The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

The Taker of Hearts is a motif for Love Versus Power and The Empowerment of Freedom. The sword is a centuries-old weapon formerly belonging to Vincent, who was rumored to have “carved out a little chunk of his own heart to have it made” (109). The sword represents the choices Vincent made over his long lifetime, choosing power over love at almost every opportunity. The sword’s name quite literally embodies its meaning: It slices through flesh and bone to fatally pierce the heart underneath, pinpointing the greatest weakness Vincent believes anyone can have. The fact that he supposedly gave up a piece of his own heart to forge it symbolizes the heartlessness he treats others with to survive—even his beloved Alana, whom he ruthlessly killed in his attack on Salinae.

The Taker of Hearts is supposedly Vincent’s alone, “rejecting all other wielders […] [Oraya] used to joke that [it] was Vincent’s true greatest love” (109). As it has proven time and time again, power is Vincent’s greatest love. Though Alana made him hesitate to admit it at first, his attack on Salinae proves this to be true. Oraya’s ability to wield the sword, however, is evidence of Vincent’s inability to entirely follow through with Salinae’s destruction.