The Stonekeeper

After the heavy action of the previous sections, the plot slows down once Emily and Navin reach the Charnon House. Through their conversations with Miskit and Silas, this section of the novel provides a lot of exposition about Alledia, the new world that Emily and Navin have entered. The Charnon House itself mirrors its owner, Silas—it is isolated, difficult to access, and mysterious. Even after Emily has had a lengthy and informative conversation with Silas, he remains an enigmatic character because he dies soon after, and many questions about him and his connection to the amulet remain unanswered.

At this point, Emily does not know who or what to trust, and her predicament is highlighted by the graphic novel’s visuals that focus on characters’ eyes. During Emily’s conversation with Silas, the panels feature frequent close-ups of both Emily’s and Silas’s eyes; Silas appears to have a mechanical eye that might be powered by an amulet, and Emily’s eyes continue to glow red when she talks directly to the amulet. Eyes are considered to be the windows to the soul that express the truth about a person’s intentions; Silas refers to this when he claims that Emily “must be the one” because “[he] can see it in [her] eyes” (96). However, the way that Silas’s eye and Emily’s eyes are controlled by the amulet hint that it has the power to control them rather than the other way around.

This section also underscores the theme of Growing Up. In this mysterious and unknown world, with no adults to guide her, Emily constantly has to make decisions about what to do and whom to trust. The amulet tells her to trust no one she meets, but Emily also has to decide if she can even trust the amulet. This ostensibly changes once she meets Silas; Emily believes that the family connection makes his trustworthy. Yet many questions remain about Silas’s trustworthiness and intentions as well.

After Silas dies, Emily is forced to decide whether to accept or reject the amulet, which brings up the theme of Power and Responsibility. At this moment, everything goes black, and Emily is literally in the dark, with nothing but her instincts to guide her. Emily’s newfound power has the feel of predestination—she is in this role because of the connection to her great-grandfather, and he seemed certain that she would be the one to succeed him. There is a strong connection between Silas and Emily: Emily was drawn to the idea of him and his eccentric lifestyle earlier in the novel, and the identical side-by-side images of their eyes on page 101 further reinforce the idea of their similarity. However, they are also starkly different, especially with regard to their relationships to the amulet. Silas is enamored by power and regrets that he was unable to realize everything the amulet is capable of. But at this point in the novel, Emily is not interested in power at all beyond its capacity to help her save her mom. In this regard, Emily’s choice to accept the amulet is motivated by her love for her mom rather than personal power and glory.

Emily’s decision to accept the amulet also connects to the theme of The Importance of Family and Teamwork. In his isolation, Silas created an extended robotic family to help support him, and their fate is tied to the amulet as they draw on it for power. By accepting the responsibility of the amulet, Emily not only gains the power she needs to rescue her mom but also saves this extended family and gains allies for her quest. However, her decision ends up creating more tension between Emily and Navin because he still does not trust the amulet. Instead of hearing him out respectfully and reasoning with him, Emily snaps at him and shuts him down, creating a rift between the siblings. Her desire to assert control over him rather than work with him demonstrates that she still has to grow as a leader and understand the value of family and teamwork.