#hosab and acotar crossover
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The high lord’s orrery
I’ve talked about the orrery before (buried under layers of connections in my murky realm meta), and wanted to come back to it on its own. It is, in my opinion, one of the biggest hints we have for Elain’s role in the crossover.
We are first introduced to the official term, orrery, in HOSAB. When Bryce and her friends seek out the Astronomer and his beauties, also known as mystics, they use a space map to track down information across the cosmos:
Bryce set aside her outrage and waved a hand to the drifting planets. “This space map—”
“It is called an orrery.”
“This orrery.” Bryce approached the male’s side. “It’s tech—not magic?”
“Can it not be both?” (HOSAB)
Bryce’s murky memory reminds her that her father has his own orrery in his study.
Bryce’s fingers curled into fists. But she said, a murky memory rippling from her childhood, “The Autumn King has one in his private study.”
The Astronomer clicked his tongue. “Yes, and a fine one at that. Made by craftsmen in Avallen long ago. I haven’t had the privilege to see it, but I hear it is as precise as mine, if not more so.”
“What’s the point of it?” she asked.
“Only one who does not feel the need to peer into the cosmos would ask such a thing. The orrery helps us answer the most fundamental questions: Who are we? Where do we come from?” (HOSAB)
Craftsmen in Avallen, a place with powers that mirror the Night Court, made an orrery long ago. And it is kept in her father’s study. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
There was the main floor of the study—bedecked in the hand-knotted blue carpets that Feyre had gone to Cesere to select from its artisans—with its two sitting areas, Rhys’s desk, and twin long tables near the bookshelves. At the far end of the room, a little dais led into a broad raised alcove flanked by more books—and in its center, a massive, working model of their world, the stars and planets around it, and some other fancy things that had been explained to Cassian once before he deemed them boring and proceeded to ignore them completely. Az, of course, had been fascinated. Rhys had built the model himself centuries ago. It could not only track the sun, but also tell time, and it somehow allowed Rhys to ponder the existence of life beyond their own world and other things Cassian had, again, instantly forgotten. (ACOSF)
We know now that Sarah was planting seeds for travel across the cosmos. By the end of HOSAB, Bryce lands in Prythian and desperately needs to find Aidas to help her rally the armies of Hel against the Asteri. But who makes the most sense to help? Who has successfully located frightening beings from afar like the mystics? That would be Elain.
There are striking parallels between Elain and the mystics, which I discuss in depth here, so I won’t spend time on the details in this post. The mystics’ sleepy travel and use of a space map remind me of similar scene in ACOWAR.
Three mystics slept, submerged in greenish, cloudy water, breathing masks strapped to their faces. Their white shifts floated around them, doing little to hide the skeletal bodies beneath. (HOSAB)
When Feyre seeks out Elain to track down the Suriel, she finds her in a dim, dreamlike environment that seems a lot like the mystic tubs. Her eyes are even unfocused, as though she is lost in space. Is it possible she was drifting in her murky realm, like the mystics?
Her tent was dim, and quiet—the sounds of slaughter far away, dreamlike. She was awake, staring blankly at the canvas ceiling.
Feyre asks to plant an image of the Suriel in her mind to help her locate it, and when she passes her mental gates, she finds even more dreamy, half-life imagery:
The gates to her mind … Solid iron, covered in vines of flowers—or it would have been. The blossoms were all sealed, sleeping buds tucked into tangles of leaves and thorns.
And then, without any training whatsoever, Elain uses the map to find the Suriel on the move.
Elain again glanced at the map. At me. Then closed her eyes. Her eyes shifted beneath her lids, the skin so delicate and colorless that the blue veins beneath were like small streams. “It moves …,” she whispered. “It moves through the world like … like the breath of the western wind.”
“Where is it headed?”
Her finger lifted, hovering over the map, the courts. Slowly, she set it down. “There,” she breathed. “It is going there. Now.” I looked at where she had laid her finger and felt the blood rush from my face. The Middle.
Much like Thanatos—a prince of Hel—with the mystic in CC, the Suriel also sees Elain from across the world.
Its over-large teeth clacked faintly. “Thrice now, we have met. Thrice now, you have hunted for me. This time, you sent the trembling fawn to find me. I did not expect to see those doe-eyes peering at me from across the world.”
On the third hunt for the Suriel, the third sister to have her story told finds a terrifying, deadly creature who repeatedly provides help to Feyre. Coincidentally, this fits the bill for Bryce and Aidas as well. And what map might help her find him? The high lord’s orrery, of course, if it is as precise as the one his (theoretical) distant relatives created in Avallen long ago.
That’s not the only connection Rhysand and his sister-in-law have when it comes to this plot point. According to Rigelus, mystics can also pry into characters’ minds and influence their behavior like a daemati. Is it possible Elain is already experimenting with this power? That kind and sage voice Nesta starts to hear in dire circumstances appears after Elain said she could reacquaint herself with her powers. And like the high lord again, she might have some glowing magical hands to go with that voice if her influence is at work with the Cauldron at the end of ACOSF. Please let this be one of the many secrets you’ve planted in ACOSF, Sarah.
“We were eventually notified by one of our mystics here, who learned it from prying into the mind of one of Ophion’s Command. So we did a little tugging. Pointed Micah toward synth. Toward Danika.” (HOSAB)
What’s the significance of these connections? Alongside her siblings, Elain is going to be a key player in the crossover. And we’re likely in for even more Rhysand-Elain bonding time. This time, though, she’ll be the one taking him on a mental tour of the cosmos, leaving the Sidra far behind. Sarah already laid the groundwork for this: Rhysand wonders about her surprising behavior in the final battle against Hybern in ACOFAS, and in ACOSF, his interest only grows as he supports Amren’s order to approach Elain for help next, suggests she may be more than capable of getting her hands sparkly dirty, agrees with his mate to help her after Nesta, and even meddles in her love life (like an overbearing older brother). In fact, he interrupts and forbids her intimacy with the only other person we know, in canon, that is also interested in Rhysand’s orrery: Azriel.
So, what role, if any, will Azriel play in this plot point besides his obvious connection with Bryce, the Starsword, and demon-like wings and cold, dark shadows? Perhaps it’s just a coincidence, but the mystic in CC is snared by the Prince of the Ravine like Elain is lured by the Cauldron. Even the camp where she is trapped operates similarly to the Prince, and it just so happens to sit next to a ravine and is home to fearsome hounds, like the Prince’s Shepherd:
Hybern’s camp and hounds
Campfires burned, as numerous as the stars. Beasts snapped and snarled, yanking on leashes and chains. On and on and on that army went, a squatting terror drinking the life from the earth. (ACOWAR)
The nearest hound—it was not a hound, I realized as the arrow spiraled for its head. But some cousin of the naga—some monstrous, scaled thing that thundered on all fours, serpentine face snarling and full of bone-shredding white teeth—(ACOWAR)
Azriel’s roar echoed off the rocks as the hound slammed into him, dragging those shredding talons down his spine, his wings— The girl screamed, but Elain moved. As Azriel battled to keep them airborne, keep his grip on them, my sister sent a fierce kick into the beast’s face. Its eye. Another. Another. It bellowed, and Elain slammed her bare, muddy foot into its face again. The blow struck home. With a yelp of pain, it released its claws—and plunged into the ravine. (ACOWAR)
Prince of the Ravine and his hound
“Allow me to introduce my shepherd,” the Under-King said from the mist ahead, standing beside a ten-foot-tall black dog. […] Designed to latch into flesh and hold tight while it ripped and shredded. Its eyes were milky white—sightless. Identical to the Under-King’s.
Her light would have no effect on something that was already blind.
The dog’s fur—sleek and iridescent enough that it almost resembled scales—flowed over bulky, bunched muscle. Claws like razor blades sliced into the dry ground.
His attention snapped again to Bryce. Ripped away skin and bone to the being beneath. You slew one of my creations. My beloved pet, kept for so long on your side of the Crossing. […] You cost me a key link to Midgard. The Shepherd reported faithfully to me on all it heard in the Bone Quarter. The souls of the dead talk freely of their world.
I grow tired of these questions. I shall feast. […] It has been a long while since a mortal fly buzzed all the way down to Hel. I will taste this one’s soul, as I once sipped from them like fine wine. […]. You have gone too deep. I think I shall keep you. (HOSAB)
Like Bryce and Hunt, Elain and Azriel work as a team in this scene. Azriel holds Elain and helps her escape the clutches of Hybern, and she in turn defends him against the hounds. Might this teamwork foreshadow another rescue, on a different plane? Is that why we were reminded of it more than once in ACOSF? It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Elain, like the Suriel, was snared again and needed an anchor—someone who can navigate the dark, won’t abandon her, and will pull her back when needed—if she travels too deep in her search. And as his past behavior suggests, it makes sense for that anchor to be the Shadowsinger.
If you’re interested in comprehensive metas discussing Elain’s powers in the context of the crossover, check these out:
Shifting forms of fate: Elain’s connection to Urd and changing form/appearance
Elain’s murky realm: how her sight might work, using evidence from ACOTAR and connections to oracles and mystics in the multiverse (mostly CC)
The space between: what is it, where does it appear in the multiverse, and how might Elain and Azriel use it to travel
Mapping the mysteries of the sister peaks: a forbidden couple exploring forbidden secrets deep underground
#elain archeron#seer elain#azriel shadowsinger#rhysand#daemati and mystics#the astronomer and his beauties#hosab and acotar crossover#acotar cc crossover theory#prince of the ravine#the suriel
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My thoughts on the Bryce, Azriel and Nesta HOFAS bonus chapter...
Disclaimer: as suggested by the title, the following discusses the Walmart HOFAS bonus chapter featuring Azriel, Bryce and Nesta. I haven't read the main text, so it won't feature anything related to that, but there are massive Maasverse and HOFAS spoilers ahead regardless. Please beware.
These are just my initial thoughts, not expanded upon in any substantial way and, as usual, I could always be way off the mark.
Also, yes, fair warning that I'll be mentioning the ACOTAR characters a lot. If that's not your jam, and you'd rather avoid any of the possible implications of the crossover, then I'd give this post a miss. On the other hand, if you're interested in how CC/HOFAS may affect Prythian going forward, please read on.
Music:
The Stone Mother song has me 👀 especially as the stone and water were "talking" at the start.
@cassianfanclub and @wingedblooms have already posted about the Stone Mother (here and here); @ladynightcourt3 has found the Phrygian goddess Cybele, also known as the "Mountain Mother," who sounds very relevant.
That being said, am I crazy to think Elain could have been listening in? Is Azriel stone and Elain water? His stone siphons - which Elain called beautiful, did she hear their song, as kin? - and Elain possibly as water? Was she using salt water to boost her powers, or a reflection pool to scry, and keep tabs on her sister and friend?
Or is it the space between linking worlds? Are the old gods talking?
Alternatively, could stone be referring to Nuala and Cerridwen, who are capable of manifesting stone around themselves and others (ACOTAR).
Is this what SJM meant when she said we'd see Elain in "some form" in the next book?
@psychee92 said she wished that SJM had somehow included Mr Brightside, and now I wish the same; even a mention of indie rock. 😭
Josie and Laurel - "He/god will add/increase" "(laurel) trees/victory"? Elain? Lol sorry, but it's either giving gardener, or Elain killing Hybern.
Wraith-like harmonies? After the description of Josie and Laurel's voices? It's crack, but is it a metaphor for Nuala and Cerridwen?
The musical similarities between what Juniper dances to and Prythian's music?!
Azriel's humming/singing made the shadows dance, once more suggesting that shadows dancing is a response to power, not mate bonds
The music Az liked was death metal. Could this link to any sort of metal artefact, like an iron crown for grounding? Or wyrdstone jewellery?
The glass coffin?
"Nineteenth century literature presents the glass coffin as a prison within which sleeping women are frequently mistaken for dead or vice versa." (Source). It's giving Sleeping Beauty (credit to @elriell for the OG SB theory), and a little Snow White.
Check out this tale from The Brothers Grimm, which sounds... suspiciously relevant to Elain.
@cassianfanclub also suggested that it's giving necromancer vibes, and I'd love that for Elain.
Feyre once said she could sleep for a hundred years after coming back from the Prison, right before going to the Hewn City in ACOWAR. After Elain had left the room, and before Feyre went to check in on her to find her "asleep—breathing."
Let's not forget Elain's assistance in rescuing the human COTB, Briar, from Hybern's camp.
Will Elain prick herself while weaving?
I was tired enough that I could barely summon the breath to ask, “Do you think the Cauldron made her insane?” “I think she went through something terrible,” Lucien countered carefully. “And it wouldn’t hurt to have your best healer do a thorough examination.” I rubbed my hand over my face. “All right.” My breath snagged on the words. “Tomorrow morning.” I managed a shallow nod, rallying my strength to rise from the chair. Heavy—there was an old heaviness in me. Like I could sleep for a hundred years and it wouldn’t be enough. “Please tell me,” Lucien said when I crossed the threshold into the foyer. “What the healer says. And if—if you need me for anything.” I gave him one final nod, speech suddenly beyond me. I knew Nesta still wasn’t asleep as I walked past her room. Knew she’d heard every word of our conversation thanks to that Fae hearing. And I knew she heard as I listened at Elain’s door, knocked once, and poked my head in to find her asleep—breathing. - ACOWAR, chapter 27
Azriel specifically said Nesta "beheaded" Hybern, after looking down at Truth-Teller.
This is not Azriel giving Nesta credit for the assassination. If anything he's hiding Elain's involvement.
I've said before, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done so, but I would expect Azriel to protect his LI with silence, whoever they are.
He had to have been thinking about Elain, who I've theorised could now/soon be known as "The Shadowsinger's Knife" after she became the "knife in the dark" in Azriel's place at the end of ACOWAR.
The young girl sitting on the mushroom:
I'm still looking into the carving of the young girl sitting on the toadstool with the hound sprawled on the ground beside her, as I find it really interesting. My initial thought was that it seemed like a convenient place to drop a mention of a garden-like fairy carving with a hound right after Bryce had quizzed Azriel about his hypothetical mate, or lack thereof (Elain being both heavily associated with plant life, thanks to her "little garden," as well as dogs, after Nesta called her one in ACOSF).
I also wonder if it has anything to do with the Czech tale that amanita muscaria - while psychoactive/toxic - are said to protect from lightning and other ill fortune. If this is correct, it reminds me a little of the markings - wyrdmarks - on the Archeron cottage.
I don't know where Bryce and co were walking, as I have only read this bonus chapter and the prologue, but given it was carved on an underground wall, and I suspect that there are underground portals in at least the Hewn City and the Prison, and maybe the waterways... could it have been for protection against the invading lightning Asteri? Or did the Asteri (Daglan?) put them there to protect against Thunderbirds, or whatever Hunt is?
Miscellany
Maybe Bryce hadn't been sent there by Urd? Who then? Was @silverlinedeyes right all along?
The mention of pleasure halls seems like a call back to Azriel's bonus chapter, but it's also likely that they aren't all brothels (see Rita's).
Azriel listening closely about Nesta now liking being Fae; he could extrapolate her responses to Elain. Maybe she's no longer miserable, and in need of their pity. And maybe she's changed her mind from ACOFAS, when she said to Feyre "I don't want a mate, I don't want a male."
Azriel said "no" to whether or not he has a mate rather quickly. Hmm... the shadowsinger doth protest too much?
It's also potentially important that Nesta said "yes, WE are" curious about Azriel's mate status. Her, Azriel and most of the fandom! 😂
"Okay, okay," Bryce said. "But it'd be cool to know something about your world. Or about you." They were both silent. Bryce asked Nesta, "You have a mate, right?" She nodded to Azriel. "Do you?" "No." Azriel said quickly, flatly. "A partner or spouse?" "No." Bryce sighed. "Okay, then." Azriel's wings twitched. "You're incurably nosy." "I think that's the nicest thing you've said about me." Bryce winked at him. "Look, I just... I'm curious. Aren't you?" Azriel didn't answer, but Nesta said, "Yes. We are." - HOFAS, Bryce, Azriel and Nesta bonus chapter
All in all, while there were no overt mentions of Elain - and really, why would SJM do that in a series that wasn't Elain's own - imo we got the Elain-shaped holes in the text that I was hoping for, and I can't wait to see if there are any more in the full book.
#hofas spoilers#hofas bonus chapter#bryce azriel nesta bonus chapter#crescent city spoilers#hofas#hosab spoilers#acotar cc tog crossover theory#bryce quinlan#azriel shadowsinger#nesta archeron#elain archeron
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Plot Twist:
Bryce, meeting Azriel, then Elain
"Oh, I've read about your two in 'Great Romances of Fae'. You two are in for one hell of a ride!"
Azriel, nervously,
"Do we get a HEA?"
Elain, curiously,
"Is it a dark and erotic romance?"
Bryce, sagely,
"Yes and yes."
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Are HOFAS and ACOTAR5 going to be a tandem read ala ToD and EoS?
I know a lot of us have speculated that ACOTAR 5 might overlap some with HOFAS. But the more I think about it, the more I think HOFAS and ACOTAR5 are going to be essentially a(n unrequired) tandem read like EoS and ToD.
Sarah has said that you do not need to read CC to read the rest of the ACOTAR series, and vice versa. And that you won’t need to read HOFAS as an ACOTAR reader. But how would this work in practice?
I think the best and most logical way to do it is have ACOTAR 5 and HOFAS essentially overlap. That way she could show us what happens in HOFAS that’s relevant to the ACOTAR plot in ACOTAR 5, and she can show us what’s relevant to the CC plot in HOFAS, while Bryce is in Prythian. Doing it this way would not require her to spend large chunks of ACOTAR5 giving us the backstory of what happened while Bryce was in Prythian during HOFAS—instead, we’ll see what we need to see for the purposes of ACOTAR actually on the page in ACOTAR5.
Now, I do think that ACOTAR5 will start before chapter 78 in HOSAB (especially since things happened after ACOSF but before chapter 78 that are eluded to in chapter 78, like Az knowing where to find bryce and elain maybe moving to the townhouse) and likely will end after bryce returns to Midgard in HOFAS. But I expect that all of Bryce’s time in Prythian will be within the timeline of ACOTAR5.
Now imagine that at the beginning of HOFAS Elain is sent on a mission to find the fourth trove (to help get Bryce back) or to find the third trove weapon, or even to find out information to help contact Hel or Midgard. And Az insists on going with her to protect her. And a big part of acotar5 is going to be following them on that mission……(and that’s how Sarah unofficially confirms elriel 🤣🤣🤣)
I COULD SEE IT
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"Nesta sometimes wondered if they would ever see battle. If these priestesses would ever be willing to leave here to fight, to face violence that might summon the devouring demons of their pasts"
This seems to be yet another hint at the return of the Daglan / Asteri to Prythian. I don't think SJM is referring to their individual pasts (Gwyns time in Sangravah and Emerie's abuse from her father) but of a collective "their", as in the "devouring demons" of all the faes pasts.
"The Daglan. They ruled for millennia, and enslaved us and the humans. They were petty and cruel and drank the magic of the land like wine.”
The Asteri:
Bryce is "the key to opening the doors between worlds" and her landing in Prythian just set the wheels in motion for the Asteri.
To me, that's why Koschei, the treaty and Beron are no longer the most major threats.
They need to be dealt with for sure but Koschei is immortal just as Lanthys was and he was easily taken out by Nesta's made sword.
The leftover plots from ACOWAR, ACOFAS, and ACOSF are the equivalent of Captain America Civil War but by the end of an Elucien book, I think they'll find a way to bring peace to the Human and Fae lands and why I think this will occur in the 6-9 months between the end of SF and Bryce's arrival in Prythian (or even spilling over into her arrival in the ACOTAR world).
And that peace will be necessary for when we get to SJMs version of Endgame.
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possibly an unpopular opinion but i feel like sjm’s writing/plotting have gone downhill, which is disappointing bc i enjoyed tog so much. i actually did like the first 4 acotar books and hoeab, but her most recent work feels like she’s trying to do too much with the maasverse and it’s not well thought out (i had so many issues with the larger world plot elements of acosf and the regression on bryce’s character arc in hosab…). it feels like as she’s gotten more and more popular, whoever her current editor is doesn’t do a good job at making her ideas work best for the overall story. i’m disappointed bc the premises have so much potential but haven’t lived up to it to me :/
send me your unpopular opinions and i’ll either let you in or not
#i haven’t read hosab but i fullyyyyy agree#people have been hoping for a crossover since acotar1 came out and i’ve been so against it since the beginning#like … i just. … :/#the very concept of a crossover stems from the fact that her universes are all nearly indistinguishably similar#and i don’t know how much of that was originally intentional (my guess is zero lol)#so to see her now doing a whole sjmcu thing is … sigh.#personally i think she does this a lot — where she pulls a late-game move and acts like she was laying the groundwork all along#when ‘the grohndwork’ was actually just inconsistencies and plot holes that she capitalized on later jfkfkdkd#groundwork*** lol i can’t type today#that’s how i feel about mor/az and stay w the high lord and dorian’s dad having no name and so many other things fjfkdk#i agree w you for sure but honestly i think the lack of planning hit its peak in like 2018 and it’s been a battle since then lol#anon#asked and answered#hot takes#acotar#anti sjm#(tagging for peoples filters so i don’t get yelled at 😵💫)
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I want Bryce to look at the paintings Feyre made and just praise them into eternity so people finally get it in their brains that Feyre is a good painter
#acotar#a court of thorns and roses#hosab spoilers#cc hosab#hosab#house of sky and breath#feyre archeron#feyre#feyre cursebreaker#high lady of the night court#high lady feyre#feyre darling#bryce quinlan#Bryce Adelaide quinlan#bryce#sjm universe#sjm crossover
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SJM’s super power is giving vague interviews
We will literally go months without news and she’ll pop up talking about a random mountain from her childhood
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how HOW DID IT TAKE THIS LONG FOR ME TO NOTICE
RUHNN MOUNTAINS
R U H N N
are you fcking kidding me
#ruhn danaan#adarlan#sarah j maas#sjm#sjm books#sjm fandom#throne of glass#tog#crossover#sjm crossover#crescent city#acotar#crescent city 2#acotar theory#acotar 5#acotar 5 theory#crescent city 3#tog fandom#hosab#cc hosab#hosab theory#cc3 theory
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the crescent city series is kinda sjm’s version of history class
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The space between
This post explores how Elain and Azriel might use their powers together to uncover hidden, lost, or forgotten information. They both seem to be able to navigate the space between, sometimes called the in-between, which is not unique to Prythian and seems to be governed by the same force. As such, spoilers for all three series (TOG, ACOTAR, and CC) will be discussed. These ideas also build upon parallels and powers from the following posts:
A perfect blend: Quinlar and Elriel power parallels
Two sides of the same coin: Elriel parallels
Elain’s murky realm: her connection to the sacred trio, oracles, and mystics
A secret, lovely witch: Elain’s connection to witches across series and mythology
Merrill, a descendent of Dusk: a new order of spies
Forbidden secrets: unearthing the secrets of the sacred sister peaks
Azriel’s bonus chapter: my thoughts on a thing of secret, lovely beauty
The Space Between
The space between is a place of connection and balance where opposing forces meet. We see this concept surface in all three series. And it is particularly associated with the sacred trio—Mother, Cauldron, and Fate—which seems to be synonymous with Urd in Midgard and Wyrd (perhaps even the Goddess) in Erilea.
Prythian
Mother, Cauldron, Forces That Be (or Fate, as Rhysand says in ACOWAR; these seem to be interchangeable) that are part of existing fae beliefs and worshipped by priestesses. Services occur at dawn and dusk, which are liminal times where day and night meet.
We honor the Mother, and the Cauldron, and the Forces That Be. We have a service at dawn and at dusk, and on every holy day.
Midgard
Urd, a force, vat of life (vat is a container, like a bowl, which is how the Suriel describes the Cauldron), mother to all, secret language. The goddess, who may not really be a goddess, is part of the old beliefs of the Fae. It winds between worlds and takes many forms.
I thought the Fae bowed to Luna, but perhaps you remember the old beliefs? From a time when Urd was not a goddess but a force, winding between worlds? When she was a vat of life, a mother to all, a secret language of the universe? The Fae worshipped her then.
Erilea
Wyrd, a force that governs and forms all life, fate. Once part of an ancient religion and secret language forgotten long ago. There are gates that allow travel between worlds. Sometimes used in the same breath as the Goddess (who, according to priestesses, is called the Goddess and her gods, and we later learn that the gods are individuals within one consciousness, who can change their form).
Some books claim the Wyrd is the force that holds together and governs Erilea—and not just Erilea! Countless other worlds, too.” [….] “I’ve heard of it before,” he said, picking up his book. But his eyes remained fixed on her face. “I always thought the Wyrd was an old term for Fate—or Destiny.”
“A Wyrdmark,” the princess replied, giving it a name in Celaena’s own language. […] “They’re a part of an ancient religion that died long ago.” […] “You should leave it alone,” Nehemia said sharply, and Celaena blinked. “Such things were forgotten for a reason.”
She prayed to the Goddess, to every god she knew, to the Wyrd, to whatever was responsible for her fate, that she wouldn’t have to use it.
The Wyrd governs and forms the foundation of this world. Not just Erilea, but all life. […] There are gates—black areas in the Wyrd that allow for life to pass between the worlds. There are Wyrdgates that lead to Erilea. All sorts of beings have come through them over the eons.
The High Priestess walked onto the stone platform and raised her hands above her head. The folds of her midnight-blue gossamer robe fell around her, and her white hair was long and unbound. An eight-pointed star was tattooed upon her brow in a shade of blue that matched her gown, its sharp lines extending to her hairline. “Welcome all, and may the blessings of the Goddess and all her gods be upon you.” Her voice echoed across the chamber to reach even those in the back.
Sarah likely drew inspiration for this sacred trio from Norse mythology: völva, which is another name for wise woman, seer, or witch, use seidr to exert influence over Wyrd (Fate). Seidr is a type of magic that is strongly associated with household duties, such as weaving, and often involves spá (prophecy) and galdr (song/spell). It is also connected to gods and shapeshifting. As I have said before, it is likely no coincidence that Elain was so curious about the weaver’s creation of Void and Hope, and whether or not Amren was able to change her body in ACOFAS. It also makes sense that this sacred trio is connected to witches and priestesses across series, and explains why they will be important in Elain’s journey as a powerful seer.
The parallels don’t end there. Due to the nature of the sacred trio, it is connected to beings and symbols that bridge time and space across all three series.
Prythian
In his cell, the Carver—who is ancient—draws three interwoven circles in his cell as he tells Feyre the history of his family. He calls Koschei and Stryga death-gods who delighted in this world and were feared and worshipped by the fae thousands of years ago, similar to the gods in Erilea. It isn’t until ACOSF, however, that we start to notice a mysterious being—which is assumed to be the Mother—help Nesta. It is unclear, however, how gods are created. Are they all Made, and therefore part of the consciousness of the sacred trio? Nesta herself was described as a death-god with her Cauldron-blessed powers. So, is this mysterious presence a god or a powerful fae who has been gifted god-like powers (which might include speaking to beings across worlds and guiding them when needed)? Or did a god or two escape their fate in the hell-realm they were forced into and find refuge in Prythian? Nesta felt the need to place Elain’s rose next to a figurine of what she suspects is the Mother herself, and it is balanced in a liminal space, half-hidden in the shadows. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Her gaze shifted to the carved wooden rose she’d placed upon the mantel, half-hidden in the shadows beside a figurine of a supple-bodied female, her upraised arms clasping a full moon between them. Some sort of primal goddess—perhaps even the Mother herself. Nesta hadn’t let herself dwell on why she’d felt the need to set the rose there. Why she hadn’t just thrown it in a drawer.
In the bonus scene that occurs after this chapter, Elain is then gifted a delicate rose amulet with hidden layers that glows with three colors: red, pink, white. Like the amulet itself, she is briefly gilded by faelight and glows like the dawn. I suspect this is a hint for her hidden Cauldron-blessed powers, which may be similar to the higher beings who can change form and navigate the in-between to guide others. Is that what the Cauldron meant when it gave her such powers?
The golden necklace seemed ordinary—its chain unremarkable, the amulet tiny enough that it could be dismissed as an everyday charm. It was a small, flat rose fashioned of stained glass, designed so that when held to the light, the true depth of colors would become visible. A thing of secret, lovely beauty. […] The golden faelight shone through the little glass facets, setting the charm glowing with hues of red and pink and white.
Elain and the Cauldron seem to be connected, as both are described as blooming flowers:
The Cauldron shattered into three pieces, peeling apart like a blossoming flower—and then she came.
She was a rose bloom in a mud field. […] If Elain was a blooming flower in this army camp, then Nesta … she was a freshly forged sword, waiting to draw blood.
Her amulet is also made of stained glass, which naturally reminds me of the hidden witch mirror in the Eye of Elena, or Eye of the Goddess, as Manon later corrects. Witch mirrors, as we’ll see, can be used for various purposes—including navigating the in-between for secrets or holding power. It is interesting that this amulet finds its way to Clotho, a High Priestess of a religious order that still worships the sacred trio and has services where seven priestesses weave songs together like spells, under strange and mysterious circumstances.
Midgard
Bryce is given a delicate, golden amulet with three layers of circles. It is is called an Archesian amulet, which is eerily similar to the surname Archeron. Jesiba Roga, who gave this amulet to Bryce, goes by a name that is similar to Jezibaba, which is another name for Baba Yaga, Baba Roga, etc. And she just so happens to be hiding the remains of an ancient library, which was guarded by priestesses who are connected to the amulets (@silverlinedeyes has an amazing theory related to this). Is it possible that these priestesses are connected to witches and priestesses in other worlds, like Baba Yellowlegs, an Ancient with witch mirrors and knowledge of the sacred trio? Or High Priestess Oleanna, who used the Cauldron to create powerful objects that defeated the Daglan thousands of years ago? Was Oleanna’s role, like Elena in Erilea, forgotten for a reason? And will Elain, like Aelin, need to uncover her past for answers? (Bonus if there’s an ancestral connection, too.)
Bryce zipped a tiny golden pendant—a knot of three entwined circles—along the delicate chain around her neck. […] Bryce’s daily armor consisted solely of this: an Archesian amulet barely the size of her thumbnail, gifted by Jesiba on the first day of work.
“Says the female with the Archesian amulet around her neck. The amulet of the priestesses who once served and guarded Parthos. I think you know what’s here—that you spend your days in the midst of all that remains of the library after most of it burned at Vanir hands fifteen thousand years ago.”
Symbols like the amulets and stars represent balance. As we learn from Hypaxia—the Witch Queen in CC—there is power in the union of opposites, and specifically in the space where they meet and merge.
“A six-pointed star,” he said. Like the one Bryce had made between the Gates this spring, with the seventh candle at its center. “It’s a symbol of balance,” she explained, moving away a foot, but keeping the dagger at her side. Her crown of cloudberries seemed to glow with an inner light. “Two intersecting triangles. Male and female, dark and light, above and below … and the power that lies in the place where they meet.” Her face became grave. “It is in that place of balance where I’ll focus my power.”
Roses are also connected to liminal spaces—light and dark, goddesses, dreams, spirits, and travel—in all three series. But perhaps it’s not so strange when you consider their association with secrecy, divinity, and psychic powers.
He caught her, and sighed. She could have sworn he sounded … exasperated. He gave no warning as he hauled her over a shoulder and tromped down a set of stairs before entering somewhere … nice-smelling. Roses? Bread? They ate bread in Hel? Had flowers? A dark, cold world, the Asteri had said in their notes on the planet.
Erilea
In Erilea, Aelin meets her ancestor, Elena, in a dream after navigating secret passageways. She is drawn to a portal that smells warm and pleasant, like roses.
Celaena dreamt. She was walking down the long, secret passage again. She didn’t have a candle, nor did she have a string to lead her. She chose the portal on the right, for the other two were dank and unwelcoming, and this one seemed to be warm and pleasant. And the smell—it wasn’t the smell of mildew, but of roses. The passage twisted and wound, and Celaena found herself descending a narrow set of stairs. For some reason she couldn’t name, she avoided brushing against the stone. The staircase swooped down, winding on and on, and she followed the rose scent whenever another door or arch appeared.
The rose scent is connected to her ancestor, Elena, who descends from a goddess and uses the in-between to give Aelin a delicate amulet that has three layers of circles that forms an eye and has hidden depths of its own.
She expected to find a dark, forgotten room, but this was something far different. A shaft of moonlight shot through a small hole in the ceiling, falling upon the face of a beautiful marble statue lying upon a stone slab. No—not a statue. A sarcophagus. It was a tomb. Trees were carved into the stone ceiling, and they stretched above the sleeping female figure. A second sarcophagus had been placed beside the woman, depicting a man. Why was the woman’s face bathed in moonlight and the man’s in darkness?
In her hand lay a coin-size gold amulet on a delicate chain. She fought against the urge to scream. Made of intricate bands of metal, within the round border of the amulet lay two overlapping circles, one on top of the other. In the space that they shared was a small blue gem that gave the center of the amulet the appearance of an eye. A line ran straight through the entire thing. It was beautiful, and strange, and—
The phantom breeze flowed through her room, smelling of roses.
Elena goes on to protect Aelin with her golden light, which no doubt comes from her mother—the Lady of Light—who glows like the dawn.
And from another world, Elena swept down, cloaked in golden light. The ancient queen’s hair glittered like a shooting star as she plummeted into Erilea.
We find out after the fact that Nehemiah opened a portal with Wyrdmarks, which might be the secret language the Under-King mentioned. Elena is able to use the In-Between to help:
But the queen was both in and not in this world. She was in the In-Between, where she could not fully cross over, nor could the creatures that you saw. It takes an enormous amount of power to open a true portal to let something through—and even then, the portal will close after a moment.
Elena’s role was forgotten for a specific reason. We see Elain disappearing from the battle narrative already, but that might relate more to her powers. Is she bound to be known as the Seer more broadly, like the Shadowsinger, and others who are closely connected to the sacred trio? Those who have the power of sight, in particular, are solely known by their power—oracle or mystic. Is she willing others to forget for an important reason we will discover in the future? Whatever the reason, her presence and actions seem to be hidden intentionally.
“There are many things history has forgotten about me.” Elena’s blue eyes glowed with sorrow and anger. “I fought on the battlefields during the demon wars against Erawan—at Gavin’s side. That’s how we fell in love. But your legends portray me as a damsel who waited in a tower with a magic necklace that would help the heroic prince.”
Because I was sleeping—a long, endless sleep—and I was awoken by a voice. And the voice didn’t belong to one person, but to many. Some whispering, some screaming, some not even aware that they were crying out.
Like Elain’s amulet, the Eye of the Goddess (Eye of Elena) has hidden depths: it is a witch mirror that contains power.
A large circle—and two overlapping circles, one atop the other, within its circumference. “That is the Three-Faced Goddess,” Manon said, her voice low. “We call this …” She drew a rough line in the centermost circle, in the eye-shaped space where they overlapped. “The Eye of the Goddess. Not Elena.” She circled the exterior again. “Crone,” she said of the outermost circumference. She circled the interior top circle: “Mother.” She circled the bottom: “Maiden.” She stabbed the eye inside: “And the heart of the Darkness within her. […] That is an Ironteeth symbol. Blueblood prophets have it tattooed over their hearts. And those who won valor in battle, when we lived in the Wastes … they were once given those. To mark our glory—our being Goddess-blessed.”
Witch mirrors are incredibly powerful and they play a critical role in the TOG series.
The marking of the Eye of Elena. A witch symbol. […] It was Manon who answered, glancing sidelong at the grim-faced queen, “It’s a witch mirror.” […] “You can see the future, past, present. You can speak between mirrors, if someone possesses the sister-glass. And then there are the rare silvers—whose forging demands something vital from the maker.” Manon’s voice dropped low. Dorian wondered if even among the Blackbeaks, these tales had only been whispered at their campfires. “Other mirrors amplify and hold blasts of raw power, to be unleashed if the mirror is aimed at something.”
A different witch glass allows Aelin and Manon to discover what happened in the past and what must be done to fix it. They get a glimpse of the higher beings that have watched over and influenced their world:
They had no forms. They were only figments of light and shadow, wind and rain, song and memory. Each individual, and yet a part of one majority, one consciousness. […] Not just gods, but beings of a higher, different existence. For whom time was fluid, and bodies were things to be shifted and molded. Who could exist in multiple places, spread themselves wide like nets being thrown.
These parallels seem too precise to be coincidental: a sacred trio, amulets, secrets, roses, gods, priestesses, and witches all bridging the space between. It is likely, then, that we will see another symbol of balance: a bridge of power between two characters.
Conduits and Carranam
In HOSAB, Hunt and Bryce are encouraged to explore the similarities between their powers and train together:
“Both of you would benefit from training. Your powers are more similar than you realize. Conduits, both of you. You have no idea how valuable you and the others like you are.”
But it had worked. He’d taken the power and converted it into his own. Whatever the fuck that meant. Apollion had known—or guessed enough to be right. And Bryce … the sword …She’d been a conduit to his power.
Apollion calls them conduits, which derives from the Latin word for bring together. Conduits create a link or pathway between two things, and in this context, that thing is power. The presence of the Horn makes the link between Bryce and Hunt particularly unique. When their powers merge, they are not only able to convert magic, but even able to teleport together:
Falling through time and space and light and shadow—Up was down and down was up, and they were the only beings in existence, here in this garden, locked away from time—
Something cold and hard pushed into her back, but she didn’t care, not as she clenched Hunt to her, gasping down air, sanity. […] Sweat coated their bodies, and she dragged her fingers down his spine. He was hers, and she was his, and—
“Bryce,” Hunt said, and Bryce opened her eyes. Harsh, blinding light greeted them. White walls, diving equipment, and—a ladder. No hint of a garden.
Hunt describes how it felt to have her magic travel through him:
He didn’t know how to describe it—the feeling of her magic wending through him. Like he existed all at once and not at all, like he could craft whatever he wished from thin air and nothing would be denied to him. Did she live with this, day after day? That pure sense of … possibility? It had faded since they’d teleported, but he could still feel it there, in his chest, where her handprint had glowed. A slumbering little kernel of creation.
Her magic is described as a force that winds through him, making him feel like nothing and everything at once. They achieve that space of in-between, of balance, that Hypaxia uses to channel her magic. That magic remains with him, a slumbering kernel of creation waiting to be activated again.
The word conduit is also used in Prythian when Feyre, who is Made, acts as a conduit for the Cauldron—to both unbind and bind. After the spell she works unbinds Amren and the Cauldron, she has to act urgently because it has torn a hole in the fabric of the world. Like Hunt, she becomes both something and nothing at once. Rhysand’s magic flows through her to bind the Cauldron and he expends his power, his entire life force, to do it.
I was both form and nothing. And behind me … Rhys’s power was a tether. An unending lightning strike that surged from me into this … place. To be shaped as I willed it. Made and un-Made. […] I remembered a mural I had seen at the Spring Court. Tucked away in a dusty, unused library. It told the story of Prythian. It told the story of a Cauldron. This Cauldron. And when it was held by female hands … All life flowed from it. I reached mine out, Rhys’s power rippling through me. United. Joined as one. Ask and answer. I was not afraid. Not with him there.
Rhys’s power flowed through me, out of me. The Cauldron appeared. Light danced along the fissures where the broken thirds had come together. There—there I would need to forge. To weld. To bind. I put a hand against the side of the Cauldron. Raw, brutal power cascaded out of me. I leaned back into him, unafraid of that power, of the male who held me.
This pathway for sharing magic seems to function the same as carranam in TOG. According to Rowan, carranam bonds are rare and require deep trust. Some do not even risk exploring their compatibility given the vulnerability it requires, but it can be extremely advantageous in dire situations. Carranam can also communicate silently with one another.
Before we discover that Aelin and Rowan are carranam in TOG, Aelin uses a sacred object—Damaris, Sword of Truth—as a conduit for her magic:
She had little control over the power, but she did have a sword—a sacred sword made by the Fae, capable of withstanding magic. A conduit. Not giving herself time to think it through, she threw all her raw power into the golden sword. Its blade glowed red-hot, its edges crackling with lightning.
This scene, where Aelin reveals her fae heritage and channels her magic through another source, seems like intentional foreshadowing for her carranam bond with Rowan, which is introduced in the next book. And the language Sarah uses to confirm they are carranam is similar to language she uses between Elain and Azriel during their key scenes, which I will get to soon.
Rowan reached her, panting and bloody. She did not dishonor him by asking him to flee as he extended his bleeding palm, offering his raw power to harness now that she was well and truly emptied. She knew it would work. She had suspected it for some time now. They were carranam.
He had come for her. She held his gaze as she grabbed her own dagger and cut her palm, right over the scar she’d given herself at Nehemia’s grave. And though she knew he could read the words on her face, she said, “To whatever end?”
He nodded, and she joined hands with him, blood to blood and soul to soul, his other arm coming around to grip her tightly. Their hands clasped between them, he whispered into her ear, “I claim you, too, Aelin Galathynius.”
Rowan’s magic punched into her, old and strange and so vast her knees buckled. He held her with that unrelenting strength, and she harnessed his wild power as he opened his innermost barriers, letting it flow through her.
A spear of black punched into her head—offering one more vision in a mere heartbeat. Not a memory, but a glimpse of the future. The sounds and smell and look of it were so real that only her grip on Rowan kept her anchored in the world.
So she was not afraid of that crushing black, not with the warrior holding her, not with the courage that having one true friend offered—a friend who made living not so awful after all, not if she were with him.
Offer and permission. Rowan came for Aelin and offered his hand, his power. She accepts his offer without the need for explanation. Their hands remain between them. Blood to blood, soul to soul. This language also appears in the witch curse, and the next sentence is: be the bridge, be the light. Together, these couples forge a bond of friendship, trust, and power. And it usually changes the course of the world.
Opposing forces
It is no coincidence that Elain and Azriel are described as opposing forces that achieve harmony together: light and dark, life and death, Hope and Void. They represent two halves of a magical whole, just like the Cauldron. And I suspect their opposing powers are pointed out for a reason.
All three are described as slumbering before their key scenes together:
But the Cauldron. As if some great sleeping beast opened an eye. The Cauldron seemed to sense us watching. Sense us there. […] She only panted, and that monstrous force swelled behind us, a black wave rising up.
I watched the light shift inside the sapphire Siphon instead, as if it were the great eye of some half-slumbering beast from a frozen wasteland.
The gates to her mind … Solid iron, covered in vines of flowers—or it would have been. The blossoms were all sealed, sleeping buds tucked into tangles of leaves and thorns.
The Suriel calls Elain the trembling fawn (an echo of the Book of Breathings), and Azriel’s powers are compared to a beast. Together, they create a fanged beast and trembling fawn, though I still believe Elain could represent both on her own.
As the fawn, Elain is linked to the warmth of dawn and spring: the rebirth of life after the peaceful slumber of night and winter. And that wild power Azriel possesses is often associated with a cold, final rest: death.
“The Cauldron.” Another awful smile. “Yes. That mighty, wicked thing. That bowl of death and life.” It shivered with what I could have sworn was delight.
Her sister’s delicate scent of jasmine and honey lingered in the red-stoned hall like a promise of spring, a sparkling river that she followed to the open doors of the chamber.
Azriel, his face a mask of beautiful death, silently promised them all endless, unyielding torment, even the shadows shuddering in his wake.
They also seem to combine Hope (iridescent light, or luminous colors) and Void (dark that devours all other light and color), which again creates balance associated with the Cauldron.
No crackling braziers, no faelights. And in the center of the massive tent … a darkness that devoured the light. The Cauldron.
Tendrils of light drifted between the sisters. And one, delicate and loving, floated toward Mor. To the bundle in her arms, setting the silent babe within glowing bright as the sun. […] And as it faded, dark ink splashed upon Nesta’s back, visible through her half-shredded shirt, as if it were a wave crashing upon the shore. A bargain. With the Cauldron itself. Yet Cassian could have sworn a luminescent, gentle hand prevented the light from leaving her body altogether.
Azriel’s black hair seemed to gobble up the blinding sunlight.
Azriel silently faded into blackness—until he was my own shadow and nothing more.
Her sister turned toward her, glowing with health. Elain’s smile was as bright as the setting sun beyond the windows.
Soft steps padded from under the stair archway, and there she was. The Faelights gilded Elain’s unbound hair, making her glow like the sun at dawn.
And while they may be at odds—as opposing forces naturally are—there is beauty and harmony in the place where they meet.
Elain sat silently at one of the wrought-iron tables, a cup of tea before her. Azriel was sprawled on the chaise longue across the gray stones, sunning his wings and reading what looked to be a stack of reports—likely information on the Autumn Court that he planned to present to Rhys once he’d sorted through it all. Already dressed for the Hewn City—the brutal, beautiful armor so at odds with the lovely garden. And my sister sitting within it.
The place where they meet
These aren’t the only important scenes, of course, but they are scenes in which all three—the Cauldron, Azriel, and Elain—play a central role. The first scene occurs when Elain is lured and stolen by the Cauldron, and Azriel is the one who notices and plans to rescue her before others, even her own sisters. At this point (and I’d argue that this truly began at their very first meeting, like @offtorivendell) we can see they have a special connection. So what I am about to suggest may sound a little wild, and likely isn’t the case (yet), but I think it may at least be possible in the future.
Azriel and Elain are both perceptive and seem to read each other well without words, like those who are carranam. Unlike Mor and others, Elain does not need to pester Azriel to make him explain or talk about feelings.
Rhys loosed a breath. “It’s hard to tell with him—and he’d never tell me. I’ve witnessed Cassian rip apart opponents and then puke his guts up once the carnage stopped, sometimes even mourn them. But Azriel … Cassian tries, I try—but I think the only person who ever gets him to admit to any sort of feeling is Mor. And that’s only when she’s pestered him to the point where even his infinite patience has run out.”
In fact, Elain is able to elicit explanation and feeling from Azriel on her first attempt in their very first meeting: he admits that it can be frightening to fly, especially in bad conditions. It’s interesting that her first question, while seemingly simple and obvious, is focused on travel, something we know she desires, and something he wasn’t taught until later, which surely she couldn’t have known at that point.
Elain said to Azriel, perhaps the only two civilized ones here, “Can you truly fly?”
He set down his fork, blinking. I might have even called him self-conscious. He said, “Yes. Cassian and I hail from a race of faeries called Illyrians. We’re born hearing the song of the wind.”
“That’s very beautiful,” she said. “Is it not—frightening, though? To fly so high?”
“It is sometimes,” Azriel said. Cassian tore his relentless attention from Nesta long enough to nod his agreement. “If you are caught in a storm, if the current drops away.”
Similarly, Azriel seems to be able to read her without his shadows from this first interaction. Even with this connection, his reaction to her capture is noteworthy for a couple of reasons. First, he speaks from the shadows, as if in silent conversation with someone. This statement could simply be a response to the shadows, or it could be a response to someone, like Elain, who has powers that allow her to appear to and potentially communicate with others across realms. If they share a bond of power, then this might be yet another clue.
From the shadows near the entrance to the tent, Azriel said, as if in answer to some unspoken debate, “I’m getting her back.”
And most unusual, his eyes glow golden rather than darken like we would expect when he is upset. This could be attributed to strong emotions (like his joyful laughter in ACOFAS), but…it could also be connected to Elain’s magic. The only thing the Suriel notes of Elain’s search for it was that it could see her doe eyes peering at it from across the world. We don’t yet know what it looks like from the other side when mystics make contact, but we do know the ones they connect with—namely Princes of Hel—can, like conduits, peer back through their eyes to ascertain where they are. And like @silverlinedeyes and @offtorivendell have theorized, the Illyrians might share heritage with Princes of Hel.
Nesta slid her gaze to the shadowsinger. Azriel’s hazel eyes glowed golden in the shadows. Nesta said, “Then you will die.” Azriel only repeated, rage glazing that stare, “I’m getting her back.”
If Azriel was engaging in silent communication with Elain, as @offtorivendell has suggested before, and she was trying to use a new power she didn’t fully understand, then her shock makes even more sense. My personal headcanon is that she told him not to come, tried to convince him she was okay…and he came for her anyway. (Yeah, yeah, this likely didn’t happen, but a girl can dream. That’s why I said it was headcanon.)
She shook her head, devouring the sight of him as if not quite believing it. “You came for me.” The shadowsinger only inclined his head.
This small moment sounds a lot like the way Aelin responds when Rowan comes for her and offers her his power in another dire situation.
I love how this entire rescue sequence conveys their natural chemistry as they work together quietly and harmoniously even under dire circumstances. And when Azriel loses the current and drops a few feet suddenly, Elain is notably silent unlike Briar. She isn’t afraid with Azriel, her friend who came for her, holding her. Just like Feyre and Aelin weren’t afraid when their counterparts held them. It’s almost as if they were designed to travel together.
But he snarled, “Fly,” and I veered toward the way I’d come, back trembling with the effort to keep my body upright. Azriel turned, the girl moaning in terror as he lost a few feet to the sky—before he leveled out and soared beside me.
Sarah reminded us of this rescue sequence more than once in ACOSF for a reason, and I think that reason relates to their connection, but we won’t know for sure until the next book.
The other Cauldron-centric scene with Elain and Azriel involves rescuing the world. Azriel does something noteworthy in her presence yet again: he entrusts Truth-Teller to her, which is described like him and the Cauldron. As @ofduskcourts has pointed out, he arms her with this legendary blade gently, tenderly.
“It has never failed me once,” the shadowsinger said, the midday sun devoured by the dark blade. “Some people say it is magic and will always strike true.” He gently took her hand and pressed the hilt of the legendary blade into it. “It will serve you well.”
And then their eyes meet and hands linger, words yet again not required for them to read each other. Blood to blood and soul to soul.
Elain looked up at Azriel, their eyes meeting, his hand still lingering on the hilt of the blade.
Be the bridge…
I saw the painting in my mind: the lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two. The only bridge of connection…that knife.
While I do believe feelings motivated Azriel in his gesture, I also can’t help but wonder if the blade wanted to be given to her (remember, Made items like Truth-Teller often became sentient). As @merymoonbeam suggests, it may have even recognized her as kin and sang to her like the Starsword sang to Bryce, who is the Starborn heir, not simply someone who has Starborn heritage. This inheritance seems to pass down through females, so what if that is the case for Truth-Teller? It may also explain why her eyes widen at the sight of the blade.
Be the (dark) light. Elain accepts the blade and uses it to change the course of the war and the fate of the realm. My favorite part of this rescue is that she appears to answer Feyre’s pleas, instead of or in coordination with the Cauldron, as though they are linked. I suspect this may have happened at the end of ACOSF as well (which I explain more in a reblog of the murky post). The Cauldron—part of the sacred trio—then purrs for Elain. Purrs. (If she can make that beast of a bowl purr, does that mean she can also make Azriel purr? Sorry, had to ask.)
For a moment, I thought the Cauldron had answered my pleas. […] Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.” […] The Cauldron purred in Elain’s presence as the King of Hybern slumped to his knees, clawing at the knife jutting through his throat. Elain backed away a step.
And perhaps like Nesta, who needed to maintain distance from the Trove objects after recovering them, Elain returned the blade to Azriel in the same gentle manner and did not look back. The level of trust Azriel displays is noteworthy enough for Mor and Feyre to discuss in ACOFAS, which acts as a bridge between the main trilogy and spin-off novels. In other words, like the rescue scene, we aren’t quite done with that thread of the story yet.
Those two scenes, along with the other clues, lead us to the bit about how their powers might be brought together in future books. If you’ve read any of my recent theories, you know I have been circling around how they might travel together using their powers. @silverlinedeyes and @offtorivendell also suspect that both Azriel and Elain have access to Void. A while back, @elrielbliss posted about their ability to teleport, and @merymoonbeam reminded us of the pocket-realm Apollion uses to speak with Hunt. A pocket-realm is the space—or void—between, where life can pass through as we learned in Erilea.
“I am not in your mind, though your thoughts ripple toward me like your world’s radio waves. You and I are in a place between our worlds. A pocket-realm, as it were.”
I believe that those who have been granted access to the space between—like Elain and Azriel—can use it to travel. Not only are they both connected to the Cauldron, which is a magic bowl of power and a portal, but they are also both gifted with unique powers that allow them to travel in ways that uncover secrets, truths that have been hidden or forgotten over time. These powers are given to them in the dark: Azriel’s powers came to him while he was locked up in an airless, lightless cell, and Elain’s sight was gifted to her when she was tossed into the dark womb-like waters of the Cauldron.
In the centuries I’d known him, he’d said little about his life, those years in his father’s keep, locked in darkness. Perhaps the shadowsinger gift had come to him then, perhaps he’d taught himself the language of shadow and wind and stone.
More water than seemed possible dumped out in a cascade. Black, smoke-coated water. And Elain, as if she’d been thrown by a wave, washed onto the stones facedown.
They both possess the gift of moving unseen and unheard:
I didn’t want to think about where they’d go, what Azriel would do. I hadn’t even known Azriel possessed the ability to winnow, or whatever power he’d channeled through his Siphons. He’d let Rhys winnow us both in the other day—unless the power was too draining to be used so lightly.
But we were gone. Azriel’s dark breeze was different from Rhys’s. Colder. Sharper. It cut through the world like a blade, spearing us toward that army camp.
And as if he’d summoned him, Azriel stepped out of a pocket of shadow by the stairs and scanned us from head to toe.
Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.”
Elain spoke from the doorway, having appeared so silently that they all twisted toward her, “Using me.”
Do they access the space between when they travel physically, giving themselves over to wind and darkness?
She didn’t dare see if Hunt still stood after his flawless shot. Not as the air of the Gate’s arch turned black. Murky. […] Bryce gave herself to the wind and darkness, and teleported for the Gate.
Does time slow when they travel, similar to when Bryce accesses the gate with the Horn?
Rigelus roared as Bryce jumped into the awaiting darkness. It caught her, sticky like a web. Time slowed to a glacial drip. […] She fell, slowly and without end—and sideways. Not a plunge down, but a yank across. The pressure in her ears threatened to pulp her brain, and she was screaming into wind and stars and emptiness, screaming to Hunt and Ruhn, left behind in that crystal palace. Screaming—
Her teleportation is associated with terms that remind us of the Cauldron (the icy darkness of Void), Azriel (his icy rage and cold, dark breeze), and Elain (murky realm). Murkiness, like darkness, is ambiguous enough to describe air or water, and it is this dark setting that both oracles and mystics use to activate their powers. Like the higher beings who are part of the same consciousness (which I believe is the sacred trio), they also possess different forms: one is a sphinx and the other is a wolf shifter. Elain persistently asked about changing bodies in the book that is meant to act as a bridge for future stories, so the connection between gods, sacred sight, guidance, and different forms might be another hint that Elain can shift between forms and places, like the sacred trio. Similar to the gate that allows Bryce to travel, the mystic wolf’s water is described as murky:
But Ithan stormed to the nearest tub. The wolf mystic floated in the murky, salt-laden water, hair spread around her, eyes closed. Breathing mask and tubes back in place.
Just like Elain’s inner sight:
Elain was staring at the unlit fireplace, eyes lost to that vague murkiness.
Elain blinked and blinked, eyes clearing again. As if the understanding, our understanding … it freed her from whatever murky realm she’d been in.
@offtorivendell also pointed out this thought from Feyre, which reinforces what we suspect. Elain can access the space between through her murky realm, and uses it to wander, like the sacred trio:
Elain had been told—by Amren. She now sat at the table, more straight-backed and clear-eyed than I’d seen her. Had she beheld this, in whatever wanderings that new, inner sight granted her? Had the Cauldron whispered of it while we’d been away? I hadn’t the heart to ask her.
If she does travel like the sacred trio, does it look like this?
I lunged for them, but the Cauldron was too fast. Too strong. It whipped me back, back, back—across the battlefield. […] We arced away, across the field. […] We whisked by so quickly I couldn’t hear what was said… […] The Cauldron sucked back into itself, and I was again atop that rock. […] I snapped back into my body. My hand remained atop the Cauldron. A living bond. But with the Cauldron settled into itself…I blinked. I could blink.
Like Nesta flowing into the Prison during her song-induced vision, Feyre is whisked across the battlefield by the Cauldron. It moves like a force. When her hands are on its iron body, she describes their connection as a living bond. As I have theorized before, Elain seems to possess a living bond with the Cauldron through her murky realm, which may be just beyond the vine-covered iron mental gates. This living bond allows her to move through the world, and in between worlds, like the higher beings who are part of that sacred consciousness, providing guidance and support when needed. And when she withdraws from the endless, murky pathways of this consciousness, she blinks.
Accessing the past, rather than watching the present, may function slightly different. But it also resides in that space between. When in the witch mirror, Aelin and Manon have bodies that are not bodies. It is a void, a place of dark light, and the memories they witness ripple and expand—like air or water.
Aelin had a body that was not a body. She knew only because in this void, this foggy twilight, Manon had a body. A nearly transparent, wraithlike body, but … a form nonetheless. […] Not … this. Not absolutely nothing. […] The eddying fog darkened, and Manon and Aelin stepped close together, back to back. Pure night swept around them—blinding them. Then—a murky, dim light ahead. No, not ahead. Approaching them. But the light rippled and expanded, figures within it appearing. Solidifying. […] They stared into the swirling mist again, where the scenes—the memories—had unfolded.
Is it possible that Elain can access both past and present, but they require different pathways in the space between? Will she travel those pathways with someone else—her wraithlike friends, one of the priestesses, or her bonded partner and friend? Like Rowan is for Aelin, I suspect Azriel might also be the voice, a tether for Elain in the void—a secret, silent dreamer.
He was a voice in the void, a secret, silent dreamer. And so were his companions.
And with Azriel’s presence, she won’t need to be afraid of what she uncovers. They will face it together. The big question for me is, what does travel look like when their powers merge and they access that space between? Can Elain take Azriel wherever she travels mentally, like the Cauldron does when it is connected to Feyre through a living bond? Is it possible for them to navigate those pathways and physically appear together wherever they focus their intention? Or is it simply that, with Azriel’s power, Elain might travel deeper and faster without losing herself to the cosmos like others have? It would make sense that he can—as carranam do—physically and mentally anchor her. Any of these possibilities might help Bryce find Hel and, ultimately, uncover lost truths to defeat the Asteri, who will likely use every advantage they possess—including a network of mystics, if they haven’t already—to exact revenge. Elain and Azriel will need to explore their powers and travel to whatever end to find the answers, all to weave a more hopeful future together.
“It was those voices that woke me. The voices of those wishing for an answer, for help.” Elena’s eyes slid to Manon, then back to hers. “They were from all kingdoms, all races. Human, witch-kind, Fae … But they wove a tapestry of dreams, all begging for that one thing … A better world.
#elriel#elain archeron#azriel#seer elain#azriel shadowsinger#elain x azriel#carranam#conduits#hosab spoilers#cc acotar tog crossover theories#this is the longest post I’ve ever written#sorry not really sorry#witches and priestesses and seers oh my#the space between
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Is an oily residue corrupting Azriel's hypothetical mating bond and making him feel off kilter? Is it related to Valg-type magic?
Disclaimer: this theory is a continuation of a few of my others that I've been too lazy to post until now - first I was going to post it for Elriel Month 2023, then Azriel Week 2023... it never happened - but like everyone else I'm having massive FOMO before HOFAS, so here we finally go, even though I know I've forgotten something lol. As usual, this makes no claims of being accurate, it's just theorising for fun.
A massive thank you goes out to @wingedblooms, @tswaney17, @silverlinedeyes, @psychologynerd, @ladynightcourt3, @cassianfanclub, and anyone else I've forgotten (sorry!) for all of our discussions that finally became this post. Love you guys. 💜
Spoilers: this is a Maasverse post, and draws from the ACOTAR series, CC 1 & 2/HOEAB & HOSAB, and the TOG series. It is CC 3/HOFAS spoiler free, as I'm waiting to read it in its "original English" 🤓 on the 30th of January. Please be respectful of that if engaging in the comments before it's published!
Plenty of people, including @silverlinedeyes, @icedflames and myself, have posted our thoughts on mating bonds in the Maasverse, and this theory builds on those previously established - though again, as yet hypothetical - ideas. Specifically, this post about the use of “oily” throughout the ACOTAR series is recommended reading.
What we do know is that:
Mating bonds contain threads, and so do spells.
Mates are the song/music of the soul, and their laughter is likened to music.
Different fae, and magics, contain different scents, be that personal or regional
First, let's go back to ACOWAR, when Feyre described the Ravens' entrance into the library as being like an off-kilter chord:
I felt it at the same moment she did. The ripple and tremor. Like … like some piece of the world shifted, like some off-kilter chord had been plucked. We turned toward the illuminated path that we’d just taken through the stacks, then to the dark far, far beyond. - ACOWAR, chapter 30
Initially, I had wondered if the King of Hybern had had Jurian use the Harp to infiltrate Velaris, but it was @merymoonbeam (I think) who theorised that the Cauldron might be mimicking the Harp, and maybe not doing the best job of it. Which made me wonder, could it do the same with mate bonds?
He left the rest unspoken. Because her mate was here, sleeping a level up. Because her mate had been in the family room and Azriel had needed to stay by the door the whole time because he couldn't stand the sight of it, the scent of their mating bond, and needed to have the option of leaving if it became too much. - ACOSF, Azriel's bonus chapter
Looking at her now … She was pale, yes. The vacancy still glazing her features. But he couldn’t breathe as she faced him fully. She was the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. Betrayal, queasy and oily, slid through his veins. He’d said the same to Jesminda once. But even as shame washed through him, the words, the sense chanted, Mine. You are mine, and I am yours. Mate. - ACOWAR, chapter 24
What if the Elucien bond, as either a spell or piss poor Cauldron-Made approximation of a bond, causes Azriel - and maybe Elain, possibly Lucien - nausea when Lucien is around because it's constantly changing, or reverberating over the top of, what remains of a hypothetical Elriel bond?
What if it's making the Elriel bond off-kilter, out of whack, imbalanced?
Does this make Azriel feel sick, nauseous, or simply overwhelmed/overstimulated?
When people are feeling off-balance, for whatever reason, they can feel sick or nauseous. It's one of the symptoms of vertigo, which can be triggered by severe headaches such as migraines. And guess who rubs their temples? Azriel!
Alternatively, certain chords played loudly enough on a string instrument can really mess with your chest - and where do mating bonds attach - if you're standing close enough for them to vibrate through you (at least, they do for me haha). It can be weirdly disconcerting, and I'd imagine that if Azriel or Elain feels something like this, no wonder he describes such severe discomfort that he needs to leave, and she shrinks away from Lucien, the unintentional cause of her pain.
Same with the smell; if the magic of the Cauldron, in whatever way, is messing with the smell that should be there? Contaminating it? Unbearable.
Is this too crack for you? Well, let's get even crazier.
I have previously suggested that the Cauldron's actions throughout the series could be tracked, in part, by SJM describing a feeling or quality as “oily,” and I've also wondered if the dark maker of the Cauldron - Koschei? - could have hijacked it in some way, as the Book of Breathings being made from leftover iron gave me “One Ring” vibes. I still stand by that, but with a clarification (and here is where the TOG and CC spoilers come in, FYI). I think it's only half of the magic belonging to the Cauldron that is "oily":
Throughout TOG, the Valg are heavily associated with “oiliness,” in terms of their blood and magic. The smell “reeks” and always results in the involved characters experiencing extreme revulsion, including headaches. Sound familiar?
Wyrdstone has an oily, hideous aftertaste.
Even in CC 1/HOEAB, Danika was described as oily when she came into Griffin Antiques.
Celaena looked at the sealed door, her stomach turning. A half-dried pool of blood lay at the base of the door, so dark it looked like oil. She crouched, swiping a finger through the puddle. She sniffed at it, almost gagged at the reek, and then rubbed her finger against the pad of her thumb. It felt as oily as it looked. - COM, chapter 45
“What the hell is that?” Rowan demanded, kneeling beside her, sniffing her outstretched hand. He jerked back, snarling. “That’s not dirt.” No, it wasn’t. It was blacker than night, and reeked just as badly as it had the first time she’d smelled it, in the catacombs beneath the library, an obsidian, oily pool of blood. Slightly different from that other, horrific smell that loitered around this place, but similar. So similar to— “This isn’t possible,” she said, jolting to her feet. “This—this—this—” She paced, if only to keep from shaking. “I’m wrong. I have to be wrong.” There had been so many cells in that forgotten dungeon beneath the library, beneath the king’s Wyrdstone clock tower. The creature she’d encountered there had possessed a human heart. It had been left, she’d suspected, because of some defect. What if … what if the perfected ones had been moved elsewhere? What if they were now … ready? - HOF, chapter 45
The overseer roared, thrashing as her magic swept into him, melded with him. But there was nothing inside to grab on to. No darkness to burn out, no remaining ember to breathe life into. Only— Aelin reeled back, magic vanishing and knees buckling as if struck. Her head gave a throb, and nausea roiled in her gut. She knew that feeling—that taste. Iron. As if the man’s core was made of it. And that oily, hideous aftertaste … Wyrdstone. The demon inside the overseer let out a choked laugh. “What are collars and rings compared to a solid heart? A heart of iron and Wyrdstone, to replace the coward’s heart beating within.” - EOS, chapter 15
* Side note, it's giving Tamlin and his stone heart.
Danika didn’t just look like she’d been rootling through the garbage. She smelled like it, too. Wisps of her silvery blond hair—normally a straight, silken sheet—curled from her tight, long braid, the streaks of amethyst, sapphire, and rose splattered with some dark, oily substance that reeked of metal and ammonia. - CC HOEAB, chapter 1
The Hind held Ruhn’s gaze as the game began. She was the spitting image of Luna, with her upswept chignon, the regal angle of her neck and jaw. As coldly serene as the moon. All she needed was a pack of hunting hounds at her side— And she had them, in her dreadwolves. How had someone so young risen in the ranks so swiftly, gained such notoriety and power? No wonder she left a trail of blood behind her. “Careful now,” the Harpy said with that oily smile. “The Hammer doesn’t share.” The Hind’s lips curved upward. “No, he doesn’t.” - CC HOSAB, chapter 33
I think the dark maker of the Cauldron could have been Valg, whether that's Koschei or someone else I don't know though Koschei currently makes the most sense. I also don't know when the dark maker would have had the chance to influence the Cauldron; was it always made from dark and light, or - as @fawnandshadows theorised a while back - did Koschei bastardise it after the fact? Where the Valg would fit in with the Daglan and the Asteri is also a mystery, though my current train of thought is that they could be family names or allegiances, like different clans of the same parasitical species, thanks to the description of Danika in HOEAB.
But, back to Azriel and his severe reaction to the Elucien bond.
I know I'm not the only one who wonders at the very Valg-ish themes with which Rhys and Azriel's powers have been described - maybe one day I'll post my thoughts about the possible link between lightsingers, shadowsingers, daemati and the Valg (but it is not this day lol) - and how that may have come about. For example, are the Valg interwoven, genetically, with the Avallen people, or is it because the Princes of Hel are also involved, and have similar magics? Are the Princes of Hel a similar species as the Valg, Asteri and Daglan, or completely different? Ugh, let's stop this spiral here.
Oily: the obvious train of thought being that oily things are slippery, which can lead to an imbalance… ie. becoming off-kilter.
Sounds like Azriel could be suffering from some sort of vertigo, of which symptoms can include nausea; severe headaches, such as migraines, may trigger an episode… and who rubs his temples enough that Elain noticed it?
Maybe Azriel can sense the corruption in the bond, either the current Elucien bond, or the hypothetical original bond between Elain and himself; if like calls to like, and his shadows are Valg-ish, maybe it is because his OG bond was fucked with. So, what if:
Azriel's shadows can slip away from spells and binding magic (Slippery > oily > Valg).
The guards at the prison know what he is.
Valg magic making Azriel nauseous and Elain sourcing/making a healer's powder for him? It's giving Chaol and Yrene. Especially since Elain (and Mor) make his shadows brighten.
So, we have in-text mentions of Azriel feeling overwhelmed due to the proximity of the Elucien bond, as well as Elain shrinking from Lucien - an action that parallels Azriel hanging out in the doorway, and even Lucien retreating to the human lands, if he feels any bond-related discomfort around Elain. But what about his initial response to seeing Elain, and thinking she was the most beautiful female he'd ever seen? The quote that sent me down the “oily” rabbit hole to begin with?
Looking at her now … She was pale, yes. The vacancy still glazing her features. But he couldn’t breathe as she faced him fully. She was the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. Betrayal, queasy and oily, slid through his veins. He’d said the same to Jesminda once. But even as shame washed through him, the words, the sense chanted, Mine. You are mine, and I am yours. Mate. - ACOWAR, chapter 24
Well, Aelin felt oily disgust at the thought of marrying someone who wasn't Rowan:
“There are no allies,” Darrow said. “Unless Her Highness decides to be useful and gain us men and arms through marriage”—a sharp glance at Rowan—“we are alone.” Aelin debated revealing what she knew, the money she’d schemed and killed to attain, but— Something cold and oily clanged through her. Marriage to a foreign king or prince or emperor. Would this be the cost? Not just in blood shed, but in dreams yielded? To be a princess eternal, but never a queen? To fight with not just magic, but the other power in her blood: royalty. She could not look at Rowan, could not face those pine-green eyes without being sick. - EOS, chapter 5
This example from Aelin could describe Azriel and Elain’s potential future if Elain accepted a theoretically Cauldron spelled bond to Lucien, but also for Lucien and Jesminda, if they were originally true or fated mates before she was murdered.
Some final thoughts:
We know from TOG that healing light is known as the Valg executioner. In a parallel to Yrene killing Erawan with her healing light in KOA, Elain killed the King of Hybern - who I suspect was possessed or assisted by a Valg, as Feyre described his magic as a “galaxy” in his palms - with Truth-Teller, which had recently devoured the (her?) sunlight; does this mean that Elain could heal or purify Valg possessed things, with or without the magical, Made dagger? Could this be extrapolated to Azriel's magic, the Dread Trove, or even the Cauldron (possibly with Feyre and Nesta for the bigger ticket items)?
If the Asteri are the same species as the Valg, and the Valg somehow had a hand in making or twisting the Cauldron, it could follow that they used the Cauldron to create offspring bonds for a more powerful food source. If this pans out then Elain, bright light, could hypothetically heal the Cauldron. Maybe that is why Azriel describes her with purity language? Not because SJM wants to display Azriel's apparently toxic thoughts about her (🙄), but because she, along with her sisters, will be his/their salvation? Rhys once said as much to Feyre!
@mrspettyferr has suggested that Azriel's shadows ability to hide him from binding magic - see: the High Lord's meeting in ACOWAR - could have prevented his true bond from snapping with Elain when she came out of the Cauldron. This could be supported by any Valg/shadow link.
Thank you for reading! Please don't mention any CC HOFAS spoilers in the comments or reblogs until after it has been officially published. 💜
#azriel shadowsinger#elain archeron#acotar#acotar theory#elriel theory#elriel#acotar cc tog crossover theory#maasverse#crescent city#crescent city spoilers#throne of glass#tog#tog spoilers#hosab spoilers#pro elain#the cauldron#the valg#the asteri#the daglan#crack theory#mating bond#anti el*cien#but NOT anti lucien#he'd be a victim in this as well#lucien vanserra x jesminda#i'm still on my crack that lucien and jesminda were reallymates
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GUYS HOLD THE FUCK UP-
HOUSE OF FLAME AND SHADOW RIGHT?
FLAME= AELIN FROM TOG
SHADOW= RHYSAND FROM ACOTAR
#THEFUCKINGMULTIVERSEISHAPPENING
ps: please be purple cover (literal dream coming true given its my favourite colour)
#sjm crossover#sjm multiverse#cc3#cc1#cc2#acotar#tog#hosab#hoeab#hofas#house of flame and shadow#house of sky and breath#house of earth and blood#sarah j maas#aelin galathynius#rhysand#bryce quinlan#hunt alathar
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Hello all! This is @starfall-spirit hosting my first event, SJM Next Gen Week 2023! Go ahead and get cracking on your fanfics, artwork, mood boards, or whatever else you’d like, because from March 6th-12th we celebrate the children of all your favorite ships from Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City.
Rules:
Children of any and all SJM ships, canon or crack are welcome here.
If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Attacks on other authors/artists/contributors will not be tolerated here.
Lastly, have fun and write/read/draw for you before anyone else. Don’t forget to use #sjmnextgenweek2023 and tag @sjmnextgenweek to make sure your works end up on my daily masterlists! Fic writers can also submit to the Next Gen AO3 Collection.
Questions: I’ll answer from this ask box/messenger or from my personal account. Please reach out if I overlook your post. Each and every submission is valued here!
Prompts:
Day 1-Family Time
Maybe it’s their training, maybe it’s an annual holiday. How does your next gen character interact with their parents, siblings, cousins, and close friends?
Day 2-Pick an AU
Are they a modern day university student? Are they the hero of a fairytale? The answer is up to you.
Day 3-Crossover
How would your next gen character meet a person or group from another SJM world?
Day 4-Young Love
How would your next gen character meet his or her mate or love interest?
Day 5-Pick a Trope
Platonic, romantic, enemies, or whatever else, show your character facing our favorite fictional plights.
Day 6-Rising to Power
Be they an heir taking the crown or a child learning to control the family gift, show your character finding their way to who they’re meant to be.
Day 7-Free Day
Go wild, friends!
#sjmnextgenweek2023#acotar#crescent city#cc hoeab#cc hosab#tog#throne of glass#family time#au#crossover#young love#favorite trope#rising to power#free day
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Theory: The Archeron Sisters Are All Starborn
This is a theory I’ve been kicking around since HOSAB came out and have posted about in a reblog briefly, but I figured it was time to make an individual post about it. Thanks to @offtorivendell @wingedblooms @psychee92 @merymoonbeam @lesolehabitantdelalune and others I’m sure I’m forgetting whom I’ve spoken about with this, and whose own thoughts have certainly influenced mine and have contributed to this theory. ETA: @wingedblooms also has a post on this, which you can find here, that is amazing and goes into more thought and detail than mine below!! And I’m sorry for not realizing it before I wrote this post!
First, a theory within the theory to start us off:
Theia and Fionn Actually Had Three Children
So we know from HOSAB that Theia and Fionn had at least two children: Helena, the eldest, and a second daughter, whose name we haven’t yet learned. Helena was starborn, and her second daughter was as well.
I have a post about my theory about the second daughter here if you’re interested.
Theia is an interesting name, though, because Theia was also the name of a Titan in Greek mythology. A Titan who had three children:
Helios, the sun.
Selene, the moon.
Eos, the dawn.
And Theia is scarcely discussed in myth, but is instead most important through the children she bore. Like maybe the Theia in ACOTAR/CC as well?
Anyways, back to her children. Ok, so we know we have Helena, who had dark hair and whose skin poured starlight and shadows. Helena means light, but it also comes from the Greek word for Selene, meaning moon:
So I think Helena represents Theia the Titan’s first daughter Selene, and I think her starborn powers were like moonlight.
Then we have the second daughter, whom I suspect will represent Eos, the dawn, and I expect her starborn power would resemble the light at dawn and be golden.
But is it possible that Theia and Fionn had another child, possibly a boy, who remained in Prythian? A boy who represents Helios, the sun?
I think they did. And I suspect that “Helios” is Helion’s ancestor.
And I believe each of the Archeron sisters now has the starborn powers of one of Theia and Fionn’s children.
Feyre Has Helios’s Light
I go more into depth about this theory in this post, but I suspect that Feyre got her starborn powers from Helion, and that Lucien also possesses those same powers.
And I now suspect that Helion got these powers from his direct ancestor, the other child of Theia and Fionn: Helios. Whose name Helion’s name is a direct reference to. This would also explain Helion’s reaction to the mask in ACOSF:
I suspect Helion reacted this way because Helios, his ancestor, wore or encountered the mask around the time the mask was first Made, and likely wore it and used it, given his starborn powers.
This would also explain the color of Helion and Feyre and Lucien’s light: a bright white, like sunlight.
Nesta Has Selene’s (and Helena’s) Light
In the prologue of ACOSF, Nesta describes what happened in the cauldron as this:
“Burning through the darkness like a newborn star.” This certainly seems to suggest that Nesta became starborn (literally a newborn star) in the Cauldron. (S/O to @merymoonbeam for finding this quote and pointing me to it.)
In ACOSF, Cassian says that Nesta’s eyes glow like “silver fire” when her power is near the surface:
The word “glow” suggests that her eyes are emitting light, which is something starborn do. And the fact that it is described as “silver” reminds me very much of moonlight.
And later, when Nesta has a nightmare:
“Silvery, cold light” is coming from her room. Again, this is reminiscent of moonlight, which is never warm.
I suspect that this isn’t just from Nesta’s death power, but is also a hint that she too is starborn, and that she inherited the starborn powers of Helena, aka Selene, Theia’s second daughter.
Elain Has Eos’s (and the Second Daughter’s) Light
Finally, we have Elain, who Sarah compares to the dawn several times:
And in the bonus chapter:
Here, Elain is even glowing like the sun at dawn. Could it be possible that it’s not just the faelights making her glow?
Indeed, when Elain first comes out of the cauldron, she starts to glow (credit to @psychee92 for this catch):
I suspect Elain’s skin started to glow here because she is now starborn. Indeed, as @merymoonbeam has written about, Sarah often uses “glow” to hint at power, so here I think this is showing us that Elain now has powers, and starborn powers at that. And I suspect she has the starborn powers of the Second Daughter, who represents Eos.
Also, as @psychee92 has predicted, I think this might be at least part of why Elain was not there when Bryce came to Prythian. Because Elain is truly starborn, and maybe the most powerful starborn of the three sisters. And I suspect she will start to glow around bryce, or bryce would at least start to glow around her. And Sarah didn’t want to give that away at the end of HOSAB.
The Powers From The Time Of Theia And Fionn Are Being Reborn
So what does this all mean? I suspect this is part of something larger that is happening. I think the powers that originally destroyed the Daglan and trapped Koschei in his lake, the powers of Theia and her children, are all being reborn at the same time to fight that battle anew. First, to destroy Koschei once and for all, and then to prepare for a renewed battle with the Asteri/Daglan, this time to destroy them once and for all.
And we are also seeing the other power players return, like the Dread Trove and the trove of weapons (gwydion and truth-teller and narben, wherever it is), plus a new trove of weapons. And I suspect something similar has been happening in Midgard with Bryce and Hunt and co.
And not only will the Archeron sisters’ powers be necessary for the current battle with Koschei that is brewing, but they will also be necessary for the big crossover battle to come.
And one day I will make my big theory post about the IAFT (the Intergalactic Asteri Fighting Team) that I think Jesiba and Aidas are already a part of, but I suspect that the Archeron sisters, the rest of the IC, possibly the priestesses in the library, and Bryce and Co will all eventually become part of the IAFT’s movement to defeat the Asteri once and for all.
#the archeron sisters#Elain#Feyre#Nesta#starborn#acotar theories#acotar cc crossover theories#SJMCU#hosab spoilers
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I'm thinking SJM made the Trove in the likeness of the One Ring from Lord of the Rings. The ring was also sentient in a way, doing it's best to be "found" by those who might help it along it's journey and calling to those who it felt could lead it back "home" to Sauron.
“Made objects tend to not wish to be found by just anyone,” Amren cautioned. “That they have faded from memory, that even I didn’t think of them immediately in the fight against Hybern, suggests that perhaps they willed it that way. Wanted to stay hidden. True things of power have such gifts.” “You say that as if the objects have a sentience,” Cassian said. “They do,” Amren said, storms drifting across her eyes. / Made objects back then tended to gain their own self-awareness and desires. It was not a good thing.”
The Dead Trove seems to have purposely stayed hidden all these years, waiting until the right time......
“Or perhaps the Dread Trove wants us to know of it now, for some dark reason of its own.”
When Nesta first wears the Mask, it's as if it knows it's on its journey to where it wants to be:
Her blood was a cold song, the Mask a slithering echo to it, whispering of all she might do. Home, it seemed to sigh. Home.
SJM spoke of the consequences that would result from Nesta changing Feyre's anatomy and I think those consequences are not because of the physical alterations made to their anatomy but because she wielded all three items at the same time:
Koschei may very well know something about the Trove that we don’t—some greater power that manifests when all three are united.”
I think the three items worn together sent a signal into the world, possibly to the horn which led to Bryce landing in Velaris. And that event will alert the "original" masters of Prythian to it's location (the Asteri have long since forgotten where the ACOTAR world is). Remember, it's as if the items wanted to be found for a dark purpose of their own, perhaps to return to:
“They were Made in a time when wild magic still roamed the earth, and the Fae were not masters of all. / They were petty and cruel and drank the magic of the land like wine.”
As the ring was eventually destroyed, I imagine the Dread Trove will be too.
But first, in a crossover battle I think Nesta will call armies of the dead to her (just as Aragorn did), in their world and others:
Thousands and thousands of bodies. But she would not call thousands. Not yet.
"Open any door, and you could move that army of the dead wherever you wished"
Emerging from her cocoon of grief and rage, this new Nesta might very well send entire courts to their knees. Kingdoms. (I think this line is hinting that the dead across kingdoms will kneel for Nesta, awaiting her command).
And as that golden light broke the surface before them, the dead knelt.
"you could make any enemy territory and its people bow to you.”
I don't think the Dusk Court will ever become an actual Court so much as being a portal between their worlds and a way for the characters to come to the aid of one another in a final showdown. The whole "sword and dagger being reunited and so too shall our people" prophecy could simply mean the ancestors of all the original major players from different worlds coming together for one last battle (not to live) in order to defeat the Asteri for good and a place where Nesta can raise the dead who were once trapped within the stone.
I keep trying to figure out how Helion and Lucien will be tied into everything. Since Helion had a reaction to the Mask, that means Lucien would be connected to it as well.
I wonder if Lucien will play a role in destroying it in the end?
The reason a hobbit was most suited to the task of destroying the ring was because they were less likely to fall victim to the greed that plagued men however even Frodo struggled to do what needed done when the time came.
Especially if she were to march into battle wearing the Mask. No enemy could stand against her. She’d slay Beron’s soldiers, then raise them from the dead and turn them on him.” Cassian’s blood chilled. Yes, Nesta would be unstoppable. But at what cost to her soul?
Wielding items of power usually come at a cost and it's possible that by doing what needs done to save others, the Mask will latch on and make it difficult for Nesta to destroy it. I think SJM has written Lucien's character to not fall victim to temptation (just as Aragorn did not fall to temptation by taking the ring from Frodo) and I could see him freeing her of its burden (I actually love the idea of Lucien and Nesta having a moment like that 😍).
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