#rootcraft

[proudchildlesscatlady]

Do think Bree meet anyone from rootcraft past

***Spoilers from Legendborn ***

Yes, I believe she did met a Rootcrafter in the past. If I remember correctly, during the scene in Legendborn where Bree sees a hidden memory from her mother's charm bracelet, her mother told Bree she brought her to see either Lucille or Hazel when Bree was a child. I am not sure if remember correctly but I swear it happened. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I am so behind on my rereads that I decided not to do them anymore 😭

[ackerbabezzz]

Would somebody be kind enough to explain to me the rankings of The Order from the Legendborn cycle I thought I was getting the hang of it but I’m back to square one 😭

[wizardteampod]

Do think Bree meet new rootcrafters and new cambions

Absolutely! A major part of this story is about Bree connecting with her ancestors and her community, and so I think it would only make sense for her to meet and ally with other Rootcrafters—especially considering her deal with them to defeat the Hunter in exchange for protection. It's pretty clear that other than her friends, Bree's primary concern is the Rootcraft community and protecting them from the Order and the Shadowborn. I'm really excited to see how they'll come into play, and how the ones we've already met will be expanded.

As for cambions, I think it only makes sense both because there are so many Merlins and with the Morgaines (finally) showing up...

[scarlethoodi]

I want to give a quick shout out to Bree’s mom.

The Shadow King may not have ever met anyone like Bree before but he’s also never met anyone raised by Faye Matthews. That woman had plan after plan even in the worst of times. To be so prepared for your own death and the possibility of your daughter having root abilities even without knowing the form that you were working several steps-actual years ahead is impressive. Her taking Bree to Volition just to be certain and still taking those precautions. Making sure there was a way for her husband to learn and understand the reality of her world. That woman is and was incredible. Watch in the 4th book we find out something else she did for Bree in her childhood to help her in the future.

[worth-this-and-more]

a very pissed off rant because some people still think this is a romance centered story

okay everyone ik people are loving the romance angle a lot in these books, and people on reddit are like "stop policing us!! some people read it for romance!! we don't have to adhere to your rules!! okay so 1. shut the fuck up and 2. this book is not romantasy. it is a YA fantasy series, it is bree's journey, her story, her life has romance so we get to see romance.

if this book were romantasy, or like even just with a major major focus on romance, i could understand dropping the book for a love interests' appearance/disappearance or not giving it stars because it is a romance book and it failed to make you feel romance worthy. but it is not a romance book. romance is a subplot. even the fucking tag is after young adult. if it were a proper romance you would know!! this is a romance subplot!! this is a sort of coming of age typa story it is bree's story can we please stop fucking pretending that the romance is the only thing here??

ik we love a dark-haired brooding character i love him too okay but is it that fucking hard to understand that this is not about him?? this is why reading comprehension and literacy empathy is important it doesn't take people a moment to toss bree away because oooh white boys.

im not saying the books are perfect, yes there are flaws, but if the only flaw that you can find is that one white guy isn't mentioned or mentioned too much in a black girl's story then you need to put the damn book down and go back to your romantasy section. this is not a story for you and I'm tired of people posting "uNpOpUlAr oPiNiOnS" and it's just plain bullshit.

[albinodino]

Legendborn Chapters 19&20

this is definitely because i want to get to rootcraft but patricia annoyed me so much this chapter, telling bree about her mother then refusing to elaborate. also "I am surprised that your mother never told you" SHE'S GRIEVING THAT'S NOT HELPFUL

i thought a dresser and a chest of drawers were the same thing but apparently nick has both. and i bet they're both empty except for one drawer with like 3 socks and a paperclip

cw: suicidal ideation - bree says she's willing to risk the abatement to find the truth, but i wonder if it's in some part suicidal ideation from her grief. she doesn't want to die, but she'll put herself in life threatening situations because would it be so bad?

[pinkwhite]

i hope in lb3 we get to see more of the black community at the university

[justbrainrot]

Okay well first of all this can’t be hiding in notes lol:

AHHH HEMMM! @thoughtfulbearpanda 😘

My first thought was that flowers + flame colors = Faye’s wildcrafting but that’s not new new. Like, we’ve heard about it but not seen it. So it must be something else?

Morgaine magic makes sense too but we’ve also seen a bit of their construct casting, so that’s not new new either.

So far we have humans who cast/manipulate aether/root & demons who need aether/root to survive on this plane. We haven’t seen any Fae/Fairy anything so who knows if that’s part of her magical worldbuilding in TLC but that’s my guess! There are a few people who I think could be connecting to fairies: Isaac (slight points to his ears are mentioned but never discussed again!) & Larkin (his tattoos are flower-like & his Da sounds both nicer & by his own statements more connected to “the old ways” than other Merlins we’ve seen.) Also we haven’t met Anna (Nick’s mom) yet! She could definitely be fae but that theory comes more from the source material than from the books themselves.

Can’t wait to hear others’ theories!

Ah Legendborn people we have some crumbs from Tracy’s latest story on instagram!

What do you think is about?? My guess is it might be the Morgaines? Or something totally different!!

tagging some people to discuss it with// @justbrainrot @thoughtfulbearpanda @thepsychicaliennextdoor

[jamcarven]

GUYS LOOK AT THESE ENDPAPERS

BREE LOOKS SO GORGEOUS AND JAW DROPPINGLY BEAUTIFUL. but her eyes are closed in one of them. I really hope that doesn’t mean arthur has taken over again or something 😭. it’s probably her blood walking though, maybe sel isn’t possessed by his demon self back there

NICKS EYES AND SELS FANGS!!

THEY COVERED THE EYES OF WHOEVER BREE WAS KISSING.

hands using aether reaching out for something and THE DRAGON

food 🙌

these endpapers are honestly stunning. i really love the nature imagery with the tree branches coming off of bree and onto everyone else

also the book is surrounded by red, purple and GOLD smoke. the red is for rootcraft, purple for the combination if aether and rootcraft, then what is the gold for?

[ficnoire2]

A Little Legendborn/Bloodmarked (In prep for Oathbound) Who’s Your Daddy? Theory  

*Spoilers for both books ahead and mentions of Oathbound teaser*

We have about 41 days (at the time of writing) until Oathbound drops and what better time than now to explore a theory I have been kicking around ever since we met the illustrious Valechaz.  Those who have hung around my little page are not new to this, but if you are, welcome.  It is no secret that I think Erebus/Shadow King/The Hunter is the father of the one and only Valec AND Selwyn Kane.   There are ideas I have kicked around and figured it a good time to document them, so…

Here goes

Scent Signature Profile

Some time ago I did a scent theory profile for our crew (linked below) and in revisiting that, I noticed that Valec, Erebus, and Sel have a similar profile that falls in the oriental/woody category which brings forth scents of resins, vetiver, leather, incense and smoke.  In addition, the three of them share a similar color profile (also linked below).  There are many instances of black, reds, and golds.  All of them at some point are described as emerging from some sort of shadow.  These are the most shallow bits of evidence but…maybe not.

Valechaz and Selwyn (Who’s the Pappy?!)

“Told you not to mess with that red-eyed devil, but you did, didn’t you?  Ain’t nothing good coming from a man you meet at the crossroads, Pearl. Nothing.”

I have always found it very curious that the identity of both Valec and Selwyn’s fathers is shrouded in mystery.  Not to mention the name of Valec’s bar is referenced here.  In the Oathbound teaser, we learn that Erebus is essentially a shapeshifter who can wear many faces and be in many places at once.  We also know that he has lurked around the Rootcraft community for eons protecting his “investment.”  It is not yet known who the “Red-eyed devil” is, but knowing his capabilities it is not out of the realm of possibility.

“He may look like a baby, but that is their disguise.  They cannot be trusted because it is their nature to lie.  You know this, Pearl.  Just like his father, he will turn on you one day.”

I found this interesting because it suggests that this community had dealings with this type of demon/shapeshifter before.  Katherine says Pearl KNOWS this as if this knowledge is something common and she should know better.

“When I was young, my mother was killed by an uchel while on a mission.  After that, my human father fell into a liquor bottle and never came out.”

Selwyn says this with so much certainty only for us to find out a few pages later that, that was not the truth. It is never stated that he actually met this human father and if he had, it would be quite easy for the Shadow King to impersonate him especially since he was close to Natasia.  In essence, the identity of both boys’ fathers is unknown.

Peek a Boo, I See You

“Poor little cambion, little Kingsmage.  Leashed by the Order his whole pathetic existence and now manacled by them too?”

Valec’s taunting of Sel is top-tier, pure I will flirt with your girl and whoop your ass in front of her, older brother energy.  Their interactions are always tense and teetering on the razor’s edge of violence.  Selwyn despises Valec, not only because he flirts with Bree, but because he can see him for everything that he is.  He highlights his shortcomings and exposes them to the group.  I can imagine Sel felt this being in proximity to Nick in another way.  Nick being all the things he wants to be and be close to, but Valec exposes all of the things he is.

In all of Valec’s taunting (and ass-whooping) he also empathizes with Sel.  For perspective, as a formerly enslaved person, he would be well within his rights to hate Sel and everything he stands for, but he doesn’t.  He shows him mercy and understanding.

“When you’re a cambion, you’re caught between two worlds.  Always.  Not just two cultures or two communities, but literally two states of being.  Life.  Death. This plane, and the one that calls us back home in the middle of the night.  Most of us go a very long time without feeling like we belong anywhere.”

This was not only heartbreaking because we know in bondage, Valec experienced horror, not to mention being cast out.  The fact that he recognized the unique position of cambions in this universe and offered that grace to Sel only comes with the wisdom gained from the life he’s led. 

It does not seem coincidental that Tracy has given them this dynamic.  The line that he says to Bree “You can’t belong to an idea, Bree,”  The idea of slavery, mental and physical bondage, the Order.  You don’t belong to these things.  The idea that you were born as a unique being and that your spirit is autonomous even if your body isn’t.

Shadow Daddy

This brings me to Erebus.  Here is what we know:

He can shift form and travel through time and space rapidly.  He was in a close relationship with Selwyn’s mother (as Erebus) and has followed the Rootcraft community (whoring around if you ask me).  He is an opportunist and slips into bargains and situations that serve his purpose which is to gain power and ultimately get his crown back.  He is ancient.

The Parallels

The parallels and foreshadowing between him and the boys (I know Valec is old as hell) are glaring.  

The SK nameplate on Selwyn’s door

The fact that they have the same three-letters associated with their names (S.E.K)

Similar scent profiles and color profiles

Bree made a deal with Erebus at a crossroads in her journey, after seemingly exhausting every possibility

Valec’s bar being the Crossroads Lounge and he and Selwyn both being described as “Crossroads children”

The fact that Valec knows there is a Shadow Court, but Selwyn describes it as made-up children’s stories to scare young Merlins, hinting that he doesn't know as much history as he thinks he does.  

Also, in the Oathbound teaser, he has two Black children that he describes as his “Wards.”  I have so many questions.  Was Valec a “Ward” at one point?  I find it interesting that they are Black as well.

The lineage comes into play too.  Valec is evenly split.  Pearl was human and his apparent father was a demon *Whispers SEX DEMON*.  He says balanced cambions are rare.

Natasia is split but if Erebus (Shadow King) is Sel’s father that makes him more demon than human, not to mention the “Assload of oaths” he has attached to him, which are wreaking havoc on his life.  

I hope we get more answers to Valec’s and Sel's lineage in book three.  Either way, I am excited as hell.  I believe he will be key in helping our crew gain balance and send his daddy back to where he belongs.  

I would love to hear your thoughts, especially if you have the same theory that I do!  I have also linked some of my other nerdy works below.  Happy reading!

Scent Theory Part One

Scent Theory Part Two

LB/BM Top Ten

*Color theory is linked in one of the scent theories*

[wizardteampod]

It's #WizardTeam Wednesday and Bree finally embraces her ancestors, learns from her mother, and learns her Rootcraft ability!

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

[breematthewsmybeloved]

i failed to post about the oathbound cover when it dropped so i understand if you all shoot me BUTTT

thoughts

The gradual increase of purple as she becomes more comfortable mixing and matching her rootcraft with the arthurian magic EATS

Bree's not wearing the pendragon sigil??

not mixing in the red??? please be a sign that we're getting more insight into her rootcraft and Vera's line??

I feel like her eyes are actually glowing purple instead of reflecting the light?? thoughts?

[medium-bloodcrafter-scion]

🚨Oathbound spoilers beware!🚨

Bree-Bree, the king that you are 👑

Valec’s assessment of the kind of person Bree is: brave, heroic, compassionate.

Related: the plot with the missing Rootcrafter girls was important for so many reasons, both in-book and in the real world. I can’t bring myself to say too much about it here and now because it makes my heart hurt, but it’s another reminder of why I love Tracy’s work so much.

[artisanscribbles]

Some Oathbound Thoughts

There's a larger post regarding the Order that's still percolating in my head but while I was drafting that post, something occurred to me:

We have very little in text proof that the Shadowborn are as big as a problem as the Order makes them out to be- But do you know where they seem to gather and most attacks happen: The 4 Legendborn Chapters.

This made me start made me start to think about what we know about magic in universe, and also what we know about the Shadowborn.

The Order makes the Shadowborn out to be this huge problem, but Valechez, Patricia and every Rootcrafter we meet treat them as a problem and certainly something to be cautious about, but a known factor.

And none of the Rootcrafters spend their lives at battle-ready mode waiting for the next attack. It's just the Order that does that. But everyone else acts like the Order is the much bigger problem and danger of the two.

But Scions and Squires have been being called ever since the Order's inception to handle all these demon attacks? And we see there is truth to this: The Shadowborn are Undeniably Attacking the Legendborn.

Which begs the question: Why the Order and not the other magic users?

And then it hit me.

The Order of the Roundtable has been around for at minimum, per William, at least 60 Generations. Like with Vera, the spell is somehow bound to the bloodlines. But Vera's bargain is tied to The Shadow King - He cast the Mark and as far we can tell he's been maintaining the Magic required for it to Work. With me so far?

So this begs with question: With Merlin (as far as the text informs us) 100% Dead

WHAT'S POWERING THE SPELL OF ETERNITY?

IT CAN'T BE ARTHUR. EVEN IF MERLIN ANCHORED THE SPELL TO HIM ORIGINALLY LIKE THE CHARM BRACELET (AND WE DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW THIS BTW, EVERYONE IN THE ORDER THINKS ITS THE CASE AND EVERYTHING THE ORDER THINKS IS IMMEDIATELY SUS) CANONICALLY ARTHUR PENDRAGON DOESN'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE MAGIC TO KEEP IT GOING BECAUSE HE CANNOT WORK AETHER (proven by that scene in BloodMarked)

Arthur Pendragon can use the abilities gifted to him by Excalibur and Merlin's original spell, but he can't power it himself. But SOMETHING must be- because as per Sel, aetheric workings can only last so long as the caster can maintain them and live, as as per Valchez and Patricia, all that Power has to be coming from SOMEWHERE EX.1 Bree's whole existence.

Which brings me back to the Shadowborn and the Shadow King's whole deal:

I think Merlin's spell wasn't supposed to last past the OG Table's death. Not originally anyway. Arthur and the Knights were supposed to win decisively and then the portals would be closed forever. And Bree's Bloodwalks seem to support this.

But then, The Table Captures the Shadow King's Crown, and we now Know that is an extremely Powerful Object- but we don't know what happened to it.

Just before Bloodmark's final kicks off, we get the last Arthuriana themed lore drop of the novel- And that is that the last place we saw the Crown was in the OG Table's possession- but not broken and destroyed. IN fact the text seems to support they couldn't destroy it- SO WHERE IS IT? NO ONE IN ORDER HAS EVER HINTED AT SOMETHING LIKE THIS EXISTING- IT'S VALCHEZ THAT FIRST TELLS US ABOUT THE SHADOW COURT TO BEGIN WITH.

And then we remember Morgaine Had A Plan to use the Crown somehow. Now, of course, we don't get to hear exactly what that was because Bree had some shit to work out, but I think its important that we know about that it because it provides a reason for the concentrated Shadowborn attacks on the Legendborn and also a reason for the King to still be kicking around. The Shadowborn harry the Order so hard because the original War never stopped, it just changed.

The King seems to a bit like Sauron - separated from his Crown, he's a shadow of himself (excuse my bad pun), still powerful, but limited in scope. There's no reason for a long game otherwise. But if he were trying to get his Crown back? Because the Order STILL HAD IT?

Well, that would re-contextualize a few things, wouldn't it?

[feyres-divorce-lawyer]

annie mentioning rootcraft means that the legendborn canon could totally exist in sinners canon, so while shit was going down in mississippi, one of bree’s ancestors was in north carolina. also also this love for sinners could totally push execs to adapt legendborn, so i get my king on the big screen in two years

[albinodino]

the heart of the great dame, the crown of the shadow king and the sword of king arthur. she's a rootcrafter, she's bloodmarked and she's the scion of arthur; give bree matthews all of them