Most of the central characters in A Reaper at the Gates have a hunger for revenge, driven by their need to see their enemies suffer. The book begins with a chapter about the Nightbringer in which he vows vengeance on anyone who endangers his family, saying, “I would destroy any who dared hurt you” (3). This proves to be true, since the Nightbringer orchestrates the suffering of the Scholars and plans to set the jinn free so that they may get their revenge for their imprisonment as well. Laia asks the Nightbringer how, having lived through the devastation of his own people, he could arrange for the Scholars to experience the same cruelty. To that, the Nightbringer replies, “The Scholars deserve destruction” (410). The Nightbringer is driven by his hatred, unable to see how his hunger for revenge makes him a hypocrite; by doing to the Scholars what was done to his own people, he is behaving as monstrously as the Scholar King did.

Significantly, not only does the Nightbringer enact his own revenge, but he also uses other people’s desire for revenge to his own advantage. Keris, who is also motivated by vengeance, helps the Nightbringer, ensuring that both their plans progress.