“No prophecy decides what happens to me [...] I‘m not letting a bunch of words or baby dragons choose when I die or what I bow to.”

Burn refuses to allow the prophecy to determine her fate. She chooses to use violent force to get her way. Her attitude toward the prophecy and destiny sets the stage for more discussions about these themes as they play out in both the novel and the series and adds a tone of determination and suspense to what will happen in the future.

“But he wasn’t a natural-hatched hero. He had no legendary qualities at all. He liked sleeping more than studying, and he kept losing chickens in the caves during hunting practice because he was paying attention to his friends instead of watching for feathers.”

In the opening lines of the novel, Clay reflects on what others tell him a hero is, and who he knows he is. This tension between what is expected of him and who he wants to be evolves his character over the course of the novel.

“Clay wished his wings where as vast as the cavern itself so he could hide his friends from Morrowseer. He wished his talons were as huge as the stalagmites and as sharp as the rock shards. He wished he were big enough to be brave and brave enough to be big. He never wanted anything as much as he wanted to protect his friends from this tall, hissing, scornful, immensely dangerous dragon.”

Clay’s desire to defend his friends in the face of terrible danger overwhelms him. The novel explores the tension between who he wants to be, who he is, and what he must become to fulfill his destiny. Meeting Morrowseer thrusts Clay and the other dragonets onto their path in a way they weren’t expecting. Clay’s feelings during this inciting incident foreshadows his character development.