#wyrd = cauldron mother fate

[wingedblooms]

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

[shadybirdwombat]

So this is a crack theory.

Hofas spoilers

What if Lucien and Elain have been mind talking or together for awhile.

After the battle of Hybern. Feyre told them to wash up together.

We need got that scene. What if she told her about her using truth teller. What it actually can do ?

I believe lucien already knows about his biological father. I believe Helion didn't let that slip accidentally from his lips.

He did it for a reason. Maybe day court royals can block out daementi. Lucien hasn't been an emissary for this many years without being observant. He figured out Feyre was suspicious right away.

Anyways he let Feyre read his mind for what he allowed.

Going back to after the battle. What if Lucien already knows about great objects of power. He as raised in autumn. I'm sure Eris and loa taught him. Maybe even Beron.

So Elain tells him. She also tells him of all her visions.

So he tells her they can talk through the bond. So they pretend to hate each other. Can't stand each other. Till all her visions come true.

So lulu flirts with Vassa in front of Feyre. Elain acts with Azriel and the necklace. To see about his loyalties.

Which I believe will also tie into Nesta and the dusk court. Maybe Azriel will switch courts. Elain also pushing him towards Gwyn. She knows mates are stronger together .

Sly Fox that's Lucien. Sjm has says he's the her smartest characters. Also she said Lucien and Dorian would be friends. Dorian who tricked Maeve.

Helion is playing along because his court knows about seers. Also he loves loa. He would never put her at risk. Neither would Eris or Lucien by revealing the truth.

Elain's story could go back to the beginning. I also believe papa archeron had gifts of seeing.

Feyre did before she turned fae. She painted that dresser. I believe Nesta did as well.

That's why Papa archeron went immediately to find Vassa.

Maybe he knew he had to play the horrible parent. Not being there. So his daughters Feyre and Nesta would become rulers. Elain my be the only one to know about it.

I believe Elain also knew Tamlin was fae. She did t forget. Just pretended.

This has to do with the goddess of fate urd or wyrd. Aka all those drawings on the cottage.

Which are to protect them from Asteri.

So in Elain and Lucien book. We will see them during each part of main events. Waiting for the right time.

Which I believe lucien will come get Elain before or after Bryce goes back to migard.

Helion will say. I have books about seers etc. This will lead to the death of Beron and defeat of Koschei.

I believe Vassa and Jurian would know Elain and Lucien are together. Jurian is adept at lying. Plus he would have knowledge of many things. He wasn't eye and not paying attention for no reason

Vassa knows the game because she's royal.

Eris always has he taught Lucien. Doesn't he say he should have taught brothers about blocking out mind readers. Throw them off his scent maybe. Lie lie lie.

This would be wild. Support my theory. That bring a seer is horrible. Family may hate you. Because if you change fate. Does it cause more problems. Elain wasn't blessed by the cauldron for no reason. It purrs and it never attacked her on the battlefield.

What if the pure mother's wyrd saw Elain in the cauldron. She awoken her.

Nesta took most the asteri bad parts . Though the mother blessed her not to become corrupt through love. Thus Nesta becoming high lady of dusk.

I don't believe Lucien will become high lord of day for awhile. Elain and Lucien maybe to become world walkers. Say emissaries to other worlds.

Maybe Tam even knows. He's acting more crazy to their them off. He told Feyre to be happy and saved Rhys life. Plus doesn't have a painting of the cauldron before the asteri.

Helion would teach Lucien about a spell to mask the mating bond.

Which I believe he does to protect the lady of autumn from Beron.

Explains why Azriel smells something off about their bond.

Why lulu look solemn at solstice. Cause Elain had to play Azriel. Knowing Rhys would find out. Pushing Azriel too see Gwyn. Not a crush like he does with Mor and Elain.

Mates. Though because Azriel had been through much in his life. He doesn't understand the mating bond for himself.

Also they would be the greatest actors since Aelin

#elain archeron #lucien vanserra #acotar series #eris vanserra #acotar #gwyneth berdara #pro lucien vanserra #throne of glass #pro elucien #helion spell cleaver #lady of autumn #jurian acotar #queen vassa #the night court #day court #acting #autumn court #bryce quinlan #hofas spoilers #truth teller #world walkers #wyrd #urd #wyrdmarks #papa archeron #tamlin #asteri #pro gwyn #gwyneth x azriel #gwynriel

[gwyns]

I still don’t understand why E/riel’s are going on and on, and keep bringing up the Cauldron being corrupted by the Asteri, and so Elucien’s mating bond is questionable/etc. The Cauldron being corrupted…wasn’t that a main plot/issue already brought up in ACOMAF & ACOWAR?

yup! hybern wanted the cauldron for obvious evil reasons, he got it, corrupted it and used it for aforementioned evil reasons. like that was the whole plot in acomaf so i'm not sure how they missed it

also if the cauldron was corrupted by the asteri then feysand and nessian's bonds would be too, not just elucien, and clearly they're not. besides it's not even the cauldron who decides fate but a higher force aka the mother/urd/wyrd/sjm herself. this "theory" is so dumb lol

#hofas spoilers #cc3 spoilers #house of flame and shadow spoilers #antielriel #anti e/riel #asks #anonymous

[elrielbaby]

Acotar re-read let’s get it!

Chapter 1

Andras’ eyes called both gold & yellow (probably means nothing but will keep in mind)

“The Forest went silent. The wind died. Even the snow paused” (fate, the cauldron, the mother watching?)

Feyre has three arrows, two ordinary, one ash (at this point SJM didn’t see any bigger storyline for the sisters so I’m thinking this is foreshadowing for Feyre going on to be something different)

Ash trees are very rare after they were all burned by High Fae long ago, the remaining trees are small & sickly, hidden by nobility in high-walled groves (oh, hello Greysen you prick)

“The arrow found its mark in his side, and I could have sworn the ground itself shuddered”

Chapter 2

Ward markings etched around the threshold to protect against Faerie harm (ward/wyrd 👀)

All 3 Archerons have gold-brown hair

Elain has brown eyes like her fathers (for the theorists out there who like to claim Elain isn’t an Archeron)

Nesta took their lost wealth the hardest & spent any money Feyre didn’t hide from her (it’s probably not intentional but this feels like foreshadowing or a call back of sorts for how she gambles & spends Feyre & Rhys’ money at the beginning of ACOSF)

Elain either didn’t understand or refused to accept that they were poor. My moneys on the latter & I think we do see this pattern with her a lot - a lot of burying her head in the sand, straight up denial. I think this is something she will address (a long with standing up for herself) in her book.

Feyre does not think much of Papa Archeron at all. ‘Couldn’t - wouldn’t move much about’ (can’t say I blame her)

Feyre asks Nesta to chop wood. Nesta refuses. Elain ‘murmurs a soft plea’ which earns her a hiss in response. Interesting.

I totally forgot how much Mama Archeron supposedly loved their father, and how she was cold & imperious with her children.

Also, Mama Archeron wondered how Feyres artistic skills could secure her a husband? What?

“Stay together & look after them” hmmmm.

First time we get Nesta described as ‘unrelenting steel’

This feels like a big one too me - “We need hope as much as we need bread and meat,” he interrupted, his eyes clear for a rare moment. “We need hope, or else we cannot endure.”

Chapter 3

“May the immortal light shine upon thee, sisters” 👀👀👀

First time we get Nesta described as a Queen, specifically ‘a Queen without a throne’

Does silver attract Fae? I feel like I missed a whole thing

Also, Elain was robbed by a mercenary?

Elain buys Papa Archeron a new chisel

Chapter 4

Tamlin has golden fur, green eyes flecked with amber

Nesta again described as steel. ‘Steely heart’

Elain - ‘flower grower, gentle heart’

Papa Archeron - ‘… but his eyes became clearer and bolder than I’d seen them in years’ - this is when he tells her to not come back & make a name for herself. Hmmm.

Chapter 5

‘I’d never seen the forest so still’

Magic described as a charged, metallic tang & Feyre says she recognises it as magic from some collective mortal memory?

‘My prison or my salvation - I couldn’t decide which’ that line hits harder knowing what we know from ACOMAF.

[elriell]

Okay! So after reading  this post about the 8th court and Elain restoring it and this one about the sisters, I wanted to go back through SJM pinterest and see what little nuggets I could find... And something came up a few times that was interesting to me and that was the Moirai.

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai (also spelled Moirae or Mœræ; Ancient Greek: Μοῖραι, "lots, destinies, apportioners"), often known in English as the Fates (Latin: Fata),

Their number became fixed at three: Clotho ("spinner"), Lachesis ("allotter") and Atropos ("the unturnable", a metaphor for death).

If you haven’t read the post already about why everything in ACOTAR seems to come in THREES, and how that is interesting go ahead.

We have been having a lot more conversations recently about fate and the cauldron and whether everything is happening for a reason, so stumbling across this on her board was interesting to me.

According to Hesiod's Theogony, Clotho and her sisters (Atropos and Lachesis) were the daughters of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), though later in the same work (ll. 901-906) they are said to have been born of Zeus and Themis.

Of course I don’t think it is directly tied to Nyx herself but I think it is an interesting tie between the two, on top of the name Clotho who we know is also a current ACOTAR character. I find it hard to believe that besides pinning these images she did not look further in to the Moirai.

Clotho

Clotho (/ˈkloʊθoʊ/; Greek: Κλωθώ) is a mythological figure. She is the one of the Three Fates or Moirai who spins the thread of human life; the other two draw out (Lachesis) and cut (Atropos) in ancient Greek mythology. Her Roman equivalent is Nona. She also made major decisions, such as when a person was born, thus in effect controlling people's lives. This power enabled her not only to choose who was born, but also to decide when gods or mortals were to be saved or put to death. For example, Clotho brought Pelops back to life when his father killed him.

Feyre. We definitely associate her with Re-birth and becoming anew so this very well could parallel her story, also as a side mention as seen below, Nona was associated with being the Goddess of pregnancy. Not a massive thing but Fae are not suppose to procreate easily, it is suppose to be a rare occurrence and yet Feysand did so in a matter of years. 

Nona was one of the Parcae, the three personifications of destiny in Roman mythology (the Moirai in Greek mythology and in Germanic mythology, the Norns), and the Roman goddess of pregnancy. ... Nona, whose name means "ninth", was called upon by pregnant women in their ninth month when the child was due to be born.

Atropos

Atropos was the oldest of the Three Fates, and was known as "the Inflexible One." It was Atropos who chose the manner of death and ended the life of mortals by cutting their threads. She worked along with her two sisters,  Clotho, who spun the thread, and Lachesis, who measured the length. Atropos has been featured in several stories such as Atalanta and Achilles.

This seems very on the money with Nesta and her power being Death. She is also the oldest of the sisters. She is also not really know for having a very flexible personality throughout the series. 

Lachesis (/ˈlækɪsɪs/; Greek: Λάχεσις, Lakhesis, "disposer of lots", from λαγχάνω, lanchano, "to obtain by lot, by fate, or by the will of the gods"), in ancient Greek religion, was the second of the Three Fates, or Moirai: Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos. Normally seen clothed in white, Lachesis is the measurer of the thread spun on Clotho's spindle, and in some texts, determines Destiny, or thread of life. Lachesis was the apportioner, deciding how much time for life was to be allowed for each person or being. She measured the thread of life with her rod. She is also said to choose a person's destiny after a thread was measured.

Elain. She is the second sister, doesn’t wear white per say but she is seen to be the purer of the bunch generally speaking... We have all theorised for years that while Nesta’s gift is Death it is very likely Elain’s would be Life. This is a pretty well discussed topic and though it isn’t fact it seems very plausible.

“To obtain by lot, by fate, by the will of the gods.”

Could this be her mating bond? She obtained the bond through will of the gods (which throughout my reading of the Moirai it is occasionally believed Zeus ultimately was in control of choosing), though text is not entirely clear for sure. 

Perhaps a god choose her fate for her but she will ultimately determine her own destiny by going against their choice, and setting her own destiny as she is suppose to do for others... I don’t know, food for thought.

They controlled the mother thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. They were independent, at the helm of necessity, directed fate, and watched that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction. 

Imagine Elain fucking Archeron going directly against fate and defying the gods, in the ultimate show of choice and asserting her agency, it would be the most epic ARC yet.

Listen Fates, who sit nearest of gods to the throne of Zeus,

and weave with shuttles of adamant,

inescapable devices for councels of every kind beyond counting,

Atropos, Clotho and Lachesis, fine-armed daughters of Night,

hearken to our prayers, all-terrible goddesses, of sky and earth.

Send us rose-bosomed Lawfulness, and her sisters on glittering thrones.

I am by no mean saying they are the fates but I definitely think inspiration was taken from them and could be keys to their future stories. A few other interesting tid-bits;

In Roman mythology the three Moirai are the Parcae or Fata, plural of "fatum" meaning prophetic declaration, oracle, or destiny. The English words fate (native wyrd) and fairy ("magic, enchantment"), are both derived from "fata", "fatum".

Right and crowned Peace, and make this city forget the misfortunes which lie heavily on her heart. The appearance of the gods and the Moirai may be related to the fairy tale motif, which is common in many Indo-European sagas and also in Greek folklore. The fairies appear beside the cradle of the newborn child and bring gifts to him.

These are smaller observations but a lot of references to Fairy, Wyrd *coughs* TOG, and oracles. When we know that Elain is a Seer. Not to mention because I am obsessed with the idea of a Sleeping Beauty retelling next, guess who else had three fairies present gifts to them as a newborn? Aurora. Yet another tie in with Elain. 

I found so many more pins about SB on her pinterest I had missed on my quick browse. I don’t know, could be nothing, but considering SJM said she has been planning since ACOMAF it is very possible she tied something like this in early on.

#elain archeron #elriel #acosf spoilers #nesta archeron #feyre archeron #archeron sisters #ACOTAR #theories #myacotar #mymeta

[rayonfrozenwings]

The Archeron Sisters as The Fates (Moirai) - Part 1

Hi, I’m Renee, and you may remember me from my posts Erilea and  Starfall and the Wild hunt.

Ok First  - Housekeeping.

Part one - has been in my head for a while, just didn’t bother writing it up, part two I rambled my way to a conclusion as I wrote it.

In my post on Starfall and the Wild hunt I mentioned that I thought Prythian was a “greek myth” based world (I’m going to say theologically as we know other stories/fairytales/folk lore is present in ACOTAR). So the next two parts have that in mind.

I’m tagging @propshophannah and @sparkleywonderful @paperbacktrash because I think that they have been trying to put their finger on something for a while and I wanted to throw my thoughts into the ring. Also Becca, thanks for working this one out with me. 

Some theories of theirs that are relevant to this post and I have read on Tumblr (ones I could find)

Sparkleywonderful’s theories:

ACOMAF Demi Fae

The moment you realise - Archeron sisters as Demi-fae

Propshophannah’s theories:

Ok But Listen  -

I Just want to say   - I feel like you were so so so close on this one.

There are probably more theories but I can’t find them on Tumblr - either not tagged or not there. Do people post theories on AO3 or just Fanfic? I don’t go there so I don’t know.

Part 1: The Three Archeron Sisters as the 3 Fates.

WIKI source for further reading if you are interested. The article where lots of my quotes are from is called  - Moirai

Intro to the FATES... Lachesis sings the things that were, Clotho the things that are, and Atropos the things that are to be. In Greek mythology, the Moirai or Moerae /ˈmɪrˌiː/ or /ˈmiːˌriː/ (Ancient Greek: Μοῖραι, "apportioners"), often known in English as the Fates(Latin: Fatae), were the white-robed incarnations of destiny; their Roman equivalent was the Parcae (euphemistically the "sparing ones"). Their number became fixed at three: Clotho (spinner), Lachesis(allotter) and Atropos (literally 'unturnable' but metaphorically 'inflexible' or 'inevitable' - i.e. death).

The three Moirai are daughters of the primeval goddess Nyx (Night), and sisters of Keres (black Fates), Thanatos (Death) and Nemesis (retribution).

Lachesis as Nesta, Clotho as Feyre, and Atropos as Elain

propshophannah’s post “I just want to say” said “Feyre is the the glowing one pouring the cauldron to create Prythian. (So maybe she is Rebirth, Elain (that sweet grower of flowers) is Life, and Nesta is Death. But I guess Feyre fits this whole line herself… Life and death and rebirth. Rot and bloom and decay. Sun and moon and dark.”

So I like it but...have a different take…  what if instead - it is ...

Life - Feyre, Death - Nesta, Rebirth - Elain. 

Elain has a natural connection to spring and new growth and rebirth. Feyre lives in the moment and rarely thinks past it. Nesta seems to already have lived a very harsh life and seen the worst it has to offer, she can see “truth/through glamours” - like a type of hindsight. This would mean that Feyre is rot, Elain Bloom and Nesta Decay. Princess of Carrion is one of Feyre’s names also and carrion is associated with rot, also I suppose growing old and living would be associated with decline/rot also as is happens while you are alive. Decay happens to things that are already dead, bones decay, teeth decay not people. Sun Moon and Dark; Elain as the Sun, Nesta as the Dark and Feyre as the Moon. Feyre wears a crown of stars with a moon motif in the middle in ACOWAR. Elain as the sun could suggest a link to the Day court (aka mate) or it could again be a connection to life, sun rising, new day. Darkness is Death. With these examples we can also Say Feyre is Clotho - Life, Atropos as Elain - birth, and Lachesis as Nesta - Death.

The Moirai were usually described as cold, remorseless and unfeeling,

Nesta is described this way - pretty sure all those words have been used for my misunderstood Archeron sister Nesta. Feyre fails to see what is really going on she doesn’t really understand how others are feeling, i’m going to use the “Mor as bi/gay”  as an example because she just seems oblivious - and that can make the reader oblivious too. And although Elain is tending her garden etc I feel like she can come across as fake and not really involved with people but just works around people to get what she wants. Like with the Ball for Feyre in ACOTAR, She just floated about getting things ready - setting plans in motion. Elain is also looked after by Nesta and Feyre, even though Feyre is the youngest.

Nesta is most definitely associated with death already, it's not too hard to believe she is Lachesis. The bone carver mentions it, Amren mentions it. Nesta’s eyes go cloudy/stormy before she is made High Fae when she encounters the children of the blessed in ACOTAR so I think this association with death and otherness has been there from the start - she just has something else added from the Cauldron since becoming High Fae.

Glamours do not work on Nesta - is that because she is the embodiment of the end of the thread - the cutting of the thread of fate. So she sees things as they are/were. She has a type of hindsight when looking at everything. As if she already knows, and has seen, and has judged. She has this hindsight for everything but herself and her sisters. And I think that is because as the three fates they are separate from everyone else - their threads are not a part of the loom metaphorically speaking.

If we view the sisters as separate from everything else. Then that would explain why the Suriel cannot read Feyre’s emotions - mentioned in propshophannah’s post “ok but listen” as a side note. Or perhaps its because Feyre is not playing the game (acting as the thread tells her to), acting as a “fate” should. Maybe none of the sisters at that point are being good “fates” and are stepping over lines they would not normally cross. Like Nesta screaming out to Cassian and averting his death, and Elain killing the king of Hybern in ACOWAR to save them both. If these were already fated then these girls are breaking the rules. *tsk tsk*

They could also be breaking the rules because Elain (rebirth) can now see the future as a seer.

Hesiod introduces a moral purpose which is absent in the Homeric poems. The Moirai represent a power to which even the gods have to conform. They give men at birth both evil and good moments, and they punish not only men but also gods for their sins.[2]

Is this how Elain was able to kill the King of Hybern - She was able to punish him for his sins?

They controlled the mother thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. They were independent, at the helm of necessity, directed fate, and watched that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction. The gods and men had to submit to them, although Zeus's relationship with them is a matter of debate: some sources say he is the only one who can command them (the Zeus Moiragetes), yet others suggest he was also bound to the Moirai's dictates.

The fates are “independent at the helm of necessity and watched the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take it's course without obstruction”. Does this explain why Nesta did nothing in ACOTAR to better their situation - she knows what she is, she sees all, and perhaps she did nothing to help the Archeron’s situation in their hovel in ACOTAR because she viewed it as happening no matter what she did, it was inevitable. It was already decided/fated and she could not take action. Only when Feyre was taken away did Nesta take fate into her own hands. Elain doesn’t look for deeper meaning or explanations because she is only concerned with the start/beginning/birth/starting of things like her garden - and by being turned into a seer in ACOWAR has she opened her eyes to seeing things and seeing herself as able to make a change? She is able to act now that she can see more than the start of the thread. Feyre is concerned with feeding the family, hunting and looking after them in the present because she is the embodiment of the present. She feels hunger, she feels cold. She is living; feeling everything. She is present in the moment and so she takes action to fix it. When she is first in the spring court she tells Tamlin how she has never thought of the future, of what she can do beyond her hunger and cold and pain - all feelings felt the present. 

When the three sisters decide to step out of their assigned roles, they become able to circumvent necessity/fate/the loom.

and one more thing... 

In Roman mythology the three Moirai are the Parcae or Fata, plural of "fatum" meaning prophetic declaration, oracle, or destiny. The English words fate(native wyrd) and fairy (magic, enchantment), are both derived from "fata", "fatum" .[64]

Feyre - said as Fey-ruh - said like like fae-ruh - like faerie - like fate. And WYRD?? means FATE too!!

Part Two --> here

#reneewritesfantheory #Archeron #archeron sisters #feyre #feyre archeron #nesta #nesta archeron #elain #alain archeron #the fates #acotar #acomaf #acowar #a court of thorns and roses #a court of mist and fury #a court of war and ruin #fan theory #acotar fan theory #acomaf fan theory #acowar fan theory #sjm fan theory #sjm #sarah j maas #sjmaas #fate #wyrd #renee's fan theory #mine #rayonfrozenwings #renee rambles

[wingedblooms]

Heart of the Night Court

This meta is a continuation of theories in forbidden secrets, blooming dreams, and bright as the dawn, as it narrows in on Illyria, Ramiel, and their connection to Wyrd. Please avoid if you do not want to read hofas spoilers. 

Facing Ramiel

The northern region of the Night Court is where Ramiel, one of the three sacred sister peaks, is located. It is considered the heart of Illyria and the Night Court. 

Ramiel. The sacred mountain.  The heart of not only Illyria, but the entirety of the Night Court.  None were permitted on its barren, rocky slopes—save for the Illyrians, and only once a year at that. During the Blood Rite.  Cassian soared toward it, unable to resist Ramiel’s ancient summons. Different—the mountain was so different from the barren, terrible presence of the lone peak in the center of Prythian. Ramiel had always felt alive, somehow. Awake and watchful. (acofas) [...] Ramiel rose higher still, a shard of stone piercing the gray sky. Beautiful and lonely. Eternal and ageless. (acofas)

Cassian describes Ramiel as alive, awake, and watchful, and so very beautiful as she rises from the earth. Likewise, Feyre emphasizes that Elain is alive and somehow infinitely more beautiful as she rises from the ground after she is Made in the Cauldron. Her legs are even bare, which remind me of the barren terrain, and her sheer nightgown might even be a hint for thin places, as @offtorivendell observed. Elain’s strength has also always been different than her sisters, just like Ramiel among her sacred sister peaks.   

And as if it had been tipped by invisible hands, the Cauldron turned on its side. More water than seemed possible dumped out in a cascade. Black, smoke-coated water.  And Elain, as if she’d been thrown by a wave, washed onto the stones facedown.  Her legs were so pale—so delicate. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen them bare.  The queens pushed forward. Alive, she had to be alive, had to have wanted to live– Elain sucked in a breath, her fine-boned back rising, her wet nightgown nearly sheer. And as she rose from the ground onto her elbows, the gag in place, as she twisted to look at me— Nesta began roaring again.  Pale skin started to glow. Her face had somehow become more beautiful—infinitely beautiful, and her ears … Elain’s ears were now pointed beneath her sodden hair. (acomaf)

As each spring dawns on the world, Ramiel is crowned with three stars, and the Illyrians—who we learned may have been the Asteri’s soldiers and therefore may carry on rituals that would have benefited them—honor bloodshed on her land rather than new life. 

No wonder that first ruler of the Night Court had made this his insignia. Along with the three stars that only appeared for a brief window each year, framing the uppermost peak of Ramiel like a crown. It was during that window when the Rite occurred. Which had come first: the insignia or the Rite, Cassian didn’t know. Had never really cared to find out.  The conifer forests and ravines that dotted the landscape flowing to Ramiel’s foot gleamed under the fresh snow. Empty and clean. No sign of the bloodshed that would occur come the start of spring. (acofas) 

Some even seem to take great pleasure in the killing that is permitted during this rite, and Ramiel, which we know is alive and watching, is forced to witness it every year. Azriel calls it a week of pointless bloodshed, but we know now that is likely untrue. @silverlinedeyes, @offtorivendell and I believe the Asteri may have created or warped an existing rite to suit their needs. @silverlinedeyes pointed out that this spring rite reminds her of the Great Rite, and that made something click for me: perhaps the Blood Rite is the Night Court's Great Rite. Is the secondlight from slain warriors absorbed by the land? And do those few who reach the stone, which I suspect might be the Maiden in this rite, provide firstlight to the cache hidden in Ramiel’s heart? Is it any wonder the winds around her howl, and her land is often frozen and inhospitable?

The mountain neared, mighty and endless, so wide that he might as well have been a mayfly in the wind. Cassian soared toward Ramiel’s southern face, rising high enough to catch a glimpse of the shining black stone jutting from its top.  Who had put that stone atop the peak, he didn’t know, either. Legend said it had existed before the Night Court formed, before the Illyrians migrated from the Myrmidons, before humans even walked the earth. Even with the fresh snow crusting Ramiel, none had touched the pillar of stone. (acofas)

The shining black stone on Ramiel’s face is able to heal and transport those who touch it. In acosf, it knew where Nesta’s friends were needed most and sent them to the River House. It is also on the southern face of the mountain, which in the northern hemisphere, is the part of the mountain that receives the most sunlight. Cassian tells us that he doesn’t know who put it there, but legend says it was before humans even walked the earth. While it is very likely that the Asteri warped it (into a tool to sustain them, like the gates in Lunathion as @merymoonbeam so cleverly pointed out), I believe it may have also originally been linked to the Cauldron. 

In hofas, we discover that Ramiel used to bear the Cauldron on her land:

“The Cauldron,” Nesta said hours later, pointing to yet another carving on the wall. It indeed showed a giant cauldron, perched atop what seemed to be a barren mountain peak with three stars above it. Azriel halted, angling his head. “That’s Ramiel.” At Bryce’s questioning look, he explained, “A mountain sacred to the Illyrians.”  Bryce nodded to the carving. “What’s the big deal about a cauldron?” [...]  “All life came and comes from it,” Azriel said with something like reverence. “The Mother poured it into this world, and from it, life blossomed.” (hofas) […] The snows around Ramiel parted, revealing a massive bowl of iron at the foot of the monolith. Even through the vision, its presence leaked into the world, a heavy, ominous thing. “The Cauldron,” Nesta said, dread lacing her voice. […] “The Cauldron was of our world, our heritage. But upon arriving here, the Daglan captured it and used their powers to warp it. To turn it from what it had been into something deadlier. No longer just a tool of creation, but of destruction. And the horrors it produced…those, too, my parents would turn to their advantage.” (hofas) 

I wonder if long ago, before the Asteri desecrated them, the stone and Cauldron together resembled this depiction of Wyrd: 

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

This depiction is interesting because it mirrors, almost exactly, the figurine Nesta assumes is the Mother in the House of Wind: 

It was a fire. Not her father’s neck. 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.  Another log cracked, and Nesta flinched. But she remained sitting there. Staring at that carved rose. (acosf) 

For some reason, she needed to set Elain’s rose, half-hidden in shadow, next to this depiction of what appears to be Wyrd. In hosab, the Under-King also described Wyrd as a mother to all, which is why I theorized that she is actually a triple goddess: Mother, Cauldron, Fate. They are three parts, or faces, of the same force. The three sacred sister peaks and three blessed Archeron sisters are intentionally linked to her. Perhaps the moon in the female’s hands isn’t just a moon, but a world too. Immediately after this scene, the House of Wind shows Nesta her heart in the lovely darkness of the mountain, which she calls the heart of the world, of existence. Of self. 

Heart racing, Nesta lifted the lantern in one hand and gazed at the darkness, untouched by the light from the library high, high above. The heart of the world, of existence. Of self.  The heart of the House.  “This…” Her fingers tightened on the lantern. “This darkness is your heart.” [...] Let the darkness sweep in. Embraced it. “I’m not afraid,” she whispered into it. “You are my friend, and my home. Thank you for sharing this with me.” (acosf)

Nesta embraces the heart of the House of Wind, which naturally makes me recall the heart of the Prison asking Bryce to open her heart to it…it might sing again. Awaken. There was a beating, vibrant heart locked away, far beneath them. We’re not sure exactly how Avallen might have affected the Prison island, and I suspect there is more to come with that plot thread. While I had always hoped the Valkyries might re-establish themselves as an intercourt army in the Middle, which does not have ties to any court in particular, I can also appreciate the possibility that they might ultimately settle on the Prison island instead. It would be incredible to see Pegasi return and for the Valkyries to learn how to fly on them. 

This plot is related to the core thread driving us forward, and it is something that can occur in a book that is centered on Elain and Azriel. Together, they have the vision and gifts needed to map the secrets of the land, starting with the sacred sister peaks, which I believe will ultimately help them restore Wyrd. This would fit all of the seeds Sarah has planted for the third sister’s arc with Azriel, Nuala, and Cerridwen. It would also be powerful for a character who has been underestimated and ridiculed for gardening to heal the land and the very source that created it. 

As I said prior to hofas, this exploration will inevitably bring them to the very heart of Ramiel. As a bearer of Wyrd, the source of life, Ramiel may even be the heart of the world, not just the Night Court. Will they discover that she was once very different? Did she change, as her sisters did, when the Asteri burrowed into her heart? Or was it because the Cauldron, Wyrd’s physical form, was warped into a tool of destruction by the Asteri and later removed from her land? Were the Illyrians created to guard the Cauldron since it was the Asteri’s most precious weapon? And is that why, as @cassianfanclub wondered, the Asteri were so desperate to reach the stone at the top, where the Cauldron was once depicted? Enalius may have prevented it from falling into their hands as he defended the Pass, which would’ve been a critical turning point in a rebellion. Unlike the rite they currently use to honor him, Enalius’s defense was in the service of life, which is what made Nesta’s sacrifice so inspiring. Her sacrifice is now depicted in the heart of the Court of Dreams, which is dedicated to building a better world.

Descending into Ramiel

We learn that Ramiel may be hiding secrets from Eris, of all characters: 

Eris shrugged, and Nesta knew Cassian monitored his every breath. “There are three of them, you know. Sister peaks. This one, the mountain called the Prison, and the one the Illyrian brutes call Ramiel. All bald, barren mountains at odds with those around them.” “We don’t know why they exist, but do you not find it strange that two out of the three have underground palaces carved into them?”  […]  Eris gave him a mocking smile, but continued, “Unsurprisingly, the Illyrians were never curious enough to see what secrets lie beneath Ramiel. If it, too, was carved up like the others by ancient hands.” “I thought Amarantha made the court Under the Mountain herself,” Nesta said.  “Oh, she decorated it and made us act like a sorry imitation of your Court of Nightmares, but the tunnels and halls were carved long before. By who, we don’t know.” (acosf)

He tells us that the three sacred peaks are sisters. Sacred is another word for blessed. And two out of three of them have been at least somewhat explored, but the third? Still mysterious. No one was curious enough to see what lied beneath her beautiful face, at her heart. This is such a lovely parallel for the three blessed sisters, and seems like a clear hint for the third one in particular. 

In hofas, we receive confirmation that these secrets might be connected to the Asteri, who are known as Daglan in Prythian lore: 

“They fought the Daglan and won, she went on. Using the Daglan’s own weapons, they destroyed them. Yet my parents did not think to learn the Daglan’s other secrets—they were too weary, too eager to leave the past behind.” (hofas) 

-

Vesperus backed up a half step, hissing at the gleaming weapon. “We hid pockets of our power throughout the lands, in case the vermin should cause … problems. It seems our wisdom did not fail us.” “There are no such places,” Azriel countered coldly. “Are there not?” Vesperus grinned broadly, showing all of her too-white teeth. “Have you looked beneath every sacred mountain? At their very roots? The magic draws all sorts of creatures. I can sense them even now, slithering about, gnawing on the magic. My magic. They’re as much vermin as the rest of you.” (hofas)

Bryce concludes, after Vesperus is able to draw the power from her secret cache below, that there is a firstlight core in the root, or heart, of the mountain. We see what happens in Avallen when the land is forced to contain magic where its ley lines overlap, rather than allowing it to flow as it should: it binds the magic of the land and causes it to wither like a plant with root rot. And that seems to explain why the sacred peaks are so odd: barren yet thrumming with power. 

I have theorized that the caches of power may need to be released leading up to the restoration of Wyrd, and I suspect there may be clues—especially within Ramiel—about how the Asteri warped and bound her to the land. If Elain is as tied to the land as we suspect, this could also strengthen whatever magic she possesses. 

In the cavern illustrations Bryce views in hofas, we see what might lie beneath Ramiel, maybe even the entire Night Court:

Scenes of a blessed land, a thriving civilization. One relief had been so similar to the frieze of the Fae male forging the sword at the Crescent City Ballet that Bryce had nearly gasped. The last carving before the river had been one of transition: a Fae King and Queen seated on thrones, a mountain—different from the one with the palace atop it—behind them with three stars rising above it. A different kingdom, then. Some ancient High Lord and Lady, Nesta had suggested before approaching the river.  She hadn’t commented on the lower half of the carving, which depicted a Helscape beneath their thrones, some kind of underworld. Humanoid figures writhed in pain amid what looked like icicles and snapping, scaly beasts—either past enemies conquered or an indication of what failure to bow to the rulers would bring upon the defiant.  The suffering stretched throughout, lingering even underneath that archipelago and its mountaintop palace. Even here, in paradise, death and evil remained. A common motif in Midgardian art, too, usually with the caption: Et in Avallen ego.  Even in Avallen, there am I. A whispered promise from Death. Another version of memento mori. A reminder that death was always, always waiting. Even in the blessed Fae isle of Avallen. (hofas) 

This might merely be a hint for the Asteri secrets that remain buried in the earth. But I agree with others (including @offtorivendell, @ladynightcourt3, @cassianfanclub, and @silverlinedeyes) who have wondered if this Helscape is in fact a hint that Prythian, and the Night Court in particular, is tied to Hel. We learned that the worlds in the Maasverse are tied together through ley lines, and the veil between worlds is thin where these ley lines overlap—like the lines in a star. 

That may be the true meaning of star symbols throughout the Maasverse, and the one specifically found in the Prison that is connected to the Starborn: as I theorized pre-hosab, it is a compass rose, and it seems to be linked to other places in the grander tapestry of the universe. There is power in the space where the lines meet; these lines represent ley lines. Certain people (Asteri, Starborn, etc.) are able to use that power to travel, communicate, or even light up entire worlds. Depending on how those lines are woven in certain areas, they might even be able to draw you to one place more than another. That may explain why the Prison seems more connected to Midgard. So, could Ramiel be more connected to Hel, and the Middle to…Erilea?

I wonder if Elain, Azriel, Nuala, and Cerridwen’s exploration in the heart of Ramiel might lead them to Wyrd’s Temple in Hel, except @silverlinedeyes, @offtorivendell, and I think she goes by yet another name there: Chaos. It’s possible they could use black salt or another substance to achieve this, as @offtorivendell and @cassianfanclub have discussed, especially with Elain’s sight. I am personally hoping for a physical trip to Hel and Ramiel might possess a doorway, or rift, as @offtorivendell has theorized. 

The black boat that Aidas led Bryce and Hunt into was a cross between the one that had brought them into Avallen and the ones that carried bodies to the Bone Quarter. But in lieu of a stag’s head, it was a stag’s skull at the prow, greenish flame dancing in its eyes as it sailed through the cave. The eerie green light illuminated black rock carved into pillars and buildings, walkways and temples. Ancient. And empty. Bryce had never seen a place so void of life. So … still. Even the Bone Quarter had a sense of being lived in, albeit by the dead. But here, nothing stirred. […] “It’s like a city of the dead,” Hunt murmured, draping a wing around Bryce. Aidas turned from where he stood at the prow, holding in his hands a long pole that he’d used to guide them. “That’s because it is.” He gestured with a pale hand to the buildings and temples and avenues. “This is where our beloved dead come to rest, with all the comforts of life around them.” […] Before Aidas could answer, the boat approached a small quay leading to what appeared to be a temple. A figure emerged from between the pillars of the temple and descended its front steps. Golden-haired, golden-skinned. […] “The Temple of Chaos is a sacred place,” Apollion said sharply. “We shall never defile it with violence.” The words rumbled like thunder again.

This sounds familiar, doesn’t it? It sounds an awful lot like other beliefs in the Maasverse:

Bryce asked, because some small part of her had to know after what she’d seen of the Mask, “When you die, where do your souls go?” Did they even believe in the concept of a soul? Maybe she should have led with that.  But Azriel said softly, “They return to the Mother, where they rest in joy within her heart until she finds another purpose for us. Another life or world to live in.” (hofas)

-

“We’ll collect the dead tomorrow,” Manon said, her voice low. “And burn them at moonrise.” As both Crochans and Ironteeth did. A full moon tomorrow—the Mother’s Womb. A good moon to be burned. To be returned to the Three-Faced Goddess, and reborn within that womb. (koa)

Wyrd (Chaos) is the heart of the world, of existence. Of self. And that is where people rest in joy until they are reborn. Could this be where the spirits are migrating on Starfall?

We know the Princes of Hel are intergalactic helpers, so a trip to Hel or an encounter with a Prince (Bryaxis? Thanatos? Even Balthazar, if he isn’t Elain? 😉 still my favorite crack theory) might give us insight into their role in Prythian. It could also involve Azriel’s peculiar magic that makes him, like Ramiel, so different from even his Illyrian brothers. Let's be honest, he’s always had a Prince of Hel vibe—down to his reverence for Wyrd (Mother, Cauldron, Fate/Chaos)—that I would love to see come to fruition. 

Beyond Azriel himself, I also think we will learn the origins of the Illyrians in the heart of Ramiel. Were they connected to Hel before the Asteri made them their soldiers, like @silverlinedeyes and @offtorivendell theorized? Or were they an experiment like the blessed sisters? Did the Asteri put humans (hence the ears) into the Cauldron after it was imbued with their void magic and create beings of night and pain who could combat enemies, including demons? This might be another reason why the three most powerful Illyrians are a match in power for the three blessed sisters. 

Together, they balance opposing forces as @silverlinedeyes previously theorized. They seem to represent the forces of Void and Chaos, and their power can be combined in the space between to achieve impossible feats (eg, physically healing the Cauldron and the rip in the world). All three sisters seem to be chosen bearers, or conduits, for Wyrd (Chaos), so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see another example of this in a different way for Azriel and Elain, and/or a scene where they are all linked magically.  

My lips tugged toward a smile. But Rhys stared at all of us, somehow assembled here in the sun-drenched open grasses without being given the order. Our family—our court. The Court of Dreams.  […] He surveyed them all again—and held out his hand to Cassian. Cassian took it, and held out his other hand for Mor. Then Mor extended her other to Azriel. Azriel to Amren. Amren to Nesta. Nesta to Elain. And Elain to me. Until we were all linked, all bound together. (acowar)

Since Ramiel is connected to Wyrd (Chaos), and there may be a doorway to her temple in Hel, this journey will likely also uncover secrets about her. Will her story come from illustrations in stone, members of Hel, or…my personal favorite, Wyrd herself? I believe that is one of the many reasons she gifted Elain with such powers, including sight: so she could tell her story to someone who could see differently. Someone who could see the creator within the darkness, just as Elain saw the dark cottage as a shelter rather than a prison. This gift may provide them the information they need to uncover the Asteri’s secrets and unravel their magic from the sacred peaks and Wyrd, which could lead them to at least two other places: (1) Midgard, where the Book of Breathings is now kept by Bryce, and (2) Cretea, where the Cauldron is currently hidden. Could Azriel even pay back Bryce for stealing his precious dagger? It would only be fitting. 

Ramiel Springs Eternal 

I was so cold I might never be warm again. Even during winter in the mortal realm, I’d managed to find some kernel of heat, but after nearly emptying my cache of magic that afternoon, even roaring heart fire couldn’t thaw the chill around my bones. Did spring ever come to this blasted place? (acomaf)

Illyria is known for being bitterly cold, to the point where Feyre wonders if spring would ever arrive there. Sarah has consistently described Elain as blooming life amid death and winter, and this imagery starts to become really apparent in Illyria: 

Mor let out a snort that made the Illyrians stiffen. But she shifted, revealing Elain behind her. Elain was just blinking, wide-eyed, at the camp. The army.  Devlon let out a grunt at the sight of her. But Elain wrapped her own blue cloak around herself, averting her eyes from all those towering, muscled warriors, the army camp bustling toward the horizon…She was a rose bloom in a mud field. Filled with galloping horses. (acowar) 

Compared to Nesta, a newly forged sword, Elain is a blooming flower even in an Illyrian army camp, which is essentially saying she is a bloom of life and color in the middle of winter. This imagery is so fitting because she commits her time to creating and restoring gardens wherever she goes. She brings life and joy and beauty into the world. Even her scent is a promise of spring: 

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. […] Her sister turned toward her, glowing with health. Elain’s smile was as bright as the setting sun beyond the windows. (acosf)

We also know she is also capable of hearing sound, specifically hearts, through stone. In their conversation about heartbeats, Lucien even wonders if she is speaking to him: 

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

Was Elain actually speaking to one of the sister peaks, or even Wyrd, during some of this conversation? Her response to Lucien even seems to echo the song of the land: no one had ever truly looked, not really. No one knew what secrets they carried in their heart. This is such a lonely existence. As Elain and Azriel heal the land, I believe they will also heal their own wounds. Feel seen and heard. Understood. 

Elain was also wearing a blue cloak in the Illyrian camp. Could that be a hint of her future work with others who wear something similar, like the priestesses who worship Wyrd? She answered her sister’s prayer during the war rather than Wyrd and has led her own sister in prayer before. Is she more priestess—more healer—than warrior, and is that the different sort of strength needed to garden on a larger scale? @willowmeres and I were discussing this the other night: perhaps like Gwydion and TT (which I theorized singing to each other across space), Elain’s rose necklace was called to the library when the priestesses were singing about Wyrd. And because like calls to like, the necklace answered and drew Azriel to the library instead of the Palace of Thread and Jewels. Like her sisters before her, Elain might receive help from priestesses as she hones her vision and gifts. I would scream if this turns out to be true because that necklace is pure Chaos (pun definitely intended).

It’s also possible the priestesses could be helpful in unbinding Void from the Book of Breathings, a book of spells. I doubt this will be a simple matter, however. It might rival the unraveling of Erawan, which required massive raw healing magic. Will the Asteri’s void magic manifest on another plane as Elain battles it with raw healing magic, shining bright as the dawn? Could a dawn ritual help ground her during this battle? And will Azriel, the sisters, the brothers, even priestesses with their healing stones, need to create a living chain to defeat Void and fully restore Wyrd (Chaos) in the end? Will we finally get a glimpse of her, unbound? 

Maybe with the help of Azriel and others, Elain will even restore Wyrd—blossoming life—to Ramiel’s sunniest face, the heart of the world, of existence. Of self. And true spring will finally come to her sacred land.

#ramiel #the third sacred sister peak #mysterious as the third blessed sister #healing the land and Wyrd #elain archeron #azriel shadowsinger #elriel #wyrd #mother cauldron fate #a temple in Hel #nuala and cerridwen #archeron sisters #illyrian brothers #court of dreams #priestesses

[wingedblooms]

Three stones for the faces of the Mother.

1—Feyre faced challenges under the sacred mountain in the Middle.

2—Nesta faced challenges under the sacred mountain on the Prison island.

3—Elain will face challenges under the sacred mountain Ramiel.

Three sisters blessed by Wyrd and gifted with powers.

#archeron sisters #feyre archeron #nesta archeron #elain archeron #stone mother #wyrd / urd #mother cauldron fate #three stones for the faces of the mother

[wingedblooms]

The river to Hel

This meta builds upon theories in Peering into a pit of hell, The space between, Forbidden secrets, Flower of life, Blooming dreams, Bright as the dawn, and Heart of the night court. It includes spoilers for hofas, so please avoid if necessary.

In Heart of the night court, I wondered if there could be a doorway to Hel under/on Ramiel that is linked to Temple of Chaos (Wyrd). I’m very curious about the Pass of Enalius on Ramiel, the heart of the land, that seemed to breathe—

like the pit at the heart of Chaos’s (Wyrd’s) temple seemed to breathe.

In the stone illustrations leading to the sacred peak on the Prison island, we see a Helscape beneath the land. Is it possible that the land above mirrors the Helscape below? And could the dark water in the Bog of Oorid, which flows underground, into the sacred peak in the Middle, and into other courts—including the Night Court—be the start of the path on the black river in Hel? A River Acheron Archeron, like @offtorivendell theorized long ago?

Nesta and Bryce make similar observations of the dark waters in both places:

-

The black surface of Oorid is even compared to a mirror, just like the Temple of Chaos seems to mirror the Temple of Wyrd in Midgard. Is Oorid a reflection, near-mirror, of what lay beneath, like sister-glass?

As indicated by the mist, it is a thin place, which means the veil between worlds is thin there. The color of the water may even be from black salt. Bryce and Hunt use black salt in Avallen, combined with water, to travel to Hel in a dream.

Before the land was cursed by Fionn’s death, it was once a sacred place (like the three sister peaks). People used to lay their dead to rest in the bog.

Did its waters, like a solemn stag, once guide souls of the dead to Chaos’s (Wyrd’s) womb at Ramiel?

If this place does mirror, or bleed into, the path to Chaos’s (Wyrd’s) temple, then could the violence of Fionn’s death have defiled it?

Theia and Pelias may have violated the peace and beauty of this sacred place by ruthlessly killing the king who also seemed deeply connected to its land. It withered upon his brutal death, falling into a deep winter.

When he was drowned, Fionn was gagged and bound. What if his soul remains trapped in its watery depths, unable to make the journey home? Perhaps Elain, a lovely fawn with vibrant spring behind her, might be able to guide him to the womb of the Mother, her sacred temple, and right an ancient wrong. Could this act of peace purify the darkness of Oorid and thaw the winter gripping its soul?

#hofas spoilers #bog of Oorid #the Middle #a mirror image of the Helscape beneath #temple of Chaos/Wyrd #cauldron mother fate #elain archeron #the lovely fawn #righting ancient wrongs #high king fionn #traveling to Hel #the river to Hel

[wingedblooms]

Blooming dreams

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

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

Secret, lovely seer / Forbidden secrets

A rose in the thorns / The flower of life

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now, doesn't that sound familiar?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I’d keep that question from Lucien.” 

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

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

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

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

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

Feysand

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

Nessian

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

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

Soft steps padded from under the stair archway, and there she was.

The Faelights gilded Elain’s unbound hair, making her glow like the sun at dawn. (Azriel’s bonus chapter)

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

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

[wingedblooms]

Marked by Wyrd

Long ago, life blossomed from an iron Cauldron and created the world. The three sacred sister peaks—a reflection of Wyrd (Mother, Cauldron, Fate) herself—may have risen from the ground at this time. Three interconnected pieces of a whole. Regardless of when they rose, they are marked by Wyrd physically and magically. The watery veins of the land, flowing from peak to peak, even smell of iron. These sacred sisters hold the secrets of the land and their people, just as their creator carries secrets of the universe in her dark womb.

After thousands of years, Wyrd Made another triad of blessed sisters (and the one most connected to nature even rose from the ground like a sacred sister peak). Three interconnected pieces of a whole. There are signs from the very beginning that they, too, are marked by Wyrd.

The sisters were born in their mother’s enormous ironwood bed (connecting them to witches as well as the iron womb of Wyrd).

When their fortune changed and they moved to the stone cottage, their father made sure they were protected by ward-markings…or were those Wyrdmarks? (@ultadverb pointed this out to me and it’s been on my mind since.)

Whorls and swirls? That’s exactly how Aelin describes them, too. Definitely Wyrdmarks.

Two of the sisters wore iron bracelets for added protection, and Elain was given an engagement ring made of iron.

Not a coincidence, it seems, as they were reborn in Wyrd’s iron womb.

Instead of iron bracelets, they now wear iron crowns, which are magical links to Wyrd and maybe even her protective powers, like the swirls and whorls of Wyrdmarks on their cottage.

Regardless of how they were Made, all three sisters are blessed by fate Wyrd and reborn with unique powers, maybe even Immortal Light…

To match Rhysand, who is ✨Starborn✨.

The Night Court’s insignia honors this Immortal Light: a triad of stars glow above Ramiel, the heart of their court and perhaps even the world, each spring. Three interconnected pieces of a whole. A beacon of light and life for those with the vision and powers to see it. Where Wyrd, blossoming life, once rested.

As though fated, Feyre and Elain encounter a tapestry of this insignia near solstice. They both hear the story of the weaver who made Hope after she mastered Void. Feyre and Nesta have faced their own grief and created a more hopeful future for themselves. They have both also used that iridescent, living light to help others. Elain will soon face her own demons, maybe even the Void itself. She will face it and find her own strength: a living, colorful bloom of starlight. And maybe once she blossoms with her own hopeful light, her sisters—chosen bearers of Wyrd like their mountainous counterparts—will be there beside her, glowing like starfire.

The heart of the world resting in the palms of their luminescent hands. Three interconnected pieces of a whole. Together.

#hofas spoilers #three sacred sister peaks #three sisters blessed with immortal light #a match for starborn power #basically the NC insignia #the heart of the world in the palm of their hands #archeron sisters #feyre archeron #nesta archeron #elain archeron #mother cauldron fate #feysand #nessian #elriel

[wingedblooms]

Bright as the dawn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Do you even know what you can do?”

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

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

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

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

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

[…]

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

The world slowed and warped.

Yet Yrene was not afraid.

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

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

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

[…]

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

Hope.

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

For a better future. For a free world.

[…]

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

Her power tore through them all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Life-Giver. World-Maker.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[…]

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

The demon king screamed.

[…]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pathetic, Yrene simply said.

[…]

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

Erawan screamed.

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

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

She only tightened her fist. More and more.

Until he was nothing but a dark flame within it.

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

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

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

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

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

[wingedblooms]

Three sisters witches

Thank you to @offtorivendell, @silverlinedeyes, and @psychologynerd for our discussions which inspired this theory. This is a Maasverse post, and as such, there may be spoilers for all Maas series. Please proceed with caution.

“All three sisters blessed by fate and gifted with powers…” (Amren, acosf)

The acotar series begins with three sisters: Feyre, Nesta, and Elain. Given their ironwood origins and the fact that Ironteeth witches in Erilea use it to carve their brooms, many of us suspect the sisters have witch heritage or are connected to witches in some way.

The room was large enough for a rickety dresser and the enormous ironwood bed we slept in. The sole remnant of our former wealth, it had been ordered as a wedding gift from my father to my mother. It was the bed in which we’d been born, and the bed in which my mother died. In all the painting I’d done to our house these past few years, I’d never touched it. (acotar)

In Midgard and Erilea, witches worship the Three-Faced Goddess, and she is sometimes conflated with Fate…

Again, Manon felt that ebb and flow in the world, that invisible current that some called Fate and some called the loom of the Three-Faced Goddess. (hof)

In this quote, Manon feels an invisible current that goes by different names. That current sounds a lot like Urd in Midgard, Wyrd in Erilea, and the divine trio (Mother, Cauldron, Fate/Forces That Be) in Prythian. All of which sound like different forms (usually three) of the same higher being. The Fae believe this being controls fate, including fated bonds. Bonds, like spells, are described in terms of threads. Does this being weave threads of fate together with her loom, like witches seem to believe? She (they?) appears to be inspired by the Norns of Norse mythology, one of which is named Urðr (Wyrd). Together, these wise women preside over fate. In some folklore and literature, they are considered witches, like the Three Witches or Wyrd (Weird) Sisters in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, who deliver a prophecy.

The Three-Faced Goddess is also known, albeit rarely, as the Three-Faced Mother:

Manon couldn’t look at them, couldn’t do anything but close her eyes and pray to the Darkness, to the Three-Faced Mother as she held her hands over the bleeding gashes. (koa)

I’ve talked about links between the Archerons, witches, Three-Faced Goddess, and divine trio (Mother, Cauldron, Fate) before, so this isn’t new, but something caught my attention when reviewing the text recently. Ironteeth witches believe that they return to the Three-Faced Goddess when they die, and they are reborn within her womb. It’s called the Mother’s Womb.

“We’ll collect the dead tomorrow,” Manon said, her voice low. “And burn them at moonrise.” As both Crochans and Ironteeth did. A full moon tomorrow—the Mother’s Womb. A good moon to be burned. To be returned to the Three-Faced Goddess, and reborn within that womb. (koa)

This belief reminded me of the three sisters’ rebirth, particularly Nesta and Elain. We gain insight into this experience in Nesta’s book:

In the beginning

And in the end

There was Darkness

And nothing more

She did not feel the cold as she sank into a sea that had no bottom, no horizon, no surface. But she felt the burning.

Immortality was not a serene youth.

[…]

They would pay. All of them.

Starting with this Cauldron.

Starting now.

She tore into the darkness with talons and teeth. Rent and cleaves and shredded.

And the dark eternity around her shuddered. Bucked. Thrashed.

She laughed as it recoiled. Laughed around the mouthful of raw power she ripped out and swallowed whole; laughed at the fistfuls of eternity she shoved into her heart, her veins.

[…]

Wrapped in black eternity, Nesta and the Cauldron twined, burning through the darkness like a newborn star. (acosf)

While Feyre is not reborn in the Cauldron, we do get insight into her experience. When telling the Bone Carver about what appeared to her after death, she said this:

But if he knew … I turned again to the boy-creature. “There was a choice—in Death,” I said.

[…]

“I knew,” I went on, “that I could drift away into the dark. And I chose to fight—to hold on for a bit longer. Yet I knew if I wanted, I could have faded. And maybe it would be a new world, a realm of rest and peace. But I wasn’t ready for it—not to go there alone. I knew there was something else waiting beyond that dark. Something good.”

[…]

“I knew there was no coming back from what I’d done,” I said, wondering if the blue flame in the Carver’s eyes might burn my ruined soul to ash. “And once I broke their curse, once I knew I’d saved them, I just wanted enough time to turn that dagger on myself. I only decided I wanted to live when she killed me, and I knew I had not finished whatever…whatever it was I’d been born to do.” (acomaf)

Feyre was broken, but she wasn’t finished with whatever it was she had been born to do. Nesta also chose to fight in the Cauldron like a warrior. When we finally get insight into Elain’s rebirth, I am willing to bet that she fought with her own brand of strength.

It’s clear the dark womb of the Three-Faced Goddess is the same divine trio (Mother, Cauldron, Fate) the Fae in Prythian worship. When discussing the sisters in acosf, Amren emphasizes, nothing is a fluke, and the Cauldron—like the invisible current Manon described—can influence others without their awareness, especially those it has reforged. The sisters are blessed by fate with immortality and rare gifts for a reason. What plans does it have for them, and who would it enlist to help them on their path?

“May the Immortal Light shine upon thee, sisters,” said the pale-robed young woman directly in our path. (acolyte, acotar)

From the beginning of the series, various religious influences have played a role in the sisters’ journey. Children of the Blessed are the first religious influence we see, and they are largely reviled as religious fanatics by humans. The acolyte who blesses the sisters wears pale blue robes like Fae priestesses, and it is this blessing that serves as foreshadowing for their immortal fate. The acolytes’ imitation of Fae priestesses also makes me wonder if they are part of the priestesses’ extensive spy network.

Like witches, Fae priestesses worship the divine trio, and in their full garb, they represent the Voice of the Cauldron:

Ianthe had shown me once what the panel looked like when down: only her nose and full, sensuous mouth visible. The Voice of the Cauldron. I’d found the image unsettling—that merely covering the upper part of her face had somehow turned the bright, cunning female into an effigy, into something Other. (acomaf)

Their powers stem from their rituals and they can be deadly, if desired:

Among the High Fae, the priestesses oversaw their ceremonies and rituals, recorded their histories and legends, and advised their lords and ladies in matters great and trivial. I hadn’t witnessed any magic from her, but when I’d asked Lucien, he’d frowned and said their magic was drawn from their ceremonies, and could be utterly lethal should they choose it. (acomaf)

It was a High Priestess who informed Hybern about Feyre’s sisters, leading to their eventual capture and rebirth. Hybern also possessed the Cauldron at the time—did it influence him and Ianthe, weave their actions like threads in a tapestry?

Lucien’s face had slackened. “She sold out—she sold out Feyre’s family. To you.”

I had told Ianthe everything about my sisters. She had asked. Asked who they were, where they lived. And I had been so stupid, so broken … I had fed her every detail.

“Sold out?” The king snorted. “Or saved from the shackles of mortal death? Ianthe suggested they were both strong-willed women, like their sister. No doubt they’ll survive. And prove to our queens it can be done. If one has the strength.” (acomaf)

According to the Bone Carver, dark makers created the Book of Breathings and used the Cauldron to make terrible things. The Book of Breathings can control or nullify the Cauldron, and because like calls to like, only someone who is Made can speak the spells and wield its power.

As three Made sisters with potential witch heritage, were the Archerons chosen to wield the divine trio's power, a Three-Faced Goddess in the flesh? Each sister is associated with a different kind of light, so could they be light makers? And is that ultimately what it means to be Starborn? Blessed by fate, their purpose written in the stars or woven into the Goddess's loom...

The weaver went on, "I have to create, or it was all for nothing. I have to create, or I will crumple with despair and never leave my bed. I have to create because I have no other way of voicing this." Her hand rested on her heart, and my eyes burned. "It is hard," the weaver said, her stare never leaving mine, "and it hurts, but if I were to stop, if I were to let this loom or spindle go silent..." She broke my gaze at last to look at her tapestry. "Then there would be no Hope shining in the Void." (acofas)

...to be threads of Hope shining in the Void.

In acosf, priestesses continue to remain directly in the sisters’ path. They help Nesta in various ways, including scrying and locating the Harp during their dusk ritual. It belongs to the Dread Trove and it is the Trove that Nesta uses to save Rhys, Feyre, and Nyx. Was the divine trio pulling the threads here as well, and if so, to what end? To help another world defeat an old enemy? Combat an ancient death-god and sorcerer? Bring peace and healing through a different sort of world?

Now that Nesta has tracked down three Trove objects, and we know the Cauldron can be used alongside them by those who are Made, it seems inevitable that we will see it again.

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

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

In the original trilogy, we learn that the Cauldron gave Elain such powers and found her so lovely.

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

Her story might bring us even closer to the divine trio, witches, and priestesses with her gift of Sight. Among the Ironteeth, Bluebloods were especially known for their connection to divine Sight and even had their own priestesses:

“I see now,” Manon said softly, “why my Blueblood sisters still worship you.”

“Do they, now?” The spider remained motionless, but the three behind her crept closer, silent and observing with their many dark eyes. “We can hardly recall the last time the Blueblood priestesses brought their sacrifices to our foothills. We do miss them.” (Manon to the valg spider, hof)

Like a Blueblood, Elain is different from her sisters. She has a different sort of strength. Manon comments that the Blueblood Matron, who represents the maiden aspect of the Three-Faced Goddess, is more priestess than warrior. Her heir, Petrah, is similar to Elain: she is gentle and caring and is rumored to have her head in the clouds. Their clan is full of oracles, mystics, zealots, and they supposedly require more iron to remain tethered to their world.

Elain’s connection to the Cauldron—marked by a mental, iron crown—mirrors her unique strengths and gifts.

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.

[…]

If Elain’s mental gates were those of a sleeping garden, Nesta’s…They belonged to an ancient fortress, sharp and brutal. The sort I imagined they once impaled people upon. (acowar)

Rather than a brutal ancient fortress (the Prison?), Elain’s iron crown is covered in vines and sleeping buds. It is peaceful and lovely and full of budding life. So, what might this mean for her role? With her oracular and mystic sight, Elain might be able to move and influence like the divine trio, a rose among the thorns. She could use her gifts, or the Cauldron itself (the flower of life), to weave threads of Hope through protection, healing, and creation. Both Feyre and Nesta have used raw magic to heal and create, weaving their own threads of Hope. Elain may also participate or learn a ritual in the dawn service to help her channel her powers. It’s no coincidence that we’re told about a dawn ritual called groundings before her story. Not when she is described like this:

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 chapter)

And there she was, a vision of hope and healing, glowing like a new dawn during the longest night of the year.

If you’re interested in related posts about Elain, the divine trio, witches, and Archerons, here are some of my favorites:

Murky Realm of Dreams (Elain's connections to oracles and mystics)

Seer. Wise Woman. Witch. (Elain’s connections to witches, shifting, sight, herbs and healing, rituals, etc.)

Forbidden Secrets (Elriel mapping the secrets of the sister peaks and healing the land)

Sister-Glass Caverns (Prythian’s underground caves behave like sister-glass)

A Rose in the Thorns (Elain moves like the Cauldron)

Elain and the Flower of Life (The Cauldron is the flower of life and Elain is a gardener on a larger scale)

#Maasverse theories #the three Archeron sisters #three witches #Mother Cauldron Fate #Three-Faced Goddess #Hope shining through the Void

[wingedblooms]

Hi, it's me again. Why didn't Bryce meet elain in cc3? Was it some sort of a spoiler for her next book? Was it because she has hidden starborn powers like Bryce and SMJ didn't want Bryce and Elain meeting for a chance that either Elain os Bryce powers will start to glow when meeting eachother? I want to know your thought on this please 😁

Hello again! 🥰 I’m not Sarah, so I can’t say for certain, but I think there are a few different possibilities.

No such thing as bad press. Sarah and BB benefit from the tension among shippers and the mystery of who is next feeds that tension. It creates free buzz for them and helps them make more money.

Maximizing pay off. In an interview with Eva Chen, Sarah talked about planting secrets in acosf that she plans to pay off in the future. While it would’ve been nice to have seen Elain interact with Bryce in hofas, it makes sense for Sarah to save Elain-specific reveals for her book, where we will be able to fully appreciate her perspective and the hidden layers of her character and powers.

That said, we were given important information that strengthens set-up for her story:

Power: We learned that Rhysand is related to the Starborn and in acosf Sarah explicitly told us that the sisters were a match for him in power. That could mean they possess Starborn magic or raw magic that matches it in might, which might explain why they're marked by Wyrd. Elain's gifts (whatever powers she has, as Amren said in acosf) are mostly unexplored and might just be the answer to the plot threads hofas illuminated.

The Mask: Bryce had a Made object on her body and leveled up her Starborn power in hofas, allowing her to activate the magic of the Starborn blades and use the Mask without issue. Even Hunt was able to use the Mask because he had Bryce’s power in him temporarily. But when Nesta used the Mask, she struggled to come back to herself after killing the wyrm. This should prompt a conversation among the IC: Is this because she returned her magic? Or interfered with a bargain? Or does the Mask have some innate, soul-devouring magic that functions like a curse, as Rigelus warned? @offtorivendell pointed out that Cassian questioned the cost to Nesta’s soul when Amren said the Mask made her unstoppable. It seems there’s something to that and since Bryce returned it at the end of hofas, we will likely learn more.

Starborn blades: We learned that while Azriel has been carrying Truth-Teller all this time, he doesn’t seem to know how to activate its magic. And holding both of these blades at the same time seems to bother him. But we did see Bryce use them together without issue (like the Mask) and based on what we saw of Truth-Teller’s magic, it’s even more likely that Elain activated its magic when she stepped out of shadow, out of nowhere, to kill Hybern with it. In other words, if it hasn't been addressed already, the IC should be asking questions about how Elain used the blade to appear when/where she did, and what that might mean for future exploration and use.

Asteri’s secrets: There are more secrets hidden in the land by the Asteri that will need to be uncovered. Vesperus mentioned the sacred sister peaks, so at minimum, we will be spending time mapping their secrets and rooting out the remaining Asteri influence on the land. As @offtorivendell, @silverlinedeyes, @willowmeres and I have theorized, the Asteri's lingering secrets might be connected to Koschei and his efforts to free himself. Not only does this sound like an ideal plot for a gardener, but Elain might’ve been given her vision and gifts for this exact purpose.

Stone Mother: Mother, Cauldron, Fate = Wyrd. We learned that the Asteri warped her Cauldron form into a tool of destruction. Pure life used to blossom from her womb. This could explain why she loves Elain and, at her core, would never hurt her—Elain is a kindred spirit and might represent what she used to be. Wyrd also used to rest in the heart of the Night Court, which is yet another hint that we will be exploring the mysteries beneath Ramiel.

The Helscape beneath: Bryce noticed a Helscape beneath the land in the cavern illustrations, making us wonder just how entwined these two worlds are and hinting at future interactions (via sight or portal) with the Princes of Hel and their creations (yes, please).

I am not sure exactly where Sarah will start the next acotar book. As @silverlinedeyes theorized, it could be a tandem read that includes Bryce's arrival and discoveries in Prythian. I could also see Sarah starting from an IC meeting where the characters are in an uproar and trying to process all that has happened, which might include descriptions and flashbacks of important scenes. Nesta and Azriel interacted directly with Bryce, so they will be responsible for reporting on those activities. It would make sense for those conversations to include what Azriel observed of Nesta's struggle with the Mask, what Nesta observed of Azriel's reactions to the Starborn blades, what they learned about the Starborn, Asteri, Trove, and Wyrd from Silene and Vesperus.

And once the weapons Bryce took are returned (which is fairly quickly, given the short timeline), Nesta will need to share what Bryce said to her. Personally, I imagine a scene in which the IC discusses (or more likely argues about) what Bryce shared, the Starborn blades aglow on the table. During this exchange, Elain is noticeably distracted, her focus repeatedly drawn to the blades until she finally blurts out, "Can none of you hear them? It's impossible for me to focus with their incessant chatter."

And that’s how we learn Elain can understand the Starborn blades and has been listening to their colorful commentary on everyone in the room the entire time.

#elain archeron #hofas spoilers #she gets all the tea #even from the Starborn blades #Sarah is saving the reveals for her book

[wingedblooms]

I saw somebody ask @merymoonbeam this and thought it would be fun, as I know there were several theories you had that were also correct.

Could you pleeeaasseee share with us what theories of yours were confirmed or even seemingly true after reading HOFAS?

Thanks!

Thank you so much for sending this ask! 🥹

I will preface my answer by saying that nearly all my theories relate to what will happen in the next acotar book, not hofas (though I love that series). Even when talking about the crossover, I was more focused on why it needed to come first and how it might impact the world of acotar and the maasverse she is building. I am really excited about what we learned, so here is how it tracks with my theories:

1. Urd / Mother, Cauldron, Fate / Stone Mother: Anyone who’s followed me knows how obsessed I am with the Mother, Cauldron, and Fate. Based on what the Under-King tells and shows us, I believe I was correct (and so were others) in thinking they are three faces or forms of a whole and she goes by Urd, which is called Wyrd in Erilea. This is important because Vesperus confirms that the Asteri bound Urd to the land, and she is depicted on the sacred mountain that is located in between the other two: Ramiel. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Elain is so connected to the land, and that she was described in terms of blooming life in Illyria.

2. Mapping secrets underground and the Asteri’s influence on the sacred sister peaks: In hofas, Nesta and Azriel travel underground / near the heart of the Prison mountain with Bryce. In Forbidden secrets, I suspected the next acotar book would involve the sacred sister peaks because they hide secrets (correct) and that’s where the Daglan, who I believed were the Asteri (correct), made their marks the deepest (correct). I theorized they were the ones who caused the sacred sister peaks to become void of life / barren (correct), and I suspected that the secrets they find below will lead them to the top of Ramiel (not totally confirmed yet, but I think it’ll be correct and the monolith on top of Ramiel, though perhaps deteriorated over time, may have once mirrored the behemoth (and behemoth originally meant beast of the land, I’m in heaven and already thinking of a post) of Urd in CC; the bowl is positioned at the bottom of the monolith on Ramiel in the caverns, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was once in the monolith’s upraised arms like in CC, before the Asteri). Vesperus confirms that there are more mysteries to solve under the sacred sister peaks, so that bodes well for Azriel and Elain mapping more secrets of the land.

3. Healing the Womb of the earth: I have always thought that Elain, the sister who loves growing things, would be a healer of the land. I connected that plot thread to the Cauldron since my first post on here. The reason that’s important is because we have sacred land that is clearly chained at the very root by an invasive presence, and it seems the land has waited for someone to open their heart and release them. (I mean, damn, this plot was made for Elain, who loves the land and has been chained magically and physically.) The same can be said for the Cauldron, and I believe it chose to give her something (such powers) so she could restore the land, healing the very womb of their earth (both physically and magically, dream and reality entwined). So, that healing plot in Forbidden secrets seems to be the correct direction for Elain’s book, and hofas really, truly reinforced it.

4. And the path to Hel: This one hasn’t happened yet, but since the acotar plot will likely take Elain and her friends beneath Ramiel, and there is a Helscape depicted at the bottom of it, I can’t help but feel like this one could be on the right track too.

That’s mostly from one post, but my posts are often a web of interconnected theories in one. 😅 I posted a follow-up to Forbidden secrets called Blooming dreams to pull together the new evidence we’ve been given. I’m so excited to see what she’ll do with all the seeds she’s planted.

#hofas spoilers #maasverse theories #elain archeron #azriel shadowsinger #urd #mother cauldron fate #ramiel #sacred sister peaks #healing the womb of the earth #and peering into Hel

[wingedblooms]

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