I Loved This!! Very Nice To Revisit This Chapter Through Your Eyes! And All The Foreshadowing Kusanagi

i loved this!! very nice to revisit this chapter through your eyes! and all the foreshadowing kusanagi writes is insane!! akayona is so perfect

Yona of the Dawn Chapter 12

The Valley that The Voice of God Calls

Enter Ik-Soo and (more officially now) Yoon! Previously Soo-Won rejected the gods in favor of the power of the people, establishing an ongoing theme of gods/heavens vs. humans + old ways vs. new.

"I want the power of people, not god" 

"I will restore the Kingdom of Kouka to the strength and glory it possessed...anything that stands in my way...even the heavens...will be crushed"

Now–through Ik-Soo, the subject of priests, and the prophecy–we get more about these topics. Ik-Soo presents himself as someone who shares the voice of god–who knows all that is happening and will happen in the world–with the people. In learning more about why the priests were kicked out of the palace temple and arrested or executed, Yona is told that the priests were once deeply involved in political matters with "an authority even the king couldn't overrule," meaning they could pretty much do anything and justify it as "the wrath of god." Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

We’re told Soo-Won's father was focused on expanding Kouka and perceived the priests as a threat to that goal and the crown's power in general, so he got rid of them. Is the expansion of Kouka by annexing other countries' territory a good thing or a bad thing?

As with the once authority of the priests, this information is presented somewhat neutrally rather than ascribed a moral position. Interesting! As it is, Ik-Soo is seen as "good" while Soo-Won and his father are more aligned with "bad," but they are also clear individuals not representative of entire groups. Arguments both in favor and against their point of views and actions are easily understood. Right now this feels more like an exploration of an idea instead of a definitive stance, but we shall see where it all goes.

Expansion of Kouka's territory and power seems like a good thing for Kouka but that does not necessarily mean it is morally  good. And the tangled history of priests and war (and what we haven't learned yet) has led to a country in which "the towns are packed with poor people" and "a few folks in the capital are the only ones who're well-off." Things are not good.

This history lesson comes from Yoon, whose resentment of royalty and nobility is something he takes out on Yona. But though ashamed of her ignorance and saddened by the state of Kouka, Yona takes Yoon's criticisms in stride and actively seeks out the knowledge she lacks. 

Ik-Soo and Yoon's personalities and characters are made very clear to the reader through their words and actions–this is a very good introduction to them–and likewise, Yona's character and growth are made clear through hers. After her symbolic death, she is like a small child learning about the world for the first time. Her tiny world was shattered and now she's learning about the larger world that her father and her status kept from her.

Along with death/rebirth, the hair symbolism also continues for Yona. Cutting her hair was like a rebirth and an establishment of distance from Soo-Won and her past. But as Hak notes, she is still holding on tightly to the hairpin–she is surely growing but hasn't fully let go. She also can't completely shed how her past and upbringing shaped her. She crossed over to a new world but is bringing some baggage!

And speaking of Hak, their dynamic continues, but with their near-death experience and all that has happened, that dynamic comes with an increased closeness and care. Yona's expression of that closeness and care gets to Hak, but she remains oblivious to his feelings. But even if she doesn't get things on the romantic end, Hak is intensely important to her and part of her goals.

"I need you right here with me"

"I wanted to live. I wasn't going to let anyone take away my life, or Hak's. That's all I wish for right now"

(they are also just adorable here)

Seeds of a larger goal to help Kouka and its people have been planted, but for now, Yona has shifted from barely surviving to wanting to live and her focus is on preventing the death of another loved one. Like Soo-Won, she rejects god in this moment. As she has decided what she wants, she does "not see much point in asking god" what her path should be.

However, as Ik-Soo states–for Yona, "living means calling up a storm that will shake Kouka to its very foundation." Her "burning blood...can't be controlled"–if she is to live, she cannot live a normal life. There is something inherent to her that makes it impossible; her very existence will cause change. So along with Yona's personal goals, there is a larger fate being established for her.