60 pages • 2 hours read
All This Twisted Glory
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Background
Series Context: This Woven Kingdom Series
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence.
All This Twisted Glory continues the story of Alizeh, Cyrus, and Kamran, particularly focusing on the close third-person perspective of Cyrus. The first two books of the series, This Woven Kingdom and These Infinite Threads, portray Cyrus as a mysterious, antagonistic figure, often rude and cruel to Alizeh. However, the third book, Cyrus’s perspective fleshes out his character, depicting him as a man torn between his bargain with the devil and his love for Alizeh and his people. In This Woven Kingdom universe, Iblees, or the devil, is a fire-born Jinn cast out of heaven for refusing to bow to humans, who are made of clay. Ever since, the vengeful Iblees has toyed with humans, corrupting them with promises of power. Iblees approaches all newly appointed rulers with an offer in exchange for their souls. Some succumb to him, while others resist. For reasons unknown, Cyrus takes Iblees’s offer. In return he must do Iblees’s bidding, including wedding Alizeh and giving her a kingdom to rule.
Humans discriminate against the Jinn because, like Iblees, they are made of fire. This dislike is also rooted in fear, as Jinn are stronger, faster, and more magical than humans. After centuries of bloodshed between the two races, the fire accords were established to engender peace. One of the conditions of the accords was that Jinn would not use their superhuman abilities. Though equitable in theory, in practice this condition meant that Jinn were forced to suppress their true selves and be subservient to humans. The Jinn found hope in the prophecy of the Lost Queen of Arya, the liberator who would restore their place in the world. An orphan named Alizeh is that queen.
As rumors of the Jinn queen grow, King Zaal of Ardunia sets spies among his people, looking for the prophesied queen with frost magic, who will end his rule. The spies nearly discover and capture Alizeh before Zaal’s grandson, the melancholy prince Kamran, allies with her. Captivated by Alizeh’s beauty, Kamran promises to help her. Also rallying to Alizeh’s side are Hazan, Kamran’s Jinn minister; Omid, an orphan whom Alizeh helped despite his attempts to rob her; and Miss Huda, a kind young heiress. However, the kingdom of Ardunia is thrown into disarray when Cyrus, the king of Tulan, arrives in the Ardunian capital for a ball. Shockingly, Cyrus murders King Zaal before the gathered courtiers and kidnaps Alizeh, taking her to Tulan on the back of a dragon.
In the second book of the series, Cyrus tells Alizeh about his debt to Iblees, who has commanded that Cyrus wed Alizeh and give her his kingdom. Alizeh will have the right to kill Cyrus, if she so wills, once he pays his mysterious debt to Iblees. Toward the end of the novel, Alizeh witnesses an unseen Iblees physically tormenting Cyrus. Alizeh tends to the bleeding, broken Cyrus, softening toward him. Meanwhile, in Ardunia, a coup brews against Kamran. Following an attempt on Kamran’s life in the wake of his grandfather’s murder, Kamran uses a feather left to him by Zaal, to summon the legendary bird Simorgh. Simorgh and her children carry Kamran, Hazan, Huda, and Omid to Tulan.
Cultural Context: Persian Mythology and Folklore
Inspired by Persian mythology, the Woven Kingdom series integrates cultural lore into its fantasy world-building, adding depth and authenticity to the series’ exploration of heritage and power. The story draws from sources as diverse as the 10th-century epic Shahnameh, by the Persian poet Abulghasem Ferdowsi, and Islamic lore associated with Iblees (alternatively, Iblis or Eblis). According to Quranic sources, Iblees, who is analogous to an angel, is expelled from heaven because he refuses to bow to Prophet Adam, as Adam is made of dirt or clay. These sources place Iblees close to the Christian Satan; in Arabic and Persian, Iblees is also known as Shaitan. Mafi uses traditional depictions of Iblees and Hell to illustrate the trials of Cyrus and the theme of the price humans are willing to pay for power. While the reason for Cyrus’s bargain with Iblees is unknown, other kings, like Zaal, consent to terrible acts in return for unnatural power. This Woven Kingdom reveals that Zaal fed on the brains of young children to maintain the long life that Iblees granted him. Thus, the series shows that though Iblees is called the devil, human actions can be equally monstrous.
The novel uses several other details and motifs from Persian culture and mythology to add authenticity to its universe, such as Simorgh (Simurgh), a mythical, benevolent bird analogous to the phoenix, and the Jinn, angelic, invisible beings who live on earth. Arya’s role as the Jinn’s homeland is inspired by the old name for Iran in Avestan, an ancient pre-Islamic language, while the wise, anti-materialistic Diviners are akin to the mystic Sufis. Cyrus, Rustam, Zahakk, and Zaal are names that feature in the Shahnameh, or book of kings; Tulan is inspired by Turan, an ancient region in central Asia. Omid speaks Feshtoon, possibly a version of Pashto, an eastern Iranian language spoken as far as Afghanistan and Pakistan. The multiculturalism of the series’ universe reflects that of Greater Iran, a diverse and culturally rich region, and depicts a vibrant, complex society.
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