#kovo spirit animals

[trash-gremlin]

actually back to designate exact species for all the great beasts and say what similar animals can and cant be summoned yayyyy

Briggan the Wolf - grey wolf, nominate subspecies: eurasian wolf (Canis lupus lupus)

can be summoned: red wolf (Canis rufus), domestic dogs (any breed) (Canis familiaris)*, foxes (genus Vulpes)

cant be summoned: tundra wolf (Canis lupus albus), arabian wolf (Canis lupus arabs), himalayan wolf (Canis lupus chanco) and other grey wolf subspecies under Canis lupus

*some argue dogs are actually a subspecies under Canis lupus but as seen in the books and game domestic dogs can be summoned so ive decided to include them as their own species. ive also extended this for all domesticated species as apparently a lot of experts disagree on whether they should be counted as their own species or a subspecies

Uraza the Leopard - leopard, nominate subspecies: african leopard (Panthera pardus pardus)

can be summoned: clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), snow leopard (Panthera uncia), jaguars (Panthera onca)

cant be summoned: amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis), indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas) and other leopard subspecies under Panthera pardus

Jhi the Panda - panda, nominate species: giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca melanoleuca)

can be summoned: red panda (Ailurus fulgens), literally any other bear (family: Ursidae) except polar bear (Ursus maritimus)

cant be summoned: quinling panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis)

Essix the Falcon - gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus)

can be summoned: anything else in the Falco genus

can't be summoned: the other three members of the hierofalco subgenus: Lanner falcon, (Falco biarmicus), Lagger falcon (Falco jugger), Saker falcon (Falco cherrug)**

**these were included because gyrfalcon has no subspecies but exists in a subgenus in the Falco genus called hierofalco, which contains only three other species. these species apparently readily interbreed and have fully fertile offspring. theyre also one of the only subgenus (the other being the hobby birds under hypotriorchris), all other falcons exist under the Falco genus

Arax the Ram - bighorn sheep, nominate species: rocky mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis)

can be summoned: mountain sheep (Ovis ammon), barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia), domestic sheep (Ovis aries)

cant be summoned: sierra nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae), desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni)

Rumfuss the Boar - wild boar, nominate species: central european boar (Sus scrofa scrofa)

can be summoned: common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), domestic pig (Sus domesticus), red river hog (Potamochoerus porcus)

cant be summoned: north african boar (Sus scrofa algira), Indian boar (Sus scrofa cristatus), central asian boar (Sus scrota davidi) and other boar subspecies under Sus scrofa

Dinesh the Elephant - asian elephant, nominate species: sri lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus)

can be summoned: african bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), african forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis)

cant be summoned: indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus)

Suka the Polar Bear - polar bear (Ursus maritimus)

can be summoned: literally any other bear (family: Ursidae)

cant be summoned: there are no subspecies or extremely close relatives of the polar bear!

Mulop the Octopus - giant pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini)

can be summoned: literally any other octopus ever (order: Octopada, any family, any genus)***

cant be summoned: there are no subspecies or extremely close relatives of the giant pacific octopus!

***that is, if they can actually be summoned. there are no other cases of a non mammalian marine animal being summoned and mulop is an exception as no one is supposed to be able to summon the great beast species

Carboro the Lion - lion (Panthera leo)

can be summoned: mountain lion (Puma concolor)

cant be summoned: there are no subspecies or extremely close relatives of the lion!****

****a subspecies Panthera leo melanochaita does technically exist however experts debate over its validity due to the overlap with Panthera leo leo so ive decided to not count it

Ninani the Swan - mute swan (Cygnus olor)

can be summoned: black swan (Cygnus atratus), black-necked swan (Cygnus melancoryphus) and other swans (genus: Cygnus)

cant be summoned: there are no subspecies or extremely close relatives of the mute swan!

Halawir the Eagle - golden eagle, nominate species: european golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos chrysaetos)

can be summoned: bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja), wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax) and other "true eagles" (genus: Aquila)

cant be summoned: iberian golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos homeyeri), asian golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos daphanea), japanese golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos japonica) and other golden eagle subspecies under Aquila chrysaetos

Gerathon the Serpent - king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)

can be summoned: ring necked spitting cobra (Hemachatus haemachatus), indian cobra (Naja naja)

cant be summoned: there are no subspecies or extremely close relatives of the king cobra!

Kovo the Ape - gorilla, nominate species: western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

can be summoned: any subspecies of eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii)

cant be summoned: cross river gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli)

Tellun the Elk - elk, roosevelt elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti)*****

can be summoned: european fallow deer  (Dama dama), red deer (Cervus elaphus), whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

cant be summoned: tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes), manitoban elk (Cervus canadensis manitobensis), rocky mountain elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni) and other elk under Cervus canadensis

******the nominate species of elk is the eastern elk (Cervus canadensis canadensis), which is unfortunately extinct

and as a final note - just because its theoretically possible doesnt mean that it has or will happen, this was just an excuse to do a bunch of research and taxonomy is dodgy at best ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

the concept that the great beast species cant be summoned as spirit animals is very interesting to me, because in the game you can summon a red wolf when briggan is wolf. now obviously we can assume that briggan is a grey wolf so summoning a red wolf is theoretically possible, even if they look quite similar in real life.

but that brought me to the question, what animals could you summon that are similar to the great beasts?

assuming uraza is an african leopard, can you summon an amur leopard? these two are very similar and only really differ through their habitat. lets look at their taxonomy. the amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) and the african leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) are actually subspecies of the same species, with the african leopard being the nominate subspecies (repeats the species name as its subspecies, essentially the "default").

is being separated by subspecies enough? lets looks at the taxonomy for a grey wolf (Canis lupus) and a red wolf (Canis rufus). As you can see they are not subspecies but rather two separate species. using this i would conclude that animals must be separated by species (not subspecies) from the closest related great beast.

therefore, because uraza is the nominate subspecies for her species, it can be concluded that all great beast whose species contain subspecies would be the nominate subspecies and thus other subspecies such as the amur leopard can not be summoned.

this is also supported in books when abeke says that people can summon cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), but not leopards. cheetahs are not even in the same genus as leopards and all other leopards in the area are subspecies. other species of "leopard" (eg. clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and the jaguar (Panthera onca)) are all separated by a species if not more.

[dark-night-star-light]

It interests me to no end that Shane knew from almost the start that his fall out with Abeke was inevitable. It really says something about what he believed about trust and love.

"'You got a true response through trickery,' she said. 'What you just did to us was a betrayal.' 'I- I'm sorry.' Shane's smile fell" (Wild Born, 66).

This was a training exercise. A training exercise. And Abeke already responded poorly to the "betrayal" despite understand the logic behind it. This is all the way near the beginning of Shane and Abeke's relationship budding, and you can already tell it was doomed to fail.

What was Shane thinking? He knew from the start that trust was an essential component of a relationship to Abeke. He'd already lied to her by saying his bond was a natural one, and by claiming that he was with the Greencloaks. There was no reasoning out of it at this point, no "Oh, maybe once I explain it, she'll still be my friend", no possible way to work around the lie. He knew from the start that his relationship with her was doomed to fail in the end.

And yet, he still cherished his time with her and he still loved her. Personally, I think this shows that Shane was in some amount of denial about it. I think he pushed it all out of his head and basically just went "Well, it's not a problem now, so it may never be one, anyway". Or maybe he thought he could earn her trust so that any betrayal she felt when he revealed himself would be overruled by her friendship with him? It's so interesting the amount of delusion Shane was living in from the start.

Of course, it's possible that he wasn't delusional at all, and was well aware that Abeke would one day leave for the Greencloaks. But I doubt it. Shane was just a kid, and a lonely one at that. Abeke was his first and only real friend. I think some part of him always hoped, even desperately, that she would never leave.

I think Shane loved Abeke, but trust was irrelevant to him in the relationship. I think most people would say trust is more important in a relationship than love, but I think Shane would say the opposite. He'd think it was enough that he cared about Abeke, even without a solid foundation of trust.

[patriotismforstetriol]

Arc 2 Zerif's Great Beast Revival Sensing Abilities

He senses Raisha's potential to summon one. Phrasing sort of implies he wasn't sure which one she might summon.

He claims, also, that he could sense 'where' the others would arrive.

"I knew you had the potential to summon a Great Beast." He brought a finger gently to his forehead, where a spiral looped beneath the skin. "Just as I knew where the others would awaken."

- Tales of the Fallen Beasts: Gerathon/Betrayal, Brandon Mull, p.181

He's already on-site when Dinesh and Arax are summoned.

He takes days to arrive, for others (Suka, Halawir, Kovo, Cabaro, possibly Rumfuss)

Needs information on the beast's location to be leaked before he arrives (Ninani, Tellun, possibly Rumfuss, possibly Kovo)

Can detect Mulop when he's actively using his powers, but not otherwise?

So how much information is the Wyrm giving him?

My best guess is, since the set of Great Beasts he has trouble finding overlaps quite well with the set of "wise" Great Beasts (Mulop, Ninani, Tellun, etc.), those guys maybe have more defenses against being tracked by the Wyrm. Whereas Suka and the others accidentally "broadcast" their locations more to the Evertree and Wyrm.

My other, funnier guess is that travelling across the globe is still slow enough that possessed Zerif is poring over maps, guessing which Great Beast will arrive first. And sometimes he gets it wrong and has to quickly cross another ocean to reach the Great Beast that just got summoned.

[bayofwolves]

Having some thoughts about the Great Battle, the one to end the First Devourer War.

Imagine if Kovo, Gerathon and the Four Fallen were so massive that they couldn't help but destroy some of their own allies amidst the fighting. Especially the two traitors, because we know their soldiers were disposable to them, but the Four Fallen as well. As Uraza tangles with Gerathon, her claws rake through scores of Greencloaks. As Briggan and Kovo lunge for each other's throats, Greencloak and Conqueror and animal alike are crushed into oblivion beneath the two giants' feet. Adding to the senseless horror of it all.

What if the Four Fallen had grievously wounded Kovo or Gerathon (or perhaps both), in such a way that the results are visible in the time of the Second Devourer War and strike fear in the hearts of their soldiers? I think it would be cool if the two traitors, despite having survived the event that eliminated the Four, are permanently disfigured and only dull echoes of their former glory. Can you imagine if Gerathon's hood was torn to shreds by Uraza, her once beautiful scales marred by claw wounds that Tellun cursed to fester and rot? Or if part of Kovo's face was mutilated by Briggan's fangs and covered in scar tissue, with Essix's talon marks stretching across his shoulders, bare where the fur never grew back? They lived, but at the cost of being forever marked by the brethren they slew.

They should have explained the Fall of the Four by establishing that a Great Beast can only be killed by another. Gerathon killed Uraza and Jhi with her venomous bite, Kovo ripped Briggan and Essix apart with his bare hands. No human blade could have felled them -- it was going against two of their own that resulted in their downfall. The fact it came to this is a great tragedy. Once, Briggan, Uraza, Jhi and Essix lived peacefully, even happily, with Kovo and Gerathon. They were brethren, forged by the same catastrophe; survivors who found comfort in one another (or so I like to believe). They would have walked beside each other for eons. They should never have met in battle. And when they did, they discovered they could destroy one another. This could be one reason as to why the remaining Great Beasts retreated into isolation and did not commune for hundreds of years -- perhaps, for the first time, they were afraid of each other.

In The Book of Shane, Shane reveals that Feliandor's grave is only symbolic because "when the Greencloaks had finished with him, there hadn't been enough left of him to bury". This might be one of the most haunting sentences in the series. In A Revised History of Erdas, they dismembered him and paraded his head around, then burned him to ash. Some say Tembo kept the skull and hid it somewhere in the newly built Greenhaven, but Tembo himself denied these claims. (Meilin once searched the castle for the skull, to no avail.)

I personally would have liked to know more about the genocide of Stetriol (if it truly happened) and who took over as ruler after Feliandor. All my thinking about it led me to draft some plans for a novella about Feliandor's successor and what happened in Stetriol after the defeat of the Conquerors. His name is Lysander. He is the cousin of Feliandor and the direct ancestor of the present-day royal family, including Shane. I'm still figuring him out, but I think y'all will like him.

I also think now would be the proper time to mention that in ARHoE, Essix gets a longer chapter where she bonds with a human like the other three. I haven't decided on the boy's name, but he is Amayan and has a jackrabbit spirit animal. He is bright, spirited and adventurous. The eldest son of the chief, but all of 16 at the war's end, he successfully convinces Essix to fight on the side of the Marked resistance. He is full of wonder and respect for nature, Essix most of all, and she finds herself warming up to him. She likes him enough to let him ride on her back and see the world he so loves from miles above, delighting in the way he spreads his arms and whoops into the wind. Essix, who is able to read souls, looks at him and sees something special in him. He is destined to do great things. This future of his is dashed when he dies in the Great Battle, though, cut down by some nameless soldier, just a boy with all the life and hope gone out of his eyes as Essix cradles him in her talons. She mourns him for a moment, then steels her heart and renews the charge.

[king-shane-of-the-redcloaks]

I'm going to kill that stupid ape.

[wynniewho]

Zerif is such an enigma, which is both great for fanfic writing purposes, and frustrating in regards to simply figuring out his character.

On one hand, he's opportunistic, has connections, and has some unknown motivation of having the world remember him. He also has a jackal that may or may not be bonded via the Bile (it's never really made clear, I don't think).

There's also the fact that he had all this information about the secrets of the Bile. The wiki says that Kovo told him about it, but surely Stetriol would have known that he stepped ashore long before he even reached Muttering Rock.

Which brings me to my own rewrite!

Personally, here is how I think Zerif's backstory and motivation is going to go so far:

Zerif and Olvan both join the Greencloaks when they summon their spirit animals. Overtime, they become renowned as heroes among the Greencloaks, rising above the ranks faster than most of their peers.

One day, Zerif is given a special assignment: protecting Gerathon. Unlike Kovo, the Great Serpent wasn't guarded by any Great Beast like Kovo was with Halwair. Furthermore, they (Greencloaks and Great Beasts) couldn't exactly leave the two Beasts alone on Stetriol alone; they may make another escape attempt! So, they assign the most capable of Greencloaks to guard her, hiding them away for the rest of their tenure.

But while some would it to be a great honor, being a part of such a massive secret, Zerif would feel quite the opposite. How could he be disrespected like this? Has he not done as he was asked, to the letter? Why should he be forced to sequester himself away, allowed to be forgotten, while Olvan, his inferior, takes the mantel of commanding the Greencloaks?

But he says nothing, and does his duty, hoping that it will be over sooner rather than later.

Gerathon proves to be more amenable than expected - well, as one can be, trapped in such a confined space for the rest of eternity. Zerif makes polite conversation, despite orders to never let the Serpent learn so much as your name. Eventually, she, too begins to open up, teaching him about her life before the war. About Stetriol. About Kovo.

And soon, a plan begins to hatch. A plan for Zerif to be remembered, forever and always.

[megs-msdd24]

OMG THE SA FANDOM IS ACTUALLY ALIVE??? could you please make Zerif headcanons🥹? he was always my favorite character but i barely see anyone talking about him

Yes we are very small 😔 BUT WE'RE STILL HERE! Here's some headcanons for you <3 (btw, I wasn't sure what kind of headcanons you were looking for but here's my best guess)

Zerif Headcanons

Before

-Zerif bro. How do I even start this?

-from the start(kid age) he's a very sneaky kid.

-Going by my brain and the information i remember, we're gonna say he's of Amayan and Zhongese descent

-he grew up in a small, poor village that wasn't on the Greencloaks radar (I'm leading into his conqueror days bear with me) so a good chunk of the people had bonding sickness. Zerif watched all these people get sick and go mad. He even watched one person kill their spirit animal to escape.

-So when he isn't blessed with a spirit animal he becomes an aid to the rest of his village

-this is when his crime life begins. He starts to steal little things. Like clothing, food, necessities you know?

-but it slowly grows over time and he starts stealing from the wealthy. He gets caught by one of these nobles and they ship him off to Stetriol.

During

(When I say during, I mean like after Abeke becomes a greencloak)

-So, our friend Zerif is now a conqueror :D

-by the time he meets Shane, he's been wandering in Stetriol for maybe two-ish years?

-skip forward a little bit and he's now a leader among the conquerors

-he's got his little army of kids that go around trying to stop the Greencloaks (Shane and co.)

-He knows he's really working for Kovo but he kinda likes his conqueror buddies and his jackal

-That is, until the Evertree. When he loses his sword in the battle he high-tails it out of there. (Now you see him now you don't 🤷🏾‍♀️) He's not ready to risk his life ok?

-Remember those weeks where that greencloak was chasing him before he found the Wyrm?

-yea, he lost his survival skills. He got too comfy as a conqueror(sorry)

Wyrm Arc

-When he first meets the Wyrm we already know he's disgusted by it. But it's possessed him now so what can he do?

-I feel like the Wyrm basically baited him by telling him that it would give him a lot of power and he wanted what he had as a conqueror back but better.

-He's angry and wants revenge so of course he's gonna do it.

-But as he steals more and more Spirit Animals i feel like there was the itsy bitsy teensy tiniest bit of him that felt wrong about the entire thing

-everytime he doubted the Wyrm would basically increase it's hold on him to whip him back into shape

-by the time he gets to the place of desolation all he's thinking is kill and power.

-When he finally meets the Wyrm face to face he's thinking "what the flip is this scary looking thing"

-but he can't say that so of course he goes "BEAUTIFUL"

-but as the Wyrm seeps into him he's regretting it (probably reflecting on his life decisions too) he's thinking anything would be better than this even going back to his broke little village that's probably long since been destroyed.

-You know how in like books when someone's possessed they can like see but can't do anything? Same goes for him. He's banging on his mental prison walls screaming and cursing but then-he's suddenly back in control of his body

-he's groggy as if waking from a really really long dream but then he gets hit with the pain. He can feel the Wyrm trying to take back control and Abeke screaming at him.

-he doesn't fully understand what she's saying but he gets the gist

-SO, he tosses himself into the lava

-his last thoughts are that "aw man I didn't get to rule anything" but also "finally peace bro"

-and then he's dead 😔

-that's it friend! I hope you like them lmk if u ever want anything changed <3

[gamerbearmira]

Spirit Animals takes place is a world called Erdas, where a portion of the population summons spirit animals, magical companions whose power can be drawn on to provide boosted or unusual skills and abilities. In Erdas, there are fifteen Great Beasts - creatures that possess great magic and that are tied to no human. In fact, a spirit animal cannot be the same species as one of these fifteen. However, several hundred years prior to the series, two of the Beasts, Kovo and Gerathon, reveled against their brethren and sought to command all of Erdas, causing a great war. Four of the Great Beasts fought back, but tragically fell in battle. The series kicks off with these Fallen Four returning to the world - as spirit animals! But also returning are the forces of the Reptile King, aided by the power of Gerathon's talisman, and seeking to further the cause of the two traitors. The four children who summoned the Great Beasts must then work to defeat the Conquerors, and keep the talismans of the Great Beasts out of their hands.

Then they have to track down the summoned of the rest of the Great Beasts after those guys yeet themselves into a tree - but hey! At least there's no more bonding sickness, because a Great Beast with bonding sickness would be bad. There's already at least one au of it on ao3. Also, something weird has happened to some of the ex-Conquerors who had only the false bonds provided by the Bile...

And oh! What's this! A mind-control wyrm, how delightful. Oh, and it's very deliberately infecting the Great Beasts. That can't be good.

And once they beat that, then there's people framing their multinational organisation for the assassination of the emperor of Zhong, so now they have to find these four magic artifacts infused with the power of incredible bonds between human and spirit animal, and figure out who they're actually fighting, anyways. Also, yes, Worthy does have a tail.

so yeah, that's the plots of the three arcs, hopefully without giving too much away. It's fun! The idea of doing an AU that's spirit animals but Encanto popped into my head the other day and while I don't have many details I know Mirabel gets to summon one of the Fallen Four and Isabela gets to fill Worthy's role in the narrative, but ex-circus tiger instead of a black wildcat cause a) they don't live in Eura and the wildcat has no cultural significance and b) parallels!

Interesting⁉️⁉️⁉️ reminds me of a ton of fandoms mixed together and that’s so rad. Also the animals are so cool, story seems real cool, like the roles and stuff. Ex circus tiger, off topic, but that is so silly 😭 AND PARALLELS YEAHHHHHHHHHH

Assassins in this is WILD 💀💀�� love the drama tho

[orcaab]

Typical Me by knoh is so Shane-coded, you cannot change my mind.

Here are some lines which I think match Shane really well:

-"It's so ironic when the medicine is toxic" The bile was the medicine for Stetriol that ended up making any users slaves to Gerathon. -"He broke into my head, so I tossed the key and locked it" I have three interpretations for this one: 1. Gerathon with the bile. 2. Kovo with the conquest. 3. Zerif or Gar (or both) with the hate for the Greencloaks. -"Enemy faces look the safest" Abeke. No further explanation needed -"My dark mind undermines every time we build" His hatred for the Greencloaks made him fight against them in the war for Stetriol's freedom and reestablishment as a nation, instead of with them. Which, in turn, created a lot of destruction across the whole of Erdas. -"Trying to survive in the older world we killed" Shane and his kingdom trying to survive in the world that Fel basically 'killed', with the bonding sickness, salted forests, and no trade. -"Oh, the God keeps lookin' at me starin' from the mirror" The eyes of those who Gerathon possesses turn yellow whenever she takes a peek, so... -"Janus can't you cure me of my indecision fever?" Maybe the bile bond to Gerathon, or maybe the aftermath of said bond. -"Empty pages, unexplained dazes" No one really knew The Devourer and his reasons, and no one is going to be able to now. -"Antagonist, protagonist become one and the same" Shane is the antagonist of pretty much the whole world, and yet he is his own protagonist. Also, this kinda reminds me of his "I'm not a villain, but I'm not a hero either. I am a king" line, I think it goes something like that? -"So how do I survive when the war is all in my brain?" Could be his I-have-to-betray-Abeke dilemma or could be the bile-created transformation into their spirit animals. -"You better lock me up, or he'll be wearin' my crown!" Shane realizing Kovo lied about giving Shane The Staff and deciding to fight with The Four against him. -"Pages are empty, so empty from breakage" I would imagine that the transformation from human into their spirit animals would be very asking on the soul, and Shame probably also never shared anything about that.

[bladealvis]

Gerathon’s the object of nightmares in this series, the serpent queen of lethality and destruction, and she WILL be petted

[anathriveline]

Animal Tatoo - Le volcan de la désolation (Spirit Animals - The Burning Tide) Jonathan Auxier Épisode 4, saison 2 de la série Animal Tatoo Fantastique, Bayard, 2018

Niché dans les racines de l’Arbre Éternel, le Wyrm, puissance ancestrale, se réveille et sa force maléfique menace l’équilibre du monde. La seule solution pour lui faire barrage est d’actionner un piège mis en place des siècles plus tôt, avant même la création de l’Erdas. Seul Kovo, l’une des quinze Bêtes Suprêmes, sait comment l’activer. Les quatre élus, plus affaiblis que jamais, doivent faire face à une terrible réalité : le lien qui les unissait à leurs animaux n’est plus qu’un douloureux souvenir. Alors que Conor et Meilin sont toujours bloqués sous terre et tentent de progresser dans les labyrinthes pour atteindre le Wyrm, Abéké et Rollan s’acheminent vers un immense volcan qui cache une partie du piège.

[dark-night-star-light]

Zerif Theory

I really don't understand Zerif, mostly because we're told almost nothing about him. He was forcibly bonded to a jackal and came to Shane to give him Gerathon's talisman so Shane could start the Second Devourer War and set Gerathon and Kovo free.

Then, in the second series, we see his thirst for power lead him into the Wyrm's trap. He seeks to control the beast, thinking it will bring him to glory. This was undoubtedly the Wyrm getting in his head with the parasite and choosing him as its host, but I think even if he'd kept control of his ability to make logical decisions, he'd still have chosen to do this, because he is shown to be a power-hungry man.

Although he appeared to be working for the Conquerors, he was working for Kovo himself, probably for power. He also learned the secret of Gerathon's talisman from Kovo.

It's also interesting to me that he chose a jackal as a spirit animal, as they are generally considered to be cunning creatures. This leads me to believe that he wanted people to think him as cunning as a jackal, which worked, given his nickname.

It's also a mystery how he even found Kovo. Kovo is the one that tells him the secret to Gerathon's talisman, who urges him to set the plan in motion which eventually sets him free. Kovo was held at the top of Muttering Rock in Stetriol, which is near impossible to climb with a top that is scorching hot, so Zerif would have had to come to Stetriol and climb Muttering Rock. Before the Second Devourer War, Stetriol wasn't on any maps, which leads me to believe that Zerif ran into it on accident.

So we know two things about him: he's a coward and power-hungry. Both of these qualities, while negative, could probably shed some light on his background. The jackal he was bonded to as well as his light brown skin leads me to believe he's from Nilo. My personal theory is that he was probably from a rich family in Nilo, contributing to his arrogant manner. Then, his family was attacked, leaving him to run away, creating a background for his cowardice. As for his hunger for power, we know that he met Kovo somehow, and Kovo probably manipulated him into wanting power.

As for how he met Kovo, I assume that while he was running away, he stole a boat and paddled into the ocean. According to the map of Erdas, traveling south from the tip of Nilo will lead to Stetriol, so I assume he was somehow thrown off course and ended up washing ashore. Because of the fact that he didn't know anything about Stetriol or the legends about Muttering Rock, he eventually finds himself up there as he wanders the area, eventually meeting Kovo.

I just think it's really interesting how we're told nothing about him and yet he plays such a crucial role in the first series and half the second. I think he deserved his own short story explaining his motives, besides the short chapters told from his point of view scattered across the books that only serve to amplify his power-hungry nature.

[dark-night-star-light]

Adding onto this because I didn't address Tellun's freeing Shane from the bond.

So it's said that spirit animals are smarter than regular animals, so it follows that Bile-bonded animals are the same. This means that Grahv could've known that Gerathon, and in the end, Kovo, was the real reason for all his suffering. So I think he could've decided to fight alongside Shane at the Evertree, because he sees Kovo as a common enemy, and Shane as the slightly lesser evil. I have no doubts that he hates Shane's guts, but I do think he might've been able to put that aside to fight Kovo.

As I've already said, I think "fake" Bile bonds took a while to fade away after the Staff of Cycles (containing Gerathon's talisman) was destroyed. So after the Staff was broken, I think Shane immediately put Grahv back into passive state before the bond could completely break off. Shane canonically sees Grahv as a tool, to be summoned only when needed and otherwise kept tucked away in passive state. So Shane would have never summoned Grahv after that, and when the Bile bonds finally broke off entirely, Grahv would've been completely trapped in passive state.

Bottom line is: Grahv had his free will given back to him by Tellun, however his bond with Shane was still deteriorating over a period of time. This allowed him to fight by Shane's side of his own choice. After the Staff of Cycles was destroyed, Shane placed him back in passive state and never brought him out again. The bond eventually broke, leading to Shane's transformation.

I’ve recently realized something.

Meilin summoned Jhi with the Bile, right? But it’s clear she didn’t choose Jhi, and the whole thing with the Bile is that the human usually chooses which animal to bond with.

Which means that she summoned a “true” spirit animal with the Bile. The first person (known to us) since Feliandor to do so. I just thought that was interesting.

Huh! Somehow I always thought there were more but now I've racked my brain and ... yeah. An interesting parallel.

(You have to wonder how her dad & Sheyu thought it would go if she didn't summon a true animal. Would the Bile just pick whatever animal she was subconsciously most thinking about? The one she was standing closest to? Do you reckon the audience in attendance (or Lenori!) would see anything weird about one of the menagerie animals suddenly being a spirit animal?)

Another interesting weirdness about Bile bonds:

Tellun frees Shane from the Bile alongside Meilin on page 138 of The Evertree.

On page 160 of The Evertree, Tellun dies.

On page 165 of The Evertree, Gerathon dies.

On page 168, Shane still summons his animal to fight briefly alongside our heroes, and after that puts Grahv back into passive state to slip away.

So! So! There was a period of time after Gerathon was gone and the Bile theoretically held no power that Bile bonds still existed! Shane's bond still existed (for a while) after Tellun severed his connection to Gerathon! What was powering the Bile bonds? How did they work?

[bayofwolves]

I’ve been obsessed, obsessed, obsessed with Raisha for a while now. I know you’ve said little things about her in the past and i want to know what’s up with her/Gerathon if you’d be willing to talk about it.

I really like Raisha as a character, too! We know so little about her, but in my opinion, she's one of the most fascinating characters in the series. Unfortunately, she meets a sad end in A Revised History of Erdas.

All we know about Raisha post-infection is that she was present at the final battle in The Burning Tide, still under Zerif's control and in pretty bad shape. She vanishes off the grid after that, never mentioned again, not even in the concluding montage of Great Beast summoners reuniting with their fallen spirit animals. My retelling offers some closure, but not the good kind.

In my version of events, Raisha is flanking Zerif when he emerges from the ship with his Great Beasts. Zerif, in an act of cruel irony, saw fit to keep Raisha by his side even in her mindless, infected state. Shane, up in the archers' keep with Abeke, hardly recognizes the girl who helped steal Halawir months earlier. Later, she reappears to restrain Abeke when Zerif brings the defeated Redcloak forces to the Wyrm. When the Wyrm is killed and the parasites lose their power, though, Raisha collapses to the ground and doesn't get back up. The Wyrm had pushed her finite body to an extent that it couldn't recover from. Many people and animals in Zerif's army are the same; their possession eventually killed them. The Wyrm was a child playing with toys, the mechanics of which it couldn't possibly understand. Thankfully for it, its parasites could go on controlling a body in the event of an untimely death. Indeed, Stead raises the possibility that Raisha had been dead for some time, and the parasite was only animating a corpse.

Like I've said before, I didn't do this out of dislike for Raisha or anything like that. She was ultimately another victim of Zerif -- a young, lonely, impressionable girl he took advantage of -- and didn't deserve anything that happened to her. I'll always support AUs where she is alive and well. In my eyes, though, her story was always meant to end in tragedy. By the time she realized her mistake and reached for the light, it was too late.

Gerathon, after reemerging in Southern Zhong and feeling the loss of her human partner, disappeared into the brush and is currently at large. She is only an adolescent cobra at the moment, hardly a threat... but the Great Beasts are growing, and Gerathon's time will inevitably come again. (I like the idea of her becoming a maneater as she slowly regains her former size and power, terrorizing the locals and gaining a place in their legends.) Who knows how she feels about losing Raisha. I expect, under the excruciating pain that may one day drive her to madness, there is a sweet sense of relief.

[king-shane-of-the-redcloaks]

Shane, he/him. I don't know how to make an intro post, so I just I guess tell you a bit about my life.

A little bit about me: I am turning into a crocodile because I went through a bit of a teenage phase where I drank the Bile, but I'm over that now. I used to be Stetriol's prince before I lost a world-wide war and became the single most hated figure on the face of the planet. So that was a bit awkward. But I'm trying to be better. I'm also trans and I have infinite saber swag.

A little bit about my family: They're all dead. My sister, Drina, was killed by her own spirit animal. My father killed his own spirit animal, and Zerif's spirit animal killed him. (Hate that guy. Boo!) And my beloved mother also eventually succumbed to the bonding sickness. My uncle, Gar, spent my entire childhood trying to wrest control of the throne and pretended to be bonded to my own unbeloved spirit animal. My family might be a tad bit cursed, but fuck it, we ball. She isn't really family, but my tutor, Yumaris, became a worm.

Miscellaneous little things about me: I hate the color purple (don't bring that vile shit near me), I hate that stupid trend of asking a loved one "Would you still love me if I was a worm?" because Yumaris loves to ask me that at the most inconvenient times (like when I'm giving inspiring speeches to my Redcloaks before an important battle), I have a weak spot for archers for some reason, I occasionally rub against trees to shed excess scales, I've recently developed a taste for bloodred jewelry, such as earrings and necklaces, and I tried to kill all the snakes in Stetriol once (I'm pretty sure it's possible, haven't you heard of that one Euran region that has no snakes whatsoever?).

Anyway, I guess I'm just trying to see if anyone relates to me or my experiences (I mean, we all make mistakes as teenagers, right?) so feel free to talk to me through the official Redcloak Ksenian crow messaging service. I want my Redcloaks to feel that they can criticize my leadership without fear, so I have decided that you are not required to tell me who you are.

DNI: Abeke haters, overly enthusiastic Greencloaks/Greencloak supporters, Kovo, Gerathon, Halawir, Oathbound sympathizers, Zerif sympathizers, and people who are assholes to my Redcloaks because of our transformations.

[bayofwolves]

Heyyyy Bay! Sending you some asks.

What are Takoda and Kovu up to in arhoe? I love those guys.

Also (if you want to!) infodump about something that’s making you go nuts right now.

Hope you’re doing well!

Thank you for the very good question to ponder, beloved mutual!

I'm only on the first book of Fall of the Beasts, but man, Takoda and Kovo are such an interesting pair. I've never had strong feelings about Takoda, but maybe that will change this time around, because his chapters so far have been very enjoyable. And Kovo is just hilarious. I'm excited to see their bond develop further.

As far as their involvement in the entire universe of A Revised History of Erdas: I'm not seeing or remembering anything major that I would change about their arc. One thing that's different in my AU is that all spirit animals arrive as adolescents, at a similar stage of development as their human partners (who would be at least thirteen at the point of summoning). So, instead of being a massive adult silverback, Kovo first appears as a juvenile. Baby Kovo! Angsty teen Kovo! It's great. The evil* mastermind who started two world wars is back... in the form of a moody teenager.

As far as their involvement in Path of the Heroes: They (and Xanthe!) will appear in some capacity, but as of yet, I'm largely unsure of the specifics. Planning a whole new arc is a lot of work! Some general statements:

I don't think Takoda will ever become a Greencloak, which I respect. He's pretty settled as a monk of Maktaba; an ally of the Four, but not a member of their order. I like the idea of him discovering through his journey with them that his true calling is the life he left behind. I think he and Xanthe also have criticisms of the order and wouldn't feel entirely comfortable joining them, at least not until seeing significant change come to pass. This will be important in Path of the Heroes, when the need for Greencloak reform becomes ever clearer.

Xanthe lives! It's insane how we never found out what happened to her after she got stabbed in Stormspeaker, but she's okay! My current concepts for her appearance have her looking very different from how she is described -- more of a creature than a pale human -- but we'll see where I end up after reading more about the Sadreans. I want to say she and Takoda are officially together, but Takoda is a monk. (Oversight on the authors' parts, or opportunity for crazy internal conflict?) That'll be something to explore in the future.

As for the other part of your ask! Lately I've been rewatching Cartoon Saloon's Irish folklore trilogy (The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea and Wolfwalkers). Those movies are so dear to me and I have to revisit them once in a while. They're so magical. The animation! The colours! The stories they tell! They also make me think about Conor, my favourite Irish character of anything ever. I've unfortunately been too busy irl to get really invested into anything, but I have been enjoying those movies. The Secret of Kells has always been my favourite!