“While some rooms on the estate had monsters hiding beneath their beds, Tella swore her mother’s suite concealed enchantment. Hints of emerald light dusted the air as if fairies came to play whenever her mother left.”

Garber crafts a deliberately mysterious and whimsical tone in this opening line of her novel. Although the story will focus primarily upon the complexities of romance, this passage draws attention to the novel’s fantastical elements, and the writing is also imbued with the innocent eagerness of a young Tella who avidly explores the mysteries of her own home. This young version of Tella clearly believes in magic and finds it everywhere.

“He worked for Legend, so it had only been an act—but although Caraval was over, it was still somewhat difficult to weed out the bits of fact from fiction.”

Caraval’s end does not mean that it is easier to distinguish between reality and illusion, because Legend’s power lets him create what people want to see. When Tella recalls the previous round of Caraval and questions the nature of reality and illusion, these musings establish the prevalence of the theme of Discerning Illusion From Reality in the upcoming game as well.

“I don’t know why you’re really carrying that coin […] but be careful. Nothing good has ever come from anything a Fate has touched.”

Garber uses the novel’s early chapters to establish the ominous tone of the novel and foreshadow the misfortunes and missteps to come. Here, Dante prepares Tella for her interactions with The Tension Between Free Will and Fate. Additionally, his words provide an unequivocal guide for how best to judge the value and inherent threats of any object or situation that Jacks overtly influences.