#crossover theories

[wingedblooms]

Blooming dreams

Gardeners, I think, dream bigger dreams than emperors. (Mary Cantwell)

This meta is a continuation of my thoughts over the years, but especially the ones expressed in the following links. Please be aware that there are major hofas spoilers in this post and avoid if needed.

Secret, lovely seer / Forbidden secrets

A rose in the thorns / The flower of life

Seer, wise woman, witch / Three sisters witches / Starborn light

Since my first meta, I have been fixated on Elain’s connection to the Mother, Cauldron, and Fate (let's call her Wyrd) and her potential powers, including sight, shapeshifting, and healing. They are all related when you’re talking about Wyrd, though I am not here to say what I have written is what Sarah has planned. This post is more a love letter to Sarah’s mystical and earthy depiction of Elain and what I would love to see in her story based on all the seeds she’s planted (and if there is an actual magical bean seed involved, I’ll love her all the more for it). Thanks especially to @psychologynerd for previewing this fever dream of a post.

I gazed again at that sad, dark house—the place that had been a prison. Elain had said she missed it, and I wondered what she saw when she looked at the cottage. If she beheld not a prison but a shelter—a shelter from a world that had possessed so little good, but she tried to find it anyway, even if it had seemed foolish and useless to me. She had looked at that cottage with hope; I had looked at it with nothing but hatred. And I knew which one of us had been stronger. (acotar)

From the first book in the series, Feyre recognizes that Elain views things differently. She views things that are sad and dark with hope, and that’s why Sarah has called her the quiet dreamer. It’s a strength that sets her apart. I like to think that’s also what the Cauldron—though warped by the Asteri—saw when she was forced into its womb. 

The Cauldron seemed to realize what she’d done, too, as his head thumped onto the mossy ground. That Elain…Elain had defended this thief. Elain, who it had gifted with such powers, found her so lovely it had wanted to give her something…It would not harm Elain, even in its hunt to reclaim what had been taken. (acowar)

@silverlinedeyes and I wondered if it may have recognized Elain as a kindred spirit, some echo of its Mother form. A creator, life-bringer. Were the waters of the Cauldron more like Silba’s Womb—a darkness of creation, sweet and lovely—when Elain was immersed? Or is it possible that when Elain entered its dark womb she viewed it differently than her sister? Did she see a wounded creator to help rather than an enemy to combat? 

Elain’s hopeful perspective might be why it gifted her with such powers, powers that we know allow her to see differently than others. And since it may have enhanced her unique perception, I wonder if it also enhanced her ability to bring life and beauty into the world. As a gardener, Elain is well acquainted with the task of envisioning her garden and then getting her hands dirty to make that vision a reality. Dream and reality are entwined in gardening, just like her Sight.

“She loves to garden. Always loved growing things. Even when we were destitute, she managed to tend a little garden in the warmer months. And when–when our fortune returned, she took to tending and planting the most beautiful gardens you’ve ever seen. Even in Prythian. It drove the servants mad, because they were supposed to do the work and ladies were only meant to clip a rose here and there, but Elain would put on a hat and gloves and kneel in the dirt, weeding. She acted like a purebred lady in every regard but that.” (acowar)  If Elain was a blooming flower in this army camp, then Nesta…she was a freshly forged sword, waiting to draw blood. [...] Nesta stared them all down. Elain kept her focus on the dry, rocky ground. (acowar)  She had no mental shields, no barriers. 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. (acowar) If Elain’s mental gates were those of a sleeping garden, Nesta’s…They belonged to an ancient fortress, sharp and brutal. The sort I imagined they once impaled people upon. (acowar)  “What now?” Elain mused, at last answering my question from moments ago as her attention drifted to the windows facing the sunny street. That smile grew, bright enough that it lit up even Azriel’s shadows across the room. “I would like to build a garden,” she declared. “After all of this…I think the world needs more gardens.” (acowar) 

As we saw in acosf for Nesta—a new type of warrior who forges magical swords and retrieves the Harp from an ancient fortress (the Prison) connected to the Starborn—these descriptions are clearly meant to foreshadow what occurs in the sisters’ stories. While Nesta is a freshly forged sword, Elain is blooming life in Illyria. And what do we learn in hofas? 

“The Cauldron,” Nesta said hours later, pointing to yet another carving on the wall. It indeed showed a giant cauldron, perched atop what seemed to be a barren mountain peak with three stars above it. Azriel halted, angling his head. “That’s Ramiel.” At Bryce’s questioning look, he explained, “A mountain sacred to the Illyrians.”  Bryce nodded to the carving. “What’s the big deal about a cauldron?” [...]  “All life came and comes from it,” Azriel said with something like reverence. “The Mother poured it into this world, and from it, life blossomed.” (hofas)

We receive confirmation that the Cauldron is associated with the sister peaks, as I suspected, and Ramiel in particular as @merymoonbeam has previously suggested. 

Before Bryce could contemplate this further, Silene went on, But my mother and father knew they needed the most valuable of all the Daglan’s weapons. Bryce tensed. This had to be the thing that had given them the edge— The snows around Ramiel parted, revealing a massive bowl of iron at the foot of the monolith. Even through the vision, its presence leaked into the world, a heavy, ominous thing. “The Cauldron,” Nesta said, dread lacing her voice. […] “The Cauldron was of our world, our heritage. But upon arriving here, the Daglan captured it and used their powers to warp it. To turn it from what it had been into something deadlier. No longer just a tool of creation, but of destruction. And the horrors it produced…those, too, my parents would turn to their advantage.”  [...] “They fought the Daglan and won, she went on. Using the Daglan’s own weapons, they destroyed them. Yet my parents did not think to learn the Daglan’s other secrets—they were too weary, too eager to leave the past behind.” (hofas) 

In Forbidden secrets, I theorized that Elain’s powers might allow her to map the secrets of the land in order to heal it and @offtorivendell discussed magical mounds in her theory on reviving dusk. It seems like the Asteri did indeed leave secrets behind, which might explain why certain places continue to be forbidden and barren. But we are given hope that they do not need to remain that way. In hofas, Bryce wakes and wields the land belonging to her Starborn ancestors on the Prison island:

And precisely as Theia had gifted her own power to Silene … perhaps Silene had in turn left that same power here, to be claimed by a future scion. One by one, rapid as shooting stars, the thoughts raced through Bryce. More on instinct than anything else, she dropped to her knees and slammed her hand atop the eight-pointed star. Bryce reached with her mind, through layers of rock and earth—and there it was. Slumbering beneath her. Not firstlight, not as she knew it on Midgard—but raw Fae power from a time before the Drop. The power ascended toward her through the stone, like a glimmering arrow fired into the dark— [...] Like a small sun emerging from the stone itself, a ball of light burst from the floor. A star, twin to the one in Bryce’s chest. Her starlight at last awoke again, as if reaching with shining fingers for that star hovering inches away. With trembling hands, Bryce guided the star to the one gleaming on her chest. Into her body. White light erupted everywhere. Power, uncut and ancient, scorched through her veins. The hair on her head rose. Debris floated upward. She was everywhere and nowhere. She was the evening star and the last rays of color before the dark. Azriel had nearly reached the tunnel. Another flap of his wings and he’d be swallowed by its dark mouth. But at a mere thought from Bryce, stalactites and stalagmites formed, closing in on him. The room became a wolf, its jaws snapping for the winged warrior— The rock had moved for her, as it had for Silene. “Stop him,” she said in a voice that was more like her father’s than anything she’d ever heard come out of her mouth. Azriel swept for the tunnel archway—and slammed into a wall of stone. The exit had sealed. Slowly, he turned, wings rustling. Blood trickled out of his nose from his face-first collision with the rock now in his path. He spread his wings, bracing for a fight. The mountain shook, the chamber with it. Debris fell from the ceiling. Walls began shifting, rock groaning against rock. As if the place this had once been was fighting to emerge from the stone. [...] From far away, she could sense it: the things lurking within the mountain, her mountain. Twisted, wretched creatures. Some had been here since Silene had trapped them. Had been contemplating their escape and revenge all this time. She’d let them out if she restored the mountain to its former glory. And in that moment, the mountain—the island—spoke to her. Alone. It was so alone—it had been waiting all this time. Cold and adrift in this thrashing gray sea. If she could reach out, if she could open her heart to it…it might sing again. Awaken. There was a beating, vibrant heart locked away, far beneath them. If she freed it, the land would rise from its slumber, and such wonders would spring again from its earth— (hofas)

The mountain–Bryce’s mountain–speaks to her, asking her to open her heart to it so it can finally rise from its slumber. Cue internal screaming, my friends, because this language was intentional and it might finally explain Elain’s conversation in this scene: 

She looked away—toward the windows. “I can hear your heart,” she said quietly. He wasn’t sure how to respond, so he said nothing, and drained his tea, even as it burned his mouth. “When I sleep,” she murmured, “I can hear your heart beating through the stone.” She angled her head, as if the city view held some answer. “Can you hear mine?” He wasn’t sure if she truly meant to address him, but he said, “No, lady. I cannot.” (acowar)

Elain’s hearing is a source of concern after she is Made because it is unusually heightened; she hears so many things, usually connected to the nature around her as @silverlinedeyes theorized. Like calls to like, and so she might be able to hear the beating heart of the land around her, even as it slumbers. Perhaps that is why her eyes were drawn to the barren ground in Illyria.

Vesperus, an Asteri trapped in a glass coffin below the Prison, tells us more about the connection between the Cauldron and the land: 

“I am the Evening Star,” Vesperus seethed. Bryce rolled her eyes. “Fine, we’ll call you the Evening Star, too. Happy?” “Is it not fitting?” A wave of long fingers capped in sharp nails. “I drank from the land’s magic, and the land’s magic drank from me.” [...] Vesperus folded her hands in her lap. “A planet that was once green, as this one is.” “And that wasn’t good enough?” “We grew too populous. Wars broke out between the various beings on our world. Some of us saw the changes in the land beginning—rivers run dry, clouds so thick the sun could not pierce them—and left. Our brightest minds found ways to bend the fabric of worlds. To travel between them. Wayfarers, we called them. World-walkers.” [...] “Once we left our home world, our powers began to dim. Too late, we realized that we had been dependent on our land’s inherent magic. The magic in other worlds was not potent enough. Yet we could not find the way back home. Those of us who ventured here found ways to amplify that power, thanks to the gifts of the land. We pooled our power, and imbued those gifts into the Cauldron so that it would work our will. We Made the Trove from it. And then bound the very essence of the Cauldron to the soul of this world.” Solas. “So destroy the Cauldron…” “And you destroy this world. One cannot exist without the other.”

This should come as no surprise because we saw this play out in acowar, but the Cauldron is tied to the soul of their world. The term soul is intentional, and we will return to it in a bit, but I started to wonder in Forbidden secrets about that connection. The influence of Wyrd is especially clear in the sacred peaks, where the Asteri left behind their secrets. Could Elain unravel the Asteri’s magic from the slumbering heart of the earth, and unbind the Cauldron as a result? Or will she need to go to Cretea to retrieve and purify the magic of the Asteri from the Cauldron like a healer would, in body and in spirit? (Hello, Nephelle celebrations, let’s go.) Nothing feels more right than seeing our strong-willed gardener get her hands dirty as she rips out the Asteri from the root, or beating heart, of their world. Sarah may have even hinted at this role for Elain as she describes getting into her mind for her book:

“There was literally ivy everywhere: in the garden beds, wrapped around the trees, crawling up the sides of the house. So I went into this obsessive, I-need-to-rip-out-every-last-strand-of-ivy-before-I-have-this-baby mode. And I remember the entire time I was ripping out the ivy, and trying to get some semblance of order into the garden beds, I just slipped into Elain’s head. Elain is a gardener, and everything I did during those weeks became research for her book. I’m not even joking. Elain’s now going to have dreams about ripping ivy out and the ivy creeping in through the windows to strangle her at night, because let me tell you, that ivy does not want to go.” (Sarah’s interview in acofas) 

English ivy is an aggressive invader and its hosts decline over time before they die. That’s exactly what the Asteri are: aggressive invaders that feed off of their hosts, warping the power of the land for their sole benefit, until it begins to wither away. In hofas, we learn that the Asteri hid their power throughout the land, including at the root of sacred mountains:

Vesperus backed up a half step, hissing at the gleaming weapon. “We hid pockets of our power throughout the lands, in case the vermin should cause … problems. It seems our wisdom did not fail us.”

“There are no such places,” Azriel countered coldly.

“Are there not?” Vesperus grinned broadly, showing all of her too-white teeth. “Have you looked beneath every sacred mountain? At their very roots? The magic draws all sorts of creatures. I can sense them even now, slithering about, gnawing on the magic. My magic. They’re as much vermin as the rest of you.” (hofas)

And we see the moment Bryce discovers that Vesperus has hidden her power in the root of the Prison mountain, which is what sustains her and weakens the land: 

Bryce clutched the Starsword tighter. Its power thudded into her palms like a heartbeat. “But why store your power here? It’s an island—not exactly an easy pit stop.” “There are certain places, girl, that are better suited to hold power than others. Places where the veil between worlds is thin, and magic naturally abounds. Our light thrives in such environments, sustained by the regenerative magic of the land.” She gestured around them. “This island is a thin place—the mists around it declare it so.”  […] “Every world has at least one thin place,” Vesperus drawled. “And there are always certain people more suited to exploit it—to claim its powers, to travel through them to other worlds.” […] “Theia had the gift,” Vesperus said, “but did not understand how to claim the light. I made sure never to reveal how during her training—how she might light up entire worlds, if she wished, if she seized the power to amplify her own. But you, Light-Stealer…She must have passed the gift down to you. And it seems you have learned what she did not.”  Vesperus peered at her bare feet, the rock beneath. “Theia never learned how to access the power I cached beneath my palace. She had no choice but to leave it there, buried in the veins of this mountain. Her loss—and my gain.” Oh gods. There was a fucking firstlight core here, far beneath their feet— (hofas)

These thin places are where ley lines—highways for magic and communication—overlap, allowing travel for those who are suited to it (wayfarers). Starborn and Asteri alike seem to be suited to these places, and have used them to store their power, causing the land around it to wither. 

“Ley lines,” Bryce breathed. Aidas nodded. “These lines are capable of moving magic, but also carrying communications across great distances.” Like those between the Gates of Crescent City, the way she’d spoken to Danika the day she’d made the Drop. “There are ley lines across the whole of the universe. And the planets—like Midgard, like Hel, like the home world of the Fae—atop those lines are joined by time and space and the Void itself. It thins the veils separating us. The Asteri have long chosen worlds that are on the ley lines for that exact purpose. It made it easier to move between them, to colonize those planets. There are certain places on each of these worlds where the most ley lines overlap, and thus the barrier between worlds is at its weakest.” Everything slotted together. “Thin places,” Bryce said with sudden certainty. “Precisely,” Apollion answered for Aidas with an approving nod. “The Northern Rift, the Southern Rift—both lie atop a tremendous knot of ley lines. And while those under Avallen are not as strong, the island is unique as a thin place thanks to the presence of black salt—which ties it to Hel.” “And the mists?” Hunt asked. “What’s the deal with them?” “The mists are a result of the ley lines’ power,” Aidas said. “They’re an indication of a thin place. Hoping to find a ley line strong enough to help her transfer and hide Theia’s power, Helena sent a fleet of Fae with earth magic to scour every misty place they could find on Midgard. When they told her of a place wreathed in mists so thick they could not pierce them, Helena went to investigate. The mists parted for her—as if they had been waiting. She found the small network of caves on Avallen … and the black salt beneath the surface.”

All of the sister peaks thrum with power and are at odds with the land around them. Barren. They might all be thin places, interconnected through ley lines...and hiding a cache of magic in the root (heart) of their souls.

Bryce’s ancestors, separated by the Void, planted clues for those with the gifts and vision to see it.

What had looked like etched seas or rivers of stars now filled in with starlight, became … alive. Moving, cascading, coursing. A secret illustration, only for those with the gifts and vision to see it. (hofas)

A secret carved in stone. What secrets remain under other sacred mountains, such as Ramiel? Is it any coincidence that Enalius, who defended Ramiel, was the owner of Truth-Teller? Or that the Cauldron is depicted there? Who would be equipped with the gifts and vision to uncover those secrets and finally set the soul of the land free, like Bryce? 

“Light blasted up through the blades into her hands, her arms, her heart. Bryce could hear it through her feet, through the stone. The song of the land beneath her. Quiet and old and forgotten, but there. She heard how Avallen had yielded its joy, its bright green lands and skies and flowers, so it might hold the power as it was bid, waiting all this time for someone to unleash it. To free it. […] Helena had bound the soul of this land in magical chains. No more. No more would Bryce allow the Fae to lay claim over anything. “You’re free,” Bryce whispered to Avallen, to the land and the pure, inherent magic beneath it. “Be free.” And it was. (hofas)

Helena bound the soul of Avallen in magical chains. Doesn't that sound like what the Asteri did with the Cauldron and the land? There are so many hints that Elain is set up to address this plot, but the one I find the most compelling is given by the Under-King when he confirms who Urd (Wyrd) is:

The Under-King lounged on a throne beneath a behemoth statue of a figure holding a black metal bowl between her upraised hands. Symbols were carved all over the bowl, continuing down her fingers, her arms, her body. Ithan could only assume it was meant to represent Urd. No other temples ever depicted the goddess, no one even dared—most people claimed that fate was impossible to portray in any one form. But it seemed that the dead, unlike the living, had a vision of her. And those symbols running from the bowl onto her skin…they were like tattoos.” […] “And she,” the Under-King went on, gesturing to that unusual depiction of Urd towering above him, “was not a goddess, but a force that governed worlds. A cauldron of life, brimming with the language of creation. Urd, they call her here—a bastardized version of her true name. Wyrd, we called her in that old world.” (hofas)

Now, doesn't that sound familiar?

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. (acosf)

The statues are essentially the same and Wyrd has already been described in terms that evoke the Mother, Cauldron, and Fate (Forces That Be). And Nesta just happened to feel the need (fateful tug?) to place Elain’s rose—a symbol of life and joy and beauty—right next to Urd, and drew our attention to it again in the final scene of her story. What do you want to bet that Wyrd, the Stone Mother, gave her favorite gardener the gifts and vision she needs to make her dream of building more gardens, of breathing life and beauty into the land, a reality?

Sarah has confirmed that the main female characters in her books are helped by others, usually a love interest and friends. So who might be foreshadowed to help Elain?

I dragged a hand over my face before going to Elain and touching her too-bony shoulder. “Can I set you up in the garden? The herbs you planted are coming in nicely.”  “I can help her,” said Azriel, stepping to the table as Elain silently rose. No shadows at his ear, no darkness ringing his fingers as he extended a hand. (acowar)  - “I’ll help you,” Nesta offered.  But Elain shook her head. “Nuala and Cerridwen will help me.”  Then she was gone–shoulders a little squarer.  - It was three by the time the others went to bed. [...] Azriel and Elain remained in the sitting room, my sister showing him the plans she’d sketched to expand the garden in the back of the town house, using the seeds and tools my family had given her tonight. (acofas)

It’s no coincidence that the characters closest to Elain possess unique powers that complement her own and relate specifically to the elements of Stone Mother. Azriel learned to speak the language of shadow and wind and stone, while the half-wraith twins are nothing but shadow and mist, able to walk through walls, stone as @psychee92 discusses here. Their magic likely thrives in thin parts of the world. It also isn't a coincidence that Nesta noticed and wondered this:  

“You came,” Elain said behind her, and Nesta started, not having heard her sister approach. She scanned Elain from head to toe, wondering if she’d been taking lessons in stealth either from Azriel or the two half-wraiths she called friends. (acosf) 

Their beautiful, wraith-like team has the gifts necessary to traverse the slumbering heart of the earth as easily as foreign courts, which is a hard combination to find and is uniquely suited for Elain’s mission to release the Cauldron and land from the magical chains of the Asteri. Especially since we learn that Bryce uses both blades of the Starborn to free Avallen from its magical chains:

On an exhale, she plunged the weapons into the slits in the eight-pointed star. The small one for the knife. The larger one for the sword.

And like a key turning in a lock, they released what lay beneath. (hofas)

They even help Bryce rid the land of the Asteri and their core of power, creating a larger void to devour the one the Asteri set in place. Back in acowar, as many have noticed, Sarah already planted this moment between Azriel and Elain:

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. (acowar)

She and Azriel seem to represent the balance of light and dark in the Starsword and Truth-Teller, as @merymoonbeam theorized. The Starborn blade—the one belonging to Enalius—is a bridge of connection between them. Bryce leaves the Starsword (Gwydion) and Truth-Teller with Nesta, encouraging her to learn about her connection to the Starborn (eight-pointed star). That might mean the Archeron Starborn connection may happen after all. I could see Elain wielding those blades when needed, activating their magic as she seemed to do with Truth-Teller, to release the land from its magical chains. It would also be interesting if Elain and Azriel functioned like the Made blades themselves, releasing the Asteri’s chains with their own blend of raw magic, and watching joyously as life blooms in earnest again.

Once they remove the magical chains of the Asteri—on the land and their sacred Cauldron—perhaps we’ll also discover what exists between Elain and Azriel at last: 

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. 

“Why not make them mates?” I mused. “Why Lucien?” 

“I’d keep that question from Lucien.” 

“I’m serious.” I turned toward him and crossed my arms. “What decides it? Who decides it?” 

Rhys straightened his lapels before plucking an invisible piece of lint from them. “Fate, the Mother, the Cauldron’s swirling eddies…” (acowar)

@silverlinedeyes, @offtorivendell, @elriell and others have written extensively about mating bonds, so I won’t discuss that in depth here. Essentially, Feysand and Nessian appear to have bonds that are true in spirit, and they are described as living threads of pure golden light between their souls. 

Thread after thread of pure golden light flowed into him, and he met it with his own. Where those threads wove together, life glowed like starfire, and she had never seen anything more beautiful, felt anything more beautiful. (acosf) 

This living light reminds me of the dawn, which is associated with healing and new beginnings. When Feysand and Nessian bind their souls together in these scenes, the dawn is invoked each time: 

Feysand

…I was his and he was mine, and we were the beginning and middle and end. We were a song that had been sung from the very first ember of light in the world. (acomaf)

Nessian

Cassian roared as he came, and the sound was the summons of a hunt, a symphony, a single clear horn playing as dawn broke over the world. (acosf)

And when Azriel first sees Elain in his bonus chapter, her hair is unbound and she appears like the dawn, gilded in living light on the longest night of the year. 

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. (Azriel’s bonus chapter)

Is it possible that, with Elain’s connection to Wyrd and the land, her own threads of life are similarly chained, or warped? Perhaps when Elain clears away the Asteri’s power, we will finally see the truth blooming between them: threads of golden light twining together in an endless, earthy melody.

#hofas spoilers #hofas #acotar #crossover theories #elain archeron #azriel #nuala and cerridwen #urd goddess #stone mother #mother cauldron fate #forbidden secrets follow up #healing the land #she has the gifts and vision #elriel #elain x azriel #this was written like a fever dream #i may need to reblog more later

[silverlinedeyes]

In Their Starborn Era

(HOFAS spoilers below)

The starborn age has ended on Midgard…

…and the Archeron Starborn Era is about to begin on Prythian. LFG!!!!

The Archeron Sisters are Starborn

As @offtorivendell has theorized here, @wingedblooms has theorized here, I have theorized here and here, we think each of the Archeron sisters is starborn and has part of Theia’s (or her children’s) light.

Elain has Helena’s.

Nesta has Silene’s.

Feyre has Theia’s (or maybe her son’s if that crack theory is right lol).

Though I wonder about Nesta’s Starborn power, and if she gave some of it back to the Cauldron at the end of ACOSF…and what that might mean for her ability to use Gwydion or TT at all on her own, like Bryce can. So what does that mean?

We get hints that Elain has strong starborn power:

So will Elain at first be the one to wield Gwydion and TT as she (and Az) go on their quests? Potentially to revive Dusk, or other parts of Prythian, as @offtorivendell and @wingedblooms have theorized?

And might she in part use them to help herself? To unMake her bond with Lucien using TT to free them both of it, and to potentially Make a new bond with Az (if a bond doesn’t already exist), either using her powers, or using Gwydion?

Together They Can Activate TT and Gwydion

Only united can Theia’s starborn power activate Gwydion and TT and be used to kill the unkillable. The Asteri in Midgard. Koschei in ACOTAR?

The Sisters’ Bonds

Right now, the bonds between the sisters are somewhat fractured, particularly still between Nesta and Elain.

Those bonds will need to finally heal so that they can come together to use Gwydion and TT to save Prythian.

#hofas spoilers #hofas #cc #cc theories #acotar #acotar theories #Elain #Feyre #Nesta #starborn #starborn fae #Archeron sisters #SJMCU #crossover theories

[merymoonbeam]

Völuspá

here is a thought. I can't be bothered to make this pretty so bear with me here.

Hosab ended with Azriel taking Bryce to the Town house which was empty in Acosf. Nobody lived there.

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. (hosab)

“But why live in this dump, when the town house was sitting empty?” (Acosf)

But in hosab there is clearly someone living there with the fireplace going and the house smelling like bread and roses. The question is who? (I made a post about how it might be Elain living there.) and how sarah is going to tackle this crossover in acotar world?

my take on this is that sarah seems to LOVE Norse myth and heavily inspired by it. There is a famous poem in Norse myth called Völuspá.

Vǫluspá (also Völuspá, Vǫlospá or Vǫluspǫ́; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress') is the best known poem of the Poetic Edda. It tells the story of the creation of the world and its coming end and subsequent rebirth, related to the audience by a völva addressing Odin. It is one of the most important primary sources for the study of Norse mythology. The poem is preserved whole in the Codex Regius and Hauksbók manuscripts while parts of it are quoted in the Prose Edda.

The poem is told by Völva(a seeress) to Odin about the creation of the world, it is end and rebirth.

who is a seer? Elain.

What created the acotar world? Cauldron

Who is cauldron obsessed with? Elain.

Who is rebirth? Elain. (?) if we take the book of breathings prophecy as Feyre= Life, Nesta=Death

Life and death and rebirth Sun and moon and dark Rot and bloom and bones Hello, sweet thing. Hello, lady of night, princess of decay. Hello, fanged beast and trembling fawn. Love me, touch me, sing me.

So is she gonna use Elain's book to tackle this creation of the world and it's end and "rebirth"? Does Elain's book take place before cc3 or it is gonna happen at the same timeline?

Now that's out of the way. We have Odin right? Völva tells the story to Odin.

In the poem Völva tells something to Odin about his eye.

The seeress then reveals to Odin that she knows some of his own secrets, and that he sacrificed an eye in pursuit of knowledge. She tells him she knows where his eye is hidden and how he gave it up in exchange for knowledge. She asks him in several refrains if he understands, or if he would like to hear more.

Does it seem familiar? In koschei tales koschei hides his "soul" and there is a whole thing about it.

The most common feature of tales involving Koschei is a spell which prevents him from being killed. He hides his soul inside nested objects to protect it. For example, the soul (or in the tales, it is usually called "death") may be hidden in a needle that is hidden inside an egg, the egg is in a duck, the duck is in a hare, the hare is in a chest, the chest is buried or chained up on a far island. Usually he takes the role of a malevolent rival father figure, who competes for (or entraps) a male hero's love interest.

And in Acowar Elain knows about Koschei's box of black stone.

Elain paused halfway up the stairs. Slowly, she turned to look back at him. “I saw young hands wither with age. I saw a box of black stone. I saw a feather of fire land on snow and melt it.”

Elain shifted her face toward him. Another blink. “They sold her—to … to some darkness, to some … sorcerer-lord …” She shook her head. “I can never see him. What he is. There is an onyx box that he possesses, more vital than anything … save for them. The girls. He keeps other girls—others so like her—but she … By day, she is one form, by night, human again.”

Another thing in the poem is that there is horn.  Heimdallr's horn, Gjallarhorn.

Later in Völuspá, the völva foresees the events of Ragnarök and the role in which Heimdall and Gjallarhorn will play at its onset; Heimdall will raise his horn and blow loudly.

Heimdall's horn, which will announce the final battle, is hidden under the sacred tree, where we find another curious object, Odin's eye.

Who has the horn tattooed to her body and fell to Acotar world? Bryce.

That's about it. Looks like Sarah wants to write Ragnarok :))))))))))

#crossover theories #idk anymore lol #this was on my mind for a long time...here you go #all I wanted was my flower princess to tend her gardens and bake some goods...what the hell is going on lmfaooooo #elain archeron #bryce quinlan #crescent city #acotar #also I didn't go through this post at all so if you catch a spelling mistake IGNORE IT.

[radiance1]

Danny: Hey, I need you to be my boyfriend for a week.

Jason: What.

Danny: My parents are coming over and I've apparently accidentally talked about a partner more than once and only realized when they said they wanted to meet them.

Jason, currently still solidifying his power as a Crime Lord: Excuse me?

Danny: Let me get this out of the way, I do not consider you at all a person of romantical interest and a friend. But I need you to act as my partner for only a week until my parents go on their merry way over to my sister, okay?

Jason: Is there, quite literally, no one else to ask this?

Danny: You're my only friend who lives in Gotham, plus we share the same apartment.

Jason: That's almost sad.

Danny: You in?

Jason: Sure, why not.

===

Maddie: Danny, honey.

Danny: Yes mom?

Maddie: I don't mean to.... question, who you choose as your parent but. Well, me and your father was just wandering if he was a... [Maddie gestures with her hand] you know, one of those.

Danny, uncomprehendingly staring at his mother's hand: What.

Maddie: Oh dear, how do I bring this up. You know, one of those.

Danny: Mother I need more context.

Jack: If your boyfriend a crime lord!?

Maddie: Jack!

Jack: What? Beating around the bush wasn't helping!

Danny: Say WHAT?

===

Danny: Hey dude, thanks for helping with this even though you didn't need to!

Jason: No problem, I wasn't doing anything too [Crime Lord activities flash through his mind] important.

Danny: Can you believe my parents thought you were a crime lord though? Weird am I right?

Jason:

Danny: Jason. You are scaring me.

Jason: Haha, yea that's weird isn't it?

Danny: Jason.

Jason: Well, I have to leave now to attend to my totally real and totally not crime related job at the ice cream shop.

Danny: [Squints eyes]

Jason: [Internally sweating bullets]

Danny: Suuuuure, bring me back some ice cream though.

Jason: [Thumbs up and leaves]

#dc x dp #dp x dc #dpxdc #dp x dc crossover #dcxdp #dc x dp crossover #Danny isn't romantically interested in Jason in the least #Neither is Jason romantically interested in Danny #But he needed a partner and Jason was the only one available #Jason somehow managed to balance that and being a crime lord #Jack and Maddie instantly had the suspicion of him being Red Hood aka a crime lord aka a criminal aka a danger to their boy #Danny doesn't know at ALL though and so they hang that theory up because if Danny didn't know then he probably wasn't a crime lord #Jason's identity was almost blown because he pretended to be the boyfriend of his friend #Again Danny doesn't know shit about him being Red Hood he just thought dude was dedicated to his job plus its Gotham #Not that weird to come back with scraps and scratches

[akanemnon]

Theory time with Chara

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

#deltarune #undertale #deltarune fanart #undertale fanart #deltarune comic #comic #twin runes #twin runes comic #twin runes au #my art #kris dreemurr #frisk #chara #utdr #crossover #kfc #chara explains it all #at least they think they got it all figured out #is their theory correct? #hmmm i won't tell #first thing on their sibling agenda is bullying chara #kris you're being a terrible role model

[ghostbsuter]

There was a teen in the cave.

A teen no one knows and looks like he could be a wayne, stands in the cave.

"Actually, I'm a wayne." He says with a shrug.

Bruce, Batman, carefully thinks of the implication.

"Not yet," The teen, Danny, doesn't say anything. Simple smiles. "You're not a wayne, yet. You will be. But not yet."

Then Bruce sighs, dropping the batman mask in order to take in the teen.

"Does future me know of the time travel?"

Dannys smile grows into a grin, deciding to take pity on the man. "You, grandbat, have..." He makes a vague gesture. "Theories, which none of your children ever confirmed."

The bat's mind short-circuits at the choice of words

Dick is sputtering incomprehensibly, there are Baffled expression all around.

Because.

Because that child isn't Bruce's, but one of theirs.

"Who is it?" Jason demands, hand clenching his gun uselessly.

Danny continues to smile, a hint of mischief now peeking out.

The cave is filled with theories, some yell, some sob, yet all eyes leave danny.

All but one pair.

She had known the moment his body language switched just enough for her to read.

She had known the moment he disappeared before the clan.

Had known when his hand found hers, shoulders bumping.

Her heart clenches, throat dry and memories of her childhood flooding to mind.

So she asks, voice soft and hesitant.

"Am I a good mother?"

And danny looks up at cass, adoration and pride laid out plain for her to see and accept.

"You're the best."

And so they both watch the clan together, silent and comfortable.

(Cass doesn't question when she finds him, how and why. All she knows is that she's more attentive when out on patrol, looking and waiting.)

(This is how Cassandra Cain-Wayne returns one night from patrol, a child, barely out of toddler stage and clinging to her form.)

(This is how the Batclan officially meets one Daniel James Cain-Wayne, freshly washed and clothed, a cookie in hand and hiding shyly behind Cass.)

(When they meet, all they say is "Welcome home, danny," and "Good to see you again.", Danny doesn't necessarily get it, but that's okay. Maybe his new mom will explain it one day when he's bigger.)

#dcxdp #dp x dc crossover #dpxdc #fic prompt #writing prompt #dc x dp prompt #cassandra cain is dannys mom #time travel shenanigans lead to conspiracy theories #half of the batclan think jason is the dad #or dick #damian and tim are outruled just bc age and tim denying it with no one protesting #alfred knows #danny moves like cass #he gave them both a cookie in the shadows #danny won him over by calling him great grand bat #he tells him of all the mischief they got up to bc no one would believe the baby had alfie wrapped around his finger like that #theyre just in denial #theyre all wrapped around the finger #danny “i mastered how to wrpaonize my cuteness” cain-wayne

[flamingpudding]

I have a theory!

Duke groaned, his head tumping against his desk on his side of the room. He had heard these words often enough by now to know that his roommate was going to start ranting about something strange but weirdly fascinating again.

The last time his roommate started with that, he went on a rant how all rich people have a secret basement below their homes or some secretly identities with a bulletpoint list of what to look out for as a warning. Which Duke had a hard time not laughing about as he thought about Bruce, who ended up checking a lot of the bulletpoints.

"Danny what is it now?" Duke ended up asking after all. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop his roommate. No one aside from his sister apparently could, Danny even gave her number to Duke as an emergency number in case Danny ever gets so caught up in his own thoughts that even he himself couldn't stop himself anymore. Yeah that was weird to watch Danny trying to stop himself, but it was fascinating that his sister only needed to say his name twice over the speaker.

"Duke hear me out!" Okay of to a good start, so this meant Danny wasn't a hundred percent behind his own theory.

"Red Hood is a ghost or part ghost!"

If Duke had been drinking something, he would have taken a spit take here. For some reasons he had the image of Jason wearing a bed sheet saying the most deadpan 'Boo' in his head when Danny said that. He coughed, trying to hide that amusement. "What makes you say that?"

"You know how you 'saw' that I am a 'Meta'?" Danny ask him in return and Duke nodded still feeling a but weird with how Danny sounded when he refred to himself as Meta but also vividly remembering how his roommate pretty much blinded him on the day he moved into the dorms. "I can kind of see something similar. Like I explained how I have a ghost sense and all that, right?"

"Yea, you did." Duke nodded along, he new his roommate became a Meta through a lab accident. Once Duke had asked him and they had the cleared the air about both of them being Metas, Danny had somewhat opened up a bit on his whole weird family and Duke thought his family wasn't normal but compared to the Fentons the Batfamily might as well could be.

"Well last night I ran into him when I went scrap collecting for my engineering project!"

"DANNY!" Duke couldn't help but scowl. One the school was providing materials, Danny didn't need to do that and two, if he met Red Hood aka Jason that meant Danny wandered far enough to end up near or in Crime Alley! He would need to bug Jason later to find out more about that.

"I know, I know." His roommate waved him off. "Anyway, my ghost sense tingled. Soooo Red Hood got to be a ghost or part ghost, considering he hit a wall instead of phasing through it when he chased me..."

"Danny!" Duke scowled him again, hidding his amusement behind it. Now, he really had to get THAT story out of Jason later, plus he wanted to see if there maybe was possible video proof of Jason running into a wall chasing after Danny.

"Anyway! I got more than just that! Listen here, you know how I told you about some of my parents' inventions..." Danny instead continued finally starting his rant.

#danny fenton #danny phantom #dp x dc #dpxdc #dcxdp #crossover #duke thomas #jason todd #duke and danny are roommates #danny has theories #and duke has to listen to them #some of them are really funny #he will use them to tease the rest of the batfam #random late night thoughts #stress writing #prompt idea

[hellishgayliath]

@heckitall HECKY I DID YOUR DTYIS!!! :DDD IM YOUR CO DIRECTOR FOR THIS COMIC HOW COULD I NOT DRAW OUR BOYS AT SOME POINT :D

Also people should go read Heck's comic Same as it Never Will Be, it is amazing and Heck is a really great story teller and artist :3 <3

#2003 tmnt my beloved #rottmnt #crossover #almost2ksainwbdtyis #sainwb #same as it never will be #my art #i went back to check on the deadline for this and saw it was literally 2-3 days away so i really pumped out the gears to get this done xD #again i dont really care about winning i just wanted an excuse to draw the lads #has also never drawn the 03 turts prior to this except for baby don #so i really like how this came out :D #and maybe im overthinking this part but i gotta know Heck if the thumbtacks and photos are a reference to Rise!Don's conspiracy theory boar #since he had photos of the other turtle iterations on it :V

[deadsetobsessions]

Court of Owls! Danny Phantom

A couple of possible scenarios:

- Danny helped found Gotham, but had to leave due to his ghostly duties or whatever. He comes back and boom, membership to an exclusive murder cult moon lighting as Gotham’s fucked up zombie version of the Illuminati. Bonus points if Danny was also somehow involved with the literal Illuminati. He’s so confused but there’s like a bunch undead ducklings following him.

- Danny somehow got adopted by a member and accidentally initiated a hostile takeover. He has no idea what’s going on but the Owls give him the creeps. Bonus points if Dani figures it out and infiltrates the Talons or something.

- the above but Danny 100% knows what’s happening and the hostile takeover was intentional.

- bonus points for both of the above if Danny just says “hoot hoot” to piss people off lol

- Danny goes evil. Enough said.

- Danny isn’t evil, but he’s bored and he might as well join a secret society for the shits and giggles. Bonus points if he makes friends with Bernard and Tim and just conspiracy the shit out of the Court of Owls. He provides Benard and Tim with some really specific and accurate details and Tim’s like “what to do if my best friend is a part of an evil secret society?” And the answer is either join him or help him take it down from the inside.

#dcxdp #dc x dp crossover #dc x dp prompt #Danny Phantom #batman #bruce wayne #tim drake #Benard Dowd #Court of Owls #conspiracy theories #Gotham #Gotham’s resident ghost #Gotham’s cult problems #Gotham’s Danny problem

[tanglepelt]

Dc x dp idea 82

Bernard has a new online conspiracy theorist friend.

Tim is at least happy bernard has less conspiracy theories about the bats. However him going off about a whole branch of the government deemed as guys in white is a bit much.

Now. He sure the two are just feeding off one another.

But it gets a tad too specific at times. Bernard going into detailed accounts of different ghost then ways they may have died?

A tiny ghost in a suit of armor. He is even claiming that his online friend is actually king of an entire dimension of elite ghost warriors? But his friend hadn’t realized it yet.

Honestly if his friend whose username is d3as0rAliv3? wasn’t coming to visit Gotham. Which he has no idea why anyone would come here he’d be hunting him down right now.

He’ll still do his research of course. Tim will also accompanying Bernard for the meet up. Just to be on the safe side.

Now when they got to the library. He most certainly wasn’t expecting a kid their age with a black eye and bruising around the wrists.

Especially not that Danny actually had proof of this GIW and the fact they were actively hunting down beings from a dimension called the infinite realm.

Maybe it wasn’t all a conspiracy theory. How on earth did Bernard find the one person who could prove their was a secret government agency hell bent on breaking the meta protection acts.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #dp x dc #dc x dp #dp dc crossover #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc prompt #Tim drake #conspiracy theories #Bernard hit the jack pot #tim is not in for a good time #i have so many ideas #Bernard also theorizes Danny is king #he was present for pariahs dethroning #if Bernard also thinks Danny is let yeti #after discussions of the far frozen #Danny had no filter #just flat out lays it out #yea. you know my parents are trying to kill interdimensional beings so what? #i have a test to study for #implied bad fenon parents #they may of found out and not been to thrilled #the batfam better be ready for a PowerPoint curtiosy of Tim #Giw is going down #yes #Danny is ghost king #he just doesn’t know it #Bernard had to get something right #bernard dowd

[suwwino]

I was talking to my friends

And they pointed out that Miku day and Matpats retirement is literally on the same day

So I, being a chunni, was like "ha, your name"

And I spent a hot second drawing what should've been a low effort shitpost !

#artists on tumblr #art #matpat #game theory #hatsune miku #miku day #digital painting #digital art #your name #crossover

[wingedblooms]

Flower of life

The flower of life is part of sacred geometry, which is the underlying form or geometry in nature (mindbodygreen). It symbolizes the balance of male and female energy in creation and contains the secrets of the universe.

The flower of life is another sacred geometric form. It is the symbol of creation. It is created by forming a circle then moving to the edge of that circle and forming another one. Each circle begins one radius away from the surrounding circles and is of equal size. (uoregon)

-

The striking visual is meant to represent creation, the sacred masculine and divine feminine, and cycles of life, death, and rebirth. Some believe the flower of life is also a key that can unlock hidden knowledge of time and space within its petal-like structures. (mindbodygreen)

-

“It is thought that the flower of life holds a secret within it—a circle, which in many cultures, is considered the 'zero point' or the 'origin' of us all," Dale says. "This is the Oneness that ties us together.”(mindbodygreen)

Sacred Geometry in the Maasverse

In the Maasverse, Sarah also uses sacred geometry to create balance between opposing forces and characters use this balance to channel power. Sometimes it’s a symbol, like the six-pointed star @silverlinedeyes highlighted in this post. She connected the six-pointed star to the three brothers and three sisters in theory because they bring together opposing forces—light and dark and female and male energy—and create balance.

“Ithan angled his head. “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.” She motioned to the circle. “No matter what you see or hear, stay on this side of the candles.” (hosab)

When they come together, as we saw with Feyre and Rhysand in the original series, they may be able to channel their combined energies to achieve powerful creation or healing (e.g., reforging the Cauldron, creating a baby who’s named for a deity and is probably going to be unique, etc.). As Rhys said in acowar, the sisters are in his court for a reason, and Mor might have hinted this long before as @lesolehabitantdelalune pointed out in relation to the six-pointed star:

Mor stayed overnight, even going so far as to paint some rudimentary stick figures on the wall beside the storeroom door. Three females with absurdly long, flowing hair that all resembled hers; and three winged males, who she somehow managed to make look puffed up on their own sense of importance. I laughed every time I saw it. (acomaf)

The three Made sisters and the three winged brothers are all blessed by fate and seem to be even more important together. Six is a perfect number and seven—the point where they all meet—symbolizes completion.

So, how does this relate to the flower of life? The flower of life contains circles that create a six-pointed star (see below) and there is a circle in the middle where they all intersect.

Source: uoforegon

The flower of life also contains other symbols Sarah has used across worlds:

Throne of Glass Series

Aelin wore an amulet that warned and helped her when needed. It was called the Eye of Elena, which Manon corrects as the Eye of the Goddess. It is the symbol Blueblood prophets tattoo on their hearts to indicate that they are Goddess-blessed.

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.” (eos)

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series

The Bone Carver drew interlocking circles to represent the death-god siblings, two of whom were worshipped by the fae before they were trapped. Two out of three siblings helped Prythian in a bargain with Feyre and Rhys.

The Carver traced three overlapping, interlocked circles in the dirt. “You have met my sister—my twin. The Weaver, as you now call her. I knew her as Stryga. (acowar)

Crescent City Series

Bryce wears an Archesian amulet with entwined circles that keeps her hidden from those searching for the Horn.

Bryce zipped a tiny golden pendant—a knot of three entwined circles—along the delicate chain around her neck. (hoeab)

In the space between, I discussed all of these interconnected trios, including the sacred trio which I believe this all stems from (Mother, Cauldron, Fate) and the rose amulet chosen for Elain. Although it is not described in circles, Elain’s amulet glows with three colors—red, pink, and white—in the Faelight, mimicking Azriel’s observation that she glows like the dawn in the Faelight earlier in that scene. We don’t know if it contains any protective properties or whether it will even make a reappearance. But out of all the symbols we’ve seen with the divine number three, it is the only one in the form of a flower…except, that is, for the Cauldron.

The Cauldron as the Flower of Life

In hosab, the Under King hinted that Urd, the goddess of fate, might be Mother, Cauldron, and the Forces That Be all in one.

A pyre smoked atop a black stone altar in the center of the temple. A stone throne on a dais loomed at the rear of the space. No statues ever adorned Urd’s Temple—no depiction of the goddess had ever been made. Fate took too many forms to capture in one figure.

-

The Under-King rose, black robes drifting on a phantom wind. “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.” (hosab)

As I’ve explained with help from @silverlinedeyes in this post, mother to all = Mother, vat of life = Cauldron, and a force = Forces That Be (which seems to be used interchangeably with Fate in acotar). Mother, Cauldron, Fate. Three interconnected parts of a whole.

If we’re to believe the Under King, the goddess of fate isn’t actually a goddess. It is the Cauldron, which moves like a force, is a mother to all, and possesses the secrets of the universe. The Cauldron is Sarah’s flower of life.

The Cauldron shattered into three pieces, peeling apart like a blossoming flower—and then she came. (acowar)

And it can be controlled through spells in the Book of Breathings. Those spells must be uttered by someone who is Made because like calls to like.

“When the Cauldron was made,” the Carver interrupted, “its dark maker used the last of the molten ore to forge a book. The Book of Breathings. In it, written between the carved words, are the spells to negate the Cauldron’s power—or control it wholly. But after the War, it was split into two pieces. One went to the Fae, one to the six human queens. It was part of the Treaty, purely symbolic, as the Cauldron had been lost for millennia and considered mere myth. The Book was believed harmless, because like calls to like—and only that which was Made can speak those spells and summon its power. No creature born of the earth may wield it, so the High Lords and humans dismissed it as little more than a historical heirloom, but if the Book were in the hands of something reforged … You would have to test such a theory, of course—but … it might be possible.” (acomaf)

The pieces of the Book seem to contain void, or cold cunning, and chaos.

Life and death and rebirth

Sun and moon and dark

Rot and bloom and bones

Hello, sweet thing. Hello, lady of night, princess of decay. Hello, fanged beast and trembling fawn.

Love me, touch me, sing me.

Madness. Where the first half had been cold cunning, this box … this was chaos, and disorder, and lawlessness, joy and despair.

Light and dark and gray and light and dark and gray (acomaf)

And these seem to be the same beings (forces?) that Apollion mentions in his own creation.

“Do you not know where I come from? My father was the Void, the Being That Existed Before. Chaos was his bride and my dam. It is to them that we shall all one day return, and their mighty powers that run in my blood.” (hosab)

If the Cauldron contains both Void and Chaos, which I believe it does as a bowl of life and death, then the Book of Breathings allows the wielder to control those forces. In the tog series, higher beings are forces that are part of the same consciousness. They are interconnected parts of a sacred whole. And we’re told early on, and repeatedly thereafter, that the Cauldron is the origin of everything.

Inside the Cauldron was nothing but inky, swirling black.

Perhaps the entire universe had come from it.

Azriel and Cassian tensed as I laid a hand on the lip. Pain—pain and ecstasy and power and weakness flowed into me.

Everything that was and wasn’t, fire and ice, light and dark, deluge and drought.

The map for creation. (acomaf)

Feyre put together the two pieces of the Book and as Amren predicted, there was a great, noticeable blast.

“You put the pieces together,” she clarified when Rhys gave her a questioning look, “and the blast of power will be felt in every corner and hole in the earth. You won’t just attract the King of Hybern. You’ll draw enemies far older and more wretched. Things that have long been asleep—and should remain so.” (acomaf)

So, it’s also probable an old and powerful enemy might come calling (ahem, Koschei and/or the Asteri). Does that mean someone might need to wield the Cauldron again, but to help and protect Prythian instead this time?

If so, that someone would need to be Made. All three sisters are Made, so I personally dream about all three of them wielding it together like the witches they are. But I also think it would make sense for Elain to wield it on her own or with her love interest. When she emerged from the Cauldron, Sarah described her appearance in detail—pale, delicate, beautiful, glowing.

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. Her legs were so pale—so delicate. […] Elain sucked in a breath, her fine-boned back rising, her wet nightgown nearly sheer. And as she rose from the ground onto her elbows, the gag in place, as she twisted to look at me— Nesta began roaring again. Pale skin started to glow. Her face had somehow become more beautiful—infinitely beautiful, and her ears … Elain’s ears were now pointed beneath her sodden hair. (acomaf)

She has been described as wise, gentle, and kind, but doesn’t hesitate to do what is necessary to protect life and restore order, like a gardener whose glowing hands won’t hesitate to get dirty for a pretty result.

A Gardener’s Hands

It began with a cauldron. A mighty black cauldron held by glowing, slender female hands in a starry, endless night. Those hands tipped it over, golden sparkling liquid pouring out over the lip. No—not sparkling, but … effervescent with small symbols, perhaps of some ancient faerie language. Whatever was written there, whatever it was, the contents of the cauldron were dumped into the void below, pooling on the earth to form our world… (acotar)

Elain isn’t just connected to a flower amulet. She is a blooming flower in an army camp, a bloom of color and sunshine even in the middle of winter. She is Hope shining in the Void on the longest night of winter.

The River House had finally fallen quiet after the raucous Winter Solstice party, the Faelights dimming to cast little pools of gold amid the deep shadow of the longest night of the year. […] He knew he’d be swallowed by it if he went up to his bedroom, so he’d remained down here by the dying light of the fire. […] 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. (Azriel’s bonus chapter)

Tell me, who is better positioned than the Cauldron-blessed gardener and seer to wield the flower of life? Sarah essentially set her up to defy Nesta’s command below, meaning she will not stay away from the Cauldron and might tend to a garden on a greater scale as a result.

“Why?” Elain demanded. “Shall I tend to my little garden forever?” When Nesta flinched, Elain said, “You can’t have it both ways. You cannot resent my decision to lead a small, quiet life while also refusing to let me do anything greater.”

“Then go off on adventures,” Nesta said. “Go drink and fuck strangers. But stay away from the Cauldron.” (acosf)

The issue, of course, is that the Book of Breathings is now in Midgard under the care of a sorceress whose past is a mystery and the name we know her under, Jesiba Roga, isn’t the only one she possesses. Now that the two worlds are connected, though, it seems like only a matter of time until the Book is (re)discovered. But will it find the right hands?

There are more immediate ways for Elain to defy Nesta’s order and engage the Cauldron even without the Book. In hosab, mystics combine energy from a male, female, and the space where they meet—both male and female—to achieve perfect balance. It is perhaps this balance of power that allows them to become the Eye of the Goddess, mapping the secrets of the universe and influencing others from afar. Mysticism involves achieving a higher level of consciousness and uniting with the divine. Similarly, the flower of life can be used as a tool for meditation and enlightenment.

Elain seems to have used mystic ability on her own when she located and appeared to the Suriel across the world, and it’s possible she could use Rhys’s orrery as to expand her map in future books. Since these are romance books, I think it’s important to mention that we’re told Azriel is fascinated by the orrery. And like a sacred vision as @offtorivendell, @merymoonbeam and @psychologynerd have pointed out, Feyre witnesses perfect balance between Azriel and Elain: her immaculate hand meets his scarred one in the space between where light and dark, life and death, and female and male combine.

Elain looked up at Azriel, their eyes meeting, his hand still lingering on the hilt of the blade. 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. (acowar)

Elain may not need anyone to navigate the space between with the Cauldron. But I have a feeling she will need something or someone to help keep her grounded as she expands her Sight and maybe even peers into Hel. If she does need to form a sacred trio to move beyond their world, then she, Azriel, and the Cauldron (which is both male and female), would suffice. As Feyre’s vision of the lovely fawn and Death seems to foreshadow, they would create perfect balance together. And maybe, just maybe, their bargain tattoo will represent that balance in the form of a blossoming flower where the Eye of the Goddess, her heart of darkness, remains half-hidden in the shadows with the secrets of the universe.

Read more about Elain’s arc and powers here.

#the cauldron as the flower of life #elain as its gardener #azriel as her groundskeeper #see what i did there? #😆😆😆 #elain archeron #azriel #elriel #hosab spoilers #crossover theories #maasverse theories

[silverlinedeyes]

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

#cc hofas #cc #acotar 5 #crossover theories #HOFAS #hosab spoilers

[merymoonbeam]

Seiðr-Swan lake- Elain and Vassa theory

this post is going to be a little chaotic but bare with me here because we are gonna connect a lot of theories in this one.

what I will be talking about in this post:

Seidr magic and how it connects to Elain.

Goddess Freyja and Elain-Vassa connections.

Swan lake retelling

@wingedblooms has a post about Elain being a witch. And in that post she talks about seidr. we are gonna dive more into that and how it might connect to elain's arc and upcoming books.

So let's start with what is Seiðr?

Seidr (pronounced “SAY-der;” Old Norseseiðr, “cord, string, snare”[1]) is a form of pre-Christian Norse magic and shamanism concerned with discerning the course of fate and working within its structure to bring about change, which was done by symbolically weaving new events into being.[2] To do this, the practitioner, with ritual distaff in hand,[3] entered an ecstatic trance in order to be able to interact with the world of spirit.

so basically...it is a type of magic done by changing the course of fate and weaving new events into being. They use a distaff and there is trance.

So let's continue. Seidr is described as weaving new events into being. Let's see Elain's connection with that.

in acowar we have this scene. Elain talking about Cassian's death. But later in the book while KoH was going to kill them, Elain steps out of a shadow to stab the king through the throat.

Nesta’s nostrils flared, but Elain peered up at Cassian, blinking twice. “He snapped your wings, broke your bones.” I tried to shut out the sound of Cassian’s scream—the memory of the spraying blood. Nesta stared at her plate. Elain, at least, was out of her room, but … “It’ll take more than that to kill me,” Cassian said with a smirk that didn’t meet his eyes. Elain only said to Cassian, “No, it will not.”

I knew they’d both die the moment that power hit them. Anything, I begged the Cauldron. Anything— The king’s hand began to drop. And then halted. A choking noise came out of him. For a moment, I thought the Cauldron had answered my pleas. But as a black blade broke through the king’s throat, spraying blood, I realized someone else had. 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.”

so Elain changed the course of fate by saving them. this also contects to Azriel's talk about Nephelle Philosophy.

I raised a brow. Azriel shrugged. “We—Rhys, Cass, and I—will occasionally remind each other that what we think to be our greatest weakness can sometimes be our biggest strength. And that the most unlikely person can alter the course of history.” “The Nephelle Philosophy.”

Now the part about "trance" with seidr.

While Elain is looking for the Suriel. She closes her eyes.

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.”

another scene.

He asked Elain, “There is another queen?” Elain squinted, as if the question required some inner clarification, some … path into looking the right way at whatever had addled and plagued her. “Yes.”

so....in a way she is going into some type of trance. I have another post about mystics&seers and they connect to each other if you wanna read.

so that's out of the way. It is now time for ritual distaff.

While looking for distaff I found this.

As an adjective, the term distaff is used to describe the female side of a family. The corresponding term for the male side of a family is the "spear" side.

so it is interesting that is used for the female side of the family and male side of the family is "spear"...I had a post about the fourth dread trove being a spear or maybe narben being a spear in my wild hunt theory post so it is a little interesting detail. also @offtorivendell talked about spear of lugh in her dusk court post.

moving on more about distaff. While searching I found this detail.

In Norse mythology, the goddess Frigg spins clouds from her bejewelled distaff in the Norse constellation known as Frigg's Spinning Wheel (Friggerock, also known as Orion's belt).[6]

We are gonna dive more into Frigg in a second but before that we have to talk about Orion's belt. We are gonna make a connection here.

Frigg uses distaff to control Orion's belt. We know an Orion. Hunt's name is Orion. And Hunt is Bryce's mate. We also know Bryce comes from the line of Theai who was a starborn. @offtorivendell talks about it in here that how Theai in mythology is the goddess of sight and light. Bryce is starborn so...light. and Who is a seer? Elain...sight. Just thought it was an interesting detail.

Now...onto the Frigg.

Frigg (pronounced “FRIG;” Old NorseFrigg, “Beloved”[1]), sometimes Anglicized as “Frigga,” is the highest-ranking of the Aesir goddesses. She’s the wife of Odin, the leader of the gods, and the mother of Baldur.

She is a goddess and Odin's wife.

Strangely for a goddess of her high position, the surviving primary sources on Norse mythology give only sparse and casual accounts of anything related to her personality, deeds, or other attributes. The specifics they do discuss, however, are not unique to Frigg, but are instead shared by both her and Freya, a goddess who belongs to both the Aesir and the Vanir tribes of deities. From these similarities, combined with the two goddesses’ mutual evolution from the earlier Germanic goddess Frija, we can see that Frigg and Freya were only nominally distinct figures by the late Viking Age, when our sources were recorded, and that these two figures, who had formerly been the same deity, were still practically the same personage in everything but name.

basically Frigg and Freyja are the same.

What is interesting is that both Freyja and Frigg are Völva...a seer. I made a post about Völuspá poem(told by a völva) in Norse myth where I talked about how sarah might use it for the next book as a inspiration for Elain and upcoming crossover.

Like Freya, Frigg is depicted as a völva, a Viking Age practitioner of the form of Norse magic known as seidr.

so now let's look into Freyja.

Freya (Old Norse Freyja, “Lady”) is one of the preeminent goddesses in Norse mythology. She’s a member of the Vanir tribe of deities, but became an honorary member of the Aesir gods after the Aesir-Vanir War. 

In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future).

As you can see Frejya can do Seidr magic.

Another thing is...Freyja has a necklace and a cloak.

Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, is accompanied by the boar Hildisvíni, and possesses a cloak of falcon feathers.

So how might these be relevant for acotar plot?

We already know a necklace that is connected with Elain. Azriel literally bought a necklace for her.

But tonight, here in the dark and quiet, with no one to see…He pulled the small velvet box from the shadows around him. Opened it for her. Elain sucked in a soft breath that whispered over his skin. His shadows skittered back at the sound. They'd always been prone to vanish when she was around. 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 the colors would become visible. A thing of secret, lovely beauty.

so I think sarah might have gotten the inspiration from Freyja.

it is also interesting that Freyja's necklace's name has this. It is a "neck-ring"

The name is an Old Norse compound brísinga-men whose second element is men "(ornamental) neck-ring (of precious metal), torc".

And @offtorivendell has a post about how the necklace scene between Elain and Azriel reads like a wedding imaginary.

Now about Freyja's cloak. this is where we connect to Vassa.

We know sarah wants to write swan lake retelling.

So I went to look at swan lake. It is a ballet. that is well known. We are gonna look into its origin.

There is no evidence to prove who wrote the original libretto, or where the idea for the plot came from. Russian and German folk tales have been proposed as possible sources, including "The Stolen Veil" by Johann Karl August Musäus, but both those tales differ significantly from the ballet.[5]

the origin might come from German or Russian folk tales. We are gonna dive into the German tales. German tales are called "Volksmärchen der Deutschen" and when you go that page you can see "the stolen veil" by Johann Karl August Musäus in there.

"The stolen veil" name is interesting because well...the fourth dread trove was veiled in shadows in Acosf. I don't think it is nothing but a word similarity but it was interesting.

A fourth object lay on the altar, veiled in shadow. But she couldn’t make out more than a gleam of age-worn bone—

Also @silverlinedeyes remembered me that she wrote a post about how Elain might use cloak of void. she talks about in this post if you wanna read it. And the fact that Frejya has a cloak of falcon feathers was an interesting connection.

Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, is accompanied by the boar Hildisvíni, and possesses a cloak of falcon feathers.

Back to Swan lake.

"The stolen veil" is by Johann Karl August Musäus. and when you go to page of the story. It gives you information about swan maidens in the story.

The swan maiden is a mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form. The key to the transformation is usually a swan skin, or a garment with swan feathers attached. In folktales of this type, the male character spies the maiden, typically by some body of water (usually bathing), then snatches away the feather garment (or some other article of clothing), which prevents her from flying away (or swimming away, or renders her helpless in some other manner), forcing her to become his wife.

So they have a "swan skin" with swan feathers which helps them shapeshift.

This reminded me of Frejya's falcon feather. Tho Frejya uses it to fly not shapeshift but swan maidens and Freyja both having feathers is interesting.

Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, is accompanied by the boar Hildisvíni, and possesses a cloak of falcon feathers.

So maybe we would see Vassa with a swan skin to turn into human? Or maybe others who are trapped in the lake by koschei??

so that's all. Thanks for reading.

#elain archeron #queen vassa #how many times can a person call something interesting...I-IT WAS A LOT OF TIMES OKAY!!!! #Vassa #crossover theories #swan lake #freyja #theories #seidr

[wishfulimaginings]

Hofas Headconon

Midgard figures out a way to sustain their tech with their own powers in place of firstlight. And Bryce sends Nesta and Az an apology present.

Imagine this:

Nesta n Az lounging in the HoW private library and suddenly a portal opens, before they can react it closes back up. And in its place is a tiny package with the note,

" Dearest friends Azriel and Nesta ,

Consider this as an "Im sorry I stole your Dagger" and a " Thank you for helping me save my world from evil Intergalactic parasites" presents.

Xoxo,

Bryce

Ps: if it stops working hit it with your power, "

And when they open it they find two ipods full of music from Midgard !

And and and

Imagine an ugly baby statue present shows up on solstice with a note , " my mom made me send it "

#nessian #nesta archeron #bryce quinlan #nesta x azriel #hofas bonus chapter #cc hofas #hofas theory #hofas #house of flame and shadow #crescent city #crossover Acotar #acotar x cc #sjm #sjmaas

[emilystheories]

The Throne of Glass world no longer exists.

It was destroyed by the Asteri to create Midgard.

[Spoilers for Throne of Glass, ACOTAR, and Crescent City]

Many thousands of years ago, and prior to the Asteri's invasion of Midgard, there existed another civilisation. Part of this civilisation lived in a place called Parthos.

More specifically, when asked what the Crescent City world was before the Asteri's reign, Tharion noted that "ancient humans and their gods dwelled here."

An exact description of the Throne of Glass world.

Interestingly, despite the Crescent City books mentioning other continents (such as Pangera), readers are only given a map of Lunathion.

This is particularly strange, as all other SJM books have provided a full world map.

So, why would this be hidden for Crescent City...?

As such, I theorise that Midgard is actually the Throne of Glass world; hence why a full map has not yet been revealed.

Thus, I believe that following the events of Kingdom of Ash, some years later, the Asteri showed up and destroyed their world. The result of this was the creation of Midgard, and subsequently Lunathion - the world Bryce inhabits today.

The Timeline.

Evidently, this theory suggests that the timeline between the ACOTAR, CC and TOG worlds are not simultaneous, but rather that Throne of Glass occurred in the past - many thousands of years ago.

When considering this possibility, some rebut that this cannot be possible, as Aelin fell through worlds - right past Velaris and Lunathion. However, there is nothing to suggest that Aelin didn't also fall through time.

In fact, there are a multitude of hints throughout the various SJM books to suggest that time travel, or time manipulation, is indeed possible:

When the Asteri lured people into Midgard, it is said they offered a hand through "space and time."

The Harp, when used, can transport people through "space and eons." In fact, the 26th string is time itself - but what happens when a full melody is played?

Merrill straight up suggests that all of the worlds overlap - sharing the same space, but are separated by time. Almost as if it suggests that ACOTAR, CC and TOG are in the same 'world,' but manifestations of differing time periods; the past (TOG), the present (ACOTAR), and the future (CC).

Most importantly, when Bryce lands in Prythian, she starts to wonder if she had travelled in time; or, if this new world occupies a different time period (the exact concept that Merrill just suggested...)

Further, in her most recent interview, SJM was asked whether time travel would play a part in future books. SJM mysteriously replied, "no spoilers."

Thus, if this theory is correct, and Throne of Glass is indeed set in the past, then it is perhaps no coincidence that "Midgard" is the Norse name for "Earth."

And that "Terrasen" means "Old Earth."

Parthos.

As previously mentioned, a portion of the civilisation that used to inhabit Midgard (and as this theory suggests, the TOG characters) resided in an ancient city called Parthos.

As readers, we are first offered a glimpse of Parthos when Apollion takes Bryce to a "dream world" - a landscape in which the Great Library of Parthos used to be.

When in this dream world, Bryce notes that what remains of Parthos is a "DUSTY plain."

Interestingly, in the ACOTAR world, the Bone Carver mentioned that the world he (and his siblings) came from is now nothing more than "DUST drifting across a plain."

As the Bone Carver mentions this, Feyre notes that he draws three interlocking circles into the ground.

This is the exact symbol of Bryce's Archesian necklace - which is also the symbol of Parthos.

If this theory is correct, then the Bone Carver originated from Parthos - from the Throne of Glass world.

Considering the similarities between the Bone Carver and the Sin Eater (the absent God-like being in the TOG world who quite literally carved bones, and was known as the 'God of Truth')... it makes perfect sense.

However, the most telling clue of all, that connects everything together, is this;

Knowing that Parthos is referred to as a "dusty" plain, consider Rowan's words to Aelin:

"I love you. There is no limit to what I can give to you, no time I need. Even when this world is a FORGOTTEN WHISPER OF DUST between the stars, I will love you."

Why would the world Aelin and Rowan inhabit ever turn into a "forgotten whisper of dust"? Just like Parthos?

Because IT IS Parthos.

It is the world the Asteri destroyed to create Midgard.

Asteri Archives.

As even further proof, recall that when Bryce entered the Asteri's archive rooms at the end of CC2, she found notes on how Midgard came to be.

These notes stated that the "indigenous life was not sustainable" for the Asteri.

If this theory is correct, this suggests that the "indigenous" lives were the Throne of Glass humans, and that they did not possess enough magic (or first-light) to feed the Asteri.

We already know this is true, as it was a similar problem that the Valg previously faced.

Additionally, on the exact same page of the notes that detail the Asteri's invasion of Midgard, there is a sketch of both a wolf shifter, and a mer.

The wolf shifters and the mer are the two species confirmed to be the Throne of Glass fae.

So, it begs the question; why were the Throne of Glass fae explicitly mentioned on the Asteri's Midgard (pre-colonisation) notes...?

The Southern Continent.

If Midgard is built on the ruins of the Throne of Glass world, then I believe that Lunathion is situated on the Southern Continent (the setting of the TOG book, Tower of Dawn).

More specifically, as Lunathion is said to be modelled after an "ancient city," I believe it is modelled after the famed Southern Continent City - Antica.

In Tower of Dawn, Antica is described as a city surrounded by a wall, lined with "olive groves" and "wheat farms" bordering the city.

Lunathion is described in the exact same way:

Further, both Lunathion and Antica have "arid" climates:

Lunathion:

Antica:

And, most notably, both are surrounded by deserts; a unique geographical feature that is not prominently featured in other SJM settings.

As such, this suggests that the lost library of Parthos, is the Torre Cesme.

Perhaps the most sacred building in the entirety of the Throne of Glass world, the Torre Cesme is home to a huge library - one that is said to be the oldest.

In the present day, Jesiba Roga guards the remaining books that were once held in the library of Parthos (or, in the Torre Cesme library).

Prior to the end of CC1, Jesiba kept these books locked away in her store, Griffin Antiquities. Interestingly, a set of "glaring owl eyes" had been placed on the store to Jesiba's shop.

Owl's are the symbol of Silba, and the healers of the Torre Cesme.

Further, considering that Yrene's healing abilities are the exact same as Bryce's Starborn powers - could this explain why Jesiba looked like she had "seen a ghost" when she first beheld Bryce's Starborn light?

Such a notion makes even more sense when you consider that Hypaxia's tutor was brought back to life using necromancy, and was originally an inhabitant of Parthos.

Hypaxia states that this tutor specifically trained her in healing magic; just like the healers of the Torre Cesme.

In fact, the scene of Hypaxia removing the Kristallos venom is near identical to Yrene removing the Valg parasite from Chaol:

Lidia Cervos.

Speaking of necromancy, knowing that Hypaxia's family dabbles in such magic calls into question the identify of Lidia, Hypaxia's half-sister.

Is she Aelin Galathynius, brought back to life?

Or, perhaps she is a child of Aelin and Rowan, brought back to life?

Not only do Lidia and Aelin look near identical,

Not only is Lidia represented by flame (Aelin's power),

But her shifted form is that of a deer; that sacred animal of Terrasen. Even her last name "Cervos" is a type of female deer.

Lidia is also seen wearing a "gold ring, crowned with a square, clean-cut ruby." This is the exact description of the ring Aelin have to Rowan when they married.

Further, Ruhn also suggests that Lidia must be an Asteri, or as old as one, given the way she uses language. However, as Lidia is only 47, this makes no sense.

However, it makes perfect sense if Ruhn is actually talking to Aelin, or Aelin's child; someone who, according to this theory, existed many thousands of years ago.

(And, as a side note - given that Lidia looks like the "spitting image" of Luna, and that Luna's sacred animal is the Stag... could it be that Luna is Aelin? And that Lunathion was named after her?)

Connections.

Is it then perhaps no coincidence that one of the houses of Lunathion is the "House of Flame and Shadow." Aelin was known as the "Queen of Flame and Shadow."

In fact, Throne of Glass being the past world of Crescent City explains a plethora of connections:

The "Stag King" of Avallen.

Ruhn being named after the Ruhnn mountains.

Why so many CC places sound like TOG places (Morrah = Morath, Korinth = Orynth).

The witches worshipping the same "three-faced goddess."

Why wyrdmarks can be found everywhere (especially underwater, where some of the ruins of the "ancient civilisation" are said to lie).

It also explains the "World of Throne of Glass" book, which to this day, mysteriously remains unpublished.

According to SJM, the World of Throne of Glass is an "encyclopedia" that documents the full history of the Throne of Glass world. Written by a "grumpy librarian," SJM stated that it will "feel like a book you can pull off the shelves of an ancient library."

It's almost as if the World of Throne of Glass is a Parthos book in itself...

Is that why it remains unreleased?

Future books.

If this theory is correct, some may wonder how SJM could possibly include TOG characters if they are indeed dead.

I believe there are two viable options:

The "rewrite history" route:

In a future multiverse book series, the main characters of CC and ACOTAR would team up, and using the Harp/Horn (or perhaps the full power of the Dread Trove), they would go back in time. In doing so, they would join forces with the TOG characters, and stop the Asteri from ever overthrowing their world.

If successful, it would mean that the Dusk Court was never destroyed. At present, Bryce is hinted to be the ruler of this court... but it doesn't exist (and there isn't a lot of time to rebuild an entire city). However, if time manipulation was used... no rebuilding would be necessary.

It would also explain why the Oracle told Ruhn that the "royal bloodline will end" with him - as Midgard would never be created, the same applies for the Autumn King's reign.

The "escape" route:

Alternatively, perhaps when the Asteri arrived in the TOG world, some of the main characters were able to escape into other worlds - such as Prythian.

This would explain why so many of the characters in the ACOTAR and TOG worlds share many similarities (for example, Tamlin as the ancestor of Aedion and Lysandra...)

This would also explain why so many of the ACOTAR character's last names have been hidden from the reader.

Some characters may have escaped elsewhere too, such as Hel...

(^ This is more of a crack theory, but there's only two characters in the SJM universe who have "freakishly" blue eyes, can shape shift into any form they choose, and have powers that manifest as cold...)

However, no matter the method of saving the world, or storyline adopted, Aelin said it best herself:

"This world will be saved and remade by the dreamers."

#sjm theory #sjm crossover #sjm multiverse #acotar #acotar theory #crescent city theory #throne of glass #aelin galythinius #feyre #rhysand #bryce quinlan #azriel acotar #cassian acotar #azriel #sarah j maas #crescent city