Language
Epics, harmsway, Steelheart, Nightwielder, Sparks, Calamity, and plenty more expressions and names of objects and individuals are present throughout the novel to create this post-apocalyptic reality where certain people gain powers and create havoc or rule over humanity. The most common is the word "sparks," which is an equivalent of a slang used to express excitement or anger.
Fear
Fear is Steelheart's most important and most effective power. He uses fear to control everyone and to prevent anyone challenging him. However, fear holds even more significance to him than that-it is fear, or lack of fear to be precise, that it is the only thing that can kill him and it eventually does.
Darkness
Epics, ruling the town Newcago, keep their subjects in the dark in a literal and metaphorical sense. Nightwielder is the source of the literal darkness that covers the city, but the citizens are kept in the more fearful dark by their tyrant, who is ready to sacrifice them on a whim, to inspire fear and prove his unchallenged rule.
