Quiz A Day of Fallen Night Samantha Shannon

A Day of Fallen Night Quiz

This 20-question quiz tests your understanding of Samantha Shannon's epic fantasy A Day of Fallen Night – the second book in the Roots of Chaos series. It covers plot sequence, character motivation, themes and symbols, and synthesis questions. For deeper discussion, visit the main book page or the questions and answers. Need a refresher on the finale? Check the ending explained.

Quiz Questions

Plot and Sequence (8 questions)

Multiple-choice: What event in Chapter 24 (19 West) signals the return of the Great Wyrms?
- A. A hot spring boils over at the Priory
- B. The Dreadmount erupts, and five dark winged shapes emerge
- C. Glorian gives birth to Sabran
- D. Dumai rings the Queen Bell
Multiple-choice: In Chapter 102 (97 West), what causes Fýredel to retreat without killing Glorian?
- A. The appearance of the comet with spears of light
- B. Wulf unleashes a white bolt of cold
- C. Glorian offers her surrender
- D. The arrival of the Inysh army
Short-answer: Where does Dumai find the blue "quickened stone" mentioned in Tonra's papers?
Multiple-choice: What happens to Emperor Jorodu during the wyrm attacks?
- A. He is killed by the River Lord
- B. He dies of a red sickness
- C. He sacrifices himself to Taugran
- D. He abdicates and joins the Priory
Short-answer: What does Glorian do immediately after giving birth to Sabran, in Chapter 100 (95 West)?
Multiple-choice: How is Canthe's true identity as the Witch of Inysca exposed?
- A. She admits it during a confrontation with Tunuva
- B. Esbar finds proof in the archive
- C. The River Lord reveals her secret
- D. Siyu overhears her confessing
Short-answer: In Chapter 101 (96 East), what fate befalls Princess Suzumai?
Multiple-choice: What is the ultimate purpose of the star remnant (the blue stone) that Dumai carries?
- A. To heal the sick
- B. To control the dragons
- C. To fight the wyrms and restore balance
- D. To light the way through the Abyss

Character Motivation (5 questions)

Multiple-choice: Why does Unora flee the imperial court in Chapter 3?
- A. She is accused of treason
- B. She is pregnant and fears poisoning from the Kuposa clan
- C. She wishes to return to her village
- D. The emperor orders her exile
Short-answer: What initially motivates Glorian to agree to marry Magnaust Vatten in Chapter 15?
Multiple-choice: Why does Esbar consent to the killing of Anyso in Chapter 16?

A. He threatened the Priory’s secrecy
B. He attempted to kill Siyu
C. He was a spy for the River Lord
D. She feared his influence on Siyu

Short-answer: What is Dumai's primary reason for accepting her role as heir to the Rainbow Throne?
Multiple-choice: What drives Tunuva to pursue Wulf across the world?

A. She believes he is her long-lost son
B. He stole a sacred relic
C. She must deliver a message from the Prioress
D. He is the only one who can wield the star stone

Theme and Symbol (4 questions)

Multiple-choice: In the novel's symbolism, the comet represents –

A. The eternal fire of the Dreadmount
B. Hope, cyclical renewal, and the balance between fire and cold
C. The wrath of the Nameless One
D. The downfall of the Berethnet bloodline

Short-answer: What does the orange tree signify for the Priory of the Orange Tree?
Multiple-choice: What do the deathwatch beetles that Wulf hears symbolize?

A. The plague spreading across the North
B. His childhood fear and the supernatural threat of the haithwood
C. The ticking of time until the comet arrives
D. The presence of the Lady of the Woods

Short-answer: What does the Queen Bell on Mount Ipyeda symbolize in the story?

Synthesis (3 questions)

Multiple-choice: How do the three point-of-view characters (Glorian, Dumai, Tunuva) embody different aspects of leadership?

A. Glorian: military might; Dumai: deception; Tunuva: isolation
B. Glorian: public duty and sacrifice; Dumai: quiet resilience and diplomacy; Tunuva: protective maternal strength
C. All three represent the same type of ruler
D. Glorian is a warrior, Dumai a scholar, Tunuva a spy

Short-answer: Compare the roles of fire and cold/starlight in the novel’s magic system.
Multiple-choice: What central lie about the Berethnet bloodline is exposed?

A. That Queen Sabran was not the true heir
B. That they descend from the male saint Galian, when actually they descend from Cleolind
C. That the bloodline was invented by the Dukes Spiritual
D. That the Saint was actually a wyrm in disguise

Answer Key

Plot and Sequence

B. The Dreadmount erupts, and five dark winged shapes emerge. Tunuva witnesses this in Chapter 24 and Glorian wakes sensing it. (Source: Chapter 24 digest)
A. The appearance of the comet with spears of light. Fýredel looks up, sees the comet, screams, and retreats, saying it will return. (Source: Evidence from Chapter 102)
Answer: In Tonra's cave on Brhazat mountain, inside a silver box. (Source: Chapter 69 digest and evidence)
B. He dies of a red sickness. In Chapter 85, Dumai learns upon returning to Seiiki that Emperor Jorodu has died from the red sickness. (Source: Chapter 85 digest)
Answer: She rides onto the battlefield to rally the troops, hands the newborn Sabran to Wulf, and tells him to flee to a barrow. She chooses to die in battle. (Source: Chapter 100 digest)
C. Esbar catches her manipulating Tunuva in the Mother’s tomb, and Canthe admits she is the Witch of Inysca who stole Tunuva's son. (Source: Chapter 89 South digest)
Answer: She is sacrificed by the River Lord to the wyrm Taugran on Muysima. (Source: Chapter 101 digest)
C. To fight the wyrms and restore balance. The stone is a remnant of the star that can counter the wyrms' fire; Dumai uses it to sacrifice herself. (Source: Chapters 69, 104 digests)

Character Motivation

B. She is pregnant and fears poisoning from the Kuposa clan. In Chapter 3, Unora realizes the soup contains black wing leaf to abort a child, so she flees to protect her child. (Source: Chapter 3 digest)
Answer: Political stability – to secure the Berethnet bloodline and produce an heir, as pressured by Queen Sabran. (Source: Chapter 15 digest)
A. He threatened the Priory’s secrecy. Esbar feared that Anyso, an outsider, would expose the Priory, so she agreed to have him killed. (Source: Chapter 16 digest)
Answer: To counter the Kuposa clan's influence and protect her family (her mother and sister) from clan manipulation. (Source: Chapters 19, 26 digests)
A. She believes he is her long-lost son. Canthe reveals to Tunuva that Wulfert Glenn is likely the son stolen from her. (Source: Chapter 58 South digest)

Theme and Symbol

B. Hope, cyclical renewal, and the balance between fire and cold. The comet appears in the prophecy as a "day of fallen night" that quenches the embers. (Source: Chapters 72, 102 digests)
Answer: It signifies their source of power (siden), their duty to guard it, and the legacy of Cleolind Onjenyu who first ate from it. (Source: Chapters 11, 8 digests)
B. His childhood fear and the supernatural threat of the haithwood. The deathwatch beetles are associated with the Lady of the Woods and Wulf's anxiety. (Source: Chapter 20 digest)
Answer: It symbolizes the awakening of the dragons and the call to action against the wyrms. Dumai rings it to summon the dragon gods. (Source: Chapters 46, 28 digests)

Synthesis

B. Glorian: public duty and sacrifice; Dumai: quiet resilience and diplomacy; Tunuva: protective maternal strength. Each POV demonstrates a different aspect of leading through crisis.
Answer: Fire represents destruction and the wyrms (the Dreadmount, wyrmfire). Cold/starlight represents the comet's power, hope, and the balance that can stop the fire. Characters like Dumai and Wulf wield cold magic. The comet is the mechanism of renewal.
B. That they descend from the male saint Galian, when actually they descend from Cleolind. Wulf reveals this to baby Sabran in the barrow in Chapter 100. (Source: Chapter 100 digest)