Identity Erasure and Reclamation in Slaying the Vampire Conqueror
Introduction: The Price of Belonging is Forgetting Who You Are
In Slaying the Vampire Conqueror, Carissa Broadbent weaves a dark fantasy in which the Arachessen—a sisterhood of blindfolded assassins—demand that their members surrender not only their sight but also their personal histories, names, and emotional attachments. The novel’s thematic claim is that institutional belonging often requires a deliberate erasure of the self, and that true reclamation comes not through obedience but through the defiant embrace of one’s past. Sylina, the protagonist, undergoes this erasure at age ten when the Sightmother performs the eye-taking ritual, and she spends the rest of her life navigating the tension between the Sisterhood’s cold doctrine and the memories that make her human. Her journey—from initiation to infiltration to moral rebellion—traces the arc of identity loss and recovery, ultimately suggesting that the past cannot be discarded without losing the very essence that defines us.
The Eye-Taking Ritual: The First Erasure
Sylina’s initiation into the Arachessen is the foundational act of identity erasure. At ten years old, she endures the ritual without making a sound, a test of her willingness to submit to the order. The ritual removes her physical sight, but it also symbolically severs her from her childhood self. She is given a blindfold, which becomes the visual marker of her new identity as a Sister. The blindfold is not merely a covering for missing eyes; it is a badge of conformity, a constant reminder that she has traded her individual perception for the collective vision of the threads.
The Arachessen’s philosophy reinforces this erasure. When Sylina later communicates with the Sightmother via Threadwhispers, the Sightmother tells her, “You will never be free, Sylina, until you let go of the hold your past has on you.” This is the order’s central doctrine: the past is a weakness, a chain that must be broken. For Sylina, this means suppressing the memory of her sister Raeth, who died in the vampire invasion, and the grief that still haunts her. The Sightmother’s pitying look at Sylina’s concern for innocent children in Alka reveals the rift between them—a rift created by Sylina’s refusal to fully erase her past. She feels the “gap of time” that makes her different from her Sisters, a gap filled with memories they have chosen to forget.
Infiltration: Performing a False Self
The second major erasure occurs when Sylina infiltrates Atrius’s army. To gain the vampire conqueror’s trust, she tells him she is an escaped Sister, a lie that requires her to suppress her true allegiance to the Arachessen. This is a double erasure: she hides her identity as an Arachessen from Atrius, while also hiding her growing moral doubts from the Sisterhood. She becomes a seer for Atrius, using her Threadwalking abilities to help him strategize attacks, but she deliberately alters the information she gives him about Alka, hoping to spare innocent lives.
This act of subtle defiance is a step toward reclamation. By choosing to protect the people of Alka, Sylina acts on her own conscience rather than the Arachessen’s doctrine that “what is Right goes beyond good or evil.” The Sightmother dismisses Alka as “drug infested and weak,” but Sylina sees the human cost—the children, the innocent families. Her refusal to fully comply is the first crack in the erasure, a moment where her past values resurface. She also risks exposure by seering about Atrius himself, a forbidden act that reveals his own hidden past—a vision of him without horns, younger, before a goddess. This vision not only angers Atrius but also hints that he, too, has an erased identity, a parallel that deepens the theme.
Reclamation: Choosing the Past Over the Order
The climax of Sylina’s reclamation comes when she must decide where her loyalty truly lies. The Arachessen expect her to serve as a tool for their larger game, but Sylina’s past—her sister’s death, her empathy for the innocent—makes her unable to comply fully. When the Sightmother tells her to let go of her past, Sylina internally rebels, thinking the word “hypocrite” before she can stop herself. This internal defiance is the beginning of her reclamation. She recognizes that the Sisterhood’s claim to moral superiority is hollow, and that her own past gives her a perspective they lack.
The novel does not show Sylina removing her blindfold or reclaiming her name—she remains Sylina throughout—but her reclamation is internal. She reclaims her right to feel, to grieve, and to judge. When she watches Atrius burn his fallen warriors, she feels his deep sadness, a connection that transcends the Arachessen’s cold detachment. This empathy is a direct rejection of the order’s erasure of emotion. By the end of the narrative, Sylina has not fully escaped the Arachessen, but she has begun to reclaim the parts of herself they tried to destroy.
Complexity and Contradiction
The theme is complicated by the fact that erasure is not entirely negative. The Arachessen’s ritual gives Sylina a purpose and a community, a sense of belonging she might not have otherwise. The blindfold, while a symbol of loss, also grants her access to the threads, a magical network that connects her to her Sisters. The order’s doctrine of letting go of the past is not without merit—it allows them to act decisively in a brutal world. Yet the novel critiques this doctrine by showing its cost: the loss of empathy, the willingness to sacrifice innocents for a “bigger game.”
Atrius’s own identity erasure adds another layer. He is a vampire conqueror, but Sylina’s vision reveals a younger self without horns, suggesting he has been transformed by Nyaxia’s power. His anger at being seen suggests he, too, has buried his past. This parallel suggests that identity erasure is a universal struggle, not just a flaw of the Arachessen. The novel ultimately argues that while erasure may offer power, it also robs individuals of their humanity.
Symbols of Erasure and Reclamation
The blindfold is the most potent symbol of erasure. It covers Sylina’s missing eyes, but it also represents the Arachessen’s demand that she see only through their lens. The threads, which she uses to communicate and to Walk, symbolize the collective identity she has adopted—a network that binds her to the Sisterhood but also to her own past, as she feels the thread to the Keep as “close and warm.” Blood, which appears in rituals and in Atrius’s funeral pyres, represents both sacrifice and identity; Sylina’s blood ties to her sister are what she must suppress. The blessed dagger, which she uses in her assassination attempts, is a tool of violence but also of agency—a means to reclaim her purpose.
Study Questions and Answers
1. How does the eye-taking ritual symbolize the beginning of Sylina’s identity erasure?
The ritual removes her sight, but more importantly, it forces her to suppress her childhood self. By enduring it without sound, she proves her willingness to submit to the Arachessen’s doctrine. The blindfold becomes a constant reminder that she has traded her individual perception for the collective vision of the Sisterhood.
2. What does the Sightmother’s advice to “let go of the hold your past has on you” reveal about the Arachessen’s philosophy?
It reveals that the order views the past as a weakness that prevents full commitment to their cause. They believe that personal history, especially emotional attachments, clouds judgment and hinders their ability to act for the greater good. This philosophy justifies their coldness toward innocent lives.
3. How does Sylina’s decision to alter the information about Alka represent a step toward reclamation?
By choosing to protect the people of Alka, Sylina acts on her own moral compass rather than the Arachessen’s doctrine. This defiance shows that she has not fully erased her past—her empathy for the innocent, rooted in her own losses, resurfaces and drives her to disobey.
4. In what ways does Atrius’s hidden past parallel Sylina’s experience of identity erasure?
Atrius’s vision reveals a younger self without horns, suggesting he has been transformed by Nyaxia’s power, erasing his former identity. His anger at being seen indicates he has buried his past, just as Sylina has. This parallel suggests that identity erasure is a common struggle, affecting even the powerful.
5. What does the novel suggest about the possibility of reclaiming a lost identity?
The novel suggests that reclamation is possible but not through a single dramatic act. It comes through small acts of defiance, like Sylina’s choice to protect Alka, and through the refusal to fully suppress one’s past. Reclamation is an internal process of embracing one’s memories and emotions, even when they conflict with institutional demands.