The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War, #2)

“‘I was trying to see what it was like,’ he said. […] ‘How they felt. In the moment it happened. In their very last seconds. I wanted to know how they felt when it ended.’”

This quotation characterizes Kitay, who is established as a foil to Rin early on. He is highly ethical and sympathizes even with Nikan’s enemy, the Federation of Mugen, which was responsible for the genocide of his people. While Rin is driven by selfish rage, Kitay is driven by empathy and logic. Here, he is explaining why he burned his arms after witnessing the genocide of the Mugenese.

“I am going to transform the Empire into a republic—a great republic, founded on the individual freedom of men. Instead of Warlords, we would have elected officials. Instead of an Empress, we would have a parliament, overseen by an elected president. I would make it impossible for a single person like Su Daji to bring ruin upon this realm.”

Vaisra explains his philosophy and the justification for his rebellion. This romanticized and neat picture of rebellion wins over Rin, who hadn’t thought about the fate of the country past her revenge, showing her short-sightedness. Though Vaisra ultimately fails in his quest, Rin learns from his philosophy of civilian empowerment.

“At first when Rin saw the tops of buildings emerging from the river she thought that they were driftwood, or rocks. Then they got close enough that she could see the curving roofs of drowned pagodas, thatched houses lying under the surface. […]

Then she saw the bodies—half eaten, bloated and discolored, all with empty sockets because the glutinous eyes had already been nibbled away. They blocked up the river, decomposing at such a rate that the crew had to sweep away the maggots that threatened to climb on board.”

This quote highlights The Destruction and Inhumanity of War. Rin observes the gruesome, destructive aftermath of Chaghan and Qara’s decision to break the dam that ended the Third Poppy War. They chose to sacrifice the lives of many Nikara to do this. Though it has been some time since that event, the effects linger, showing that the destructive effects of war are long-lasting.

“‘And your face?’ she asked. ‘Does it still hurt?’

[…]

‘It hurt for a long time. Now I just can’t feel anything.’

‘What if I touched you?’ She was struck by the urge to run her thumb over the scars. To caress them.

‘I wouldn’t feel that either.’”

Nezha’s scars are reminders of his abduction and torture by the Mugenese, highlighting the destruction and inhumanity of war and its lasting impact. The idea that Nezha won’t be able to “feel” Rin touching him because of these scars foreshadows how his desire to prove himself to his family and his fear of his power will keep him from connecting with Rin.

“She was still looking at Vaisra, who was smiling more widely than she’d ever seen him. He looked pleased. Proud. And somehow, the jolt of satisfaction that gave her felt better than anything she’d smoked in months.”

This quotation shows how praise can be weaponized to manipulate someone who is in a vulnerable state of mind. It highlights the theme of The Complexities of Power and Oppression. Rin will continue to seek Vaisra’s praise, which will make her malleable to his desires even as his tactics grow more ruthless.

“‘I want a seat at the table. Chief strategist.’

‘You’re rather young for that,’ Vaisra said drily.

‘No, I’m not. You made Nezha a general. And I’ve always been smarter than Nezha. You know I’m brilliant. I’m a fucking genius. Put me in charge of operations and you won’t lose a single battle, I swear.’ Kitay’s voice broke at the end. Rin saw his throat bob, saw the veins protruding from his jaw, and knew that he was holding back tears.”

Though Kitay is young, he is confident about his intellectual abilities and advocates for himself in his new alliance with Vaisra. At the same time, Kitay’s vulnerability as he comes close to tears shows that he is indeed very young and has been saddled with weighty responsibilities. Rin, Nezha, and Kitay are all barely out of their teenage years and are faced with difficult choices.

“You could launch this empire into a glorious new and united age, and you could also destroy us. What you don’t get to do is remain neutral. When you have the power that you do, your life is not your own.”

Vaisra’s advice makes him seem like a good advisor and leader to Rin, who does not know that she could just as well apply this advice to Vaisra himself, who uses her and seeks to destroy her after the war is over. He manipulates her into thinking she is making her own decisions, showing his effective, if exploitative, statesmanship and highlighting the theme of the complexities of power and oppression. At the same time, advice like this eventually empowers Rin to make her own decisions on what to do with her power.

“‘We didn’t come here to lend ships at your will, Vaisra. This is an investigation.’

‘Into what?’

‘Whether the Nikara are ready for civilization. We do not distribute Hesperian aid lightly.’”

This quotation characterizes the Hesperians and shows the complexities of power and oppression. They believe they are better than Nikan and want Vaisra to prove he is worthy of their help, though they don’t tell him the terms of this assessment. They refuse to take accountability for Nikan’s present instability, which has largely been caused by their interference.

“It’s like I’m frozen in one moment. And no one knows it because everyone else has moved on except me, but to me everything that’s happened since Golyn Niis is a dream, and I know it’s not real because I’m still behind the wall. And the worst part—the worst part is that I don’t know who’s causing the screams. It was easier than only the Federation was evil. Now I can’t figure out who’s right or wrong, and I’m the smart one, I’m always supposed to have the right answer, but I don’t.”

Kitay discusses how trauma can affect people in the long term, highlighting the destruction and inhumanity of war. Though the Massacre at Golyn Niis is over, it is as vivid in his memory as if he is still living through it. This compounds with the fact that he begins to doubt the moral high ground of his alliance with Vaisra.

“‘Since your eyes are smaller, you see within a smaller periphery than we do.’ Petra pointed to the diagrams as she explained. ‘Your skin has a yellowish tint that indicates malnutrition or an unbalanced diet. Now see your skull shapes. Your brains, which we know to be an indicator of your rational capacity, are by nature smaller.’”

This quotation shows The Impact of Religion on Conflict and Conquest when it is used to justify racism and colonialism. Petra uses pseudoscientific physiognomy to explain, justify, and normalize Hesperian racism.

“She wished she could discard the Hesperian faith more easily, but so many parts of it made sense. She wanted to believe it. She wanted to see her catastrophic actions as a product of Chaos, an entropic mistake, and to believe that she could repent for them by reinforcing order in the Empire, reversing devastation the way one pieced together a broken teacup.”

Rin finds herself wanting to latch onto this aspect of Makerism, though she also calls the religion a “joke.” She has seen evidence of her gods, but she wants to believe in Makerism because it would allow her to export responsibility for her actions onto an external evil force called “Chaos.” This quotation also shows how religious ideology can sometimes prey on vulnerable people.

“Nezha stood beneath the Griffon’s mast, arms stretched out to the tower of water as if reaching for something.

He met Rin’s gaze, and her heart skipped a beat.

His eyes were shot through with streaks of ocean blue—not the eerie cerulean gleam of Feylen’s glare, but a darker cobalt, the color of cold gems.

‘You too?’ she whispered.”

One of the big plot twists in the novel is the revelation that Nezha is a shaman. Rin has felt isolated in her suffering only to find one of her closest friends has a similar experience. She regrets his involvement with the gods at first, then later envies and insults his refusal of his power.

“The Sorqan Sira cast her a disdainful smile. ‘You’re little children, grasping in a void that you don’t understand for toys that don’t belong to you.’

Rin wanted to slap the contempt off her face. ‘The gods don’t belong to you, either.’

‘But we know that. And that is the simple difference.’”

The theme of the impact of religion on conflict and conquest gains a new aspect when Rin and Kitay meet the Ketreyids. The Ketreyids believe people have a responsibility not to abuse their connection with the gods and the spiritual realm, lest it have devastating material consequences. This quotation also points out Rin’s similarity to the Trifecta, particularly Daji.

“Altan was no hero. That was so clear to her now, so stunningly clear that she felt as if she’d been doused in ice water, submerged and reborn.

She didn’t owe him her guilt.

She didn’t owe him anything.”

Rin is finally able to free herself from the burden of Altan’s legacy when she stops revering him as a hero and recognizes him as a fallible human being. This freedom is an important point in Rin’s healing journey to become her own person.

“All of her secrets, her insecurities, her guilt, and her rage had been laid bare. He saw her cruelest, most brutal desires. He saw parts of her that she didn’t even understand herself. […]

And she could see him. […] She saw how scared he was, trapped and isolated in his own mind, watching his world break down around him because of irrationalities that he would not fix.”

The anchor bond is a spiritual link that makes Rin and Kitay two halves of one unit. Their formal linkage literalizes their narrative role as foils throughout the trilogy, as their opposite but complementary personalities are merged.

“My mother wishes I’d died that day. I wish I’d died. I wish it had been me. But it’s selfish to even wish I were dead—because if I had died, then Mingzha would have lived, and the Dragon Lord would have cursed him like he cursed me, he would have touched him like he touched me.”

Nezha tries to explain the nature of his link to the Dragon Lord, who gives Nezha his powers. The Dragon has a manifestation in the material world, unlike the Phoenix. As such, it was able to physically assault Mingzha and Nezha. It is implied here that it also sexually assaults Nezha, which is one of the reasons that Nezha is traumatized by it.

“At fourteen she’d been lucky enough to study under a tutor who spoke near-standard Sinegardian. And she’d gone to Sinegard young enough that her bad habits were quickly and brutally knocked out of her. She’d adapted to fit in. She’d erased her identity to survive.

And it humiliated her that the southerners were now seeking her out, that they had the audacity to wander close to her, because they made her more like them by sheer proximity.”

Nikara society has many internal hierarchies of privilege, highlighting the complexities of power and oppression. In general, northerners are aristocratic and have pale complexions, whereas southerners are not as wealthy and are darker. The northern accent is considered “standard,” which leads to dialectic discrimination as well. To assimilate, Rin tried to rid herself of any sign of her heritage. So, she feels ashamed to be associated with the poor southern refugees in Arlong, where she has a position as a commander and ally of the Dragon Warlord.

“But the basket was filled with dumplings, each fried to golden perfection and pressed into the pattern of a lotus flower. […]

The Dragon devours his son.

‘The Empress enjoins you to enjoy a dumpling of the rarest meat,’ said the messenger. ‘She expects you might recognize the flavor.’”

This quotation reveals the destruction and inhumanity of war, since Daji has baked Vaisra’s son into dumplings as a show of power and intimidation. It also symbolizes how Vaisra, the Dragon Warlord, will metaphorically “eat” his own family and allies to keep power.

“‘The south would rise for you,’ Gurubai insisted. ‘Do you have any idea how much power you hold? You are the last Speerly. The entire continent knows your name. If you raised your sword, tens of thousands would follow. They’d fight for you. You’d be their goddess.’”

The southern Warlord Gurubai attempts to get Rin to revolt against Vaisra before Daji invades. Without Vaisra’s knowledge, the south has mythologized Rin, who is one of their own. This foreshadows the events of The Burning God, where Rin leads a southern rebellion.

“It seemed so foolish now to imagine that as long as Vaisra vouched for her, she was safe from those arquebuses. Months ago she’d been lost and afraid, desperate to find an anchor, and that had primed her to trust him. But she’d also seen, over and over again by now, how easily Vaisra manipulated those around him like shadow puppets.”

Rin finally realizes the full extent of the complexities of power and oppression, especially with regard to Vaisra’s complicity in his people’s oppression, his ruthlessness, and the danger she will be in after the war when he will need the Hesperians more than he will need Rin. Rin witnessed Vaisra betray multiple people before realizing he’d betray her, too.

“If they lost, their rebellion would be vanquished and Nikan would descend into darkness for another several decades at least, rent apart by factional warfare and a lingering Federation presence.

But if they won, the Empire would become a Republic, primed to hurtle into a new and glorious future with Vaisra at the helm and the Hesperians at his side.

And then Rin would have to worry about what happened after.”

This quotation shows the stakes of the battle in Arlong. Long destabilized by war and foreign invasion, Nikan sits at a crux with its future at stake. One possibility for the country that Rin does not realize at this point is the one that comes true: The millions of disenfranchised people in the south can rise up against their oppressors, Empire and Republic alike.

“She hadn’t seen the city outside the infirmary until now, and the devastation was painful to look at. The fires in the outer city had burned for nearly a day and a half after the battle, extinguished only by rainfall. The palace remained intact, though blackened at the bottom. The lush greenery of the canal islands had been replaced by withered dead trees and ash. The infirmaries were overcrowded with the wounded. The dead lay in neat lines by the beach, awaiting a proper burial.”

This quotation shows the destruction and inhumanity of war. Not only do wars destroy human life, but they also decimate landscapes and cities. This can take many years to restore, if they are restored at all.

“She’d known Vaisra was a manipulator. She’d known the Hesperians would come after her. But never had she dreamed that Nezha might hurt her. […]

Fool, she thought. You loved him and you trusted him, and you walked straight into his trap.

After Altan, she should have known better.”

Nezha’s betrayal of Rin is one of the novel’s biggest plot twists. Rin believes Nezha set a “trap” for her; however, he tried to get her to conform to Hesperia’s vision of the world multiple times, including moments before he betrayed her, though Rin did not understand his meaning. However, forced assimilation is not true acceptance. This puts Nezha into a long line of men who have exploited Rin’s vulnerability and manipulated her, including Altan and Vaisra.