Sorrow and Starlight: Zodiac Academy 8

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, physical abuse, emotional abuse, antigay bias, and cursing.

“I was holding onto my own mind with everything I had left, but the Shadow Beast’s desires were surrounding each of my thoughts and snuffing them out like a raging storm against a flickering flame.”

Darcy is fighting not only a literal transformation into a monstrous creature but also the existential dread of losing herself entirely to the Shadow Beast. The simile of a storm against a flame reinforces the idea that her very self is fragile. Her fear of losing herself mirrors real-world experiences of battling overwhelming emotions, trauma, or even manipulative influences that threaten to redefine a person against their will.

“Your soul is bound to mine […] And I won’t rest until I make every star in the heavens fall for trying to cleave us apart.”

The stars are not just passive observers in this world; they are active forces shaping the lives of the characters. By vowing vengeance upon them, Tory directly challenges the idea that fate is immutable. She refuses to be a victim of circumstances and instead positions herself as a force unbound by fate or morality, engaging in The Struggle Between Fate and Free Will.

“That door was impenetrable, both the metal itself and the spells I had used to seal it in place. But as my heart raced in fierce denial of what I was seeing before me, I realized what she had done, how she had bypassed the magic by destroying the center of the door and how very easily she had managed this act of horror.”

Lionel’s vault is a symbol of his dominance, greed, and security. That it has been violated so easily by Tory’s fire causes a deep, visceral fear that he is unaccustomed to feeling. His certainty in his own invincibility has been fractured. Tory specifically stole his horde. As a dragon, it is the source of his power. The theft isn’t just an attack on Lionel’s material possessions; it is a symbolic castration and a challenge to his