#neoplatonism in tog

[rayonfrozenwings]

The Interconnection of ACOTAR and TOG and what this means for Kingdom of Ash

Welcome to Renee’s theory on how its all connected!

Masterlist to my official theories here. (aka the ones I spent time writing up)

Preface: Now it’s important to note that over time, as new ideas emerge - older theories may become less relevant. Before I start writing - I go in with the perspective that each new theory is on its own. I don’t require the information from other posts/ideas unless explicitly stated in the new theory.

So for this theory, I may refer to other theories I have already written, I may explain them here in a new context, and change my thoughts on them. I even have different paths available for the direction SJM can go. I’m pretty open to everything being a possibility until it is dis-proven in Canon. I paraphrased a fair bit. But if you know TOG well i’m sure you will remember the parts I’m talking about, and if possible I have put in brackets what book said what. CONTAINS REFERENCES TO BOTH TOG AND ACOTAR BOOKS. Also warning - I don't want to accidentally spoil anyone if I actually end up being right about anything, so maybe don’t read this until after KoA. haha. Well you can. But if I manage to get something right, I feel like I have warned you. :P Please Understand that I am trying to take things back to their simplest form, and there are links to wiki articles if you want to do your own reading for better understanding. Hellenistic philosophy for example makes my brain hurt, but if you want more I have linked it. I refer a bit to ancient Greek myth etc too. Tagging: @miladyaelin @bookofmirth @paperbacktrash @therapeuticrambling @lady-katkat @illyrianbeauty @photofeesh @slytherclaw713 @nephelle-warrior-scribe (I just tagged people who might be interested, I will not be offended if you don’t want to read it. :D)

So to start I’m going to propose that the Worlds of Acotar and Prythian are connected. 

That they are linked. How? They are not the “same world” but neither are they different. A year ago I wrote a post called “Erilea” (here). Through discourse and discussion with other people in the fandom on this post, we came up with some cool ideas on why Prythian and Erilea look similar in terms of geography.

Ice age - Change in the Sea Levels. Making Erilea and Prythian the same world at different times. Either Prythian came first or Erilea. Either was an option.

Parallel worlds - multi-world theory, They are the same place with small differences in their history that changed the make up of those worlds (a sliders reference). These worlds can be connected to each other through a Wyrdgate or wormhole. 

But now I have a third theory. A theory about Why Prythian looks a lot like Erilea. And it’s a little Fantastical and I love it. I will be happy if this is not the case too - but it’s always nice to try and solve a puzzle. I believe if the worlds are linked we will find out in Kingdom of Ash. So BEWARE : IF MY THEORY IS RIGHT THEN THERE MAY BE KOA SPOILERS. Of course - i’m just a fan of these books who loves theory - so it’s possible I just have an overactive imagination as well. :D

But First I need to take a step back. 

I need to look at how the Universe for these books is made. (I have written 4000 words in a separate document and its too complicated with lots of open ends and possibilities so I’m trying to simplify here and provide the details that make the most sense. - warning I failed to make it shorter, but at least its in bullet points).

The origins of the Throne of Glass Universe.

There are gods. (all books reference at least one) 

Aelin and co. are in the “third movement” of an unfinished game between these gods. (QOS) The gods guide people to make certain decisions and take certain actions. (EOS)

The Gods do not have physical form but are trapped - At this point in the story anyway. (EOS)

There are mortals in the story - fae, humans, shapeshifters, people who have a vested interest in the material world in which they live. (all books)

There is the idea that the worshiped gods change over time - or who is worshiped changes over time. There are 36 gods in the Southern Continent (TOD) and the Khaganate says that they never eradicate old gods but rather assimilate them into their own religion.

Could this mean that we have three sets of 12? 12 Gods.  Perhaps the same 12 gods at each new re-incarnation (since we have three movements in the unfinished game) or a new scion or mortal to speak through for each of these gods.

But we know that there are 9 on the Pantheon at Mistward (HOF) - So what happened to the other three gods? 

In the “lock” / “witchmirror” Elena is looked over at the obsidian passes by 12 Gods and Goddesses! I think Maeve has been re-writing some history in Wendyln, or not all 12 are worshiped. Time forgets those that aren't seen as important. Which is true of our own histories. The Greek Olympians changed over time and Dionysus was seen more in later pantheon’s for example.

Creation of the universe

Neoplatonism is the idea that the universe is made from an initial thought - The One. There is void and nothing and then necessity/ fate/ the One comes into being. From this point the universe expands out. Creating more and more. Beings that make up essence and soul - I like to think of them as primordial gods/goddesses, life and death gods. Then there is a creator from this - someone who is used as a tool by necessity to craft creation, a physical artisan. Do not confuse the creator with God. The creator is merely an artisan, with the skills and the tools needed to do the work of the necessity. And then more specific Gods form from this.

It is called the Celestial Hierarchy. - see below and link to more info here.

((Celestial hierarchy[edit]

Later neoplatonic philosophers, especially Iamblichus, added hundreds of intermediate beings such as gods, angels, demons, and other beings as mediators between the One and humanity. The neoplatonist gods are omni-perfect beings and do not display the usual amoral behaviour associated with their representations in the myths.

The One: God, The Good. Transcendent and ineffable.

The Hypercosmic Gods: those that make Essence, Life, and Soul

The Demiurge: the Creator

The Cosmic Gods: those who make Being, Nature, and Matter—including the gods known to us from classical religion. ))

Source: wiki: neoplatonism

So What does this mean? I think that this means that Erilea was created by a artisan or creator, and since then there has been a war going on between the “cosmic gods” - So the god of Storms, The goddess of Light, the god of Wild things. These gods had a kind of civil war - either with themselves, or with higher beings. I am ever hopeful that when SJM releases the book “The world of throne of glass” that it shall have all the mythology and story behind how this works because it is complicated to decipher. I’ve been pulling my hair out trying to nail down these influences in her books (jewish bible/ christian bible/greek myth/welsh myth/slavic myth - seriously, i’m going crazy here).

Thanks to the Bone Carver (acowar) we know that there are multiple worlds and that his world turned to dust a long time ago and he cannot return (this might be Erilea, it might not). The Celestial Hierarchy idea above can have more than one creator, the cycle can continue over and over again as long as necessity is guiding something to happen. I believe the reason Prythian is so diverse in its populations is because it’s a combination of things to do with its creation. But that's for me to explain a little further along (I was going to come back to this point - but it’s already super long, and I don't want to head down another path - basically, more than one world, feeding into tartarus = lots of different beings from multiple worlds, and all the worlds could now be dust. Like Angels - aka Amren)

(Also if you love this idea of being guided by necessity and doing the ultimate good then check out David Eddings Belgariad and Mallorean series, because its got those elements fine tuned).

Multiple planes of existence

Another Idea that has been floating around is the idea of multiple planes of existence. Kind of like a Olympus / Earth / The Underworld / Tartarus type of scenario if I use greek myth as an example. There are these realms or planes of existence that exist independently of each other but you are able to access them via certain avenues - like dying, becoming a god, secret passageways, ascending Olympus. This one is pretty cool. Because it means that creatures who find their way into Erilea (think Wyverns through the ferrian gap, Valg creatures in Morath and that monster/serpent under the lake/Mountain in Heir of fire.) They either accidentally or on purpose find their way into Erilea through the darkest places in the world. Dark Tunnels. Gaps in the fabric of Creation. Similar to how it was thought humans could travel to the underworld if they knew how - and still be living. Like Orpheus (ovid’s metamorphosis) traveling to the underworld through a dark tunnel to get back his wife Eurydice. Or Hercules for his various tasks.

The idea of the underworld being a physical place isn’t uncommon. We also get certain days in TOG where the absence of light means that the spirit world is closer to Erilea. Samhain is one such day, and the day of a solar eclipse also has Mort talking in a voice that is not his own or Elena’s. So who’s is it? with the veil between worlds so thin? There are many possibilities - maybe it is even necessity itself. So it is possible that Prythian is a “Underworld”. In fact with the quote “everything tastes better above the wall”- ACOMAF.  I would even say that the seven courts of Prythian could be the Elysian fields. I feel like this idea isn’t new, or at least it has been rattling around in my head for a long time so I feel like I’ve heard it before. The Prison in Acotar has always appeared as Tartarus to me. A place deep deep under the earth, even deeper than the underworld, but the entry is in the underworld. This place is a prison to the worst kind of creatures. The creatures that go against the natural order. Tartarus (wiki link for those wanting more) is believed to be the abyss, the darkest place. I believe Tartarus and “The Prison” are the same.  Interestingly enough Tartarus is said to be a god in its own right often dwelling in Tartarus. The third primordial Deity, preceding Eros (love/desire) That is why Feyre and the others are to be scared of those that dwell there. It is even said that “the watchers” - fallen Angels were imprisoned in Tartarus, and with Amren’s “Angel-ness” coming to light in ACOWAR and the fact we know that she escaped the Prison, makes me even more keen to think that the prison is in actuality Tartarus, and therefore Prythian - the underworld.  OK So all that is the background I have  tried to decipher - for a very very very long time. I have a lot of other theories and ways things might interconnect but I’m just going to leave that for now because - I don't want to get confused. So My next step is Kingdom of Ash and what I think might happen.

What does this mean for KoA?

I suspect that we have an amalgamation of ideas here and that The void and land of cold, ice and Darkness where the Valg come from is actually Prythian (simply known as the Abyss containing Tartarus before Kingdom of Ash’s events.) and Prythian gets a makeover thanks to Aelin. Prythian exists but not as we know it, before the events of Kingdom of Ash. So not only are Prythian and Erilea not the same world but they also do not occur at the same time. 

To be honest - we can get a split here as well.

Aelin makes prythian from scratch

Aelin re-forges Prythian, using what is already there and re-shapes it. 

More Kingdom of Ash Spoilers ahead - if I’m right.

Forging of the Lock.

So how is Kingdom of Ash going to tell me about the creation of Prythian? Well there is a mural in ACOTAR that Feyre finds and describes for us - Chapter 13 of ACOTAR. Here are some quotes from that:

“It told a story with the way the colours and shapes and light flowed, the way the tone shifted across the mural. The story of… Prythian.”

“It began with a Cauldron.”

“A mighty black Cauldron held by glowing, slender female hands in a starry, endless night.

Those hands tipped it over, golden sparkling liquid poured out over the lip. No - not sparkling, but … effervescent with small symbols, perhaps of some ancient faerie language. Whatever was written there whatever it was, the contents of the cauldron were dumped into the void below, pooling on the earth to form our world …” “The map spanned the entirety of our world - not just the land on which we stood, but also the seas and larger continents beyond. Each territory was marked and coloured, some with intricate, ornate depictions of the beings who had once ruled over lands that now belonged to the humans. All of it, i remembered with a shudder, all of the world had once been theirs - at least as far as they believed, crafted for them by the bearer of the cauldron. There were no mention of humans - no sign of us here. I supposed we’d been as low as pigs to them.”

“In the centre of the land, as if it were the core around which everything else had spread, or perhaps the place where the cauldrons liquid had first touched. Was a small, snowy mountain range. From it arose a mammoth, solitary peak. Bald of snow, bald of life - as if the elements refused to touch it. There was no more clues about what it might be; nothing to indicate its importance, and I supposed that the viewers were already supposed to know. This was not a mural for human eyes” - acotar.

A lot of people (myself included) have thought that this mural was the key to linking the worlds. And I think this is the Key to what is going to happen in Kingdom of Ash. Aelin is the creator - the artisan - the wielder of the cauldron. There are two ways/reasons I can see this happening.

Aelin Erupts and has managed to destroy the “darkness” in Erilea, through the creation of the Lock  But Light creates darkness simply by being present. Casting a shadow, and because of this if your remove one then you must also remove the other - like calls to like, made and unmade, a never ending cycle. Rules of balance in the universe etc. She has “unmade” something if she destroys all the Darkness in the world. If this happens, and light is removed then Erilea will cease to exist (think about acowar - near the end with some Cauldron destroying the world type stuff ;) Feyre(light) and Rhys(darkness) work together to save creation). And Aelin either by accident or not -  will need to find a solution to this destruction, a solution to “unmaking” something, to the end of the world as they know it. So she creates prythian to evacuate to, to save the people she can. The void exists on the other side of the Wyrd gate and she uses this as a place to “create” prythian.  

OR The battle is over and Aelin needs to send back all the monstrosities into the void through the Wyrd Gate. She doesn't try to destroy them - only contain them. But as their land has nothing but Darkness, Ice and wind, Aelin needs to create a place for the creatures to live. Not all who have Valg in them are evil - the witches being the perfect example. A cross-breed of darkness and light (Fae and Valg). To banish ALL Valg - surely the witches would need to be vanished too? That seems like a pretty awful alliance, if you help out the saviour and then they banish you!

Note that this does not mean ERILEA and PRYTHIAN are the same - simply that you might be able to reach one through a Wyrd gate if you wanted to. So with those two worrying thoughts. How does she do it?

We know you cannot UNMAKE something that is MADE. And like calls to like, as is said in ACOTAR. Essentially - you cannot have good without evil or light without Darkness. So Aelin needs to find a way to contain and not destroy, because she doesn't want to destroy the entirety of creation.  

Now, Aelin is the first to raise her hand for a wild plan that saves the day - and the gods have said that they will take the dark king with them (EOS) when they are returned home from the eternity stuck in an astral plane. But Aelin has to give up her mortality to do that - she has to give up Rowan - Her life - Her future. Aelin ain't going to do that. She hates being told what to do, if she can find a way out - she will.

Aelin needs to make sure the natural order is restored.   So using the Acotar mural as reference  - She forges a Cauldron using her powers from Mala Firebringer acting as the forge, using iron from the ironteeth witches as they evolve and change. 

The last Crochan queen (Manon) melts the iron inside her as she yields, giving all the iron to the cauldron. Manon is the only being who has inside her - The LIGHT and the DARK. She is an IRONTEETH witch and a CROCHAN witch. She is both good and Evil. She is the Bridge between Aelin (the light) and Dorian (the darkness). 

Iron also contains magic in Erilea, it prevents it from working. The iron doors and iron coffin, stifle magic, so the iron of the cauldron would act to ground the magic, to bind it to the mortal world. The raw magic from the realm of darkness (Dorian) combines with that of the realm of light (Aelin). Together the three of them create a cauldron to hold the wyrd keys and fill it full of glittering liquid that is the liquid of creation. And a female with Slender pale arms becomes the Creator of Prythian (I’m assuming it's Aelin because she is the “saviour”, making the sacrifice and is also “nameless in my price” and no-one remembers the creator’s name in Prythian).

Then with the cauldron, Aelin creates Prythian.

She either goes through the gate and pours the liquid (or pours the liquid through the gate) out of the cauldron and into the darkness of the void, landing on the top of a sacred mountain.

Tartarus (underworld) is already there, drifting in the abyss, but she makes the Elysian fields - she makes the underworld, she makes the promised land, Prythian. 

From the Darkness Aelin creates a new land in the image of her home land.

In an image or Erilea.

Her thoughts - her words become the essence of creation.  

Aelin hasn’t traveled far, but the places she has been to she pours forth from herself into this new place. Using the magic of the cauldron to shape creation - she remakes what has been made before. She pours Xandria and the Desert (Hybern), a place she only reached by sea, now an isolated island. She pours the Omega and her sacred forest (Oakwald), she pours in the mountain ranges, and the coast in s familiar shape, she includes Wendlyn and the sights she saw there. She pours her heart and soul forth as she includes Terrasen, the library of Orynth and the mountain home from which those gods and goddesses once looked over Erilea, the Staghorn mountains in the distance (night court). And the constellation that always guides her home - the Stag of the North, to look over the people and guide them. Always looking over Terrasen and now their new home.

She knows she can’t replicate everything as she hasn't seen the entirety of the world.

But she tries her best.

She makes Prythian as best she can.

A reflection of the World she knows - a reflection of Erilea.  

Then she finds ways to trap and bind Maeve and Erawan (Death Gods - Styrga and Koschei)  who she must send there too.

Because Aelin won’t make a deal with the gods, she is forging her own path.

Ensuring her own survival.

She binds the primordial gods to a location so they may not harm the inhabitants. So they may not repeat what they did in Erilea. 

Here there is a split - Either point 1 or point 2 from above (depending on whether the entire world is turning to ash - or she is just banishing the valg). 

(Point 1 - Erilea turned to ash)

She takes a part of the death god’s essence back into the cauldron, diminishing their power.

As many as possible are sent through the gate to save them.

She Banishes Maeve to a forest, to be watched by the little folk who choose to guard her. 

She banishes Erawan to a Lake/”silver” on the Continent.  

When it is over - she has drained all her magic.

All the godly essence given to her from Mala is gone. 

The gods are gone. Released from their eternal torment (if Erilea is destroyed). 

Dorian has used all his raw magic and Manon has used all the power her body once contained. Manon no longer has any iron and is a true Crochan witch, no ironteeth remaining.

They open the gate to all who wish to step through, to a new world, made in the image of the first. As their own world turns to dust. They cross over into Prythian on the Sacred Mountain where the Cauldron’s glittering liquid first touched the land.

OR 

(Point 2 - Banishing valg)

She takes a part of the death god’s essence back into the cauldron, diminishing their power.

As many as possible are sent through the gate.

She Banishes Maeve to a forest, to be watched by the little folk who choose to guard her. 

She banishes Erawan to a Lake/silver on the Continent.  

When it is over - she has drained all her magic.

All the godly essence given to her from Mala is gone.

Aelin can choose to trap the gods in Tartarus or the Prison forever - a kind of payback.  

Dorian has used all his raw magic and Manon has used all the power her body once contained. Manon no longer has any iron and is a true Crochan witch, no ironteeth remaining.

They go back to their kingdoms and castles and try to live in a world without Valg.

They put the Cauldron back in the Abyss, never to be used again. The wyrd keys hidden inside it’s feet. 

Then we have the story of ACOTAR - A story set in this new world. With the gods having vanished or have been “redistributed” throughout creation. Re-emerged into new people, new bloodlines, getting a second chance.

If point 1 comes to pass then we get our happy endings. Fresh starts made by the saviours. The living beings are what matter, not the land itself. And Erilea has long ago turned to dust and the survivors are in Prythian - living their happily ever afters and facing new challenges. Their bloodlines continuing through generations. Feyre Archeron having the blood of that fae warrior who saved all - long ago, imbued with light. Joins with the darkness (Rhysand) to save Prythian (in ACOWAR). A darkness that soothes, and isn’t evil. Creating a perfect balance of light and dark in Prythian. A fresh start.

“There are different kinds of darkness,” Rhys said. I kept my eyes shut. “There is the darkness that frightens, the darkness that soothes, the darkness that is restful.” I pictured each. “There is the darkness of lovers, and the darkness of assassins. It becomes what the bearer wishes it to be, needs it to be. It is not wholly bad or good.”  ACOMAF.

The Acheron Line is human I hear your say - Is that because Aelin gave up her immortality to live? Her power transferred to the cauldron and as a gift she was able to live a mortal life? I could speculate on who is descendant from who, but I’m not going to do that here. I’m going to wait and see if this theory has any validity once Kingdom of Ash comes out. If not. That’s fine, I look forward to being surprised. Either way I am going to love this book.

So why would SJM say the worlds aren't linked? Because she doesn't want to give away the ending for Kingdom of Ash. She doesn't want to spoil us! And here I am doing my digging and making my stories. (by the way if I’m wrong - That's cool, I love to be surprised! I think this would make an amazing story though - anyone want to write an AU? :P haha).  

If Point 2 comes to pass, then there is a lot of rebuilding. Prythian can still be created by Aelin, but what happens to our Favorites is still up in the air. And some things - like Feyre’s ancestry don’t appear to make much sense, when it is implied that she came from the “ancient fae warrior[s]” blood line. Maybe some people get stuck in Prythian but not all, and Erilea doesn't turn to ash. That’s cool. Not sure how the book will finish happily ever after though. (not that it needs to). Will we get split perspective of the two sides of the Wyrd gate or just loose contact with those not in Erilea anymore?

The problem with me is this - I get more questions than answers... it happens when I think up a theory. 

Great - This is cool. But what about this and this? questions come unasked to the forefront and I pull out my hair. 

For example -  What about what the Stygian spiders and Brannon said in Tower of Dawn and Empire of Storms? Both are secondary sources of information. Stories. And while I think each has an element of truth, they are flawed as they come from a person/creature that is mortal. It is important to note that in neoplatonism there are different tiers of beings. Brannon, The stygian spider, Aelin and co. are all on the same tier. They are all mortals stuck trying to so the best with the reality they are given - with the information that they are given at the time. The only direct contact we have with a Goddesses is Deanna losing her cool and possessing Aelin in empire of storms and telling Aelin to find the lock and therefore - see the truth. And then those memories from the Witch mirror. 

And then SJM does a fade to black! What the HELL! So the reader doesn't get the FULL truth from a source that would have all the information - these beings that are not limited by time or space!! (Renee gives SJM the side eyes and takes a deep breath).

So here are some Questions my digging has thrown up for Me:

Question 1: Why did Brannon not like Gavin?

Is is because Gavin has an association with the Sin Eater (Who I think is Erawan’s brother that later gets banished by Maeve (maybe leaves himself? I’m still re-reading so I might be missing something here) - and also possibly the Bone Carver by another name). 

If it is because of this association then what does this mean for Gavin and Gavin’s bloodline? Did he trade something to become king? A no-name human, was it for a sword to defeat Erawan? but he couldn’t wield it against Erawan as he destroyed his hand at the obsidian passes? The reason I ask this is because the description of Damaris in COM is strangely familiar. “Damaris. The legendary sword of Gavin. Its hilt was silvery gold and had little ornamentation, save for a pommel in the shape of an eye. No Jewel lay in its socket; it was only an empty ring of gold. Some legends claimed that when Gavin wielded Damaris, He would only see the truth, and that was why he had been crowned king. Or some nonsense like that..” The Scabbard is also decorated with Wyrd marks. Yes eye imagery is common in SJM’s books and it could mean nothing. But we Know Gavin was at the Sin Eater’s temple because of Queen of Shadows scene. Does the bone Carver and the prison have some sort of link to the night court? The night court heir’s blood is keyed to the lock.  Feyre has an eye tattoo on her hand that allows Rhys to connect with her. On the cover of ACOWAR Feyre has an eye on her belt - meaning that the eye has a lot of symbolism for the ACOTAR universe. Is that because certain characters are linked to this eye, or is the eye something more? 

I could jump to a conclusion about bloodlines and that The Night Court is descended from Manon and Dorian. Raw magic and Fae (a witch without her iron). Later splitting into fragments - Their heirs - like The Morrigan, being connected to “truth” just as Dorian is. The eye- being a symbol of the night court and also of Gavin’s sword. Dorians powers of darkness, ice, cold - Just like Rhysand’s. The crowns in ACOWAR  - one being a crown of stars and the moon, similar to how the blueblood heir wore a crown of stars herself. I’m not sure of this as they would be presiding over the land that was once Terrasen - but maybe this happens when the saviour of the world fades from memory? And if there is a link between the Night court and the Bone Carver, then there would also be a link to Stryga (the bone carvers sister). 

Which Leads into this Question 2: Why is Dorian as important as Aelin?

(I touched on it above but I feel like I need to justify him as having more than just the power he wields).

In Queen of Shadows, when Aelin and Co are in the Shadow Market -  it talks about how Brannon is Blessed By Mala- he and his sword, Goldryn. Then there is this quote “What if there was a god of truth—a Sin-Eater? What if he blessed Gavin, and this sword?” -QOS. 

So If Gavin was Blessed by the Sin Eater just as Brannon was blessed by Mala, then it would make sense that some of his descendants (Just like Brannon’s) are also Blessed. So Dorian’s power is that of the Sin Eater - The God of Truth.

Truth is often associated with the first thought in some mythologies as well. Aelin is the bringer of light - the heir of Mala light bringer / Mala Fire bringer. She embodies the first light in the universe. So we have two beings - blessed by Light and Dark, between Darkness of the Void - and initial thought and the Fire from Creation.

When Aelin is Holding Damaris in the Sin Eater’s temple, she has to drop it as it turns cold. Damaris is not her weapon (Which we know since the events following Queen of shadows). Damaris is for Dorian - heir of Truth and the Sin Eater, Just as Aelin is heir of fire and light. And Aelin wields Goldryn the sword blessed my Mala for her heir.

Dorian and Aelin Fusing their power

The power displayed in Queen of Shadows when Aelin rescues Dorian is amazing but destructive. These two have the ability to create the world.  

“there was fire and light and darkness and ice” is how Dorian describes the ring destroying the Valg inside him -QOS. 

And then in chapter 77 I think we have a pretty big piece of foreshadowing for Kingdom of Ash 

“They joined hands. So the world ended. And the next one began.” QOS.

“They were infinite. They were the beginning and the ending; they were eternity.” - QOS. 

They are one with creation. They are one with all of the realms.

This next quote helps solidify my idea of at least three realms being present at this time. 

“But they held tighter to each other, past and present and future; flickering between an ancient hall in a mountain castle perched above Orynth, a bridge suspended between glass towers, and another place, perfect and strange, where they had been crafted from stardust and light. A wall of night knocked them back. But they could not be contained. The darkness paused for breath. They erupted.”

Past - The realm of the gods, the Past. Like Olympus or a sacred mountain, the gods/goddesses watching over their people.

Present - The Glass Castle - This moment.

Future - Stardust and light. This could mean Erilea turns to dust and all that remains is stardust and light. Or it could mean their future is in this third place, created from stardust and light. Or it could even be Dorian and Aelin ascending to the stars like those spirits the Night court watch on Starfall.   It really depends on whether Fate is predetermined. At this point in time, the future could still be written? Or is the only answer to have a world that turns to dust? Or is it nothing and again I am looking too closely at something.

Their power - while amazing is also fairly contained. Yes Aelin wasn’t at full strength and neither was Dorian when they destroyed the Glass Castle. So will they erupt - and have it be felt across worlds - just like Amren said of Nesta. Or will they use their power to find a way to create something new.

Question 3: If Prythian is formed from Erilea and Aelin, then how come Iron has no power in Prythian when it does in Erilea?

I think because the cauldron is made of iron and contains the essence of Prythian’s creation, it has become a part of creation. It has merged with magic. So it no longer holds any power over it.

And I’m going to stop there- because this slightly organised mess is as far as I have gotten. I tried to group Ideas together, but for the sake of Flow, I have put some ideas at the end under those questions. 

Basically in summary  - multiple planes of existence. Step through a Wyrd Gate. Dorian, Manon and Aelin Forge the Cauldron. Aelin makes Prythian. (My belief next) Aelin turns Erilea to Ash, they escape into Prythian. Aelin is made mortal.