The Gilded Ones

“Infinite Wisdoms caution against talking to unmasked women, against even looking at them. They may be demons in disguise.”

The Infinite Wisdoms are texts created by men to hide the true nature of The Gilded Ones and justify the oppression of women. Deka, when seeing White Hands unmasked for the first time, finds her “monstrous” (38). There is a tiny bit of truth here; White Hands is in disguise, but she is a disguised daughter of the goddesses who will help Deka learn the truth.

“They enrich themselves by your suffering—parasites, quite literally draining the blood from you.”

White Hands begins Deka’s reeducation with explaining how the Elders are using her as a gold mine, debunking their status as holy religious figures. The men had to categorize the alaki as demonic in order to justify profiting off of their gold blood. This can be compared to golden idols that were demonized but also sold by the Catholic church.

“It’s the Ritual that gives legitimacy to the murder.”

On the journey to the training grounds, Deka talks with Britta about being alaki. During this conversation, Deka realizes that the religious ceremony was simply a way to justify killings that otherwise would have been objectionable. Both Britta and White Hands help Deka unlearn the teachings that led to her trauma.

“Four stars in the symbol. Four Gilded Ones.”

After rescuing Deka from the Elder’s murder cellar, White Hands gives her a seal, or “ansetha” (37), with obsidian stars. This marks which training ground Deka will be placed in, as well as her divine bloodline. Here, she still believes the Gilded Ones are demons, but this is a subtle hint that White Hands is the daughter of the Gilded Ones and the true purpose of the training is to overthrow the men and free the goddesses.

“Her lips firm into a bright, determined smile. A mask that does its utmost to hide the pain, the uncertainty shining in her eyes.”

Britta’s mask is one of cheer, despite having faced adversity. When Deka realizes the suffering that Britta hides with her friendly chatter, they vow to be friends. The acceptance and trust between the girls fit into the symbolism of masks; masks can be emotional as well as physical.

“I’ve never smelled flowers like these. These are subtle and elegantly scented, their fragrance shimmering around me on delicate waves.”

When Deka wakes from her weeks-long sleep on a ship as they arrive at the docks of Hemaira, her senses are heightened. This sensory perception and the ability to survive without food (that Britta ate to cover for Deka, a hint at the belly-related injury that she sustains later) marks Deka as different from other alaki. Britta’s willingness to help Deka despite her increasingly unusual qualities sets her apart from the men and women Deka knew in the village and why they become best friends.

“Girls had their virtue forced from them, their lives devastated, and all he cares about is doing more work. He’s just like the jatu who just left with their false promises of rights and freedoms.”

When Deka goes through the administrative process for becoming one of the emperor’s soldiers in Jor Hall, she is asked if her transporter (White Hands) harmed her. Unlike Belcalis and other alaki who were sold into brothels, Deka only had to endure multiple killings. The (male) jatu bureaucrat is only concerned about additional paperwork, while the girls are traumatized for life.

“Purity is an illusion.”

In the wagon ride from Jor Hall to Warthu Bera training grounds, Deka and Britta still have some faith in the Infinite Wisdoms. Belcalis, with her experience working against her will in a brothel, argues against purity and, in the end, is correct. The notions of purity that the patriarchal religion taught merely existed to oppress women and hide the truth about the imprisoned goddesses.

“I’ve never heard a woman speak like that, never heard such authority coming from a female throat.”

When Deka encounters Karmoko (the honorific for teacher) Thandiwe, she is surprised by female strength and power. The misinformed inhabitants of Irfut discriminated against women in many ways; one way was preventing them from working in any position of authority. This passage foreshadows how Deka will develop her voice, one that can control all deathshrieks and alaki.

“Forms are battle stances—each one a tiny part of the dance you will soon become intimately familiar with. The dance of death.” 

Karmoko Huon, who appears non-threatening at first but turns out to be quite skilled, teaches combat to Deka and the other alaki. Dance used to describe the movements of martial arts, as well as connecting Huon’s delicate appearance with her deadly skills. When Deka defeats the emperor at the end of the novel, she cites her lessons with Huon for her ability to make the emperor believe she is weaker than she truly is and therein gain information about him and his fighting style.

“Are we girls, or are we demons? Are we going to die, or are we going to survive?”

This passage is the first time Deka stabs herself in the palm; here, she is rallying the alaki to run full out when training with their uruni for the first time—to not hold back. Deka’s motivation is to survive in order to find love. Later, the blood from her palm unites alaki and deathshriek, as well as revives the goddesses.

“Here is what I promised you: the Death Strikers, the most elite deathshriek-killing force in all Otera. The crown jewels of your new regiment.” 

When White Hands introduces Deka and the core members of her raiding party to the emperor, she uses the nickname the villagers give the alaki and uruni. The warriors’ prowess is actually being cultivated for overthrowing the patriarchy; White Hands’s strategizing includes turning the emperor’s “jewels” against him. This passage demonstrates her confidence in the long-term strategy and reinforces her characterization as a spider weaving webs.

“The physical body—it heals. The scars fade. But the memories are forever. Even when you forget, they remain inside, taunting you, resurfacing when you least expect.” 

Belcalis tells Deka that the wounds from her time in the brothels have faded, but she is still haunted. This is speaking to the physical and mental divide that can occur as a result of trauma. Deka, Belcalis, and others with divine blood transform their traumatic experiences into a quest for freedom.

“Never forget: the same gift they praise you for now, they will kill you for later [...] they’ll all love you now, where there are deathshrieks to conquer. The moment that changes, they’ll remember you’re a woman. That you’re unnatural...That is how they are. That is always how such men are.” 

When Deka begins to exhibit deathshriek features while performing magic, White Hands warns her to hide her changed face. To the patriarchal society, alaki are valuable only for their blood or their ability to enact violence. White Hands created the alaki army to eventually turn on the emperor (as he turned on White Hands and anyone in his family of divine lineage).

“Calderis [...] would have become a smith had women been allowed to do so.” 

Given the significance of armor and arming sequences in both historical and modern fantasy, it is telling that a skilled woman in Otera is not allowed to simply work as a blacksmith. With the help of White Hands, Calderis is able to expand her role beyond serving as a soldier for the emperor and make golden armor in Warthu Bera. It is implied that in the world White Hands is trying to reclaim, Calderis—and all women—will finally have the freedom to pursue their craft of choice.

“Virginity, no virginity—the choice should be a personal one.” 

After hearing Adwapa talk about her lesbian experiences and Keita’s desire to wait to have sex until after marriage, Deka finally abandons the Infinite Wisdom’s repressive teachings about sexuality. In featuring and allowing LGBTQ characters to be out (and live to the end of the novel), Forna marks The Gilded Ones as a quest for acceptance of diversity. The freedom the women fight for is not only to avoid prostitution and murder, but also to be empowered to make informed, consensual decisions about all sexual activities.

“It’s Britta, impaled on a spear. My entire world narrows to the dark blue blood spilling from her gut, staining the sand with horrific color.”

Britta’s near-mortal injury is foreshadowed in many lines of dialogue about her belly. Deka’s love for Britta causes her to use her mind-controlling powers on her best friend as well as other alaki to ensure Britta’s survival. However, Deka only seeks revenge on the deathshrieks that cause this wound; she never extrapolates that all deathshrieks are evil, making it easy for her to fight alongside the deathshrieks later.

“I approach them, noting the terror rising from their skins, a shimmery gray color only I can see using the combat state.”

This passage is another example of Deka’s heightened senses. It also references a magical system from Brandon Sanderson’s novels that relates color perception with levels of magical ability. In the fantasy genre, one important component is how magic functions; Forna connects magical ability with divine blood.

“Keita tastes like star fruits and fire. Keita tastes like home. The kiss is suspended in time, magic coiling between us.” 

The theme of love is expressed in these descriptions of a first kiss. It is important to note that this kiss takes place while Deka’s dismembered body is still healing; Keita cannot hold her limbs but can kiss her slowly reattaching head suspended in a salt lake. Rather than extrasensory perception and systems of occult workings, this magic is one of first love.

“Once you wake the goddess, they’ll make Otera what it once was: a land of freedom, a land where men and women ruled equally, where women weren’t abused, beaten, raped. Where they weren’t imprisoned in their homes, told they were sinful and unholy.” 

After Deka learns White Hands’s true name, Fatu, the women talk about reclaiming an old gynocentric religion. White Hands’s language in this passage will be familiar to readers of Starhawk’s Spiral Dance, which was used as the basis for the religion of the priestesses in The Mists of Avalon, a seminal feminist retelling of the Arthurian legend. The Gilded Ones, however, is about warrior women returning to power rather than the dying of magic as well as Arthur (as seen in Malory’s classic title, L’Morte de Arthur).

“They called us demons, even though we are the daughters of goddesses! [...] This time, the truth in my voice cannot be denied.”

Deka’s voice changes from magically controlling deathshrieks and alaki to convincing these women with truth rather than magic. While Deka will use her magical powers on allies when her loved ones are in danger of dying, she refuses to take away the free will of women when rallying them to fight for her cause of freedom. The reader learns the truth as Deka does; the novel’s slow reveal mimics her education and re-education.

“I don’t actually need to use my gift to command others anymore. They do as I say.” 

Deka also uses a different voice when commanding the emperor’s jatu in the final battle. Instead of magically controlling the men, she convinces them by putting her sword to the emperor’s neck. In the end, Deka has gone from subjugated object to powerful divine usurper.

“He kisses me so suddenly, I have to hold on to him to ground myself. I’m overcome by the warmth, the bliss, of our mouths moving in perfect harmony.” 

Keita gives Deka this second kiss after they have defeated the emperor and freed the goddesses. It’s a celebration of victory as well as love; they are free to love as they please now that the confines of the patriarchy have been removed. Deka ensured Keita’s survival during the battle, and he enjoys being with a powerful woman.