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merymoonbeam · 3 months

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Light and Dark

Cc3 spoilers. You have been warned. 🫡

My obsession with this connection started when I saw @silverlinedeyes post about the six-pointed star in hosab and I added how I thought it resembled the TT scene elriel has.

We have the six pointed star in hosab and ithan-Hypaxia explained it like this.

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.”

And we have the Elriel TT scene.

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.

So as you can see by the same color highlighted parts. It matches quiet well. But we are gonna focus on the green highlighted part now.

As you can see ithan thinks that it resembled a six-pointed star when bryce made the drop with the Heart Gate.

Hypaxia said, “Look at the Gates.” The quartz Gates across the city began to glow. Red, then orange, then gold, then white. Firstlight erupted from them. Lines of it speared out in every direction. The lights flowed down the ley lines between the Gates, connecting them along the main avenues. It formed a perfect, six-pointed star. The lines of light began to spread. Curving around the city walls. Cutting off the demons now aiming for the lands beyond. Light met light met light met light. Until the city was ringed with it. Until every street was glowing. And Bryce was still making the Drop. It was joy and life and death and pain and song and silence.

The important part is here that it was the Heart Gate. The center of the crescent city. Map:

One of seven in this city, all carved from enormous blocks of quartz hewn from the Laconian Mountains to the north, the Old Square Gate was often called the Heart Gate, thanks to its location in the dead center of Lunathion, with the other six Gates located equidistant from it, each one opening onto a road out of the walled city.

So it is the...heart. you know what is described as heart in acotar? RAMIEL.

Ramiel. The sacred mountain. The heart of not only Illyria, but the entirety of the Night Court.

A little elain quote:

“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?”

And in my wild hunt post I theorized that Ramiel felt like the gates in a way. Because I think sarah took inspo from the Lia Fail stone from myths. It is one of the four treasures of Tuantha De Danaan. I went into more detail in my wild hunt post I link so Im not gonna add everything here again.

So Lia Fail.

The Lia Fáil was thought to be magical: when the rightful High King of Ireland put his feet on it, the stone was said to roar in joy. The stone is also credited with the power to rejuvenate the king and also to endow him with a long reign.

And we know that ramiel stone heals.

“Who healed you?” Nesta pulled back to survey them. “How are you even here?” “The stone,” Emerie explained, features soft with wonder. “It healed every wound on us the moment it brought us out of the Rite. We arrived here, of all places.”“I think it knew where we were needed most,” Gwyn said quietly, and Nesta smiled.

And we know that with firstlight you can heal. Does the ramiel stone consist firstlight and it works in a gate like way? It literally teleported them? How can it do that?

In hosab we have this:

“Your power came from the Gate—with a shit-ton of firstlight mixed in. So your magic—beyond the light, I mean— needs to be powered up. It relies on firstlight, or any other form of energy it can get. You’re literally a Gate: you can take in power and offer it. But it seems the similarity ends there. The Gates can store power indefinitely, while yours clearly peters out after a while.”

So a gate can take power and offer it and it can store indefinitely. If we take the ramiel as a first light storage of daglan with the ramiel stone it is working like a gate would?? Because in hofas the daglan under prison said they hid many things...under mountains as well.

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.”

We have another light and dark scene with important sword and dagger. The dagger that was in the elriel scene—TT and Gwydion.

They are white and dark light—Alpha and Omega.(I have a post about this)

The male drew it, and Bryce flinched.

Flinched, but—“What the fuck?” The knife could have been the twin of the Starsword: black hilted and bladed. It was its twin. The Starsword began to hum within its sheath, glittering white light leaking from where leather met the dark hilt. The dagger— The male dropped the dagger to the plush carpet. All of them retreated as it flared with dark light, as if in answer. Alpha and Omega. “Gwydion,” the dark-haired female whispered, indicating the Starsword.

And whats important is that with her power bryce can unite them to open a portal to nowhere.

Polaris’s eyes widened as Bryce plunged the blades into her chest. And as those blades thrust through skin and bone, the star in Bryce’s own chest flared out to meet them. It collided with the blades, and both sword and knife blazed bright, as if white-hot. The light extended up through Bryce’s hands, her arms, her body, turning her incandescent— Into a star. A sun.

What's important is that as bryce collects Theia's power that was parted into three parts she starts to realize it is taking a touch of darkness...

Bryce rolled her eyes, but for a heartbeat, Hunt wondered if Thanatos was right: Bryce had explained how the prism in the Autumn King’s office had revealed her light to now be laced with darkness, as if it had become the fading light of day, of twilight—

And we go to that scene...

With a prayer to Cthona, she sent twin beams of light arcing around the prisms, shooting straight into them.Twin bursts of that light flared from either prism, gunning for each other. Bands of light falling into darkness, her power stripped to its most elemental, basic form. They shot for each other, and where they met, light and darkness and darkness and light slamming into each other—Bryce stepped into the explosion in the heart of it. Stepped into her power.It lit her up from the inside, lit up her very blood. Her hair drifted above her head, pens and papers and other office detritus flowing upward with it. Such light and darkness—the power lay in the meeting of the two of them. She understood it now, how the darkness shaped the light.

And the purple highlighted part...it is exactly the same as the six pointed star.

And if we go by the elriel scene...

Can you see the connection?

Also that elemental part in bryce's scene. we learn about that in acosf.

Cassian forced himself to sit perfectly still as Rhys dragged a hand through his black hair. “Once, the High Fae were more elemental, more given to reading the stars and crafting masterpieces of art and jewelry and weaponry. Their gifts were rawer, more connected to nature, and they could imbue objects with that power.”

And we know how theia and her line can use the TT and Starsword bc she helped them make them.

Theia extended her hands toward the water, the offered blades. And on phantom wings, sword and dagger soared for her. Summoned to her hands.Starlight flared from Theia as she snatched the sword and knife out of the air, the blades glowing with their own starlight. My mother returned that day with only Pelias and my father’s blades. As she had helped Make them, they answered to the call in her blood. To her very power.

So maybe Azriel and Elain have some kind of elemental magic as well?

Also the stone on top of ramiel...sings.

But when he’d touched the onyx monolith, when he’d felt that ancient force sing into his blood in the heartbeat before it had whisked him back to the safety of Devlon’s camp … It had been worth it. To feel that. With a solemn bow of his head toward Ramiel and the living stone atop it, Cassian caught another swift wind and soared southward.(acofas)

TT and Gwydion also sing.

“Let’s go,” Azriel said, and released her hand. Because the sword and dagger weren’t merely tugging now. They were singing, and all she had to do was reach out for them—

What's more interesting is @icedflames made a post about Fragarach and about the connection between gwydion and tt which came true in cc2 as we learned they were connected.

You have to stand on top of Lia Fail stone with Fragarach.

In Irish mythology, Fragarach (or Freagarthach), known as "The Whisperer", "The Answerer", or "The Retaliator", was the sword of Nuada, the first high king. The sword was forged by the gods and was meant to be wielded only by those who posed above the stone of destiny (the Lia Fail) which roared and the sword whispered in response.

So do we need to take Gwydion and TT to Ramiel? To that Stone? We need Elriel to do it bc all of them are "light and dark"? What will happen if they are all there?

Also dont forget about book of breathings prophecy.

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.

Also Fionn dipped the Gwydion to Cauldron.

Another shift of memory, and Fionn pulled a long blade from the Cauldron, dripping water. A black blade, whose dark metal absorbed any trace of light around it. Bryce’s knees weakened. The Starsword. Two other figures stood there, veiled in the thick snow, but Bryce hardly got a chance to wonder about them before Silene’s narration began anew.

And Cauldron sits upon Ramiel.

“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.”

So we are going to ramiel with gwydion and tt? 🫡

#elriel #ramiel #gwydion and truth teller #light and dark #cc3 spoilers #I will add more to this if I find anything more usefull but as of now my brain is done and I cant add more to it #hofas

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wingedblooms · 2 months

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The dreams that are answered

When they were children, the Illyrian brothers dreamt of wielding the legendary sword, Gwydion, to slay wyrms and rescue damsels.

And the stars who listened answered those dreams. Feyre slew a wyrm and rescued Rhysand. Nesta rescued Cassian in their book and now, with the release of hofas, has slain a wyrm. These patterns tend to come in threes in Sarah’s writing, like a Welsh triad, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Elain defeated her own wyrm (or better yet, if it yielded to her, like the scaled creatures yielded to Bryce) and she rescued Azriel in their story.

The Starborn blades have been returned to the Night Court for a reason. Nesta has her own trove of blades, and Azriel clearly cannot carry them by himself…

He hasn’t even unlocked the full potential of Truth-Teller’s blade after possessing it for years.

Vesperus, the Asteri in the Prison, makes an interesting comment here that reminds me of the Illyrian brothers’ childhood games. She accuses the Fae of playing with weapons they don’t fully understand. Their minds couldn’t hold all the possibilities at once. But we do know someone whose mind might be able to hold multiple, if not all, possibilities at once: Elain, the seer.

It was Elain who appeared out of nowhere, out of shadow, with Truth-Teller:

She may have opened a portal into nowhere, the void, with her power (which, like the Harp, might influence time and space) while linked to Truth-Teller, allowing her to appear exactly where she was needed, when she was needed to protect her loves ones.

Our damsel made her moment with a legendary weapon count. And it wouldn’t surprise me if we learn that—with her heightened, Cauldron-blessed senses—she can hear the blades singing to each other, tugging at her hidden powers.

And perhaps, when they explore the powers of those legendary blades together, Elain and Azriel will open a portal and travel the space between to places she’s only seen in her dreams.

Because the stars do listen—and dreams are answered.

Special thanks to @willowmeres, @offtorivendell, and @psychologynerd for their inspiring reactions to and thoughts about these connections.

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sjmgirlie · 2 months

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“Elain can’t fight so how can she be a FMC?? She won’t be able to kill anyone, she has no training!!! What can she do on (??) Ramiel??”

Well, she didn’t need training to stab the King of Hybern in the throat and kill him did she?

As mentioned constantly, Elain will not be a warrior.

You know what she has? The element of surprise.

You know what else she has? Patience.

Elements that are important to *gasp* spies.

No one expects her to wield a sword. No one expects really anything from her. They just see her beauty, making her a true knife in the dark.

The symbolism is clear:

Feyre - bow and arrow

Nesta - sword

Elain - knife

Not to mention, she is literally a SEER. She’ll know where someone else is before they even get there. Like how she found the Suriel.

Also, conquering Ramiel is not on top of the mountain, but underneath it. Eris himself said the Illyrians never bothered to check under Ramiel.

You know what else Eris said?

Three Sister Peaks

Not 2 sister peaks and 1 bat boy peak (let alone bestie peak).

Elain yielding Truth-Teller has been and always will be significant. Not only in relation to Azriel, who has never let even his brothers touch it, but because it is an important weapon in the ACOTAR world. If it was not important, it would not have a name. Like Ataraxia for Nesta. But we all know that.

@wingedblooms has an amazing post called “the dreams that are answered” that explains both Gwydion, TT and the knifes relation to Elain. If you haven’t read it, you’re missing out!!

Next question?

#elain #truth teller #elain x azriel #pro eriel #gwydion

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emmitaaa4 · 3 months

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"As if the city view held some answer." On visions, heartbeats through stone, and the Dusk Court.

I'm but a procrastinating engineering student so this is going to be a bit of a messy post/theory, but here we go.

HOFAS spoilers:

Others have probably already theorized about this, but we know that Bryce ended up giving back TT and handing the Starsword (Gwydion) to the acotar folks... could it be that the Gwydion is destined to be Elain's? Or used by Elain, perhaps in the revival of the Dusk court? After all, as @bright-side20 and others have pointed out we already know that she likely accessed TT's powers in acowar (stepping out of a shadow to kill Hybern; if I am not mistaken TT leaked a darkness that even Az was surprised to witness in HOFAS).

sidenote: if you are curious about the link between Avallen & the Dusk court, I encourage everyone to go read this theory/breakdown!

Could this also be why the fact that Elain returned TT (which was an obvious action) was emphasized in ACOFAS, where SJM said she planted seeds for future bookS? Cause I find it interesting that it is Mor of all people that hums pensively as she points out that Elain gave TT back to Azriel: does she know/sense something with that power of hers? Does Elain perhaps See something too, given that she supposedly moved away from it very assuredly? After all, Mor was the one to say that "there is a reason that Elain is seeing these things" (acowar).

ALSO... I believe it's been pointed out already that the heartbeat through the stone that elain famously heard in acowar could have been a literal "beating, vibrant heart locked away far beneath"; i.e. the heart of the Dusk court (hofas). I find it all the more interesting, then, that Gwydion is described to have its light like a heartbeat (paraphrased from hofas, I dont remember the exact quote).

After all, it is looking away from Lucien, towards the windows, that she tells him--or rather, appears to be telling him:

“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.”

I repeat:

as if the CITY VIEW held some answer.

What if it did? And what if that answer is found in Gwydion's light and/or the Dusk court's beating heart?

In fact, what else do we know happens (or happened in acowar at least) when she sleeps? Visions, most likely: before she gained the understanding she needed to free herself from the murky-realm she was trapped in (thanks to my man Az), she was lost in a dream-like state. And those dreams often including the trashing sea...

"I can see so very far now. All the way to the sea." Indeed, the sea beyond the Sydra was a distant sparkle. (...) “I can hear your heartbeat—if I listen carefully. I can hear her heartbeat, too.” (who is her? is she hearing her sisters' literal heartbeats, or someone/something else's?)

“I can hear the sea. Even at night. Even in my dreams. The crashing sea—and the screams of a bird made of fire.”

These quotes have been dissected countless times already, but what I'd really like to add to the conversation is that there is something interesting from a passage from HOFAS I referenced earlier:

“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 trashing grey 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 (…)”

I am about to make the mother of all reaches (call me delulu idc idc), but all this talk about Elain being “blooming spring” and “a promise of spring”… and here we have a slumbering, barren Island (not unlike the way she herself has been forgotten, has been lost in dreams) in the trashing sea (crashing sea, anyone?) which could spring anew.

Just to wrap this up, you cant tell me that this passage isn't extremely Elain "gentle-grower-of-life" Archeron coded:

Dusk, twilight—that’s what the island was in its long-buried heart, what her power bloom into, the lands rising with it. It was, as she said, as if the island had a soul that now blossomed under her care, nurtured by the court she built here.

-------

Voila :) Hopefully I didnt get things mixed up and this made at least a little bit of sense. Ok so done with my procrastination and now back to thermodynamics (send help)(please).

#hofas spoilers #elain archeron #pro elain #dusk court #hofas #truth teller #gwydion #acotar 5 #acotar theory #kinda messy but bear with me #i needed to brain dump #mor acotar #elriel

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acourtofthought · 3 months

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HOFAS SPOILERS -

More on Gwydion, Fionn, and Truth Teller

I was kicking around this idea yesterday but now I think I've solidified my thoughts on it and changed my mind on a few things. .

"It's why the Starsword calls to the descendents of Helena - of Theia". But only those with enough of Theia's starlight to trigger its power."

We can almost guarantee Rhys is a descendent of Theia through Silene.

And Mor is Rhys's cousin, her family having ruled the North long before his family, even before the prison was created which means she could be as well, Mor who has golden hair as did Theia:

Based on what we now know, Gwydion did originally belong to Fionn and at the time it was a symbol of the first High King. Truth Teller once belonged to Enaulis (his friend), which Fionn wore at his side after his death. However once Theia took the weapons from Fionn after his death, she "made" the Starsword and Truth Teller with her light which is why only her female descendents can use it at its full power (which I think is telling us that it has to go to someone other than Nesta despite it being in her possession, she is not a descendent of Theia).

Az was able to use it at one point only because he was the keeper of Truth Teller and the blades have a desire to be close to one another.

Theia was not necessarily the heroine as she was made out to be in Crescent City and Gwydion no longer represents a "saviors" light so it belonging in the possession of someone who is both light (a characteristic of Mor) and bloodthirsty (which Rhys mentions her as being) is a good fit. Light and Dark - a combination of the two being Twilight or Dusk.

I do still think Bryce leaving Nesta the lands of the Prison, Bryce's birthright, is setting us up for it becoming Valkyrie territory, where they'll possibly remain as defenders of the portal that seems to exist there, and as Mor expressed interest in training with the Valkyrie in SF and we're given hints she'll not be staying in the NC, the pieces seem to fall into place for her to end up living there if they all found a way to bring it back from its current state. It seems the monsters in the Prison are the cause for the land around it dying so by eliminating the current inhabitants, it's possible for it to again become what it once was.

And I think that whoever else is a descendent of Fionn & Theia could still be a contender of the High King plot if SJM goes that route. A lot of focus is placed on the bloodline of the females who contain Theia's light however not much is said of what Fionn's bloodline was capable of (if anything) or whether there are male or female descendants who show hints of his power.

Or if they simply realizing that they are a descendent, it could somehow lead to a course correction of history, where the land that died as a result of his death will be restored, a land I believe to be the Bog of Oorid.

We're told Fionn's general Pelias had red hair and Fionn had golden hair. We're also told they once went hunting in the lands in the middle, where Oorid lies and to me that indicates Fionn was possibly not of NC descent.

So maybe there is still something there to connect Lucien to the High King plot considering he is not only descended from Autumn Court but connected to the lands of Spring through the Rite and has Day powers through Helion which may or may not somehow connect to the "bright light" part of Theia's light versus the darker lights of Silene and Helena (her daughters).

Rhys could be connected to the High King plot through Silene and Fionn as well however, Amren tells us that the Cauldron's benevolence may extend itself to another if he rejects his birthright.

Truth-Teller

I do believe that if Mor were meant to have Gwydion it could provide an explanation for Az struggling to let go of Mor.

If Truth Teller has been longing to reconnect with the sword for 15,000 years it would make sense that Az would find himself pulled to Mor if TT recognized her as a descendent of Theia's daughter. It was not necessarily Az himself being pulled to her but him being influenced by the dagger to some degree.

It does not seem that Gwyn will end up with Gwydion, she doesn't seem to be descended from Theia or her daughters as her heritage is not that of the Night Court. But Gwydion and Truth Teller want to be together.

What if Az takes the dagger Nesta made (as it was in their possession again at the end of SF) and he gives Emorie Truth Teller to keep?

It's poetic, not only if she and Mor are endgame, but because Truth Teller originally belonged to Enaulis. A female Illyrian ending up with the dagger of an original Illyrian hero is girl power at its finest.

#pro lucien vanserra #pro morrigan #mor acotar #azriel shadowsinger #azriel acotar #hofas spoilers #gwydion #theia crescent city #nesta acosf #crossover acotar #dusk court #valkyrie #emorie #gwyn acotar #rhysand acotar #truth teller #acotar theory

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hlizr50 · 1 year

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I've been sitting on this for, like, a year. I finally got it all together in a shareable collection of thoughts! So, without further ado, please enjoy my Fallen Star theory :)

I'm sorry it's so long.....

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super-jane5 · 1 year

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SJM Theories

Throne of Glass

Crescent City

ACOTAR

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fanwarriorfictions · 23 days

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Not Again - Part Eight

Summary: It’s been nearly four days since Y/n had collapsed, and she still hadn’t woken. Azriel won’t leave her side, he can’t, no matter how worried his family is.

Warnings: none really, kind of a shorter chapter

Series Masterlist

Another day had passed, Azriel refused to leave her room, he sat in the chair by her bedside and would not move no matter how much his family pestered him. Rhys had forced him to at least put some clothes on, but other than that, he’d stayed right at her bedside and spoke to her, feeling the pulse in her wrist flutter each time, feeling that evidence that she was still there. He read to her out of one of the books on her night stand, obvious gifts from Nesta. He struggled through some chapters, face warm, others he skipped entirely.

“Dinner is served,” Mor struts into the room, a tray balanced in her hands, “I can watch over her while you eat and take a damned bath.”

He frowns up at her, “I don’t-“

“Yes you do,” she sniffs pointedly, “You’ve been bed ridden for two days and haven’t bathed once since you woke. She won’t go anywhere, I promise.”

Azriel looks at the female in question, her lips were slightly turned down at the edges, like she could hear them and wasn’t happy to have him leave, “Fine.”

As soon as the word is out of him mouth, he hears running water in the attached bathroom, it seems the house was sick of him stinking up the place. He sighs, carefully standing up from the chair, shaking his head when Mor moved into casual reach incase he fell.

“I’ll be right back,” he says.

“I don’t doubt that,” she sighs, rolling her eyes at him, “at least take the time to wash your hair.”

Azriel doesn’t respond as he closes the door behind him, sighing through his nose as he rest against it. There was this strange anxiety in him, even though Y/n was just on the other side of the wall. Watched over by one of his closest friends. The female he’d spent centuries believing he was in love with, and the female he, he didn’t know what it was he felt for. There was this feeling in him, this feeling of desperation when she’d been in danger, before that when she was about to leave him, when he’d seen her cry beneath the stars. Not love, gods he’d known her less than a week, but there was something, something there. A string of shadow connecting them together, one he refused to let go of. Whatever it was, he wonders if the swirling eddies of the cauldron, or the mysterious force of the Wyrd, that brought her here, right to him.

With Quinlann, it had been the blades, Gwydion and Truth Teller, calling to each other from across the stars. When she’d opened the portal between realms, they found each other. But with Y/n, there wasn’t a reason, there was no mysterious object, no intent. Simply a portal that had torn her from her home and thrown her into his path. He’d spent the last day pondering about it, about why exactly she was brought here, brought to him, and he’d come up with nothing but blanks.

Azriel forces himself to focus on the bath before him, to get in and out as quickly as possible so he could get back to her. The water was lukewarm, like the house knew he wasn’t ready to feel the heat. His bandages had been changed early in the day by Madja, the burn on his chest had been the worst of the damage, the imprint of Y/n’s shoulders burned into him from holding her to him. It would heal, there may be the faintest scar, a darker, rougher patch of skin. He found that he didn’t mind it, that he’d be left with that permanent memory of her, even when she finally found her way home.

He scrubs methodically, using the same lavender scented bar of soap on his hair and his body, not bothering with the bottles of soaps lining the edge of the bath. He submerges his entire body, wings included to rinse off, and he’s up and drying off quickly.

The house provides him with a comfortable set of black sleep clothes, loose fitting shirt to not irritate the burns. He dresses without thought, quickly buttoning the shirt around his wings as he moves towards the door.

“Record time,” Mor says as he walks into the room, “I’m surprised you bothered with a towel, instead of shaking out like a dog.”

He rolls his eyes, taking his seat beside Y/n. She hadn’t moved at all, he hadn’t expected her to, her lips would sometimes twitch in her sleep, but that was the only movement he’d seen.

“She’s not going to disappear,” Mor says gently, “You can rest for a while.”

Azriel knew that, knew that if he crossed the hall and collapsed into bed like his body begged him to do, she was would be right here where he left her. But he couldn’t do it, not until she was awake and he could see those eyes, see that insufferable smile, hear her soft accent. He was a desperate fool.

“I’m fine,” he says, “thank you for the food.”

Mor frowns, “I’m worried about you.”

“I know-“

“No I don’t think you do,” she snaps, arms crossed over her chest, “I don’t know what happened between you two, I don’t want to know, but I can’t stand to see you fall apart over a female you hardly even know.”

“Nothing happened between us.” It’s the truth but somehow it feels like a lie on his tongue, “I don’t expect you to understand it, I don’t even understand it.”

“I’ve had lovers in the past, hell I pined after you for centuries.” Azriel doesn’t miss the way she flinches, he’d never actually said the words aloud, “but this is different, she’s just different. She’s not my lover, I don’t love her, I just- I don’t- When I saw her there, trapped in that spell, it felt like someone was carving my heart from my chest with a dull knife, hacking through skin and bones and ripping the thing out.”

He shudders, looking down at Y/n, whatever this was, gods he didn’t know, he didn’t want to know, he just wanted her to wake up.

Azriel feels a slight pressure on his shoulder, Mor’s hand resting there in gentle reassurance, “She’ll wake up.”

“I hope so.”

Azriel wasn’t sure what exactly woke him up, the pain in his back from being slumped over in his chair, his shadows frantically swirling around him, or the hand that gently twines through his hair. His half asleep brain decides the feeling is very very nice and he almost goes right back to sleep.

“Are you alive over there, shadowsinger? It’d be a shame if you weren’t.”

That soft swirling accent washes over him like the warm surf of the summer court. It has him launching up out of his chair, eyes wide and staring at the female who sits up in the spot she’d laid for the past three almost four days. Her face was washed in silvery moonlight from the window, hair a tangled mess on her head, her eyes wide and warm with the fire in her blood, gods she was beautiful.

He’s surging forward before he can even think that it might be a bad idea. Her face is warm, soft between his scarred hands, and her lips feel like heaven as he crashes his mouth to hers.

Her hands grip the front of his shirt, pulling him closer and he could die right then and there. Their lips move in tandem, tongues and teeth clashing in desperation. He can feel her sharp canines, the way they drag on his lower lip, she could tear him to pieces with them and, Mother above, he would let her.

“Don’t you ever do that to me again.” He pulls back just enough to growl against her, “Don’t you dare, princess.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going soft on me, shadowsinger,” she grins against his lips, that insufferable little smile, “it’ll ruin your whole dark brooding warrior image.”

“Shut up.”

She barely has the time to laugh before his lips cover hers again. Azriel’s shadows writhe around them, pulling her closer and closer till she’s practically sitting in his lap. His hands grip her waist, so hard that he’s sure she’ll have bruises in the shape of them. Her hands are tangled in his hair, pulling at the strands in a way that has Azriel purring. Everywhere she touched left him burning, burning with desire for more, more, more.

He’s moving, lips trailing across her jaw and down the side of her throat, he can feel her heart racing, maybe that was his own. Her head falls back, giving his better access to her throat. She lets out a breathless sigh when his teeth graze that sensitive spot, and Azriel wants to hear that noise again and again and again.

“Az,” she gasps, fingers digging into his shoulders like she’s trying to ground herself, “I, gods, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but hold on.”

It takes more effort than it should to pull away, to look into her eyes without begging her to let him keep going, “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine, this is amazing,” she sighs, “more than that. I just- I need a minute.”

Azriel sees that look in her eyes, that broken heart behind a wall of ice, “Whatever you need, princess.”

Her head falls, hiding, “I failed, Az. I- I did everything the books said, and I fucked it up.”

His heart squeezes in his chest, and he can’t help but to tug her into his arms. She collapses into him, face buried in the silk of his shirt and she cries. Those silent heavy tears, so Azriel holds her tight as she cries and cries and cries.

Y/n feels warm, safe, there’s a comforting weight across her waist, a hard wall behind her.

Her eyes open, blinking at the bright sunlight streaming through her window. It must be late morning, it had been the middle of the night when she’d woke, finding her hand clasped in Azriel’s, the male himself asleep in the most uncomfortable position possible.

When she’d seen him there, moonlight dancing over his features, she thought he was the most beautiful male she’d ever seen. It felt like her hand moved on its own, raking through those black strands of hair, the slight curl to them tickling her palm.

She’d felt him stirr, felt the way he’d pushed into her hand like a cat seeking attention. It was incredibly cute, which is something she was sure had never been used to describe the spy master.

When he’d realized she was awake, when he’d looked into her eyes, she’d seen the utter desperation behind his whiskey eyes. And when his lips had fallen onto hers, she felt it too. He kissed like a man starved, like she was his last meal and he was going to savor every bite of her. He kissed her like she meant something, like she was worth worshipping. Gods she wanted him to do just that, to take her for all she was worth, to ravish her until she was screaming. But then his teeth had caressed the side of her neck, her pulse racing beneath, and she felt herself slipping, felt the memories slam into her, of the matching scars her parents wore proudly on their necks, of the burning words in her throat, of the spell that had taken control of her and had tried to swallow her whole.

She felt everything crashing into her all at once, and when Azriel had looked at her, nothing but understanding in his eyes, she broke. She must have cried herself to sleep, to be waking up near noon.

Y/n froze as the wall behind her shifted, a body, she realized, that weight across her waist, an arm. Azriel.

She glances over her shoulder, finding the sleeping male. He held her close, face tucked into her shoulder. He made no noise, just soft breathing, lips slightly parted. They were laying beneath the knitted blanket that was usually folded by the foot of the bed, like he hadn’t wanted to wake her to get her beneath the covers.

Y/n shifts, gently trying to lift his arm so that she could escape to the bathroom, but the second she tried, his arm tightens and she’s pulled back against his chest.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Gods spare her, his voice was deep and rasping in her ear. Her eyes look back over her shoulder and she’s met by those hazel eyes, still heavy with sleep. His gaze feels like a brand, like he was taking in all of her, like he was planning to claim her in every way possible.

“The bathroom preferably,” she says, throwing in as much snarky energy as possible to hopefully hide the way her face was heating.

He sighs, “I suppose that’s fine.”

“You suppose?” She scoffs, pushing the heavy arm still wrapped around her waist, “Let go of me you overgrown bat.”

He holds tighter for just a second, “You wound me, princess.”

“You’ll get over it.” She slips out from beneath his hold, “Keep your wandering shadows to yourself, I’m going to bathe, I smell like death.”

Azriel looks at her with predatory focus, resting on his elbows so he can look her up and down, “Hm, I hadn’t noticed.”

“I’m sure you didn’t,” she rolls her eyes, “Keep them out, I’ll be back.”

Azriel settles back into the pillows, eyes watching each step she takes into the room beyond. She can still feel his gaze when she shuts the door behind her, heavy and burning.

The bath is already filled with steaming water, clothes and towels laid out for her. She thanks the house quietly, slipping out of her tattered clothes and into that hot water.

Her head tilts back, a quiet moan slipping past her lips at the feeling, her body sore from whatever had taken control during the spell, and then even more from laying in bed for the past several days. She takes her time, washing every spot of herself to rid that scent of smoke. Her hair takes longer, tangled and brittle, she uses half the bottle of the sweet smelling soap.

All of her movements are precise, methodical, to keep her brain and hands busy. Because if she stops for to long, her mind is ripped back to that room, to the yawning portal of darkness, that presence on the other side beckoning, whispering, playing with her. What ever it was, ancient and cold, dark and cruel, she felt it reaching for her. And at the same time she’d felt another pull, one from behind, one begging her to stay, to let go of the gods damned book. A string, a lifeline, a way back. She’d cling to that, and let it pull her out.

But still, on the other side of that portal she heard a whisper, a voice young and old, pay the price, gods killer’s kin, pay the price.

Tag list - If you would like to be added to the list please send me an ask or message me❣︎

@inloveallthetime , @microwaveallthedemons , @nayaniasworld , @thecraziestcrayon , @fightmedraco , @blackgirlmagicforever , @nikt-wazny-y , @fangirlloza010 , @thisiskaylin , @wolfgirl624 , @khaleesihavilliard , @fluffy-bnny , @mariahoedt , @durgenyx , @glitterypirateduck , @byyalady , @amberlynn98 , @ferrarisbitch , @a-cup-of-nightshade , @breella , @hnnybee0 , @superspideyparker , @that-one-little-soybean , @thebeautifulmysteriesoflife , @websterss , @sassybluebird , @fakesocialmediaa

#acotar #acotar x reader #azriel #azriel x reader #rowaelin daughter #rowaelin #not again #a court of thorns and roses

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mycadences · 3 months

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SJM said HOFAS would help set up the next ACOTAR book. And it did.

*HOFAS spoilers ahead!*

At the end of HOFAS, Bryce gave Gwydion to Nesta, bringing it back to the ACOTAR world.

Their names are practically identical. I don't know how you can see Gwydion and not think of Gwyn. It's like seeing a sword named Rhysarde and going "Oh yeah, totally doesn't sound like Rhysand at all. Yep." or a painting that is done by a Prythian artist called "Feyrere" and going "Hmm I wonder who that could be."

Now, get this: Gwydion was last used by some dude called Fionn. Why is that important?? And here, here is the part where your mind is going to be blown:

FIONN IS LITERALLY ANOTHER NAME FOR GWYN. HELLO.

More evidence if you need:

Who else had (I typed "has" initially *sobs*) a twin? Who else glows when she sings? Who else is connected to both Nesta and Azriel, and has a very high chance of obtaining the sword? Who also has the skills to actually WIELD the sword?

So, just to confirm the facts:

Gwydion, Gwyn and Fionn (the last wielder of Gwydion) are all related names in some way or another

Gwydion glows when it is being used, like how Gwyn glows when she is singing

Gwydion is a sword (duh). Gwyn is a priestess-Valkyrie who, you know, uses a sword. And uses it pretty darn well, too.

Gwydion is the twin to Azriel's Truth-teller. Gwyn herself was a twin.

Gwydion is now back in the ACOTAR world, being one of the most significant things to happen (in terms of ACOTAR storyline) in the HOFAS crossover.

(A little of an aside here: I'm not insisting that Gwynriel's book has to be next. I know there's... a bit of tension running between Gwynriels and Eluciens regarding whose book is next, and personally, it (the order) doesn't matter to me! It's a win-win for me either way lol. This post is more for those *cough you know who you are cough* who think that Gwynriel can't be endgame because of "plot reasons" when the plot clearly says otherwise.)

And I know after saying all this some people will still insist that Gwyn(riel) won't be important. *shrugs* But you know what? I don't really care. I'm making this post to remind fellow Gwyn(riels) not to worry and to stoke the embers of our hope.

After all, it is not blind confidence that inspires me, but ✨ irrefutable canon ✨

#gwyneth berdara #gwynriel #pro gwynriel #hofas spoilers #gwydion #open your eyes and SEE #their names are literally the same #antielriel

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merymoonbeam · 2 months

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Ramiel stone - The meteor

this is my crackiest crack theory to date.

So in every cc book it is mentioned that Gwydion is made from a meteor that fallen to their world. And in hofas we learn that Truth-teller is also from that same meteor.

That sword was currently strapped across Ruhn’s back, its black hilt devouring the glaring firstlights. Isaiah had once heard someone say the sword was made from iridium mined from a meteorite, forged in another world—before the Fae had come through the Northern Rift. (Hoeab)

“The sword was part of a pair,” Ruhn said to him. “A long-bladed knife was forged from the iridium mined from the same meteorite, which fell on our old world.” The world the Fae had left to travel through the Northern Rift and into Midgard. “But we lost the knife eons ago. Even the Fae Archives have no record of how it might have been lost, but it seems to have been sometime during the First Wars.” (hoeab)

“It’s an ancient sword,” the Autumn King said at last, drawing Ruhn from his wandering thoughts, “from another world. Made from the metal of a fallen star—a meteorite. This sword exists beyond our planet’s laws. Perhaps the Reapers sensed that and shied away.” (hosab)

“This was unique. It felt like … like an answer. My sword blazed with light. That dagger shone with darkness. Both of them are crafted of the same black metal. Iridium, right?” She jerked her chin to Azriel, to the dagger at his side. “Ore from a fallen meteorite?” Azriel’s silence was confirmation enough. (Hofas)

we dont know any meteor in acotar. But azriel confirms it with his silence. That Truth-teller is indeed made from a fallen meteorite.

So what could it be? This is the crack part of the theory. What if it is the ramiel stone?

The blades are black. Ramiel stone is black.

These are the same examples of the Truth-Teller and Gwydion. I can't add every one of them.

Another shift of memory, and Fionn pulled a long blade from the Cauldron, dripping water. A black blade, whose dark metal absorbed any trace of light around it. Bryce’s knees weakened. (Hofas)

Bryce threw her power into the Starsword, light ripping through the black blade, willing it to tear this fucking monster apart—(hofas)

“Some major prophecy fulfillment,” Bryce said, hoping to Hel she was hiding the tremble in her arms from keeping the black blades steady, from ignoring that instinct murmuring to her to bring them together, not keep them apart. (Hofas)

And this is the ramiel stone.

But Cassian paused before a landscape painting of a towering, barren mountain, void of life yet somehow thrumming with presence. Snow and pines crusted the smaller peaks around it, but this strange, bald mountain … Only a black stone jutted from its top. A monolith, Nesta realized, stepping closer. (Acosf)

Far up, too far, lay its peak with the sacred black stone. Three stars glinted above the mountain: Arktos and Oristes to the left and right; Carynth crowning them. Their light flared and waned, as if in invitation and challenge. (Acosf)

Snow drifted across the image, and then Theia was standing atop a mountain, a black monolith rising behind her. (Hofas)

So what if ramiel stone is that meteor?

And in acofas Cassian says this

Who had put that stone atop the peak, he didn’t know, either. Legend said it had existed before the Night Court formed, before the Illyrians migrated from the Myrmidons, before humans had even walked the earth. Even with the fresh snow crusting Ramiel, none had touched the pillar of stone. (Acofas)

So maybe someone didn't put it but it fell to their world.

And fionn dipped the blades to cauldron on top of the cauldron too where the ramiel stone is so maybe they are more connected than we thought?

Again this is CRACK.

#ramiel stone #gwydion #truth-teller #idc about meteors forming a crater and ramiel is a mountain...we dont follow logic around here.#cc3 spoilers #hofas spoilers

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offtorivendell · 4 months

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Knife and Sword

Spoilers: ACOTAR and Crescent City series to date

What if we've all been misinterpreting the following prophecy:

When knife and sword are reunited, so shall our people be. You have the Starsword. What if … I don’t know. What if there’s a knife out there for me? - HOSAB, chapter 23

Some of us have previously theorised that, long term, Truth-Teller won't belong to Azriel, but - just as Ruhn claimed the Starsword/Gwydion in a trial, and wielded it physically until Bryce was able to use it magically - it may be meant for Elain instead. That, essentially, Azriel had his own sword in the stone moment with his infamous dagger, but was always fated to pass it on to Elain, who could either wield its powers or charge it with her own light? And perhaps she did, shadow walking to save Nesta and Cassian in ACOWAR?

Mor even hinted, back in ACOFAS, that Azriel may give Truth-Teller to Elain once more.

I've wondered before whether Elain could be "the shadowsinger's knife" to which Gwyn was referring, indirectly or not, in ACOSF.

There are significant links between Bryce and Elain, namely that Bryce has Theia's light, and Elain may have her Sight.

Bryce and the Archeron sisters may even be (very distantly) related.

What if it's not meant to be Bryce and Azriel fulfilling the prophecy as sword and knife, but Elain Archeron instead? This would be a massive twist.

Elain "I don't want a mate, I don't want a male" Archeron and Bryce Quinlan... do we have a new ship? 😂

Crazy? Absolutely. It's pure crack, especially as Elain hasn't had her own book yet. But who knows?

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elains · 3 months

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Azriel's association with Enalius, what it means for his arc and Illyria

This is something me and my friends have talked about off tumblr, but I wanted to write my own post about it and gather my thoughts. But here, I'll discuss a bit Azriel's character and how the revelations we witness in House of Flame and Shadow will be important to his character. (+ a little bit of Emerie).

What do we know about Enalius? From ACOSF, Emerie provides us with a little exposition when they are in the Rite, when the Pass of Enalius is brought up:

Long ago—so long ago they don’t even have a precise date for it—a great war was fought between the Fae and the ancient beings who oppressed them. One of its key battles was here, in these mountains. Our forces were battered and outnumbered, and for some reason, the enemy was desperate to reach the stone at the top of Ramiel. We were never taught the reason why; I think it’s been forgotten. But a young Illyrian warrior named Enalius held the line against the enemy soldiers for days.

Now, from the Crescent City crossover, we learned that Truth-teller and Gwydion are twin blades. They are a pair. According to the Silene History Lesson, the dagger used to belong to her father's (Fionn's) dear friend, slain during the war. A bit later, when they find Vesperus, she confirms that this friend was Enalius:

The Asteri’s eyes flared with recognition at the long blade. “Did Fionn send you, then? To slay me in my sleep? Or was it that traitor Enalius? I see that you bear his dagger—as his emissary? Or his assassin?”

Immediately before that, she also confirms that the Asteri crafted (which can either mean created, shaped forged, but we are going with created) the Illyrians:

The Asteri’s blue eyes lowered to the dagger. “You dare draw a weapon before me? Against those who crafted you, soldier, from night and pain?”

From everything, we can conclude this: Enalius was the original wielder of Truth-teller before Fionn and Theia, a dear friend to Fionn, and someone who pulled the ultimate sacrifice to keep the Asteri/Daglan from reaching the top of Ramiel. He was a traitor to the Asteri, a rebel against his masters and everything they stood for.

Enalius is the hero most Illyrians strive to mimic, the legendary figure who they all hope to one day surpass. He's a symbol of their people, even if so much about him has been forgotten — the fact that he had a dagger, Fionn's friendship, what the battle was for, maybe even how he was as a person. Brave, for sure. Willing to die for the cause.

And it's Azriel who bears his dagger. Azriel, who has such a complicated relationship with his Illyrian heritage and loaths it - and by extension, himself - is the one with this enormous legacy right at this hand. And this matters.

Still in ACOSF, we have Rhys talking with Cassian and wanting him to play Courtier, the following exchange then follows:

“What, we’re doing some role reversal? Az gets to lead the Illyrians now?” “Don’t play stupid,” Rhys said coolly. Cassian rolled his eyes. But they both knew Azriel would sooner disband and destroy Illyria than help it. Convincing their brother that the Illyrians were a people worth saving was still a battle amongst the three of them.

Azriel hates the Illyrians for what happened to him and his mother and his dislike for them is, to a degree, understandable. The thing is that Azriel, no matter how much he loaths it, is Illyrian. Maybe he's more than that (as it's pointed that Az is different in a lot of ways and Bryce wonders if he is Starborn), but at heart, he's Illyrian. Siphons, leathers, fighting, being Carynthian, his wings, his scabbard and the dagger it holds.

It was healthy, perhaps, for Az to sometimes remember where he'd come from. He still wore the Illyrian leathers. Had not tried to get the tattoos removed. Some part of him was Illyrian still. Always would be. Even if he wished to forget it.

Being Illyrian is part of who he is and his deep hatred for them only fuel his self-loathing. He would like to set himself apart, but he is not.

We can actually draw a direct parallel between Azriel and Bryce with how they regard the Fae vs the Illyrians. Bryce loathes the Fae and for most of HoFaS, she believes they are evil, corrupt, power-hungry and quite generally, not worth saving. She would leave them all to burn. Sound familiar?

And Bryce is wrong. Sathia challenges her notion, pointing out that she's laying judgement to all fae and that is hardly fair. What the one who don't deserve it? Herself, yes, but Flynn, Declan, and Ruhn himself? Do they deserve to burn too? Bryce herself acknowledges this:

Urd had sent her there to see, even in the small fraction of their world that she’d witnessed, that Fae existed who were kind and brave. She might have had to betray Nesta and Azriel, trick them … but she knew that at their cores, they were good people. The Fae of Midgard were capable of more. Ruhn proved it. Flynn and Dec proved it. Even Sathia proved it, in the short time Bryce had known her.

And this part here sums up quite neatly:

Fire met starlight met shadows, and Bryce loosed herself on the world. It ended today. Here. Now. This had nothing to do with the Asteri, or Midgard. The Fae had festered under leaders like these males, but her people could be so much more.

There are Illyrians who are kind and brave and break the mold. We see this with Emerie, who is also a woman. We see that with Balthazar, Cassian. The main point stands, though, that you cannot judge or condemn an entire race for the bad apples.

Azriel is wrong, just as Bryce was wrong, and his journey will be also to realise that his people are worth saving. They were created of night and pain (words that Azriel embodies, being a master of shadows and a torturer), but that is not everything they need to be. They can be more than soldiers. They can thrive.

And I believe this was something Enalius himself came to the believe, long ago. His people deserved more than to be slaves to the Asteri, forced to give them their power when need be, bred to live and die for them. They could be more. And Enalius died to free his people from their chains.

Is Azriel Enalius's blooded descendant? I'm not sure, but he doesn't need to be. Azriel is Enalius successor because he will finish what was started. He'll uncover the secrets of the past, what his people were in truth, what Enalius rebelled for, what he stood for, what the Blood Rite truly means - which he only got a glimpse of.

And this is where I think Emerie will also come in. She's s one of ACOSF most relevant characters and the first female Illyrian to be Carynthian. I think Emerie will also become an inspirational figure to the Illyrian women, another of these what they coud be. What they can be. And more importantly and that is just a theory, what they were.

Orestes was a warrior. What if so was Carynth and she was woman? The name always struck me as similar to Carina, which is the name of a constellation and commonly used by women. It would be ironic and another shaking revelation to the Illyrians that Carynth, for whom their greatest warriors are named after, was a woman.

Does that mean all Illyrian women must become Valkyries? No, but some might wish to follow this path whilst their society takes its time to catch up. They already shook the status quo and with Nesta poised to have a big role (andthe Valkyries along her), they will continue to do so.

Azriel will uncovered the lost history of Vesperus offered him all the clues he needed to start looking. His journey to find out this secrets will lead to him facing his own demons, confronting his loathing for his people and, in doing so, he will make peace with himself.

#hofas spoilers #azriel #shout out to yaz for helping me fish the quotes #my meta #acotar #acosf #emerie #illyria

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bright-side20 · 3 months

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The Truth-Teller/Hofas Spoilers

It seems like people are hung up on Enalius possessing the TT in order to serve the Illyrian plot for Azriel, but in fact, that's selective reading. Let's see what is written in the books.

My sword blazed with light. That dagger shone with darkness. Both of them are crafted of the same black metal. Iridium, right?" She jerked her chin to Azriel, to the dagger at his side. "Ore from a fallen meteorite?" Azriel's silence was confirmation enough.

=Both blades are made from the same material of a fallen meteorite.

My father had never shown himself to be giving-long had he kept Gwydion and never once offered it to my mother. The dagger that had belonged to his dear friend, slain during the war, hung at his side, unused. But not for long.

Theia extended her hands toward the water, the offered blades. And on phantom wings, sword and dagger soared for her. Sum- moned to her hands. Starlight flared from Theia as she snatched the sword and knife out of the air, the blades glowing with their own starlight.

My mother returned that day with only Pelias and my father's blades. As she had helped Make them, they answered to the call in her blood. To her very power.

Conclusion: The Starsword and the Truth-Teller were both created in the same manner, crafted by Fionn and Theia. Fionn likely gifted the Truth-Teller to his best friend Enalius during the great war when Illyrians fought against the daglan to prevent them from reaching the Cauldron atop Ramiel. After Enalius's death, Fionn simply took his blade back.

_Azriel's secret lineage:

My mother eventually trusted only Helena and myself to seek the truth. She knew we could be of great use to her, because we bore the shadows as well as starlight.

=The blades simply represent both powers of the Dusk Court people: light and shadows.

We spent a month hidden in the enemy's stronghold, no more than shadows ourselves.

Doesn't that remind you of this :

ACOMAF:

“Like the daemati,” Rhys said to me, “shadowsingers are rare—coveted by courts and territories across the world for their stealth and predisposition to hear and feel things others can’t.”

=Daemati (mind reading) and Shadowsinger abilities are simply the powers of the Dusk Court/Avallen people, which is why they are rare, especially in Prythian.

_Foreshadowing from HOFAS :

Azriel, without Rhysand to translate, watched in silence. Bryce could have sworn shadows wreathed him, like Ruhn's, yet... wilder. The way Cormac's had been.

The male now held the Starsword at the ready, Truth-Teller gripped in his other hand.He must have had some sort of Starborn blood in him, then-a distant ancestor, maybe. Or maybe his possession of the knife somehow allowed him to also bear the Starsword.

That's a very obvious foreshadowing. It would explain why Azriel is so different from other Illyrians, why he can winnow, why Illyrians couldn't understand the origin of his Shadowsinger gift, and why it was merely assumed that he learned the language of shadows during his imprisonment.

_Az confirming that his shadows are magical:

His brows rose.... The shadows are made of magic, just very condensed.

_Where did Azriel find the Truth-Teller:

No one knows what became of Theia and General Pelias," I told countless generations. "They betrayed King Fionn, and Gwydion was for- ever lost, his dagger with it." I lied with every breath.

Silene made people believe that the dagger was also lost.

I made sure he knew that the buried weapon he'd need against the Asteri was down here.

While she told her son that the dagger is buried in the prison, therefore, Azriel found the Truth-Teller in the prison.

ACOMAF:

Azriel :"I'll go. The Prison sentries know me-what I am." 👀

So, tell me, what is more interesting: learning about Azriel's obvious Illyrian side, given that his father is an Illyrian, or discovering his secret lineage? Keep in mind that we know nothing about his mother. How did he manage to find the Truth-Teller? Why was he extremely possessive of it, yet decided to give it to Elain? This includes the famous scene that antis spent years trying to downplay, the scene in the coloring book, and on the ACOWAR cover.

_Can Azriel get access to the Truth-Teller's magic :

Can your dagger kill the unkillable, too?" "It's called Truth-Teller," he said in that soft voice, like shadows given sound. "And no, it cannot."Bryce arched a brow. "So does it tell the truth?" A hint of a smile, more chilling than the frigid air around them. "It gets people to do so."

This shows that he probably doesn't know the full potential of the dagger and that he used it for torturing people.

Vesperus took another step, steadier now, and smiled past Bryce. At Azriel, at Truth-Teller. "You don't know how to use it,do you?" Azriel pointed the dagger toward the advancing Asteri. "Pretty sure this end's the one that'll go through your gut." Vesperus chuckled, her dark hair swaying with each inching step closer. "Typical of your kind. You want to play with our weap- ons, but have no concept of their true abilities."

I think that Azriel is like Ruhn; he can wield the Starsword and the Truth-Teller. However, he cannot get access to their full power.

_Bryce using the Starsword and the Truth-Teller to kill Vesperus :

Bryce threw her power into the Starsword, light ripping through the black blade, willing it to tear this fucking monster apart- She willed it into Truth-Teller, and shadows flowed.

Elain :

Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.”

=The shadows were the Truth-Teller's magic; it had answered to Elain's will and magic, killing the King of Hybern. Y'all Keep in mind that Elain is the first female to wield and use the Truth-Teller since Silene.

I want to add

_If there is someone who would be a descendant of Enalius, it's Cassian, and it's already foreshadowed:

ACOWAR :

Nesta listened to the low-level Illyrian soldiers whispering about how Cassian had thrown that spear, how he’d cut down soldiers like stalks of wheat, how he’d fought like Enalius—their most ancient warrior-god and the first of the Illyrians. It had been a while, it seemed, since they had seen Cassian in open battle. Since they’d realized that he’d been young in the War, and now … the looks they gave Cassian as he passed … they were the same as those the High Lords had given Rhys upon seeing his power. Like them, and yet Other.

ACOSF:

At twenty-one, he’d still been drinking and brawling and fucking, unconcerned with anything and anybody except his ambition to be the most skilled of Illyrian warriors since Enalius himself.

Enalius being the Illyrians leader and Fionn's bestie / Cassian is the Illyrians general and Rhys's bestie. 🤷🏻‍♀️

#hofas spoilers #azriel shadowsinger #pro elain #pro elriel #elain archeron #acotar thoughts #cassian acotar #azriel acotar #elriel supremacy

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starsreminisce · 21 days

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Mor said, “She asked the king to break the bond. He obliged.” I thought I might be dying—thought my chest might actually be cleaved in two. “That’s impossible,” Amren said. “That sort of bond cannot be broken.” “The king said he could do it.” “The king is a fool,” Amren barked. “That sort of bond cannot be broken.” “No, it can’t,” I said. They both looked at me.

So, a being who has been alive for more than 15,000 years asserts that the mating bond cannot be broken, going so far as to declare it impossible.

While only one Asteri mentioned the power of Truth-Teller, Rigelus himself appeared more alarmed upon seeing the mask than when he encountered Truth-Teller and Gwydion together.

Furthermore, only mated pairs are able to see and feel their own bond, although it has been implied that Lucien can see others'.

Given these circumstances, it raises the question: How is Azriel supposed to sever Elain and Lucien's bond when his actions seem to revolve solely around indulging in self-pleasure at the thought of Elain, without any further plans or considerations?

#elucien #pro elucien #elain x lucien #antie/riel #antielriel

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freyjas-musings · 5 days

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I know you have the theory that Fionn and Enalius might be mates, but I was wondering if maybe the priestess Oleanna, who dipped the Starsword into the cauldron, and Enalius could be. It could be foreshadowing for Gwyn and Azriel 👀

Hello Anon,

Yes one of my very dear friends came up with this headcanon .... And it was when I was talking about Fionn and Enalius ... And I think her headcanon has more parallels to Gywnriel

Please Note at this stage it is a crack theory and headcanon alone ....

We know Priestess Oleana was the one who gave Gwydion its power by dipping it in the Cauldron and it was Enalius who wielded Truth Teller ....

What if Priestess Oleana and Enalius were mates who couldn't be together in their previous life .... what if Azriel and Gwyn are basically Enalius and Oleana Reborn to find each in a different life.... it would be so poetic... them finding their mate to get another chance to spend their life with each other.

I for one absolutely loved the headcanon and I know I am going to scream if it happens but as it stands its not really backed by any Canon info . Also, it would lean in to the headcanon that Gwydion might call to Gwyn ...

#gwynriel #gwyneth berdara #pro gwynriel #gwyn acosf #acotar #azriel shadowsinger #gwyn x azriel #post acosf #acosf theory #azriel #hofas

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wingedblooms · 3 months

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Bright as the dawn

This meta is a continuation of Forbidden secrets and Blooming dreams, as it explores how Elain—glowing with the dawn—might restore the land and Cauldron, and has major spoilers for hofas. Please avoid if needed.

Long ago, Wyrd (Mother/Cauldron/Fate/Chaos) was once bound to the soul of Prythian’s world. She was pure, undiluted life until she was warped into a tool of destruction by the Asteri, imbued with their magic through, theoretically, the Void in the Book of Breathings. They claimed the magic of the land (most likely using ley lines, which seem to be the threads or veins of the land’s soul) to hide magic that would sustain them, much like how the Starborn daughters hid pieces of magic in the land where the ley lines—the fabric of the world—wove together, overlapping like a braid in a larger tapestry.

As we saw in the prophetic weaver scene with Feyre and Elain in acofas, iridescent light—embodying Hope—is the only light that can pierce the Void. We may see Elain and Azriel wield these elements through Truth-Teller and Gwydion to unmake the Asteri’s magical chains on the land and/or Wyrd, but I have also wondered if Elain herself, or in combination with someone else’s raw magic as @offtorivendell so beautifully wrote in her Dusk meta, could heal and unheal, make and unmake.

If Elain and Azriel address the land and Wyrd plot Sarah has set up, then I could see them mapping the secrets of the land and releasing the sacred peaks first, which might affect what many of us suspect is Elain’s pure, natural magic that mirrors the Wyrd and her land: Life itself. These challenges may help her level up as @willowmeres has suggested, and will teach her what she needs to know to unbind and restore Wyrd, which is likely to be more complex.

Wyrd was imbued with the Asteri’s magic, which in discussion with @silverlinedeyes, @psychee92, @cassianfanclub, @offtorivendell, and @psychologynerd at different points, reminded me of how the Valg imbued objects with their essence, and their essence was often described as a void.

It was a void. It was a new, dark hell.

Her magic had been a pulsing star that flared against the wall that the darkness had crafted between the top of his spine and the rest of it. She knew—knew without testing—that if she bypassed it, jumped right to the base of his spine … it would find her there, too. (tod)

The Asteri, like the Valg, devour light (life) like the Void in that weaver’s tapestry. It’s probably no coincidence that the Book of Breathings is made of two halves: Chaos and Void. Void may have very well been added by the Asteri to control the magic they imbued in Urd, and what was left behind might even be feeding off of the living half, Chaos (Wyrd). It may not be a matter of solely unbinding the two halves of the book.

Some wounds—like those inflicted by creatures of the Void—require the healer to walk the road with the patient.

If she could even find a way to help him. She’d promised to heal him, and though some injuries required the healer to walk the road with their patient, this injury of his— (tod)

Yrene learns how to destroy the Void by walking this road with Chaol, and I imagine something similar will be required of Elain. Yrene must tread where she fears to go most. In each big healing scene, she travels to the very core—or root—of the wound and uses her pure, undiluted powers of life to unbind her patient from the Valg and unmake the rotting void within them. She connects with them in body and soul, just like Elain might with Wyrd through her sight. Elain will also likely need to tread where she fears most to go, descending into Wyrd (magically and/or physically) to where the dark void festers.

And since this is no small feat, I imagine it rivaling the unmaking of Erawan:

Erawan panted as he approached. “Healer,” he breathed, his unholy power emanating from him like a black aura.

She backed away a step, closer to the balcony rail.

The dark king followed her, a predator closing in on long-awaited prey. “Do you know how long I have looked for you?” The wind tossed his golden hair.

“Do you even know what you can do?”

She hesitated, slamming into the balcony rail behind her, the drop so hideously endless.

“How do you think we took the keys in the first place?” A hateful, horrible smile. “In my world, your kind exists, too. Not healers to us, but executioners. Death-maidens. Capable of healing—but also unhealing. Unbinding the very fabric of life. Of worlds.” Erawan smirked. “So we took your kind. Used them to unbind the Wyrdgate. To rip the three pieces of it from its very essence. Maeve never learned it—and never shall.” His jagged breathing deepened as he savored each word, each step closer. “It took all of them to hew the keys from the gate—every one of the healers amongst my kind. But you, with your gifts—it would only take you to do it again. And with the keys now returned to the gate …” Another smile. “Maeve thinks I left to kill you, destroy you. Your little fire-queen thought so, too. She could not conceive that I wanted to find you. Before Maeve. Before any harm could come to you. And now that I have … What fun you and I shall have, Yrene Towers.”

Erawan reveals that Yrene, as a healer with raw magic, can unbind the very fabric of life, of worlds. If Elain was given the vision and gifts (such powers) to restore the land and Wyrd, as many of us suspect, she is going to need to unmake the magic of the parasite Asteri and unbind Urd from the soul, or fabric, of the world.

[…] Erawan’s power swelled, but Yrene was already glowing, bright as the far-off dawn.

Lysandra opened her talons, delicately dropping Yrene to the balcony stones, light streaming off her as she sprinted headfirst to Erawan.

[…]

Erawan screamed. But the sound was nothing compared to what came out of him as Yrene reached him, hands like burning stars, and slammed them upon his chest.

The world slowed and warped.

Yet Yrene was not afraid.

Not afraid at all of the blinding white light that erupted from her, searing into Erawan.

He arched, shrieking, but Damaris held him down, that ancient blade unwavering.

His dark power rose, a wave to devour the world.

[…]

Yrene did not let it touch her. Touch any of them.

Hope.

It was hope that Chaol had said she carried with her. Hope that now grew in her womb.

For a better future. For a free world.

[…]

The gods might have been gone, Silba with them, but Yrene could have sworn she felt those warm, gentle hands guiding her. Pushing upon Erawan’s chest as he thrashed, the force of a thousand dark suns trying to rip her apart.

Her power tore through them all.

Tore and shredded and ripped into him, into the writhing worm that lay inside.

The parasite. The infection that fed on life, on strength, on joy.

Distantly, far away, Yrene knew she was incandescent with light, brighter than a noontime sun. Knew that the dark king beneath her was nothing more than a writhing pit of snakes, biting at her, trying to poison her light.

You have no power over me, Yrene said to him. Into the body that housed that parasite of parasites.

I shall rip you apart, he hissed. Starting with that babe in your—

A thought and Yrene’s power flared brighter. Erawan screamed.

The power of creation and destruction. That’s what lay within her.

Life-Giver. World-Maker.

Bit by bit, she burned him up. Starting at his limbs, working inward.

Yrene glows bright as the far-off dawn, which reminded me of Elain glowing like the sun at dawn when her hair is unbound. This very subtle detail is one of many that might make Elain’s journey unique—her gifts seem to be deeply connected, or bound if you will, to both the land and Wyrd. I believe her journey might mirror the unbinding of the land and Wyrd: her powers fully blooming as the land does around her, and a bond she does not want unmade by the end. She is bound to Lucien against her will, just as he is to her, so will she unbind them by unraveling Urd’s unnatural chains? Will she feel a bond that is true in spirit at her core, or will she need to make her own with Azriel? A maker of her own fate. There are so many interesting possibilities that could be explored in their book.

And like the near-twin to her sister, Elain might possess pure, undiluted life like Yrene, allowing her to tear out void like the invasive presence it is.

And when her magic began to slow, Yrene held out a hand.

She didn’t feel the sting of her palm cutting open. Barely felt the pressure of the callused hand that linked with hers.

But when Dorian Havilliard’s raw magic barreled into her, Yrene gasped.

Gasped and turned into starlight, into warmth and strength and joy.

[…]

Yrene’s power was life itself. Pure, undiluted life. It nearly brought Dorian to his knees as it met with his own. As he handed over his power to her, willingly and gladly, Erawan prostrate before them. Impaled.

The demon king screamed.

[…]

Erawan could do nothing. Nothing against that raw magic, joining with Yrene’s, weaving into that world-making power.

The entire city, the plain, became blindingly bright. So bright that Elide and Lysandra shielded their eyes. Even Dorian shut his.

But Yrene saw it then. What lay at Erawan’s core.

The twisted, hateful creature inside. Old and seething, pale as death. Pale, from an eternity in darkness so complete it had never seen sunlight.

Had never seen her light, which now scalded his moon-white, ancient flesh.

Erawan writhed, contorting on the ground of whatever this place was inside him.

Pathetic, Yrene simply said.

[…]

And it was with the image of her mother still shining before him, showing him that mistake he’d never known he made, that Yrene clenched her fingers into a fist.

Erawan screamed.

Yrene’s fingers clenched tighter, and distantly, she felt her physical hand doing the same. Felt the sting of her nails cutting into her palms.

She did not listen to Erawan’s pleas. His threats.

She only tightened her fist. More and more.

Until he was nothing but a dark flame within it.

Until she squeezed her fist, one final time, and that dark flame snuffed out.

Yrene had the feeling of falling, of tumbling back into herself. And she was indeed falling, rocking back into Lysandra’s furry body, her hand slipping from Dorian’s. (koa)

When she is done, Yrene falls, tumbles back into herself like someone with the gift of sight. Elain’s sight is probably more extensive, but I think it’ll look very similar—part of her there, part of her deep within Wyrd (the Cauldron). And even with the vision and gifts Urd gave her, Elain will probably need help. Will she combine her raw magic with Azriel, like Yrene does with Dorian? Or her sisters like @silverlinedeyes, @offtorivendell, and I (as well as others I’m sure) have discussed? Or even in some kind of dawn ritual where priestesses, like healers, create a living chain of blooming life to ground and amplify her magic? I don’t know what I would love more, honestly.

Once the magic of the Asteri is unmade and Wyrd is unbound, I hope there is a scene where we finally see the goddess through Elain’s eyes, and Elain—like the calm and loving and resilient stag in this Fantasia sequence—reaches out her hand, lifts her up and out of the place that once chained her to the Void, and lets her power, pure and natural, flow through her before it rushes into the soul of the land, which can now rejoice with her freely.

#hofas spoilers #elain archeron #healer of the land and urd #mother cauldron fate #stone mother #bright as the dawn #her journey mirrors the land and goddess #mother incarnate #elriel #elain x azriel #archeron sisters #prythian priestesses #living chain of life

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