#high/blood elves wouldn't exist
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Another time rift opens at the Everywhen Inn and an unlikely pair emerges.
Some hours earlier (relatively speaking):
#world of warcraft#Jadaar#Asric#Legion victorious timeline AU#or something like that#not the one where the Legion apparently won the War of the Ancients tho#high/blood elves wouldn't exist#maybe this is an AU that diverges at TBC#not sure if Jadaar was never a draenei in this AU or if he was forcibly converted to man'ari or smth#I haven't given it that much thought#though I HAVE given it more thought that it warrants#also surprise! bet you thought you'd seen the last of these guys from me#imagining alternate scenarios gets the creative juices flowing#lmao fixed a litle typo in the second to last picture but I fear it's too late
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Kipperlily Copperkettle analysis, this is a long one so click read more to read all of it.
Kipperlily Copperkettle. Halfling Rogue.
The Model Minority.
Her parents work good jobs, respectable jobs. One of them is a realtor, they are charismatic and good with words and they work hard. Hard for their family, hard to keep things in order. The other works in bastion city, away from home and with the council of chosen. A noble job, one that is met with praise and awards. It is a good job, a respectable job for the greater good.
Her family is good. Her family is picture perfect, with two parents and a kid and a white picket fence.
She must be perfect, for her sake, for her parents sake. Halflings are kind. Halflings are sweet. They get along with everyone. They are peacemakers, so much so that humans and elves could come and take solace from them. Years of bloody history and violence brews in her veins, and she is supposed to be complicit and smile and act kind. She does so for her parents sake, with a slicked back ponytail and a perfect uniform and a smile too big, too unnerving.
I’m sure people tried to dissuade her, telling her that she wouldn't find more comfort in something different? Maybe a job as a clerk or a secretary, or an artificer so she could help build things for people. She has her mind set though, with her nails digging into her palms to control the bitter rage that boils in her as she is only ever underestimated.
High school starts and it's supposed to be a new beginning. She will find her party, and she will make friends. And she does, sort of. The High Five heroes she calls them, setting herself up as the leader. She has to take control of everything. They don't really listen to her though. Oisin and Ivy are immediately their own little duo, as are Ruben and Lucy, although Lucy has made a point to include Kipperlily too, and Mary Ann just acts uninterested in everything thus far. She has to make sure everything is perfect. A fight happens during the first day of school. It results in two students death, and makes the principle commit murder suicide on both himself and the counselor in order to bring two students back. Maybe that's where it started, the jealousy and the burning hatred and the obsession. Maybe it started a little earlier that day, when Riz handed out his business cards, and Kipperlily took it. Saw his name, maybe even wanted to be friends at first. Maybe he was too busy with the case of missing penny luckstone, maybe he was too busy with the friends that seemed to care about him. Maybe Kipperlily was jealous that his party actually cared about him, whilst hers only tolerated her at best.
I think that's where it started. The jealousy, the obsession. Her anger got worse, nails digging into skin and drawing blood. She is just so angry. She has always been angry, rage and spite boiling in her blood. Her parents said she came into the world not crying but screaming, like existing in this very world hurt her. She studied him. She learnt everything about him as the year went on and she felt shame. Burning, red shame. She started seeing the new counselor in hopes of getting help. She knew this wasn't normal. She was just so angry and had nothing to do with all this rage and fury. So she talked about it, how she was jealous of him. How he got the perfect adventurers story, a dead dad and a party full of people who cared. Her parents were normal. They were perfect, blended in perfectly. They were kind and sweet and polite and possibly never home because they have busy jobs. Busy respectable jobs. They were respectable people and nothing more because the world would never allow them to be anything more.
One way or another, Porter hears of a halfling rogue with rage in her veins. One way or another he approaches her, tells her that he will help her. He sees her potential, he sees just how great she can be. Kipperlily believes him. She trains with him, learning from him, hooked on to every word of praise he gives her. She is special, she is meant for something great, this school is just unfair and hands out blatant favoritism and she has to stop it.
Kipperlily takes the rage star, lets it fall into her chest and every petty grudge, jealousy and dislike simply turns to wrath and hatred. She gets her party to join her too, leveling them up with the help of porter and jace. She kills them. She stands over their bodies as rage stars are forced onto their chests. As their corpses are violated and they are brought back just as angry as she has always been. Kipperlily feels no guilt, this is what she is meant to do Porter tells her. She is meant to bring greatness.
Lucy is the only one who doesn't come back. That hurts her, in a way different to anything she has ever felt. Lucy always had her back, always had her side when the party was ganging up on her. Lucy was the only one who understood what it was like to be put down and underestimated. But..she stayed dead. She decided being dead was better than being with her.
Kipperlily tries to move on but sorrow and rage just burn deep within her.
The rest is history. But one thing is clear, rage has always festered in the heart of Kipperlily, and when she tried to get help, when shame burned in her veins at how childish her rage and jealousy was, she was failed by the people she was supposed to trust. Her rage was used as a weapon, both against her and against others. She was told she would do great things, that she is special and her spite and jealousy was used in order to get her to do things had her teachers not failed her, maybe she wouldn't have done.
Kipperlily will forever have the blood of her friends, of her party members, on her hands. She will never get rid of that shame, it will stain her hands, it will stain her legacy. She is nothing more than a villain in the history books now, when in reality she was a teenage girl who was failed over, and over again. She was a teenage girl who felt rage, and felt ashamed of her rage because she was told she needed to be kind, complicit. A sweet halfling girl, something she never was and never will be.
#dimension 20#fantasy high#fantasy high junior year#d20#fhjy#fhjy spoilers#kipperlilly copperkettle#kipperlily copperkettle#charactter analysis#the rat grinders#the bad kids#Riz Gukgak#porter cliffbreaker#lucy frostblade#ruben hopclap#oisin hakinvar#ivy embra#if this sucks sorry this was me just dumping all my thoughts on kipperlily onto a google doc#but yeah no uhm#i think im actually insane lol#kipperlily was an angry teenage girl#and everyone failed her#and its sad
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I just realized something, thanks to the changeling ask you got. If you think about it since changelings are fae, can you even technically turn a changeling??? While they mimic the looks and bodies of other races they aren't technically in the humanoid category so in theory they can't be turned into a vampire. Like what non-humanoid has ever been turned into a vampire, is it even possible to turn a non-humanoid into a vampire???
All of this is a long winded way of saying, what if Astarion couldn't turn changeling Tav? How would he respond???
So thankfully, the Fae are very resilient most of the time. Their forms usually exist in a way that is separate from most mortals, so he probably wouldn't have to worry so much about losing them.
He would run into different problems if the reason he wanted to turn them was to have them completely under thrall, but I suppose there's other ways of doing that. Most of the reasons I see him wanting to turn his lover is so that he won't lose them-- not to age or illness or ravages of war. He wants them safe and taken care of-- not to mention attached to him almost literally.
He would have to either find a different way, or perhaps seek a different bargain. The I feel that the benefits of vampirism aren't necessarily denied to the Fae, but I would have to do a bit of research to confirm or deny that, honestly.
He might have to get crafty with his ideas, really. I mean, the man made a deal with Mephi, so I am so sure that good ol' Mephi might be willing to bargain once again, assuming he has the power.
If said changeling doesn't want this, now is their time to slip away.
(That being said, I believe it would be less of a possibility due to their fae blood and not necessarily the non-humanoid aspect. I believe folks like Dragonborn and tieflings and elves etc can receive vamprism just fine, but you get any more fae blood than high elf and things start getting weird.)
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Saturn: *sprawled out on a bed made for humans, legs hanging halfway on the bed as she sleeps*
Auryen: *steps out of his room into his employee barracks* Saturn? Time to get up, dear girl.
Saturn: Mmmnnngh.. *groans, turning on her side* Five more minutes..
Auryen: You said that an hour ago. Breakfast is ready.
Saturn: *opens her eyes blearily, turning to look at her uncle with a frown* Didja make omelettes?
Auryen: Of course.
Saturn: ... Coming.
~
Saturn: *stares into the mirror of the bathing room in shock, her messy hair and smudged make-up on full display* Good Gods, I've got some work to do. Cog. *snaps her fingers, a dwemer spider materializing on the counter. It opens its inner compartment to reveal a travel-sized make-up set* Thank you, ma' little darling. How on earth would I survive without you?
~
Auryen: *eyes Saturn curiously, sipping his coffee while she wolfs down her food* How have things been at the Embassy?
Saturn: *scoffs* Horrible. It's like the other guards don't even know I exist. I'm made to always stay at my mother's side, if I'm not at m' forge. I'd rather never go back.
Auryen: Abandoning the Thalmor is a death wish.
Saturn: They wish they could kill me.
Auryen: Ha. Well, I won't turn my own blood away. I'm sure your father would have been proud of you for making your own decisions.
Saturn: ... Right.
Auryen: You'll have to earn your keep, though.
Saturn: I know, uncle. I didn't come here expecting to put yourself at risk and keep me for nothin'.
Auryen: I know you didn't. I have actually been in need of some help with this museum here. I'm not as young as I used to be, you know, especially after I hung up my sword.
Saturn: Truly a tragedy.
Auryen: Hush, you.
Saturn: *glancing around at the museum* ... This place is filthy.
Auryen: You have no problem with filth.
Saturn: Yes, but for a museum- *summons four Dwemer Gynoids* These will follow your command and clean the place. As long as you treat them well, they won't stage a revolt.
Auryen: A revolt?!
Saturn: Yes, that's a reason I didn't want to let my mothers soldiers control them. They would no doubt treat them horribly and override their wellbeing protocols.
Auryen: I.. see.
Saturn: Either way, write a list of artifacts you would like me to retrieve to start with, if any. I'm going to see if the local smith has a proper sword and armor for me aside from.. These ugly things. *gestures to her Thalmor Robes*
Auryen: I wouldn't count on that.
Saturn: Doesn't hurt to try.
~
Saturn: ... This is your biggest greatsword.
Beirand: Yes.
Saturn: *exactly twice his height, holding the greatsword like a regular sword* You're joking.
Beirand: My swords aren't tailored to.. people like you.
Saturn: People like me.
Beirand: Aye. You know what I mean.
Saturn: Your swords are not catered to High Elves. That's rather bigoted for a smith of the Empire, don'tcha think?
Beirand: Call it what you want. I don't have anything for you.
Saturn: Hmph. Fine.
~
Auryen: I told you.
Saturn: *pacing angrily* That is tusking ridiculous!
Auryen: Language.
Saturn: How on earth am I supposed to get any proper armor if the only smith within twenty miles doesn't even cater to High Elves??
Auryen: *sighs* You could probably try the smith in Markarth. An orcish girl by the name of Ghorza gra-Bagol. She'd surely make something for you.
Saturn: Markarth?
Auryen: If you take a carriage, you could make it there in a day's time.
Saturn: Ugh, carriages are so uncomfortable. I'll just walk.
Auryen: That could take days.
Saturn: Good. I've been cooped up in the Embassy for years with no knowledge of what Skyrim even looks like. A journey will be good for me.
Auryen: ... Oh, alright. Since you're leaving, I've compiled a list of certain items I've been looking for. Treasure hunters and mercenaries can only go so far. And here- *hands her the list and a sack of gold* For the smith. Don't expect anymore payment until you return with those artifacts.
Saturn: This is already more than enough. Thank you, uncle.
Auryen: *nods, a sad smile crossing his face* Please be careful, Saturn. Stay out of trouble
Saturn: Ha. Trouble? *waves as she turns, leaving the museum* I can never stay out of trouble.
#skyrim#tes#the elder scrolls#modded skyrim#dragonborn#ldb oc#Saturn oc#ayy finally got to more Saturn stuff
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Quiz & the companions having a very tense meeting and one of the companions asks why Quiz is working for Solas is he tried to kill them. Quiz going “no?? He didn’t?? I mean I guess the anchor thing but it’s fixed now.”
Que companions trying to explain to Quiz the story the advisors have created and Quiz just going “oh you mean when Cullen stabbed me? With his sword? In front of Cassandra??”
(Also I was imagining Cullen/Cass being the ones to stab quiz, which gives extra special angst potential if Quiz isn’t non mage!trevelyan. the seeker and former Templar finally have turned on you like they threatened too at the beginning)
Oh, it would absolutely be Cullen and Cassandra. Leliana's pro-elf and pro-mage and so wouldn't be against working with Quiz to reform things, and Josie's not the betrayal type or the stabbing type. Meanwhile Cassandra is very much against Quiz—or anyone—doing anything that doesn't benefit the Chantry as it is and Cullen was Meredith's right-hand man and ran her death squads, so yeah, both of them could absolutely get to a point where they'd rather stab Quiz in the back than risk them doing something that might damage the Chantry. And yeah, it goes doubly so if Quiz isn't noble Trevelyan. Especially if they're a mage (or Lavellan, since the Templars canonically get sent to harass and kill Dalish elves for... existing), and especially especially mage Lavellan who being a Dalish First is basically the poster child for EVIL APOSTATE in the Chantry's eyes. They've got everything but the blood magic! They might have thought that they'd reached at least some level of peace with the Templar and the Seeker who are the faces of those organizations (organizations that hate any Quiz who isn't noble Trevelyan for existing), but... nope, the moment they become inconvenient and are no longer necessary they're dead.
But honestly I feel like if Solas was high approval (which is likely if Quiz went to him for help) the companions would not buy that he'd kill Quiz. I mean, even at low approval he goes out of his way to save their life even though his plans would almost certainly go much more smoothly with them dead. Those are not the actions of someone who would then turn around and have Quiz assassinated! ...Also Cole. exists. and would be able to say "Uh that's not even close to what happened". Cole's existence kind of ruins any attempt at a mystery here, huh.
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Species in the world of the Tollua Academy (Pt. 1)
Humans: In this case, you can expect to see much of the same as we see in our world. Tollua humans do have a higher capacity for intelligence and physical aptitude even without magic, but not by a huge margin. The biggest aesthetic difference is that, if they are elf-blooded (elves can carry demihuman offspring, but not vice-versa, and those demihumans can conceive with other humans) they may have unique visual qualities, such as oddly-coloured hair and eyes.
Humans are of the Soul affinity, meaning that the typical human has a talent for Soul magic, which affects other living things. Internal variation does exist and varies wildly, but the typical human will outperform non-human peers in Soul magic. This does not mean that humans have a stronger soul, just that they see more results magic-wise from training it. In this respect, humans are closest to the Fae, beings of pure Soul wholly defined by their relationship with others. Humans demonstrate high rates of "the God Touch" with those subject to it being called "God-Touched" which highly weakens their Soul affinity - primarily the social side - while greatly raising their Mind affinity (it's autism, I'm talking about autism, I want autism representation in my world and I'm stickler for obvious etymology hiccups)
Human culture is adaptable and dynamic, and a high emphasis is typically placed on the mutual well-being of people in one's community, while often choosing ideals, morals and ethics over cold practicality.
Elves: Elves are the species with the strongest Mind affinity, with Mind altering the inanimate world around oneself. This brings them closest to the Gods, being of pure Mind. For this reason, elves closely resemble the inanimate world - their skin, while soft, is rough like coarse stone to the touch. Their eyes have a texture similar to a gemstone, their nails are like pottery, their hair wouldn't be dissimilar to the feeling of strands of fraying polyester, and their cartilage is stretchy and elastic like rubber, including their pointed ears. Elves are beautiful in the sense that a statue is beautiful, and other species find them uncanny in motion at first.
Elves have a modest birth rate, but an extremely long lifespan - for this reason, their society is highly utilitarian and abhors waste. Cannibalism of elven dead is not only accepted, but expected, and typical elven funerary practices involve the cooking and consumption of the dead by their bereaved friends and family, this being seen as a final appreciation of this person they valued, elves rarely live to their full lifespan, dying to disease, violence, and ritualistic suicide practices which are seen as an admirable way to end one's time in the world once one has accomplished their goals. They often live through many careers if they have the resources to branch out. Elves can, in theory, have children with dwarves, but the temperamental internal biome of a dwarf makes conception highly basically impossible in vivo.
Dwarves: Again, we have our classic dwarves at first glance - mountain-dwelling, bearded and stout. Dwarves are of the Body affinity, which pertains to casting magic on oneself, and brings them closest to Elementals, beings of pure Body defined by what they're made of. Dwarves have two primary stand-out qualities - one, their beards (which are unisex and grow just as thickly on the women) are coarse and dense, catching mining detritus, dust, and powdered minerals that might otherwise cause long-term health issues. Second, their heart is more akin to an elemental furnace than a mortal organ, and it reflects their emotional state. Their chest is warm when they're content, hot and glowing when they're angry, cold and frosted when they're down, and weirder stuff. When a dwarf is truly relaxed and peaceful, their chest will slowly turn green with chlorophyll, when they're focused and energized they'll crackle with static electricity, and when they're deathly afraid they will literally feel the weight of gravity increase on their bodies, if only enough to be just barely perceptible.
Dwarves are highly individualistic as a people, and they seek achievement, mastery and praise in all that they do. Work and effort are seen as fundamental good things, with leisure time short and focused. Mastering artisan work are held up as the highest form of achievement, and one's legacy is secured in creating a physical product that lasts throughout the ages and serves many people. There is respect given to other forms of work, though it can often come across as condescension compared to the praise heaped onto craftsmen. This respect for work, however, does make dwarves the world leaders in guilds - in terms of size, political strength, and sophistication. No dwarf wants to let their work be devalued.
Nothing here is set in stone, these are early ideas in many cases. More to come, when time allows.
#tw death#tw sui talk#tw cannibalism#tw funeral#worldbuilding#fantasy#fantasy race#human#elf#dwarf#aspiring author#aspiring writer
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bee knew what it was like to have a parent with high expectations, nothing you ever did was quite good enough. her father was like that...when he actually gave her attention that is but she can't imagine what it's like having a parent like that coming from an already privileged family, when you already have everything you'd think they'd ease up a little more instead of tearing you down cause it's hard for her to imagine regulus could do anything wrong.
never having to cook your own meals or clean the home you lived in seemed a bit foreign to bee, growing up she used to wake up early in the mornings to gather items from her family garden to sell just so her family could have meals or cleaning the house every sunday to make sure it was spotless, they never had help or someone to do it for them. "so you have a house elf I'm assuming?" she asks curiously. bee had never been a fan of the whole idea of house elves mostly do to the way wizards tended to treat them. she nods at his words about his brother, she's read about sirius black before. "I'm sorry to hear about your brother, it must be hard knowing your own flesh and blood is trapped in such a horrible place. I don't know what I would do if cedric wasn't here." it's the truth, though most would probably have terrible things to say about the eldest black but she didn't see a need for it. "well you are the most lovely prince I've ever met if that helps." she giggles softly.
"well that's unfortunate, I love a beautiful garden...i miss my garden. dirigible plums, chomping cabbages, grapes and the most delicious potatoes you'll ever taste. they were some of my best friends back at home." she reminisces about the first time she grew her own plant, they were only peas but it was one of the happiest days of her life. "I'm so excited for herbology class I hear we get to work with venomous tentacula's in first year! they're such a beautiful plant even though most people are absolutely terrified of them."
she's rather taken aback by his question, gaze falling for a moment "oh..." she says gently as she actually finds herself trying to think about it for a moment. no one's ever asked her that kind of question before, she figures that they never really cared. "I guess so, I mean it's just in my household it's usually my brother who is the star of the show, quidditch seeker, prefect, future quidditch champion. he's like my father's pride and joy, and not that I blame him. if you met cedric you'd probably love him too...it's just he takes up a lot of space and there's not enough room in my father's eyes. but that's okay, I'm used to it." she forces a sad smile, not wanting to speak I'll of her father.
the things that made her most happy was talking about newt and her own dreams of saving the beautiful most creatures who needed her, it felt like it'd been awhile since she felt as though she was able to talk about it. "I'm sorry...shoot." she laughs a bit at herself she's really apologizing for apologizing. she frowns a bit at his words when he talks about his mother, she sounded like an awful lady, so much hate in her heart. bee's eyes flicker towards his gaze as she frowns. "people like that are so hateful, our world wouldn't exist without the creatures that inhabit it and dragon's especially are very clean creatures and puffskien hair has magical properties they use in laughing potions...plus their freakin adorable." she muses happily wishing she could meet one sometime soon. "but if you like it so much then I'll be happy to talk to you more about whatever creatures you'd like to what of, my brain is like one big beast library."
she listens when he explains what book it was, it both warms and breaks her heart a little to imagine a baby regulus so excited to learn of dragons just for his selfish mother to literally rip his dreams from his hands and burn it away but it also gives her an idea. pulling her satchel from her hip she opens it up to look inside, before pulling out a golden book. "my parents got me this book for my 13th birthday and I've read it over a thousand times...my favorite is the swedish short-snout, the breathe blue flames and are known to have harmed the least amount of humans of the other species..." she smiles softly before handing the book over to the boy. "here, you keep it. just promise you'll remember me when you're a world renowned dragonologist changing the world."
she understands what it's like to want your parents' approval but what she could never do is give up on the things she wants most to please someone else. "my father doesn't approve of my dreams either, he says it's too dangerous and it's not exactly a job that gives you fame and riches unless you're newt scamander but...it's also my dream and I don't think you should live your life based on what other people want for you. if your mother truly loves you she'll understand your dreams even if it doesn't make her happy as long as it makes you happy that's all that matters."
her cheeks flush a bright shade of pink at his next words, fingers running through her auburn curls as she bites down on her lower lip. "n-no!" she says all too quickly. "I mean that's n-not what I meant I...I don't mind you flirting with me, I just...never really done this before? unless you count the daydreams I had about princes from story books." but this was a real life prince one in which was very bluntly telling her that he wanted to flirt with her. "I just mean to say I like that you flirt with me, sorry if I'm bad at doing it in return."
before she can continue to put her foot in her mouth she shoves the cauldron cake in her mouth, getting some of it on her lips as she saviors the tastey treat. she wants to feel bad that regulus had gone out of his way for her but it's also hard to resist her favorite chocolatety snack and after all he tells her wanted to as he strokes the fur of a very relaxed niffler.
bee tries not to choke on the cake when he goes on to compliment her or at the least what she thinks is a compliment because he talks about wanting to pinch her cheeks. "you wouldn't think I'd look a bit silly with squirrel cheeks?" she teases, puffing out her cheeks to make them look fatter as she smiles. "oh I've been told I give the best hugs, by my mom of course. I have this thing where I'm a bit of a chronic hugger...maybe you'll get to find out if you'd like."
He doesn’t expect her to call him perfect, but maybe she’s exaggerating a bit to tease him. Either way, it’s flattering when she herself is perfection sitting in front of him, from her pretty face to how kind she is. She doesn’t seem to have any judgements towards him at all, even though he would expect her to. Everyone knows his family’s views on blood status after all, and Bee definitely isn’t pureblood. “Strict doesn’t begin to cover it, with her.” She’s the most intense woman Regulus has ever known, from her beliefs to her expectations. Even loving her, he can acknowledge that. Maybe it’s why he’s so competitive, now– it had been ingrained into him to always be the best, so he could be loved.
He smiles when she disagrees, insisting he seems like a prince with the world at his feet. “I suppose. I can buy whatever I want, within reason… And I’ve never had to cook my own meals, or clean my own home. My surname has a lot of influence, but maybe less so than other families since my brother went to Azkaban. There are the drawbacks, though… like my mother.” He smiles up at her a little, humorously. He shouldn’t speak ill of her (Kreacher would have a fit) but this is the first time he’s felt he could be honest. “The most family time I get is a good lecture and when they use me as a show pony for their high-end pureblood parties. I guess everyone at those parties thinks I’m a prince too.” But he doesn’t like the way they treat him, or how they say it. Not how he likes when Bee does.
“And we do have a garden, but I don’t think it’s what you’re picturing��� It’s less for growing produce and more for statues and parties.” He wonders what her garden looks like, and if it’s as beautiful and warm as she is.
She apologizes for trying to pull away from him, saying it’s a force of habit. “What is?” he asks, curiosity getting the better of him. “Assuming people don’t want to hear from you?” That seems quite sad, as Bee is the most interesting and charming person he’s ever met. She at least reassures him that she would like to get to know him as well, which makes him feel a little less guilty for being so blunt with her and seemingly making her nervous.
He listens to her talk about Newt quietly, a faint smile on his lips as he watches her with warm green eyes. He likes that she knows these things; that she cares enough to know how different creatures are mistreated, and she wants to make a difference. None of his family ever talked about jobs like this– they spoke of them as tools to bring honor to the family, not help someone outside of it. She mentions her owl, telling Regulus his name, and it makes him happy that she wants to share everything about herself with him. He frowns when her gaze falls, apologizing as if ashamed of how much she had spoken. “I wish you wouldn’t apologize,” he says gently. “I haven’t gotten to hear many different perspectives, living in a wizarding village of mostly purebloods. This is the first time I’ve met someone who cares about creatures too… where I’m from, it’s frowned upon. When my mother thought I might be interested in the career, she told me that being a magizoologist was for simpletons who sympathized with dirty creatures because they couldn’t make themselves useful to wizarding society.” For the first time, he feels actual shame talking about his family to someone else. He hopes Bee doesn’t think he’s anything like his mother, and the thought alone takes him by surprise. “The point is, I like hearing you talk about how much you love them…”
He nods when she asks about his mother burning his book. “It was Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland. She hated that I took an interest in the topic…” He shrugs, looking away with sad green eyes. It’s not something he likes to recall, but he does want to share the truth of his family with Bee, for some reason.
He listens to her speech about how becoming a dragonologist would be a good thing, trying desperately to believe her. All he can remember is his mother’s disapproving face and her harsh criticism, cutting deep and making him want to undo his actions somehow and please her again so she still loved him. Maybe that feeling has informed every choice he’s made since then. “It’s more difficult than it seems, trying to stop wanting her approval.” Maybe that was something Bee understood.
Regulus wonders if he shouldn’t have answered her bluntly; maybe he was coming on too strong, which was a strange thing to realize when according to his mother he shouldn’t even be talking to Bee at all. She avoids his gaze, but she tells him he doesn’t need to apologize. “Would you rather I flirted with other girls?” he teases lightly, watching for her reaction.
After eating his first cauldron cake, he returns to stroking Alfie’s fur, enjoying the soft texture against his fingers as the animal settles into his lap with his new ring. Regulus shrugs in response to Bee’s protests. “I wanted to.” Was it so bad that he wanted to impress her, and give her everything she wanted?
He’s not sure why, but he feels irritated at Bee’s father for telling her she would get fat. “Seems like the wrong thing for him to be worried about,” he observes. “Maybe I want to fatten you up… Make your cheeks chubbier so they’re easier to pinch.” He teases her, glancing up at her pretty face again. “You’d give nice, soft hugs too… Though you probably don’t need any help in that department.” He wonders what hugging Bee is like, and if she’d ever hug him.
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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. Here is the post
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.
#acotar#a court of thorns and roses#a court of silver flames#theories#wild hunt#fionn#high king#narben#firsf gods#crescent city#my theories#Sarah j maas#sjm theories#sjm#elriel#rhysand#bryce quinlan#azriel#elain archeron#feyre archeron
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Thranduil and Josie Part 71- Insidious
Summary: 6 days till Halloween at Chateau de Lioncourt. Haldir, Legolas, Aragorn and the Lothlorion elven guard arrive to Lestat's dismay. He makes his feelings blatantly clear and gives the Marchwarden one choice to avoid possible bloodshed. Haldir tells a fib to also avoid any unwanted conflict. Aragorn and company are ordered to depart back to Dorwinion while Haldir and the Prince remain per Lestat's terms. An ominous snow storm looms in the oncoming days atop the mountain of monsters. Josie has a dream that is actually a forgotten memory of the past. The gang's all together again and emotions run high. Lestat displays an act of patronizing jealousy that infuriates Josie but amuses her King. Haldir and Caroline come to a baleful head. Josie whisks her away in an attempt to avoid disaster. Caroline shares unpleasant memories with her daughter. Josie meets another vampire that possesses a talent much like Thranduil's mother. She asks an unusual favor of him in which he warns her of the possible undesired outcome. Caroline gets quite literal shock. Thranduil comforts his crying Queen in more way than one.
*SMUT SMUT SMUT* *Warning: Mention of abuse and rape*
"Insidious- Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way but with harmful effects."
Just before dawn, Haldir and company made their arrival at Lestat's castle, but the overly keen vampire was already aware of the elven presence, and another unexpected human no less leaving Lestat quite perturbed, as if you being in his orbit wasn't enough fortuitous temptation.
Orophin and Rumil had met up with them as Lestat would not permit them entry when they arrived with Thranduil. His distaste of the elves wasn't simply just because it was expected of his kind, but more so that he just couldn't care less about their existence. They were of no use to him as no vampire desired their sour tasting blood unless it were their only option. It was almost as displeasing as drinking the blood of an animal. Foul flavor and it quickly becomes cold. Neither were an acquired taste for a vampire, and as far as Lestat was concerned...he would rather starve.
Haldir ordered his guard and brothers to remain in the shadows while he, Legolas and Aragorn approached the hawk eyed immortal with caution. Just because vampires didn't savor in elven blood did not mean they wouldn't rip their throats out if threatened as some have found out by Garrett. "My my...what do we have here? This was not the arrangement I made with Thranduil. Haldir of Lorien, you dare to bring your army to my lands, his spawn and also a human to add to further insult. I have always deemed elves as cretinous sprites but this vacuous stunt I find not only inconceivable, but minacious." Lestat warned as he stood confidently solo just feet away from the fearless Marchwarden.
"In his defense, the change was unknown to Thranduil." Haldir slightly fibbed in an effort to not incite a war. "I am solely responsible as I chose to bring the extra reinforcement. In my own defense, I did not feel it wise to enter alone. A war is of no intent and wishes to be avoided."
"As I clearly stated, it was not wise of your choice. But....I commend your bravery and loyalty to your kin. Although, something tells me you are really here entirely for another reason. I can see why." Lestat said with a sly grin. Haldir's mind went straight to you. "Recall all of your company except the Prince. Those are my stipulations for you to gain entry in my home. Your weapons will be confiscated as well and returned upon your departure, which I anticipate to be sooner than later. An insidious snow storm is nearing which will make it more tedious for you ground travelers...not that it is any of my concern. I just want you gone." he snarled with impatience as the sun was just peaking over the horizon. Although Lestat and some vampires were day walkers that was gifted to them by their bloodline, the sun annoyed him. False light was of no bother, but his eyes were sensitive to the great ball of fire. Haldir turned and spoke with Aragorn and his brothers. Neither were accepting of his command for them to depart but it was the only way to avoid unnecessary death. Lestat may have stood alone in their presence, but he had his own horde lurking in the darkness.
They reluctantly went on their way but something told Haldir by the look in Aragorn's eyes that he did not come all this way just to leave his friends in a deadly vampire lair. It wasn't who he was. The stealthy ranger would silently remain obscured in the mountain with Rumil, Orophin and the guard. Aragorn turned to watch Haldir and Legolas make their way inside the devil's lair and then hesitantly trekked on.
"Athair! Athair! you cried out for your father as you ran through the woods in fear. That is what you called him as a child but then simply daddy as you entered your adolescent years.
"My Jo, what is it child?" Julian asked as he ran outside in suspense after being startled awake from his after lunch slumber by your screams.
"A witch! A witch! I saw her! In the forest!!"
"A witch huh? Let's go throw some water on her and make her melt!" he laughed and gave you a tickle on your belly.
You giggled through your missing two front teeth as you sat down on the swing set. "Athair stoppp! I really did see a witch and she had hair like mine!" He sat beside you and gave you a look that you did not understand at 7 years old, but you did now as you were seeing it in your dream. He had believed you after the descriptive hair comment but didn't want you to know it. Did your father know your mom was alive? Did he know she was a witch? He had to, how could he not. This was a memory with him that you had forgotten all about.
"Where did you see her?" he asked as his eyes worriedly searched the area.
"In the clover field. She sang me happy birthday and hugged me...and she knew my name. Athair, she was freezing and then her eyes glowed. I was scared and ran away....oh oh!! and she can fly! but....Athair, she didn't have a broom. Witches have to have brooms to fly?"
He then knelt down and looked at you with so much adoration and smiled. "Not all do my love."
"But...in all my books, they have brooms."
"Well look at Superman. He did not need a broom."
"Athair you are so funny. He's not a witch. And besides...Witches are girls."
He looked a little displeased by your statement. "Some are men..."
"You and your fairy tales my Jo. Those stories are nothing like the way things really are."
"But...I want them to be true. When I grow up, I wish for a real King that wears all kinds of crowns and pretty clothes and has a big white horse and all kinds of magical powers and eyes like the moon...and tall and strong with pretty hair like yours."
Julian let out a hearty laugh. "Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it." he said with a twinkle in his eyes and a playful grin as he pushed your swing.
"Come...let's go inside and prepare your birthday cake together. Are you sure you'll be able to blow out all your candles? You're getting old." he chuckled.
You huffed. "Athair, I'm only 7! You're the one who's old. You certainly couldn't blow out all your candles, there would be too many." you giggled.
"What a smart girl you are." he laughed. "I am so old, there isn't a cake big enough to hold all the candles for me." he teased as he picked you up so swiftly.
"But Athair...what about the witch?"
"Hush love. Don't you worry about her. You will never see her again. I will make sure of it."
You then hugged him tight. "You're my hero daddy. I love you."
"I love you more princess."
The dream then jumped to him reading something. He didn't know you were there. It was the middle of the night and you had awoken to go to the bathroom. You stood there rubbing your eyes and yawning and all of a sudden, you saw your father use magic, or thought you had......fire to be precise, just like yours. The next morning, he told you that it was just a dream.....
You gasped and sat up crying. "Daddy???" you whispered and looked all around.
Thranduil quickly sat up. "Josephine. Why are you crying?" he sweetly said as he held you and kissed your forehead.
"It was just a dream. My dad, I saw him again. Thranduil...I truly feel my mother did something to him....and...he was using magic. Fire like me. He had tried to tell me I had dreamt it, but it was too real. Some of the things he said, Thranduil...I think he was a witch too. If so, how did I never know?"
"I do not know my love. Maybe to protect you for some reason?"
"I think so too and I think it was from my own mother."
Thranduil stroked your cheek. "As I will do the same." Suddenly he turned his head towards the door. "Legolas...Haldir...they are here. We must go."
As you and Thranduil came into the foyer that was the size of a large room in itself, there stood Haldir and Legolas, along with Lestat but no Caroline or Garrett in which you scanned the area for him. You were so relieved to see the two of them safe. You quickly ran to hug them, Haldir first which Legolas slightly huffed at. "I...I am so sorry for the way I left. I hope you both are not angry with me."
"I am just grateful you were taken to safety regardless of who took you there." Haldir replied with a softened smile.
"Agreed." Legolas added. Thranduil gave them both a snide stare. It was quite apparent he did not agree with the who part.
"The orcs and wargs...were there many? Were any of you hurt? Where is Aragorn and your brothers? Didn't they come with Thranduil?" you rambled in great concern after you realized they were not with them.
"We had a great lead on the beasts and some unexpected assistance in ridding of their pursuit. Once we arrived here, Lestat's demands were for their departure in order for us to remain and keep peace." Haldir briefly explained.
You could feel Lestat's eyes burning through you as he serenely sat in a chair.
"Josie. Thranduil. So nice of you to grace us in your afterglow." He then sauntered by you and smelled your hair right in front of Thranduil and spoke again. "Feel free to take advantage of the bathing amenities in your room."
He then paced on around everyone in what you felt to be a menacing manner. "I would ask you all to join me for the morning's breakfast but I don't think you share the same preferences in my choice of delicacies. Down the hall there is a dining area of sorts with limited food options to your likings as we don't have many guests of your kind. If you like, I could always bring you back a fresh deer or elk after my morning snack run? No? Suit yourselves."
The passive aggressive snarky remarks that rolled off his bitter cold tongue had you reeling. Did he just suggest that you wreaked of sex and also make an insulting jab at Thranduil about consuming an elk? Was this an intentional hit on your King or just his everyday mannerisms? Either way, if he wasn't a vampire, you would have smacked him dead in his smug face. Knowing Lestat as briefly as you did, it seemed he would have enjoyed it though and possibly deciphered it to be an invitation, not to mention you learned the hard way literally, by breaking your hand on Garrett's face at one time. The look of disgust you carried made him smirk and then in a blurred streak, he was gone.
"Oh my god the nerve of that....whatever he is!" you blurted out. "Did that just happen???" Surprisingly, Thranduil did not seem to have taken offense to his sexual remarks, but more so reveled in delight that Haldir and even Legolas were made aware of his recent ravishing of you. You glared at Thranduil and he smirked with a puerile wink. It took everything in you not to smile at his petulance. Oh how you adored him even when he tested your last nerve.
Caroline then came frolicking in. "Good morning my little ray of fiery sunshine. I see we have new guests?" She said as she came up to you with a jubilant smile. Her dissimulate act was obvious and sent chills down your spine because of her previous night's display. "Haldir of Lorien...we meet again. Long time, no desire to see." Her bitterly blunt remark was surely due to the fact he had beheaded her King Craven.
Haldir took in a studied quiet glance at her and then he verified your doubts of her in one pertinent sentence.
"You dare speak to me of evil, son of Orodreth who wreaked of it." she said in reference to his father's betrayal of her by stealing the emerald of Eden that she then gawked at around Haldir's neck as she approached him.
Haldir, having no weapon and feeling threatened by her advances, grabbed a lit torch and pointed it at her. Fire was certainly one way to rid of a vampire. "How about a little fire witch!"
She blew it out in one cold puff and laughed hysterically. "If you only had a brain scarecrow. How about a little more vampire blood sprite!"
"Mama no!" you shouted and stepped between Haldir and her. "Do not harm him! I forbid it!"
The look of pure shock consumed her face, "He threatened your mother with fire and you defend this lowly elf??"
"Mama...please. Let's go walk and catch up on things huh?" you said in desperation to calm her down.
She pondered on it for a moment as her eyes glowed of crimson. The shade you were now certain was a guarded mode like Garrett's did when Lestat was near you. "Alright. I would love some one on one time with my long lost daughter. I will let this go...for now." she coldly snapped as her eyes then returned to blackness.
"Josephine!" Thranduil expectably shouted.
"My love...she is not going to hurt me. Let me go with her please. Trust me..." Your eyes darted through his tortured ones.
"Of course I would never hurt my child!" she growled in disbelief at your King.
He took your face into his silky smooth hands. "I do trust you my sweet girl. It is her I do not."
Caroline let out a heavy huff. "As if you are so trustworthy Elvenking."
"Ok enough! Both of you. Thranduil...I will be alright and back soon. I promise." His head lowered in defeat and worry but he knew you needed answers. You spoke into his mind telling him you would leave yours open so he could hear everything. Thranduil then gave a delayed nod and you kissed his nose and left.
You and Caroline walked on a pathway down the mountain side. The wind was light from the shelter of the forest, but crisp and carried flurries of an oncoming storm. An accumulating layer of snow blanketed the earth.
Caroline gazed upon you. "Your hair is so long and beautiful like when you were a child. Your braids are like art. You did this yourself?" she asked as she ran her eyes softly over them.
"Yes. I learned it from Haldir." Her eyes dropped in reaction to your words.
"Hmmph. What is your affection of the aggravating elf? You do know what he has done??"
You immediately snapped your body towards her. "I know exactly what he has done. He has saved my life multiple times while putting his own at risk. If you harm him or anyone I love, you will lose any love I have for you."
Your outburst stunned her. "You....love this elf?"
"I do Mama, but not in the way you are suggesting. He is my best friend aside from Thranduil. His sacrifices have been of great abundance to keep me safe."
"Then it is the other way around yes? The Marchwarden is in love with you? It's quite apparent the way his eyes fondle you."
"That is irrelevant. How about we speak of Craven whom he killed and quite justifiably so. You know, the vampire you abandoned me for? The same one who beat, raped and killed Olivia, Haldir's mother, all over a piece of jewelry and revenge for you fucking her husband. Do correct me if I'm wrong but Craven got what he deserved. He killed Haldir's parents! How could you blame Haldir for his reaction?? And how could you love such a monster! Must not have been true love if you slept with Orodreth. Did you leave daddy for Craven???" you asked with teary eyes.
Caroline dreaded this foreseen confrontation for many years. "You place your father on an undeserving pedestal. You know nothing of him or his ways."
"That's great mom. Speak ill of my dead father whom I love and who loved me. You will convince me of no less as he is not here to defend himself. You left us and faked your own death for christ's sake!"
"I did yes. I have no excuses except that I was young and had just come into my full powers and not yet aware of how to use them, much like you. I loved you like no other but having you was not planned with Julian. I did not love him and I was not meant for the family life that he wanted. I know that sounds harsh but I am just being truthful. When I met Craven, he drew me in like no other. I felt something with him I never had before. I foolishly left you with your father to protect you from the bed I had made in a world not meant for a human child...and with time, Craven's true nature surfaced. A monster as you said. Physical abuse to make me submit to him and his possessiveness and jealousy told me there would never be any room for you." An image of your mother and Craven flashed through your mind.
"And then there was Viktor and his daughter wanting me dead which is when I met Orodreth. Craven placed me there to hide me. Orodreth was so kind and loving. I slept with him because he falsely made me believe he cared for me but it was all an act. All he desired was that wretched emerald, a mere souvenir to him. I certainly paid the price for that mishap too. I soon found out I was pregnant and I did not know who the father was. I prayed it would not be Craven but my symptoms made me quite aware that it was. I looked about like you do right now in just a few weeks time. Craven told me it would kill me and that even if he had the pendant, it would not save me. He would not give me a choice to be turned as he swore of his undying love for me. Said he could not live without me." She rolled her eyes and then stopped walking with a look of pain on her face.
You began to feel a little sympathy for her as the good old empath in you was surfacing. "You don't have to tell me anymore if it's too painful. I know all about my sister...Clover."
She gasped as her eyes darted to yours. "I...I suppose Garrett told you about her? She was close with him. He was like a guardian to her. Both of us really. He helped us out many times to remain hidden from Viktor and Selene after Craven died as I had no one. He's one of the good ones in my world and...he sure seems to fancy you."
You couldn't help but smile. "Yes, he is. He briefly told me but we were interrupted. Haldir and Thranduil first confirmed you were alive after I forced their hands." It was obvious she didn't know of Garrett's past discretions and you were not going to tell her, but feared Thranduil would out of spite. Garrett had well atoned for his mistakes in your eyes but the yandere Elvenking would never forgive him.
She then decided to continue on and with great detail that made you cringe. You supposed she didn't have anyone to tell these things to and had kept them bottled up inside all these years. Nothing like your first mother daughter talk being about the horrific gory birth of a dhampirica child.
"By two months, I appeared to be nine months along. It was pure agony as she was depleting me of my blood day and night to survive. Her aggressive movements ripped apart my insides in the last days. My ribs were broken and then my back on the day she tore herself from my stomach. I begged Craven to kill me and take the baby for himself as I knew he really wanted her, even seemed to love her. He refused as he wanted me to live too. She was the only one that could tear herself from me. She could not be cut out as the protective walls around her could not be penetrated. My stomach was of pure stone. The only option I had was to be turned but that could only happen the moment she was born. I laid there tied down and screaming in pain, watching her thrash about. It felt like I was combusting." Caroline closed her eyes and all of a sudden, the gruesome memories were shown to you.
"The next thing I knew, my stomach just exploded into shreds. Craven quickly removed her and handed her to Garrett who had watched the whole thing. For a moment I actually thought a vampire could pass out judging by the look upon his face. I then heard her cry as I took my final breath. I don't know how much time had passed but I had awoken to sheer fire coursing through my veins. The pain was excruciating, a thousand times worse than her birth. I was tied down on a bed with chains and my screams actually shattered a window. My body had changed back to the way it was, no scars, no blood....and razor sharp fangs pierced through my gums.
Craven left me that way for days. He said it was necessary as I had no control yet in being a newborn. My rage for blood was indescribable. I cursed him for what he did to me. The coward claimed no responsibility as if there were anyone else at fault!?"
"He would feed me some of his blood from time to time until my body adjusted. I wasn't even allowed to see Clover yet but he assured me she was fine and being cared for by Garrett while he tended to me. And well...I guess you know the rest."
You didn't know which was more unbelievable. What she had just showed you of blood and gore or imagining Garrett holding a baby and making coo coo sounds.
By this time, you and she were down at the beach on the backside of the castle. How much easier your travel would have been if you could have came in by sea and just went up the paths, instead of damn near freezing to death in the depths of the desolate brumal forest. It was still extremely frigid at this level from the brittle gales carried in by the unobstructed Rhun but at least there was no snow and soon to be sunlight.
"Mama...I am so sorry for the pure hell you went through. I can't even imagine." Actually you almost could as you believed your child could have been Garrett's at one point but she didn't need to know that. "And..I'm so sorry about Clover. I wish I could have known my sister. What was she like?"
"Well...beautiful just like you but....that was along time ago. There's no need to speak of it now. Look...there's someone I'd like you to meet." she said cheerfully as she gazed over at a man on the beach who was painting. She sure shut down the subject of Clover real fast. Odd you thought, that she wouldn't even at least tell you about her. You supposed it was just too painful. But that damn intuition told you there was something else to it.
"Marius!" she shouted as she smiled and vigorously waved. The man was quite frazzled as he turned around from his deep concentration.
He took in a fast gasp when he locked sight on you with a startled uncanny shimmer in his eyes. You then realized he was no ordinary man, but a vampire. He also realized who you were. "Ahhhh the mortal daughter of Caroline I finally have the honor of meeting. I am Marius. And you....Josephine? Is that your preference to be addressed by my child?"
"Yes that will be fine." you politely replied with a smile. Normally you would have told him no, but there was something about the way your given name rolled off a vampire's tongue that made you not hate it so much, like when Garrett said it. The only other exception was your King and Lord Elrond. Strangely, Lestat only called you Josie. The way your mother said it with her heavy accent was like nails on a chalk board to you, which is probably why you despised the name all together. "I was just finishing up my morning canvas. Would you like me to portray yourself? You are most surely a work of art deserving of my skills."
"That is very kind of you to say and offer. Respectfully, I do not think I will have such time to model for one. Our stay here will be short as we are clearly unwelcomed by Lestat and I fear a storm is coming." No one had told you that, but you could sense it as you stood with your face to the blustery north winds.
"My dear Josephine, do not fret over Lestat. He can be temperamental in the presence of others but is otherwise quite harmless unless provoked or famished." That certainly did not make you feel any better and after your two meetings with the moody madman, you begged the differ. "I do not need one's presence to compose my masterpieces. I have a photographic memory. One of my many talents." he grinned as he tapped on his forehead. That instantly made you think of Thranduil's mother and all her art she created solely on her memory. This gave you an idea. But...you had to put your shield up first because Thranduil was listening and would not understand.
"I do not feel I need one but....would you be willing to do another for me...well I mean, it would be for someone else." Marius tilted his head at you with a raised brow. "I...well...for...could you do one of Garrett? It's just...he told me he hasn't seen himself since he was changed. M...maybe he would really enjoy that?" You fumbled through that entire explanation as you didn't know what Marius...or even Garrett would think of that. Marius stood dumbfounded in a gaze at you, as did your mother. Then a smirk slowly crept up onto Marius' face.
"There is only one mirror in the world that can cast our reflection and it happens to be right here in this very Kingdom. Garrett is fully aware of it and has declined to view himself. He has never offered a reason for his choice. I was not aware he shares such information with anyone, let alone a human. He must care for you and vice versa it seems?"
You didn't know how to answer that without it sounding to be more than what it was. "I am just trying to help him out. He just sounded and even looked a bit saddened when he spoke of that or anything in his past life. Just a friendly offering to maybe...make him smile. If you're willing...I can pay you..I mean not right now, but I assure you I can do so at a later time."
Marius kindly smiled. "Your heart is in the right place. Garrett is still in his newborn years, clinging onto the human part of him that no longer exists which is normal. We have all experienced it. Even your mother as she is of his age range. It will pass though at some point."
"You are wrong....I..I mean no disrespect, but I know him very well. The human he once was very well still exists. I have seen it more than once. It's in the way he speaks, the things he does...the way he feels things. Is it wrong of him to keep that side of him alive? or is it better he become a cold heartless monster like some are?"
"I think you have answered my question. You do care for him. So very rare for a human to do so of your kind. It seems you are quite like your mother." he said as he smiled at her. She seemed to enjoy that statement. You, not so much as you were nothing like her from what you have witnessed and had no desire to be. "I do not wish for payment, for the reward is in the display itself. To see a moment captured in time or to place memories into a picture is a magic like no other. I will offer this task for you but I warn you...you may not receive the reaction you wish for."
"Thank you so much. I will risk it. I would love to see it myself anyways to see what your photographic memory can do, for I have only ever seen it by one other."
"Ahhh...the distinguished belated elven Queen of Mirkwood. Very talented and of great beauty....for an elf. Oh my child....I do not disappoint. I will have it ready no later than say, midday tomorrow? I assume you will at least be staying a few days to catch up on time lost with your mother yes?"
She smiled at you with anticipation of your answer. "We came along way so most likely yes, weather and...Lestat permitting. And of course Thranduil."
"Ahh. Your husband, the Elvenking of Mirkwood and the Woodland Realm." he stated with an obvious counterfeit smile. "Well then...I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay. I must go about finishing up here so I can begin on your request. It was a pleasure to meet you miss Josephine."
With that, he bowed and spun back around to resume his ocean landscape. You and Caroline then headed back up the mountainside pathway.
As you entered the castle, you stopped. "Could you please try...try to get along with Thranduil. You surely had to be aware of his temperament all these years. He is only doing what you have always wanted him to do. Protect me."
"I can see that yes. But from me? I would never hurt you."
"Mama...he and I have been through hell and back together. If you knew all the things he has done for me, you would not think so little of him. He would die for me. There are times he almost has. And I would do the same for him. I love him Mama, more than my own life and I meant what I said. If you ever hurt him, you will lose me forever. Please show me you have a heart like Garrett's."
Your words seemed to have affected her. "This life has not been easy my Jo. I will do my best to make you happy." She went to hug you and was zapped back by a very visible electrical current, your shield.
She stared at you appalled. "Seosaimhín! That hurt. Literally."
"Mama...I...I am not doing it, I swear! I do not know why that is happening??" You were either subconsciously protecting yourself or your powers were repelling hers. All you could think of were Haldir's words. You bring great evil with you. If she were of light like she professes to be, then why would that happen?
"You must certainly know why you are shielding your own mother. You believe them all don't you?? Haldir and your King. You think I am evil! Why did you even come here??" she cried and vanished in a speeding light that blew your hair back.
You ran back to your room in tears looking for Thranduil. He was right there peering out the window drinking a glass of wine. You bolted straight into his arms. "My love, what has happened. Why are you crying?? Did she hurt you? I will kill..."
"No...no. Please...I will tell you everything that you didn't already hear. Can we just lock ourselves in here for the rest of the day and night? I just want to be alone with you."
He took your face into his hands so gently. "Whatever you so desire my Queen. It is yours. How about that bath Lestat proclaims we should take? I think I can make you feel a lot better." His voice was alluring as he softly kissed your cheek and worked his way down your neck, pulling tiny bits of your skin between his teeth. That's all it took and you intensely drew his mouth into yours, then forcefully pushed him back against a table, in which a vase tumbled over. You began tearing at your clothes to remove them and he quickly obliged in helping you while you aggressively tugged at his robe trying to free it as both of you kissed passionately while doing so. You yanked it loose from his arms, threw it aside and jumped up on him. He moaned loudly and deeply as his hands cupped your ass in placement over his hips, then they ravaged up your bare back while he buried his mouth between your breasts. Your fingers slid through his hair and curled tightly around the platinum strands which emitted an intense growl to crawl up his throat. The immense hardness of his cock was teasing your entrance and you began grinding against him strong and fast. His head arched back at the feel of your heat rubbing on his aching member. "No more!" his hot heavy breath poured over your face as he frantically pushed you down. Thranduil backed up gasping and then grasped the table with his eyes pursed shut. He had almost released and was trying to stop himself from doing so. His white knuckle fisted grip on the table made the muscles in his arms and chest protrude and it was the sexiest damn thing you had ever seen not to mention his cock visibly twitched a couple times in protest to his unexpected self cock blocking. He exhaled deeply through his nose and seductively opened his bedroom eyes.
It was a captivating look that burnt right through your soul, straight to your core and into your overly drenched walls sending an aftershock through them. How was it possible that this man could possess such a "fuck me" power over you with just a mere glance of his moonstone eyes?
"Remove the rest of your clothing." he provocatively ordered as his bewitching eyes fondled your aroused breasts.
You stared him down with a returned enticing look and did as he commanded. "Yes my King." you whispered with a smirk.
His eyes followed your dress to the floor and then erotically slithered back up your naked body. "Remove my leggings." You trembled with desire as your fingers slid inside his velvety trousers. Down you went to your knees as his bottoms followed over is lengthy eager cock and his smooth brawny thighs. Lifting one of his legs for him, you eased his leather boot from his foot and tossed it to the side listening to it thud on the stone floor. Your eyes never left his as you repeated the process with the other boot while his toned arms continued to support his body against the table behind him. Leaning forward, you placed the tip of your tongue on the inner side of his leg and your fingertips on the outer side, then slowly slid them up. Your hair brushed his cock sending a strong twitch through it and a low grumble through his parted perky lips. His stout cock emitted a substantial radiance against your cheek as your tongue neared the base. You stopped and gazed up at him wanting him to command you further. His eyes slightly widened at the abandonment of your touch.
"Touch me." he said as his now daunting eyes moved to his throbbing thickness. Offering much more, you surprised him as your mouth closed over his swollen head and let your tongue relish over his opening that seeped a small taste of salty pre cum. His body uncontrollably jerked along with a hard groan leaping from his throat as he gripped your head fully in his hands. The way you were turning him on turned you on even more. To have the powerful indestructible elf lord on the brink of destruction at the mere tip of your fingers was a guilty pleasure of yours. Slowly and carefully, you glided your lips further up his shaft in shallow movements in order to not undo him. Your efforts almost failed as he relinquished himself from your mouth and held your head still with trembling hands as his own head hung low with tightly closed eyes, followed by a painful shaky moan. He was forcing his peaking climax to withdraw.
"I want to be inside of you." His voice was deep and insistent as he propelled your body up to stand and pressed you against the wall face first. His furnace like towering frame smothered your miniscule one as he nibbled on your neck. Without warning, he slipped two fingers into your saturated walls sending a cacophonous cry from you into the quiet room. You could feel him smile against your hair due to your reaction. He parted your legs with his knee and your entrance with his fingers, then thrusted into you. Both of you crumbled against each other at the intense feeling. He held still for a moment in another effort to control his relentless release. "Only you have ever held such power over me." he whispered into your ear. "I am at your mercy my Queen." Your arms drew up behind you and around his neck in which he then laid his head upon your shoulder and slipped his hands around your stomach. Softly, he began to pump into you. As he became full sheathed, electricity seered through your core sending a shockwave of vigorous pulsations over his cock as you cried out in orgasmic ecstasy. This sent Thranduil into an annihilating release as he hastily grinded into you. He slipped out of you, placed his arm under your legs and picked you up. "How about we entertain that bath now and pick up where we left off."
Your fingers came up and tucked his dangling strands behind his ear. "Take me away my King, for I am also at your mercy. Now and forever."
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Wordbuilding: The Magical Races of Areth
I'm working on a really big post, but it's not going to be ready until tomorrow. So for today, I'll be starting a worldbuilding series that I'll update occasionally. This post will be for Areth's magical races. Some of the introductions will probably make more sense now.
This will be a long post, so bear with me. Also, TW for some mentions of discrimination, bullying, and violence, as that is something that many of these groups experience.
Humans - One of the original races of people that existed in Areth. Although they are rare in comparison to their magical counterparts, they live alongside the rest of the world. Out of all the races, their lifespan is the shortest.
Elementals - The most prominent race of Areth, and the descendants of humans and elves. They are very in tune with nature, and as such, have learned to manipulate the elements. They can perform all kinds of magic, however, and are not limited to just elements. They don't look much different from either race, having pointy ears and a variety of human characteristics. However, elemental ears have gender dimorphism. Males' ears are pointed downward, and females' ears are pointed upward like their elven counterparts.
Elves - The creatures of the forest, blessed by the Fae with high magic. Magic flows in their blood, shown by green streaks They have pointed ears, tan skin, and glowing green eyes, as well as a biological third gender whose purpose is incomprehensible to non-elves. They are incredibly agile, and make very good hunters and gatherers. High magic allows them to hold some control over all the elements, which helps them tune to nature. They live in harmony and are a generally peaceful group. However, they are almost extinct in the modern day, hunted for the magic in their blood.
Nightwing Creatures - The people who were created by elves mating with the archaic vampires. They have fur on their forearms, calves, and elven ears, as well as sharing their elven counterpart's glowing eyes. Elven magic flows through their purple blood, but it manifests in a different way. Most can see people's hearts, and know what they are thinking. As such, they wear masks speckled with southern sapphire, which blocks this power. They are often forgotten by the rest of the world, and live isolated from the world on the southern continent. However, this does not bother them, and they are content with their lives.
Archaic Vampires - Creatures created by the Daeon Avon. They are the closest of the purple-blooded daeonic creations to monsters, as they are covered in fur, as well as having bat wings and ears. Avon created them as hunting partners, and so they are expert shots with a bow. They also feed off of red blood, and have an aversion to the sun. During the day, they hide in caves, as they have sensitive skin and eyes. They do not speak, but have empathy and feelings just like other humanoids. Their vampiric magic allows them to turn into bats and manipulate a mysterious purple form of magic.
Domestic Vampires - Vampires who became more humanoid as they mixed with humans. They still retain their fangs, purple blood, and capacity to practice vampiric magic, but look like humans otherwise. They still have a taste for blood, but do not require it to survive like their ancestors. Their diets, however, largely consist of meat. They blend into the rest of the population well, and so don't tend to experience as much discrimination as their archaic and nightwing counterparts. They are still expert hunters and archers, able to land a bullseye with ease.
Lysrans - Horned people created by the Daeon Roselisia. Feeling lonely and wanting companionship, she created people to build a kingdom with. After the first people were killed by plauge, she created the modern day lysrans, who lacked empathy so that she wouldn't get as attached to them. After her death and the rise of their own civilization, their strength led them to becoming a very war centered group. Additionally, their lack of empathy makes them perfect soldiers. However, they can learn empathy, and those who spend time together on the battlefield do come to care about each other. In terms of physical age, they mature very quickly, but their minds take a long time to mature.
Satyrs - Goat-like humaniods created by a Daeon called Alexis. He wished to live a peaceful life in the forest, so he created a small group of people who loved nature and built a society in the forests of Alveria. The satyrs in particular liked cultivating flowers and gathering berries, and were pacifists by nature. This made them the perfect companions. Although he created them without giving them magic, the Fae gifted them with magic. However, their purple blood does not run with magic like the nightwing creatures. While they do not have their own magic, they can harness and wield the powers of the flora around them. They are the only race that simultaneously worships to 'opposing' deities; the Fae and Daeons.
Sirens - Escaping from another realm called the Aquatherium, they came to Areth looking to start anew. With aquatic forms, teal blood, and flowing fin-like ears, they fit in well among the oceans and marine life. However, they do have land forms, which allowed some to live among the other land dwelling magical races. As for magic, their siren magic enhances their attractiveness and allowed their music to charm others. They also had the talent to improvise music, and to create lyrical melodies out of thin air. When using their magic, their heart shaped pupils appear to glow to everyone else. Their abilities led to many going into the music or modelling industry, as their magic and talents could easily be applied.
Zeramynth - The people who resulted from sirens mating with the shapeshifting geminaerin. They lost their siren magic, but learned the power to control water instead. Still maintaining their teal blood and the ability to live amphibious lives, they move between land and sea at will. Some choose to live with the land dwellers, and while others maintain their roots in the water. Either way, they love water and tend to be very proficient in water magic.
Geminaerin - Areth's shapeshifters, capable of taking on any form they wish. Their natural form is an essence, which changes depending on the kind of being they change into. They are capable of taking on any physical characteristics, as long as it fits their essence. Like elementals, they are capable of performing many different kinds of magic that they learn from others. They have become a very rare race, as most of their descendants have lost the ability to shapeshift. However, some still survive, and many of their forms live on in the other magical races.
Caninadrins - Descendants of the geminaerin, who have taken on wolf-like characteristics. They have a wolf ears and tail, which they can hide with magic if they so choose. Their passive magic grants them boosted agility, speed, and strength. As for their ability to use magic, they tend to use earth magic. They like to live in colder climates, and like curling up with their tail to keep them warm.
Felinians - People who have descended from the geminaerin, adopting a cat tail and ears. They share in the abilities of the caninadrins, like hiding their animal features and boosted traits. They like living in the trees, climbing around the forests with their increased agility. Unlike the other animal races, they have claws which help them perform tasks. They tend to be mischievous, and often end up getting into shenanigans.
Fawniss - Descending from geminaerin who loved nature, they have drooping deer ears and flowering antlers. They take very good care of their flowers, and shower regularly to keep them hydrated, although washing their hair is difficult around antlers. Once the flowers are ready to fall off, some pick them and sell them for their medicinal properties. They are very peaceful and kind, and take very good care of each other, as well as the earth. They often wield magic related to plants, but can learn other types of magic.
Aerosse - The bird-winged descendants of the geminaerin. They are known for being kind, wise wielders of sky magic. They can guide the winds, and have a love for flying. In addition to their wings, they have feathered ears. When aging, they spend a very brief amount of time in their prime. They start aging into old age shortly after twenty, but live a long time in a middle-aged stage of life. Some can live for thousands of years, which makes them excellent teachers and mentors.
Dragonians - The descendants of the shapeshifting geminaerin, who are know for their small forms, cat-like eyes, and dragon wings. They are smaller to allow them to be ambush predators, while still maintaining human endurance. Traditional societies of theirs are nocturnal, although they can be awake in either day or night. They are practitioners of sky magic, which allows them to manipulate wind. This, and flight, allow them to scout above the trees for prey.
Moon-Bearers - The precursors to the ghost elementals. They were gifted the power to see the dead by the kitsune, dwellers of the spirit realm. However, this came with the curse to cause death as well, decaying the world around them as a result of stress. They learned to live in harmony with the world around them, making peace with death as a part of life. They are characterized by their crescent moon pupils and glowing white moon phase marks on their back. Even though they are few as a race of their own, the ghost elementals carry on their magic and appearance.
Celestials - An ancient race of winged people who created the first civilization. They showed immense interest in magic, and studied it thoroughly. Unfortunately, not much is known about them, as they were exterminated by the Daeons long ago. Only four currently exist, the Fates who watch over Areth.
Now, I also want to talk about the roles and issues within some of some of these groups. This is as much for you all as it is for my personal reference later.
The Animal Races - For caninadrins, felinians, and fawniss, dehumanization is unfortunately regular. Many don't consider them unworthy of coexisting with others. They are often compared to their animal counterparts, being patronized and reduced to cute little animals. Historically, elves and humans took these people as servants specifically for the purpose of having them as 'pets'. Even in the modern day, this still happens, and many don't take them seriously.
Sirens and Zeramynth - Although they came to Areth to escape slavery, life for siren people there is not much better. Due to their ability to charm others, they are often ostracized from society. Many think that they are privileged, using their magic to manipulate people into getting their way. They constantly have to prove that they don't use their magic to others, who are jealous of their talents and looks. Those who don't hate the sirens for their powers often wish to use them, either for their powers or as objects of affection. This breeds a lot of distrust between sirens and the rest of the world, leading many to hide their identities. The zeramynth, on the other hand, are mistreated for being 'outsiders'. Since they came from the sea, many believe that they do not belong on land. Just like sirens, they are shunned by others and told to return to the sea.
Lysran Culture - The culture of lysrans has many ideals similar to toxic masculinity. They place a high priority on strength, and look down on those who aren't physically or emotionally strong. Lysran children are encouraged not to cry, and be emotionless. Empathy is discouraged, and can cost someone their job or lead them to be ostracized. Those who lack physical strength are also shunned, mocked for being weak and pathetic. Military achievement and being a war hero are far too highly prioritized, leading to anything else being shunned.
The Elves, Humans, and Their Feud With the Daeonic Races - Neither elves or humans like the daeon-created races that much. Both cast vampires, lysrans, and satyrs out of their societies, and condemn them. The elves exiled the nightwing creatures, and slaughtered the satyrs. The humans, on the other hand, took advantage of the fleeing satyrs to find menial labor. Despite looking human, vampires struggle to fit in with modern society. As for the lysrans, they are mocked for being awkward and not very expressive. The humans and elves have even put aside their own feud to attack Daeons and their peoples.
The War Between Humans and Elves - The humans and elves seldom get along. Humanity has often hunted the elves for their magical blood, and drove them nearly to extinction. The few elves that remain hate all of humanity, considering all who are not elven their enemies. However, they are not completely innocent, having betrayed the humans on multiple occassions. To this day, the Elven Empress and Nevayran queens have animosity between them.
Moon-Bearers - Due to their unique view of the world, the moon-bearers consider it their sacred duty to act as a bridge between Areth and the spirit realm. They believe in offering things to the spirits, and maintaining the balance between life and death. They also hold a great respect and reverence for spirits, and they often worship them in place of other deities.
#writers#my writing#my ocs stuff#worldbuilding#vampires#sirens#satyrs#elves#humans#late night#i have spent hours on this post#pls appreciate my hard work#only if you want to#no pressure#i am so tired#why did i put so much effort into this T-T#tw discrimination#tw#omg this took so loooong
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B2:S - Chapter 3
Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.
Here be Lujanne, Callum, Rayla, Ezran, Bait, and Soren goodness!
Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.
Lujanne having excellent fitness for all her walking around the Moon Nexus, and she's so energetic that Callum has trouble keeping up with her! She seems like those active grandmas who almost never stop moving, who have a lifelong supply of endless stamina. It makes me wonder if Lujanne will need that level of fitness for some upcoming conflict.
Callum feeling really hungry over not eating grubs and then still deciding he'd rather be hungry. It makes me wonder all over again how Lujanne got to the point where she eats grubs, considering that other Moonshadow elves we know of back in the Silvergrove don't. I still love my hc that the giant leech ate all of Lujanne's moonberry bushes and she's taking her revenge. Whatever's going on there, Callum is definitely not at that point yet.
When Lujanne asks Callum how he knows she's real, he thinks to himself that he'd put up with just about anything from someone who was going to teach him magic. That's a great parallel and foreshadowing for Viren's student/master relationship with Aaravos! And it's telling that neither student gets exactly what they hoped to get. Lujanne doesn't actively teach Callum any spells, because she believes he can't learn Moon magic at all. Aaravos does offer Viren power, but it takes him to some very dark places - literally and figuratively - and the cost is terribly high.
Callum sees a moon shape among the ruins, and Lujanne explains that the Moonhenge layout is an intricate rune that uses the structures themselves as part of its symbols and power. That's apparently a thing even with ordinary Moonshadow villages like Hollow Wood in the east, which is the coolest idea I've seen in a while: city planning as magic runes!
Yes, that's the same shape as the pendants Ethari made for himself and Runaan. Protection? Home? Feelsiness? A sense of safety and belongnig for all cycles and seasons?
Wonder what this Moonhenge rune stands for, then, and how much of this landscape is included in that rune. I bet it's more than we think!
But it makes sense now, how toppling the stone pillars would disable the spell the druids would cast to connect with the Moon Nexus lake. Breaking the infrastructure of the Moonhenge breaks the rune.
There's a physical sensation involved with the visuals that Historia Viventem brings up! When that one ghostly druid walked through Callum, he felt icy cold. Like in ghost stories. I really wonder about what exactly Historia Viventem is doing when it activates. It shows truth, "what really happened here?", so it must have some kind of time-related element, maybe tied to how the moon always repeats the same cycles or something. But it also seems to draw on the spirits of any living people involved in the flashback, because Callum could physically feel that wispy shape passing through him. So very interesting!
Orrr... is that all wrong, and there's something else at work with this spell than time? Maybe the world beyond life and death can act as an imprint of the things that have happened in the living world, and the spell that Lujanne (and later Callum) casts taps into that place, with perfect recall. I'm looking really hard at the sentence that says "dozens of translucent elf ghosts" and "phantom Moonhenge" and "lost in their own world" here.
Lujanne says more here than in the show about the world beyond life and death, being her mysterious Moonshadow-mage self. She says that "beyond" and "between" might both apply to where this other plane of existence is, and she doesn't much care which. With all the relativity swirling around this place, and not much in the way of empiricism, it's sounding like perhaps multiple conflicting ideas might actually coexist in such a place, allowing more ideas to fit there than we might normally believe is possible. Which is a fascinating bit of worldbuilding. Basically, every headcanon anyone has ever had about the Moon Nexus could all be true at the same time, for all we know.
Oh oh oh, Callum coming in soft with a secret wish! He takes one look at the Moonhenge and immediately thinks of finding a way to see his mom again! Poor boy, my heart! I'd say that could be another interesting parallel with Viren, but then, who wouldn't hold that sentiment?
Oh my, is this another breath of life into Ye Olde Ley Lines headcanon? Lujanne mentioning the Nexuses again, so soon after talking about the runic design of the entire Moonhenge, makes me wonder if the six nexuses are in fact giant runes. On Earth, the places where ley lines cross are called nexuses, and there are those who believe those points got marked with ancient structures, like Stonehenge and many many others. If Xadia were crossed with magical lines which naturally formed nexus points where they met, and if powerful magical runes were built across those entire areas, well. That would be cool beans, fams. Can I smack a map of Xadia and release a spell like Luz Noceda does? Because ngl that is my first instinct here.
Lujanne has got to be missing some grandkids to spoil, right? The way she's always whipping out cake and ice cream for Callum, and she's so grandma-ish about it. Headcanon about her being Runaan's mom aside, she is canonically lonely and she's very sweet to Allen and Ellis and I think she's missing whatever family she once had in the past. She may never get to have that family back, so she's finding a new one among the humans who live nearby, and I think that's sweet. Found family isn't just for the young.
But Ellis is straight up gonna be her fave, I bet, because she didn't turn up her nose at Lujanne's illusion food!
Ezran and Bait have a lot more to their relationship than was visible in the show, and I'm so excited by it! Ez can tell by looking at Bait's colors that he's not truly jealous of Zym, even if he's really grumpy about the dragonling taking up his favorite human's time.
And Ez thinking a lot about his dad and the things he's taught him. They're soft leadership material, and I love that so much! "Pick your battles" and the importance of encouragement. Ahh, my heart. Ezran, you're going to be such a good king.
But wait a second: both times that Bait gets extra grumpy in Zym's first training session, Ezran has just mentioned something about flying. Guys, I think Bait wishes he could fly, really badly. And that's his biggest problem with Zym, and with Ezran teaching Zym to fly, instead of Bait who doesn't have wings so. Bait is so old that his secrets have secrets, and I'm really curious how flying fits into them now!
Rayla, Dramatic Assassin: "I need to patrol for dark forces." That's what Lujanne called the source of the purple wisps that found them. I wonder if that's an official term all Moonshadows know, or if Rayla is just taking her cue from a veteran Moon mage. And I wonder how far Rayla is falling into the apparent pattern of "one mage, one assassin", since she does spend a lot of her time patrolling without being asked.
When Callum tells Lujanne that he was bad at prince stuff, and she asks if he didn't give up and got good at those things anyway, it's an opportunity for Callum to embrace subverting his parents' expectations in favor of seeking his own path, which is a primary theme of the show. But Lujanne is a couple generations older than Callum, at the very least, and I have to wonder what her upbringing was like. Is her version of success the one she took? Was she bad at magic once too, but she persisted? She is very soft and doesn't want to kill anyone.
Maybe Lujanne had dreams of doing something else with her life, but she felt she had to pursue the destiny that others handed to her, so she studied magic as hard as she could, and she did get good at it, but using it to defend Xadia from humans is not what she wanted to do with her life. Whether there's a parallel between her and Ethari on that point, there's one between Callum and Ethari, I think. How much of your life are you willing to let others direct for you?
LISTEN I WAS DYING AT THE EAR BREAD SCENE OKAY
This is my new favorite Soren and Claudia moment ever. Soren loves him his bread, okay. Even as earplugs for Claudia's sleep ocarina tune. The fact that it's "super effective" makes me think of a Pokemon defense. The fact that he learned it at camp, where he also learned about Moonshadow Madness, is hilarious. Later on, Corvus doesn't know Soren by name, but I still love the idea of Corvus being a kind of Strider-esque camp instructor, filling the ears of his young charges with all kinds of useful tactics like ear bread for magic spell songs (which actually seemed to work as intended), and warnings about the enemy elves' blood-themed tactics (which may or may not come back around in BH)
I thought they were gonna go in a kind of deep direction when Soren still wanted his ear bread back, but then he just. Eats them. Just noms them. I love this kid. Give Soren all the bread!
#book two: sky spoilers#book two: sky#b2:s#tdp spoilers#ToX spoilers#gloaming glade spoilers#lujanne#callum#rayla#ezran#tdp zym#soren#tdp claudia#tdp bait
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The Structure of Story is now available! Check it out on Amazon, via the link in our bio, or at https://kiingo.co/book
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Ways to Set the Tone
Let's review several story world elements that can each directly or indirectly shape the overall tone of the world. It's worth noting upfront that great story worlds do not exist in a vacuum. They are explored *through* story. And with that in mind, some of the elements that set a story world's tone are *storytelling* elements rather than worldbuilding elements. As we'll see, it's actually possible for a story world's tone to change based on the perspective from which we're exploring it.
Genre
A genre is a sort of story archetype that carries with it promises and expectations. Readers of different genres expect and even *demand* different things. Fantasy readers want to be in awe of the uniqueness of a strange new world. They want to be immersed in a magic system with mysticism and mythology. Science Fiction readers want to be in awe of technology. They want to see scientific theories, the scientific method, logic, and a world driven by technology. Romance readers want wooing, swooning, seduction, playful banter, and physical connection.
Each genre implicitly influences the tone of a story due to these reader expectations. The story will focus on certain subject matter as dictated by the genre.
Consider a prototypical Fantasy story world. Perhaps there are dragons, castles, fairies, elves, and magic. There may be a general sense of wonder and whimsy but the events are taken seriously. Now consider a prototypical Western story world. There are cowboy boots, saloons, and six shooters. Perhaps the subject matter has a somber, sober tone such as in *Hostiles*.
Now consider a Western with the tone and archetypes of a Fantasy. The subject matter may take on a bit more of a magical realism. Now consider a Fantasy with the tone and archetypes of a Western. Perhaps there are archery showdowns at high noon outside of the fantasy saloon. If we were to give a Science Fiction world the tone of a Western we might end up with something like *The Mandalorian*.
Right off the bat, our choice of genre influences our story world's tone.
Level of Reality
Some stories adhere more closely to our reality than others. Consider a crime procedural versus Alice in Wonderland. A story trying to be nearly "100% reality" would show the time it takes to travel, the biological functions of characters, the quick exhaustion from fights, the repercussions of breaking the law, etc. A character who broke their leg wouldn't be up and ready for the next fight after a few scenes. Sometimes, reality can put a bit of a damper on drama.
And so some story worlds are meant to be more realistic than others. Some worlds are more metaphorical than literal. They don't focus on the time it takes for a wound to heal or the time it takes for the horses to rest because that's not the point of the story.
Different audiences will come to a story for different reasons. And they'll have different expectations. Audiences expecting a medical procedural or crime procedural will have much different expectations than those expecting a fantasy. The level of reality that we choose to incorporate can have a lot to do with the genre we choose.
But even within the same genre there are varying levels of reality. Consider a "hard" (i.e. rule-based) worldbuilding story such as The Lord of the Rings. While the world diverges from our own in the subject matter, it's not as divergent as it *could* be. It incorporates many elements of our own reality. It has familiar physics, roughly familiar biology, familiar weather, etc. Consider, on the other hand, a soft worldbuilding story such as Spirited Away where many of the "rules" of our world are thrown out.
What level of reality do you want to incorporate into your story world? And what counts as an inconvenience in your story world? Will flies annoy characters? Will characters have to worry about food and water? Will you keep a medical thesaurus by your desk so you can document exactly what would happen to the human body under certain conditions? Or will you brush aside those details in favor of a more metaphorical story where the inconveniences are more about relationships than about the physical story world?
What limitations of our world are you integrating into your story world? Can a character be shot 73 times and keep going? How quickly will characters become dehydrated? What counts as danger for a character? Will your story be primarily about the struggle against other characters or will it incorporate the struggle against nature? What's the narrative weight given to the inconveniences of your story world?
Can the laws of physics be broken? Does your story world allow magic? If so, does that magic have a technological or scientific explanation? Is there teleportation? Can characters travel faster than the speed of light?
As a general principle, the more you adhere to strict reality, the more research and expertise will be required in order to establish and maintain that realism.
Subject Matter Focus
Story worlds that focus primarily on plans, strategies, and tactics feel vastly different than those that focus primarily on relationships and reflection. In this way, the subjects we choose as our focus can have a strong influence on a story world's tone.
How raw will our story world be? Do we avoid profanity and sexual activity or lean into it? Do we shy away from the details of a torture session? Do we let the audience use their imagination or do we explicitly show every detail? These choices have an effect on a world's tone.
Tone is also influenced by where we put our narrative weight. Will we spend a great deal of time detailing the equipment and mining procedures of the subterranean inhabitants? Or do we spend the majority of our time in the high council chamber as another political debate takes place? Are we more focused on the train of thought and analysis of a mystery or on the intricacies of fingerprint and blood splatter analysis?
What's taking up the majority of our focus as we explore the world? Are we more interested in the forest or the trees? The caves or the rubies? The calculated strategy or the blossoming themes? The people, the land, or the technology?
#writingtips#creative writing#screenwriting#writers on tumblr#writers#writing#writerblr#writing advice#writing community#writing resources
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Pok The Nightmare King?
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@skysfallingbaby proposed an interesting concept. "Maybe Pok Gukgak is the Nightmare King". And while this theory make a lot of things a lot more messed up (like trying to use Riz in a sacrifice), it got my theorist senses a tingling.
So, without futher ado, let's get started.
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First off, What is Pok exactly? We can assume that the Nightmare King doesn't just look like a goblin as he doesn't actually look like any one race when people have tried to describe him. We could guess some kind of magical effect that alters his appearance, but the Nightmare King was also banished (a spell with no time limit outside homebrew rules, unless the spell is not held for a minute or the creature is banished while already on their own plane) and seeing as Pok lived on the material plane for years, he couldn't be the Nightmare King... technically. The thing is, the Nightmare King doesn't have to be there to be there. Ragh's mom was piloting a clone of herself in real time while her real body was unconscious and housed miles underground (possibly in the molten core of the planet). A goblin suit could be piloted by the Nightmare King using the same principles. Even a direct connection to the Nightmare King is established in game via his corrupting influence constantly leaking from his plane of existence into the material plane (specifically in Silvar).
The next question that comes to mind is Why did Kalvaxus eat Pok if they were allied? and to that I say Do we know for sure that he did? What we do know is this...
Kalvaxus taunted that he ate Pok, but he did it in the middle of a battle to throw off Riz.
Kalvaxus would have eaten Pok while bound. Barring being able to enlarge/reduce Pok (and even then, he would only shrink to about the size of a cat), it would have taken a 6 to 7 foot tall dragonborn a WHILE to eat someone 1/2 his height and 1/5 his weight, bones and all (and dragons and dragonborns don't even have the established voracious appetite goblins do).
Riz and Sklonda were told Pok died at sea until Kalvaxus said otherwise.
Pok and Shadow Cat/Calina worked together
Shadow Cat/Calina was absent at Pok's funeral and never contacted Sklonda or Riz afterward.
Shadow Cat was spotted immediately after the battle with Kalvaxus (making it possible that she was given a heads up about Kalvaxus' plans).
So, using this information it's not that hard to theorize that Pok might not have been eaten or was eaten under the orders of the Nightmare King. Reasons to taunt might have been something The Nightmare King told him to say once free or just something he said to rattle Riz knowing it couldn't be proven. Reasons to ask to be eaten could have been to dispose of a clone he was piloting without risking leaving a magical trace behind (which could have been done regularly for one reason or another, but if Kalvaxus got caught red handed, they would have had an established story set up and a witness to it happening).
There's also a few things that happen during the Shadow Cat/Riz dialogue that take on a whole new meaning. I'll link the dialogue below, but one exchange really stands out. She said "Pok Gukgak. It's a good man" and when Riz asked what went wrong between them, she said "Nothing went... wrong between us" immediately followed by her offering "a little information swap" and to answer a question about his dad in exchange for answering her own. This was despite Riz previously saying "I wanna know where the crown is. I wanna know where Fabian is. I wanna know why people are coming for us in our sleep." and thus already knowing what information Riz would trade for.
Finally, let's look at Riz.
He is the son of Pok and Sklonda Gukgak.
He is an inquisitive rogue and on more than one occasion has been described as being "one with the shadows".
He has always has issues with sleeping, often avoiding it or just not getting enough of it.
He has always been able to see Shadow Cat and has met her at least once.
He was going to be sacrificed on an alter by a Nightmare King controlled Fig to complete some kind of ritual.
He was not attacked in his dreams when he failed his throws, the first time getting Baron while awake and the second time pounced on by Shadow Cat while asleep (while even Ragh was attacked in his sleep and got up while already under dominate person as Adaine watched).
Shadow Cat knew a lot of stuff about Riz, including current stuff ("I know that YOU only do things to kinda distract yourself from how DEEPLY sad you are that your dad is gone, I get that. The maidens and then you find the maidens and then it's on to the next thing and the conspiracy board and you don't sleep and you're digging digging digging- it's like when you were in that palimpsest. You will dig until your own hands are bleeding...").
Shadow Cat's first offer to get his intel was to answer a question about his dad if she got to ask him a question in return (followed by saving Fabian despite that being one of the things he asked for).
Some of these wouldn't hold water alone, but combined they paint a very interesting picture. Shadow Cat being so familiar with Riz makes more sense if she has been keeping an eye on the son of her boss off and on for a long time. It also explains why Shadow Cat immediately offered to give him intell on his dad in exchange for answering a question and clicking her tongue when he turned it down like he did. Riz being the son of the Nightmare King (maybe only a tiny part or an infused thing due to how it happened) would mean he's probably immune to some Nightmare magic and skilled with others (like how half-elves are immune to Sleep, but can't trace), which explains why he has yet to get attacked while dreaming and his natural stealth skills, perceptiveness, and sleep issues. The Nightmare King trying to use Riz in a ritual sacrifice instead of just some guy on the street might mean his son is required for it.
This all leaves me with so many questions.
Considering how strategic the Nightmare King is, why exactly would he pick Sklonda?
Could Pok have fathered Riz specifically to sacrifice later, as a backup for something, or as a cover for being around certain people?
Why did Pok leave and was it planned?
What was Pok really up to during his life as a spy?
Is Riz required somehow to bring back the Nightmare King?
Does the ritual actually require Riz to die and if so, could they revive him without causing the ritual to fail (like if it required a lethal amount of blood from Riz or a mortal wound)?
What will Gorthalax reveal once he's freed (which will most likely happen once Ayda learns Plane Shift and has a slot free to use it)?
Could someone in the party potentially question Kalvaxus (maybe with the help of Gorthalax or a specific spell)?
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Special thanks to @skysfallingbaby for the bardic inspiration for this tinfoil time. I honestly hadn't considered the possibility until you mentioned it, but the moment I did I just HAD to follow the logic to see where it led. It really surprised me how many pieces fell into place the further I went. It really was an absolute delight to research. Thank you ^_^
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#fantasy high#dimension 20#pok gukgak#riz gukgak#calina#shadow cat#fantasy high live#fantasy high spoilers#tinfoil time#theory#d20 theory
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Now don't get me wrong there are some things that I like about cassandra and she's a pretty good friend to Inquisitor and I can accept cullen existence as Inquisition commander, and I wouldn't let cullen to sniff Titan blood again (this is weird....why he's the commander?) But my favorite mage Inquisitor can't agree with their politics. (Same Me too...)
This is why people like Cullen and Cassandra should be keep far far away from political power (as leader) as far as possible (and vivienne....but I'll talk about her later)
They are not as savvy as Josie and Leliana in politics, the possibility of enemies assassinated and outplayed them are quite high (okay Cass was the right hand of the Divine, she have some talent in politics but not at the level of Josie or Leliana, she was a 'fist') they also supported Gaspard because he's a military guy?? That's really fucking stupid. Cullen is a hammer that see everything as nails and as sera said 'a jackboots' anyway so....eh???? But Cass approval about Gaspard didn't make any sense.
They are heavily brainwashed and tied close with chantry, Cass understand that the chantry have problems but she nitpicking the problem and only see ('a few bad apples' but not the whole fucking tree) she's unwilling to see that the chantry, the fish.... is rotten from head to tail unlike Leli who firmly believe in progressive radical reformation.
We have a former knight commander of a fucking templar order who lick meredith ass back in kirkwall and after he quit the order he magically got a fucking comfortable position as a goddamn commander of The Inquisition army, and a motherfucking former seeker who also a nevarran royalty, like other blogger have said before they (especially cassandra) are privileged, thus their privilege blinded them from the rampant racism, templar and chantry fuckery also wrongdoing that has been done against the elves and mages.
They are still unwilling to completely change the system even if they acknowledge abuses against elves and mages and many other problems, because changes will shatter their world, strip them from their privilege and power as they had before,They are willing to keep 'most things as they were' even though it's means the world will slowly rot and they'll revel in their own rot (just like any other people in Thedas who are afraid of changes and the conservative of our world )
Leliana radical progressive politics might cause problems in the NEAR future but for the LONG-TERM future, her ideas and political stances is the best choice for Thedas and give Thedas shit tons of benefits. While Cullen and Cassandra political stances and ideas are equivalent to 'apply band-aid to a festering open gaping wound' it wouldn't really do shit and will create more conflict.
On a personal level noodle head have this 'as along I'm fine then it's fine.... And 'you are not like other mages' mentality which is a big no no and fucked up
Cass....No....a religious institution should not have its own army
They are privileged non mage human andrastian who are willing to force the chantry and andrastianism mindset to others throughout their words and actions, even though they insisted they wouldn't forced the opressive politics and religion on other people, BUT because they have mega privileges and unique position, and they were raised to be 'faithful and obedient to the chantry' consciously and subconsciously they still did it anyway. For the elves and mages, forgeiner and anyone who were bludgeoned by chantry THIS WILL NOT SIT WELL, example:
( Cass to Lavellan: Do you have place for one more god? (the maker)
Lavellan: HELL NO
Cass: upset if someone talk shit about the chantry or the maker
Also Cass: didn't even respect elven and avvar religion )
Cullen is like your ex cop friend who quit his job and acknowledge SOME of fucked up that he has done and happened, but he still refuse to see the rampant corruption and problems amongst his ex coworker, he might listen to you about social issues but he still give you 'the nonchalant and sceptic' take about those issues, he's pretty chill as a friend, but you know that they are things you don't agree with him and if you scratch deeper into him and digging to his old tweets you'll be horrified, dude didn't have redemption arc, only ' I try to be better but still fuck up arc'
While Cass is your super rich friends who came from powerful position, yes she tried to do better than most of her family, compared to her conservative peer and family she declared herself as a 'centrist', she preach about religious virtues and she's willing to acknowledge social injustice but her take and solution like I said before wouldn't do much, you really don't want to talk about religion with her, if you talk about issues that make everything she believes and the chantry objectively look bad based on what happened and historical facts, she can acknowledge some of it, but if you keep pressed about atrocities that happened both in the present and past that SHE IGNORED, she might block you.
Cassandra: The mages have made their suffering known. The Templars never have.
I HATE the way she says this , like Mage suffering is a brand new thing, like the Templars suffer valiantly in silence while the mages have the luxury to complain.
No no no. No. No no. First of all the mages have gone hundreds of years suffering in silence Cassandra. They are the ones who were raised and conditioned and forced to suffer in silence , least they be killed or made tranquil, something Mages have explicitly made known is worse than death ( and something you convienantly hold the cure for but are keeping to yourself).
Second of all, mage suffering HAS been known for hundreds of years, it’s just that no one gave a shit. It’s not a new thing that the mages just suddenly started complaining about. It’s been common knowledge ESPECIALLY to you as a Seeker, whose main job is to keep the Templars in line. Don’t talk about it like it’s a brand new trend or something. It was ALWAYS known.
Third of all, this line implies that the mages ‘making their suffering know’ is not coming with any consequences, that they have the luxury to sit around and complain( something the game heavily implies Cassandra actually thinks seeing how she treated the Mage representative) when literally just announcing that they were going to be independent resulted in mass slaughter.
And fourth of all it makes it sound like Templars have it equal to Mages in terms of suffering. HELL NO. Templars CHOSE to do this. They can leave at any time. This is a job for them. If it’s so bad they can just stop being Templars. Mages can’t turn off their magic as they are so often told.They can’t stop being mages. They have to deal. Templars don’t. Don’t ever try to put Templars and Mages hardship on the same level.
If the intention of this line was to make me feel bad for Templars it failed. Spectacularly.
#fuck the templar#fuck the chantry#mage rights#elven rights#cullen critical#cassandra critical#injustice#social justice problems and issues
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