#and that he is an aev saevherne who cannot allow his own ego to overshadow things but is still capable of selfishness is just a delight

[revoevokukil]

there is a lot of talk about the relationship ciri and ava and laramore and the relationship with the laboratory elf did he use her as a consolation or a kind of medicine for the pain he suffered because of lara? and what does she feel for him is it just because he is a wise man or does she have feelings did she feel Ciri as a threat? please i want your opinion on this relationship

A courtesan or a lover (prospective, new, old, or otherwise)? Or a psychologist? The former frequently function as the latter. Certainly though, a woman who very much wanted to be in that boat instead of Ciri that afternoon.

We met the "laboratory elf" in Lady of the Lake.

She found Avallac’h on the terrace by the river just as he was boarding a boat in the company of a gorgeous elf-woman with straw-coloured hair. The elf-woman was wearing lipstick the colour of pistachios and flecks of golden glitter on her eyelids and temples. … Ciri was about to turn around and walk away when Avallac’h stopped her with a gesture. And invited her into the boat with another. Ciri hesitated. She didn’t want to talk in front of witnesses. Avallac’h said something quickly to the elf-woman and blew her a kiss. The elf-woman shrugged and went away. She only turned around once, to show Ciri with her eyes what she thought of her. ‘If you could, refrain from comment,’ said Avallac’h when she sat down on the bench nearest the bow.

Ironically, TW3 gives her a name: Isilira. In short, Lira. Not a huge jump from Lira to Lara, and that already says plenty. I am only half joking. (She is also implicated as a spy; present on Naglfar in a cut quest. But it's unknown if the Child of the Elder Blood quest was at the game in that iteration of the game or not.) TW3 reinforces the idea of her as of Avallac'h's paramour and I don't think it's misguided. Based on what the game shows, Isilira seems up for indulging Avallac'h's desires, or maybe shares some of them in a complementary manner (perhaps they're using each other in a mutually enjoyable way; wouldn't that be lovely). On display in the laboratory though are both Isilira's and Ciri's jealousy and preconceived notions about Avallac'h: Isilira hopes he is not serious about Ciri and Ciri hopes exactly the opposite, that there is something more serious Avallac'h feels toward her.

Why was the elf woman at TnL that day? What made her special enough to earn a private rendezvous with one of the most powerful elves in the realm? Gorgeous, prepared. She clearly expected to be favoured over Ciri, but was restrained & distant enough not to make her displeasure known to Crevan upon being set aside for a dh'oine. (No, correct that: closely avoiding a three-way date. Crevan's oblivious at first, inviting Ciri to him immediately.) If theirs is an established relationship then boundaries might already be set (lover or professional courtesan, I think there would be a minefield to learn by heart with Avallac'h just the same). If she is new, well, then her contempt for Ciri is all the more understandable (an object of desire or a potentially useful client preferring some mongrel over you, I mean…). How serious could it possibly be, though? How much does the elf woman know about the gossip circling about Ciri, who bears the eyes of Lara? Does the "don't take away my memories of Lara" not apply to anyone but Ciri? Evidently.

Rewind.

I find the fact that this scene with the elf-woman is included in LotL incredibly interesting.

The man who has ever only wanted the love of one Woman, who cheated on him and did not want him in the end, is himself wanted by other women. Crevan's love for Lara seems to have been painfully genuine; earnest, despite his inherent pragmatism. It is always interesting to see what happens to people like him upon being disappointed in an ideal they have allowed themselves to fall for.

I think Avallac'h's vanity is a surprisingly underappreciated aspect of his persona. He is an elite of the elite - The Guy - and he knows it. He has an ego. Appropriately bruised by The Woman. But The Woman is dead and a few others at TnL may have sighed in relief when it happened; there's free real estate now. Joke's on them, of course, but has that ever stopped anyone persistent in the short term? I guess it takes a particular type.

Speaking of types: Avallac'h seems to be all about the Halo effect nowadays. To be seen as romantically linked with an attractive partner puts a seal of approval on a man's desirability in the eyes of other women. You don't know the guy personally and might infer he has qualities women desire in mates. Interesting insofar as the scene's included for Ciri's POV. You can halo-effect yourself too, of course; most who have ever been left or betrayed or hurt have questioned their self-worth. And that's yet another aspect that makes Avallac'h a really complicated character. You wouldn't know this implied mass murderer's heart and ego have been chewed up, mangled, and spat out by The Woman he loved unless her ghost was summoned: but simultaneously, when you learn it, you also learn that while Crevan is genuinely forlorn he is also absolutely resentful. Underneath, he is still angry. He hasn't dealt with it. Perhaps he is trying to deal with it.

(And I can hear a fic calling at me with a plot of him going to the she-elf as to a bed shrink; a witch he spends almost as much, if not more, time talking to while they are bathing as he does fucking her. I imagine Ciri features heavily in those conversations, as this is where it all gets really deliciously messed up. And I imagine Isilira is - on a professional level - amused, even while personally her heart is finding new degrees of stone to turn into. There, a WIP was born. Thanks, anon!)

And as concerns his vanity, who is to say Crevan didn't think he was the best thing since sliced bread right from the get go; when he was courting Lara? Being genuinely in love with someone makes you adjust your personality a lot, sure, but given how in-your-face Avallac'h's self-love is I don't think it's ruled out he took it as self-evident he was the best-suited for Lara. A wonderful loop: Destiny confirming self-importance and self-importance confirming Destiny. (But also - love; do we not all think along these lines when we are in love? Which came first? What feeds what?) Now, I don't know much about being the top 0.01% and how that affects what you're looking for in your partner - someone who understands your exceptionality & embraces what others see as vices must have been reassuring & relaxing on some level for Lara - but I can see smugness causing an allergic reaction even if the person loves me very-very much. Moreover, I think it's ironic how emotionally unavailable Avallac'h post-Lara does to those who desire him what Lara ended up doing to him. Circles of hurt everywhere; unintentional or not.