#cc ACOTAR crossover theories

[wishfulimaginings]

Hofas Headconon

Midgard figures out a way to sustain their tech with their own powers in place of firstlight. And Bryce sends Nesta and Az an apology present.

Imagine this:

Nesta n Az lounging in the HoW private library and suddenly a portal opens, before they can react it closes back up. And in its place is a tiny package with the note,

" Dearest friends Azriel and Nesta ,

Consider this as an "Im sorry I stole your Dagger" and a " Thank you for helping me save my world from evil Intergalactic parasites" presents.

Xoxo,

Bryce

Ps: if it stops working hit it with your power, "

And when they open it they find two ipods full of music from Midgard !

And and and

Imagine an ugly baby statue present shows up on solstice with a note , " my mom made me send it "

[offtorivendell]

My thoughts on the Bryce, Azriel and Nesta HOFAS bonus chapter...

Disclaimer: as suggested by the title, the following discusses the Walmart HOFAS bonus chapter featuring Azriel, Bryce and Nesta. I haven't read the main text, so it won't feature anything related to that, but there are massive Maasverse and HOFAS spoilers ahead regardless. Please beware.

These are just my initial thoughts, not expanded upon in any substantial way and, as usual, I could always be way off the mark.

Also, yes, fair warning that I'll be mentioning the ACOTAR characters a lot. If that's not your jam, and you'd rather avoid any of the possible implications of the crossover, then I'd give this post a miss. On the other hand, if you're interested in how CC/HOFAS may affect Prythian going forward, please read on.

Music:

The Stone Mother song has me 👀 especially as the stone and water were "talking" at the start.

@cassianfanclub and @wingedblooms have already posted about the Stone Mother (here and here); @ladynightcourt3 has found the Phrygian goddess Cybele, also known as the "Mountain Mother," who sounds very relevant.

That being said, am I crazy to think Elain could have been listening in? Is Azriel stone and Elain water? His stone siphons - which Elain called beautiful, did she hear their song, as kin? - and Elain possibly as water? Was she using salt water to boost her powers, or a reflection pool to scry, and keep tabs on her sister and friend?

Or is it the space between linking worlds? Are the old gods talking?

Alternatively, could stone be referring to Nuala and Cerridwen, who are capable of manifesting stone around themselves and others (ACOTAR).

Is this what SJM meant when she said we'd see Elain in "some form" in the next book?

@psychee92 said she wished that SJM had somehow included Mr Brightside, and now I wish the same; even a mention of indie rock. 😭

Josie and Laurel - "He/god will add/increase" "(laurel) trees/victory"? Elain? Lol sorry, but it's either giving gardener, or Elain killing Hybern.

Wraith-like harmonies? After the description of Josie and Laurel's voices? It's crack, but is it a metaphor for Nuala and Cerridwen?

The musical similarities between what Juniper dances to and Prythian's music?!

Azriel's humming/singing made the shadows dance, once more suggesting that shadows dancing is a response to power, not mate bonds

The music Az liked was death metal. Could this link to any sort of metal artefact, like an iron crown for grounding? Or wyrdstone jewellery?

The glass coffin?

"Nineteenth century literature presents the glass coffin as a prison within which sleeping women are frequently mistaken for dead or vice versa." (Source). It's giving Sleeping Beauty (credit to @elriell for the OG SB theory), and a little Snow White.

Check out this tale from The Brothers Grimm, which sounds... suspiciously relevant to Elain.

@cassianfanclub also suggested that it's giving necromancer vibes, and I'd love that for Elain.

Feyre once said she could sleep for a hundred years after coming back from the Prison, right before going to the Hewn City in ACOWAR. After Elain had left the room, and before Feyre went to check in on her to find her "asleep—breathing."

Let's not forget Elain's assistance in rescuing the human COTB, Briar, from Hybern's camp.

Will Elain prick herself while weaving?

I was tired enough that I could barely summon the breath to ask, “Do you think the Cauldron made her insane?” “I think she went through something terrible,” Lucien countered carefully. “And it wouldn’t hurt to have your best healer do a thorough examination.” I rubbed my hand over my face. “All right.” My breath snagged on the words. “Tomorrow morning.” I managed a shallow nod, rallying my strength to rise from the chair. Heavy—there was an old heaviness in me. Like I could sleep for a hundred years and it wouldn’t be enough. “Please tell me,” Lucien said when I crossed the threshold into the foyer. “What the healer says. And if—if you need me for anything.” I gave him one final nod, speech suddenly beyond me. I knew Nesta still wasn’t asleep as I walked past her room. Knew she’d heard every word of our conversation thanks to that Fae hearing. And I knew she heard as I listened at Elain’s door, knocked once, and poked my head in to find her asleep—breathing. - ACOWAR, chapter 27

Azriel specifically said Nesta "beheaded" Hybern, after looking down at Truth-Teller.

This is not Azriel giving Nesta credit for the assassination. If anything he's hiding Elain's involvement.

I've said before, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done so, but I would expect Azriel to protect his LI with silence, whoever they are.

He had to have been thinking about Elain, who I've theorised could now/soon be known as "The Shadowsinger's Knife" after she became the "knife in the dark" in Azriel's place at the end of ACOWAR.

The young girl sitting on the mushroom:

I'm still looking into the carving of the young girl sitting on the toadstool with the hound sprawled on the ground beside her, as I find it really interesting. My initial thought was that it seemed like a convenient place to drop a mention of a garden-like fairy carving with a hound right after Bryce had quizzed Azriel about his hypothetical mate, or lack thereof (Elain being both heavily associated with plant life, thanks to her "little garden," as well as dogs, after Nesta called her one in ACOSF).

I also wonder if it has anything to do with the Czech tale that amanita muscaria - while psychoactive/toxic - are said to protect from lightning and other ill fortune. If this is correct, it reminds me a little of the markings - wyrdmarks - on the Archeron cottage.

I don't know where Bryce and co were walking, as I have only read this bonus chapter and the prologue, but given it was carved on an underground wall, and I suspect that there are underground portals in at least the Hewn City and the Prison, and maybe the waterways... could it have been for protection against the invading lightning Asteri? Or did the Asteri (Daglan?) put them there to protect against Thunderbirds, or whatever Hunt is?

Miscellany

Maybe Bryce hadn't been sent there by Urd? Who then? Was @silverlinedeyes right all along?

The mention of pleasure halls seems like a call back to Azriel's bonus chapter, but it's also likely that they aren't all brothels (see Rita's).

Azriel listening closely about Nesta now liking being Fae; he could extrapolate her responses to Elain. Maybe she's no longer miserable, and in need of their pity. And maybe she's changed her mind from ACOFAS, when she said to Feyre "I don't want a mate, I don't want a male."

Azriel said "no" to whether or not he has a mate rather quickly. Hmm... the shadowsinger doth protest too much?

It's also potentially important that Nesta said "yes, WE are" curious about Azriel's mate status. Her, Azriel and most of the fandom! 😂

"Okay, okay," Bryce said. "But it'd be cool to know something about your world. Or about you." They were both silent. Bryce asked Nesta, "You have a mate, right?" She nodded to Azriel. "Do you?" "No." Azriel said quickly, flatly. "A partner or spouse?" "No." Bryce sighed. "Okay, then." Azriel's wings twitched. "You're incurably nosy." "I think that's the nicest thing you've said about me." Bryce winked at him. "Look, I just... I'm curious. Aren't you?" Azriel didn't answer, but Nesta said, "Yes. We are." - HOFAS, Bryce, Azriel and Nesta bonus chapter

All in all, while there were no overt mentions of Elain - and really, why would SJM do that in a series that wasn't Elain's own - imo we got the Elain-shaped holes in the text that I was hoping for, and I can't wait to see if there are any more in the full book.

[silverlinedeyes]

In Their Starborn Era

(HOFAS spoilers below)

The starborn age has ended on Midgard…

…and the Archeron Starborn Era is about to begin on Prythian. LFG!!!!

The Archeron Sisters are Starborn

As @offtorivendell has theorized here, @wingedblooms has theorized here, I have theorized here and here, we think each of the Archeron sisters is starborn and has part of Theia’s (or her children’s) light.

Elain has Helena’s.

Nesta has Silene’s.

Feyre has Theia’s (or maybe her son’s if that crack theory is right lol).

Though I wonder about Nesta’s Starborn power, and if she gave some of it back to the Cauldron at the end of ACOSF…and what that might mean for her ability to use Gwydion or TT at all on her own, like Bryce can. So what does that mean?

We get hints that Elain has strong starborn power:

So will Elain at first be the one to wield Gwydion and TT as she (and Az) go on their quests? Potentially to revive Dusk, or other parts of Prythian, as @offtorivendell and @wingedblooms have theorized?

And might she in part use them to help herself? To unMake her bond with Lucien using TT to free them both of it, and to potentially Make a new bond with Az (if a bond doesn’t already exist), either using her powers, or using Gwydion?

Together They Can Activate TT and Gwydion

Only united can Theia’s starborn power activate Gwydion and TT and be used to kill the unkillable. The Asteri in Midgard. Koschei in ACOTAR?

The Sisters’ Bonds

Right now, the bonds between the sisters are somewhat fractured, particularly still between Nesta and Elain.

Those bonds will need to finally heal so that they can come together to use Gwydion and TT to save Prythian.

[offtorivendell]

Ahh, I loved this whole series so much! The amount of effort you have clearly put in, working so many threads into a cohesive whole is impressive.

I fully agree, I'd love to see Azriel help to anchor and ground Elain for any larger magical workings, using their powers in unison - though you know I also wonder about Feyre/Rhys and Nesta/Cassian doing the same, all three pairs of (hypothetical) carranam contributing somehow to one woven spell, tethering each other and braiding their efforts together to achieve their goal.

Groundings

This is a Maasverse post, and as such, there are spoilers for all Maas series. Proceed with caution.

A mystic is someone who gains a heightened sense of consciousness and seeks to become one with divine beings. The word mystic derives from the Greek word to close the eyes or lips. When Elain uses powers that are reminiscent of mystics, she does this:

Elain again glanced at the map. At me. Then closed her eyes. Her eyes shifted shifted beneath her lids, the skin so delicate and colorless that the blue veins beneath were like small streams. "It moves...," she whispered. "It moves through the world like...like the breath of the western wind." (acowar)

As I mentioned in The Ancients, an oracle, which derives from the Latin word to pray or to speak, was believed to be a messenger, or conduit, for gods. In acowar, Feyre suspects that Elain hears the whisperings of the Cauldron. She is also more inclined to pray than her sisters, suggesting it to honor her father and using it when her younger sister is in mortal danger.

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. (acowar)

The Cauldron is connected to a divine trio (Mother, Cauldron, and Fate/Forces That Be) like the Three-Faced Goddess. Mystic and oracular powers seem to complement one another, and would suggest a deep connection with the gods. It makes sense for Elain to be able to gain higher consciousness, become one with gods, and act as a divine messenger and protector through her Sight with a combination of these gifts. I believe Nesta's interlude with the Mother was just the beginning. In The Ancients and The sense chanted, I mentioned that the Blueblood witches were known for their rituals in caverns and forests, and were considered oracles, mystics, and fanatics. The priestesses in the Night Court also have rituals in a cavern.

Gwyn huffed a soft laugh. “In part. 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.” (acosf)

The dusk service helped Nesta scry with stones and bones. But what about the dawn service, a time of day Elain is repeatedly connected to?

Elain had already departed with Feyre, claiming she had to be up with the dawn to tend to an elderly faerie’s garden. Cassian didn’t exactly know why he suspected this wasn’t true. There had been some tightness in Elain’s face as she’d said it. Normally when she made such excuses, Lucien was around, but the male remained in the human lands with Jurian and Vassa. (acosf)

Elain wakes with the dawn to garden or bake, but Cassian suspects she wasn’t telling the truth in this scene. What could she have planned? This occurs after she says she can reacquaint herself with her powers, and that her family can find her when they wish to begin. It’s possible she began experimenting with her powers in earnest at this point. On winter solstice, Nesta suspects she might be training with the twins and/or spymaster, so that is one plausible option Sarah wanted to plant. Another possibility (and these can both be true, so it doesn’t have to be one or the other) is that Elain may have sought out knowledge about her gifts at the library and learned about the dawn ritual. Could the ritual the priestesses perform at dawn help Elain understand and hone at least one thread of her Sight? 

As Gwyn poured herself a glass, she said, “At the temple in Sangravah, we had a set of ancient movements that we would go through every sunrise. Not for battle training, but for calming the mind. We did cooldowns after those, too, though we called them groundings. The movements took us out of our bodies, in a way. Let us commune with the Mother. The groundings settled us back into the present world.” (acosf)

The wording here is interesting: the movements took them out of their bodies, in a way, and they used the groundings to settle back into the present world. This ritual sounds like what mystics might be able to do, and it also seems made for Elain for a few different reasons:

the time of day, as she is compared to the dawn;

the concept of drifting away to connect with the divine, as she sometimes behaves as though she isn’t entirely present;

the earthy term to remain tethered to the world, as she is a gardener and brings forth life from the ground.

What if the priestesses in the library do something similar at dawn through ancient movements rather than ancient songs (or both)? While it would make sense for this ritual to take place underground in the same cavern, there might be a reason reclusive Blueblood witches needed access to the wind. Does it help them become an unseen force, help them travel on the wind? I can imagine Elain with her eyes closed, embracing the song of the wind as the sun rises with her consciousness, her soul.

@silverdreamscape theorized about Gwyn and Elain using their powers together, and I think that’s a possibility given the presence of priestesses in the bonus. They will continue to play a part moving forward and one (or several) of them could be helpful as Elain explores her powers since they may also seek to commune with the divine. Like calls to like, after all.

Elain said to Azriel, perhaps the only two civilized ones here, “Can you truly fly?” He set down his fork, blinking. (acomaf)

She angled her head, hair shining like molten metal. “Do you sing?” He blinked. (Azriel’s bonus chapter) 

These conversations are separated by time and space, but they are eerie in their similarity. It’s like the Harp echoing Elain’s earlier words about reacquainting herself with her powers. And it inevitably brings me back to the two glass caverns: could the priestesses, and perhaps Gwyn specifically, function like sister-glass for Elain, linked in song and dreaming? What would it look like to commune with the Mother, or travel with the Cauldron? Something like this, I'd imagine:

I could not remove my hand. Could not pry my fingers away. I was being shredded apart, slowly, thoroughly. I flung my magic out, desperate for any chain to this world to save me, keep me from being devoured by the eternal, awful thing that now tried to drag me into its embrace. [...] Some tether slipped, and my mind slid closer to the Cauldron’s outstretched arms. I felt it touch me. 

And then I was half gone. Half there, standing silently next to the Cauldron, hand glued to the black rim. Half…elsewhere. (acowar)

Feyre becomes one with the Cauldron through a living bond. She is half there, half elsewhere like a mystic. This is a liminal space, like the time when services occur and the bridge where light and dark meet. It is a time of transformation. Elain's wooden rose is also placed in a liminal space next to the Mother on the mantel, giving us a big hint for her future:

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. (acosf)

Now, let's look at how the Cauldron moves through the world to imagine how Elain might move if she communes with it:

Flying through the world. Searching. The Cauldron now hunted for that power that had come so close … And now taunted it. Nesta. The Cauldron searched for her, searched for her as the king now sought her. It skimmed across the battlefield like an insect over the surface of a pond. (acowar)

-

Come, Nesta’s power seemed to sing. Come. The Cauldron caught her scent and hurtled us onward. We arrived before the king did. The Cauldron seemed to skid to a halt at the clearing. Seemed to coil and reel back, a snake poised to strike.

The Cauldron moves like a force, starting as an otherworldly bird of prey and shifting form as it moves. If this reminds you of Elain and Urd, the goddess of fate, you're tracking with me.

Time seemed to slow and warp. The dark power of the king speared toward us. Toward that clearing where I was neither seen nor heard, where I was nothing but a scrap of soul carried on a black wind. (acowar)

A scrap of soul on a black wind, she says? That sounds familiar.

But Mor scented nothing, saw nothing. The tendril of power she speared toward the woods revealed only the usual birds and small beasts. A hart drinking from a hole in an iced-over stream. Nothing, except— There, between a snarl of thorns. A patch of darkness. It did not move, did not seem to do anything but linger. And watch. Familiar and yet foreign. Something in her power whispered not to touch it, not to go near it. Even from this distance. Mor obeyed. But she still watched that darkness in the thorns, as if a shadow had fallen asleep amongst them. Not like Azriel’s shadows, twining and whispering. Something different. Something that stared back, watching her in turn. (acofas)

A patch of darkness between a snarl of thorns. Interesting. Familiar and yet foreign, like Silba’s voice. In Oorid, Nesta hears a mysterious voice and a disturbance in the thorns while she is on a mission to retrieve the mask. This voice attempts to warn her of the danger she faces, just like Elain warned Feyre in Hybern.

Run, a small voice whispered. Run and run, and do not look back. The voice was female, gentle. Wise and serene. 

-

Run. Was that voice merely all that remained of her human instincts, or something more? She gazed at her reflection as if it would tell her. 

-

Something rustled in the thorns of the island, and she snapped up her head, heart thundering as she scanned for that familiar male face and wings. But there was no sign of Cassian. And whatever was in that bramble…she should find another island to head for. (acosf)

The thorns remind Nesta of roses when she first arrives, and that patch of darkness on Mor's estate looked as though it had fallen asleep among the thorns...but it was still watchful, like the Eye of the Goddess. A dark bloom resting among the thorns, a scrap of soul on a black wind. This reminds me of Elain’s hidden movement and her mental gates, where the Cauldron made its deepest mark.

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)

Who would know about Nesta's mission in Oorid, and who would act from the shadows to help and protect her? There's a clear answer that takes us back to the the Cauldron's hunt for its stolen power.

Not again. I could not watch this play out again. Standing by, idle, while those I loved suffered. The Cauldron crept along with Nesta, a hound at her side.

A hound at her side, hmm? Now, where have I heard that recently?

...Az would have told him already if he'd wanted to share what had been hounding him enough to exercise at night, rather than in the morning with them. (acosf)

-

Elain was like a dog, loyal to whatever master kept her fed and in comfort. (acosf)

Feyre senses the Cauldron's surprise when Nesta covers Cassian with her body, just as Elain sensed its anger when power was taken from it. And when hope seems lost, Feyre begs for a divine intervention. And it comes not from the Cauldron, like she expected, but Elain.

Anything, I begged the Cauldron. Anything— 

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

After hunting her down in different forms, the Cauldron creeps along Nesta like a hound at the end. Elain then appears out of shadow in its stead and snarls like a hound, fast as the wind and loyal to the end. I’ve wondered before if Elain’s Sight functions like this living bond. The Suriel comments on seeing her doe eyes from across the world, so I imagine her form may be fluid like the divine trio when she uses her Sight. Her eyes even shift beneath her lids as she hunts like the Cauldron, the blue veins compared to water.

Her eyes shifted beneath her lids, the skin so delicate and colorless that the blue veins beneath were like small streams. “It moves …,” she whispered. “It moves through the world like … like the breath of the western wind.” (acowar)

And when Mor explains the difference between faeries and witches at Nesta's request, the focus moves to Elain as she casually observes the tent. The light dances in her mass of hair as it shifts. All before her appearance is glamoured to help and protect others.

Elain silently surveyed the tent, head tipping back. Her mass of heavy brown-gold hair shifted with the movement, the faelight dancing among the silken strands. […] Elain at last slid into the chair near Mor’s, her dawn-pink dress—finer than the ones she usually wore—crinkling beneath her. “Will—will many of these soldiers die?” (acowar)

This dawn ritual, if it is in fact something similar to what priestesses did in Sangravah, might be enough to keep her grounded in most cases. But I can also imagine a scenario where Elain travels in the embrace of that eternal, ancient beast too long or too deep, and loses sight of her body and her home like the forest witch in the Hind's tale. How else might she find her way back if that happens?

"But one day, a warrior arrived in the forest. He'd heard of the monster so vicious none could kill it and live. She set out to slaughter him, but when the warrior beheld her, he was not afraid. He stared at her, and she at him, and he wept because he didn't see a thing of nightmares, but a creature of beauty. He saw her, and he was not afraid of her, and he loved her. [...] His love transformed her back into a witch, melting away all that she'd become. They dwelled in peace in the forest for the rest of their immortal lives." (hosab)

The forest witch had a warrior who found her transformation, her monstrous form and power, beautiful. His love for who she became, not who she once was grounded her. So, who is Elain's warrior? I believe it’s going to be someone who won't flee from a patch of darkness, familiar and yet foreign. Someone who acknowledges the beauty in her mighty power, and hears what she cannot say, sees the heavy burden that she bears. Someone whose gentle voice she can follow in the void, singing her home across space and time. Someone who embraces Elain in all her forms, their hand an anchor in the vast tapestry of the universe.

Series: wise woman. seer. witch.

[elriel-fireheart]

Elriel thoughts. Scroll away if you ain't a fan.

I truly feel Azriel was supposed to be mated to Elain. Or already is, but something happened the day she was turned high fae. (Hybern doing a spell? Lucien accidentally using his magic? Idk.)

The fact that Azriel is so put off by Lucien and the "bond".

The fact that he questions, "What if the cauldron was wrong?"

Azriel's shout of "pain" as Elain was thrown into the cauldron. (Pain and defiance?)

Both Az and Cass "still" around the sisters. Both sisters "still" around the brothers.

Cassian pretty much knew the moment he met Nesta.

“Say what I’ve guessed from the moment we met,” he breathed. “What I knew the first time I kissed you. What became unbreakable between us on Solstice night.”

She wouldn’t.

“I am your mate, for fuck’s sake!” Cassian shouted,

I'd say the same of Azriel and Elain. And I'm sure it took him some time to adjust to the thought, knowing his history with Mor.

Azriel was the first to notice Elain's absence from their camp during ACOWAR. The first to claim "I'm getting her back." Before even Feyre.

Also,

“You’d know if she’d died,” Azriel said, pausing his work and looking up at Cassian. He tapped his brother’s chest with a scarred hand. “Right here—you’d know, Cass.”

Azriel knows, deep down. What can he do but question what's so clearly obvious.

Idk why Elain was mated to Lucien. Purely drama purposes? To add plot? To create a different mate love story?

3 of the most powerful "illyrian" fae males in prythian history.

3 of the most powerful "made" fae females in prythian history.

Fated to each other.

Brought together to reside in the same court.

Brought together for some ultimate bigger plan. (insert sjm universe crossover theories/revelations)

All I know is that sjm made this a major theme in CC.

"Through love, all is possible."

And now CC and ACOTAR are linked.

Epic forbidden love trope, anyone? I dig it. I have no fucking clue exactly how sjm will truly roll it out. But she did say,

"I thought it was obvious."

[daphnedawns]

Dusk court revival, an Elriel theory

I’m actually so glad the conversation has been brought to Azriel and his shadows reaction to Elain. Whereas I don’t find it to be a bad things that his shadows skitter away in her presence since I believe this to mean his shadows are comfortable with her. This conversation has brought me to a pro Gw*nriel argument that said Elain is bad for him because her sunlight makes his shadows disappear and that she basically cancels out his existence. But I don’t think this is the case with them at all.

We all know how Elain is sooo heavily linked with the dusk court.

Not only is the prison/dusk court her mountain to conquer. She has been likened to it multiple times. (These are just from the top of my head that I can cite without skimming through all the books)

When Feyre described Elriel together in the middle of the war, she called the space between their bodies light and dark, A BLEND BETWEEN THE TWO. I don’t think one cancels out the other, but they blend together and that blend surely relates to dawn/dusk!

To me, their juxtaposition isn’t meant to cancel each other out but to show us that they’re the two essential characters that will play a part in the dusk courts revival. SJM has already been putting in the groundwork for them!

I love the theory that they will be the potential high lord and lady of the revived dusk court. This piggybacks off of the theory that Az is a descendant of the Avallen Fae that ended up on midgard (cc) and with Bryces presence and the crossover happening, it would make so much sense for Azriel to take on the mantle of their high lord seeing as though he is the only direct descendant who is also Prythian. And who better to serve as their high lady than the cauldron blessed seer who can scry, who Az is already obsessed with, who likes Az back and who has the dusk court mountain to conquer!!

I can honestly stand by this theory a lot more than the ones that talk about G and Az and their nonexistent plot.

With the pacing of the plot in ACOTAR and the Maasverse in general, we find ourselves with Koschei and the prison/dusk court. Whereas, koschei is still heavily related to Elriel (being that Elain can scry for dead trove items and Koschei seems to have a particular interest towards Azriel) it can also be build up for a Vassa/Lucien novella! But with the dusk court/prison being a much closer plot point now with HOFAS coming and SJM mentioning how HOFAS will set up the next ACOTAR book, I am a 100% convinced this is the direction she’s going with Elriel!

Not only do we have all that CANON FORESHADOWING from the previous books to support Elriel, we also have CANON GROUNDWORK for the potential Elriel book. There’s literally so much canon material to work with when it comes to this pairing that it would make absolutely zero sense for SJM to just throw that all away in favor of a new pairing without any foundation besides a metaphorical ribbon and a regifted necklace we don’t even know she received. I’m sorry but there’s literally no set up there that would move the plot forward. They’d have to invalidate all that Elriel build up and start from scratch for their pairing to make sense.

🎨: clarywhy

[crazy-ache]

I think we are focusing on the wrong thing.

HOFAS spoilers / info from SJM's 1/30/24 Today Show Interview

There's a lot of talk focusing on whether or not Azriel is the next MMC for ACOTAR5 book, following ACOSF. However, this bit from the SJM interview really has me thinking something different.

HOFAS introduced us to a crossover heavily featuring Azriel involved with other worlds, via his interactions with Bryce / Nesta and Truth Teller and now even his Illyrian heritage. He had several bonus chapters in SF and HOFAS. There's prevailing theories that this means he is the next MMC in the ACOTAR series. But I kept wracking my brain like how? With all these new crazy plot points, characters, world, potential new threats...that is A LOT to conquer in one book while multiple loose plot points have been unresolved since ACOWAR:

Defeating Koschei

Vassa's curse

Spring Court in ruin/Needing Spring's army

Beron / Lucien's true parentage

and of course....the Elain/Lucien mating bond.

That would be A LOT to put on the back burner to suddenly introduce this brand new complicated plot point from the CC/ACOTAR crossover. It didn't make sense to me.

But then SJM says "There's one book that I'm going to be writing after this next 'ACOTAR' book that I'm very excited about." and "I think it's going to be a very emotional book for me to write, just in terms of the world I'll be writing and the characters that might pop up."

I believe that book she is excited to write next is Azriel's book. He is being set up to be the MMC of his own, new series that will focus on time/world travel, the Valkyries, and the Illyrians. He would be perfect to set up like this- he is tied to all of these worlds now, he is very well liked in the fandom, he has a clean slate in terms of his romantic arc (Gwyn, hello??? Those seeds were planted). He'd be perfect to launch into the new series, ensuring readers are on board. That sure does sound very exciting to me!!!

Which means in order to wrap up the ACOTAR world so she can focus on the next series ("Twilight of the Gods" perhaps?), she is going to complete the Archeron sisters stories, as hinted by SJM in ACOSF. (Let's focus on one sister at a time.) I believe the next ACOTAR book is Elucien.

I think this would allow for the plot points in the bullets above to be completed, making way for a brand new narrative and arc. The threat to their world will happen after Koschei is defeated and peace has been brought to the lands.

Anyways thats just my thoughts! NO ONE KNOWS. I could very well be wrong but wanted to offer my take on it.

[offtorivendell]

I love this and can't wait to see where SJM goes with it. I'd love to see Arthurian legend play out in some way.

The Wild Hunt-Fionn-First Gods

Disclaimer: I'm not saying I'm right about all of this. Just theorizing here.

This is gonna be long post so buckle up...

Because this is a long post I’m gonna write what I’m gonna talk about in this post. Also not every myth points to one thing and not every thing we have in the books are inspired just one thing. To me it looks like sarah used different myths from different countries and connected them all together.

The Wild Hunt myths and how sarah might use them for plot for the next books and crossover

First gods are still running free in the world

Narben is actually a spear not a sword? Or fourth dread trove is a spear?

Fionn is not dead but sleeping?

Fionn is(was) the leader of wild hunt and betrayed the Daglan.

Let’s start....

The Wild Hunt

It is described like this in mythology

The Wild Hunt is a folklore motif that occurs in the folklore of various northern European cultures. Wild Hunts typically involve a chase led by a mythological figure escorted by a ghostly or supernatural group of hunters engaged in pursuit. The leader of the hunt is often a named figure associated with Odin in Germanic legends, but may variously be a historical or legendary figure like Theodoric the Great, the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag, the Welsh psychopomp Gwyn ap Nudd, biblical figures such as Herod, Cain, Gabriel, or the Devil, or an unidentified lost soul or spirit either male or female. The hunters are generally the souls of the dead or ghostly dogs, sometimes fairies, valkyries, or elves.

and this is from Acosf

“The Daglan delighted in terrorizing the Fae and humans under their control. The Wild Hunt was a way to keep all of us in line. They’d gather a host of their fiercest, most merciless warriors and grant them free rein to kill as they pleased. The Daglan possessed mighty, monstrous beasts—hounds, they called them, though they didn’t look like the hounds we know—that they used to run prey to ground before they tortured and killed them. It’s a terrible history, and much of it might be elaborated myths.” (Acosf)

I think the reason we got Valkyries plot in Acosf sarah is going to connect to wild hunt. But the whole Wild Hunt plot is not only about that.

In Acosf we met Lanthys. He is one of the First gods. (thank to @lesolehabitantdelalune for showing me this quote because without her I wouldn't catch this.)

Cassian took a bite of food. A good sign that this, at least, was acceptable territory. “When you lived in the human world, you had legends of the dread beasts and faeries who would slaughter you if they ever breached the wall, didn’t you? Things that slithered through open windows to drink the blood of children? Things that were so wicked, so cruel there was no hope against their evil?” The hair on her neck rose. “Yes.” Those stories had always unnerved and petrified her. “They were based on truth. Based on ancient, near-primordial beings who existed here before the High Fae split into courts, before the High Lords. Some call them the First Gods. They were beings with almost no physical form, but a keen, vicious intelligence. Humans and Fae alike were their prey. Most were hunted and driven into hiding or imprisonment ages ago. But some remained, lurking in forgotten corners of the land.” He swallowed another mouthful. “When I was nearing three hundred years old, one of them appeared again, crawling out of the roots of a mountain. Before he went into the Prison and confinement weakened him, Lanthys could turn into wind and rip the air from your lungs, or turn into rain and drown you on dry land; he could peel your skin from your body with a few movements. He never revealed his true form, but when I faced him, he chose to appear as swirling mist. He fathered a race of faeries that still plague us, who thrived under Amarantha’s reign—the Bogge. But the Bogge are lesser, mere shadows compared to Lanthys. If there is such a thing as evil incarnate, it is him. He has no mercy, no sense of right or wrong. There is him, and there is everyone else, and we are all his prey. His methods of killing are creative and slow. He feasts on fear and pain as much as the flesh itself.”(acosf)

So we learn quiet a few things from this quote.

Lantys is a first god.

First gods were near-primordial beings who existed before the High Fae split into courts, before the high lords.

They were beings with almost no physical form, but a keen, vicious intelligence.

But some First gods remained, lurking in forgotten corners of the land.”

These are all important.

Later we find that Lanthys was a part of the Wild Hunt.

“Oh, I do not think so,” Lanthys seethed. “I rode in the Wild Hunt before you were even a scrap of existence, witch from Oorid. I summoned the hounds and the world cowered at their baying. I galloped at the head of the Hunt, and Fae and beast bowed before us.”(acosf)

Before we dive more into to the Wild Hunt I wanna show this.

The description of the First Gods (with almost no physical form, lurking in forgotten corners of the land.”)reminded me of something. I think this is a scene as a fandom we find not important but I think it might be one of the biggest hints?

that scene happens in Acofas. In Mor's chapter.

But Mor scented nothing, saw nothing. The tendril of power she speared toward the woods revealed only the usual birds and small beasts. A hart drinking from a hole in an iced-over stream. Nothing, except—.There, between a snarl of thorns. A patch of darkness. It did not move, did not seem to do anything but linger. And watch. Familiar and yet foreign. Something in her power whispered not to touch it, not to go near it. Even from this distance. Mor obeyed. But she still watched that darkness in the thorns, as if a shadow had fallen asleep amongst them. Not like Azriel’s shadows, twining and whispering. Something different. Something that stared back, watching her in turn. Best left undisturbed. Especially with the promise of a crackling fire and glass of wine at home. “Let’s take the short route back,” she murmured to Ellia, patting her neck. The horse needed no further encouragement before launching into a gallop, turning them from the woods and its shadowy watcher. Over and between the hills they rode, until the woods were hidden in the mists behind them. What else might she see, witness, in lands where none in the Night Court had ventured for millennia?(acosf)

She sees a shadows... and what we know about the first gods? with almost no physical form.

She was in the lands where none in the Night Courth had ventured for Millennia... what we know about the first gods? lurking in forgotten corners of the land.

Did she saw a First God? Are there more like it? Why mor was the one to see it? I will talk about mor more later in the post but a little hint... it is interesting that The Morrigan is called ""great queen" or "phantom queen" in myths.

Okay back to Wild Hunt.

In Wikipedia it shows that in different countries the leader of the wild hunt is different.

I'm gonna talk about two of them in this post.

Brittany: Arthur

Ireland: Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fianna; Manannán—also known as The Fairy Cavalcade.

Brittany:Arthur

We are starting with Brittany:Arthur. (I added the wiki page if you want to read about more because I can't talk about everything.

I think Sarah used this legend as a part of Gwydion-TT-Narben.

Arthur was the King. I think the most popular myth about this is Excalibur and Sword in the stone(some stories say they were one and the same)

Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend��very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are not the same weapon, though in some modern incarnations they are either the same or at least share their name.

Now let's look at Gwydion.

“Some strains of the mythology claim that one of the Fae heroes who rose up to overthrow them was Fionn, who was given the great sword Gwydion by the High Priestess Oleanna, who had dipped it into the Cauldron itself. Fionn and Gwydion overthrew the Daglan. A millennium of peace followed, and the lands were divided into rough territories that were the precursors to the courts—but at the end of those thousand years, they were at each other’s throats, on the brink of war.” His face tightened. “Fionn unified them and set himself above them as High King. The first and only High King this land has ever had.”(acosf)

From Hosab we know that Gwydion is actually Starsword.

It was its twin. The Starsword began to hum within its sheath, glittering white light leaking from where leather met the dark hilt. The dagger—.The male dropped the dagger to the plush carpet. All of them retreated as it flared with dark light, as if in answer. Alpha and Omega. “Gwydion,” the dark-haired female whispered, indicating the Starsword.(hosab)

Other things we know about Gwydion(Starsword)

That your son, not you, retrieved the Starsword from the Cave of Princes in Avallen’s dark heart. That your son, not you, stood among the long-dead Starborn Princes asleep in their sarcophagi and was deemed worthy to pull the sword from its sheath. How many times did you try to draw the sword when you were young? How much research did you do in this very study to find ways to wield it without being chosen? (Hoeab)

like Arthur, Ruhn was the one to pull it out.

But we know that the sword actualy belongs to female heir of Theia.

“Theia was dead by that point,” Aidas said flatly. “Pelias slew her.” He nodded to the Starsword in Ruhn’s hand. “And stole her blade when he’d finished.” He snarled. “That sword belongs to Theia’s female heir. Not the male offspring who corrupted her line.”

@offtorivendell talks about this in this post if you wanna read it. Theia's secret legacy

so how this connects to Truth-Teller and Narben?

Arthur had two other weapons.

A dagger and a spear.

Other weapons have been associated with Arthur. Welsh tradition also knew of a dagger named Carnwennan and a spear named Rhongomyniad that belonged to him. Carnwennan ("little white-hilt") first appears in Culhwch and Olwen, where Arthur uses it to slice the witch Orddu in half. Rhongomyniad ("spear" + "striker, slayer") is also mentioned in Culhwch, although only in passing; it appears as simply Ron ("spear") in Geoffrey's Historia. Geoffrey also names Arthur's shield as Pridwen; in Culhwch, however, Prydwen ("fair face") is the name of Arthur's ship while his shield is named Wynebgwrthucher ("face of evening").

We know that Truth-teller and Gwydion(Starsword) are twins. Alpha and Omega. (I made a post about this. You can find it here Alphan&Omega)

Now... Narben. We know little about Narben.

“Amarantha destroyed one,” Amren said. Cassian started. “I never heard that.” Amren amended, “Rumor claimed she dumped one into the sea. It would not come to Amarantha’s hand, nor the hands of any of her commanders, and rather than let the King of Hybern attain it, she disposed of it.” Azriel asked, “Which sword?” “Narben.” (Acosf)

"Narben was even older than Gwydion,” Rhys said. “Where the hell was it?” (Acosf)

Narben’s powers had not been the holy, savior’s light of Gwydion, but ones far darker. (Acosf)

Rhys studied her blade. “Narben is a death-sword. It’s lost, possibly destroyed, but stories say it can slay even monsters like Lanthys.” (Acosf)

These are all the things we know. It is a little bit sketchy that Sarah had given us so little information about it.

Also it looks like she is using Arthur's weapons as an inspo for Gwydion and Truth-teller...which one is missing? A spear. So that makes me question if Narben is not a sword but a spear? Or the Fourth dread trove is a spear? 👀

now...we are done with Brittany:arthur as the leader of the wild hunt. this other part is more in depth with the where I think the story is going.

second leader of the wild hunt we are going to talk about :

Ireland: Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fianna

Ireland: Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fianna; Manannán—also known as The Fairy Cavalcade.

Fionn mac Cumhaill , often anglicized Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is leader of the Fianna bands of young roving hunter-warriors, as well as being a seer and poet.

He was a seer...So is Elain. 👀👀

He is often depicted hunting with his hounds Bran and Sceólang("raven" and "survivor”), and fighting with his spear and sword. 

in this it is mentioned that he hunts with his hounds. and has a spear? another spear mentioning. Narben is a spear? Or the Fourth dread trove we haven’t found yet is a spear?

From what lanthys said there were hounds in Wild Hunt in Acotar.

“Oh, I do not think so,” Lanthys seethed. “I rode in the Wild Hunt before you were even a scrap of existence, witch from Oorid. I summoned the hounds and the world cowered at their baying. I galloped at the head of the Hunt, and Fae and beast bowed before us.”(acosf)

and nesta says that the hounds Lanthys showed her in the vision looked like the beasts from Court Of Nightmares.

Nesta could see the portrait Lanthys wove into the air around them. She saw herself on a black throne, a matching crown in her unbound hair. Enormous onyx beasts—scaled, like those she’d seen on the Hewn City’s pillars—lay at the foot of the dais. (Acosf)

and these are a few description of the hounds on the Hewn City's pillars.

Great, scaled black beasts were carved into those gates, all coiled together in a nest of claws and fangs, sleeping and fighting, some locked in an endless cycle of devouring each other. Between them flowed vines of jasmine and moonflowers. I could have sworn the beasts seemed to writhe in the silvery glow of the bobbing faelights throughout the mountain-city. The Gates of Eternity—that’s what I’d call the painting that flickered in my mind. (Acomaf)

We at last came to a throne room of polished ebony. More of the serpents from the front gates were carved here—this time, wrapped around the countless columns supporting the onyx ceiling. It was so high up that gloom hid its finer details, but I knew more had been carved there, too. Great beasts to monitor the manipulations and scheming within this room. The throne itself had been fashioned out of a few of them, a head snaking around either side of the back—as if they watched over the High Lord’s shoulder. (Acomaf)

and we have the prophecy from acomaf

Life and death and rebirth Sun and moon and dark Rot and bloom and bones Hello, sweet thing. Hello, lady of night, princess of decay. Hello, fanged beast and trembling fawn. Love me, touch me, sing me. (Acomaf)

continuing with Fionn...

Fionn in the myth literally has the same name as the high king we learned about in acosf.

Rhys’s eyes flicked to Ataraxia, then to Cassian. “Some strains of the mythology claim that one of the Fae heroes who rose up to overthrow them was Fionn, who was given the great sword Gwydion by the High Priestess Oleanna, who had dipped it into the Cauldron itself. Fionn and Gwydion overthrew the Daglan. A millennium of peace followed, and the lands were divided into rough territories that were the precursors to the courts—but at the end of those thousand years, they were at each other’s throats, on the brink of war.” His face tightened. “Fionn unified them and set himself above them as High King. The first and only High King this land has ever had.” (Acosf)

Is it a coincidence that Fionn is the leader of Wild Hunt in myths and we have Fionn in Acosf who rose up to Overthrow the Daglan?

Was the Fionn, from acotar, the leader of the Wild Hunt in acotar?

Rigelus mentions that the fearsome warriors they built were traitors. They joined the Fae and overthrow his siblings.

“Can’t you?” The cold voice slithered through the intercom. “You are Starborn, and have the Horn bound to your body and power. Your ancestors wielded the Horn and another Fae object that allowed them to enter this world. Stolen, of course, from their original masters—our people. Our people, who built fearsome warriors in that world to be their army. All of them prototypes for the angels in this one. And all of them traitors to their creators, joining the Fae to overthrow my brothers and sisters a thousand years before we arrived on Midgard. They slew my siblings.” (Hosab)

“The Daglan delighted in terrorizing the Fae and humans under their control. The Wild Hunt was a way to keep all of us in line. They’d gather a host of their fiercest, most merciless warriors and grant them free rein to kill as they pleased. The Daglan possessed mighty, monstrous beasts—hounds, they called them, though they didn’t look like the hounds we know—that they used to run prey to ground before they tortured and killed them. It’s a terrible history, and much of it might be elaborated myths.”(acosf)

Rhys’s eyes flicked to Ataraxia, then to Cassian. “Some strains of the mythology claim that one of the Fae heroes who rose up to overthrow them was Fionn, who was given the great sword Gwydion by the High Priestess Oleanna, who had dipped it into the Cauldron itself. Fionn and Gwydion overthrew the Daglan. (Acosf)

moving onto myth again. I will be doing a little bit paraphrasing.

In the myth Fionn is the son of Cumhall mac Trénmhoir. Cumhall was the leader of Fianna. The Fianna were a band of warriors also known as a military order composed mainly of the members of two rival clans, "Clan Bascna" (to which Finn and Cumall belonged) and "Clan Morna" (where Goll mac Morna belonged), the Fenians were supposed to be devoted to the service of the High King and to the repelling of foreign invaders. After the fall of Cumall, Goll mac Morna replaced him as the leader of the Fianna, holding the position for 10 years.One feat of Fionn performed at 10 years of age according to the Acallam na Senórach was to slay Áillen, the fire-breathing man of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who had come to wreak destruction on the Irish capital of Tara every year on the festival of Samhain for the past 23 years, lulling the city's men to sleep with his music then burning down the city and its treasures. When the King of Ireland asked what men would guard Tara against Áillen's invasion, Fionn volunteered. Fionn obtained a special spear (the "Birga") from Fiacha mac Congha ("son of Conga"), which warded against the sleep-inducing music of Áillen's "dulcimer" when it was unsheathed and the bare steel blade was touched against the forehead or some other part of the body. This Fiacha used to be one of Cumall's men, but was now serving the high-king.After Fionn defeated Áillen and saved Tara, his heritage was recognised and he was given command of the Fianna: Goll stepped aside, and became a loyal follower of Fionn, although a dispute later broke out between the clans over the pig of Slanga.

Keep Tuatha Dé Danann in mind because I'm gonna use later on--soon.

There is a mention of High King. We know that Fionn was the first and the last high king acotar world saw.

Moving onto Fionn’s death from the myth.

According to the most popular account of Fionn's death, he is not dead at all, rather, he sleeps in a cave, surrounded by the Fianna. One day he will awake and defend Ireland in the hour of her greatest need. In one account, it is said that he will arise when the Dord Fiann, the hunting horn of the Fianna, is sounded three times, and he will be as strong and as well as he ever was.

He is not dead but sleeping. He will wake up when the horn is sounded three times. And you know who just arrived at Acotar with the horn tattooed to her back? BRYCE. Is this all crossover is about. To wake up Fionn from his sleep? This is how the crossover is going to affect the Acotar world? Is Fionn good or bad?

“Can’t you?” The cold voice slithered through the intercom. “You are Starborn, and have the Horn bound to your body and power. Your ancestors wielded the Horn and another Fae object that allowed them to enter this world. Stolen, of course, from their original masters—our people.

Rigelus says that the horn was stolen from his people. The Daglan. And the wild hunt was their way to terrorize the fae. And if fionn betrayed them and rose againts them...he might have stolen the horn from them?

In the myth Fionn was the leader of Fianna.

Fianna were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A fian was made up of freeborn young males, often aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had not yet inherited the property needed to settle down as full landowning members of the túath". For most of the year they lived in the wild, hunting, raiding other communities and lands, training, and fighting as mercenaries. Scholars believe the fian was a rite of passage into manhood, and have linked fianna with similar young warrior bands in other early European cultures

Fian was a Rite of passage into manhood? does that sound familiar? hello...Blood rite.

“What’s the Blood Rite?” “What it sounds like.” He rubbed his neck. “When an Illyrian warrior comes into his full power, usually in his twenties, he has to go through the Blood Rite before he can qualify as a full warrior and adult.

It seems like sarah took inspo from here.

And you know which mountain is sacred for Illyrians...RAMIEL.

and you know how ramiel was described.

Ramiel. The sacred mountain. The heart of not only Illyria, but the entirety of the Night Court.

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.

Felt alive somehow? Is it because Fionn is sleeping in there? With Fianna?

Ramiel rose higher still, a shard of stone piercing the gray sky. Beautiful and lonely. Eternal and ageless. 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. (Acofas)

The thing Cassian says about the insignia is really interesting. Which one came first? The rite? or the insignia?

We know that the courts took place after the fall of Fionn in Acotar.

Rhys’s eyes flicked to Ataraxia, then to Cassian. “Some strains of the mythology claim that one of the Fae heroes who rose up to overthrow them was Fionn, who was given the great sword Gwydion by the High Priestess Oleanna, who had dipped it into the Cauldron itself. Fionn and Gwydion overthrew the Daglan. A millennium of peace followed, and the lands were divided into rough territories that were the precursors to the courts—but at the end of those thousand years, they were at each other’s throats, on the brink of war.” His face tightened. “Fionn unified them and set himself above them as High King. The first and only High King this land has ever had.” Nesta could have sworn the last words were spoken with a sharp look toward Cassian. But Cassian only winked at Rhys. “What happened to the High King?” Feyre asked. Rhys ran a hand over a page of the book. “Fionn was betrayed by his queen, who had been leader of her own territory, and by his dearest friend, who was his general. They killed him, taking some of his bloodline’s most powerful and precious weapons, and then out of the chaos that followed, the seven High Lords rose, and the courts have been in place ever since.”

My theory is that...THE SECOND DAUGHTER was the first ruler of night court.

Did she come back to Acotar and was the first ruler of the Night court? @silverlinedeyes talks about in "The Illyrians—A (Crack) Theory" how illyrians might be demons from hel and the second daughter came back to the acotar with them.

in Hosab we learn that Theia was the queen who betrayed Fionn and she crossed to Crescent city. She had two daughters as far as we know. Helena and the second daughter. What we know about the second daughter is that...she vanished into the night. With Hosab we know that Ruhn and Rhys looks similar...maybe because they came from the same lineage? Ruhn is descendant of Pelias and Helena. So if the second daughter came back to acotar and was the first ruler...that makes ruhn and rhys a distant relative? so that explains why they look the same.

Aidas laughed coldly. “Your celebrated Prince Pelias, the so-called first Starborn Prince, was an impostor. Theia’s other daughter got away—vanished into the night. I never learned of her fate. (Hosab)

The winged, dark-haired male who stepped in behind her … Bryce gasped. “Ruhn?” The male blinked. His eyes were the same shade of violet blue as Ruhn’s. His short hair the same gleaming black. This male’s skin was browner, but the face, the posture … It was her brother’s. His ears were pointed, too, though he also possessed those leathery wings like the two other males.(Hosab)

so there is that.

Which had come first: the insignia or the Rite, Cassian didn’t know. Had never really cared to find out.

Back to Ramiel. Ramiel has a stone on top of it. A sacred stone.

Cassian snorted, but his words were serious. “There’s a sacred stone atop it. Touch the stone first, and you win. It will transport you out immediately.

Before we dive into the stone. We have to talk about Tuatha Dé Danann. I mentioned when I was talking about Fionn.(Also danann...Ruhn Danaan. Hello.) (@offtorivendell talked about Tuatha Dé Danann in her dusk court post so if you wanna read it I will add here.)

The Tuath(a) Dé Danann , meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"),are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland.

In Irish mythology, *Danu is the reconstructed mother goddess of the Tuatha dé Danann (Old Irish: "The peoples of the goddess Danu"). Though primarily seen as an ancestral figure, some Victorian sources also associate her with the land.

so they are a folk of the goddess Danu. and she is a mother goddess...interesting. We have the Mother in acotar 👀🤭

the members of Tuath(a) Dé Danann.

Prominent members of the Tuath Dé include The Dagda ("the great god"); The Morrígan ("the great queen" or "phantom queen");  Lugh;  Nuada;  Aengus;  Brigid; Manannán; Dian Cecht the healer; and Goibniu the smith, one of the Trí Dé Dána ("three gods of craft").[5] Several of the Tuath Dé are cognate with ancient Celtic deities: Lugh with Lugus, Brigit with Brigantia, Nuada with Nodons, and Ogma with Ogmios.

The Dagda...sounds familiar—The Daglan.

“The Fae were not the first masters of this world. According to our oldest legends, most now forgotten, we were created by beings who were near-gods—and monsters. The Daglan. They ruled for millennia, and enslaved us and the humans. They were petty and cruel and drank the magic of the land like wine.”

and mor. I talked above how Mor was the one seeing one of the "first gods" so it is connected to that.

Other things I think are important about Tuatha Dé Danann.

The Tuatha Dé Danann are described as a supernatural race, much like idealized humans, who are immune from aging and sickness, and who have powers of magic. The powers most often attributed to the Tuath Dé are control over the weather and the elements, and the ability to shapeshift themselves and other things. They are also said to control the fertility of the land; the tale De Gabáil in t-Sída says the first Gaels had to establish friendship with the Tuath Dé before they could raise crops and herds.

Weather and Elemental magic? Sounds familiar. Rhys talks about how the high fae once more elemental.

“Once, the High Fae were more elemental, more given to reading the stars and crafting masterpieces of art and jewelry and weaponry. Their gifts were rawer, more connected to nature, and they could imbue objects with that power.” (Acosf)

and shapeshifting. Rigelus talks about how the Fae from bryce's world could shapeshift.

“Not your kind of Fae, of course—your breed dwelled in a lovely, verdant land, rich with magic. If it’s of any interest to you, your Starborn bloodline specifically hailed from a small isle a few miles from the mainland. And while the mainland had all manner of climes, the isle existed in beautiful, near-permanent twilight. But only a select few in the entirety of your world could shift from their humanoid forms to animal ones."

They are also connected with fertility of the land.

Prison island.HELLO

According to legend, the pegasuses had come from the island the Prison sat upon—had once fed in fair meadows that had long given way to moss and mist. Perhaps that was part of the decline: their homeland had vanished, and whatever had sustained them there was no longer.

So Pegasus were originally from Prison island but whatever had sustained them there was no longer? So... Prison island is dusk court and they were the ones sustaining the fertility of the land but when they vanished they took the magic with them because there was no more Fae to sustain it?

and this is about where Tuath(a) Dé Danann lives.

They live in the Otherworld, which is described as either a parallel world or a heavenly land beyond the sea or under the earth's surface. Many of them are associated with specific places in the landscape, especially the sídh mounds; the ancient burial mounds and passage tombs which are entrances to Otherworld realms.The Tuath Dé can hide themselves with a féth fíada ('magic mist') and appear to humans only when they wish to.

and these are a few description of Prison island.

I stared up at the sharp grassy slope of the small mountain, shivering at the veils of mist that wafted past. Behind us, the land swept away to brutal cliffs and a violent pewter sea. Ahead, nothing but a wide, flat-topped mountain of gray stone and moss. (Acomaf)

Velaris had been brisk, sunny. This place, wherever it was, was freezing, deserted, barren. Only rock and grass and mist and sea. (Acomaf)

also it is interesting that Avallen in CC is also an island and they have the power to use shadows and mist...

But rumor claimed Ruhn’s magic was more like those of his kin who ruled the sacred Fae isle of Avallen across the sea: power to summon shadows or mist that could not only veil the physical world, but the mind as well. Perhaps even telepathy. (Hoeab)

Another reason his father resented him: beyond his Starborn gifts, the bulk of his magic skewed toward his mother’s kin—the Fae who ruled Avallen, the mist-shrouded isle in the north. The sacred heart of Faedom. (Hoeab)

And bryce notes when she comes to Velaris that they wear clothes like they do in Avallen.

The petite, dark-haired female with angular eyes like Fury’s drew up short. Her red-painted mouth dropped open, no doubt at the blood all over Bryce’s face and body. This female was … Fae. Clad in beautiful, yet thoroughly old-fashioned clothes. Like the stuff they wore on Avallen.

so sarah seem to take one thing from the myths and use it in several parts and try to connect them in some way—we will see how they all connect together in the books 👀.

and we lastly have the part I will connect to Ramiel... the four treasures of the Tuath(a) Dé Danann. (Also four threasures... four dread trove. It is not connected to them but it is funny lmao)

Dagda's Cauldron

The Spear of Lugh

Claíomh Solais (The Sword of Light)

Lia Fáil (The Stone of Fal)

Side note: @offtorivendell is going to make a full post about all of these four treasures and she is going to dive more into lugh’s spear being narben and gwydion being the sword of light. So keep your eyes on that 👀🤭 I will tag it when she posts it.

Cauldron..I MEAN. It literally explains itself.

The spear of Lugh:

No battle was ever sustained against it, or against the man who held it.

This is one of the other reasons why I think Narben or fourth dread trove might be a spear not a sword.

Remember what Amren said about narben:

“I don’t know, but she found it, and when it would not bend to her, she destroyed it. As she did all good things.” It was as much as Amren would say about that terrible time. “It was perhaps in our favor. Had the King of Hybern possessed Narben, I fear we would have lost the war.”

Claíomh Solais (The Sword of Light):

The Sword of Light or Claidheamh Soluisis a trope object that appears in a number of Irish and Scottish Gaelic folktales. The "Quest for sword of light" formula is catalogued as motif H1337.

The sword may be rendered in English as the "Sword of Light", or "Shining Sword".

HELLO GWYDION/STARSWORD.

Narben’s powers had not been the holy, savior’s light of Gwydion, but ones far darker.(acosf)

The Starsword sang with light, her power flowing into it. Activating it. And nothing had ever felt so right, so easy, as plunging the blade into the bony chest of the wounded Reaper. It arced, bellowing, black blood spurting from its withered lips. (Hosab)

Also Sword of light is described as this.

No one ever escaped from it once it was drawn from its sheath, and no one could resist it. The sword is also described in the Tain legend as "Nuadu's Cainnel"—a glowing bright torch.

You know what that reminds me of.

With shaking fingers, she put it back into its sheath. Dimmed its light. But the Starsword still sang, and Bryce had no idea what to make of it. Of the blade that had slain that which was unkillable. (Hosab)

Lia Fáil (The Stone of Fal):

This is where it gets interesting for Ramiel.

The Lia Fáil; meaning "Stone of Destiny" or "Speaking Stone" to account for its oracular legend) is a stone at the Inauguration Mound (Irish: an Forrad) on the Hill of Tara in County Meath, Ireland, which served as the coronation stone for the High Kings of Ireland.

Coronation stone for the High Kings. Fionn was a high king. 👀

Ramiel has a stone on top of it.

Cassian snorted, but his words were serious. “There’s a sacred stone atop it. Touch the stone first, and you win. It will transport you out immediately. (Acosf)

and it is a living stone. that sang to him.

But when he’d touched the onyx monolith, when he’d felt that ancient force sing into his blood in the heartbeat before it had whisked him back to the safety of Devlon’s camp … It had been worth it. To feel that. With a solemn bow of his head toward Ramiel and the living stone atop it, Cassian caught another swift wind and soared southward.(acofas)

so Lia fail is speaking stone and Cassian felt the sacred stone on top of ramiel sing into his blood and describes it as the living stone.

In myths it is said that the Lia Fail has powers.

The Lia Fáil was thought to be magical: when the rightful High King of Ireland put his feet on it, the stone was said to roar in joy. The stone is also credited with the power to rejuvenate the king and also to endow him with a long reign.

Does this sound familiar? It is like the gates in Crescent City. They took power when people made a wish and this way Bryce was like a gate because her powers comes from the gate.

“Your power came from the Gate—with a shit-ton of firstlight mixed in. So your magic—beyond the light, I mean— needs to be powered up. It relies on firstlight, or any other form of energy it can get. You’re literally a Gate: you can take in power and offer it. But it seems the similarity ends there. The Gates can store power indefinitely, while yours clearly peters out after a while.”(Hosab)

So what if the stone is keeping Fionn alive in Ramiel? what if it's feeding him? Or is the stone on top of ramiel is a daglan creation and under ramiel they have their feeding point like in hosab?

Also Lia fail is connected with Fianna. As I mentioned they were the warriors that served Fionn.

It is from this stone the Tuatha Dé Danann metonymically named Ireland Inis Fáil (inis meaning island), and from this Fál became an ancient name for Ireland. Fál in Old Irish means several things like hedge, enclosure or king, ruler. In this respect, therefore, Lia Fáil came to mean 'Stone of Ireland'. Inisfail appears as a synonym for Erin in some Irish romantic and nationalist poetry in English in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; Aubrey Thomas de Vere's 1863 poem Inisfail is an example. The term Fianna Fáil ("the Fianna, warriors, or army of Ireland"; sometimes rendered "the soldiers of destiny") has been used as a sobriquet for the Irish Volunteers; on the cap badge of the Irish Army; in the opening line of the Irish-language version of Amhrán na bhFiann, the Irish national anthem; and as the name of the Fianna Fáil political party, one of the main parties in Ireland.

this is from what I added to fianna. > Scholars believe the fian was a rite of passage into manhood, and have linked fianna with similar young warrior bands in other early European cultures

In blood rite they try to touch the stone on top of Ramiel. In Fianna they have fian which is a rite to passage into manhood. Fianna is connected with Lia Fais(speaking stone) and Ramiel has a stone on top of it that sings.

So I think that's all. Thanks for reading.

[truthflower19]

For those attacking SJM in instagram take a chill pill 💊 here I will give you one for free. Guys let’s remember you don’t need to read hofas to understand ACOTAR so why would she put very important acotar stuff in hosaf. It makes not sense , this is another series nothing major was going to happen with the acotar characters , however you do need to read acotar to understand CC she said this on her interview not the other way around. SJM writing very important information on hosaf about ACOTAR would have force people to read cc to understand acotar 5 🤷🏼‍♀️. When she said that you don’t need cc to understand acotar was a give away nothing major was going to happen to acotar characters in HOFAS. To me this people attacking sjm were thinking CC was going to be an acotar book in some way or another. They wanted their acotar theories to be confirmed in another series and that’s not how it works. In my opinion SJM did the right thing by keeping crossover to the minimum because than she would have been lying in the interview. I just think people getting mad because their favorite acotar character didn’t save the day on another whole ass series is kinda immature and dumb. Love feyre to death and i hope we get more of her in the future but she already had her books, I love elain to tears but we she need to have her own book our girl deserves that. This is bryce book let’s keep that in mind when we get to read the HOFAS.

[acourtofthought]

It's still very difficult for me to grasp how anyone thinks the future plots for Elain and Az line up.

In the novella, Rhys's words tell us that the Illyrian storyline (which after SF now involves the Valkryie's winning the Rite) stands alone from that of the current unrest outside their borders. I'm paraphrasing but he says, "the Illyrians are a problem but.....they're not a problem we need to focus on until we deal with the climate elsewhere first". And we know that Az's story is going to revolve around the Illyrians which means his path heads in that direction while the unrest in the rest of Prythian heads in another.

In SF, Nesta reminds us that the most pressing issues in their world are the fae who are trying to gain more territory as well as the treatment of the humans. She has the thought that maybe there's a new problem but decides not to worry about it right then and there only for us to later find out that Koschei and Briallyn are working together and up to no good (leading to the search for the Trove storyline).

Koschei / Briallyn set out to capture Cassian, NOT Azriel. They let Az fly free therefore he was not the one they spent months planning for. Azriel has never once met Vassa who is running out of time in regards to her freedom. Had SJM wanted to tie Az into Vassa to set him up for the next books, she would have had Az winnow Cassian to the human lands so he could join in on their meeting. Instead she had Mor take him and Rhys remind us that Az isn't a courtier.

Lucien and Jurian are her friends, the ones who will actually care when she's forced back to Koschei's lake. Through Cassian it's established that Lucien had been there with the Archeron's father. Lucien is the one setting his sights on Koschei's lake as if he's plotting how to help his friend.

Therefore it is ridiculous to think that Az, not Lucien, is the MMC tied to the Koschei storyline. It is also ridiculous to think that SJM had Nesta wonder if Elain would still go to the continent (and not just any part of the continent, the one further south away from the tulip fields) unless ....... Elain is going to end up traveling to Koschei's lake as well.

Also, Az has never stepped foot in Spring in any kind of significant way yet Spring is another one of their concerns based off the information they've gathered from his spies and Lucien. Tamlin not enforcing his borders and his refusal to allow "Rhys's ilk" to help with them will lead to devastating consequences for the rest of the courts and the humans. That storyline is not getting resolved in an Az POV when it's obvious it belongs to Lucien.

Like the above paragraph.....why would Sarah have Nesta think of how Spring had been made for someone like Elain, that she would tell Elain to go there, if Elain is not going to end up in Spring at some point? It's so far out of the realm of plausibility that Az would be there with her.

All these theories, that Az and Elain will end up in Dusk together, that Az and Elain will defeat Koschei together, that Elain will end up as a Mystic in the crossover, etc. ignores the actual information SJM has given us in the actual series these characters belong to. SJM has never said you need to read CC in order to understand the next ACOTAR book. She only said "yeah, read the ACOTAR series if you made it to the end of CC2" but it was more of an afterthought and a marketing strategy, not a "you'll be completely lost if you don't". And if CC readers do read ACOTAR, they're going to see that Elain hasn't used her powers. That her sisters only thinks of her as a pleasant companion and a dog. That Az hasn't thought of a future with Elain beyond his sexual fantasies. Reading the ACOTAR series to better understand the people and world Bryce just landed in doesn't mean Sarah is going to reveal new ACOTAR information in CC3 that she hasn't yet told us in ACOTAR.

"Four books of buildup" (which isn't even accurate) means nothing when Silver Flames tells us exactly which characters are going to end up where in future books and from there, it's not very difficult to figure out endgame pairings.

[stargirlfeyre]

I don’t think Nesta fans understand that there is a genuine reason why Feyre stans are upset. We are promised by the author herself that she will get a POV. Her whole hype over the crossover and even mentioning Aelin which also made Aelin stans upset. I don’t think these stans wouldn’t be upset if the author didn’t marketed that they will appear a lot in the book. Not saying they should take over the whole pages since it’s a CC book, but if the author is that giddy of mentioning the ACOTAR cast every HOFAS interview then I wouldn’t blame the stans too for expecting.

Yeah this isn’t a “we’re upset because we deluded ourselves into thinking that Feyre was more important than she is” type is situation. This is a CC3 story and I didn’t expect any Acotar characters to have major roles in it including my favorite one (which I did say a while ago).

The fact of the matter is Sjm quite literally said yes when asked if we were getting a Feyre pov. Who wouldn’t be upset/disappointed at being lied to? And it’s not even just us. Even the ToG fans who were excited about finally being reunited with the characters they haven’t seen in forever are disappointed/upset.

I don’t know why some people are trying to turn all the attention on Feyre and her fans as if one, we don’t have a valid reason to be upset, and two, we aren’t even the only ones disappointed.

ToG fans are disappointed, Shippers (though they were already being ridiculous by thinking this book would confirm something about their ships) are disappointed, people who spent months making theories are disappointed. Yet somehow they decided to make this the Feyre show.

Though now that the initial shock has worn off I’m just like…eh🤷🏽‍♀️. One more book I don’t have to read.

[offtorivendell]

Is an oily residue corrupting Azriel's hypothetical mating bond and making him feel off kilter? Is it related to Valg-type magic?

Disclaimer: this theory is a continuation of a few of my others that I've been too lazy to post until now - first I was going to post it for Elriel Month 2023, then Azriel Week 2023... it never happened - but like everyone else I'm having massive FOMO before HOFAS, so here we finally go, even though I know I've forgotten something lol. As usual, this makes no claims of being accurate, it's just theorising for fun.

A massive thank you goes out to @wingedblooms, @tswaney17, @silverlinedeyes, @psychologynerd, @ladynightcourt3, @cassianfanclub, and anyone else I've forgotten (sorry!) for all of our discussions that finally became this post. Love you guys. 💜

Spoilers: this is a Maasverse post, and draws from the ACOTAR series, CC 1 & 2/HOEAB & HOSAB, and the TOG series. It is CC 3/HOFAS spoiler free, as I'm waiting to read it in its "original English" 🤓 on the 30th of January. Please be respectful of that if engaging in the comments before it's published!

Plenty of people, including @silverlinedeyes, @icedflames and myself, have posted our thoughts on mating bonds in the Maasverse, and this theory builds on those previously established - though again, as yet hypothetical - ideas. Specifically, this post about the use of “oily” throughout the ACOTAR series is recommended reading.

What we do know is that:

Mating bonds contain threads, and so do spells.

Mates are the song/music of the soul, and their laughter is likened to music.

Different fae, and magics, contain different scents, be that personal or regional

First, let's go back to ACOWAR, when Feyre described the Ravens' entrance into the library as being like an off-kilter chord:

I felt it at the same moment she did. The ripple and tremor. Like … like some piece of the world shifted, like some off-kilter chord had been plucked. We turned toward the illuminated path that we’d just taken through the stacks, then to the dark far, far beyond. - ACOWAR, chapter 30

Initially, I had wondered if the King of Hybern had had Jurian use the Harp to infiltrate Velaris, but it was @merymoonbeam (I think) who theorised that the Cauldron might be mimicking the Harp, and maybe not doing the best job of it. Which made me wonder, could it do the same with mate bonds?

He left the rest unspoken. Because her mate was here, sleeping a level up. Because her mate had been in the family room and Azriel had needed to stay by the door the whole time because he couldn't stand the sight of it, the scent of their mating bond, and needed to have the option of leaving if it became too much. - ACOSF, Azriel's bonus chapter

Looking at her now … She was pale, yes. The vacancy still glazing her features. But he couldn’t breathe as she faced him fully. She was the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. Betrayal, queasy and oily, slid through his veins. He’d said the same to Jesminda once. But even as shame washed through him, the words, the sense chanted, Mine. You are mine, and I am yours. Mate. - ACOWAR, chapter 24

What if the Elucien bond, as either a spell or piss poor Cauldron-Made approximation of a bond, causes Azriel - and maybe Elain, possibly Lucien - nausea when Lucien is around because it's constantly changing, or reverberating over the top of, what remains of a hypothetical Elriel bond?

What if it's making the Elriel bond off-kilter, out of whack, imbalanced?

Does this make Azriel feel sick, nauseous, or simply overwhelmed/overstimulated?

When people are feeling off-balance, for whatever reason, they can feel sick or nauseous. It's one of the symptoms of vertigo, which can be triggered by severe headaches such as migraines. And guess who rubs their temples? Azriel!

Alternatively, certain chords played loudly enough on a string instrument can really mess with your chest - and where do mating bonds attach - if you're standing close enough for them to vibrate through you (at least, they do for me haha). It can be weirdly disconcerting, and I'd imagine that if Azriel or Elain feels something like this, no wonder he describes such severe discomfort that he needs to leave, and she shrinks away from Lucien, the unintentional cause of her pain.

Same with the smell; if the magic of the Cauldron, in whatever way, is messing with the smell that should be there? Contaminating it? Unbearable.

Is this too crack for you? Well, let's get even crazier.

I have previously suggested that the Cauldron's actions throughout the series could be tracked, in part, by SJM describing a feeling or quality as “oily,” and I've also wondered if the dark maker of the Cauldron - Koschei? - could have hijacked it in some way, as the Book of Breathings being made from leftover iron gave me “One Ring” vibes. I still stand by that, but with a clarification (and here is where the TOG and CC spoilers come in, FYI). I think it's only half of the magic belonging to the Cauldron that is "oily":

Throughout TOG, the Valg are heavily associated with “oiliness,” in terms of their blood and magic. The smell “reeks” and always results in the involved characters experiencing extreme revulsion, including headaches. Sound familiar?

Wyrdstone has an oily, hideous aftertaste.

Even in CC 1/HOEAB, Danika was described as oily when she came into Griffin Antiques.

Celaena looked at the sealed door, her stomach turning. A half-dried pool of blood lay at the base of the door, so dark it looked like oil. She crouched, swiping a finger through the puddle. She sniffed at it, almost gagged at the reek, and then rubbed her finger against the pad of her thumb. It felt as oily as it looked. - COM, chapter 45

“What the hell is that?” Rowan demanded, kneeling beside her, sniffing her outstretched hand. He jerked back, snarling. “That’s not dirt.” No, it wasn’t. It was blacker than night, and reeked just as badly as it had the first time she’d smelled it, in the catacombs beneath the library, an obsidian, oily pool of blood. Slightly different from that other, horrific smell that loitered around this place, but similar. So similar to— “This isn’t possible,” she said, jolting to her feet. “This—this—this—” She paced, if only to keep from shaking. “I’m wrong. I have to be wrong.” There had been so many cells in that forgotten dungeon beneath the library, beneath the king’s Wyrdstone clock tower. The creature she’d encountered there had possessed a human heart. It had been left, she’d suspected, because of some defect. What if … what if the perfected ones had been moved elsewhere? What if they were now … ready? - HOF, chapter 45

The overseer roared, thrashing as her magic swept into him, melded with him. But there was nothing inside to grab on to. No darkness to burn out, no remaining ember to breathe life into. Only— Aelin reeled back, magic vanishing and knees buckling as if struck. Her head gave a throb, and nausea roiled in her gut. She knew that feeling—that taste. Iron. As if the man’s core was made of it. And that oily, hideous aftertaste … Wyrdstone. The demon inside the overseer let out a choked laugh. “What are collars and rings compared to a solid heart? A heart of iron and Wyrdstone, to replace the coward’s heart beating within.” - EOS, chapter 15

* Side note, it's giving Tamlin and his stone heart.

Danika didn’t just look like she’d been rootling through the garbage. She smelled like it, too. Wisps of her silvery blond hair—normally a straight, silken sheet—curled from her tight, long braid, the streaks of amethyst, sapphire, and rose splattered with some dark, oily substance that reeked of metal and ammonia. - CC HOEAB, chapter 1

The Hind held Ruhn’s gaze as the game began. She was the spitting image of Luna, with her upswept chignon, the regal angle of her neck and jaw. As coldly serene as the moon. All she needed was a pack of hunting hounds at her side— And she had them, in her dreadwolves. How had someone so young risen in the ranks so swiftly, gained such notoriety and power? No wonder she left a trail of blood behind her. “Careful now,” the Harpy said with that oily smile. “The Hammer doesn’t share.” The Hind’s lips curved upward. “No, he doesn’t.” - CC HOSAB, chapter 33

I think the dark maker of the Cauldron could have been Valg, whether that's Koschei or someone else I don't know though Koschei currently makes the most sense. I also don't know when the dark maker would have had the chance to influence the Cauldron; was it always made from dark and light, or - as @fawnandshadows theorised a while back - did Koschei bastardise it after the fact? Where the Valg would fit in with the Daglan and the Asteri is also a mystery, though my current train of thought is that they could be family names or allegiances, like different clans of the same parasitical species, thanks to the description of Danika in HOEAB.

But, back to Azriel and his severe reaction to the Elucien bond.

I know I'm not the only one who wonders at the very Valg-ish themes with which Rhys and Azriel's powers have been described - maybe one day I'll post my thoughts about the possible link between lightsingers, shadowsingers, daemati and the Valg (but it is not this day lol) - and how that may have come about. For example, are the Valg interwoven, genetically, with the Avallen people, or is it because the Princes of Hel are also involved, and have similar magics? Are the Princes of Hel a similar species as the Valg, Asteri and Daglan, or completely different? Ugh, let's stop this spiral here.

Oily: the obvious train of thought being that oily things are slippery, which can lead to an imbalance… ie. becoming off-kilter.

Sounds like Azriel could be suffering from some sort of vertigo, of which symptoms can include nausea; severe headaches, such as migraines, may trigger an episode… and who rubs his temples enough that Elain noticed it?

Maybe Azriel can sense the corruption in the bond, either the current Elucien bond, or the hypothetical original bond between Elain and himself; if like calls to like, and his shadows are Valg-ish, maybe it is because his OG bond was fucked with. So, what if:

Azriel's shadows can slip away from spells and binding magic (Slippery > oily > Valg).

The guards at the prison know what he is.

Valg magic making Azriel nauseous and Elain sourcing/making a healer's powder for him? It's giving Chaol and Yrene. Especially since Elain (and Mor) make his shadows brighten.

So, we have in-text mentions of Azriel feeling overwhelmed due to the proximity of the Elucien bond, as well as Elain shrinking from Lucien - an action that parallels Azriel hanging out in the doorway, and even Lucien retreating to the human lands, if he feels any bond-related discomfort around Elain. But what about his initial response to seeing Elain, and thinking she was the most beautiful female he'd ever seen? The quote that sent me down the “oily” rabbit hole to begin with?

Looking at her now … She was pale, yes. The vacancy still glazing her features. But he couldn’t breathe as she faced him fully. She was the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. Betrayal, queasy and oily, slid through his veins. He’d said the same to Jesminda once. But even as shame washed through him, the words, the sense chanted, Mine. You are mine, and I am yours. Mate. - ACOWAR, chapter 24

Well, Aelin felt oily disgust at the thought of marrying someone who wasn't Rowan:

“There are no allies,” Darrow said. “Unless Her Highness decides to be useful and gain us men and arms through marriage”—a sharp glance at Rowan—“we are alone.” Aelin debated revealing what she knew, the money she’d schemed and killed to attain, but— Something cold and oily clanged through her. Marriage to a foreign king or prince or emperor. Would this be the cost? Not just in blood shed, but in dreams yielded? To be a princess eternal, but never a queen? To fight with not just magic, but the other power in her blood: royalty. She could not look at Rowan, could not face those pine-green eyes without being sick. - EOS, chapter 5

This example from Aelin could describe Azriel and Elain’s potential future if Elain accepted a theoretically Cauldron spelled bond to Lucien, but also for Lucien and Jesminda, if they were originally true or fated mates before she was murdered.

Some final thoughts:

We know from TOG that healing light is known as the Valg executioner. In a parallel to Yrene killing Erawan with her healing light in KOA, Elain killed the King of Hybern - who I suspect was possessed or assisted by a Valg, as Feyre described his magic as a “galaxy” in his palms - with Truth-Teller, which had recently devoured the (her?) sunlight; does this mean that Elain could heal or purify Valg possessed things, with or without the magical, Made dagger? Could this be extrapolated to Azriel's magic, the Dread Trove, or even the Cauldron (possibly with Feyre and Nesta for the bigger ticket items)?

If the Asteri are the same species as the Valg, and the Valg somehow had a hand in making or twisting the Cauldron, it could follow that they used the Cauldron to create offspring bonds for a more powerful food source. If this pans out then Elain, bright light, could hypothetically heal the Cauldron. Maybe that is why Azriel describes her with purity language? Not because SJM wants to display Azriel's apparently toxic thoughts about her (🙄), but because she, along with her sisters, will be his/their salvation? Rhys once said as much to Feyre!

@mrspettyferr has suggested that Azriel's shadows ability to hide him from binding magic - see: the High Lord's meeting in ACOWAR - could have prevented his true bond from snapping with Elain when she came out of the Cauldron. This could be supported by any Valg/shadow link.

Thank you for reading! Please don't mention any CC HOFAS spoilers in the comments or reblogs until after it has been officially published. 💜

[silverlinedeyes]

An initial list of questions spawned from HOFAS

HOFAS spoilers below the break.

I’ve been thinking about some big and some small questions since I finished HOFAS last night and wanted to preserve them here with some of my thoughts for later discussion. I am also planning some larger theory posts to try to answer some of these questions.

Also, please reblog with any additional questions you may have if you’d like!!!

Where are the other Hel princes and what are they fighting?

Are Valg related to the Asteri or the Hel princes (or both)?

Are Valg children of the Void like the Hel princes?

Is the Under-King Valg and has he been hiding in the Under-King body living off of some of the Second Light?

How do Koschei and the Carver and the Weaver fit in with this?

Is Az also a descendant of the second daughter since he’s Starborn?

Is ToG on the same timeline as Prythian and CC?

Are the tall fae that came to Midgard from Erilea coming from the same time period depicted at the oasis in ToD when Yrene and Chaol find those carvings from the first demon wars, before Elena or Gavin were born?

Who on Prythian is a powerful enough starborn to wield and use Gwydion and TT? Is Elain? Or will the three Archeron sisters together make Theia’s light anew, as @offtorivendell @wingedblooms and I have theorized that each Archeron sister has part of Theia’s light.

Will the Archeron sisters be able to wield TT and Gwydion together to kill the unkillable—Koschei?

Did Bryce revive Dusk by taking Silene’s light back like she did Avallen when she took Theia’s light out of it? Or will someone (Elain???? Cc @wingedblooms) revive Dusk?

Does Urd = Wyrd = Chaos = the Dark Mother?

Is the temple in Hel that looks like Urd’s temple a temple to Chaos, Hel’s version of Urd and Apollion’s mother?

Were the ToG gods and the Asteri sucked (back into?) the Void, and if so, can the Void send them back or can they be retrieved from the Void by something?

What IS the connection between the gods in all these worlds, like Bryce asked when she was in Prythian?

Why do all these different fae societies oppress the females? Is it because only females can be powerful starborn, and some forces are at work to suppress that power to protect darker beings? Like how Pelias seems to have created a society that doesn’t allow women to get access to anything related to starborn to prevent another starborn queen from rising?

Can only females be powerful starborn/light wielders and can only males be powerful dark wielders/shadow wielders? Like how Hypaxia says six pointed star is two triangles, one male one female one light one dark (three brothers who are dark princes, three sisters who are starborn/princesses of light?)

Are there male lightsingers or female shadowsingers, or do singers follow these same rules?

Are morven and the murder twins descended from people from Hybern? The murder twins are daemati and remind me of the Hybern twins, and Morven’s shadows are described like ravens.

Does this mean TT has slewn two Hybern kings?

Where does the Starborn power come from?

Where in Prythian are the avallen from?

Are the Starborn and Avallen the same people?

Was Fionn the original king of darkness/shadows and theia the original queen of light/starborn queen? And are the males of their line the former, and the females the latter?

Where in Prythian did Fionn and Pelias come from?

Can TT unMake a mating bond?

Can Elain wield Gwydion and TT together to unMake her bond with Lucien and Make a bond with Azriel?

Aidas tells Hunt some higher power must have made them Mates. We have all these super powerful fae finding their powerful mates right before these huge universe altering moments. Is this part of how Urd is using them as pawns in her plans/games?

Why does Amren’s timeline not match Silene’s re the creation of the Prison? Was this just a continuity error, did Silene manipulate memories, or is this fishy on Amren’s part?

Was Enalius one of the people with Fionn and Theia on Ramiel when they made Gwydion and TT?

Did Nesta give up some of her Starborn powers when she gave back what she stole from the Cauldron, and does this mean she won’t be able to wield and use Gwydion and TT, which will lead to Elain’s role with this?

[nikethestatue]

I'm in the same boat as you with waiting for YEARS for our Elriel book, but I'd rather it take time and be good than the quickly thrown together mess that was HOFAS.

Speaking of which, I know people are mad that SJM has released 3 CC books and taking her time with ACOTAR, but genuinely she needed CC3 to come first to set up the overarching plot of ACOTAR 5 and beyond.

The fandom is tearing itself apart from the inside with all the ship wars, anti Inner Circle/Rhysand/Feyre talk, but it's all free publicity. SJM and BB have no reason to give anything away when booktok, online forums and book clubs are blowing up with theories.

I'm just saying I understand your frustration, but the best thing I did about a year ago was pull back a lot from the fandom and go into others (more lightly). It really helps and I have found some excellent series in the process. ACOTAR 5 will come out when it's good and ready, and our ship will get the story they deserve. 🤍

At this point, honestly, I pretty much made peace with this fandom. It is what it is. That's why I usually don't get involved in fights or arguments much. My position has been the same for years, my goalposts haven't changed, and it's pretty much the same stance I've always had. Nothing, in the past almost 4 years, has ever made me question Elriel, their romance, them being endgame.

The one thing I would disagree with you on is the need for CC3 being first.

Now, maybe whatever SJM initially had in her mind was something needed. However, what she put out, was crap. No one can ever say that Nesta, Az and Bryce wandering in some cave was necessary in terms of the crossover. We got a hologram and a sleeping Asteri that was killed in the same chapter. The same info could've been found by Nesta or Elain or Az under the Prison, and the author who wrote Mort the talking doorknob, could've very easily created a non-Bryce related scenario. Example: ELAIN SEES A VISION. Simple. Sets up the story perfectly. She sees a vision day in and day out, hears a voice that is trying to tell her something and she can't understand. She only knows she needs to go under the Prison. Switch Bryce for Elain. She and Nesta and Az go underneath and experience basically exactly the same thing that we've read in HOFAS.

Unless SJM is actually planning to bring back Bryce to rule Dusk, there was NO point to Bryce there at all.

It was a pet project of a spoiled author who doesn't hear 'no' very often.

[offtorivendell]

Ahhhhhhhhh okay. Okay. So, you have put into one post here something that I have wanted to discuss for literal years (but as usual, you've gone above and beyond). Remember back in 2021, when we were discussing mythology that might relate to Elain, and I wondered if she could possibly be, at least in part, inspired by the three wives of Zephyros, the western wind? The fructifying wind, a messenger of spring?

Maybe one day I'll finish the post that is languishing in my drafts lol - I mentioned it in this discussion, but didn't go very in-depth - but all of these brilliant associations you've found between Elain and the wind have got me wondering once more... "what if Elain could function, in some capacity, like a harpy?"

To briefly sum up: a bird like creature that, among other things, is thought to be a wind spirit that carried evildoers away to the furies/erinyes (I have my eyes on Merrill, and maybe some of the other priestesses). The earlier harpies were apparently not foul in appearance, and were also thought to have ties with the underworld, which:

And it was Elain—Elain—who sighed and murmured, “I hope they all burn in hell.” - ACOMAF, chapter 40

Sighing and murmuring like the wind, burning in a part of the underworld? The sister who was once known to flit between her ball guests like a bird? The sister who may have already entered the Void? The sister who has been linked to hounds (was even called a dog), and the wind spirits known as the hounds of Zeus? The harpy wife of Zephyros, Podarge, whose name translates to swiftfoot or Fleetfoot, the name Aelin gave her dog?!

I know I've said it before, but if Elain actually drags the remaining mortal queens to Hell/Hel, just like she threatened way back in ACOMAF...

Please excuse me while I kick my feet and scream into my tea.

Song of the wind

This is a Maasverse post, and as such, there are spoilers for all Maas series. Proceed with caution.

There once was a dark cottage at the edge of the forest, and in that cottage rested a bed: 

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)

A bed made of ironwood, as @offtorivendell pointed out a long time ago. This is the only mention of ironwood in the acotar series. And as you may remember, ironwood is connected to Ironteeth witches: 

Leaning into the breeze was the closest she came to flying these days—save in rare dreams, when she was again in the clouds, her ironwood broom still functioning, not the scrap of useless wood it was now, chucked into the closet of her room at Blackbeak Keep. (hof)

-

A fierce, wild thrill pierced Manon’s chest, sharp as a knife. Following the Matron’s gaze, Manon looked to the horizon, where the mountains were still blanketed with winter. To fly again, to soar through the mountain passes, to hunt down prey the way they’d been born to … 

They weren’t enchanted ironwood brooms. But wyverns would do just fine. (hof)

Unlike Crochan witches who use redwood for their brooms, Ironteeth witches make their brooms from ironwood. It is unclear what wood is used for brooms in Midgard. Queen Hypaxia's broom is quite intricate, carved with clouds and flowers and stars, and turns into a broach of the earth goddess, Cthona, when it is not being used.

It is no coincidence that the Archeron sisters were born in an ironwood bed; it’s the only possession they kept from their past. If that doesn’t scream witches, I don’t know what does.  

In tog, we learn that Ironteeth witches carve their own brooms, as Manon recalls: 

Manon could still feel how her own hands had ached during the long days she’d whittled down her first broom from the log of ironwood she’d found deep in Oakwald. The first two ventures had resulted in snapped shafts, and she’d resolved to carve her broom more carefully. Three tries, one for each face of the Goddess. (koa)

This instantly made me think of Papa Archeron and his skill with wood. He bought the ironwood bed for his wife, and in it she birthed three sisters, one for each face of the Goddess. @starswhogaze suggests that he might even possess the gift of Sight, his eyes lost to memory, clouded. Is he a rare-born witch prince (of merchants), and did he See something in the future that compelled him to find the missing queen, Vassa, and gather an army? Or was he influenced by Koschei on the wind, as @offtorivendell has discussed before?

Ironteeth witches and their ironwood brooms are linked to the wind: 

She’d been thirteen, mere weeks past her first bleeding, which had brought about the zipping current of power that called to the wind, that flowed through the brooms and carried them into the skies. Each stroke of the chisel, each pound of the hammer that transformed the block of near-impenetrable material, had transferred that power into the emerging broom itself. (koa) 

Not only does this make me think of Papa Archeron and his chisel, spreading love and beauty with his carvings, but it also reminds me of Nesta’s trove of death-swords. She hammers raw magic into the swords like more elemental fae once did. 

I also can’t help but think about Elain imbuing objects or the land itself with power. Is that what her carved rose might foreshadow? Is it made of ironwood? Nesta describes the rose as a dark sort of wood with solid weight. Ironwood is known for being strong and dense, making it more difficult to carve. (And I just love the juxtaposition of something so delicate being so strong and solid, near-impenetrable.)

Nesta takes the dark rose from the cottage mantel and places it next to a figurine of the Mother in the House of Wind; the Mother is one of the faces of the Goddess that witches in Midgard and Erilea worship. Blooms are an important symbol for witches in Erilea, too:

A few bore flowers, but many brought small stones to lay on the site. Those who had neither laid down whatever personal effects they could offer. Until the blast site was covered, as if a garden had grown from a field of blood.

[…]

“Be the bridge, be the light. When iron melts, when flowers spring from fields of blood—let the land be witness, and return home.” (koa)

@offtorivendell pointed out that this imagery is similar to the way Elain is described in the witch accusation. She's a rose bloom among soldiers in a mud field, and at the end of the original series, she expresses a desire to create gardens after so much bloodshed and death.

Could Elain’s ironwood rose might mean we'll see her travel on the wind? Like Illyrians, Ironteeth witches fly and have a deep connection with the wind. Their power calls to the wind, and as we see with Manon, the wind sings to them in return:

Hurry northward, the wind sang, day and night. Hurry, Blackbeak. (koa) 

When Elain meets the Illyrians, the very first question out of her mouth is about their ability to fly, and we learn they hear the song of the wind from birth like Ironteeth witches. 

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. But we are trained so thoroughly that the fear is gone before we’re out of swaddling.” (acomaf)

We see the frightening scenario Azriel describes above play out when he rescues Elain and Briar, the former notably silent when they briefly lose the current. It’s as if she was Made to travel on the wind.

Azriel turned, the girl moaning in terror as he lost a few feet to the sky—before he leveled out and soared beside me. (acowar)

There are so many possibilities for how the song of the wind might connect to Elain’s powers. She might transform into a winged predator, as Blodeuwedd does, and/or she might move through the world like the Cauldron, a force that is travels unseen and constantly shifts form. Her power is repeatedly paralleled with Azriel’s abilities, and we already know that he learned the language of shadow and wind and stone when he was trapped in darkness. Elain’s sense of sound is also heightened after she is Made in the dark depths of the Cauldron:

“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)

[…]

“There is a garden—at my other house,” I said. “I’d like for you to come tend it, if you’re willing.” Elain only turned toward the sunny windows again, the light dancing in her hair. “Will I hear the earthworms writhing through the soil? Or the stretching of roots? Will the bird of fire come to sit in the trees and watch me?” (acowar)

She can hear, see, and communicate with things that others cannot. It would not be a surprise if this extended to the wind, among many other things as @silverlinedeyes suggests in her Singer post. 

“Don’t,” Elain said flatly, starting once more into a walk, veils of steam drifting past her shoulders from the roasted rosemary potatoes in her hands, as if they were Azriel’s shadows. “She won’t listen.” (acofas)

Another word for steam is mist and mist can create a a murky environment. Both oracles and mystics use murky environments, such as smoke-filled rooms or cloudy tubs of liquid, to access their gifts and respond to specific questions. I believe this environment is meant to mimic the murky waters of the Cauldron. The oracle in Midgard listens to answers in the smoke, much like Elain listens to a voice in her murky realm. When asked a question she cannot answer, she says it is all mist and shadow. 

Mor leaned forward. “Do you know why the other queens cursed her—sold her to him?” 

Elain studied the table. “No. No—that is all mist and shadow.” (acowar)

Mist and shadow. Like @offtorivendell, I believe Elain will need to use the language of shadow and wind and stone, or its counterpoint, for travel through the void as well as clear visions, which brings me back to witches. Ironteeth witches blink clear eyelids into place for protection, like owls. These eyelids allow them to see clearly in murky conditions while they fly. 

The smoke of countless forges stung Manon’s eyes enough that she blinked her clear eyelid into place upon landing in the heart of the war camp to the sound of pounding hammers and crackling flames. (qos)

In the Blodeuwedd post, I theorized that Elain blinks like an owl when she uses her gift of clairvoyance. Clairvoyance means clear sight or vision. Like an Ironteeth witch, she might blink to to see clearly, or focus her vision, in her murky realm. Does she possess an inner light, like owls of legend? Or can she hunt on sound alone, like an owl who has adapted to her dark environment? Move like a pale wraith through the darkness of the Void?

Her skin was so pale it looked like fresh snow in the harsh light. I realized then that the color of death, of sorrow, was white. The lack of color. Of vibrancy. I left Cassian and Rhys by the door. Nesta’s rage was better than this … shell. This void. My breath caught as I edged around her chair. Beheld the city view she stared so blankly at. Then beheld the hollowed-out cheeks, the bloodless lips, the brown eyes that had once been rich and warm, and now seemed utterly dull. Like grave dirt. 

[…]

Perhaps that was why she now kept all the curtains open. To fill the void that existed where all of that light had once been. And now nothing remained. (acowar) 

Void is darkness that devours all light. A Night Court weaver wove dark fabric in her grief and called it Void. Dark fabric is also linked to movement earlier on in the series, when Feyre learns to winnow: 

“How does that … vanishing work?” I said softly. I’d seen only a few High Fae do it—and no one had ever explained. 

Rhys didn’t look at me, but he said, “Winnowing? Think of it as … two different points on a piece of cloth. One point is your current place in the world. The other one across the cloth is where you want to go. Winnowing … it’s like folding that cloth so the two spots align. The magic does the folding—and all we do is take a step to get from one place to another. Sometimes it’s a long step, and you can feel the dark fabric of the world as you pass through it. A shorter step, let’s say from one end of the room to the other, would barely register. It’s a rare gift, and a helpful one. Though only the stronger Fae can do it. The more powerful you are, the farther you can jump between places in one go.” (acomaf)

Void seems to be the dark fabric of the world that characters weave through as they winnow.

Darkness gobbled us up, and it was instinct to grab him as the world vanished from beneath my feet. Winnowing indeed. Wind tore at me, and his arm was a warm, heavy weight across my back while we tumbled through realms, Rhys snickering at my terror. (acomaf)

And this tumbling through realms in darkness sounds like the description of Wyrdgates, black areas where life passes between worlds, that Baba Yellowlegs gives to Aelin.

“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. Benign things, but also the dead and foul things that creep in when the gods are looking elsewhere.” (com)

@silverlinedeyes theorized that Elain may use the Void to travel unseen. In the space between, I talk about the opposing forces of Azriel and Elain and the balance, or harmony, in the place where they meet. Could Elain become a force of light and wind and color that penetrates the deepest darkness?

Azriel arrived first, no shadows to be seen, my sister a pale, golden mass in his arms. He, too, wore his Illyrian armor, Elain's golden-brown hair snagging in some of the black scales across his chest and shoulders. (acowar)

-

But sunlight on gold caught his eye—and Elain slowly turned from her vigil at the window. (acowar)

-

Even in the middle of winter, she was a bloom of color and sunshine. (acofas)

-

From the edge of my vision, purple and gold flashed—Elain. (acofas) 

-

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)

-

The River House had finally fallen quiet after the raucous Winter Solstice party, the Faelights dimming to cast little pools of gold amid the deep shadow of the longest night of the year. [...] The Faelights gilded Elain's unbound hair, making her glow like the sun at dawn. (Azriel's bonus chapter)

Did she track Hybern and her family through her Sight, and then—like a pale wraith on the wind—weave through the dark fabric of the world to strike true? Was she Hope shining through the Void, as acofas may have hinted?

Before she appears out of shadow to rescue Nesta and Cassian, she comments on the movement of one of my favorite creatures: 

Her eyes shifted beneath her lids, the skin so delicate and colorless that the blue veins beneath were like small streams. “It moves …,” she whispered. “It moves through the world like … like the breath of the western wind.” (acowar)

Is this simply a poetic turn of phrase she uses for the Suriel’s movements, or does Elain understand the wind better than we realize? Is she familiar with the western wind specifically? Merrill, who is referred to as a witch (and reminds me of Manon), informs Nesta in acosf that she is descended from Rabbath, Lord of the Western Wind. Like witches, she too seems to have a special connection to the wind and presides over the spell-like ritual of the dusk services. Where is the Lord of the Western Wind from? Could it involve Dusk…or the Witch Kingdom in another world? All signs point to witches, as @psychologynerd reminded me of this:

Sometimes, Manon dreamed that she was in that room in the Omega, her half sister’s blood on her hands and in her mouth. Sometimes, she stood beside her grandmother, a witch fully grown and not the witchling she’d been at the time, and helped the Matron carve up a handsome, bearded man who begged for her life—his offspring’s life. Sometimes, she flew over a lush green land, the song of a western wind singing her home. (eos)

It's even more interesting that Elain specifically names the breath of the western wind, as though she has heard its call too. Though this list below is not exhaustive, the number of characters and creatures in the acotar series who are linked to the wind has grown immensely:

Suriel moving like a shadow on the wind and the western wind;

Illyrians hearing the song of the wind; 

Azriel learning the language of the wind;

Mor's blood calling her to go on the wind;

Koschei influencing others on the wind; 

Beron getting wind of Briallyn’s plans;

Queens scattering to the winds (like witches in tog); 

Autumn’s smokehounds moving as fast as the wind to sniff out any prey; and

Merrill hearing the wind through stone, a descendant of Lord of the Western Wind.

And because I was curious (and love to come back to connections between the Suriel and Elain), I reviewed how the Suriel traveled.

Like a shadow on the wind, the Suriel was off, a blast of dark that set the four naga staggering back. (acowar)

-

I glanced toward the river, as if I could see all the way to the cave, to where Rhysand slept. When I looked back at the Suriel, it was gone. (acomaf)

-

I drew my Illyrian blade, the metal singing in the thick air. But an ancient, rasping voice asked behind me, “Have you come to kill me, or to beg for my help once again, Feyre Archeron?” 

I turned, but did not sheath my blade across my back. 

The Suriel was standing a few feet away, clad not in the cloak I had given it months ago, but a different one—heavier and darker, the fabric already torn and shredded. As if the wind it traveled on had ripped through it with invisible talons. (acowar) 

The Suriel moves like a shadow on the wind, appearing and vanishing silently and suddenly, as Elain does now: 

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

“Feyre?” Elain was again at my side. I hadn’t heard her steps. Hadn’t heard any sound for moments. (acofas)

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

“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)

Elain seems to move like the breath of the western wind too, and I have a feeling that if we could hear it as she might, it would sound like a chant.

Next: The sense chanted, or Elain's connections to witchy rituals.

Series: seer. wise woman. witch.