#aanya has grark

[beautifulterriblequeen]

what are they talking about 👀

[its-leethee]

Ever since we learned in the Season 4 Discord Q&A that Queen Aanya has an adopted older brother named Grark, I've been wondering, what is his role in the story? Why give Aanya an older brother at all?

As adopted-older-sibling-to-the-monarch, Grark and Aanya's relationship is an obvious parallel to Callum and Ezran's. What if Grark was present and supportive to Aanya, to serve as a contrast to Callum, a similarly protective and devoted older brother, but one who is repeatedly missing in action when his younger sibling needs him:

Shout out to Soren for stepping into Callum's place to support Ezran in both of these examples; but particularly Soren's exhortation to Ezran that "You deserve time to do kid stuff."

I don't think it's a stretch to imagine that Ezran would feel resentful toward Callum for his serial absences (and the implied emotional unavailability), or that he might perceive that his brother is indifferent to his struggles and has abandoned him, leaving Ezran to shoulder the burdens of ruling alone.

I'm having fun imagining Ezran and Aanya trading gripes about their overbearing older brothers who treat them like little kids... and then Ezran sadly, painfully realizing that his brother hasn't been there for him like he should be, while Aanya's brother is.

Broyals angst is delicious, of course, but why let Callum and Ezran have all the fun? Because this is where Aanya and Grark's relationship could get extra interesting:

--Tales of Xadia, p. 34

The two phrases in particular that caught my eye: internal treason and isn't old enough

So, hear me out: Grark will be the protective older sibling who steps up, but eventually oversteps, in a misguided attempt to relieve Aanya of the responsibilty of the throne.

Oh yeah, political intrigue plus broyals angst? It would be SO GOOD.

[raayllum]

Chapter length: 10.5k Summary: Ezran's Summit meeting has a few hiccups. Both Janai and Karim reach decisions regarding their sibling. And Callum and Rayla navigate the aftermath of leaving Katolis. a/n: featuring Grark, Aanya's adoptive older brother, and I love him

CHAPTER 5: Heavy is the Head

Queen Aanya had long been a friend of Katolis.

King Harrow had delivered her mother’s ring to her regent personally when she was too young to do much more than blink at it, and cry in confusion as the days turned into weeks and her mothers still did not return. She’d attended her first ball in Katolis, and the king had always kindly inquired after her without making comments about how much she’d grown or how tall she was getting like all the other monarchs. He’d treated her like a child while simultaneously treating her like a queen, a delicate balance she’d appreciated and was sure he’d passed down onto his sons.

Admittedly, Aanya didn’t know Prince Callum that well considering she’d saved his life. He’d been energetic if overly eager on the way back to the Pentarchy with their armies, and then moody and flighty once the boys’... friend had disappeared. The rest of the Pentarchy had been told that the Moonshadow elf, Rayla, had gone off on a personal mission of sorts for the boys, but Aanya knew the truth was far more worrying, and that she was far more akin to missing.

Ezran had been bereaved, too, but in a different way. Still always able to look ahead, still always able to force some cheer, still always able to wear his crown and a smile and chip away at the other monarchs’ egos and reservations until he got what he was advocating for. Most of the time. 

Grark had encouraged her to make friends with him. “It might do you well,” her older brother said, dark hair falling over his eyes, “to have someone your own age around. He’s a monarch, too.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that,” she’d replied dryly, but much to Grark’s fond smugness, they had become friends—sending letters across their borders of daily matters and complaints rather solely diplomatic relations, weathering Neolandia and Del Bar’s ire together over their fallen forces, seeing one another a bright spot at otherwise stuffy or droll meetings and galas.

Read from the beginning here

[kilfeur]

Alors dans le wikia, il est dit qu'Aanya a un frère, Grark (on sait pas si c'est vrai faudrait attendre de le voir dans la série pour le confirmer). Mais juste imaginez par exemple dans les deux ans entre la saison 3 et 4. Ezran a voulu renforcé ses liens avec les autres royaumes et du coup Aanya arrive avec son frère. Callum est présent car c'est son rôle en tant que prince et haut mage mais évite de se rapprocher. Car il est toujours blessé par le départ de Rayla. Et s'occupe comme il peut mais du coup ils passent du temps ensemble. Il va aussi voir Soren vu que c'est aussi un militaire.

Et Grark semble être curieux de Callum et à un moment donné, Callum parle de ses recherches sur la magie. Et du coup, Grark se met à parler de ses hobbies. Mais Callum essaie de garder ses distances alors que Grark se rapproche. Et là avant que la saison 4 commence, Grark demande si il peut le courtiser. Et le jeune mage est genre "wtf ?!"

So in the wikia, it says that Aanya has a brother, Grark (we don't know if it's true, we'll have to wait and see him in the series to confirm it). But just imagine, for example, two years from now between seasons 3 and 4. Ezran wanted to strengthen its ties with the other kingdoms, so Aanya arrives with her brother. Callum is present because that's his role as prince and high mage, but avoids getting too close. He's still hurt by Rayla's departure. He keeps himself busy as best he can, but they spend time together. He also goes to see Soren, since he's also a military man.

Grark seems curious about Callum, and at one point Callum talks about his research in magic. Then Grark starts talking about his hobbies. But Callum tries to keep his distance as Grark gets closer to him. Then, before season 4 happens, Grark asks him if he can court him. And the young mage is like "wtf?!"

[dragonprincequotesimadeup]

Question and answers from the Offical Q&A’s in The Dragon Prince Discord Server: Questions about humans

Q: “Will we get to see more from the other Human Kingdoms?”

AE: Yes, some!

Q: “Could you tell us anything about the rulers of the human kingdoms?”

AE: Queen Aanya was orphaned quite young, as you know, but here’s something you don’t know: She has an adopted big brother named Grark, who is an exceptional warrior.

Q: “In season 4 we get a glimpse of how the elf-human relationship building is going, but I also really want to know what the situation is like between the human kingdoms after the season 3 finale battle."

AE: Katolis is definitely the most “pro-Xadia” of the Human Kingdoms, and Duren is closely linked to Katolis—partially due to the friendship between Ezran and Aanya. The other kingdoms remain more skeptical and suspicious of Xadia (and elves and dragons). Between the human kingdoms specifically, I imagine there could be some lingering tension between Neolandia and Duren after what occurred… but, I also suspect even King Ahling might concede that Kasef had gone too far and was part of a literally monstrous war effort.

Q: “Are humans still banished from Xadia as of Season 4?” AE: No, they are not! The border that was created between the Human Kingdoms and the magical lands of Xadia still exists, and it’s a real impediment. But the true enforcers of the border were the Dragon King himself and the Sunfire elves, so flow between the East and the West of the continent is beginning to happen again. Still, the established powers in the West are human, and the dominant powers in Xadia remain dragon and elven.

Q: “Will we ever get to see how the other human kingdoms think of dark magic? We've only seen Katolis so far, so I'm wondering if we will ever get to see dark mages from the other kingdoms, if that makes sense?”

EM: The other human kingdoms and their citizens likely have varying opinions about dark magic—just like opinions vary within Katolis itself—but their royalty no doubt sees the benefit of having a dark mage available, and would have an understanding of their capabilities. Take Duren, for example. We can glean from the fact that they came to Katolis for aid during the famine that it’s unlikely they had a dark mage themselves at the time, but were open to working with Viren and leveraging dark magic to siphon warmth from the Titan’s heart for the sake of their people. We can also look at Tressal—one of the playable characters in Tales of Xadia who’s not only my favorite (and best boy), but also a Neolandian dark mage connected to the royal court. And while not much is known about her, we’ve also established that Evenere has its own High Mage who serves as a guardian of their Royal Library.

Q: “Is Viren's title lord a hereditary title which he inherited or one which came with his position as the high mage of Katolis?”

DG: Viren’s title of Lord is one he earned when he came into the position of High Mage of Katolis, yes! Katolis does have some societal stratification, with wealthy families and poor families and all things in between. Viren certainly did not come from a wealthy family, though.

[kradogsrats]

spent like an hour discussing this with spouse, who immediately rattled off this series of intricate possibilities for political reasons why Aanya might adopt an older brother in a formal, legal manner (rather than an informal "we're not related by blood but I consider him my brother" way):

She understands from a young age that a succession crisis would cause a long and bloody struggle, and adopts Grark as a legal heir in the form of a brother because it would be weird to adopt someone older than her as a son

Grark is the son of someone who would be a powerful player in a hypothetical succession crisis (such as her regent) and she adopts him to simultaneously keep them in line and strengthen a single claim on the throne over others in the event of her death

Grark is the son of her regent or another person of significant political influence, and if she adopts him as her brother she cannot legally be forced to marry him

Meanwhile, I provided the addition of "Grark is actually an extremely loyal trained banther who has been her pet since infancy and who she refers to as her big brother for the lolz (because he's fucking huge)."

Aaaaaand I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say this is incorrect, because between the two options of

Grark entered Aanya's life as her adoptive brother sometime after her mothers died, and is therefore her brother but not their son

and

Annika and Neha had a whole-ass adopted son, but favored their younger daughter over him so blatantly as to use only her name as their final battle cry

...one is definitely way more pleasant than the other.