independent spirit, but over the course of the novel, she learns how to support her family without giving up her authentic self. Imelda is motivated by a love for her family and a wish to give them a better life, even if she does not conform to her family’s expectations. As a Dividian from a poor, rural village, she is expected to marry young and support the family; she reflects, “[S]ome of the girls my age already have matches lined up. They’ll be married in a few years, making babies in a few more. I’m not them” (48). Imelda’s refusal of this life disappoints her mother, who sees a successful marriage as the road to financial stability for the family. Despite this pressure, Imelda loves her family deeply and is willing to sacrifice everything for them. Her first act of rebellion, outdancing Oxanos, is performed with her family in mind and is her way of protecting them from the Ashlords’ cruelty. She is willing to risk arrest (or worse) to save her family, foreshadowing her actions during the Races, where she risks her life to provide financial stability for her family. By the end of the novel, Imelda has learned that what makes her different from her family is also what allows her to support and protect them.
Unlike Imelda, Adrian follows closely in his father’s footsteps and unquestioningly accepts his demands. He only has his father since his mother, the firstborn of her family, was killed during the Purge after the last rebellion. Adrian’s devotion to his father drives his faith in the second Longhand rebellion, though the pressure this puts on him eventually causes him to question his father’s motives. Though Adrian does not realize it at first, Ben raised him to be an instrument for revenge against the Empire for her death. The Dread causes Adrian to question his father for the first time by forcing Adrian to recognize that he is a pawn in Ben’s plans: “They’re going to kill you, Adrian Ford. And when they kill the favorite son of the Reach, it will start a revolution. Victor or martyr, your father gets his war” (156). Adrian is never fully able to reconcile with this new, tarnished image of his father. Instead, he develops a more critical eye toward family, learning to look beyond his father’s approval to the larger Longhand community for purpose.
Pippa is an Ashlord, with all the power and privilege afforded by that status, but she, too, faces family pressure. Pippa’s parents, Prama and Marcos, taught her everything they knew about racing, giving her the skills to beat her competition. Prama and Marcos also provide Pippa with the model of the ideal marriage, the type of life she would like to have with Bravos. However, despite being role models for Pippa, Prama and Marcos put her under intense pressure to be perfect in every way. Prama even goes so far as to ensure Pippa’s victory by cheating, colluding with the gods without Pippa’s consent. Pippa struggles both with Prama’s betrayal and with the truth that her mother ends up being right: Pippa is only able to beat Adrian through Quinn’s intervention.
Although all three of the protagonists face different forms of familial pressure, each one finds a way to come to terms with how family pressures have driven them to discover truths about themselves. Imelda offers her family financial support, Adrian succeeds in inciting the Reach’s rebellion, and Pippa wins the Races, but with a new understanding of her own limitations. They all achieve the goals that their families set out for them, but in ways that support their individuality and growing sense of self.
The Different Approaches to Rebellion
Rebellion is one of the most important themes driving the plot of Ashlords. Through Imelda, Adrian, Pippa, and even Quinn, the novel explores how rebellion manifests through the distinct ways that each of the characters rebels against the social structure of the Ashlord Empire.
Adrian’s rebellion is part of a larger organized effort from the start. His role in the Longhand rebellion is laid out for him by his father before he sets out for the Races: His task is to win and motivate the Longhands through his display of superior force and skill. He must toe a fine line between keeping his true motives secret from the scrutiny of the imperial forces and igniting the pride of the Reach. Unlike the other characters, Adrian has a whole network of collaborators, including an Ashlord god, aiding him. His rebellion is paradoxically enacted through playing by the rules, defeating the Ashlords at their own game, and dismantling the idea that they are innately superior.
The novel also explores rebellion through Imelda’s story, although, unlike Adrian, she has no plans to do so when the Races begin. Her decision to rebel comes when she realizes early on that she has no real chance in the Races—the odds are stacked in the Ashlords’ favor. After realizing that the Dividian people always lose when playing by the Ashlords’ rules, she decides that breaking the Races—creating her own terms for victory—is the only way she can win. This rebellion is foreshadowed early in the novel when Imelda outwits Oxanos, the Ashlord who has demanded a dance. She appears to acquiesce but then rebels, refusing to play by his rules. This act emphasizes Imelda’s rebellious nature while giving her an idea of how to rebel at the Races. Although she comes to rebellion differently, the effect is the same: Her refusal to play by the Ashlords’ rules sparks a wider rebellion among her people. Imelda’s rebellion unites her people—she literally operates outside the rule of the Races by jumping the track barriers, showing that resistance is possible despite the Empire’s power imbalance.
Although not as overt as Adrian’s and Imelda’s rebellions, Pippa and Quinn also rebel against the Ashlords’ strictures. Quinn’s people are enslaved and mistreated by the Ashlord gods; her very participation in the Races is designed to help her gain the power to rebel against the gods and free her people. By aiding Pippa and gaining her trust, she gains Pippa’s blood, which will grant her offensive power in the underworld. In turn, Quinn’s influence facilitates a personal rebellion in Pippa. While Pippa is an Ashlord, she does not completely adhere to the Ashlords’ cutthroat values. Through Quinn, she learns empathy and mercy—a private rebellion against the values with which she was raised. Like Adrian and Imelda, Pippa pushes back against Ashlord society and her parents’ teaching, despite her position of privilege. With each of these characters, the novel explores the nature of rebellion from a different perspective, illustrating how the seeds of rebellion can take root and the different ways it can be executed.
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