Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

Both Reckoners and Epics face a wide array of internal and external power struggles as the novel progresses, and their responses to these struggles show the burden that different types of power can have. By their very nature, Epics are constantly at war with themselves. As David discovers at the end of the novel, the key to overcoming the corruptive influence of the Epic powers is to face one’s deepest fear—a feat so difficult that very few Epics have gained true control over their powers. In Chapter 32, when David looks at a photo of Prof from before Calamity’s rise, he notes that the image looks very different from the dark, brooding man that Prof has become. As David reflects, “Nearly thirteen years of Calamity had changed this man. And not just because of the powers he’d gained” (253). With this observation, David cuts to the heart of the battle that all Epics wage against themselves. Over the years, the Epics have been hardened by the corruption that constantly tries to overtake them, and they have also become jaded in the face of the world’s apocalyptic changes.