Bloodmarked

The body politic is a symbol the Regents uses to legitimize their control. When people like Bree, William, Sel, and Lark begin to defy this organizing logic, this symbol is related to Operating Outside of Authority for Moral Good.

People employ the term “body politic” when they imagine an organization or group symbolically as a body. Erebus says, “the Order’s organization framework” imagines its various components “as anatomy, working together” (44). The Merlins are the Order’s shield arm while the Legendborn Pages, Squires, and Scions are their sword arm. The Awakened Arthur is the “head,” but “the Regents are the spine” (44). Understanding the symbolic meanings of these body parts reveals how hierarchy is maintained in the Order. The Legendborn are the Order’s offensive while the Merlins are defensive: Both arms operate to protect the central body, the king and the Regents. These arms can and will be sacrificed to protect the head and spine. Arthur’s Scion is the head only if they are Awakened; in lieu of that, the Regents lead the order as the “spine.” The spine gives structure and support to the rest of the body. Even the head, an Awakened Arthur, can only hold itself up with the support of the spine.