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magpie-01 · 2 months

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Im reading the throne of glass series\

THE COVER PAGES ARE SO PRETTY AND ASTHETIC

so i read the assasins blade right? WHY THE ACTUAL FUCK DOES MY POOKIE WOOKIE BEAR WHO IS NOW MY MATE SAM CORTLAND HAVE TO DIE. IMA KILL AROBYNN HAMEL.

WHY DO MY FAV CHARACTERS ALWAYS DIE. LIAM MAIRI DIED TOO.

like if yu agree😈😉😚

ILL FOREVER LOVE YOU SAM DONT WORRYYY I WONT FORGET YOUUU

now whenever i read celeana say "im celeana sardothien and i will not be afaid i nearly cry bc i remember sam...

SPOILER ALERT! CONTINUE READING AT YOUR OWN RISK.

ALSO im currently reading crown of midnight and i casually skipped to the end to see how many pages were in the book. little did i know i would spoil a MAJOR factor for myself. i saw that celeana is actually the missing princess and then i once again casually googled "is celeana aelin" and it came up with "how does nehemia die" and im like WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. HOW DID I DO THAT TO MYSELF. so yee i doing great yall.

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rainingriversofyou · 2 months

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Nehemia x Celaena

“I name you Elentiya." She kissed the assassin's brow. "I give you this name to use with honour, to use when other names grow too heavy. I name you Elentiya, 'Spirit That Could Not Be Broken.”

—Throne Of Glass

Artist: diabolical_victorian_cat

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folkorae · 3 months

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Finished book one of throne of glass, i will definitely read this series this year and will be adding some muses ✨👍 also i won’t read the second book right away because i want to read a little bit of caraval (didn’t made any progress after 5% lmao) anyways, i will let you all know of my progress!

#❧ ⸻ jane reads .#i liked the book #it really takes a while to get into it #and i am curious to see how the story will go #and kinda curious about this love triangle too #i’m not a fan of love triangles but i wanna see where this goes :)#also i will add celaena and queen elena #and princess nehemia because fuck it i wanna add them #just please bear with me since i am still reading the series if you’re going to interact with them!

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zenithofstories · 1 year

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Sarah J. Maas Bonus Chapter Masterlist

Many people have posted images of the bonus chapters from Sarah J. Maas's books, and I thank you for giving us access to content we would have missed out on otherwise. However, no one has posted all of them, so I figure that I can collate the links in one place.

There are minor spoilers below the cut in the chapter descriptions, so be wary of looking too far ahead, if you have not read all the books.

Throne of Glass

The Captain and the Prince - A conversation between Dorian and Chaol before the start of TOG

The Assassin and the Captain - When Celaena arrives back at the castle from her first mission as the King's Champion between TOG and COM, Chaol is waiting to greet her

The Assassin and the Princess - Before the start of COM, once Celaena has been the King's Champion for a month, she and Nehemia do a little shopping in Rifthold

Untitled - Mistward is visited by nobles—including one of Rowan's exes—during Celaena's time there in HOF

Untitled - A bonus chapter while Aelin and the rest of her court travel through Terrasen in EOS

Untitled - Chaol and Nesryn's sea journey before the start of TOD

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Wings and Embers - Cassian goes to visit the mortal world and ask Nesta to deliver a letter to the mortal queens in ACOMAF

Feyre's Perspective - In ACOSF, after Feyre and Rhys tells her sisters about their baby, they have a conversation

Azriel's Perspective - After the Winter Solstice celebration in ACOSF, Azriel is wandering the halls, unable to sleep

Crescent City

Ruhn's Perspective - Once Cormac comes to town in HOSAB, Flynn's younger sister decides to visit

Bryce's Perspective - Part 1 - Part 2 - Cormac invites her to a luncheon at Flynn's parent's villa in HOSAB

Tharion's Perspective - Part 1 - Part 2 - Tharion reminisces about first meeting Hypaxia during HOSAB

An alternative is here; the highlights contain all three chapters

If I have missed any, please feel free to let me know, or link them in the comments/reblogs :D

#sarah j maas #acotar #tog #cc #a court of thorns and roses #throne of glass #crescent city #bonus chapters #sarah j maas bonus chapters #it was annoying me having to search every time i wanted to read one #so i just did a whole days worth of research so i don't have to again #i hope this helps #i found two chapters i've never read before #so thats a plus #reference #world of sarah j maas

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captain-of-the-gwynriel-ship · 8 months

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TOG and CC similarities

Has anyone else noticed that in TOG, Dorian is pushed to get engaged to Nehemia. She is the free spirited princess to her people. He is the crown prince to the most ruthless and egotistical king in their realm and is a partier and womanizer.

Then let’s look at CC. In the HOEAB, Ruhn and Hypaxia get engaged. Ruhn is the son of the autumn king who is more interested in gaining power than his son’s happiness, while Ruhn lives in his party house and drowns himself in drinks, drugs, and casual sex. Hypaxia was hidden away by her mother and is a strong and independent woman who longs to be normal.

Not to mention, both Ruhn and Dorian fall in love with women who are strong, independent, and ruthless. They both first fall for women who they consider to be soft (Ruhn with Hypaxia when she was an unknown healer and Dorian with Sorcha). When those relationships fall apart they both crave someone who is the opposite and end up falling for these women that are complicated and ultimately are fighting for their people while in disguise as the enemy. Both end up being double agents after being brainwashed and trained from birth to be evil weapons.

I know that SJM already said that Dorian and Lucien would be besties, and I can definitely see that now. What if you added Ruhn to that bestie mix? They SJM universe would never know what hit it.

Ruhn x lydia and Dorian and manon are on very similar trajectory so I am soooooo excited to see how CC3 plays out, especially since Lydia is our first POV 😍

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princessyuwa · 1 month

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Nehemia x Fenrys - AU where Crown Princess Nehemia never dies for Aelin. After the war against Maeve, Terrasen's handsome ambassador who preferred the bachelor life falls hard for the Light of Eyllwe 😉.

#dress up games #throne of glass #nehemia ytger #nehemia deserved better #fenrys moonbeam #fenrys x nehemia

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therealmissmagoo2 · 3 months

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Nehemia Ytger - Princess of Eyllwe, The Light of Eyllwe - Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

Tray Files Skin Eyes Irene Eyelash Remover Eyelashes Part 1, Right Lip Mole Eyebrows Lip Preset N24 Teeth Normal Nose Preset 4f Hair Base Chromatic Collection 2 Hair 1 B Hair 2 Lipstick Crema Eyeliner Lioness Eyeshadow Apple Nails 1 Nails 2 Shoes

Look 1: Dress Earrings Necklace Look 2: Dress Arm Bands Jewels of the Pharaoh 2 Look 3: Dress

DM me for 🔒

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beholdingslut · 4 months

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v curious if you ever read the throne of glass series/your thoughts if you did!

i read most of them at the time of publication! i remember buying throne of glass at a bookstore and not being overly impressed with miss celaena and her love triangles but i stuck with the series until queen of shadows, literally read an advance ordered copy of my friend's and then said: enough. the world building wasn't great, and i really never moved past nehemia dying to further aelin's narrative, both because i really liked nehemia and also due to the race dynamics. i also remember finding her weird scent thing she had with her cousin odd. i can't remember any of the plot except in broad strokes, didn't she turn out to be not just the most annoying special dangerous assassin in the world but also the long lost fey princess with amnesia? which was a bit much for me and my less is more approach to main characters. probably why i ended up enjoying feyre the most. my favourite character was manon and i think i remember liking dorian but you could not pay me to revisit.

#it sounds like the most compelling stuff to me happens in the books i havent read but alas i cannot return #ask

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ae-neon · 1 year

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Reading Throne of Glass (25-30)

Recap

Celaena has undergone a few Tests and while she's been able to maintain a middle place, she is beginning to worry about the difficulty of winning.

Her relationships with both Chaol and Dorian are progressing and Nehemia has insisted that she and Celaena meet up often to teach each other their languages.

She was excluded from the Samhuinn feast but found a secret tunnel in her room and followed it out to an escape route near the ocean. She chooses to stay and finish the competition to guarantee her freedom rather than run and be hated and hunted.

She returns to her room but...

Chapter 25

Celaena dreams she's back in the tunnels and takes a turn she avoided irl. She's lured along by the smell of roses which she's smelt irl in her room before. She's led to the tomb of some old king and queen.

There are wyrdmarks everywhere. Celaena figures out the tombs belong to Gavin and Elena the first king and queen of Ardalan from thousands of years ago. Elena was half Fae? (King Brannon's daughter, who is her mom, why is she half Fae will that matter?)

Elena Galathynius Havilliard. I see.

There's a legendary sword wielded by a human king who married an elf a Fae princess who was the daughter of an elf a Fae king of a forest kingdom.

The sword is called Damaris and hasn't rusted despite sitting there for a thousand years and it was used to slay the Dark Lord Erawan.

I feel some Tolkien inspo. Not a bad thing. Not even really an avoidable thing honestly. Just saying what I'm seeing.

The ghost of Elena tells Celaena that the gargoyles on the clock tower guard the portals between worlds (???)

“Something evil dwells in this castle, something wicked enough to make the stars quake. Its malice echoes into all worlds,” the queen went on. “You must stop it. Forget your friendships, forget your debts and oaths. Destroy it, before it is too late, before a portal is ripped open so wide that there can be no undoing it."

Elena gives Celaena an amulet for protection.

But—if there was a threat like that, then not only her life was at risk. And while she’d be more than happy if some dark force somehow destroyed Cain, Perrington, the king, and Kaltain Rompier, if Nehemia, or even Chaol and Dorian, were somehow harmed . . .

LEAVE KALTAIN ALONE YOU FUCKING PSYCHO??

Chapter 26

Another competitor is found dead. At this rate the competition should last half the time. The body was half eaten and Celaena jokes it was probably Cain.

She made herself grin at him. “Cain is the most likely candidate. You’re from Anielle—you should know more than anyone how they are in the White Fang Mountains.”

I get her not liking the man but her prejudice against these people is so wild???

After hearing the growls and inhuman sounds in her dream that wasn't a dream, she thinks whatever evil Elena was warning her about ate the dead competitor

She passes the body on her way to the library. Most of the organs are gone and someone had written wyrdmarks in blood on the wall.

Dorian and Chaol are sparring, they go back and forth about finding each other visiting Celaena's room in the middle of the night.

“Any word from your father?” Chaol asked in a voice that indicated he knew something was amiss. “I wonder where he went off to.”

Seeing as how Chaol supposedly sent word to the king, you'd think he knew 😑

Dorian’s blood went a bit cold. “You think they’ll try to kill Celaena?”

“I added some extra guards around her rooms.” “To protect her, or to keep her in?” (...) “What difference does it make?” Chaol said quietly. “You don’t seem to care either way. You’ll visit her no matter what I say, and the guards won’t stop you because you’re the prince.” There was something so defeated, so bitter, underlying the captain’s words that Dorian, for a heartbeat, felt badly.

Ouch. Poor Chaol.

Chapter 27

Late that afternoon, Celaena stared at the ebony clock tower. It grew darker and darker, as if it somehow absorbed the sun’s dying rays. On top of it, the gargoyles remained stationary. They hadn’t moved. Not even a finger. The Guardians, Elena had called them. But Guardians to what?

To the portals??

Nehemia warns Celaena to leave the wyrdmarks alone

Yulemas and the final duel are two months away

Does that mean Eyllwe is near the equator? If there's not snow in Eyllwe why is there snow in Ardalan? That the very least it should be quite hot in Ardalan most of the time, they literally border each other.

“Smeared?” Nehemia said, her voice dropping into a hush. “Not splattered?” SJM makes a point that Celaena isn't fluent in Eyllwe but this level of word use is expert??

Celaena and Nehemia get confronted by Cain, he reveals he knows everything about who Celaena is though Nehemia doesn't understand because it's in the common tongue. Nehemia looks out for Celaena and they walk away without making a scene.

Later, Chaol and Dorian are watching Celaena train. Dorian gets jealous of Celaena being close with Nox Owen.

Days later Celaena and Chaol are in the library and she's looking for information on the wyrdmarks

“No. Yes. It’s interesting: some theories suggest the Mother Goddess is just a spirit from one of these other worlds, and that she strayed through something called a Wyrdgate and found Erilea in need of form and life.”

(...)

“There’s an idea that before the Goddess arrived, there was life—an ancient civilization, but somehow, they disappeared. Perhaps through that Wyrdgate thing. Ruins exist—ruins too old to be of Fae making.”

Is this the same Mother of the acotar universe? Did she just go around creating worlds and starting religions?

Shouldn't Chaol be investigating the gruesome serial murders happening in the castle rather than guarding Celaena in the library?? Almost like he's the Captain of the Royal Guard or something

[wyrdgates] were both real and invisible things. Humans could not see them, but they could be summoned and accessed using the Wyrdmarks. They opened into other realms, some of them good, some of them bad. Things could come through from the other side and slither into Erilea.

Maybe the clock tower is a marker for a gate or something

It was a large black volume entitled The Walking Dead in tarnished silver letters. Lolol what the heck is this

Celaena reads from the black book that smells like soil and is giving her chills and spooky stuff starts to happen. She's hearing things. I like these horror elements and I wish sjm would lean into it

There was a scraping noise somewhere beneath her feet—close, as if someone were running a fingernail along the ceiling below. Celaena slammed the book shut and stepped away from the table. The hair on her arms rose, and she almost stumbled into the nearest table as she waited for something—a hand; a wing; a gaping, fanged mouth—to appear and grab her.

It was ...Chaol trying to ...scare her? Um what??

Chapter 28

Celaena is trying to play pool and failing and Dorian manages to sneak up on her again. One might think he was the world's greatest assassin.

Dorian is great at pool and Celaena isn't, I see where this is going.

Though it was the oldest and most shameless trick in the book, he reached over her and put his hand on top of the one that gripped the cue. He then positioned the fingers of her other hand on the wood before lightly gripping her wrist. To Dorian’s dismay, his face became warm. His eyes shifted to her, and, to his relief, he found that she was as red as he, if not more so.

After that we get a montage of them playing pool, eating cake and chatting the night away.

I get what sjm is doing, page time is limited - or at least it once was before everyone and their mom started publishing 800 page tomes of fantasy romance - but this isn't actually showing, it's telling.

We see Celaena's connection to Chaol, we can track the changes and levels of intimacy in their conversations from one to the next but again with Dorian it's a lot of "trust me" writing.

It's better from Dorian's pov because he notes things about her and genuinely wants to know more. But Celaena's pov is just "wow, Dorian is hot, wanna kiss him"

Chapter 29

Another Test, essentially just duels.

Context; Some random makes a remark about Celaena and Nox Owen defends her and it starts a little scuffle

Pelor, who had been lingering nearby, retreated a few steps. Smart move.

Added this just to highlight my fave. Pelor for the win.

Celaena loses her temper and absolutely owns the random dude in a spar without unsheathing her sword.

Kaltain Rompier POV

Across the castle, Kaltain Rompier clapped lightly as a troupe of acrobats finished their tumbling. The performance had stopped at last. She didn’t feel inclined to watch peasants bouncing about in bright colors for hours, but Queen Georgina enjoyed it, and had invited her to sit beside the throne today.

What if I told you Kaltain was against the exploitation of the working class lol

Kaltain is being bewitched. She suffers insane nightmares and migraines and swears she hears a voice in her head.

Kaltain and Georgina gossiping, I love them

“What a pity. I had hoped that you of all people would know. You’re such a clever girl, Kaltain.” “Thank you, Your Majesty. You are too kind.” “Nonsense. I’m an excellent judge of character; I knew how extraordinary you were the moment you entered the court.

Exactlyyy

Kaltain manages to get it out of Georgina that the Queen thinks Kaltain's beauty and wealth more than make up her lack in status - enough to even earn her approval to aim for Dorian.

Chapter 30

“You’re not focusing.” “Yes, I am!” Celaena said through her teeth, pulling the bowstring back even farther. “Then go ahead,” Chaol said, pointing to a distant target along the far wall of the abandoned hallway. An outrageous distance for anyone—except her. “Let’s see you make that.” She rolled her eyes and straightened her spine a bit. The bowstring quivered in her hand, and she lifted the tip of her arrow slightly. “You’re going to hit the left wall,” he said, crossing his arms. “I’m going to hit you in the head if you don’t shut up.” She turned her head to meet his gaze. His brows rose, and, still staring at him, she smiled wickedly as she blindly fired the arrow. The whiz of the arrow’s flight filled the stone hallway before the faint, dull thud of impact. But they remained gazing at each other.

See how different the Chaol x Celaena moments are? The reader is allowed to feel the chemistry for themselves.

It's suddenly 3 weeks since the last competitor's murder so a little over one month left until Yulemas and the final duel

Celaena tells Chaol that Cain knows who she is but they are interrupted to be told another body has been found. It's the random guy that she beat in the sparring Test.

At the crime scene Celaena turns into Sherlock Holmes despite her job not requiring this level of skill and Chaol turns into someone born yesterday with no deductive reasoning despite having been the lead investigator for all murders up until now.

we love breaking the worldbuilding to make our self-insert character look cool

Later, Dorian catches her unaware for the third time. He might as well be his dad's Champion

"(...) But what a miserable day it was! The pups are mutts, and—” He put his head in his hands. “Pups?” “One of my bitches gave birth to a litter of mongrels. Before, they were too young to tell. But now . . . Well, I’d hoped for purebreds.” “Are we speaking of dogs or of women?” “Which would you prefer?” He gave her an impish grin.

...

Celaena's connection to music is further reinforcing the idea that Rhysand is the main character in acotar. SJM cannot help her self-centred writing and I think that slipped from one favourite to the next.

Also makes me think about Dorian as her endgame the way Feyre is Rhysand's.

This is one of the best Dorian and Celaena moments so far. He genuinely wants to know more about her but Celaena has so many secrets she's keeping not from him but from herself - she's locked her past away and she's terrified of opening that box.

He looked at the window and the snow that swirled beyond. “I’m not married,” he said softly, “because I can’t stomach the idea of marrying a woman inferior to me in mind and spirit. It would mean the death of my soul.”

Dorian, you're pretty and I like you but you're on thin fucking ice. Again, Rhysand is just Dorian in a black tunic. The whole "my equal thing" is exhibit E

Celaena drags him for it as she should but not for viewing other women as inferior to him obviously because she's sjm...

You deserve to be laughed at for such foolish thoughts! I spoke from my soul; you speak only from selfishness.” (Celaena) “You’re remarkably judgmental.” (Dorian) “What’s the point in having a mind if you don’t use it to make judgments?” (Celaena) “What’s the point in having a heart if you don’t use it to spare others from the harsh judgments of your mind?” (Dorian) “Oh, well said, Your Highness!” He stared at her sullenly. “Come now. I didn’t wound you that severely.” (Celaena) “You’ve attempted to ruin my dreams and ideals. I get enough from my mother as it is. You’re just being cruel.” (Dorian) “I’m being practical. There’s a difference. And you’re the Crown Prince of Adarlan. You’re in a position where it’s possible for you to change Erilea for the better. You could help create a world where true love isn’t needed to secure a happy ending.” (Celaena)

Nice exchange, good dialogue.

He looked at his hand, still touching hers. “Where did you get that ring?” She contracted her hand into a fist as she pulled it away from him. The amethyst in her ring glowed in the firelight. “It was a gift.” “From whom?” “That’s none of your concern.” He shrugged, though she knew better than to tell him who’d really given it to her—rather, she knew Chaol wouldn’t want Dorian to know. “I’d like to know who’s been giving rings to my Champion.” The way the collar of his black jacket lay across his neck made her unable to sit still. She wanted to touch him, to trace the line between his tan skin and the golden lining of the fabric.

Hahaha, why did we ever get rid of love triangles? I'm kinda enjoying this

Skip to another day and Chaol is watching Duke Perrington and noting the weird expressions that pass over his face every now and then.

Perrington’s eyes fell upon the black ring on his left hand and darkened, as if his pupils had expanded to encompass all of each eye. Then it was gone—his eyes returned to normal. Chaol looked to Kaltain. Had she noticed the odd change?

He later thinks Perrington was watching him right back.

----

Overall still okay with little peaks and dips here and there.

Already rewrite ideas begin to fill my mind about how the core 4 could have been better set up but I'll leave stuff like that for after I've finished this first book at least.

#throne of glass #sjm critical #celaena sardothien #dorian havilliard #chaol westfall #nehemia ytger #tog #ae read throne of glass

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wingedblooms · 2 years

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The space between

This post explores how Elain and Azriel might use their powers together to uncover hidden, lost, or forgotten information. They both seem to be able to navigate the space between, sometimes called the in-between, which is not unique to Prythian and seems to be governed by the same force. As such, spoilers for all three series (TOG, ACOTAR, and CC) will be discussed. These ideas also build upon parallels and powers from the following posts:

A perfect blend: Quinlar and Elriel power parallels

Two sides of the same coin: Elriel parallels

Elain’s murky realm: her connection to the sacred trio, oracles, and mystics

A secret, lovely witch: Elain’s connection to witches across series and mythology

Merrill, a descendent of Dusk: a new order of spies

Forbidden secrets: unearthing the secrets of the sacred sister peaks

Azriel’s bonus chapter: my thoughts on a thing of secret, lovely beauty

The Space Between

The space between is a place of connection and balance where opposing forces meet. We see this concept surface in all three series. And it is particularly associated with the sacred trio—Mother, Cauldron, and Fate—which seems to be synonymous with Urd in Midgard and Wyrd (perhaps even the Goddess) in Erilea.

Prythian

Mother, Cauldron, Forces That Be (or Fate, as Rhysand says in ACOWAR; these seem to be interchangeable) that are part of existing fae beliefs and worshipped by priestesses. Services occur at dawn and dusk, which are liminal times where day and night meet.

We honor the Mother, and the Cauldron, and the Forces That Be. We have a service at dawn and at dusk, and on every holy day.

Midgard

Urd, a force, vat of life (vat is a container, like a bowl, which is how the Suriel describes the Cauldron), mother to all, secret language. The goddess, who may not really be a goddess, is part of the old beliefs of the Fae. It winds between worlds and takes many forms.

I thought the Fae bowed to Luna, but perhaps you remember the old beliefs? From a time when Urd was not a goddess but a force, winding between worlds? When she was a vat of life, a mother to all, a secret language of the universe? The Fae worshipped her then.

Erilea

Wyrd, a force that governs and forms all life, fate. Once part of an ancient religion and secret language forgotten long ago. There are gates that allow travel between worlds. Sometimes used in the same breath as the Goddess (who, according to priestesses, is called the Goddess and her gods, and we later learn that the gods are individuals within one consciousness, who can change their form).

Some books claim the Wyrd is the force that holds together and governs Erilea—and not just Erilea! Countless other worlds, too.” [….] “I’ve heard of it before,” he said, picking up his book. But his eyes remained fixed on her face. “I always thought the Wyrd was an old term for Fate—or Destiny.”

“A Wyrdmark,” the princess replied, giving it a name in Celaena’s own language. […] “They’re a part of an ancient religion that died long ago.” […] “You should leave it alone,” Nehemia said sharply, and Celaena blinked. “Such things were forgotten for a reason.”

She prayed to the Goddess, to every god she knew, to the Wyrd, to whatever was responsible for her fate, that she wouldn’t have to use it.

The Wyrd governs and forms the foundation of this world. Not just Erilea, but all life. […] There are gates—black areas in the Wyrd that allow for life to pass between the worlds. There are Wyrdgates that lead to Erilea. All sorts of beings have come through them over the eons.

The High Priestess walked onto the stone platform and raised her hands above her head. The folds of her midnight-blue gossamer robe fell around her, and her white hair was long and unbound. An eight-pointed star was tattooed upon her brow in a shade of blue that matched her gown, its sharp lines extending to her hairline. “Welcome all, and may the blessings of the Goddess and all her gods be upon you.” Her voice echoed across the chamber to reach even those in the back.

Sarah likely drew inspiration for this sacred trio from Norse mythology: völva, which is another name for wise woman, seer, or witch, use seidr to exert influence over Wyrd (Fate). Seidr is a type of magic that is strongly associated with household duties, such as weaving, and often involves spá (prophecy) and galdr (song/spell). It is also connected to gods and shapeshifting. As I have said before, it is likely no coincidence that Elain was so curious about the weaver’s creation of Void and Hope, and whether or not Amren was able to change her body in ACOFAS. It also makes sense that this sacred trio is connected to witches and priestesses across series, and explains why they will be important in Elain’s journey as a powerful seer.

The parallels don’t end there. Due to the nature of the sacred trio, it is connected to beings and symbols that bridge time and space across all three series.

Prythian

In his cell, the Carver—who is ancient—draws three interwoven circles in his cell as he tells Feyre the history of his family. He calls Koschei and Stryga death-gods who delighted in this world and were feared and worshipped by the fae thousands of years ago, similar to the gods in Erilea. It isn’t until ACOSF, however, that we start to notice a mysterious being—which is assumed to be the Mother—help Nesta. It is unclear, however, how gods are created. Are they all Made, and therefore part of the consciousness of the sacred trio? Nesta herself was described as a death-god with her Cauldron-blessed powers. So, is this mysterious presence a god or a powerful fae who has been gifted god-like powers (which might include speaking to beings across worlds and guiding them when needed)? Or did a god or two escape their fate in the hell-realm they were forced into and find refuge in Prythian? Nesta felt the need to place Elain’s rose next to a figurine of what she suspects is the Mother herself, and it is balanced in a liminal space, half-hidden in the shadows. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Her gaze shifted to the carved wooden rose she’d placed upon the mantel, half-hidden in the shadows beside a figurine of a supple-bodied female, her upraised arms clasping a full moon between them. Some sort of primal goddess—perhaps even the Mother herself. Nesta hadn’t let herself dwell on why she’d felt the need to set the rose there. Why she hadn’t just thrown it in a drawer.

In the bonus scene that occurs after this chapter, Elain is then gifted a delicate rose amulet with hidden layers that glows with three colors: red, pink, white. Like the amulet itself, she is briefly gilded by faelight and glows like the dawn. I suspect this is a hint for her hidden Cauldron-blessed powers, which may be similar to the higher beings who can change form and navigate the in-between to guide others. Is that what the Cauldron meant when it gave her such powers?

The golden necklace seemed ordinary—its chain unremarkable, the amulet tiny enough that it could be dismissed as an everyday charm. It was a small, flat rose fashioned of stained glass, designed so that when held to the light, the true depth of colors would become visible. A thing of secret, lovely beauty. […] The golden faelight shone through the little glass facets, setting the charm glowing with hues of red and pink and white.

Elain and the Cauldron seem to be connected, as both are described as blooming flowers:

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

She was a rose bloom in a mud field. […] If Elain was a blooming flower in this army camp, then Nesta … she was a freshly forged sword, waiting to draw blood.

Her amulet is also made of stained glass, which naturally reminds me of the hidden witch mirror in the Eye of Elena, or Eye of the Goddess, as Manon later corrects. Witch mirrors, as we’ll see, can be used for various purposes—including navigating the in-between for secrets or holding power. It is interesting that this amulet finds its way to Clotho, a High Priestess of a religious order that still worships the sacred trio and has services where seven priestesses weave songs together like spells, under strange and mysterious circumstances.

Midgard

Bryce is given a delicate, golden amulet with three layers of circles. It is is called an Archesian amulet, which is eerily similar to the surname Archeron. Jesiba Roga, who gave this amulet to Bryce, goes by a name that is similar to Jezibaba, which is another name for Baba Yaga, Baba Roga, etc. And she just so happens to be hiding the remains of an ancient library, which was guarded by priestesses who are connected to the amulets (@silverlinedeyes has an amazing theory related to this). Is it possible that these priestesses are connected to witches and priestesses in other worlds, like Baba Yellowlegs, an Ancient with witch mirrors and knowledge of the sacred trio? Or High Priestess Oleanna, who used the Cauldron to create powerful objects that defeated the Daglan thousands of years ago? Was Oleanna’s role, like Elena in Erilea, forgotten for a reason? And will Elain, like Aelin, need to uncover her past for answers? (Bonus if there’s an ancestral connection, too.)

Bryce zipped a tiny golden pendant—a knot of three entwined circles—along the delicate chain around her neck. […] Bryce’s daily armor consisted solely of this: an Archesian amulet barely the size of her thumbnail, gifted by Jesiba on the first day of work.

“Says the female with the Archesian amulet around her neck. The amulet of the priestesses who once served and guarded Parthos. I think you know what’s here—that you spend your days in the midst of all that remains of the library after most of it burned at Vanir hands fifteen thousand years ago.”

Symbols like the amulets and stars represent balance. As we learn from Hypaxia—the Witch Queen in CC—there is power in the union of opposites, and specifically in the space where they meet and merge.

“A six-pointed star,” he said. Like the one Bryce had made between the Gates this spring, with the seventh candle at its center. “It’s a symbol of balance,” she explained, moving away a foot, but keeping the dagger at her side. Her crown of cloudberries seemed to glow with an inner light. “Two intersecting triangles. Male and female, dark and light, above and below … and the power that lies in the place where they meet.” Her face became grave. “It is in that place of balance where I’ll focus my power.”

Roses are also connected to liminal spaces—light and dark, goddesses, dreams, spirits, and travel—in all three series. But perhaps it’s not so strange when you consider their association with secrecy, divinity, and psychic powers.

He caught her, and sighed. She could have sworn he sounded … exasperated. He gave no warning as he hauled her over a shoulder and tromped down a set of stairs before entering somewhere … nice-smelling. Roses? Bread? They ate bread in Hel? Had flowers? A dark, cold world, the Asteri had said in their notes on the planet.

Erilea

In Erilea, Aelin meets her ancestor, Elena, in a dream after navigating secret passageways. She is drawn to a portal that smells warm and pleasant, like roses.

Celaena dreamt. She was walking down the long, secret passage again. She didn’t have a candle, nor did she have a string to lead her. She chose the portal on the right, for the other two were dank and unwelcoming, and this one seemed to be warm and pleasant. And the smell—it wasn’t the smell of mildew, but of roses. The passage twisted and wound, and Celaena found herself descending a narrow set of stairs. For some reason she couldn’t name, she avoided brushing against the stone. The staircase swooped down, winding on and on, and she followed the rose scent whenever another door or arch appeared.

The rose scent is connected to her ancestor, Elena, who descends from a goddess and uses the in-between to give Aelin a delicate amulet that has three layers of circles that forms an eye and has hidden depths of its own.

She expected to find a dark, forgotten room, but this was something far different. A shaft of moonlight shot through a small hole in the ceiling, falling upon the face of a beautiful marble statue lying upon a stone slab. No—not a statue. A sarcophagus. It was a tomb. Trees were carved into the stone ceiling, and they stretched above the sleeping female figure. A second sarcophagus had been placed beside the woman, depicting a man. Why was the woman’s face bathed in moonlight and the man’s in darkness?

In her hand lay a coin-size gold amulet on a delicate chain. She fought against the urge to scream. Made of intricate bands of metal, within the round border of the amulet lay two overlapping circles, one on top of the other. In the space that they shared was a small blue gem that gave the center of the amulet the appearance of an eye. A line ran straight through the entire thing. It was beautiful, and strange, and—

The phantom breeze flowed through her room, smelling of roses.

Elena goes on to protect Aelin with her golden light, which no doubt comes from her mother—the Lady of Light—who glows like the dawn.

And from another world, Elena swept down, cloaked in golden light. The ancient queen’s hair glittered like a shooting star as she plummeted into Erilea.

We find out after the fact that Nehemiah opened a portal with Wyrdmarks, which might be the secret language the Under-King mentioned. Elena is able to use the In-Between to help:

But the queen was both in and not in this world. She was in the In-Between, where she could not fully cross over, nor could the creatures that you saw. It takes an enormous amount of power to open a true portal to let something through—and even then, the portal will close after a moment.

Elena’s role was forgotten for a specific reason. We see Elain disappearing from the battle narrative already, but that might relate more to her powers. Is she bound to be known as the Seer more broadly, like the Shadowsinger, and others who are closely connected to the sacred trio? Those who have the power of sight, in particular, are solely known by their power—oracle or mystic. Is she willing others to forget for an important reason we will discover in the future? Whatever the reason, her presence and actions seem to be hidden intentionally.

“There are many things history has forgotten about me.” Elena’s blue eyes glowed with sorrow and anger. “I fought on the battlefields during the demon wars against Erawan—at Gavin’s side. That’s how we fell in love. But your legends portray me as a damsel who waited in a tower with a magic necklace that would help the heroic prince.”

Because I was sleeping—a long, endless sleep—and I was awoken by a voice. And the voice didn’t belong to one person, but to many. Some whispering, some screaming, some not even aware that they were crying out.

Like Elain’s amulet, the Eye of the Goddess (Eye of Elena) has hidden depths: it is a witch mirror that contains power.

A large circle—and two overlapping circles, one atop the other, within its circumference. “That is the Three-Faced Goddess,” Manon said, her voice low. “We call this …” She drew a rough line in the centermost circle, in the eye-shaped space where they overlapped. “The Eye of the Goddess. Not Elena.” She circled the exterior again. “Crone,” she said of the outermost circumference. She circled the interior top circle: “Mother.” She circled the bottom: “Maiden.” She stabbed the eye inside: “And the heart of the Darkness within her. […] That is an Ironteeth symbol. Blueblood prophets have it tattooed over their hearts. And those who won valor in battle, when we lived in the Wastes … they were once given those. To mark our glory—our being Goddess-blessed.”

Witch mirrors are incredibly powerful and they play a critical role in the TOG series.

The marking of the Eye of Elena. A witch symbol. […] It was Manon who answered, glancing sidelong at the grim-faced queen, “It’s a witch mirror.” […] “You can see the future, past, present. You can speak between mirrors, if someone possesses the sister-glass. And then there are the rare silvers—whose forging demands something vital from the maker.” Manon’s voice dropped low. Dorian wondered if even among the Blackbeaks, these tales had only been whispered at their campfires. “Other mirrors amplify and hold blasts of raw power, to be unleashed if the mirror is aimed at something.”

A different witch glass allows Aelin and Manon to discover what happened in the past and what must be done to fix it. They get a glimpse of the higher beings that have watched over and influenced their world:

They had no forms. They were only figments of light and shadow, wind and rain, song and memory. Each individual, and yet a part of one majority, one consciousness. […] Not just gods, but beings of a higher, different existence. For whom time was fluid, and bodies were things to be shifted and molded. Who could exist in multiple places, spread themselves wide like nets being thrown.

These parallels seem too precise to be coincidental: a sacred trio, amulets, secrets, roses, gods, priestesses, and witches all bridging the space between. It is likely, then, that we will see another symbol of balance: a bridge of power between two characters.

Conduits and Carranam

In HOSAB, Hunt and Bryce are encouraged to explore the similarities between their powers and train together:

“Both of you would benefit from training. Your powers are more similar than you realize. Conduits, both of you. You have no idea how valuable you and the others like you are.”

But it had worked. He’d taken the power and converted it into his own. Whatever the fuck that meant. Apollion had known—or guessed enough to be right. And Bryce … the sword …She’d been a conduit to his power.

Apollion calls them conduits, which derives from the Latin word for bring together. Conduits create a link or pathway between two things, and in this context, that thing is power. The presence of the Horn makes the link between Bryce and Hunt particularly unique. When their powers merge, they are not only able to convert magic, but even able to teleport together:

Falling through time and space and light and shadow—Up was down and down was up, and they were the only beings in existence, here in this garden, locked away from time—

Something cold and hard pushed into her back, but she didn’t care, not as she clenched Hunt to her, gasping down air, sanity. […] Sweat coated their bodies, and she dragged her fingers down his spine. He was hers, and she was his, and—

“Bryce,” Hunt said, and Bryce opened her eyes. Harsh, blinding light greeted them. White walls, diving equipment, and—a ladder. No hint of a garden.

Hunt describes how it felt to have her magic travel through him:

He didn’t know how to describe it—the feeling of her magic wending through him. Like he existed all at once and not at all, like he could craft whatever he wished from thin air and nothing would be denied to him. Did she live with this, day after day? That pure sense of … possibility? It had faded since they’d teleported, but he could still feel it there, in his chest, where her handprint had glowed. A slumbering little kernel of creation.

Her magic is described as a force that winds through him, making him feel like nothing and everything at once. They achieve that space of in-between, of balance, that Hypaxia uses to channel her magic. That magic remains with him, a slumbering kernel of creation waiting to be activated again.

The word conduit is also used in Prythian when Feyre, who is Made, acts as a conduit for the Cauldron—to both unbind and bind. After the spell she works unbinds Amren and the Cauldron, she has to act urgently because it has torn a hole in the fabric of the world. Like Hunt, she becomes both something and nothing at once. Rhysand’s magic flows through her to bind the Cauldron and he expends his power, his entire life force, to do it.

I was both form and nothing. And behind me … Rhys’s power was a tether. An unending lightning strike that surged from me into this … place. To be shaped as I willed it. Made and un-Made. […] I remembered a mural I had seen at the Spring Court. Tucked away in a dusty, unused library. It told the story of Prythian. It told the story of a Cauldron. This Cauldron. And when it was held by female hands … All life flowed from it. I reached mine out, Rhys’s power rippling through me. United. Joined as one. Ask and answer. I was not afraid. Not with him there.

Rhys’s power flowed through me, out of me. The Cauldron appeared. Light danced along the fissures where the broken thirds had come together. There—there I would need to forge. To weld. To bind. I put a hand against the side of the Cauldron. Raw, brutal power cascaded out of me. I leaned back into him, unafraid of that power, of the male who held me.

This pathway for sharing magic seems to function the same as carranam in TOG. According to Rowan, carranam bonds are rare and require deep trust. Some do not even risk exploring their compatibility given the vulnerability it requires, but it can be extremely advantageous in dire situations. Carranam can also communicate silently with one another.

Before we discover that Aelin and Rowan are carranam in TOG, Aelin uses a sacred object—Damaris, Sword of Truth—as a conduit for her magic:

She had little control over the power, but she did have a sword—a sacred sword made by the Fae, capable of withstanding magic. A conduit. Not giving herself time to think it through, she threw all her raw power into the golden sword. Its blade glowed red-hot, its edges crackling with lightning.

This scene, where Aelin reveals her fae heritage and channels her magic through another source, seems like intentional foreshadowing for her carranam bond with Rowan, which is introduced in the next book. And the language Sarah uses to confirm they are carranam is similar to language she uses between Elain and Azriel during their key scenes, which I will get to soon.

Rowan reached her, panting and bloody. She did not dishonor him by asking him to flee as he extended his bleeding palm, offering his raw power to harness now that she was well and truly emptied. She knew it would work. She had suspected it for some time now. They were carranam.

He had come for her. She held his gaze as she grabbed her own dagger and cut her palm, right over the scar she’d given herself at Nehemia’s grave. And though she knew he could read the words on her face, she said, “To whatever end?”

He nodded, and she joined hands with him, blood to blood and soul to soul, his other arm coming around to grip her tightly. Their hands clasped between them, he whispered into her ear, “I claim you, too, Aelin Galathynius.”

Rowan’s magic punched into her, old and strange and so vast her knees buckled. He held her with that unrelenting strength, and she harnessed his wild power as he opened his innermost barriers, letting it flow through her.

A spear of black punched into her head—offering one more vision in a mere heartbeat. Not a memory, but a glimpse of the future. The sounds and smell and look of it were so real that only her grip on Rowan kept her anchored in the world.

So she was not afraid of that crushing black, not with the warrior holding her, not with the courage that having one true friend offered—a friend who made living not so awful after all, not if she were with him.

Offer and permission. Rowan came for Aelin and offered his hand, his power. She accepts his offer without the need for explanation. Their hands remain between them. Blood to blood, soul to soul. This language also appears in the witch curse, and the next sentence is: be the bridge, be the light. Together, these couples forge a bond of friendship, trust, and power. And it usually changes the course of the world.

Opposing forces

It is no coincidence that Elain and Azriel are described as opposing forces that achieve harmony together: light and dark, life and death, Hope and Void. They represent two halves of a magical whole, just like the Cauldron. And I suspect their opposing powers are pointed out for a reason.

All three are described as slumbering before their key scenes together:

But the Cauldron. As if some great sleeping beast opened an eye. The Cauldron seemed to sense us watching. Sense us there. […] She only panted, and that monstrous force swelled behind us, a black wave rising up.

I watched the light shift inside the sapphire Siphon instead, as if it were the great eye of some half-slumbering beast from a frozen wasteland.

The gates to her mind … Solid iron, covered in vines of flowers—or it would have been. The blossoms were all sealed, sleeping buds tucked into tangles of leaves and thorns.

The Suriel calls Elain the trembling fawn (an echo of the Book of Breathings), and Azriel’s powers are compared to a beast. Together, they create a fanged beast and trembling fawn, though I still believe Elain could represent both on her own.

As the fawn, Elain is linked to the warmth of dawn and spring: the rebirth of life after the peaceful slumber of night and winter. And that wild power Azriel possesses is often associated with a cold, final rest: death.

“The Cauldron.” Another awful smile. “Yes. That mighty, wicked thing. That bowl of death and life.” It shivered with what I could have sworn was delight.

Her sister’s delicate scent of jasmine and honey lingered in the red-stoned hall like a promise of spring, a sparkling river that she followed to the open doors of the chamber.

Azriel, his face a mask of beautiful death, silently promised them all endless, unyielding torment, even the shadows shuddering in his wake.

They also seem to combine Hope (iridescent light, or luminous colors) and Void (dark that devours all other light and color), which again creates balance associated with the Cauldron.

No crackling braziers, no faelights. And in the center of the massive tent … a darkness that devoured the light. The Cauldron.

Tendrils of light drifted between the sisters. And one, delicate and loving, floated toward Mor. To the bundle in her arms, setting the silent babe within glowing bright as the sun. […] And as it faded, dark ink splashed upon Nesta’s back, visible through her half-shredded shirt, as if it were a wave crashing upon the shore. A bargain. With the Cauldron itself. Yet Cassian could have sworn a luminescent, gentle hand prevented the light from leaving her body altogether.

Azriel’s black hair seemed to gobble up the blinding sunlight.

Azriel silently faded into blackness—until he was my own shadow and nothing more.

Her sister turned toward her, glowing with health. Elain’s smile was as bright as the setting sun beyond the windows.

Soft steps padded from under the stair archway, and there she was. The Faelights gilded Elain’s unbound hair, making her glow like the sun at dawn.

And while they may be at odds—as opposing forces naturally are—there is beauty and harmony in the place where they meet.

Elain sat silently at one of the wrought-iron tables, a cup of tea before her. Azriel was sprawled on the chaise longue across the gray stones, sunning his wings and reading what looked to be a stack of reports—likely information on the Autumn Court that he planned to present to Rhys once he’d sorted through it all. Already dressed for the Hewn City—the brutal, beautiful armor so at odds with the lovely garden. And my sister sitting within it.

The place where they meet

These aren’t the only important scenes, of course, but they are scenes in which all three—the Cauldron, Azriel, and Elain—play a central role. The first scene occurs when Elain is lured and stolen by the Cauldron, and Azriel is the one who notices and plans to rescue her before others, even her own sisters. At this point (and I’d argue that this truly began at their very first meeting, like @offtorivendell) we can see they have a special connection. So what I am about to suggest may sound a little wild, and likely isn’t the case (yet), but I think it may at least be possible in the future.

Azriel and Elain are both perceptive and seem to read each other well without words, like those who are carranam. Unlike Mor and others, Elain does not need to pester Azriel to make him explain or talk about feelings.

Rhys loosed a breath. “It’s hard to tell with him—and he’d never tell me. I’ve witnessed Cassian rip apart opponents and then puke his guts up once the carnage stopped, sometimes even mourn them. But Azriel … Cassian tries, I try—but I think the only person who ever gets him to admit to any sort of feeling is Mor. And that’s only when she’s pestered him to the point where even his infinite patience has run out.”

In fact, Elain is able to elicit explanation and feeling from Azriel on her first attempt in their very first meeting: he admits that it can be frightening to fly, especially in bad conditions. It’s interesting that her first question, while seemingly simple and obvious, is focused on travel, something we know she desires, and something he wasn’t taught until later, which surely she couldn’t have known at that point.

Elain said to Azriel, perhaps the only two civilized ones here, “Can you truly fly?”

He set down his fork, blinking. I might have even called him self-conscious. He said, “Yes. Cassian and I hail from a race of faeries called Illyrians. We’re born hearing the song of the wind.”

“That’s very beautiful,” she said. “Is it not—frightening, though? To fly so high?”

“It is sometimes,” Azriel said. Cassian tore his relentless attention from Nesta long enough to nod his agreement. “If you are caught in a storm, if the current drops away.”

Similarly, Azriel seems to be able to read her without his shadows from this first interaction. Even with this connection, his reaction to her capture is noteworthy for a couple of reasons. First, he speaks from the shadows, as if in silent conversation with someone. This statement could simply be a response to the shadows, or it could be a response to someone, like Elain, who has powers that allow her to appear to and potentially communicate with others across realms. If they share a bond of power, then this might be yet another clue.

From the shadows near the entrance to the tent, Azriel said, as if in answer to some unspoken debate, “I’m getting her back.”

And most unusual, his eyes glow golden rather than darken like we would expect when he is upset. This could be attributed to strong emotions (like his joyful laughter in ACOFAS), but…it could also be connected to Elain’s magic. The only thing the Suriel notes of Elain’s search for it was that it could see her doe eyes peering at it from across the world. We don’t yet know what it looks like from the other side when mystics make contact, but we do know the ones they connect with—namely Princes of Hel—can, like conduits, peer back through their eyes to ascertain where they are. And like @silverlinedeyes and @offtorivendell have theorized, the Illyrians might share heritage with Princes of Hel.

Nesta slid her gaze to the shadowsinger. Azriel’s hazel eyes glowed golden in the shadows. Nesta said, “Then you will die.” Azriel only repeated, rage glazing that stare, “I’m getting her back.”

If Azriel was engaging in silent communication with Elain, as @offtorivendell has suggested before, and she was trying to use a new power she didn’t fully understand, then her shock makes even more sense. My personal headcanon is that she told him not to come, tried to convince him she was okay…and he came for her anyway. (Yeah, yeah, this likely didn’t happen, but a girl can dream. That’s why I said it was headcanon.)

She shook her head, devouring the sight of him as if not quite believing it. “You came for me.” The shadowsinger only inclined his head.

This small moment sounds a lot like the way Aelin responds when Rowan comes for her and offers her his power in another dire situation.

I love how this entire rescue sequence conveys their natural chemistry as they work together quietly and harmoniously even under dire circumstances. And when Azriel loses the current and drops a few feet suddenly, Elain is notably silent unlike Briar. She isn’t afraid with Azriel, her friend who came for her, holding her. Just like Feyre and Aelin weren’t afraid when their counterparts held them. It’s almost as if they were designed to travel together.

But he snarled, “Fly,” and I veered toward the way I’d come, back trembling with the effort to keep my body upright. Azriel turned, the girl moaning in terror as he lost a few feet to the sky—before he leveled out and soared beside me.

Sarah reminded us of this rescue sequence more than once in ACOSF for a reason, and I think that reason relates to their connection, but we won’t know for sure until the next book.

The other Cauldron-centric scene with Elain and Azriel involves rescuing the world. Azriel does something noteworthy in her presence yet again: he entrusts Truth-Teller to her, which is described like him and the Cauldron. As @ofduskcourts has pointed out, he arms her with this legendary blade gently, tenderly.

“It has never failed me once,” the shadowsinger said, the midday sun devoured by the dark blade. “Some people say it is magic and will always strike true.” He gently took her hand and pressed the hilt of the legendary blade into it. “It will serve you well.”

And then their eyes meet and hands linger, words yet again not required for them to read each other. Blood to blood and soul to soul.

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

Be the bridge…

I saw the painting in my mind: the lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two. The only bridge of connection…that knife.

While I do believe feelings motivated Azriel in his gesture, I also can’t help but wonder if the blade wanted to be given to her (remember, Made items like Truth-Teller often became sentient). As @merymoonbeam suggests, it may have even recognized her as kin and sang to her like the Starsword sang to Bryce, who is the Starborn heir, not simply someone who has Starborn heritage. This inheritance seems to pass down through females, so what if that is the case for Truth-Teller? It may also explain why her eyes widen at the sight of the blade.

Be the (dark) light. Elain accepts the blade and uses it to change the course of the war and the fate of the realm. My favorite part of this rescue is that she appears to answer Feyre’s pleas, instead of or in coordination with the Cauldron, as though they are linked. I suspect this may have happened at the end of ACOSF as well (which I explain more in a reblog of the murky post). The Cauldron—part of the sacred trio—then purrs for Elain. Purrs. (If she can make that beast of a bowl purr, does that mean she can also make Azriel purr? Sorry, had to ask.)

For a moment, I thought the Cauldron had answered my pleas. […] Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.” […] The Cauldron purred in Elain’s presence as the King of Hybern slumped to his knees, clawing at the knife jutting through his throat. Elain backed away a step.

And perhaps like Nesta, who needed to maintain distance from the Trove objects after recovering them, Elain returned the blade to Azriel in the same gentle manner and did not look back. The level of trust Azriel displays is noteworthy enough for Mor and Feyre to discuss in ACOFAS, which acts as a bridge between the main trilogy and spin-off novels. In other words, like the rescue scene, we aren’t quite done with that thread of the story yet.

Those two scenes, along with the other clues, lead us to the bit about how their powers might be brought together in future books. If you’ve read any of my recent theories, you know I have been circling around how they might travel together using their powers. @silverlinedeyes and @offtorivendell also suspect that both Azriel and Elain have access to Void. A while back, @elrielbliss posted about their ability to teleport, and @merymoonbeam reminded us of the pocket-realm Apollion uses to speak with Hunt. A pocket-realm is the space—or void—between, where life can pass through as we learned in Erilea.

“I am not in your mind, though your thoughts ripple toward me like your world’s radio waves. You and I are in a place between our worlds. A pocket-realm, as it were.”

I believe that those who have been granted access to the space between—like Elain and Azriel—can use it to travel. Not only are they both connected to the Cauldron, which is a magic bowl of power and a portal, but they are also both gifted with unique powers that allow them to travel in ways that uncover secrets, truths that have been hidden or forgotten over time. These powers are given to them in the dark: Azriel’s powers came to him while he was locked up in an airless, lightless cell, and Elain’s sight was gifted to her when she was tossed into the dark womb-like waters of the Cauldron.

In the centuries I’d known him, he’d said little about his life, those years in his father’s keep, locked in darkness. Perhaps the shadowsinger gift had come to him then, perhaps he’d taught himself the language of shadow and wind and stone.

More water than seemed possible dumped out in a cascade. Black, smoke-coated water. And Elain, as if she’d been thrown by a wave, washed onto the stones facedown.

They both possess the gift of moving unseen and unheard:

I didn’t want to think about where they’d go, what Azriel would do. I hadn’t even known Azriel possessed the ability to winnow, or whatever power he’d channeled through his Siphons. He’d let Rhys winnow us both in the other day—unless the power was too draining to be used so lightly.

But we were gone. Azriel’s dark breeze was different from Rhys’s. Colder. Sharper. It cut through the world like a blade, spearing us toward that army camp.

And as if he’d summoned him, Azriel stepped out of a pocket of shadow by the stairs and scanned us from head to toe.

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

Elain spoke from the doorway, having appeared so silently that they all twisted toward her, “Using me.”

Do they access the space between when they travel physically, giving themselves over to wind and darkness?

She didn’t dare see if Hunt still stood after his flawless shot. Not as the air of the Gate’s arch turned black. Murky. […] Bryce gave herself to the wind and darkness, and teleported for the Gate.

Does time slow when they travel, similar to when Bryce accesses the gate with the Horn?

Rigelus roared as Bryce jumped into the awaiting darkness. It caught her, sticky like a web. Time slowed to a glacial drip. […] She fell, slowly and without end—and sideways. Not a plunge down, but a yank across. The pressure in her ears threatened to pulp her brain, and she was screaming into wind and stars and emptiness, screaming to Hunt and Ruhn, left behind in that crystal palace. Screaming—

Her teleportation is associated with terms that remind us of the Cauldron (the icy darkness of Void), Azriel (his icy rage and cold, dark breeze), and Elain (murky realm). Murkiness, like darkness, is ambiguous enough to describe air or water, and it is this dark setting that both oracles and mystics use to activate their powers. Like the higher beings who are part of the same consciousness (which I believe is the sacred trio), they also possess different forms: one is a sphinx and the other is a wolf shifter. Elain persistently asked about changing bodies in the book that is meant to act as a bridge for future stories, so the connection between gods, sacred sight, guidance, and different forms might be another hint that Elain can shift between forms and places, like the sacred trio. Similar to the gate that allows Bryce to travel, the mystic wolf’s water is described as murky:

But Ithan stormed to the nearest tub. The wolf mystic floated in the murky, salt-laden water, hair spread around her, eyes closed. Breathing mask and tubes back in place.

Just like Elain’s inner sight:

Elain was staring at the unlit fireplace, eyes lost to that vague murkiness.

Elain blinked and blinked, eyes clearing again. As if the understanding, our understanding … it freed her from whatever murky realm she’d been in.

@offtorivendell also pointed out this thought from Feyre, which reinforces what we suspect. Elain can access the space between through her murky realm, and uses it to wander, like the sacred trio:

Elain had been told—by Amren. She now sat at the table, more straight-backed and clear-eyed than I’d seen her. Had she beheld this, in whatever wanderings that new, inner sight granted her? Had the Cauldron whispered of it while we’d been away? I hadn’t the heart to ask her.

If she does travel like the sacred trio, does it look like this?

I lunged for them, but the Cauldron was too fast. Too strong. It whipped me back, back, back—across the battlefield. […] We arced away, across the field. […] We whisked by so quickly I couldn’t hear what was said… […] The Cauldron sucked back into itself, and I was again atop that rock. […] I snapped back into my body. My hand remained atop the Cauldron. A living bond. But with the Cauldron settled into itself…I blinked. I could blink.

Like Nesta flowing into the Prison during her song-induced vision, Feyre is whisked across the battlefield by the Cauldron. It moves like a force. When her hands are on its iron body, she describes their connection as a living bond. As I have theorized before, Elain seems to possess a living bond with the Cauldron through her murky realm, which may be just beyond the vine-covered iron mental gates. This living bond allows her to move through the world, and in between worlds, like the higher beings who are part of that sacred consciousness, providing guidance and support when needed. And when she withdraws from the endless, murky pathways of this consciousness, she blinks.

Accessing the past, rather than watching the present, may function slightly different. But it also resides in that space between. When in the witch mirror, Aelin and Manon have bodies that are not bodies. It is a void, a place of dark light, and the memories they witness ripple and expand—like air or water.

Aelin had a body that was not a body. She knew only because in this void, this foggy twilight, Manon had a body. A nearly transparent, wraithlike body, but … a form nonetheless. […] Not … this. Not absolutely nothing. […] The eddying fog darkened, and Manon and Aelin stepped close together, back to back. Pure night swept around them—blinding them. Then—a murky, dim light ahead. No, not ahead. Approaching them. But the light rippled and expanded, figures within it appearing. Solidifying. […] They stared into the swirling mist again, where the scenes—the memories—had unfolded.

Is it possible that Elain can access both past and present, but they require different pathways in the space between? Will she travel those pathways with someone else—her wraithlike friends, one of the priestesses, or her bonded partner and friend? Like Rowan is for Aelin, I suspect Azriel might also be the voice, a tether for Elain in the void—a secret, silent dreamer.

He was a voice in the void, a secret, silent dreamer. And so were his companions.

And with Azriel’s presence, she won’t need to be afraid of what she uncovers. They will face it together. The big question for me is, what does travel look like when their powers merge and they access that space between? Can Elain take Azriel wherever she travels mentally, like the Cauldron does when it is connected to Feyre through a living bond? Is it possible for them to navigate those pathways and physically appear together wherever they focus their intention? Or is it simply that, with Azriel’s power, Elain might travel deeper and faster without losing herself to the cosmos like others have? It would make sense that he can—as carranam do—physically and mentally anchor her. Any of these possibilities might help Bryce find Hel and, ultimately, uncover lost truths to defeat the Asteri, who will likely use every advantage they possess—including a network of mystics, if they haven’t already—to exact revenge. Elain and Azriel will need to explore their powers and travel to whatever end to find the answers, all to weave a more hopeful future together.

“It was those voices that woke me. The voices of those wishing for an answer, for help.” Elena’s eyes slid to Manon, then back to hers. “They were from all kingdoms, all races. Human, witch-kind, Fae … But they wove a tapestry of dreams, all begging for that one thing … A better world.

#elriel #elain archeron #azriel #seer elain #azriel shadowsinger #elain x azriel #carranam #conduits #hosab spoilers #cc acotar tog crossover theories #this is the longest post I’ve ever written #sorry not really sorry #witches and priestesses and seers oh my #the space between

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asherbakugou · 6 months

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Baelon Targaryen

- Heir to Dragonstone

- Rider of Morghul, the Serpent King

- Husband of Lucerys and Khalysi

- Bonded to Leif, the Direwolf

- Sworn Shield is Theon Snow

Aemon Targaryen

- Heir to the Embar Glass Isles

- Rider if Shrykos, the Golden Vengeance

- Betrothed to Princess Nehemia Martell of Dorne

- Bonded to Ragnar, the Direwolf

- Sword Shield is Dorian

Cregan Stark

- Heir to Winterfell

- Rider of Vermithor, the Bronze Fury

- Betrothed to Alyssane Blackwood

- Bonded to Eyre, the Direwolf

- Sword Shield is Kaltan Karstark

Jacaerys Velaryon

- Heir to Crackclaw Point

- Rider of Vermax, the Ill-Tempered

- Betrothed to Anaerys Celtigar

- Bonded to Gael, the Direwolf

- Sword Shield is Addam Hull

Lucerys Velaryon

- Heir to Driftmark

- Rider of Arrax, the Gentle

- Husband of Baelon and Khalysi

- Bonded to Tyr, the Direwolf

- Sword Shield is Alyn Hull

Khalysi Targaryen

- Rider of Silverwing, the Silver Queen

- Wife of Lucerys and Baelon, her older brothers

- Royal Bowmaster of Dragonstone

- Bonded to Glacier, the Direwolf

- Sworn Shield is Harwin Strong

Jon Stark

- Heir to Greywater Watch

- Rider of Tyraxes, the Bronze King

- Husband of Arya Stark

- Bonded to Ae, the Direwolf

- Sworn Shield is Ser Joffrey

Arya Stark

- Heiress to Greywater Watch

- Rider of Tessarion, the Blue Queen

- Wife of Jon Stark

- Bonded to Gevives, the Direwolf

- Sword Shield is Red Priestess Kinvar

Corryn Velaryon

- Heir to Corlys' Fleet

- Rider of Tyvaros, the Sea Serpent

- Betrothed to Aemma Targaryen

- Bonded to Aalto, the Direwolf

- Sworn Shield is Daemion Velaryon

Rhaenor Velaryon

- Heir to Vaemonds Fleet

- Rider of Meraxes, the Silent

- Betrothed to Alyssa Targaryen

- Bonded to Mother, the Direwolf

- Sworn Shield is Daeron Velaryon

Benjen Stark

- Heir to Moat Cailin

- Rider of Grey Ghost, the Wild

- Betrothed to Saerys Targaryen

- Bonded to Lyka, the Direwolf

- Sworn Shield is Brandon Stark

Saerys Targaryen

- Heiress to Moat Cailin

- Rider of Cloudjumper, the Graceful

- Betrothed to Benjen Stark

- Bonded to Wolfwalker, the Direwolf

- Sworn Shield is Jasper Redfort

Aemma Targaryen

- Rider of Āeksion, the Golden Lady

- Betrothed to Corryn Velaryon

- Bonded to Gēlenka, the Direwolf

- Sworn Shield is Michael Mertyns

Alyssa Targaryen

- Rider of Ānogar, the Blood King

- Betrothed to Rhaenor Velaryon

- Bonded to Īby, the Direwolf

- Sworn Shield is Samwell Blackwood

Visenya Targaryen

- Heiress to Nyis Keep

- Rider of Moondancer, Vhagar Reborn

- Bonded to Vhagar, the Direwolf

- Sworn Shield is Marilda of Hull

Rhaena Targaryen

- Heiress to Sea Dragon Castle

- Rider of Morning, the Beautiful

- Bonded to Dreamfyre, the Direwolf

- Sworn Shield is Nettles, the Dragonseed

#house of the dragon #jacaerys velaryon #joffrey velaryon #lucerys velaryon #cregan stark #original character #vermithor #silverwing #vermax #arrax #tyraxes #tessarion #grey ghost #dragon oc #harwin strong

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nikethestatue · 1 year

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I’m not understanding why everyone hates Danika. I know she kept secrets from Bryce but all the characters do that. She reminds me most of Aelin, especially the way she planned for Bryce to get the horn tattoo. It’s also similar to Nehemiah, who isn’t hated. The secrets in book 2, to me, were personal things she probably planned to tell Bryce eventually, but she died before she could do that. I think she you can still be close friends while keeping personal things about yourself to yourself. She only knew Bryce was starborn because it came out in an emergency, not because Bryce told her. (I don’t even like her that much but I also don’t understand the hate 😅)

I don't think that it's just deceitfulness on her part, it's the egregius level of lying and keeping secrets from her supposed best friend that people are bothered by.

Not only did she leave huge swaths of her life and bio a secret from Bryce, who us supposed to be her closest friend in the world, and fine, let's assume that it was to 'protect' her, which is bogus, of course. But it's also things like keeping her mating a secret? Keeping her involvement with the rebels a secret? Using Bryce's body without her knowledge or consent to conceal something potentially deadly inside of it, after stealing the Horn.

It's just too. much. lying.

Frankly, i dont even understand what the basis for the relationship was--because there wasn't anything genuine or true about it.

People dont care about Nehemia because the friendship with Aelin wasn't presented in the same light as this one.

Nehemia and Aelin were friend(ly) for a few months. Nehemia was a princess, Aelin was a former slave/assassin. THey had no history together. THey were from completely different backgrounds and nothing really united them other than this relationship, which obviously Nechemia orchestrated.

I dont think the readers had the same emotional connection to Nehemia's death, as they did to the obliteration of the entire pack and of course Bryce's reaction and subsequent grief.

I don't know if it's just me, but SJM has this weird thread that runs through her books of MCs, especially females, using others, who are presumably their friends, in really ruthless and unethical ways. It always made me kind of uncomfortable. Like Aelin did some egregius things--whether it's with not telling Rowan that they were mates, or having Lysandra potentially pretend forever that she was her. Nehemia lying to Aelin. Feyre using Lucien in Spring Court. Rhys keeping the mate bond secret from Feyre. Danika using and lying to Bryce. Just waiting for Gwyn to betray Nesta.

All of these are presented as justifiable and excusable lies, but I think people have issues with that.

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the-savage-garden · 1 year

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Rewriting Celaena thing...

I’ve only ready the first half of Throne Of Glass so I can only infer what kind of character Celaena is from what I’ve seen in the anti tags and what I’ve read so far but this is something I want to get off my chest. Reading TOG has reminded me that I want to improve my writing so I want to work on figuring out how to write a compelling character and not make the same mistakes that SJM does, might do this for her other characters depending on if I’m feeling up to it.

So, Celaena is a weird character. She’s both an assassin and a long lost princess at the same time. It could work but not the way the character is presented in the book.

If I wrote such a character there are a few ways I could go with someone like her.

1. Start the story with a prologue of when Celaena was a child back before the downfall of her kingdom and have her end up wanting revenge on the Kingdom of Adarlan by becoming an assassin and taking down the kingdom from the inside. Maybe she has some kind of benefactor to help her too? But then skip to years later and she still had that year in the salt mines but no one has any clue that she’s the lost princess maybe she has facial scars or something that makes her unrecognizable. Pretty much the rest of the story goes as is I suppose (even though I hate that whole ‘Champion’ nonsense).

2. Have this whole story just be how Celaena becomes the villain and this is now a dark fantasy instead (I find the idea of villain protagonists to be fun).

3.The lost princess and assassin are two different characters now instead. Celaena works for the King of Adarlan (does he even have a name?) and meets Princess Aelin who's essentially a prisoner (she replaces Nehemia, sorry, but she’ll still be apart of the story she just won’t be under Adarlan anymore) and the two end up scheming together against the king (there is no ‘Champion’ contest in this anymore).

4. And something completely off the rails, still two separate characters like above, Celaena is the body double of Princess Aelin who is in a safe location (maybe with Nehemia?) to protect the princess from an assassination attempt. (I’m not sure if there already is a story like this but I wouldn’t be surprised, so maybe not this one)

5. Aelin is a tyrant and Celaena is going to assassinate her. Shenanigans happen.

This doesn’t really criticize SJM’s writing exactly but I wanted to throw this together anyway. I don’t even feel like putting this in drafts so I’m posting this.

#anti tog #anti sjm

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lcngliive · 4 months

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kaltain & nehemia ( @wvsteria )

kaltain blinked a few times as they looked at the other. it was the princess from eyllwe. she could vaguely remember something happening to the other - but everything from rifthold was still foggy to her. "it seems you've been dragged here as well."

#kaltain || interactions #kaltain || private starters #&& nehemia

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celsardo · 4 months

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𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖞𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖍𝖆𝖉 𝖇𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝖗𝖎𝖕𝖕𝖊𝖉 𝖆𝖜𝖆𝖞 𝖋𝖗𝖔𝖒 𝖈𝖊𝖑𝖆𝖊𝖓𝖆 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖐 𝖔𝖋 𝖆𝖓 𝖊𝖞𝖊. it had started the moment that she had walked into her best friend, nehemia's, chambers to find an absolute massacre. at the center of it all, nehemia was found butchered in her bed. the princess had been staging a secret rebellion against king havilliard, and it had been the last conversation . . . nay, argument that celaena had with her best friend before her life was ripped away. now, all celaena had left were the last words nehemia had said to her: you are nothing more than a coward.

she knew that nehemia wouldn't have held true to those words if she knew they had been the last she'd ever speak to her, but something snapped inside of celaena that night. something feral, something dark and animalistic. she had lunged at the king of the guard, the very man who had been warming her bed, because he knew. he knew that there had been a threat against nehemia's life. he knew that the king was planning on speaking to nehemia about the rebellion. and he hadn't told celaena because he knew she would get in the middle of it. he knew she would just make a bigger mess of things. but he certainly didn't imagine that this would be the outcome of delaying the information. but that trust? the trust was broken. for good.

celaena had spent a few days in the dungeons for lunging at chaol, mainly to let her cool enough so she didn't rip through them all. but when she was released, no one in the castle was on her radar. no. she recognized how nehemia was butchered. it was a specific calling card of a someone she had been eye to eye with just months earlier -- grave, a competitor in the king's competition. she had found him with all too much ease and had pinned him to a stone wall limb by limb and dagger by dagger until he soiled himself and confessed who had hired him to kill nehemia. it wasn't the king. he claimed it was a minister in the king's court, and so she barged into the middle of a council meeting and dropped grave's head on the minster's stack of papers before him.

from that point on, celaena lived in a state of numbness. she shut everyone out and kept her head down until her freedom was granted. she had no one left that she cared about. the one good light in this world, the hope for rebellion? she was gone. she should have listened to nehemia. you are nothing more than a coward.

an organization found celaena on a night that the grief was loud in her head, so loud that as she stood on one of the bridge's in adorra, she might have been looking at the water down below a little too long. the voice spoke behind her in a calm manner though. it didn't care that she questioned who they were. it explained to her that she needed to come with them, that they had all the answers she was looking for.

the organization was chimera, and their mission was to thwart all of the powers that be that were cutting down others in their climb. they wanted to be the power globally. one power. it spoke to a corner of her heart that lit a fire, and she had simply one request before she joined: that she be the one to overthrow the power in andorra. that she end this once and for all. for her parents. for nehemia.

i will not be afraid.

#verse info #「 𝓿 」 » chimera

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