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wingedblooms · 1 month

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Secret, slumbering land

This meta is a continuation of theories (forbidden secrets, blooming dreams, bright as the dawn, and heart of the night court) about Elain’s connection to Wyrd and the land. This new thread focuses on the gentle healing land and lake that the sisters visit in their stories. Maasverse spoilers below, so please proceed with caution.

It seemed like a secret, slumbering land that time had forgotten. (acosf)

Both Feyre and Nesta visit a turquoise lake nestled in the mountains. Because their description is the same, this theory operates on the assumption that it is the same place. And since things come in threes in this series, Elain may visit this magical lake in her own story. When I reread the scenes with previous visits, I was struck by the language Sarah used to describe it—secret, slumbering, forgotten—and the clues those words might hold for Elain and Wyrd, the Stone Mother.

Secret

During the first visit to this lake, Azriel teaches Feyre to fly and shares their court philosophy on training, which is connected to a legend about Nephelle (more on that later). During this scene, Azriel is bathed in blinding sunlight and his shadows are gone. His appearance is stark and clear, readable.

In the blinding sun off the turquoise water, his shadows were gone, his face stark and clear. More human than I had ever seen him. “There’s no chance that I’ll be able to fly in the legions, is there?” I asked, kneeling beside him as he tended to my skinned palms with expert care and gentleness. The sun was brutal against his scars, hiding not one twisted, rippling splotch. (acowar)

@offtorivendell connected his appearance to the bonus chapter ages ago, and it is still one of my favorite metas. In that bonus chapter, we learn Azriel’s shadows are also prone to vanish around Elain.

Elain sucked in a soft breath that whispered over his skin. His shadows skittered back at the sound. They’d always been prone to vanish when she was around. The golden necklace seemed ordinary—its chain unremarkable, the amulet tiny enough that it could be dismissed as an everyday charm. It was a small, flat rose fashioned of stained glass, designed so that when held to the light, the true depth of colors would become visible. A thing of secret, lovely beauty. (Azriel’s bonus)

He tells us he doesn't need to rely on his shadows to read her, so his deep trust and vulnerability might be the only explanation for his shadows' behavior, but they can also sense power and respond to it as power themselves. For example, if someone's power is related to music, they might sing or dance in response. What power, other than the revealing light of Truth, might cause them to vanish?

But even the silence weighed too heavily, and though the shadows kept him company, as they always had, as they always would, he found himself leaving the room. Entering the foyer. 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. She halted, her breath catching in her throat. (Azriel’s bonus)

The Faelight reveals Elain's secret, lovely beauty: she glows like the sun at dawn. What do we know about dawn? In nature, dawn restores the light and awakens the earth. In the Maasverse, it is also associated with healing magic. And when we return to the lake in Nesta’s story, we learn it was once connected to healing. Healing light is bright and warm like the dawn; it has the power to pierce the darkness and outrace Death itself. It is pure life in its rawest form.

Sarah has repeatedly connected Elain to rebirth and renewal, especially in relation to Azriel: in his presence, she's the lovely fawn, vibrant spring behind her. Standing before Death. Even the headache tonic, a lighthearted remedy, serves as potential hint for this secret, lovely beauty:

Then Azriel tipped his head back and laughed. I’d never heard such a sound, deep and joyous. Cassian and Rhys joined him, the former grabbing the bottle from Azriel’s hand and examining it. “Brilliant,” Cassian said. Elain smiled again, ducking her head. Azriel mastered himself enough to say, “Thank you.” I’d never seen his hazel eyes so bright, the hues of green amid the brown and gray like veins of emerald. “This will be invaluable.” (acofas)

Elain’s gift awakens life, veins of emerald, in the earthy brown and gray within his soul, just as she does in her own garden. It is no coincidence that Elain, who is most radiant in healing hues, glows like the sun at dawn in the dead of night. And Azriel is stark and clear before her just as he is about to finally allow himself a taste of pure life, of healing. In the wake of Elain’s healing presence, we even glimpse Azriel’s emotional scars through his internal dialogue. On healing journeys, lingering scars are faced and overcome rather than avoided. Some wounds require deep trust as the healer, patient as a gardener, walks the road with them on that journey.

Slumbering

On our second visit to the lake, we learn the surrounding land is inhabited by ordinary faeries who prefer solitude. This immediately made me think about Elain, content and beautiful in her simple gardening dress, and Feyre’s comment about her clinging to Azriel for some peace and quiet. It would be fitting for them to come here in their story, to find joy and love and healing here together. And if I were to hand select a place for Rosehall, where someone like Azriel's mother could find solitude and healing, this would be it.

He knew these mountains well enough from flying over them for centuries: shepherds lived here, usually ordinary faeries who preferred the solitude of the towering green and brownish-black stones to more populated areas. The peaks weren’t as brutal and sharp as those in Illyria, but there was a presence to them that he couldn’t quite explain. Mor had once told him that long ago, these lands had been used for healing. That people injured in body and spirit had ventured to these hills, the lake they were now two and a half days from reaching, to recover. Perhaps that was why he’d come. Some instinct had remembered the healing, felt this land’s slumbering heart, and decided to bring Nesta here.

She’d never seen such a view. It seemed like a secret, slumbering land that time had forgotten. […] The mountains watched her, the river sang to her, as if guiding her onward to that lake. (acosf)

The mountains here aren't brutal and sharp, but they still have a powerful presence. Like the third sister. The mountains watched Nesta like a protective seer, and the river sang to her, as if guiding her onward to that lake, like Elain’s scent. Her scent is a sparkling river, a promise of spring, that guided Nesta to her. And what did Nesta find when she reached the source of that scent? Elain’s sharp angles, once like the Illyrian mountains after she was Made, were now replaced with softness. She glowed with health and her smile was bright as the sun. She also smells of jasmine and honey, which are soothing scents and herbs that have healing properties.

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. Elain stood at the wall of windows, clad in a lilac gown whose close-fitting bodice showed how well her sister had filled out since those initial days in the Night Court. Gone were the sharp angles, replaced by softness and elegant curves. […] Her sister turned toward her, glowing with health. Elain’s smile was as bright as the setting sun beyond the windows. (acosf)

In the span of a few pages, we're also told twice that this land is slumbering. Since it was once used for healing, it would make sense for healing magic to be at the core of its slumbering heart. Remember, the rawest form of healing magic is pure life and we just learned that Wyrd, the Stone Mother, was once blossoming with pure life. Elain’s wyrdcrown seems to mirror Stone Mother's creative powers in the form of sleeping buds:

She had no mental shields, no barriers. The gates to her mind…Solid iron, covered in vines of flowers—or it would have been. The blossoms were all sealed, sleeping buds tucked into tangles of leaves and thorns. (acowar)

This imagery of Elain’s power has always reminded me of the darkness of creation and rest Yrene receives guidance from while she bathes in Silba’s Womb, which she calls the slumbering heart of the earth. In the tog series, Silba was the goddess of healing and gentle deaths and Elain shares many connections with the healers who honor her. So, it’s possible slumbering simply means the land reflects the restful and restorative healing power of those who once lived on and fed the magic of the land.

Slumbering or sleeping can also indicate dormant magic, which is something we’ve seen in both tog and cc. In tog, Dorian has raw magic and he can shape it into different things—phantom hands, shifting, healing, etc. His raw magic is sleeping in his heart before he explores it.

“You have power in you, Prince. More power than you realize.” She touched his chest, tracing a symbol there, too, and some of the court ladies gasped. But Nehemia’s eyes were locked on his. “It sleeps,” she whispered, tapping his heart. “In here. When the time comes, when it awakens, do not be afraid.” She removed her hand and gave him a sad smile. “When it is time, I will help you.” With that, she walked away, the courtiers parting, then swallowing up her wake. He stared after the princess, wondering what her last words had meant. And why, when she said them, something ancient and slumbering deep inside him had opened an eye. (com)

We recently learned the Asteri poisoned the waters in Midgard with a parasite to feed off of the magic of its citizens. This parasite warped their magic and it is described as dormant and tethered as a result:

The Asteri had infected the water we consumed with a parasite. They’d poisoned the lakes and streams and oceans. The parasites burrowed their way into our bodies, warping our magic. (hofas) - Somehow, a barrier had been removed. One that had ordered him to stand down, to obey … It was nothing but ashes now. Only dominance remained. Untethered. But filling the void of that barrier with a rising, raging force— (Ithan’s magic, hofas) - Tharion withdrew. Lidia shook with rage and power. Tharion could feel it shuddering around him, rising up like a behemoth from the deep. What had that antidote woken in her? What had been taken during the Drop? And what had lain dormant, all this time? His water seemed to quail at it—like it knew something he didn’t. (Lidia’s magic, hofas) - Warm, bright magic answered. Healing magic, rising to the surface as if it had been dormant in his blood. He had no idea how to use it, how to do anything other than will it with a simple Save him. […] He willed that lovely, bright power to keep healing Ketos, though. (Ruhn’s magic, hofas)

Similarly, the Asteri pooled and imbued their magic in Wyrd to warp her purely creative magic.

The Cauldron was of our world, our heritage. But upon arriving here, the Daglan captured it and used their powers to warp it. To turn it from what it had been into something deadlier. No longer just a tool of creation, but of destruction. And the horrors it produced…those, too, my parents would turn to their advantage. (hofas) - Those of us who ventured here found ways to amplify that power, thanks to the gifts of the land. We pooled our power, and imbued those gifts into the Cauldron so that it would work our will. We Made the Trove from it. And then bound the very essence of the Cauldron to the soul of this world.” (hofas)

Is it possible Elain’s sleeping buds, as a mirror of Wyrd’s original magic, represent what remains dormant, tethered?

“Or maybe it’s dormant, as the Cauldron is now asleep and safely hidden in Cretea with Drakon and Miryam. Her power could rise at any moment.” A chill skittered down Cassian’s spine. He trusted the Seraphim prince and the half-human woman to keep the Cauldron concealed, but there would be nothing they or anyone could do to control its power if awoken. (acosf)

In the scene above, Cassian and Rhysand are discussing Nesta’s powers. We learn that they aren’t dormant, which makes sense; they seem to represent the magic that the Asteri imbued into Wyrd to become a tool of death and destruction. That magic might be feeding off of Wyrd’s creative powers like a parasite and keep her half-awake, like the Fae in Midgard and, perhaps, the healing land:

It was all so still, yet watchful, somehow. As if she were surrounded by something ancient and half-awake. As if each peak had its own moods and preferences, like whether the clouds clung to or avoided them, or trees lined their sides or left them bare. Their shapes were so odd and long that they looked as if behemoths had once lain down beside the rivers, pulled a rumpled blanket over themselves, and fallen asleep forever. (acosf)

Ancient, half-awake, behemoth. These terms are also used to describe Wyrd. The word behemoth in particular is associated with a primordial chaos monster in mythology and may be yet another potential hint that Chaos is Hel’s name for Wyrd.

The Under-King lounged on a throne beneath a behemoth statue of a figure holding a black metal bowl between her upraised hands. […] “And she,” the Under-King went on, gesturing to that unusual depiction of Urd towering above him, “was not a goddess, but a force that governed worlds. A cauldron of life, brimming with the language of creation. Urd, they call her here—a bastardized version of her true name. Wyrd, we called her in that old world.” (hofas)

As they walked up those steps and entered a space that was a near-mirror to temples back home—indeed, its layout was identical to the last temple Hunt had stood in: Urd’s Temple. […] “The Temple of Chaos is a sacred place,” Apollion said sharply. “We shall never defile it with violence.” The words rumbled like thunder again. (hofas)

But the Cauldron. As if some great sleeping beast opened an eye. The Cauldron seemed to sense us watching. Sense us there. (acowar)

@silverlinedeyes, @offtorivendell, and I believe Wyrd saw Elain as a kindred spirit and gifted her the language of creation with the hope that she could be the key to her freedom, her healing in body and spirit. Those original creative powers could include a deep connection with the earth (earth magic), divine sense (seer abilities), fluid form and movement (travel and shifting), and healing, pure life and world-building power. Elain might already be testing the boundaries of that creative magic, learning to shape it into different things (explaining her mysterious appearances).

Elain may also need to bring her sisters together to help Wyrd. They represent the three faces of the Mother together and have been marked by her from the beginning of the series. When Feyre physically healed the Cauldron with the help of Rhysand, she cupped her hands and became the first face of the Mother. Nesta became the second face of the Mother when she healed Feyre and Nyx with the Trove. And the healing lake appears to hint at Elain's role, the third face of the Mother:

Nesta cleared the hill that Cassian had mounted ahead, and a sparkling, turquoise lake spread before them. It lay slightly sunken between two peaks, as if a pair of green hands had been cupped to hold the water within them. Gray stones lined its shore. (acosf)

This is our first earthen depiction of the Stone Mother. Someone with green fingers or a green thumb is skilled at gardening. Gardeners provide gentle order to pure, blossoming life with their green hands. And we already know, thanks to Rhys and Feyre, that Elain won’t hesitate to get her hands dirty—stained green, even—for a pretty result.

When Elain's creative magic rises in her story, will it flow like a sparkling river, unfurl like a bloom, to awaken the soul of the earth? Could it soothe Azriel’s icy rage and bring true spring and healing to Ramiel, softening its sharp angles when its heart, Wyrd, is finally restored? Only time will tell.

Forgotten

The land is also described as a place time had forgotten and, as I mentioned earlier, it's where Azriel shared the story of Nephelle—the one who had been passed over, who had been forgotten—while he tended to Feyre's wounds after a fall during flying practice.

Nephelle, who had been passed over, who had been forgotten…She outraced death itself. […] And yet her too-small wingspan, that deformed wing…they did not fail her. Not once. Not for one wing beat. (acowar)

Nephelle wanted to be a warrior, but was turned away due to her small wingspan. So, she made herself indispensable as a cartographer and excelled at finding the most geographically advantageous positions for their armies. And now that hofas has been released, we know earth magic can be used to locate the best geographical locations:

…those with earth magic were sent ahead to scout lands [...] Not only the best geographical locations, but magical ones, too. They could sense the ley lines—the channels of energy running throughout the land, throughout Midgard. They told the Asteri to build their cities where several of the lines met, at natural crossroads of power, and picked those places for the Fae to settle, too. But they selected Avallen just for the Fae. To be their personal, eternal stronghold.” (hofas)

Those with earth magic are deeply connected to the land and their creative power flows freely in places where the natural magic in the land is untethered. Is it possible Nephelle excelled at finding the best locations because she possessed earth magic? And could that come into play in the next story if Elain possesses earth magic as part of her creative powers?

Despite being perceived as weak, Nephelle outraced death itself with her small wingspan to save Miryam. Her miraculous rescue inspired the Night Court's philosophy toward training:

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

We saw this philosophy in action at the final battle with Hybern when Elain raced against death itself and appeared out of nowhere with Truth-Teller to protect her family. Like Nephelle, she was and still is passed over, forgotten.

Elain is pleasant to look at, her mother had once mused while Nesta sat beside her dressing table, a servant silently brushing her mother’s gold-brown hair, but she has no ambition. She does not dream beyond her garden and pretty clothes. (Nesta's memory of Mama Archeron, acosf)

"Go back to Feyre and your little garden." (Nesta to Elain, acosf)

Elain said, "Then I will find it. I might require some time to...reacquaint myself with my powers, but I could start today." "Absolutely not," Nesta spat, fingers curling at her sides. "Absolutely not." "Why?" Elain demanded. "Shall I tend to my little garden forever?" When Nesta flinched, Elain said, "You can't have it both ways. You cannot resent my decision to lead a small, quiet life while also refusing to let me do anything greater." "Then go off on adventures," Nesta said. "Go drink and fuck strangers. But stay away from the Cauldron." (Elain and Nesta's exchange, acosf)

Elain in black was ridiculous. Yes, she was beautiful, but the color of her long-sleeved, modest gown leeched the brightness from her face. It wore her, rather than the other way around. And he knew the cruelty of the Hewn City troubled her. But she hadn’t hesitated to come. When Feyre had offered to let her remain home, Elain had squared her shoulders and declared that she was a part of this court—and would do whatever was needed. So Elain had let her golden-brown hair down tonight, and pinned it back with twin combs of pearl. He’d never once in the two years he’d known her found Elain to be plain, but wearing black, no matter how much she claimed to be part of this court…It sucked the life from her. (Cassian's observation, acosf)

These quotes hit differently with the release of hofas. @offtorivendell and @willowmeres seem to be on track with their theories that the warped magic of Hewn City affected Elain's creative magic. What if she reflects the magic of the land around her, and when that magic is warped or tethered, her physical appearance mirrors it? Is this another sign she will be able to use the language of creation to unearth Prythian’s secrets, forgotten by time? And maybe, like the legendary Nephelle, the things that Elain is viewed as weak for—her little garden, a symbol of her care for and connection to the land, and her appearance, a reflection of what was forgotten—actually become her family's biggest strength.

#hofas spoilers #elain archeron #maasverse theory #the language of creation #wyrd and her sacred land #the healing lake and land #secret slumbering forgotten #where Rosehall is tucked away #azriel shadowsinger #elriel #feyre archeron #nesta archeron #three faces of the mother #marked by wyrd #wyrd = cauldron mother fate #she is the stone mother #nephelle 🤝 elain #the nephelle philosophy #our greatest weakness can be our biggest strength

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mystical-blaise · 1 year

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Do you have any thoughts on the whole Nephelle philosophy drama? (For context, this art piece used a quote about Nephelle and for some reason a certain fandom is mad about it. Apparently, it obviously refers to Elain, and since Gwyn wasn't even ACOWAR, it's a huge issue. As far as I remember, it was a conversation between Azriel and Feyre.)

Well, since the philosophy is literally Azriel telling the story of Nephelle's epic flight with her too-small wings... it's about Nephelle. He wasn't thinking about Elain when he was saying it; he was telling the story to motivate Feyre who was struggling during their flying lessons. Azriel mentions that it was Rhys who first told him the story regarding Nephelle's heroic act:

They also forget it's technically called "THE NEPHELLE PHILOSOPHY" It's a story with a meaning that could be attributed and/or applied to many players in the war with Hybern at the end of ACOWAR. Feyre, who was once human and became the one to repair the Cauldron. Elain *did* stab Hybern. Nesta was also once human and played a large role in ending Hybern. But as far as it being about a specific person? Absolutely not.

#my asks #anon ask #ask box #my ask box is open #ask away #it's the weekend #keep asking #The Nephelle Philosophy #Not everything is about Elain Archeron #azriel shadowsinger #acowar

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offtorivendell · 2 years

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Couples passing the torch, or blade, so to speak

Please don't share or screenshot this post without credit.

Disclaimer: as usual, this is just a potential parallel that I noticed, and makes no claims of being canon.

We know that SJM loves to sneak in subtle imagery to hint at her characters' future journeys, and that - in some of our opinions - she appears to be going for a trifecta of couples that will cover rulers, armed forces, and the intelligence services. I believe I've found a parallel from the original trilogy that was shared between Elain and Azriel, and Nesta and Cassian, that hinted at each sisters' future journey.

Azriel and Elain - the Knife in the Dark

When Feyre first met Azriel, she immediately noted the threat he could pose if he wished. "The knife in the dark," she called him; the one to look out for.

But the second male, the more classically beautiful of the two … Even the light shied from the elegant planes of his face. With good reason. Beautiful, but near-unreadable. He’d be the one to look out for—the knife in the dark. Indeed, an obsidian-hilted hunting knife was sheathed at his thigh, its dark scabbard embossed with a line of silver runes I’d never seen before. Rhys said, “This is Azriel—my spymaster.” Not surprising. - ACOMAF, chapter 16

One book later Azriel was covering Cassian (heading the remaining Illyrian ranks), and gave his legendary dagger to Elain during the final battle of ACOWAR. Fulfilling both the Nephelle philosophy and taking on Azriel's title as the Knife in the Dark, for whom didn't the King of Hybern "look out"? Elain.

Nesta did not move from where she shielded Cassian’s body. The king raised his hand, power whirling like a dark galaxy in his palm. I knew they’d both die the moment that power hit them. Anything, I begged the Cauldron. Anything— The king’s hand began to drop. And then halted. A choking noise came out of him. For a moment, I thought the Cauldron had answered my pleas. But as a black blade broke through the king’s throat, spraying blood, I realized someone else had. Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.” - ACOWAR, chapter 74

Cassian and Nesta - Enalius

There are many parallels that exist between Azriel and Elain Archeron, and this one has been discussed before - though I haven't seen it paralleled to Nesta and Cassian - but it stands out to me because it was fulfilled in a key battle scene, similar to Nessian...

Cassian has been likened to Enalius since ACOWAR, both by others and himself. His inner monologue in ACOSF even said that his main goal as a youngster had been to become the most skilled Illyrian warrior since Enalius himself.

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. - ACOWAR, chapter 56

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. At twenty-one, Feyre had saved their world, mated, and found true happiness. - ACOSF, chapter 11

“And with our healing slowed to a human rate thanks to the rules of the Rite,” Emerie went on, “we’ll be lucky to make it to the Pass of Enalius in one piece.” “What’s that?” Nesta asked. Emerie’s eyes shone. “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. He found a natural archway of stone amongst the tangle of boulders and made that his bottleneck. He died in the end, but he held off the enemy long enough for our allies to reach us. This Rite is all to honor him. So much of the history has been lost, but the memory of his bravery remains.” As Cassian’s name would last through history, Nesta thought. Would her own? Some small part of her wished for it. - ACOSF, chapter 68

To complete the parallel, who ended up performing a deed that read very much like the one for which Enalius was remembered? Nesta Archeron.

Nesta stood under the Pass of Enalius for a long minute. She took out her canteen. Drank the last of the water. Chucked it to the side. She tucked the dagger into her belt. Picked up the sword. And drew a line in the dirt in front of the archway. Her final stand. Her last line of defense. Nesta gathered the shield. Peered over her shoulder to where Emerie had cleared the last cluster of boulders and now struggled up the long, straight path to the peak. A small, quiet smile passed over Nesta’s face. Then she hefted her shield. Angled her sword. And stepped beyond the line she’d drawn to meet her enemy. - ACOSF, chapter 69

She’d joined them at the river house one night to find a mating present from Feyre waiting for her. Hanging on the wall in the grand entry. A portrait of Nesta, holding the line at the Pass of Enalius. She’d let Rhys see some parts of the Rite—but had no idea he’d asked not out of curiosity, but to give his mate ideas for this. - ACOSF, chapter 80

So, it seems that the original ACOTAR trilogy began to set up shared imagery between (likely) endgame couples.

Though Elain and Azriel's example was completed at the end of ACOWAR, it still left a lot of unanswered questions, whereas we had to wait until ACOSF to see Nesta take up Cassian's mantle. What does this mean for the hypothetical Elriel book? Will we see Elain become the Shadowsinger's Knife once more, or use shadows in some other way?

#the knife in the dark #elriel #pro elriel #elain archeron #azriel shadowsinger #enalius #nessian #nesta archeron #cassian acotar #acotar #elriel theory #nessian theory #parralels #parallelriel #acomaf #acowar #acosf #nephelle philosophy #passing the torch

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azrielsbxtch · 3 months

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Azriel scenes that make me love him even more🥰

When Feyre didn’t show up to training and flying lessons so he appeared with a salve for her

Nesta’s gift. This is one of my favorite scenes in the entire series

The Nephelle Philosophy

Az & Nesta uniting against Cassian😂

#gwyneth berdara #azriel x gwyn #gwynriel #pro gwynriel #gwynriel headcanon #gwyn berdara #gwynriel fic #nesta archeron #pro gwyn #house of wind gang

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nikethestatue · 4 months

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I've noticed this interesting phenomenon in the fandom of assigning Gwyn these supposedly unique interactions and findings in regards to Azriel, as if she is the ONLY ONE who discovered something about him, or did something with him that he only did with her.

Something like 'he only bantered with Gwyn!'

'He only joked with Gwyn!' 'He only revealed something personal with Gwyn!'

In fact, all of these things had happened before, with a variety of characters.

He jokes with everyone--Cassian, Rhys, Mor, even Amren. He jokes with Elain and with Feyre.

He teases Amren, he teases Nesta and Cassian, he mercilessly teased Feyre.

In fact, it seems that people have conveniently forgotten most of his training with Feyre, This is the training that he:

a. Volunteered himself for, without any prompting

b. Even before the training started, revealed something personal to everyone--how difficult and different it is to train to fly as an adult

c. During training, which was, in fact, actually PRIVATE, he further revealed a slew of personal info, especially when he told Feyre of his life philosophy and the story of Nephelle

d. Everyone suddenly forgot how he joked and teased her when she kept flying into trees?

e. He helped pull out pine needles from Feyre's palms (didn't avoid touching her like he did Gwyn)

Lastly, the few truly unique things that DID happen and are in canon is that Elain and her gift of headache powder made him laugh so hard, it was a sound that Feyre 'had never heard before'. OR that he forbade everyone from eating their Solstice meals until Elain got herself ready and joined the rest of them at the table. And no one, including Rhysand, overruled him on that.

Even when it comes to Gwyn herself, we are told that even though Azriel is famously handsome, and he solicits sighs and longing looks from other priestesses, not to mention Helion, she never had a similar reaction to him. In fact, the only person she ever blushed around was Rhys.

So, what are we to deduce then? Azriel x Feyre = endgame? Rhys x Gwyn = endgame?

#azriel #pro elriel #elriel #anti you know what #azriel and feyre

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duskcowboy · 8 months

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“𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑵𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒘, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑬𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏—𝑬𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒑 𝑨𝒛𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒍’𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒚𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅.”

@elainarcheronweek Day 6 | Fanged Beast

♡ 🎨 by @/alessias_artt on insta ♡

♡ commissioned by me ♡

One of my favorite scenes of the entire series is Elain stepping out of the shadows and stabbing the KoH thus saving Nessian and shifting the tides of the war. In this moment, Elain went from trembling fawn to fanged beast—she embodied the Nephelle Philosophy—that the smallest wings may be the saving piece to a war. I have so many questions and theories behind this scene! How did Elain know to save them? How did she get there? Did she have a vision? Was it the powers of Truthteller? I hope we get clarity in her book!

#elain archeron #pro elain archeron #acotar #a court of thorns and roses #acotar fanart #elain archeron fanart #elain archeron appreciation #elain archeron appreciation 2023 #nessian

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olenvasynyt · 2 months

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Does Azriel have a hero complex?

So I think a lot of SJM characters have a hero complex (Rhys and Aelin especially) but I want to talk about Az specifically because I think it is an essential part of his character.

Now since barely get any POVs with Az we do not really know the inner workings of his mind and almost everything that we know about him is from other characters’ perspectives. So this is all based on my interpretation of him and his actions, and not every action he makes is a result of a hero complex. And I also don’t have a psychology degree or anything like that this is just for fun and a savior complex is not something you can diagnose anyway. This is just a character analysis! It’s fun.

Saving people

The basic definition of a hero complex is the constant need to save people. Most people think of the knight and damsel in distress when a hero complex is mentioned, and this is true with Az: he has rescued Mor and Elain and Gwyn. And rescuing people is of course part of it, but it’s a lot more intricate than just that; there are tons of other tendencies someone with a savior complex can have, and I personally think Az has tons of these tendencies.

2. very perceptive and sympathetic

A person with a hero complex is very perceptive and sympathetic. They’re usually drawn to people who’ve had a lot of trauma. They have a lot of empathy for others who are suffering. They’re good at knowing what a person needs.

You see this when he teaches Feyre to fly: he offers his backstory on how he learned and his love for the Nephelle philosophy to sympathize with her and this is actually the first time we hear Az talk a bit about his own past. He is very sympathetic and perspective with Elain. In ACOWAR he’s very quiet and courteous with her and offers to take her to see the garden.

I really like this quote:

Page 334 of ACOWAR: It made sense, I supposed, that Azriel alone had listened to her. The male who heard things others could not…Perhaps he too had suffered as Elain before he understood what gift he possessed.

3. Doing the dirty but necessary work

A person with a hero complex does the dirty but necessary work that most people don’t want to do. I would argue that being the court torture-master is doing the dirty work. And Rhys’ father used him and his shadow abilities when he was alive and high lord, and he is part of Rhys’ inner circle so he is important and he votes on things, etc, but he still does the dirty work, he does the spying and the torturing.

Quote on page 175 of ACOMAF: “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 mourn over them. But Azriel…Cassian tries, I try…but I think the only person who ever gets him to admit his feelings is Mor. And that’s only when his infinite patience runs out.”

Cassian says Rhys’ father ”kept [Az] for himself as his personal shadowsinger—mostly for spying and dirty work.”

And you can’t really tell if as likes this work but it is important.

In ACOMAF page 288: ”Does he mind what he does? Not the spying, I mean. What he did to the Attor today.” ”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 mourn over them. But Azriel…Cassian tries, I try…but I think the only person who ever gets him to admit his feelings is Mor. And that’s only when his infinite patience runs out.”

4. Dismissing their own needs/pain, neglecting self-care

And that sort of brings me to my next point:

They dismiss their own needs and continue to help others even if it negatively impacts them. Not only does he keep secrets about his past, but he doesn’t like when people worry about him.

ACOMAF page 288: ”Are you worried about Az going to the mortal lands tomorrow?” ”Of course I am. But Azriel has infiltrated places far more harrowing than a few mortal courts. He’d find my worrying insulting.”

He works really hard and that’s another huge thing with a savior / hero complex. He works himself so hard to the point where his friends worry for him.

Page 376 ACOMAF: ”Getting Azriel to take any time for himself that didn’t involve work or training was nearly impossible.”

He often wants to go into battle even when he was injured.

Quote from ACOWAR page 610: ”The argument with Rhys this morning had been swift and brutal: Azriel insisted he could fly—fight with they legions….Rhys refused…Azriel threatened to slip into shadow and fight anyway. Rhys merely said that if he so much as tried, he’d chain him to a tree…It was only when Mor had begged him that he relented.”

5. Emotional and psychological burnout

And all of this leads to burnout which is a huge thing with Az. He’s obviously very broody, and he suppresses his feelings, works really hard doing very laborious and traumatizing things and this leads to burnout. We have evidence of this from not only his broodiness and quietness,

Page 293 of ACOMAF: Az gets back from the mortal realm, he’s described as needing to “return and assess…assess—and brood, it seemed, since Azriel had barely managed a polite hello to me before launching into sparring with Rhysand, his face grim and tight.” Used sparring to ”help work off his frustration”.

but physically too with the headaches that he gets.

Page 186 of ACOFAS: “I had Madja make it for me. It’s a powder to mix in with any drink…it’s for the headaches everyone always gives you. Since you rub your temples too often.”

6. Low self-esteem, need for perfection

He doesn’t think he’s good enough, he doesn’t think his work is enough, he doesn’t think his ’heroic actions’ are enough. You can see this with his spies; he wants his spying to be perfect to help people and help his High Lord.

Page 376 ACOMAF: —the frustration of not being able to get his spies or himself into those courts took a toll on him. The standards to which he held himself, [Mor] confided in me, bordered on sadistic.

(this also contributes to the fact that he pushes himself too hard)

ACOMAF 205-206, Rhys says ”I don’t trust this information, even with your sources…” ”They can be trusted,” Azriel said with quiet steel, his scarred hands clenching at his leather-clad sides. ”We aren’t taking risks where this is concerned,” Rhys merely said. He held Azriel’s stare, and I could almost hear the silent words Rhys added, It is no judgement or reflection on you, Az. Not at all. But Azriel yielded no tinge of emotion as he nodded, his hands unfurling. ”So what do we have planned?” Mor cut in—perhaps for Az’s sake.

Everyone understands he has low self esteem.

Page 256 ACOMAF: ”He set down his fork, blinking. I might even called him self-conscious.”

And in ACOWAR Rhys says he doesn’t think he’s good enough for Mor.

Page 460 of ACOWAR: Feyre: ”But—he loves her. How can he sit idly by?” Rhys: ”He thinks she’s happier without him…he thinks he’s unworthy of her.”

I go back and forth between if he thinks he’s deserving of Elain or not, because this quote says he isn’t worthy,

ACOSF bonus chapter: “She looked up at him, her face so trusting and hopeful and open that he knew she had no idea that he had done unspeakable things that sullied his hands far beyond their scars. Such terrible things that it was a sacrilege for his fingers to skin, tainting her with his presence. But he could have this. This one moment, and maybe a taste, and that would be it.”

but another quote in the bonus chapter implies so does think he’s worthy but I’ll talk about that later.

7. Guilt and overthinking

Az seems to often feel guilty when one of the plans goes wrong; he thinks he didn’t do as much as he could have.

Page 346 of ACOWAR: ”Hybern had made its grand move at last. And we had not anticipated it. I knew Azriel would take the blame upon himself. One look at the shadowsinger…told me he already did.”

He may have felt guilty for not reaching Cassian in time when he was gutted fighting that Hybern commander in ACOWAR

Page 543 of ACOWAR: ”’By the time Az got there, he was down.’ Azriel’s face was stone-cold, even as his hazel eyes fixed unrelentingly upon that knitting wound.”

He might feel guilty for not helping Mor enough with Az, and he also feels guilty for keeping Rhys’ plan to let Keir into Velaris a secret.

Page 414 of ACOWAR: "Whether [Mor] knew that though she’d tried to move past the bargain we’d made, the guilt of it still haunted Azriel, she didn’t let on.”

And when Eris calls More a slut, Az attacks him violently and Feyre has to call him off. And I think this was a telling sign of his guilt:

Page 429 of ACOWAR:

”As Azriel turned his face toward me—The frozen rage rooted me to the spot. But beneath it, I could almost see the images that haunted him: the hand Mor had yanked away, her weeping, distraught face as she had screamed at Rhys.”

He defends people to make up for his guilt, which sort of brings me to my next point:

8. Issues with overstepping boundaries and self-efficacy

I’m not talking about him kissing Elain in the bonus chapter and overstepping the boundaries of her mating bond with Lucien. I’m talking about how a person with a hero complex oversteps and takes on other people’s responsibilities/problems. With self-efficacy, a person with a hero complex might unintentionally undermine someone’s self-efficacy by not allowing them to face and overcome challenges on their own.

And he doesn’t do this all the time. In fact there are situations, specifically emotional situations that don’t pertain to him, that he walks away from and he goes ” That’s not my business.”

But you see this with Mor a lot, he is super defensive for Mor: when Eris calls her a slut during the High Lord’s meeting, he attacks him and chokes him out. He jumps to her defense all the time even when she doesn’t ask for it.

He also refuses Elain’s offer to look for the Trove in ACOSF:

Page 311 of ACOSF: “We do not have the time to wait for Nesta to decide. I say we approach Elain tomorrow. Better to have both of them working on it.” Azriel stiffened, an outright sign of temper from him as he said quietly, “There is an innate darkness to the Dread Trove that Elain should not be exposed to.”

9. Fear of abandonment and rejection

And all of this pertaining to the hero complex, including overstepping boundaries, continuously helping, etc can be because of their fear of rejection. A person with a savior complex fears being alone so they continuously help others to ensure their relationship continues.

Az actually tried to bring up his feelings for Mor after he rescues her from the Autumn court border and she leaves (talk about bad timing AZ) but I feel like Az hasn’t brought up his love for Mor because he fears rejection and also because of his low self-esteem.

Mor often has an argument with Rhys and he turns to Az to defend her and often he’s hesitant.

Page 186 of ACOWAR: Mor whipped her head to Azriel. ”What do you think?” The shadowsinger held her stare, his face unreadable. Considering. I tried not to hold my breath. Defending the female he loved or siding with his High Lord…”It’s not my call to make.” ”That’s a bullshit answer,” Mor challenged. ”I could have sworn hurt flickered in Azriel’s eyes, but he only shrugged.

You see this with his guilt that I brought up before with not doing enough to stop Hybern from attacking in ACOWAR, and his guilt over not telling Mor about their plan with Kier and Eris and letting Keir have access to Velaris.

And this is an excellent quote:

Page 460 of ACOWAR: ”There will come a day when Azriel has to decide if he is going to fight for her or let her go. And it won’t be because some other male insults her or beds her.”

And he probably fears rejection from Elain.

10. A need for validation

Now another tendency a person with a savor complex can have is the need for validation, they want acknowledgment for the good things they’ve done, and this can lead to resentment if they are acknowledged.

And I don’t necessarily think this is Az, I feel like he would just say that helping is his job, being spymaster is his job, saving people is his job” but you can see in the bonus chapter of Silver Flames when Rhys asks him if he thinks he deserves Elain as a mate, he says ”I don’t think Lucien will be good enough for him” which in my opinion implies that Az thinks he is more heroic / more worthy of having Elain as a mate and sees Lucien as a coward.

ACOSF bonus chapter: “The Cauldron chose three sisters. Tell me how it's possible that my two brothers are with two of those sisters, yet the third was given to another.” “You believe you deserve to be her mate?" “I think Lucien will never be good enough for her…”

There are obviously tons of other aspects of a hero complex beside a knight rescuing a damsel that I think apply to Az; he is a super traumatized and I think his hero complex / heroism in general is a result of that.

#acotar #azriel shadowsinger #tiktok video summary #character analysis #mor acotar #elain archeron #rhysand #a court of thorns and roses

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lovemyromance · 19 hours

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While I think the rescue scene is romantic, you’re really downplaying the scene for feyre- it’s huge for her character, it’s the culmination of all the scenes of her learning to fly and the discussions of the Nephelle Philosophy/feyre’s complicated, unresolved issues with tamlin. And that’s not even touching how she saves Briar and what that means for her character or how she didn’t hesitate at all for elain and that was a callback to her telling Lucien that if she thought her sister was in danger no high lord or king could stop her. She’s not there just to show us azriel and Elain, thats a very ship-focused view disregarding everything else and I think it undermines your point (which is right- the scene is obviously meant to be romantic and hint towards elriel)

Two things can be true at once. Feyre can display a great amount of grit and resilience in that scene, AND Azriel's rescue of Elain can be romantic.

But Feyre's heroism was not the point of the post that I presume you are referring to.

My post was to refute the point that a lot of anti-Elriels try to make: that Elain's rescue scene is not inherently romantic when it obviously is. That's all.

Feyre has nothing to do with the point I was trying to make. It was a ship-focused argument because that was the intended purpose. To show evidence for Elriel.

Feyre being there did allow us as readers to experience that Elriel moment. She was not only there to show us that, but her being there was the only way we could've read that. I agree the Elriel romance wasn't the only significant part of that scene, but again, that was not relevant to my post.

I don't think it undermines my point - which was Azriel's rescue of Elain was not just because he was doing his job. It was an active decision he made to get her back and it was written as romantic.

Feyre's resilience has nothing to do with the point I was trying to make.

#elriel

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bookofmirth · 1 year

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If people really think Nephelle would gatekeep her philosophy from Valkyries, women who fought to empower themselves, then congrats on missing the point of everything ever

#iykyk #these are the dumbest most disingenuous arguments ever #I was enabled to make this post in the groupchat #direct complaints to the manager #1-800-idc

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thesistersarcheron · 1 year

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oh my goddddd kindergarten teacher azriel !!!!!!! 😭😭😭 i just know he keeps all the art his kids make for him 🥺 he keeps a careful eye on the ones with a rough home life 🥺 when he tells new acquaintances what he does for a living they always think he’s kidding at first because “well, look at you.”

i am kicking my feet n squealing rn thank u for putting this in my head and i can’t wait to see where you go with this !! 💖💖

People are absolutely stunned that Az is a kindergarten teacher, but then he starts to wax poetic about the Nephelle philosophy—even the smallest, weakest members of a society, like his five year old students, can do great things if they know someone believes in them!—and it all makes sense. The students actually think it’s really funny that he only wears black and (for special occasions) very, very dark shades of blue.

And since Feyre is the art teacher down the hall, he now has all sorts of clever DIY projects and scrapbooks that help him keep track of his students’ masterpieces.

#it’s much more smut than you probably expect but that’s what you get when you turn the big broody shadowman #into the perfect object of the female gaze #azriel #elriel #elain #glitch #answered #anonymous

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vic-the-bookdragon · 1 year

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Okay, but like...what does the nephelle philosophy and that moment Az spent with feyre have to do with g or gw.nriel?

#someone tell me #im confused

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merymoonbeam · 10 months

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Seiðr-Swan lake- Elain and Vassa theory

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

what I will be talking about in this post:

Seidr magic and how it connects to Elain.

Goddess Freyja and Elain-Vassa connections.

Swan lake retelling

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

So let's start with what is Seiðr?

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

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

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

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

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

I knew they’d both die the moment that power hit them. Anything, I begged the Cauldron. Anything— The king’s hand began to drop. And then halted. A choking noise came out of him. For a moment, I thought the Cauldron had answered my pleas. But as a black blade broke through the king’s throat, spraying blood, I realized someone else had. Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.”

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

Now the part about "trance" with seidr.

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

Elain again glanced at the map. At me. Then closed her eyes. Her eyes shifted beneath her lids, the skin so delicate and colorless that the blue veins beneath were like small streams. “It moves …,” she whispered. “It moves through the world like … like the breath of the western wind.” “Where is it headed?” Her finger lifted, hovering over the map, the courts. Slowly, she set it down. “There,” she breathed. “It is going there. Now.”

another scene.

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

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

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

While looking for distaff I found this.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now...onto the Frigg.

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

She is a goddess and Odin's wife.

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

basically Frigg and Freyja are the same.

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

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

so now let's look into Freyja.

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

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

As you can see Frejya can do Seidr magic.

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

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

So how might these be relevant for acotar plot?

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

But tonight, here in the dark and quiet, with no one to see…He pulled the small velvet box from the shadows around him. Opened it for her. Elain sucked in a soft breath that whispered over his skin. His shadows skittered back at the sound. They'd always been prone to vanish when she was around. The golden necklace seemed ordinary - its chain unremarkable, the amulet tiny enough that it could be dismissed as an everyday charm. It was a small, flat rose fashioned of stained glass, designed so that when held to the light, the true depth of the colors would become visible. A thing of secret, lovely beauty.

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

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

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

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

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

We know sarah wants to write swan lake retelling.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Back to Swan lake.

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

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

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

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

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

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

so that's all. Thanks for reading.

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

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