“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
— Lord Acton
In the “Wings of Fire” fantasy book series, the world is dominated by dragons rather than humans. The only form of magic in this world is Animus magic. For background, Animus dragons are extremely rare, with only fourteen named characters in the entire history, and only five alive at the time the first books take place. Animus magic is hereditary, and typically appears in specific tribes (subspecies of dragon).
Animus magic entails the ability to “enchant” anything to do anything. It is almost limitless, with some enchantments being able to control dragons, make oneself invulnerable, grow a palace out of a single plant, answer any question, and much more. The only limit that appears to be in place is the inability to revive the dead. Animus dragons can even make another dragon have magic. Spells can be cast through words, thoughts, and writing — as direct commands or in phrases beginning with “I enchant.”
The main weakness of Animus magic is the danger to the “soul.” It is the opinion of one tribe of dragons (SkyWings) that magic causes insanity, and to protect their tribe from insane dragons with absolute power, they kill Animus dragons as soon as they find out of their power, usually at birth. This insanity, however, is clarified by the books to be a loss of their soul, and is caused by overuse of one’s power, especially for selfish or malevolent purposes. The true consequences of this loss are demonstrated in the story of Albatross.
Albatross was a SeaWing prince with Animus magic. His sister, the Queen, appointed him as her personal servant. He used his power to do great works per her command. The color of his scales was strange, and he was constantly teased for this. He discovered his Animus power when playing with a clam shell. His other sister, Sapphire, was making fun of him when he ordered the clam shell to bite off all her talons. This gruesome act haunted him for the rest of his life. He was constantly busy, always at the beck and call of the Queen.
Albatross had a nephew, Prince Fathom. At the age of two, all the royal dragonets were brought to an island for a ceremony in which they would test who had Animus magic. Fathom was determined to possess Animus magic, and was apprenticed to Albatross. He discovered that Albatross was very calm and friendly. The older Animus even played a joke or two, and involved Fathom in his projects. One night, however, Albatross snapped. He began to kill everyone on the island, including the Queen and many of his family members, until Fathom killed him.
During the massacre, he was not himself. Fathom’s perspective of the event showed that he looked as if all the emotion was carved out of him. He lost his humor and friendliness. There was nothing but anger and hatred. Notably, however, there appeared to be some internal justification. Albatross monologues about how the Queen took every chance she could to make him feel expendable now that Fathom was in the picture. Earlier in the book, too, one can note Albatross strangling a seagull with a vine with no provocation. With the violent discovery of his power, and how it affected his life, it begins to become unclear whether the Massacre was the fault of the power or its user.
This is a recurring theme in Wings of Fire. The exact details of Animus magic are unknown to many dragons, especially the nature of its effect on the soul. Some are adamant that use of magic should be kept at an absolute minimum — never, preferably — to keep others safe, some are just as sure that it is not the magic itself, but how you use it, that causes the loss of your soul. Others dismiss the stories of madness as a myth entirely, ascribing the SeaWing Massacre to non-magical evilness.
One can see how this can lead to a complex moral discussion in-universe about the nature of absolute power, and whether or not it indeed corrupts absolutely. There is evidence either way. The argument placing the magic at fault is exemplified by Stonemover, and the argument of actions by Darkstalker, although closer examination blurs the lines. These will be the main examples I will use in this study, although reading the series itself reveals that Turtle and Anemone, royal SeaWing siblings, can be used to further understand this conflict.
Darkstalker was a NightWing Animus from 2000 years before the events of the main series, although his journey is documented in the spin-off book Legends: Darkstalker. What is notable about him is his girlfriend, Clearsight, a fellow NightWing who had the power to see every possible future and study each timeline. She, notably, sees two main futures, with various branches. In one, Darkstalker and she live out their lives in peace and have three kids. In the other, Darkstalker kills the Queen and takes over the tribe.
The very presence of multiple futures implies the factor of choice in whether or not your Animus power leads to madness. The fact that certain decisions could have led to a bright future where Darkstalker’s unparalleled power did not corrupt him heavily supports the notion that Animus power is not what causes madness. In fact, when the dark future is eventually realized, we see that Darkstalker had many choices, and chose the darker path every time. At every threshold, he fell a little more.
Darkstalker’s point of view is one of the three in the book, which means we can see his thinking. He is afraid of Fathom’s guards killing him for being an Animus, and so he makes himself invulnerable directly, rather than relying on his various enchanted jewelry. He is afraid of the Queen after she sends an assassin after him, and so he goes to the palace to challenge her to a duel for the throne. He thinks he’s protecting himself. He thinks he’s doing the right thing. He thinks if he does this, he will be safe. He thinks his power can be a gift, not just a curse. It is these thoughts that lead him along the path to darkness.
Darkstalker teaches us a lesson in that you have the choice in your future, that when granted power you can still make the decision to use it for good. You can still be saved. He also gets us into our earliest recorded soul protection method. Throughout all of history, animus dragons have attempted to enchant items to protect their soul. Darkstalker attempted to save his soul by storing his power solely in a scroll, rather than in himself, and he made a soul reader device to gauge a dragon’s potential for evil. However, he thought this was a cure-all, and was so confident in its success that he stopped worrying about his soul. That is partially why he fell.
Stonemover is a NightWing Animus, a descendant of Darkstalker, in fact. He was an Animus dragon in the present day of the books, in the new NightWing kingdom. His power was responsible for the tunnels between the NightWing island and the rainforest, as well as between the rainforest and the desert. These are part of a plan by the NightWings to conquer the rainforest and take it as a new home, with the assistance of the SandWings. He did not, however, use his power excessively.
Instead of trying to completely avoid any effects of animus power by “protecting” his soul, he enchanted himself so that his scales would turn into stone instead of the invisible corruption he had heard tales of. This helps us to measure the rate of corruption. Stonemover is entirely rooted in the ground when he is first introduced, despite only being known to have cast a few spells.
For the first thing, we are told that Stonemover’s animus curse began to take into effect when he fell in love with Thorn. Which is to say, he was starting to go insane and he recognized it. Then, he turned it into something else. Note that all attempts to enchant items protecting your soul have failed, and yet turning the curse into something else was possible. This is the most effective way that was proven to prevent the danger of animus magic. It is also proof of a tangible loss of soul. That is important.
For the second, we’re told in the sixth book of the series, Moon Rising, that Stonemover “lost another scale today”. It was a drab account, but if it was acknowledged then it is not something that happens every day. All the same, there was no surprise, fear, or any more sadness than usual in this thought, which means that it wasn’t too uncommon. From this, I’d say that he loses a scale every few days. Generally speaking, that implies constant degeneration, even when not casting new spells.
So it is perhaps not the spells, but simply having the power itself. Or, alternatively, spells continue to drain the caster of their soul. Yet . . . I suggest something different. I think it was Stonemover’s consciousness that stripped him of the scales. Sitting alone in his cave, stewing in all the mistakes he made — abandoning Thorn, who he loved, and his daughter, creating tunnels which his tribe would use to wage war. I think it is the weight of his deeds which turns his scales to the stone he once moved.
See, Animus magic isn’t always used for evil. Turtle uses it for dumb little things — a healing rock, a stick to make himself invisible, etc. — and IceWing royalty used their power to create great gifts — a protective wall, a tree giving them light, a beautiful palace. Magic can be used for good, or for neutral things. In these cases, there is no element of losing one’s mind. But when Darkstalker used his magic in line with his own fear, or for his own power . . . when Albatross used his magic as a slave to his Queen . . . that is where they snap.
This is to say that I believe there is even an inherent sense of guilt when Animus dragons believe their actions to be justified. The idea that evil people fundamentally understand their own evil, even when they justify their actions to themselves with propaganda and twisted logic, is appealing to us because it suggests there is an unassailable, fundamental moral truth. That certain actions can be objectively judged as evil.
It is the logic behind much of the television series Lucifer, on Netflix. In this world’s depiction of the Christian Heaven and Hell, the souls in Hell are tormented by their own guilt. You only go to Hell if you believe you’re evil, deep down, and the doors are unlocked, but you are still trapped, because you are trapped by your own guilt. This is perhaps similar to the losing of one’s soul due to magic in the Wings of Fire series. To do so is to understand when your own actions are evil. Darkstalker’s soul reader certainly recognized it, despite him making it to justify his own evil.
In literary analysis, all interpretations are correct with the proper supporting evidence. One can easily draw the conclusion that it is Animus power that is the problem. Another can say that it is simply the feelings of superiority and invincibility that come with having that much power. Another still can say it is giving in to fear that corrupts, that any person, with or without power, might meet the same fate. But as with every other literary study, it is important to consider what the author intended.
In this case, I believe Tui wrote Animus power so that it is the actions one takes, whether they are taken because of feelings of fear or superiority, that corrupts oneself, not the power. I believe the primary reason for this is that the book series focuses a lot on your own ability to choose your future, although the most prominent possible reason in my opinion is to make Animus power more representative of power in real life. So it can apply to us all.
And I do find it highly applicable to morality in the real world. Looking even just at American politicians, we can see people of power committing evil acts which they can justify and sell to their constituents however much they want. They do these acts with the power they have, but it is not having the power to do it, but the choice of doing it, which corrupts. Because power can be used for good. Orphanages and hospitals can be built, or bombed, and the only reason we believe it is power that corrupts is because it is the people with power that make these decisions. People who come into power by destructive or immoral means.