Communication

Communicating thoughts and ideas is essential in any society. Through the dragon characters of The Dark Secret, the novel suggests that while talking is a primary form of communication, other ways are sometimes necessary or preferable. In the imaginary world of the Pyrrhia, unconventional means of communicating are also present.

Battlewinner is the queen of the NightWings, though most NightWings have not seen her for years. She is apparently viewing the events of the main chamber from behind a screen and her daughter, Greatness, relates Battlewinner's instructions. When Starflight experiences this situation for the first time, he wonders if Battlewinner's goal is to be even more frightening and mysterious. Later, he wonders if she is being manipulated or if she is already dead and Greatness is simply pretending her mother is issuing the orders. Battlewinner's method of communicating turns out to be her method of coping...