Honor and Pride

Honor is the main theme running throughout the story. There are several characters who are concerned with their own personal honor. Both Taran and Ellidyr are anxious to prove themselves and to win honor, and this often drives them to misguided behavior as they fight with each other at inappropriate times. Taran has worked on a farm and been in charge of a pig all his life. He sees this as an unadventurous and unimportant life and longs for something more. Coll gave him the title Assistant Pig-Keeper so that he could be proud of his role. This shows that from quite an early age he has longed for something more than his ordinary life. In the previous novel he set out on a quest and helped the great hero Gwydion, but returned to the life of an Assistant Pig-Keeper at the end. He now feels...