#elain archeron theory

[offtorivendell]

Elain Archeron Week, Day 1: Visions

I've theorised before about how I think Elain's powers - specifically her Sight, but possibly other aspects of her magic, too - might work, with regards to her murky realm/the Void, the effects of light and even magical medicinals (could witchberries play a part instead of bloodbane?) so today I want to talk a little about why I think having such a useful power could be so meaningful for Elain.

ACOSF suggested that Elain was raised by Mama Archeron to have no independent thought; no dreams of her own, no goals bigger than her garden. She was to be the family's pawn on the marriage mart in their quest for power. Valued for her looks alone, not for what she could do.

Elain is pleasant to look at, her mother had once mused while Nesta sat beside her dressing table, a servant silently brushing her mother’s gold-brown hair, but she has no ambition. She does not dream beyond her garden and pretty clothes. She will be an asset on the marriage market for us one day, if that beauty holds, but it will be our own maneuverings, Nesta, not hers, that win us an advantageous match. Nesta had been twelve at the time. Elain barely eleven. She’d absorbed every word of her mother’s scheming, plans for futures that had never come to pass. - ACOSF, chapter 17

And then Azriel said this...

But Azriel asked softly, taking a single step over the threshold and into the sitting room, “What other?” Elain’s brows twitched toward each other. “The queen—with the feathers of flame.” The shadowsinger angled his head. Lucien murmured to me, eye still fixed on Elain, “Should we—does she need …?” “She doesn’t need anything,” Azriel answered without so much as looking at Lucien. Elain was staring at the spymaster now—unblinkingly. “We’re the ones who need …” Azriel trailed off. “A seer,” he said, more to himself than us. “The Cauldron made you a seer.” - ACOWAR, chapter 32

Besides the fact that Sight must be an incredibly difficult power to navigate at the best of times, I will always wonder how much it meant to Elain to hear she was needed for a skill. Something she could work at and contribute that went beyond the looks she was born with. Something that could - and did - allow her to prove her mother wrong when her own "maneuverings" saved lives at the end of ACOWAR.

Even before Elain understood what was happening, while she was still lost in her murky realm, she tried to use her visions to warn/help her family. One of her biggest contributions being her untrained doe eyes peering across the world, leading Feyre to the Suriel in ACOWAR, then of course everything that followed when she ignored orders to return to camp and ended up killing the King of Hybern and saving Nesta and Cassian, and massively weakening Hybern's army.

Our trembling fawn has a backbone of steel, I can't wait for her to shine and grow in her own book. 🌿

@elainarcheronweek

[wingedblooms]

Wraiths wear bodies

When we find out that Vanir wraiths wear bodies and change them often…

It reminded me of Elain asking Amren about her ability to change bodies.

And I can’t help but wonder about the moment Nesta scans her sister and considers if she’s been training with the shadowsinger or…the half-wraith twins.

If Elain has learned to move like a wraith from her friends, is it possible she could learn to wear bodies or shift her appearance, too? Is that why she looked so wraithlike after she was changed in the Cauldron? I have a feeing their powers are much more similar than we realize.

More on wraiths here.

[nikethestatue]

I wonder if Elain, being a Seer isn’t just about what she Sees but also, what she is able to see in/through people? What if she Sees their natural or true form? 

We know that she lamented that ‘no one ever saw’ her, but I wonder if that’s another part of her gift? That SHE can see others for what they are. 

What if she is seeing through people, spells, bindings?

Because I believe that Vassa is a Thunderbird, could she see that? Could Elain and Lucien find a way to free Vassa together?

And because I think that the Horn of Luna is the 4th Trove object, which is in Bryce, what if Elain is able to see that as well?

She gave Azriel earplugs--does she have an inkling that he might be near a Lightsinger?

She told Azriel that his hands/scars are ‘beautiful’--can she see something beyond that? Beyond his outwardly beauty, and that there is something beautiful beneath?

Could she be avoiding Lucien for a different reason, beyond just the mate bond? Can she see that he isn’t Beron’s son, for example? And she avoids him because she Saw that he and she aren’t meant to be? And that he has a different path ahead of him? Conversely, does she see him as a Fox, who is not to be trusted?

We know that she heard heartbeats and screams and clawing through the stones. Could she go a step beyond that and also see things that no one else can?

[silverlinedeyes]

Was talking to @merymoonbeam and @offtorivendell about this theory, and what if Elain gets stuck in the bone carver’s cell with the Ouroboros and has to face the mirror to get out? And in doing so, she discovers, accepts, and releases her inner fanged beast?

But unlike Feyre, for whom the fanged beast just stayed a part of who she is as a person, for Elain, it becomes her beast form? Like for Tamlin or Rhys or Helion. What if Elain can *sing* or will the form into being when she needs it?

I had to give me up - Elain Prison Theory

Firstly thanks to @lesolehabitantdelalune and @offtorivendell because without them I wouldn't have catch this.

Okay...so we all know Amren came from another universe and had a different form. Old fae feared her because they thought she was like their old masters.

Rhys shook his head. “Only vaguely now. From what I’ve gleaned, she arrived during those years before Fionn and Gwydion rose, and went into the Prison during the Age of Legends—the time when this land was full of heroic figures who were keen to hunt down the last members of their former masters’ race. They feared Amren, believing her one of their enemies, and threw her into the Prison. When she emerged again, she’d missed Fionn’s fall and the loss of Gwydion, and found the High Lords ruling.” (acosf)

And from Acowar we know that Amren got out of Prison because she gave up her "real" form to be fae. In here she says that to walk out of Prison she had give herself up.

Her brows narrowed. “I had to give something up. I had to give me up. To walk out, I had to become something else entirely, something the Prison would not recognize. So I—I bound myself into this body.” (acowar)

and this part she is talking about being different from her kind. she wanted.

“I lied—to cover what I’d done. So none could know. To escape the Prison, I made myself mortal. Immortal as you are, but … mortal compared to—to what I was. And what I was … I did not feel, the way you do. The way I do now. Some things—loyalty and wrath and curiosity—but not the full spectrum.” Again, that faraway look. “I was perfect, according to some. I did not regret, did not mourn—and pain … I did not experience it. And yet… yet I wound up here, because I was not quite like the others. Even as—as what I was, I was different. Too curious. Too questioning. The day the rip appeared in the sky … it was curiosity that drove me. My brothers and sisters fled. Upon the orders of our ruler, we had just laid waste to twin cities, smote them wholly into rubble on the plain, and yet they fled from that rip in the world. But I wanted to look. I wanted. I was not built or bred to feel such selfish things as want. I’d seen what happened to those of my kind who strayed, who learned to place their needs first. Who developed… feeling. But I went through the tear in the sky. And here I am.” (acowar)

It is not a full connection but Amren talks about "wanting" as something foreign to her kind. They were not supposed to feel those. And you have Elain...as mama archeron had said

"Elain is pleasant to look at but she has no ambition. She does not dream beyond her garden and pretty clothes. She will be an asset on the marriage market for us one day, if that beauty holds, but it will be our own maneuverings, Nesta, not hers, that win us an advantageous match" always a pawn in other people's hand. (acosf)

Or What Rhys had said

Rhys asked, “Have you ever seen Elain act like that before?” “No.” I chewed on my bottom lip. Rhys’s gaze tracked the movement. I mean, she’s been brave when she had to be, but she’s never been confrontational.” “Maybe she was never given the chance to be that way.” I whipped my head toward him. “You think I stifle her?” Rhys held up his hands. “Not you alone.”  He surveyed the study as he thought. “But I wonder if everyone has spent so long assuming Elain is sweet and innocent that she felt she had to be that way or else she ’ d disappoint you all.” He sighed toward the ceiling. “ With time and safety, perhaps we ’ll  see a different side of her emerge.” “That sounds dangerously close to what Nesta said about Elain finally becoming interesting.”  “Sometimes, Nesta isn’t wrong. ” I glowered at Rhys. “You think Elain's boring?”  “I think she’s kind, and I’ll take kindness over nastiness any day. But I also think we haven’t yet seen all she has to offer.” A corner of his mouth tugged upward. “Don’t forget that gardening often results in something pretty, but it involves getting one’s hands dirty along the way.” (acosf feysand bonus chapter)

and the way Elain's arc is choice...

okay back to amren scene.

“And you gave all that up to get out of the Prison?” Mor asked softly. “I yielded my grace—my perfect immortality. I knew that once I did … I would feel pain. And regret. I would want, and I would burn with it. I would … fall. But I was—the time locked away down there … I didn’t care. I had not felt the wind on my face, had not smelled the rain … I did not even remember what they felt like. I did not remember sunlight.” It was to Azriel that her attention drifted—the shadowsinger’s darkness pulling away to reveal eyes full of understanding. Locked away. (acowar)

The fact that Amren connects to Azriel with it. The way both were locked away...(Janet is sick for this.)

Now...how Amren and prison ties to Elain. We all know Elain has so many prison quotes and every sister conquer a mountain.

Feyre with UTM

Nesta with Ramiel

Elain and Prison...

so while Amren was talking her "new body" in acofas and how difficult it was to go to toilet(lol) Elain cuts in with her question.

Mor opened her mouth, laughter dancing on her face, but Elain asked, “Could you have done it? Decided to take a male form?” The question cut through the laughter, an arrow fired between us. Amren studied my sister, Elain’s cheeks red from our unfiltered talk at the table. “Yes,” she said simply. “Before, in my other form, I was neither. I simply was.” “Then why did you pick this body?” Elain asked, the faelight of the chandelier catching in the ripples of her golden-brown braid. “I was more drawn to the female form,” Amren answered simply. “I thought it was more symmetrical. It pleased me.” Mor frowned down at her own form, ogling her considerable assets. “True.” Cassian snickered. Elain asked, “And once you were in this body, you couldn’t change?” Amren’s eyes narrowed slightly. I straightened, glancing between them. Unusual, yes, for Elain to be so vocal, but she’d been improving. Most days, she was lucid—perhaps quiet and prone to melancholy, but aware. Elain, to my surprise, held Amren’s gaze. Amren said after a moment, “Are you asking out of curiosity for my past, or your own future?” The question left me too stunned to even reprimand Amren. The others, too. Elain’s brow furrowed before I could leap in. “What do you mean?” “There’s no going back to being human, girl,” Amren said, perhaps a tad gently. “Amren,” I warned. Elain’s face reddened further, her back straightening. But she didn’t bolt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I’d never heard Elain’s voice so cold. (acofas)

Elain asks too many detailed questions. And we see that Amren takes this her wanting to go back to being human...but Elain is confused. As if it couldn't be more further from her mind. She is asking specific questions. And this takes us back to the theory...why was she asking?

before going back to theory @wingedbloomshas a theory about elain shape-shifting...so maybe it ties into that? here is the post

From Amren's explanations about how she escaped the prison she says "I had to give me up. To walk out, I had to become something else entirely, something the Prison would not recognize." so what if...Elain will get trapped in prison and she has to give something up too? this is why she was asking? what if she saw something in a vision and was trying to see if she would had to give something up and was trying to see if she would come back from it?

Another thing is...Elain is always described as a trembling fawn. She is even in 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)

there is so many theories about this prophecy but I take it as BoB was talking about Elain in that pink highlighted part...so what if fanged beast is what elain would become? Amren said in acowar "I had to give me up. To walk out, I had to become something else entirely, something the Prison would not recognize.". So what if Elain has to become Fanged beast to escape prison? And Elain asked Amren in acofas "Elain asked, “And once you were in this body, you couldn’t change?” what if this what she was asking... that she would turn into fanged beast.?

another thing is that... there is a parallel scene with Elain asking question to Amren with Nesta. It is just so similar. look at the same highlighted parts.

This is the Elain scene:

Mor opened her mouth, laughter dancing on her face, but Elain asked, “Could you have done it? Decided to take a male form?” The question cut through the laughter, an arrow fired between us. Amren studied my sister, Elain’s cheeks red from our unfiltered talk at the table. “Yes,” she said simply. “Before, in my other form, I was neither. I simply was.” “Then why did you pick this body?” Elain asked, the faelight of the chandelier catching in the ripples of her golden-brown braid. “I was more drawn to the female form,” Amren answered simply. “I thought it was more symmetrical. It pleased me.” Mor frowned down at her own form, ogling her considerable assets. “True.” Cassian snickered. Elain asked, “And once you were in this body, you couldn’t change?” Amren’s eyes narrowed slightly. I straightened, glancing between them. Unusual, yes, for Elain to be so vocal, but she’d been improving. Most days, she was lucid—perhaps quiet and prone to melancholy, but aware. Elain, to my surprise, held Amren’s gaze. Amren said after a moment, “Are you asking out of curiosity for my past, or your own future?” The question left me too stunned to even reprimand Amren. The others, too. Elain’s brow furrowed before I could leap in. “What do you mean?” “There’s no going back to being human, girl,” Amren said, perhaps a tad gently. “Amren,” I warned. Elain’s face reddened further, her back straightening. But she didn’t bolt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I’d never heard Elain’s voice so cold. (acofas)

and this is the nesta scene:

Nesta only said, “Why do your eyes glow?” Little curiosity—just a blunt need for explanation. And no fear. None. Amren angled her head. “You know, none of these busybodies have ever asked me that.” Those busybodies were trying not to look too concerned. As was I. Nesta only waited. Amren sighed, her dark bob swaying. “They glow because it was the one part of me the containment spell could not quite get right. The one glimpse into what lurks beneath.” “And what is beneath?” None of the others spoke. Or even moved. Lucien, still by the window, had turned the color of fresh paper. Amren traced a finger along the rim of her goblet, her red-tinted nail gleaming as bright as the blood inside. “They never dared ask me that, either.” “Why.” “Because it is not polite to ask—and they are afraid.” Amren held Nesta’s stare, and my sister did not balk. Did not flinch. “We are the same, you and I,” Amren said. I wasn’t sure I was breathing. Through the bond, I wasn’t sure Rhys was, either. “Not in flesh, not in the thing that prowls beneath our skin and bones …” Amren’s remarkable eyes narrowed. “But … I see the kernel, girl.” Amren nodded, more to herself than anyone. “You did not fit—the mold that they shoved you into. The path you were born upon and forced to walk. You tried, and yet you did not, could not, fit. And then the path changed.” A little nod. “I know—what it is to be that way. I remember it, long ago as it was.” Nesta had mastered the Fae’s preternatural stillness far more quickly than I had. And she sat there for a few heartbeats, simply staring at the strange, delicate female across from her, weighing the words, the power that radiated from Amren … And then Nesta merely said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Amren’s red lips parted in a wide, serpentine smile. “When you erupt, girl, make sure it is felt across worlds.” (acowar)

both asking amren a question

Amren talks about them and compares to what she thinks is true

at the end "I don't know what you're talking about"

Like Amren predicted Nesta erupted at the end of acosf and it was felt across worlds but the difference is Amren thinks that Elain wants to be human again. She is wrong...Rhys' words come in this time too. " “Maybe she was never given the chance to be that way.” I whipped my head toward him. “You think I stifle her?” Rhys held up his hands. “Not you alone.”  He surveyed the study as he thought. “But I wonder if everyone has spent so long assuming Elain is sweet and innocent that she felt she had to be that way or else she ’ d disappoint you all.” "

Everyone keeps assuming about Elain but...nobody knows the real her.

So...Elain is getting trapped in prison. HOW FUN!!!!!!

thanks for reading.

[emilyondemand]

Gentle grower of things

Day 2: Hope 🌸

One of the hopes I have for Elain’s book is that she is the flip side to the power of death that Nesta has, and instead has the power of life.

Elain having some sort of earth/life magic would be very apt for her and my favorite theory is that Elain will be instrumental in reviving the dusk court.

Elain the gentle grower of things, the one who believes the world needs more gardens where there are none, and who Feyre likened to being ‘mistress of a prison’ feels very much like the one to help bring back life to a court that is now barren.

I absolutely adore @little_alfard and her work; and was honored to have such an incredible artist bring this idea to life for me in such a breathtaking piece! It was such a pleasure working with her and I hope to again in the future!

Art by: @little_alfard

Commissioned by: me

Character belongs to: @sarahjmaas

For: @elainarcheronweek

You can find it on IG here

Likes, comments, shares, and saves are always welcomed and appreciated!

Please do not repost without permission.

[cassianfanclub]

“This time, you sent the trembling fawn to find me. I did not expect to see those doe-eyes peering at me from across the world.”

Happy Elain Archeron Week Day 6: Fanged Beast

One of my absolute favorite theories in this fandom is that Elain will be able to traverse the murky realm, like the Mystics in HOSAB. @wingedblooms incredible mind connects details in a way most only dream of and has helped to further my excitement for Elain’s book and journey. You can find the two main theories that inspired this piece here and here.

The first time we see Elain peer across the world, she is doing so as a trembling fawn, but my hope is that, she will peer across worlds on her way to becoming a fanged beast and embrace that side of her in her own book.

In this piece, Elain has left behind Az and Bryce in Velaris, and stepped into the murky realm, only to be greeted by a waiting Apollion, mirroring Az. Apollion’s black eyes, deep and dark as the Pit in which he dwells- a telltale sign that his relaxed posture is nothing more than a trick to give a false sense of calm. But I have confidence Elain’s fangs and claws will get her back home.

A massive thank you to @luxury_banshee on IG for creating this piece for me💕

You can find this art on IG here

Please do not repost

@elainarcheronweek

[dawneternal]

What did Azriel whisper in Eris's ear???

Where is Elain going so early in the morning???

Why is Rhys being so extra???

What did Eris trade to keep Keir out of Velaris???

What are Eris hounds named???

Eris Eris Eris???

[offtorivendell]

This. Even if we don't see or hear of Elain explicitly using her powers - because I know we agree that, as much as we're desperate to know about her magics, we'd be annoyed if they were spoiled in a book that wasn't her own - I think it's definitely plausible that we could have Elain shaped holes in HOFAS that, while they won't make a difference to Bryce and CC, they will be cleared up in the next ACOTAR book.

Why (I think) ACOSF made it *obvious* Elain’s book is next

I know there have been a bunch of posts on this point, but I find it so interesting how I see so many posts assuming Azriel’s book is next (based mainly, I think, on his bonus chapter). I had the exact opposite reaction when I finished ACOSF and when I finished the bonus chapters. I came away thinking “the next book is 100% about Elain” and it wasn’t until I started interacting with different parts of the fandom that I realized most people were assuming Az’s book was definitely next. So I thought I would compile what made it obvious to me that the next book is Elain’s (and Azriel’s too, but that’s beside the point lol).

Elain’s Powers

We’re told there’s been no signs of Elain’s power since the war.

Elain, too, had revealed no indication of her seer’s abilities since then.

But there is quite a bit of foreshadowing that Elain still has them, which made me think we’re going to see them very soon.

All three sisters were now High Fae with considerable powers, though only Feyre’s were let loose. Even Amren had no idea whether Elain’s and Nesta’s powers remained.

“The last time we involved ourselves with the Cauldron, it abducted you,” Nesta countered, fighting her shaking. She found the words, the weapons she sought. “I thought you didn’t have powers anymore.” Elain pursed her lips. “I thought you didn’t, either.”

But Elain had confirmed it for everyone: both sisters still possessed their Cauldron-gifted powers. Whether they were as powerful as before, he had no idea.

Elain Coming Out Of Her Shell

We get several scenes showing Elain is coming out of her shell and that she’s not as weak/docile/nice as everyone seems to think she is, telling us, the readers, that there’s a lot more for us to learn about Elain. All of this to me seemed to be preparing us for Elain’s book, and telling us that her story is coming next.

Elain stiffened, but refused to balk from whatever she beheld in Nesta’s gaze. “You think I’m to blame for his death?” Challenge filled each word. Challenge—from Elain, of all people. “No one but the King of Hybern is to blame for that.” The quaver in her voice belied her firm words.

Elain remained in the doorway, her face pale but her expression harder than Nesta had ever seen it. “You do not decide what I can and cannot do, Nesta.”

Elain said, “Then I will find it. I might require some time to … reacquaint myself with my powers, but I could start today.” “Absolutely not,” Nesta spat, fingers curling at her sides. “Absolutely not.” “Why?” Elain demanded. “Shall I tend to my little garden forever?” When Nesta flinched, Elain said, “You can’t have it both ways. You cannot resent my decision to lead a small, quiet life while also refusing to let me do anything greater.”

Elain cut in sharply, “I am not a child to be fought over.”

But Nesta cut her off, seething at the pity about to be thrown her way. “Look who decided to grow claws after all,” she crooned. “Maybe you’ll become interesting at last, Elain.”

But Elain said, “I went into the Cauldron, too, you know. And it captured me. And yet somehow all you think of is what my trauma did to you.”

Nesta was wrong, Cassian realized, to think Elain as loyal and loving as a dog. Elain saw every single thing Nesta had done, and understood why.

“Oh, fuck you,” Nesta snapped, and then choked. Elain blinked. Nesta blinked back, horror lurching through her. And then Elain burst out laughing. Howling, half-sobbing laughs that sent her bending over at the waist, gasping for breath. Nesta just stared, torn between questions and wanting to throw herself into the icy Sidra. “I— I’m so sorry—” Elain held up a hand, wiping her eyes with the other. “You’ve never said such a thing to me!” She laughed again. “I think that’s a good sign, isn’t it?”

Predestiny vs. Choice

We also get several moments of how Cassian and Nesta see Elain that to me at least screamed “this is how Elain is seen, but this is not who Elain is or who Elain is going to choose to be.” These scenes to me are setting up the dichotomy between Elain’s predestiny and how everyone sees Elain, vsersus who Elain really is and chooses to be.

Lucien vs. Az (I don’t have a quote for this, but clearly this is set up as predestiny vs. choice)

It was always that way between them: Elain, sweet and oblivious, and Nesta, the snarling wolf at her side, poised to shred anyone who threatened her. Elain is pleasant to look at, her mother had once mused while Nesta sat beside her dressing table, a servant silently brushing her mother’s gold-brown hair, but she has no ambition. She does not dream beyond her garden and pretty clothes. She will be an asset on the marriage market for us one day, if that beauty holds, but it will be our own maneuverings, Nesta, not hers, that win us an advantageous match.

Elain could make her own choices. And had chosen to thoroughly shut the door on Nesta. Even as she fully embraced Feyre and her world. Nesta’s chest tightened, but she refused to think of it, acknowledge it. Elain was like a dog, loyal to whatever master kept her fed and in comfort.

Elain would love this place. So many flowers, all in bloom, so much green—the light, vibrant green of new grass—so many birds singing and such warm, buttery sunshine. Nesta felt like a storm cloud standing amid it all. But Elain … The Spring Court had been made for someone like her.

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

We’re given signs that Elain is over Graysen.

Elain cocked her head. Didn’t dissolve into the crying mess she usually became when Graysen came up. Instead she said, “You’re angry with me.”

We got hints of #spyelain

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

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.

“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.

While we also got quite a bit of Azriel in this book (admittedly more than Elain) and got hints that he’s unhappy and avoiding the river house for “mysterious reasons” (that are not mysterious at all after the bonus chapter), we didn’t get the same kind of in-your-face foreshadowing about Az that we did Elain. (And to me, after the bonus, it seems like all the mysterious things that were raised about Az might revolve around Elain and his feelings for her 👀).

Then the bonus chapters. I don’t have physical copies of those and don’t really want to go take screenshots, so I’m going to paraphrase what about them made me think Elain’s book is certainly next (aside from the fact that she was featured prominently in both).

Feysand

We learn Elain refuses to use Lucien’s gift from solstice the previous year (and would apparently rather get cut and dirty than do so)

We learn Elain has no problem getting her hands dirty and risking pain

Feyre says that maybe Elain is not as docile as everyone thinks she is, basically foreshadowing that there’s more to Elain than meets the eye

Feyre says they should focus on helping one sister before they turn to helping the next 🚨🚨🚨:

Azriel

We learn both Az and Elain can read each other well

We learn they both have sexual feelings for each other

We learn Az has been avoiding family dinners because of Elain

We learn there have been lingering glances and grazing of fingers between them off the page that we haven’t seen 👀

We know that Elain is certainly confused after their near kiss, likely feels rejected, and returns the necklace

Based on all of this, I am *convinced* that Elain’s book is next (and that one of the purposes of Az’s bonus chapter was to tell us that the next book will also be his). That is what is most obvious to me about the next book. I feel a lot more certain about the next book when I look at it from the perspective of Elain than I do Az.

Now, this isn’t really an Elriel post, but I have to add that if Elain’s book is next, I’m also *convinced* it’s Elriel. Az and Gwyn just don’t have enough connections (if any) to the overarching plot of this trilogy to be the last book. Not to mention all signs currently point to Elriel at this point (both parts of ACOSF and Az’s bonus chapter). And I think if Elucien is going to happen, it needs a book of some further development between before it can happen (for example, Elain going to the human lands during Gwynriel’s book to help with something, which allows them to get to know each other better).

And, can I just say, I for one cannot wait to finally get inside Elain’s head and learn her story ❤️

[valkyriesno1fan]

“Elain and Azriel are Carranam. Their magic compliments each other so well😍😍”

You mean the same magic that literally skitters away from her and vanishes around her? Yeah totally sound like their compatible…🤷‍♀️

[deathladyofdusk]

I just saw theories that Elain will inherit the Dusk Court. Bless your heart, truly. It must be horrible for your fave to have nothing going on.

Literally everything is pointing toward Nesta leaving the Night Court and resurrecting Dusk.

[offtorivendell]

The possible significance of Azriel and Elain Archeron, the Embrace of Solas and Cthona, the paired blades Gwydion and Truth-Teller, and thin places; a theory

Disclaimer: this is a theory that came to me while reading HOFAS, and as usual it makes absolutely no claim of being canon. It builds on past theories that my friends and I have written about Elain, Azriel, the revival of certain lands, the blades Truth-Teller and Gwydion, and brings in some new info from the latest CC book. It also won't be my best effort, as time is currently lacking. I meant to get this out for @elriel-month but yeah, that didn't happen lol. As usual, rambles and overly long sentences ahead. Sorry!

Thanks as always go out to @wingedblooms and @silverlinedeyes for listening to me rant, and believing me when I say I'll actually get around to writing out my thoughts, even though it takes me ages. I love that so many of our theories tie in well together - please check out their theories, too!

Spoilers: Maasverse spoilers ahead, please proceed with caution if you haven't finished reading.

Gwydion (aka the Starsword) and Truth-Teller; the Made blades

In CC 1 we got a brief description of the stylised version of the Embrace of Solas and Cthona as a necklace, worn by Bryce's mother, Ember:

Five minutes after Bryce got there, Jesiba’s client—a raging asshole of a leopard shifter who believed he was entitled to put his paws all over her ass—prowled in and purchased a small statue of Solas and Cthona, portrayed as a sun with male features burying his face in a pair of mountain-shaped breasts. The holy image was known simply as the Embrace. Her mother even wore its simplified symbol—a circle nestled atop two triangles—as a silver pendant. But Bryce had always found the Embrace cheesy and cliché in every incarnation. - CC HOEAB, chapter 22

Firstly, could this be the (hypothetical) wyrdmark on the left shoulder of the figure on the HOFAS cover? The two mountains are there, but the mark between them isn't exactly a circle, so it's not blatantly obvious, but it's possible (I'd love it if the marks on her arms represented the different gods, or Urd in all of her forms). Perhaps light and dark light cancel each other out in some way? And how relevant will the spiral mark be? Does it represent a vortex/portal opening? Or is it the Cauldron's swirling eddies?

Secondly, I also think the two mountains/triangles and the circle/dot in between them look a little like a basic depiction of Gwydion/the Starsword and Truth-Teller (ie. the points of two blades) with a black dot/black hole/portal to nowhere. It's not exact, because the triangles aren't meeting at the tips, so I'm not super confident in it, but I don't think it's impossible, and it could tie back into the six pointed star, and three pairs of powers gathering in the space where they meet. I promise I'm not trying to claim every little thing for Elriel, and given Nesta has her own trio of Made blades, I suspect they could also be relevant here (if Narben is also found, then there would be six blades for the six siblings and six star points), but as Azriel and Elain were the first two to use Truth-Teller (in recent history), I think it's fair to consider their specific importance here.

Elain, Azriel and the Made blades

I've previously suggested that Elain may have powered Truth-Teller with her light, in order to pierce the fabric of the universe before shadow walking to save Nesta and Cassian in ACOWAR (here and here); this is a theory which is not unique to me, as quite a few of my friends think at least some version of it may be true. However, I believe that what we learnt in HOFAS about “thin places,” and the paired blades Gwydion (the Starsword) and Truth-Teller, could take this a step or three further.

To recap as briefly as possible, Elain previously used Truth-Teller to shadow walk in ACOWAR, and we have since had hints that she may use it again in the future. There are many questions left unanswered about Elain's successful use of what we now know is a Made blade, so we'll have to wait and see.

“You honestly think he’d ever give up Truth-Teller?” “He gave it to Elain,” Mor said, admiring a moonstone necklace in the counter’s glass case. “She gave it back,” I amended, failing to block out the image of the black blade piercing through the King of Hybern’s throat. But Elain had given it back—had pressed it into Azriel’s hands after the battle, just as he had pressed it into hers before. And then walked away without looking back. Mor hummed to herself. - ACOFAS, chapter 4

As a brief aside, there are also moments tying Elain to the shadows (whether or not it ends up being Azriel's shadows specifically, her own, or the Void in general remains to be seen), and I think we could find out that the middle Archeron sister, who is canonically observant and wise, may have learnt by watching.

Behind me, Mor took Nesta and Cassian by the hand, readying to winnow them to the camp, while shadows gathered around Azriel, Elain at his side, wide-eyed at the spymaster’s display. - ACOWAR, chapter 50

Does Elain hear Azriel's shadows singing, and can she and Azriel privately communicate this way?

Did she also hear his siphon singing beautifully in ACOWAR? Perhaps as kin?

The Truth-Teller scene in ACOWAR, below, was also important enough to be included in the ACOTAR Colouring Book.

She refused the knife Cassian handed her, though. Went white as death at the sight of it. Azriel, still limping, merely nudged aside Cassian and extended another option. “This is Truth-Teller,” he told her softly. “I won’t be using it today—so I want you to.” His wings had healed—though long, thin scars now raked down them. Still not strong enough, Madja had warned him, to fly today. The argument with Rhys this morning had been swift and brutal: Azriel insisted he could fly—fight with the legions, as they’d planned. Rhys refused. Cassian refused. Azriel threatened to slip into shadow and fight anyway. Rhys merely said that if he so much as tried, he’d chain Azriel to a tree. And Azriel … It was only when Mor had entered the tent and begged him—begged him with tears in her eyes—that he relented. Agreed to be eyes and ears and nothing else. And now, standing amongst the sighing meadow grasses in his Illyrian armor, all seven Siphons gleaming … Elain’s eyes widened at the obsidian-hilted blade in Azriel’s scarred hand. The runes on the dark scabbard. “It has never failed me once,” the shadowsinger said, the midday sun devoured by the dark blade. “Some people say it is magic and will always strike true.” He gently took her hand and pressed the hilt of the legendary blade into it. “It will serve you well.” “I—I don’t know how to use it—” “I’ll make sure you don’t have to,” I said, grass crunching as I stepped closer. Elain weighed my words … and slowly closed her fingers around the blade. Cassian gawked at Azriel, and I wondered how often Azriel had lent out that blade— Never, Rhys said from where he finished buckling on his own weapons against the side of the wagon. I have never once seen Azriel let another person touch that knife. Elain looked up at Azriel, their eyes meeting, his hand still lingering on the hilt of the blade. I saw the painting in my mind: the lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two. The only bridge of connection … that knife. Paint that when we get home. Busybody. - ACOWAR, chapter 69

Firstly, @silverlinedeyes has a post that details how similar this passage is to the six pointed star scene from HOSAB, and the potential significance of it with regards to magical balance and the gathering of power(s). It's outlandish, but I think it could be important for any travels to Hel or beyond that the IC may undertake.

Secondly, I find it really interesting that Elain said to Feyre she didn't know how to "use" Truth-Teller; what if she meant she didn't know how to use it magically? I suspect it's possible that Elain didn't open a portal to nowhere (which appears to require both of the paired blades - perhaps their singing wavelengths cancel each other out?), but rather she created a portal to somewhere, and that's how she shadow walked across the battlefield in ACOWAR (aka she "slipped into shadow" and fought anyway). However, as we all heard her say that she didn't know how to use Truth-Teller, but then did, she obviously figured at least some of it out.

Alternatively, as @wingedblooms, @mrspettyferr, @cassianfanclub and myself have all wondered, did she possibly have some help?!

Was it Azriel, who told us in his ACOSF bonus chapter that he didn't need his shadows to read Elain?

Perhaps is was Nuala or Cerridwen, or maybe even Rhys?

Was it Koschei, the Mother, or a prince of Hel who gave Elain a helping hand?

Even then, how did Elain (hypothetically, of course) activate Truth-Teller? Just like Ruhn found Gwydion and Bryce accessed its magic, so I suspect Azriel found Truth-Teller, but it was Elain who first truly used its power (whereas Nesta, who was at the time full of the Cauldron's death magic, appeared to use it as a simple blade, hastening the king's death after Elain struck a fatal blow). Was it because her light stood in for Gwydion’s own magic and charged it? Is that why Azriel - who I have long thought may have Starborn heritage hidden underneath his shadows - has dark light, or shadows, instead of light? Is Truth-Teller actually devouring his light? Or - less likely - could the obsidian (wyrdstone?) blade be possessed by a Valg, or similar being? Though I'm less certain about that last point, as I wouldn't be surprised if the king of Hybern was possessed by a Valg (or similar) type creature, maybe a Daglan, and if that was the case then why would Truth-Teller decide to behave for Elain, unless the Valg* and Asteri/Daglan are enemies… anyway!

*What we learnt in HOFAS, about the blackest salt/obsidian drawing in the princes of Hel (while simultaneously repelling the Asteri/Daglan) makes me wonder about their possible ties to the Valg from TOG, who used obsidian wyrdstone rings and collars as a way to possess host bodies.

I'm not sure. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, because I think Truth-Teller and Gwydion could be stand ins for Elain and Azriel (not necessarily in that order, though I do think a dagger suits Elain better than a sword does in terms of function); a bond needing to be reforged between them has always screamed “renewed shall be blade that was broken” to me (the Ballad of Strider), and the Truth-Teller scene could be suggesting that the grey - as in the blend of light and dark - could be a thin place between them. It would follow that this imagery, albeit very loosely, could be evoking The Embrace of Solas and Cthona, which Ember wears as a necklace, and that could possibly be a wyrdmark on the cover of HOFAS.

“Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two..." Just seems so relevant here.

Cthona and Solas represent dark and light.

Gwydion/the Starsword and Truth-Teller are (bright) light and dark light.

Azriel and Elain are dark and light... or perhaps light and dark?

Are Void and Chaos (the Mother?) involved?

Is the statue of the primal goddess that Nesta notices in ACOSF another hint here?

If being carranam ties into this, would it include Feysand and Nessian?

Light and dark have grey in between them, and the thin places are described as “gray.” Elain was even engaged to a man named "Graysen" for crying out loud; his family’s colour was even cobalt. I would be so surprised if all of this ends up meaning absolutely nothing in terms of her story.

How could Elain and Azriel stand in for Cthona and Solas when Elain is light and Azriel is darkness?

I could definitely be wrong, but instead of purely life, I (and @wingedblooms) prefer to think of Elain as rebirth, which inherently straddles the murky realm between life and death - the grey between light and dark (and grey) - and beautifully fits with her role as a gardener (relevant theories are here, here, here and here), the Book of Breathings rambling about "rot and bloom and bone," her position as the middle Archeron sister, her ability to blend quietly into the background, and definitely the grey of dawn and dusk. Azriel, though? The one Feyre described as the knife in the dark? Well, he has shadows that can brighten into sunlight, and I suspect that may have been what Elain was referring to in ACOWAR, when she said she needed sunshine.

So...

Azriel's shadows lightening into sunshine: Solas.

Elain and her many ties to the earth: Cthona.

I'm unsure if this is trying to tell us that Azriel will be the stand-in for Truth-Teller, because he is "dark light"/has shadowsinging abilities, while Elain is represented by Gwydion due to her prominent (so far) association with hope or brighter light, or whether it's the other way around, and we're actually being told that, while Elain appears to be light and warmth personified, in the future she will carry Truth-Teller, the blade that is her apparent opposite, as Azriel will wield Gwydion* (if they both end up having surprise powers, being able to swap between light and dark). It's all very murky, one might say a grey area. But I do think it likely that Elain and Azriel will each end up carrying either a blade that represents themself or their partner in some way.

* Yes, I know that Bryce gave Gwydion to Nesta, but she already has her own trio of Made blades. If I'm putting money on who will wield it, I think it will be Azriel, Elain or Feyre.

Thin places and Made blades

Before HOFAS was published @cassianfanclub and I had discussed the - we thought - insane possibility of the differently coloured mountain rock in Prythian being significant in terms of their possible salt content, and that it could be no coincidence that the black and grey rock of the Hewn City was in proximity to a known appearance of one “Lord Thanatos.”

Black salts were used for summoning demons directly—bypassing the Northern Rift entirely—or for various dark spellwork. A salt that went beyond black, a salt like the obsidian … It could summon something big. - CC HOEAB, chapter 18

Bryce stiffened at the moldy, rotten earth scent that crept from the bundle as he unfolded the fabric to reveal a handful of rust-colored salt. “What the fuck is that?” Ithan asked. “Bloodsalt,” Bryce breathed. Tharion looked to her in question, but she didn’t bother to explain more. Blood for life, blood for death—it was summoning salt infused with the blood from a laboring mother’s sex and blood from a dying male’s throat. The two great transitions of a soul in and out of this world. But to use it here … “You can’t mean to add that to their water,” Bryce said to the Astronomer. The old male hobbled back down the ramp. “Their tanks already contain white salts. The bloodsalt will merely pinpoint their search.” - CC HOSAB, chapter 38

Mor went right up to the obsidian dais, and I halted at the foot of the steps as she took up a place beside the throne and said to the crowd in a voice that was clear and cruel and cunning, “Your High Lord approaches. He is in a foul mood, so I suggest being on your best behavior—unless you wish to be the evening entertainment.” - ACOMAF, chapter 42

The mountain underneath the House of Wind - the one that houses the library in which I think a certain cat-like darkness could be a prince of Hel - contains both red stone and obsidian doors, with veins of silver running throughout (which reads like hope in the void, like the Velaris Weaver's tapestry, and I suspect may be important for Elain's journey, given she is frequently associated with hope).

Rhys stepped into a hall at the foot of the stairs, revealing a wide passageway of carved red stone and a sealed set of obsidian doors, veins of silver running throughout. Beautiful—terrifying. Like some great beast was kept behind them. - ACOWAR, chapter 20

If @silverlinedeyes, @wingedblooms, @ladynightcourt, @cassianfanclub, @psychologynerd and I are right that Clotho and some of her priestesses are involved in something massive, and have been contacting at least one of the princes of Hel, this would make sense! Black salt to summon something big, and red salt to pinpoint their search. And obsidian doors?!

We then learnt the following in CC HOFAS:

“The black salt, in such high quantity, keeps them away. They never realized that its presence drew us as much as it repelled them,” Apollion said with satisfaction. “It has the same properties that made us immune to the thrall of their black crowns.” - CC HOFAS, chapter

“The black salt only repels the Asteri; the mists repel everyone else. But certain people, with certain gifts, can access the power of thin places—on any world. World-walkers.” Aidas gestured gracefully to Bryce. “You are one of them. So were Helena and Theia. Their natural abilities lent themselves to moving through the mists.” - CC HOFAS, chapter

Elain is almost certainly a world walker - doe eyes searching across the world! - and Azriel may be one as well, but what if it is everyone who can winnow? Or just those like them, with a deeper affinity to the Void? And are they walking thin places themselves/as a partnership (remember the charged glance they shared last winter solstice), or do they just have a natural ability to make use of those which exist in the wild? Or is it some combination of the above?

Additionally, the obsidian hilts of Truth-Teller and Gwydion appear to be incredibly important here. In addition to the possibility that the Illyrian runes Truth-Teller carries on its scabbard may in reality be wyrdmarks, what if the obsidian hilts both summon the bearer in a way that allows them to access the void/murky realm and provides protection from any prying Asteri/Daglan eyes? Are the hilts made from wyrdstone? What about Koschei? Is Truth-Teller the reason his magic captured Cassian instead of Azriel in ACOSF?

There are so many possibilities beyond shipping, though given this is romantasy we know the relationships are more important to the story than your average romantic side plot, so we really can't separate the two while theorising. But either way, I'm so excited to see where this leads, and if we'll finally get detailed information about the gods in each or SJM's worlds, and how they may function throughout her extensive literary universe.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading!

[shitwillnotbegiven]

Sjm did save this art of Blodeuwedd as Elain in her long gone pinterest account and we can clearly see the inspiration in the books.

Elain as Blodeuwedd, Goddess of Sovereignty

Continuing my deep dive into the mythos of Blodeuwedd and how it pertains to Elain, I found more interesting passages about the connection between her preordained husband, Lleu, herself, and her chosen lover Gronw. Additionally, some other interesting bits of information that may have served as inspiration for where SJM is taking the story… 

Lack of Voice

“Blodeuwedd does not even speak in her own myth until she awakens to her own sense of agency” - so we literally do not hear her words or her voice until she meets Gronw, falls in love with him, and starts making her own decisions driven by her own desires. Prior to that, she is simply “Lleu’s wife”, made from flowers, for the sole purpose of being his partner. 

When we finally hear her have a conversation with Lleu, her husband, she does so through deception, by using her “feminine wiles” and by playing exactly into the “simple, pretty” stereotype he thinks she is in order to get information out of him. This shows us Blodeuwedd’s propensity for charm, as well as her humility to play into that role in order to achieve her own ends. 

Not just a simple “flower face” afterall. 

The comparisons to Elain, and her mating bond, here are, again, obvious. The most glaring one is the fact that Elain “grows claws” and “becomes interesting” around ACOFAS & ACOSF when it seems she has come out of the murky realms and has started making decisions about her life and how she wants to spend her time (this is also around the time she develops feelings for Azriel…). She’s been very much in the background for five novels, and only when she speaks up against Nesta do people outside of Azriel & Rhys start to notice her. We haven’t even heard her POV; she has no voice outside of other people’s impressions and expectations of her…and that impression seems to be limited to quiet, simple, girl who likes gardening. 

Similarly, L*cien casts her in the very same light as everyone else, as was made obvious by the gifting of the enchanted gloves when we knew Elain preferred to allow her hands to be scarred through the act of gardening. 

We know she can charm anyone into doing anything, as we saw in ACOMAF when she cleared the house of servants, and that SJM has already set up many clues about spy training. Blodeuwedd uses her charm as a tool for her own freedom, but Elain will most likely start using it as a political tool to help the Night Court, and maybe as a tool for her own gain, as well. I am 100% certain Elain will use her established image of the “pretty, simply gardening girl” as a dangerous weapon to wield in the battlefield of spying and gleaning information. 

Fate & Consent 

“She is locked into this fate; it is.. her very purpose”

The lack of Blodeuwedd’s consent on her marraige to Lleu is the elephant in the room of her entire story. She was created for the sole purpose of being his wife – something that was arranged ONLY as part of a societal checklist required for Lleu to achieve his manhood. He wasn’t seeking love, or romance, or even a union. She was magicked into being (using flowers) ONLY to be this man’s wife. 

Obviously, we can see parallels to Elain’s mating bond to Lucien here, in that she really wasn’t given any choice in the matter and that the bond *seems to* have been created, or even gifted, by the Cauldron itself. (Not only that, but Elain herself was gifted additional powers by the cauldron, and she is constantly surrounded in imagery of The Mother and of Flowers. A girl who seems unlike anyone around her… “Made” by magic.) Elain’s hope that “love would trump a mating bond”, her exclamation that she “does not want a mate”, and even her claim that “she belongs to nobody” gives us a very clear view into the stirrings of her heart - that she wants a love that is reciprocated, that she wants to choose whom she gives her heart to. 

Continuing with this…. 

The Trickery of Fate

Blodeuwedd’s marriage to Lleu was also born, kind of, as an act of rebellion. Lleu had a forced fate imposed on him declaring that he could not marry a mortal girl, and so Blodeuwedd was created to be something not-human for him to circumvent that Fate and take a wife. But there are a few scholarly disputes to the validity of their marriage based on the nine forms of legal marriage recognized by Welsh law at the time (and which people would have been aware of when listening to her myth). 

Here we see that her marriage to Lleu was, in fact, *false* based on the criteria needed to be a legal union per Welsh law (for someone without a family to give consent… since Blodeuwedd was created from magic she has no family). On the otherhand, Blodeuwedd CHOOSES to act out the required criteria for a legal union with her lover Gronw. 

Now, compare this to the criteria we are all familiar with to recognize a mating bond… and how Elain/L*cien’s bond seems strained and “tied to a rib”, how he can’t stand to be in the same room as her, how she pushes him away, etc. Meanwhile, Azriel displays very mate-like behavior towards Elain, and she has proven herself to reciprocate his attraction and love for her. They do this by choice, not because fate is driving them together. 

This also brings into question the countless theories surrounding a fake mating bond, which I won’t go into here, but it would parallel the myth when viewed from an academic lens. 

Non-Romantic Etc…

This is simply an interesting tidbit thrown into the texts that I’m reading. Gwydion is Lleu’s father and Gilfaethwy is his brother, can shift forms into animals (long story, has to do with a punishment and a curse, etc). They shift into FEMALE animals and bear children to each other by “harnessing the regenerative power inherent in their transformed bodies”. The changing of their gender via transformation into animal form is what stands out to me, primarily because of the conversation with Amren at the dinner table. ….. Make of this what you will. It’s too on-the-nose to be a coincidence. 

[bright-side20]

Koschei's Sleeping Beauty retelling 🌹

I've found Koschei's sleeping beauty details so here it is

_In the tale, it is said that once Koschei focuses his gaze on the chosen princess, he is capable of exerting a powerful influence over her. He recites ancient, arcane words, and the maiden collapses gracefully, falling into a deep, unbreakable sleep, immune to the passage of time.

_ Koschei was described to be surrounded by shadows and swirling mist. He then takes the princess to his grand hall with a bone throne, where she waits for the hero who can break the spell.

*In SF:

The being that stood atop the lake was a shadow. It must be a reflection, Cassian thought. Smoke and mirrors. "Where is Briallyn?" Azriel demanded, Siphons flaring like cobalt flame. “I spend so many months preparing for you,” Koschei crooned, “and you don’t even wish to speak to me?”

*Koschei in the book is described as a shadow being as in the tale. Plus he could be trying to lure Azriel to the lake because once he can fix his gaze on him he'll be able to manipulate him with his power and enchant him with unbreakable sleep.

What I think is that Koschei could have been trapped in the lake using the Starsword, so he needs the TT to undo it. That's why he wants Az because he owns the dagger, so he could curse him with eternal sleep and try to make Elain free him from the lake in exchange for breaking Azriel's curse.

_In the tale, the only way to break the enchantment is through an instrument called the gusli which is very similar to the harp.

Gusli. Harp.

_The strings of the gusli are made of pure silver and inbued with encient magic, when played correctly they emit a powerful, harmonic resonance that can break the spell and awaken the princess.

*In SF, the harp has ancient magic in its strings, and they are also made of silver:

The golden Harp, covered in intricate embossing, set with silver strings.

The small strings are for games—light movement and leaping—but the longer, the final ones … Such deep wonders and horrors we could strum into being.

_In the tale, for the Gusli's magic to work, it should be played by a hero who is pure of heart and noble intent.

*We know that Elain can use the harp because she's a cauldron made, and we also know that she has a different kind of strength:

“Elain had always been gentle and sweet—and I had considered it a different kind of strength. A better strength. To look at the hardness of the world and choose, over and over, to love, to be kind. She had always been so full of light.”

She is someone pure of heart, and her love for Azriel will definitely be strong and pure, so I think that could be another reason why she's the one who can break his curse 🥰

My theory about the harp is that, since in Hofas it was said that it can transfer one's power to the soul of another. Therefore, Elain may be able to give a portion of her life power to Az's soul through the harp to awaken him.

[bookbitchx]

I know Elriels are going to come for my throat, but I don't see the ship, you guys.

Like I see why you want them together, but I don't see it in the books?

I honestly don't.

It's a pattern with SJM of mates fighting the bond at first and then slowly warming up to each other, falling in love, etc.. and from my POV, that's exactly what's happening with Elucien?

They're just at the frosty stage rn.

[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.

[8bitrosethorn]

Tonight, I’m bringing forth a tiny piece of the larger Azriel/Sleeping Beauty theory. I hope to dive even more into that soon, but here’s a small snippet for now 🤓

There’s a passage when Feyre shows up to the Hewn City in Ch 42 of ACOMAF that stuck out to me on my latest reread:

At first, I didn’t think too much of it, until a page later, Feyre says this:

Cassian and Azriel reminded Feyre of the beasts carved into the pillars shown earlier… the SLEEPING (Azriel) and FIGHTING (Cassian) beasts.

And how else were the pillars described?

With a NEST OF CLAWS AND FANGS (Nesta) and FLOWING VINES OF JASMINE AND MOONFLOWERS (Elain).

Need more evidence? I gotchoo 🫡

Cassian, as described by Amren:

Nesta’s way of describing herself:

Elain, as described by Nesta:

And finally, Azriel’s Bonus Chapter from ACOSF, where his shadows are trying to tell him to… (wait for it) …. SLEEP.

And why isn’t he sleeping?!?! 😚 E L A I N 🤪

I truly believe that SJM has had everything planned this whole time, leaving the breadcrumbs she said she’d planted along the way. Especially after recently finishing all of TOG (🥹 no, I’m not okay 😭🫠), even if she’s a “pantser”-style writer, there is still the editing process that allows her to leave intentional, purposeful clues for readers to uncover that align with later revelations throughout her work.

And me, personally? I find it SO FUN AND REWARDING to look for them each and every reread 🧐✨

Thanks for reading, friends 💖🌸🦇