Oaths, Bargains, and Binding Promises Theme in Our Vicious Oaths
The Machinery of Trust: Oaths, Bargains, and Binding Promises in Our Vicious Oaths
In N.E. Davenport's Our Vicious Oaths, the fantasy world of Nimani runs on a currency more powerful than gold or armies: the sworn word. Oaths and bargains are not mere social contracts but magically enforced bonds that crackle with ancient power the moment they are spoken. Yet the novel's central claim about these binding promises is far from romantic. Rather than creating trust, oaths become instruments of coercion, leverage, and mutual hostage-taking. The magic guarantees that a promise will be kept, but it cannot guarantee sincerity, goodwill, or safety. Characters constantly probe the edges of their vows, adding conditions, seeking loopholes, and reinterpreting terms to serve their own ends. The result is a political landscape where trust is not a matter of character but of enforcement—and where even the most solemn oath can be twisted into a weapon.
The Marriage Contract: Bartering a Princess
The novel opens with a stark demonstration of how oaths function as tools of power. In Chapter One, Kadeesha returns from a brutal raid on an Apollyon camp, bringing severed heads to her father, King Sylas, hoping to prove her worth and escape an arranged marriage to Rishaud, the self-styled high king. Instead, Sylas burns the heads and refuses to cancel the betrothal, insisting that the marriage is necessary to fulfill a prophecy and secure the Hyperion alliance. When Rishaud arrives, he proclaims the prophecy that Kadeesha will become high queen and bear a son. The two monarchs then negotiate the marriage contract as if she were livestock: Sylas gains trade concessions, reduced tribute, military protection, and a quadrupled dowry. Kadeesha remains silent, contemplating violence but restraining herself because she knows that any rebellion would bring consequences down on her beloved Nkita squadron.
This scene establishes the fundamental asymmetry of oaths in the novel. The marriage contract is a bargain between two powerful men, with Kadeesha as the object being traded. She has no voice in the terms, yet she will be bound by them. The magical enforcement of the oath does not protect her; it protects the interests of the men who made it. Kadeesha's internal monologue reveals her awareness that she is being bartered away like a pedigreed mare, and she weighs the possibility of attacking Rishaud even at the cost of her own life. But she cannot act because the consequences would fall on her people. The oath, in this case, is a cage built by others, and her only power is the choice to endure it.
The Temple Bargain: Saving a Sister at Any Cost
The second major bargain occurs in Chapter Six, when Kadeesha and her squadron are ambushed in a temple by Malachizrien, the newly ascended Apollyon king. Her sister Samira is gravely wounded, bleeding out on the altar. Malachizrien offers a deal: if Kadeesha agrees to come willingly to his court and play a part in his scheme to draw out Rishaud, he will heal Samira and let her and Leisha walk free. The threat is implicit but unmistakable: refuse, and her friends die. Kadeesha accepts, and the air crackles with the ancient magic that seals all fae oaths.
This bargain is made under duress, in a moment of terror and grief. Kadeesha later reflects that she would have weighed the terms more carefully if she hadn't been engulfed by fear for Samira. The novel emphasizes that oaths sworn in desperation are just as binding as those made with clear eyes. The magic does not care about consent or fairness; it only cares that the words are spoken. This scene also introduces the idea that oaths can be used as a form of coercion by the powerful. Malachizrien holds all the cards—he has the healer, the army, and the upper hand. Kadeesha's only leverage is her willingness to cooperate, and she gives it up to save her sister. The oath becomes a leash, and she knows it.
The Additional Bargain: Negotiating with a Queen Mother
The third key moment comes in Chapter Seven, when Kadeesha realizes the full implications of her bargain with Malachizrien. Nychelle, the queen mother and former regent, reveals that she has orchestrated a situation where Yashira, Kadeesha's mother, is in danger from Rishaud. Nychelle offers to retrieve Yashira and bring her to the Apollyon court as a guest, but only if Kadeesha swears an additional oath: to uphold the exact bargain she made with Malachi and to refrain from assassinating him on Apollyon soil. Kadeesha immediately counters, demanding an exception for self-defense and stipulating that the no-harm oath becomes void upon Rishaud's death. Nychelle and Malachi accept, and then Kadeesha adds her own condition: sanctuary for her squadron of Kongamato Flyers and their kongamatos.
This negotiation is a masterclass in the art of the loophole. Kadeesha is not simply accepting terms; she is actively reshaping them to preserve her own agency. She insists on the right to defend herself, knowing that Malachi likely intends to dispose of her once she is no longer useful. She also extends the bargain to protect her squadron, recognizing that her vulnerability extends beyond her immediate family. The scene shows that oaths are not static; they are living documents that can be amended, conditioned, and exploited. Both parties are aware that the other is trying to carve out advantages. Nychelle, an Ancient who has lived for centuries, is just as skilled at this game as Kadeesha. The result is a complex web of promises that binds them all, but the binding is not based on trust—it is based on mutual suspicion and the constant threat of betrayal.
The Information Bargain: Trading Secrets for Independence
A fourth significant bargain occurs in Chapter Twenty-Five, when Kadeesha offers Malachi information about the Cleric's Rebellion in exchange for a promise to leave the Aether Kingdom alone after the war with Rishaud. Malachi initially threatens to torture the information out of her, but Kadeesha stands her ground, asserting her status as a monarch in her own right. She reminds him that she protected one of his striplings during a blast, and that he owes her a debt. After a tense negotiation, Malachi offers a limited oath: he will leave the Aether Kingdom out of his current conquest campaign and recognize Kadeesha as its sole sovereign, but he will still engage with her as an adversarial monarch in the future. Kadeesha accepts these adjusted terms, knowing they are far less than she wanted, but recognizing that they are the best she can get.
This scene highlights the inherent limitations of oaths. Malachi is willing to swear a vow, but he carefully circumscribes its scope. He refuses to make an open-ended promise of no harm that would extend in perpetuity, because he knows that future rulers might not be bound by it. He also points out that Kadeesha will face challenges to her crown from within her own court, and that any oath he makes applies only to him, not to his successors. The magical enforcement of the oath is real, but it is also narrow. Kadeesha achieves a partial victory, but she is acutely aware that she is only buying time. The oath does not create a lasting peace; it merely postpones the inevitable conflict.
The Summit: Oaths as a Test of Fealty
The final major example comes in Chapter Thirty-Four, during a summit with the vassal kings who had previously served Rishaud. Malachi demands that they swear oaths of fealty to him as high king, but the kings resist, arguing that their custom is to bow only to a liege lord who can hold their fealty through might alone, not through binding oaths. Malachi counters that the old ways are insufficient, and he insists on oaths as a condition for sparing their lives. He also demands that they submit to a truth rune to confirm their innocence in the murders of his parents. The kings eventually agree, but they add their own conditions, asking for greater autonomy in exchange for their loyalty.
This scene reveals the deep ambivalence that the fae have toward oaths. On one hand, oaths are seen as a necessary safeguard against betrayal; on the other, they are viewed as a sign of weakness, because a truly powerful ruler should not need magical enforcement to secure loyalty. The vassal kings' reluctance to swear oaths is not just about pride; it is about the fear of being bound to a tyrant. Malachi, for his part, uses oaths as a tool of control, but he also reveals his own duplicity. Kadeesha observes that he likely intends to kill the vassal kings once they are no longer useful, before any oaths can be sworn. The oaths, in this context, are not a foundation for trust but a temporary measure to maintain order until the real power play unfolds.
Complexity and Contradiction: The Limits of Magical Enforcement
Throughout the novel, oaths are portrayed as both powerful and profoundly unreliable. The magic that binds them is real, but it cannot compel sincerity. Characters swear oaths they intend to break, or they find ways to interpret their promises to suit their own purposes. Kadeesha herself is not above this; she makes a bargain with Malachi while privately planning to kill him eventually. The novel suggests that oaths are a necessary evil in a world where trust is scarce, but they are also a tool of oppression. The powerful use oaths to control the weak, and the weak use loopholes to resist. The result is a constant negotiation, a game of wits where the stakes are life and death.
The theme also connects to the novel's symbols. The kongamatos, the helldragons ridden by the Nkita, are not just mounts but companions whose loyalty is earned, not sworn. Their presence in the sanctuary bargain underscores the idea that true bonds cannot be enforced by magic. The crowns worn by the monarchs represent the authority to make binding promises, but they also symbolize the burden of those promises. The markings that appear on fae bodies may serve as physical reminders of oaths, though the novel does not explicitly confirm this. What is clear is that oaths are woven into the very fabric of fae society, shaping every political and personal relationship.
Study Questions and Answers
1. How does the marriage contract between Sylas and Rishaud illustrate the coercive nature of oaths?
The contract is negotiated entirely by the two kings, with Kadeesha as the object being traded. She has no voice in the terms, yet she is bound by them. The magical enforcement of the oath protects the interests of the men, not her own. Kadeesha's silence is a calculated choice to protect her people from the consequences of rebellion, showing that oaths can be used to silence the powerless.
2. What role does the self-defense exception play in Kadeesha's bargain with Nychelle?
Kadeesha insists on the exception because she knows that Malachi likely intends to kill her once she is no longer useful. By adding this condition, she preserves her ability to defend herself without breaking the oath. This demonstrates how characters use loopholes to maintain agency within binding promises.
3. Why does Malachi refuse to make an open-ended oath of no harm in Chapter Twenty-Five?
Malachi argues that an open-ended oath would not apply to future rulers, and he is unwilling to bind himself to a promise that could be exploited. He offers a limited oath that leaves the Aether Kingdom out of his current campaign but allows for future adversarial engagement. This shows that oaths are often narrowly tailored to serve the interests of the swearer.
4. How do the vassal kings' objections to swearing fealty reflect a deeper cultural ambivalence about oaths?
The kings argue that true loyalty should be based on might, not magical enforcement. They see oaths as a sign of weakness, because a powerful ruler should not need to bind his subjects. This ambivalence suggests that oaths are both a necessary safeguard and a potential tool of tyranny.
5. In what ways does the novel suggest that oaths cannot create genuine trust?
The novel shows that characters swear oaths while planning to betray them, and that they constantly seek to exploit gaps in the wording. The magic enforces the letter of the promise but not its spirit. Trust, the novel suggests, is not something that can be compelled; it must be earned through actions, not words.