#starborn witch

[catzgam3rz]

I would like to thank the Witch Craft SMP for gifting me a reason to draw Ihascupquake fanart in the year of our lord 2023

[wingedblooms]

In honor of @elainarcheronweek, and thanks to encouragement from @santkazoya (months ago, whoops💀), I’ve compiled my favorite predictions and theories for Elain’s story (some of which build upon connections others have made, especially @offtorivendell and @silverlinedeyes since we often theorize together). I can’t wait for her story and will be overjoyed if any of these make it into canon. Links to these predictions and theories are below.

1. rose symbolism | language of creation

2. blodeuwedd

3. witches | marked by wyrd | three sister witches

4. groundings

5. witch glass | ancient summoning spell

6. balthazar | shifting forms of fate

7. mapping forbidden secrets | blooming dreams

8. ramiel | spring comes to ramiel

9. slaying wyrms and rescuing damsels

10. the starborn symbol (reblog of ramiel) | sacred geometry

11. the space between | peering into hel

12. illyrians and the cauldron (within ramiel post)

13-14. the healing land | blooming hope 1 & 2

15. rose symbolism | forbidden secrets | blooming dreams

[silverflameataraxia]

It's so ironic that Cassian admires Feyre for saving their world and killing a Middengard Wyrm.

Respectfully, dear Cassian, your very own mate has saved all worlds by teaming up with Bryce to defeat the Asteri, free Midgard, and thus end their threat to Prythian and any other world they wanted to invade and enslave; Nesta has killed her very own Middengard Wyrm in a spectacularly epic fashion; she's beheaded Vesperus, an unkillable being; befriended an entire other world; became the first female Oristian; is the sole being who can summon, control, and contain the Dread Trove; beheaded Lanthys, an unkillable being; beheaded a kelpie; Unmade Briallyn; is the first person to Make magical weapons in 15,000 years. And that's just some of Nesta's achievements in the last two books. Don't get me started on all her achievements throughout the entire series 🤣

I don't mind Cassian admiring Feyre, but next book, he better worship the very ground Nesta walks on. She may not be a Cursebreaker, but she's an Intergalactic Savior, Pillager of Death, Lady Death, Witch of Oorid, Queen of Queens, Valkyrie, Oristian...and the future Starborn High Lady of the Dusk Court.

[maybeiwasjustjade]

My favorite running theory on Nesta’s endgame (plot-wise, not romantically; though if you asked me, she’ll forever deserve better than the bat dog) is that when she went into the Cauldron, she unwittingly came out as the High Lady of Dusk aka Theia’s true heir. Nesta’s stolen power made her immensely powerful, even more so than a High Lord. With it gone, and the Mother’s interference, I think whatever’s left is just the Dusk Lady’s magic.

Something I’ve seen often brought up is Nesta’s magic manifesting as cold silver flames. Which, anyone who has read ToG knows is very similar to Aelin’s description of Deanna’s moonfire. Coupled with Bryce’s own starborn powers manifesting as white/silver light, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Nesta’s magic is Dusk’s trueform.

“The age of the starborn is over on Midgard.” That’s what Bryce told Nesta when she handed over Gwydion to Nesta, and told her to figure out what her tattoo meant. Between the eight-pointed star tattoo and her connection to the Prison Island…all of it points towards the still-missing Dusk Court. And we know that Theia’s bloodline favored the females instead of the males (which is why I heavily doubt that Rhysand is the heir to dusk as many (IC stans) believe).

Then there’s also the theory that Nesta actually is a witch from her nameless mother’s bloodline. In ToG, the witches were a matrilineal kingdom so it actually fits alongside the theory about Dusk. And since it’s mostly been accepted that ToG existed long before Prythian, my theory is that the Prythian witches descended from the Crochan-Ironteeth some thousand years ago. But that may just be wishful thinking lmao.

My favorite theory though? That based on the location of each court on the map, and dusk coming before night in the solar cycle, so chances are Dusk and Night’s actual locations reflect Summer and Autumn aka split down the middle. The Prison Island sits on the western edge of Night. I don’t believe that Dusk was just that tiny island—if it was, they wouldn’t have made it a point to mention that Rhysand may be descended from Theia. No, I think Dusk was integrated into Night territory, and the island turned into a prison.

But if the location is right, and Dusk holds the entire western bank? Then it includes Velaris, too. The look on the Inner Circle’s faces (sans Azriel I think, who’s probably also Dusk-born) when they find out that Velaris by rights now belong to Nesta (as HL) would be absolutely hilarious. Rhysand might actually die from an aneurysm. Do I think she’ll take it from him? Probably not, but she sure as hell gonna be goddamn petty about it.

[offtorivendell]

So,..I’ve read two different books that are elriel coded: NALINI SINGH’S Archangel’s Storm and Black Dagger Brotherhood, Lover Awakened. Books that if I’m not mistaken are one SJM’s favorites… Have you read it? It’s interesting that the both MMC are talented singers, scarred, killer and doesnt speak much. Jason, the angel who is a spymaster, shadow daddy and “hears secrets whispered in the winds” is so Azriel. Zsadist, the vampire with PTSD, similar personality as Jason. I saw a mixed of Jason and Zsadist in Azriel.

Their love interests are princess or aristocrat, very beautiful and well etiquette. Princess Mahiya, the angel (Jason’s mate), helped Jason with spying and she has puma eyes. She loves animal and can create a glowing ball of light. Bella, the vampire aristocrat that killed her kidnapper who is obsessed with her. I felt like I was reading Elriel in both books.

If SJM keeps the inspiration from Archangel’s Storm then it would make sense with the “fanged beast” on Elain’s part. I really think Elain may become a shape-shifter like faes from TOG and could create “a ball of light”, like Yrene or because of the starborn ability? (Oh btw, I was wondering if there’s a possibility that Yrene’s powers are connected to Starborn?)

Do you think Elain’s book will be more of beast themed? Something that is connected to Dusk Court… Anyway, what do you know of the first faes on Prythian? Are Starborn faes the oldest group that founded the Dusk Court, possibly migrating from the Erilea? It sounds like TOG faes are the first generation fae and they sort of evolved in Prythian and Lunathion? SJM made Lunathion connected to Prythian and Erilea. So, I’m wondering how Erilea is connected to Prythian? I know Aelin saw Rhys and Pregnant Feyre in KOA, but that’s it.

Ugh.. sorry for so many questions.. 🫣

Hi anon, and thanks for stopping by!

Disclaimer: the following is all theoretical; while I hope at least some of it will come true, we have to wait for SJM to let us know for sure.

Spoilers for the entire Maasverse, as well as parts of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, are below.

I haven't read any Nalini Singh, though friends have recommended her to me a few times, so I really should fix that. I obviously cannot comment on any similarities - though I have heard similar rumours that SJM loves the books (but have never tried to corroborate them) - but @shitwillnotbegiven has posted a comparison of Elriel scenes with passages from 'Archangel's Storm' that is very compelling. I definitely recommend giving it a read. Of course we can't say for sure whether or not it was intentional, but yeah. There are similarities.

That being said, I have read the first five or so 'Black Dagger Brotherhood' books, and yeah. Read them for yourself of course, but there is a lot to notice. It was a couple of years ago now, so they're not fresh in my mind, but I remember being very 👀👀👀 at a lot of the similarities, especially between Zsadist, Bella and Phury with Azriel, Elain and Lucien. The lovely @silverdreamscapes has posted about many of the parallels existing between each trio, though imo it goes even further than shipping.

But first, I would like to state for the record that I do not think having an inner beast or monster makes someone bad or evil. I do think lightsingers could be a race of faeries that A) are related in some way to the shadowsingers - witches? - with whom we are all hunky dory (so no hate from me until proven otherwise), B) may in fact be facing persecution over some sort of un/intentional misunderstanding and/or rewritten history, and C) that the library actually acts as a sanctuary for these persecuted beings, in addition to any other battered women, who are both vilified and attacked for nothing but their species. Of course I could always be wrong, but I am expecting a twist that diverges from the "truth" about lightsingers that Cassian gave us in ACOSF.

But I digress. I've forgotten a lot, but I do remember that there was a character with teal eyes, who had been cursed by a goddess to carry a monster within him... if lightsingers have an inner beast* - and two of our teal-eyed priestesses have been lightsingers - you can see where I'm going (and for some fabulous rundowns on the lightsinger theory, please see posts by @silverlinedeyes and @merymoonbeam).

As I have said before, I suspect that shadowsingers and lightsingers could be more similar than we know. I wouldn't be surprised if they both have the ability to lure, and both have a beast form/some sort of inner monster or being. Because the teal-eyed character, Rhage, carries his beast in a sort of living tattoo... and whose shadows have been described as appearing like twins to the tattoos on his chest? You betcha. It's Azriel, our favourite shadowsinger.

A corner of Azriel’s mouth curled up, the shadows about him sliding over his neck like living tattoos, twins to the Illyrian ones marked beneath his leathers. Shadows different from anything my powers summoned, spoke to. Born in a lightless, airless prison meant to break him. Instead, he had learned its language. - ACOFAS, chapter 7

As for Elain's potential powers, I'm all aboard the shapeshifter train (please see @wingedblooms for some brilliant theories), and I cannot wait to see what sort of light she can wield (if any, of course, but I do think she has been tied to it in a lot of ways). Can she Sing light and dark (light) to See what she must? Or to travel someplace very far away? I also wouldn't be surprised if Elain and her light/s act as an executioner for whatever Valg-type being exists in Prythian, as Yrene did with Erawan in KOA. I suspect that the King of Hybern may have been possessed in some way, and that Elain's role in assassinating him could have purified him such that he could die, thus beginning her parallels with Yrene.

As for which Fae are the oldest, I personally suspect that the Starborn Fae did found the land that would have become the Dusk Court, and that some may have travelled to Erilea, but I haven't looked into it enough to have quotes at the ready so I'll tag in @wingedblooms and @silverlinedeyes - or anyone else who wants to join in - because they have had more thoughts on this than I have. It seems that the Starborn faeries are different to the shifter faeries from Erilea, and that both ended up in Midgard thanks to Rigelus and his machinations (but as to which is the original fae species, if any, it hasn't been explicitly stated).

Rigelus chuckled again. “We shall get to that in a moment.” He went on, “Danika realized that the shifters are Fae.” Bryce blinked. “What?” “Not your kind of Fae, of course—your breed dwelled in a lovely, verdant land, rich with magic. If it’s of any interest to you, your Starborn bloodline specifically hailed from a small isle a few miles from the mainland. And while the mainland had all manner of climes, the isle existed in beautiful, near-permanent twilight. But only a select few in the entirety of your world could shift from their humanoid forms to animal ones. The Midgard shifters were Fae from a different planet. All the Fae in that world shared their form with an animal. The mer descended from them, too. Perhaps they once shared a world with your breed of Fae, but they had been alone on their planet for long enough to develop their own gifts.” “They don’t have pointed ears.” “Oh, we bred that out of them. It was gone within a few generations.” An isle of near-permanent twilight, the home world of her breed of Fae … A land of Dusk. - HOSAB, chapter 73

A few of my friends and I - @psychologynerd, @elrieldreamer and @ladynightcourt3 - think/hope that IF we get a crossover of sorts in Elain's book it may be to Erilea, in the past. @psychologynerd has previously pointed out that a pretty faerie with raw magic (which Elain has as a Made faerie - here and here) once visited Mistward before being invited to meet Maeve in Doranelle, never to be heard from again. It's also possibly significant that Elain has been linked with owls - check out @wingedblooms Blodeuwedd and Suriel theories for starters - and Maeve had a healer trapped in owl form at her beck and call (thanks @ladynightcourt3 for your help with the quotes).

“But,” Luca chattered on, “no one here has any exciting or rare abilities. Like shape-shifting into whatever form they want, or controlling fire”—her stomach clenched at that—“or oracular sight. We did have a female wander in with raw magic two years ago—she could do anything she wanted, summon any element, and she was here a week before Maeve called her to Doranelle and we never heard from her again. A shame—she was so pretty, too. But it’s the same here as it is everywhere else: a few people with a pathetic trace of elemental powers that are really only fun for farmers.” - HOF, chapter 11

“It also explains why Aelin reported an owl at Maeve’s side when they first met,” Nesryn said, gesturing to Yrene, whose brows bunched. Then Yrene blurted, “The owl must be the Fae form of a healer. Some healer of hers that she keeps close—as a bodyguard. Has let everyone believe to be some pet …” - TOD, chapter 65

“Speak freely, Connall,” Maeve said, her faint smile remaining. The barn owl perched on the back of her throne watched with solemn, unblinking eyes. “Let your brother know these words are your own and not of my command.” - KOA, chapter 8

Some pet... as Hunt suggested he was for Bryce?

“I’m sorry,” Hunt interrupted, “but are you implying that I was made by you two assholes? As some sort of pet?” He pointed to Thanatos, then to Apollion. “Not a pet,” Apollion said darkly. “A weapon.” He nodded to Bryce. “For her, whenever she might come along.” - HOFAS, chapter 61

A weapon, just like Elain becoming "the knife in the dark" to assassinate - and potentially purify the Valg from - the King of Hybern?

I've theorised before that Elain might have plant/earth related powers - which ties in well with her reaction to the Hewn City in ACOSF, and what we learnt about Sathia/Flynn's reaction to being on Avallen in HOFAS - and many of us have long thought she may have some sort of healing magic (here and here). So was the pretty faerie Elain?

I would combust.

Anyway, I hope I answered everything, and I'm SO sorry for this response taking literal months. If you do see this, my bad.

[k-godling]

hi guys (if anyone is actually gonna read this),

basically I’ve got an idea for an acotar au, and I wanted to see how it would be received, I guess.

A Ballad of Light and Shadow

So it’s an Azriel x OC story, I basically consider it a full rewrite of the actual canon cuz a lot of it makes no sense.

It includes a lot of OCs and the Rise of the Dusk Court. It also kinda villainises the Inner Circle - or at least holds them very accountable for their actions and doesn’t just have the people they’ve wronged forgive them straight away, cuz I hate that.

It also rewrites/makes up lord for certain things, e.g. shadowsingers and lightsingers.

As well as that, it ignores the SJM multiverse thing that she’s got going on, but will incorporate themes and stories from both Throne of Glass and Crescent City - names (Ashryver, Haviliard, Manon, Ruhn), themes/lore (starborne, valg, witches).

It’s also include a theme from House of the Dragon - but really it’s just the name ‘The Dance of Dragons’ which is used as a name of one of the wars.

I will expand on what ideas and things I will incorporate on a different post.

Anyway, I know that this post is kinda all over the place but let me know if you would want to see something like this, or not. Or if you have other suggestions, just let me know in the comments or in my asks or whatever you find fitting for you.

If you got this far, thanks for reading!

– SERENITY 🤍

note: also thank you to @starofanotherworld for helping sort through ideas for this story even though it’s was massively changed up a few times ❤️

[kiwibirdlafayette]

✨💫welcome to the space jam its mianite’s gayest block people ‼️🔥

✨what up my gamers its me :3 I'm your fav chaos scrunkly Jay-Monty (im chill w either name); i also go by Kiwi and Grail! all i do here is be a menace but if you're into that welcome in to my hubris. i'm an artist, cosplayer, (occasional) writer and professional silly guy who loves me a good gay people and a good lore :D

Main Fandoms: MCYT (Mianite, Captainsparklez, Hermitcraft, Life Series are the current favs, but I also love Empires/New Life/SOS, and Origins SMP), Watcher Ghoul Boys (Ryan and Shane), Arthuriana, Monty Python, and Good Omens

Yar there be shippin here! I love gay people! My favs are syndisparklez, ethubs, ranchers and foxxsize <33 (always only the characters, if i engage in rpf content, its in a joking way or something the CC said first!)

@grailknightmonty for art-only + me me big boy masterpost (ft. all boundaries and other social links)

@arthurshuge-tractsofland is my Tales of Arcadia sideblog now but all my trollhunters posts are still here under the fandom tags <33

Tagging System, AUs/Fanon Masterlist and more below :D

Tag Directory

#gkm arts / #lafakiwi draws - my art tags! the gkm has all my work from 2021 on, lafakiwi draws has everything from when i joined this hellsite in 2014

#lafakiwi talks - general tumblr posting from ya boy! asks i answer are also tagged under here

#lafakiwi writes - all my writing from fics and character analysis, to lore headcanons and theories C:

#lafakiwi cosplays - cosplay posts! tiktok is for cosplay videos, but i'll post stills and photoshoots here, and the occasional CMV

#verdigris musings - rambles related to ideas I have! can be art ideas, AU pitches or just hey. this is a cool idea that came to mind but i dont have the energy to do anything with it right now

#rambles from the heartsgone - consists of me shouting into the void mostly! rants also tend to live here

I mostly just rb shit whenever i see it but if I queue posts its under #yar queue a worth appointent , asks are just tagged with "asks" and the user who submitted (anons are under "anon" ) For a bonus #things to keep in mind is where i store all the feel good posts and

AUs/Headcanon Projects

Trollhunters AU Masterpost (because it would be a pain in the ass to list them all)

Starborne Kingdom of Dianite :: My MCYT Starborne AU! Builds off Jordan's origins smp lore, continuing the story (since he fucking won't /lh /j) and adding worldbuilding to the realm of the starborne (in my headcanon, its a version of the Aether!) How the Aether and the cast works comes off a tidbit from non est ad astra (see below) so we got two tiem reesters + hermits + lifers and the canon OSMP cast

Masterpost | AU Tag

Tales of Aitheaca/Gays on a Boat :: Mianite Post-canon/post-Isles fanstory! Gays on a Boat follows tiem reester after season 2 and goes up through Isles (following everyone else but tom and jordan). Tales of Aitheaca picks up where Isles leaves off (if i pretend like the end of Isles doesn't exist it can't hurt me) and takes them to another relative universe in pursuit of a multiversal anomaly, where ultimate balance rules. also the boat is a dimension traveller and to everyone's shock not the only one

Gays on a Boat | Tales of Aitheaca

Mianite Godswap :: Joke AU I made during Octobernite, but also has a bit of story tied to it. mostly an excuse to make syndisparklez between a dianitee and mianitee because that concept is fascinating to me

Mianite x Life Series :: Fan season of the Life Series that builds off a funny little game that Ianite, Dianite and the Watchers play with their casts and swap them around, putting the lifers in a blank slate world of Mianite S1 with the objective of being the last one standing, and Jordan and Tom in a hardcore world where of they die, the world dies

Death’s Scale of Justice :: Headcanon for cEmeraldduo in the Mianite universe! :D Inspired by when Philza showed up at Jordan’s witch hut, Phil is a priest for Ruxomar Ianite and former friend of Spark lookin for his goddess when he disappears. Also includes the backstory for cTechno where he unearths Bellinite, the god of anarchy, revenge and blind vengeance (aka the Blood God) from the depths of the S1 World

(Unnamed HC 10 Worldbuilding) :: WIP, expansion and theory on the story behind Magic Mountain in Hermitcraft season 10 using Joel's temple to Lizzie and Mumbo's mined lab lore as a baseline. no tag yet but is in reference to the mosaic of lizzie and jim on art blog + canary in the iron mine painting

Original Projects

non est ad astra, mollis e terra via :: Multiverse lore dev, work in this is used mostly in reference to MCYT fanon, but also is a project i'm using for some OC stuff (includes worldbuilding for my Mianite RPG characters Ophi and Aurelia, and concepts for the Nightmare Spectrum)

For Good Measure :: Story of my stream sona, Sir Monty Jones aka where he was prior to becoming the wanderer of the outerverse. Takes place prior to Arcadia of Avalon and is basically monty python but if they were my ocs and silly knights and also minecraft

Arcadia of Avalon :: Original Arthurian retelling but i don't gaf I just think knights deserve to be stupid, gay and full of angst as the gods intended. Mostly an excuse to write my rarepairs and do some funky worldbuilding where the land of King Arthur is a war over the power of creation. i can't explain it better than that but trust me its a good one

Wide Awake in the Witching Hour :: Current set of lore and story for my sona Sir Monty Jones. Continues where For Good Measure leaves off and is, relatively time wise, lines up to the current timeline of HC10 and the Mianite RPG

[amusingmyselfsblog]

i have so many questions about mor:

so, she who owns horses in a secret estate in an unknown location. i need the logistics for this.

does she employ stablehands to come and visit, or do they also live on her estate. is she the one who visits everyday to look after them? just how big is her estate? can the horses roam free for a mile or is it a tiny place? and just how many horses does she have? and where does the IC think she lives? in Hewn City, or the moonstone palace, or the HoW, the townhouse? or does she now always reside in the River House? does she have an attachment to the HoW? how does she feel about it now that it’s nesta’s home? does she use the cover of dancing in Rita’s to keep everyone pacified about her whereabouts. how long can she be gone on her own (without informing anyone) before someone starts looking for her?

in the fifty years of Amarantha, was mor in velaris or hewn city? my memory is foggy, but i think she was stuck in velaris. who took care of her horses the entire time she was gone?

she says she wants to train with the valkyries. i don’t know where to search for this, but i’m pretty sure i read that mor learned all types of fighting styles from many different groups. was there a reason she didn’t join the original valkyries? and why is she interested in learning all fighting styles? is it her hobby? what about it specifically draws her to that?

rhys says they never talk about mor’s mother. why? mor says to feyre that her mother banned her from their quarters. again why? who is her mother? why so much focus on her father when her mother barely gets a mention? and why is mor more powerful that her father? is it to do with her mother’s bloodline? speaking of family, what is rhys and mor’s relationship like? i need more details. if anyone is truly rhys’ chosen sister, it’d be mor, wouldn’t it? and how was her relationship with rhys’ actual sister? did they get along? did rhys introduce mor to tamlin? what did she think about him before rhys and tamin’s father’s violent feud?

and why, after her fight with rhys over eris’ alliance to the night court, was she back to being chirpy the next morning? was there more conversations feyre was not privy to or is this how mor and rhys deal with conflict between each other?

when rhys died, feyre was in grief but she didn’t feel any weird magic other than the absence of the bond. did mor become next in line for that minute or two? where was she during this moment anyway?

is she also related to theia? is she starborn? is she a witch? what kind of healing powers does she have? witch healing powers? or is it just the typical fae healing abilities? why hasn’t she gotten angry enough to shake another mountain? why do we never see the extent of her powers? and, finally, the one everyone always asks, how exactly does her Truth power actually work?

when thinking about mor, i imagine her in a red dress, with red lips, red wine, high heels, and dancing at rita’s. but she’s an equestrian, who loves learning all types of sword fighting, who’s power grants her the ability to catch lies. i feel like she’s curated her image so well. is she hiding something or does she just value her privacy more than anyone else?

I need answers!

[merymoonbeam]

Spear?

CC3 spoilers

This is just a manifesting post and more connections I found from cc3 🫡

In my wild hunt post I talked about narben being a spear for... reasons.

I think Gwydion and Truth-Teller are inspired by King Arthur's weapons. In myths it is talked about how he has a sword, a knife and a spear...

Other weapons have been associated with Arthur. Welsh tradition also knew of a dagger named Carnwennan and a spear named Rhongomyniad that belonged to him. Carnwennan ("little white-hilt") first appears in Culhwch and Olwen, where Arthur uses it to slice the witch Orddu in half. Rhongomyniad ("spear" + "striker, slayer") is also mentioned in Culhwch, although only in passing; it appears as simply Ron ("spear") in Geoffrey's Historia. Geoffrey also names Arthur's shield as Pridwen; in Culhwch, however, Prydwen ("fair face") is the name of Arthur's ship while his shield is named Wynebgwrthucher ("face of evening").

So other than excalibur Arthur has a dagger and a spear.

To me it looks like

Excalibur= Gwydion

Carnwennan= Truth-Teller

Rhongomyniad= Narben

So why? Lemme explain.

With Excalibur it is about who is worthy to pull it out of the stone.

Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Traditionally, the sword in the stone that is the proof of Arthur's lineage and the sword given him by a Lady of the Lake are not the same weapon, even as in some versions of the legend both of them share the name of Excalibur.

Romance tradition elaborates on how Arthur came into possession of Excalibur. In Robert de Boron's c. 1200 French poem Merlin, the first known tale to mention the "sword in the stone" motif, Arthur obtained the British throne by pulling a sword from an anvil sitting atop a stone that appeared in a churchyard on Christmas Eve.[18] In this account, as foretold by Merlin, the act could not be performed except by "the true king", meaning the divinely appointed king or true heir of Uther Pendragon. (As Thomas Malory related in his English-language Arthurian compilation, the 15th-century Le Morte d'Arthur, "whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born of all England."[19][d])

And we have Gwydion/Starsword

That your son, not you, retrieved the Starsword from the Cave of Princes in Avallen’s dark heart. That your son, not you, stood among the long-dead Starborn Princes asleep in their sarcophagi and was deemed worthy to pull the sword from its sheath. How many times did you try to draw the sword when you were young? How much research did you do in this very study to find ways to wield it without being chosen? (Hoeab)

So it matches even though at the end it is Bryce who can access the real power of the sword not Ruhn bc it is sarah and we have the females as a main character.

And now the dagger—Carnwennan and Truth-Teller.

In myths the dagger is described like this.

Carnwennan, or Carnwenhau ("Little White Hilt"), was the dagger of King Arthur in the Welsh Arthurian legends

In Culhwch and Olwen, Arthur names it as one of the few things in the world which he will not give to Culhwch. Later, he uses it to slay the witch Orddu, the daughter of the witch Orwen, by slicing her in half.[1] In the Welsh Triads, Carnwennan is listed alongside Arthur's spear Rhongomyniad and Arthur's sword Caledfwlch as sacred weapons given to him by God: "the sacred weapons that God had given him: Rhongomiant his spear, Caledfwlch a sword, and Carnwennan his dagger" (Bromwich's translation).[2]

The fact that Arthur would not give the weapons to Culhwch when we know Fionn didn't give the Gwydion and TT to Theia? Kinda similar.

My father had never shown himself to be giving—long had he kept Gwydion and never once offered it to my mother. The dagger that had belonged to his dear friend, slain during the war, hung at his side, unused. But not for long.

We learned in cc2 that Gwydion and TT are twin blades.(I went into detail about this and how it connects to elriel in several posts > light and dark, sing me, alpha and omega)

The male drew it, and Bryce flinched. Flinched, but—“What the fuck?” The knife could have been the twin of the Starsword: black hilted and bladed. It was its twin. The Starsword began to hum within its sheath, glittering white light leaking from where leather met the dark hilt. The dagger—.The male dropped the dagger to the plush carpet. All of them retreated as it flared with dark light, as if in answer. Alpha and Omega. “Gwydion,” the dark-haired female whispered, indicating the Starsword.(hosab)

And in cc3 we learn that when you use Truth-Teller...there are shadows.

Bryce threw her power into the Starsword, light ripping through the black blade, willing it to tear this fucking monster apart— She willed it into Truth-Teller, and shadows flowed—

Seems...weird that Truth-teller has "shadow powers" and in acowar we have Elain literally stepping out of a shadow. And we never learned the reason why???

But as a black blade broke through the king’s throat, spraying blood, I realized someone else had. Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.”

So how these connect to Arthur's dagger? (Just gonna add here that @riddlecrux told me about this before so credit goes to her 🫡)

In addition to his other magical items, Arthur had the invisibility granting Carnwennan. The dagger was providing a kind of presence concealment to Arthur or to its wielder. In European folklore, invisibility-granting items are rather prevalent. These are often recognized as caps or invisibility cloaks. The invisibility attribute of Carnwennan was probably the main reason Arthur named his dagger among the things he could never give up for any reason:

Invisibility? Shadows? @silverlinedeyes made a post before how elain could get a cloak made of void? And we know with Gwydion and TT you can make a portal to nowhere—the void.

“The Starsword is Made, as you called it.” He waved an idle hand, sparks at his fingertips. “The knife can Unmake things. Made and Unmade. Matter and antimatter. With the right influx of power—a command from the one destined to wield them—they can be merged. And they can create a place where no life, no light exists. A place that is nothing. Nowhere.”

It had been a gamble. But she’d seen what the Starsword and Truth-Teller had done to Polaris. They had created a void that had sucked the Asteri in—the only sort of prison that might destroy a being of light. The only force in the universe that ate light, so strong no light could ever escape it. A portal to nowhere. To a black hole. Wasn’t that the unholy power that Apollion possessed? The power of the Void. The antithesis of light.

So maybe we are gonna see elain and the void connected?

Also more about the dagger in Arthurian legends:

Carnwennan, or Carnwenhau, meaning "white hilt" was the dagger belonging to the great King Arthur. It is attributed with the magical power to shroud its user in shadow. This dagger, it is said, was one of three sacred weapons given to King Arthur by God. Arthur names it as one of the few things in the world which he would not give to his cousin Culhwch. King Arthur used this very dagger it to slay the witch Orddu ,daughter of Orwen. by slicing her in half. It is also possible that this is the dagger he once used to kill a giant.

So there is that.

And lastly we have the spear—Rhongomyniad.

There is not much we can use from the myths because the only things we have are its name and it was given to Arthur by god.

Rhongomyniad, or Rhongomiant (variously translated as "Slaying Spear," "Cutting Spear" or "Striking Spear"), was the spear of King Arthur in the Welsh Arthurian legends. Unlike Arthur’s two other weapons, his sword Caledfwlch and his dagger Carnwennan, Rhongomyniad has no apparent magical powers.

In the Historia Regum Britanniae, Geoffrey of Monmouth calls Arthur's lance Ron,[2] presumably an abbreviation of the original Welsh name. Layamon also calls it this in his Brut. Geoffrey states that Arthur carried this lance with him at the Battle of Mount Badon. Layamon states in a passage (without naming the weapon) that Arthur's spear was forged in Carmarthen by a smith called Griffin. He also adds that it formerly belonged to Uther Pendragon.

The wiki says it has no magical power but...if sarah took inspo from Excalibur for Gwydion and the dagger for TT...I wouldn't put it past her to use the spear as an inspo for Narben... especially with her love for 3s.

Also like the spear we dont have much to go on for Narben either. We have so little information.

“Amarantha destroyed one,” Amren said. Cassian started. “I never heard that.” Amren amended, “Rumor claimed she dumped one into the sea. It would not come to Amarantha’s hand, nor the hands of any of her commanders, and rather than let the King of Hybern attain it, she disposed of it.” Azriel asked, “Which sword?” “Narben.” (Acosf)

"Narben was even older than Gwydion,” Rhys said. “Where the hell was it?” (Acosf)

Narben’s powers had not been the holy, savior’s light of Gwydion, but ones far darker. (Acosf)

Rhys studied her blade. “Narben is a death-sword. It’s lost, possibly destroyed, but stories say it can slay even monsters like Lanthys.” (Acosf)

So that's all we know.

Another point...Fionn connection.

In myths there is a HUGE part about Fionn using a spear to defeat a giant.

Also known as the Spear of Fiacha (or Fiacail), Birgha was an enchanted, venomous spear. The warrior Fiacha, a follower of Cumal (a leader of the Fianna), gave the spear to Cumal’s son Fionn mac Cumhail so that he might defeat Aillén, an evil creature/former member of the Tuath Dé Danann who resided, three-hundred-and-sixty-four days a year, in the Otherworld. Each and every Samhain the monster—nicknamed “the burner”—would wreak havoc on the royal residence of Tara (also: Teamhair) with his fire-breath after lulling its defenders to sleep with enchanted music. Specifically, Aillén plays—or weaponizes, I should say—the suantraí (lullaby) strain of ancient Irish music, which is frequently deployed by gods, druids, and other musicians in the myths in order to incapacitate opponents. That’s where Birgha comes into play. In Lady Gregory’s version of events, Fiacha teaches Fionn how to unlock the power of the spear, instructing his pupil as follows: “When you will hear the music of the Sidhe, let you strip the covering off the head of the spear and put it to your forehead, and the power of the spear will not let sleep come upon you.”

Just saying...with all of a new character singing...having some effects on others...IDK. WEIRD. 🫣

Another point is Four treasures of Tuatha de danaan. ( @offtorivendell made a post about them before )

Dagda's Cauldron

pretty self explanatory...cauldron.

Claiomh Solais (the sword of light)

Gwydion.

The sword may be rendered in English as the "Sword of Light", or "Shining Sword".

The Sword of Light or Claidheamh Soluisis a trope object that appears in a number of Irish and Scottish Gaelic folktales. The "Quest for sword of light" formula is catalogued as motif H1337.

The Starsword sang with light, her power flowing into it. Activating it. And nothing had ever felt so right, so easy, as plunging the blade into the bony chest of the wounded Reaper. It arced, bellowing, black blood spurting from its withered lips. (Hosab)

Narben’s powers had not been the holy, savior’s light of Gwydion, but ones far darker.(acosf)

Lia Fail Stone

My whole wild hunt post is about this. You can read it there. Basically I think this is the inspo for the stone on top of Ramiel.

The Spear of Lugh

And here is the reason I think Narben might be a spear.

Lugh's spear (sleg), according to the text of The Four Jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was said to be impossible to overcome.

Interesting that Amren said this about Narben in acosf:

“I don’t know, but she found it, and when it would not bend to her, she destroyed it. As she did all good things.” It was as much as Amren would say about that terrible time. “It was perhaps in our favor. Had the King of Hybern possessed Narben, I fear we would have lost the war.”

More info for Spear of Lugh.

In a full narrative version called [A]oidhe Chloinne Tuireann (The Fate of the Children of Tuireann),[51] from copies no earlier than the 17th century,[52] Lugh demands the spear named Ar-éadbair or Areadbhair (Early Modern Irish: Aꞃéadḃaiꞃ) which belonged to Pisear, king of Persia. Areadbhair's tip had to be kept immersed in a pot of water to keep it from igniting, a property similar to the Lúin of Celtchar. This spear is also called "Slaughterer"[53] in translation.

Narben is a death "sword"

Rhys studied her blade. “Narben is a death-sword. It’s lost, possibly destroyed, but stories say it can slay even monsters like Lanthys.” (Acosf)

Also the spear of Lugh is connected with lightning.

Lugh's projectile weapon, whether a dart or missile, was envisioned to be symbolic of lightning-weapon.

Also known as the Lightning Spear, or simply Lugh’s Spear, the Gae Assail was one of the Four Treasures or Jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann

And to me it is interesting that Ramiel means "god has thundered" maybe there is a connection?

Lugh's sling rod, named "Lugh's Chain", was the rainbow and the Milky Way, according to popular writer Charles Squire.[57] Squire adds that Lugh's spear which needed no wielding was alive and thirsted so for blood that only by steeping its head in a sleeping-draught of pounded fresh poppy leaves could it be kept at rest. When a battle was near, it was drawn out; then it roared and struggled against its thongs, fire flashed from it, and it tore through the ranks of the enemy once slipped from the leash, never tired of slaying

So thanks for reading.

I NEED A SPEAR 😭😭

[i-pogchamp]

mentioned dnd au so here's a scott switch up, from draconic sorcerer (empires s1) to divine sorcerer (starborne, most recent before this) to lunar sorcerer (current).

new moon, about necromancy (witch scott) and cold (empires s1) and enchantment (closer to empires s2) Ability to shift phases for whatever smp is main at time :D

OH and moon thing in general harkens to starborne osmp scott. the moon symbolism here is meant to be vaguely the transporter rings, esp the eclipse. ... plus a little laudna flavour stolen for the lace on the pants

[firekit21]

Life Series AU

Wrote some lore about the life series characters as Gods with Witchcraft SMP in mind. It got out of hand, and now I have a 1.4k story below.

        As everyone knows, from the oldest, crankiest elder to the youngest, brightest toddler, magic is a part of this world as surely as Winter melts into Spring.

We can see it in people, like the illusionist who passed by the town with the circus group. In the wild, we can see it flitting between the trees, lighting up the world. It is in the ground, seeping up when it is called.

But we haven’t always had magic. Once, the only ones to possess it were the Gods.

Seventeen of them, each with a different domain. They lived in harmony, watching over the world., creating and destroying as they saw fit. Anytime they wished to meet, they met around the Watching Crystal. None of them knew what it was, only that if any of them died, it would store their powers and souls. Of course, they had varying ways of interaction with mortals. For instance, the Sky God liked to reveal himself to humans in the hope that they would worship him. He was a fickle god, that one. Or the God of Fire, who played deadly games with life-changing prizes.

Among them was the Starborne. He had perhaps the strangest and least explainable gift. He was the first prophet. Though he often advocated for humans to get a taste of divine magic, he was usually overruled.

One day, he had a vision. The Scarlet Witch, the harbinger of death, was standing in a clearing, ichor dripping from her scythes.

Now, the Scarlet Witch was an enigma to most of the others, almost never turning up to the meetings the other sixteen called. She was a grim woman who often laughed at the suffering of those around her. She was hard to get alone with, so most of the other Gods shunned her, with only three exceptions. The God of Emotions, also known as the patron of bakers, was sympathetic to her. The Lady of Time was her partner in chaos. And the Starborne was her closest friend, her confidant. If anyone was going to be on her side, he would.

When the Starborne received this vision of things to come, he naturally became scared. His trusted ally, who had a reputation for being unhinged, was going to kill another God. So he did what he always did, and sketched out what he had seen to flesh out all the important details.

The Sky God had been in a silly, goofy mood, so he decided he was going to snoop around. His first target: a certain prophet. He walked into the room where all the visions were gathered. And lo and behold: in the center of the pictures of prophecies, was the recently sketched vision, the one that foretold the death of at least one God.

This scared the Sky God. He had never liked the Scarlet Witch. She was always a little too chaotic, a little too bloody for his liking. So, he decided to make sure this prophecy wouldn’t come true. He called a meeting with as many Gods as he could. Under the light of the Watching Crystal, he wove the tale of what was to come. Seeing as the Scarlet Witch had not been invited, and the Starborne had not made an appearance, she had no warning of the prophecy. After gathering five of his most trusted friends, he went after her.

It was a close fight. It is said that the famous scar over the Scarlet Witch’s eye was made during that battle. None of the Gods that fought were weak. But the Scarlet Witch was Death itself, ready to collect a divine life at long last. The Canary, the god of luck, was the first to fall. Two more of them were slain before the Sky God called for a retreat that ultimately failed. The Queen of Shadows was cut down, and her husband followed soon after. The final attacker, the God of Chaos, died of his injuries soon after.

After that, she disappeared for a few years. Alone in a forest in the North, she had a lot of time to think, to reflect. She knew that if a God died, their powers would be stored in the Watching Crystal. And the seventeen - well, eleven now - of them were far from orderly. If there were fewer of them, they could rule more effectively. Besides, they could probably find a way to access the powers of the Gods who were deemed unfit through the Crystal. So she watched and waited for someone to find her. Death is patient, after all.

The other Gods were scared. The Scarlet Witch was one of the most formidable among them, and would not listen to anything they had to say. So, they decided to try and flush her out of hiding by using her best friend. Some of them wanted the Starborne dead, because their friends and loved ones were gone. Others wanted to use him as a hostage. So they went to his board of visions, where all of his visions were recorded. He would be there, after all. The Lady of Time tried to stall the others, back them down. But the desperation and fear had caught up to them, and they forced past her.

They went into the room he used, covered with notes and pictures and scattered papers. On the table in the center, they saw a picture. It was a mid action shot of the Starborne exploding in a rush of light. It is said that he was smiling. There was neither hide nor hair of him anywhere. So, they moved back to the search for the threat. And, one or two expeditions were successful. But they did not consider that anyone they sent was liable to death themselves.

The God of Illusions powers of persuasion couldn’t save him when he needed them the most. The God of Emotions was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and couldn’t back down his former friend. Then came three more deaths. Then the Scarlet Witch emerged from hiding to cut down two more.

Finally, the Lady of Time had enough. There were only four Gods left. Knowing that the Starborne would not be helpful in a fight, even if they could find him and convince him to help kill his best friend, the Lady banded together with the Runemaster to end the threat at last.

The Runemaster used his powers of Listening to find the Scarlet Witch. They both tracked her down to the forest where she had spent so much time. The three of them fought. It was a hard, bitter battle. In the end, ichor dripping from her scythes, the Scarlet Witch claimed a hard-earned victory.

She celebrated her success. There would be no more chaos now that it was just her. There would be no more wars, no more extortion of the mortals by any Gods. The only divine force would be Death, which would take without remorse.

Then she remembered that she was not alone. There was still one more God. And she knew just where to find him.

Nobody knows what would have happened if the Starborne had backed down. Maybe they would have ruled side by side. Maybe he would have been killed for lack of loyalty.

But when the Scarlet Witch went to the Watching Crystal to meet with the only being that could compare to her. The inside of the Crystal pulsed with moving lights, like the souls trapped inside were still alive, waiting to be released.

The Scarlet Witch went in there, sure she’d win again. But she was not up against a soul that wished to remain in this world. The Starborne believed that neither of them deserved life. He had been a coward who ran away instead of helping his friends, and their blood still stained the Witch’s red cloak. So he smiled as he activated his secret power. When he wished to die, he would explode, taking everything in the nearby radius down with him.

The Watching Crystal shattered, then fell down, down, down. The pieces scattered all across the lands, seeping magic into the earth. The magic of the Gods started to exhibit itself in nearby mortals, the first magic users.

But Gods do not die that easily, some say. There are whispers that they could be reborn, into mortal bodies like ours. We may be walking among them right now.

Of course, those are just myths. Nobody is that optimistic or pessimistic to believe in such tales. The Gods are dead. We all go to Death, even the Reaper herself.

Nobody knows why we do not have prophets. Maybe the Starborne decided not to pass down his gift, knowing the burden it placed upon the holder. But to this day, the magic of Death, necromancy, has been shunned from all parts of society. And in honor of the catalyst of this whole mess, we call ourselves witches.

So, if you ever see magic, remember how it got here and who it came from. Because every good thing has a price. This one was paid in divine blood.

[oceanera12]

I have a question, with Scott, he is a starborn, and seems to know everything, but you have said several times he doesn't, what exactly are his abilities, and how does he know just about everything?

Okay, so: Starborne.

So Scott is a literal star. Like, he is a ball of gas floating out in space/the void somewhere. But he formed a consciousness and later a body.

So the reason Scott "knows everything" is because he's able to "see" everything. Basically, imagine that the stars had eyes. And they also have a perfect memory. So Scott is able to look at you and anything that was done under starlight (which is basically anything, but there is a few exceptions).

This is also why Scott is not immortal, but he does live for a long time. Because he's a star. Eventually he'll die, but it's gonna be A WHILE.

He has some additional abilities given to him by his friend, Jean (yes, the last dragon), along with his own abilities, plus a bit of help from some witches and fae...

Yeah, Scott just has a lot of friends and is definitely OP. XD

If you have any more questions or I didn't clarify it well enough, just let me know!

[wingedblooms]

Blooming dreams

Gardeners, I think, dream bigger dreams than emperors. (Mary Cantwell)

This meta is a continuation of my thoughts over the years, but especially the ones expressed in the following links. Please be aware that there are major hofas spoilers in this post and avoid if needed.

Secret, lovely seer / Forbidden secrets

A rose in the thorns / The flower of life

Seer, wise woman, witch / Three sisters witches / Starborn light

Since my first meta, I have been fixated on Elain’s connection to the Mother, Cauldron, and Fate (let's call her Wyrd) and her potential powers, including sight, shapeshifting, and healing. They are all related when you’re talking about Wyrd, though I am not here to say what I have written is what Sarah has planned. This post is more a love letter to Sarah’s mystical and earthy depiction of Elain and what I would love to see in her story based on all the seeds she’s planted (and if there is an actual magical bean seed involved, I’ll love her all the more for it). Thanks especially to @psychologynerd for previewing this fever dream of a post.

I gazed again at that sad, dark house—the place that had been a prison. Elain had said she missed it, and I wondered what she saw when she looked at the cottage. If she beheld not a prison but a shelter—a shelter from a world that had possessed so little good, but she tried to find it anyway, even if it had seemed foolish and useless to me. She had looked at that cottage with hope; I had looked at it with nothing but hatred. And I knew which one of us had been stronger. (acotar)

From the first book in the series, Feyre recognizes that Elain views things differently. She views things that are sad and dark with hope, and that’s why Sarah has called her the quiet dreamer. It’s a strength that sets her apart. I like to think that’s also what the Cauldron—though warped by the Asteri—saw when she was forced into its womb. 

The Cauldron seemed to realize what she’d done, too, as his head thumped onto the mossy ground. That Elain…Elain had defended this thief. Elain, who it had gifted with such powers, found her so lovely it had wanted to give her something…It would not harm Elain, even in its hunt to reclaim what had been taken. (acowar)

@silverlinedeyes and I wondered if it may have recognized Elain as a kindred spirit, some echo of its Mother form. A creator, life-bringer. Were the waters of the Cauldron more like Silba’s Womb—a darkness of creation, sweet and lovely—when Elain was immersed? Or is it possible that when Elain entered its dark womb she viewed it differently than her sister? Did she see a wounded creator to help rather than an enemy to combat? 

Elain’s hopeful perspective might be why it gifted her with such powers, powers that we know allow her to see differently than others. And since it may have enhanced her unique perception, I wonder if it also enhanced her ability to bring life and beauty into the world. As a gardener, Elain is well acquainted with the task of envisioning her garden and then getting her hands dirty to make that vision a reality. Dream and reality are entwined in gardening, just like her Sight.

“She loves to garden. Always loved growing things. Even when we were destitute, she managed to tend a little garden in the warmer months. And when–when our fortune returned, she took to tending and planting the most beautiful gardens you’ve ever seen. Even in Prythian. It drove the servants mad, because they were supposed to do the work and ladies were only meant to clip a rose here and there, but Elain would put on a hat and gloves and kneel in the dirt, weeding. She acted like a purebred lady in every regard but that.” (acowar)  If Elain was a blooming flower in this army camp, then Nesta…she was a freshly forged sword, waiting to draw blood. [...] Nesta stared them all down. Elain kept her focus on the dry, rocky ground. (acowar)  She had no mental shields, no barriers. The gates to her mind…Solid iron, covered in vines of flowers–or it would have been. The blossoms were all sealed, sleeping buds tucked into tangles of leaves and thorns. (acowar) If Elain’s mental gates were those of a sleeping garden, Nesta’s…They belonged to an ancient fortress, sharp and brutal. The sort I imagined they once impaled people upon. (acowar)  “What now?” Elain mused, at last answering my question from moments ago as her attention drifted to the windows facing the sunny street. That smile grew, bright enough that it lit up even Azriel’s shadows across the room. “I would like to build a garden,” she declared. “After all of this…I think the world needs more gardens.” (acowar) 

As we saw in acosf for Nesta—a new type of warrior who forges magical swords and retrieves the Harp from an ancient fortress (the Prison) connected to the Starborn—these descriptions are clearly meant to foreshadow what occurs in the sisters’ stories. While Nesta is a freshly forged sword, Elain is blooming life in Illyria. And what do we learn in hofas? 

“The Cauldron,” Nesta said hours later, pointing to yet another carving on the wall. It indeed showed a giant cauldron, perched atop what seemed to be a barren mountain peak with three stars above it. Azriel halted, angling his head. “That’s Ramiel.” At Bryce’s questioning look, he explained, “A mountain sacred to the Illyrians.”  Bryce nodded to the carving. “What’s the big deal about a cauldron?” [...]  “All life came and comes from it,” Azriel said with something like reverence. “The Mother poured it into this world, and from it, life blossomed.” (hofas)

We receive confirmation that the Cauldron is associated with the sister peaks, as I suspected, and Ramiel in particular as @merymoonbeam has previously suggested. 

Before Bryce could contemplate this further, Silene went on, But my mother and father knew they needed the most valuable of all the Daglan’s weapons. Bryce tensed. This had to be the thing that had given them the edge— The snows around Ramiel parted, revealing a massive bowl of iron at the foot of the monolith. Even through the vision, its presence leaked into the world, a heavy, ominous thing. “The Cauldron,” Nesta said, dread lacing her voice. […] “The Cauldron was of our world, our heritage. But upon arriving here, the Daglan captured it and used their powers to warp it. To turn it from what it had been into something deadlier. No longer just a tool of creation, but of destruction. And the horrors it produced…those, too, my parents would turn to their advantage.”  [...] “They fought the Daglan and won, she went on. Using the Daglan’s own weapons, they destroyed them. Yet my parents did not think to learn the Daglan’s other secrets—they were too weary, too eager to leave the past behind.” (hofas) 

In Forbidden secrets, I theorized that Elain’s powers might allow her to map the secrets of the land in order to heal it and @offtorivendell discussed magical mounds in her theory on reviving dusk. It seems like the Asteri did indeed leave secrets behind, which might explain why certain places continue to be forbidden and barren. But we are given hope that they do not need to remain that way. In hofas, Bryce wakes and wields the land belonging to her Starborn ancestors on the Prison island:

And precisely as Theia had gifted her own power to Silene … perhaps Silene had in turn left that same power here, to be claimed by a future scion. One by one, rapid as shooting stars, the thoughts raced through Bryce. More on instinct than anything else, she dropped to her knees and slammed her hand atop the eight-pointed star. Bryce reached with her mind, through layers of rock and earth—and there it was. Slumbering beneath her. Not firstlight, not as she knew it on Midgard—but raw Fae power from a time before the Drop. The power ascended toward her through the stone, like a glimmering arrow fired into the dark— [...] Like a small sun emerging from the stone itself, a ball of light burst from the floor. A star, twin to the one in Bryce’s chest. Her starlight at last awoke again, as if reaching with shining fingers for that star hovering inches away. With trembling hands, Bryce guided the star to the one gleaming on her chest. Into her body. White light erupted everywhere. Power, uncut and ancient, scorched through her veins. The hair on her head rose. Debris floated upward. She was everywhere and nowhere. She was the evening star and the last rays of color before the dark. Azriel had nearly reached the tunnel. Another flap of his wings and he’d be swallowed by its dark mouth. But at a mere thought from Bryce, stalactites and stalagmites formed, closing in on him. The room became a wolf, its jaws snapping for the winged warrior— The rock had moved for her, as it had for Silene. “Stop him,” she said in a voice that was more like her father’s than anything she’d ever heard come out of her mouth. Azriel swept for the tunnel archway—and slammed into a wall of stone. The exit had sealed. Slowly, he turned, wings rustling. Blood trickled out of his nose from his face-first collision with the rock now in his path. He spread his wings, bracing for a fight. The mountain shook, the chamber with it. Debris fell from the ceiling. Walls began shifting, rock groaning against rock. As if the place this had once been was fighting to emerge from the stone. [...] From far away, she could sense it: the things lurking within the mountain, her mountain. Twisted, wretched creatures. Some had been here since Silene had trapped them. Had been contemplating their escape and revenge all this time. She’d let them out if she restored the mountain to its former glory. And in that moment, the mountain—the island—spoke to her. Alone. It was so alone—it had been waiting all this time. Cold and adrift in this thrashing gray sea. If she could reach out, if she could open her heart to it…it might sing again. Awaken. There was a beating, vibrant heart locked away, far beneath them. If she freed it, the land would rise from its slumber, and such wonders would spring again from its earth— (hofas)

The mountain–Bryce’s mountain–speaks to her, asking her to open her heart to it so it can finally rise from its slumber. Cue internal screaming, my friends, because this language was intentional and it might finally explain Elain’s conversation in this scene: 

She looked away—toward the windows. “I can hear your heart,” she said quietly. He wasn’t sure how to respond, so he said nothing, and drained his tea, even as it burned his mouth. “When I sleep,” she murmured, “I can hear your heart beating through the stone.” She angled her head, as if the city view held some answer. “Can you hear mine?” He wasn’t sure if she truly meant to address him, but he said, “No, lady. I cannot.” (acowar)

Elain’s hearing is a source of concern after she is Made because it is unusually heightened; she hears so many things, usually connected to the nature around her as @silverlinedeyes theorized. Like calls to like, and so she might be able to hear the beating heart of the land around her, even as it slumbers. Perhaps that is why her eyes were drawn to the barren ground in Illyria.

Vesperus, an Asteri trapped in a glass coffin below the Prison, tells us more about the connection between the Cauldron and the land: 

“I am the Evening Star,” Vesperus seethed. Bryce rolled her eyes. “Fine, we’ll call you the Evening Star, too. Happy?” “Is it not fitting?” A wave of long fingers capped in sharp nails. “I drank from the land’s magic, and the land’s magic drank from me.” [...] Vesperus folded her hands in her lap. “A planet that was once green, as this one is.” “And that wasn’t good enough?” “We grew too populous. Wars broke out between the various beings on our world. Some of us saw the changes in the land beginning—rivers run dry, clouds so thick the sun could not pierce them—and left. Our brightest minds found ways to bend the fabric of worlds. To travel between them. Wayfarers, we called them. World-walkers.” [...] “Once we left our home world, our powers began to dim. Too late, we realized that we had been dependent on our land’s inherent magic. The magic in other worlds was not potent enough. Yet we could not find the way back home. Those of us who ventured here found ways to amplify that power, thanks to the gifts of the land. We pooled our power, and imbued those gifts into the Cauldron so that it would work our will. We Made the Trove from it. And then bound the very essence of the Cauldron to the soul of this world.” Solas. “So destroy the Cauldron…” “And you destroy this world. One cannot exist without the other.”

This should come as no surprise because we saw this play out in acowar, but the Cauldron is tied to the soul of their world. The term soul is intentional, and we will return to it in a bit, but I started to wonder in Forbidden secrets about that connection. The influence of Wyrd is especially clear in the sacred peaks, where the Asteri left behind their secrets. Could Elain unravel the Asteri’s magic from the slumbering heart of the earth, and unbind the Cauldron as a result? Or will she need to go to Cretea to retrieve and purify the magic of the Asteri from the Cauldron like a healer would, in body and in spirit? (Hello, Nephelle celebrations, let’s go.) Nothing feels more right than seeing our strong-willed gardener get her hands dirty as she rips out the Asteri from the root, or beating heart, of their world. Sarah may have even hinted at this role for Elain as she describes getting into her mind for her book:

“There was literally ivy everywhere: in the garden beds, wrapped around the trees, crawling up the sides of the house. So I went into this obsessive, I-need-to-rip-out-every-last-strand-of-ivy-before-I-have-this-baby mode. And I remember the entire time I was ripping out the ivy, and trying to get some semblance of order into the garden beds, I just slipped into Elain’s head. Elain is a gardener, and everything I did during those weeks became research for her book. I’m not even joking. Elain’s now going to have dreams about ripping ivy out and the ivy creeping in through the windows to strangle her at night, because let me tell you, that ivy does not want to go.” (Sarah’s interview in acofas) 

English ivy is an aggressive invader and its hosts decline over time before they die. That’s exactly what the Asteri are: aggressive invaders that feed off of their hosts, warping the power of the land for their sole benefit, until it begins to wither away. In hofas, we learn that the Asteri hid their power throughout the land, including at the root of sacred mountains:

Vesperus backed up a half step, hissing at the gleaming weapon. “We hid pockets of our power throughout the lands, in case the vermin should cause … problems. It seems our wisdom did not fail us.”

“There are no such places,” Azriel countered coldly.

“Are there not?” Vesperus grinned broadly, showing all of her too-white teeth. “Have you looked beneath every sacred mountain? At their very roots? The magic draws all sorts of creatures. I can sense them even now, slithering about, gnawing on the magic. My magic. They’re as much vermin as the rest of you.” (hofas)

And we see the moment Bryce discovers that Vesperus has hidden her power in the root of the Prison mountain, which is what sustains her and weakens the land: 

Bryce clutched the Starsword tighter. Its power thudded into her palms like a heartbeat. “But why store your power here? It’s an island—not exactly an easy pit stop.” “There are certain places, girl, that are better suited to hold power than others. Places where the veil between worlds is thin, and magic naturally abounds. Our light thrives in such environments, sustained by the regenerative magic of the land.” She gestured around them. “This island is a thin place—the mists around it declare it so.”  […] “Every world has at least one thin place,” Vesperus drawled. “And there are always certain people more suited to exploit it—to claim its powers, to travel through them to other worlds.” […] “Theia had the gift,” Vesperus said, “but did not understand how to claim the light. I made sure never to reveal how during her training—how she might light up entire worlds, if she wished, if she seized the power to amplify her own. But you, Light-Stealer…She must have passed the gift down to you. And it seems you have learned what she did not.”  Vesperus peered at her bare feet, the rock beneath. “Theia never learned how to access the power I cached beneath my palace. She had no choice but to leave it there, buried in the veins of this mountain. Her loss—and my gain.” Oh gods. There was a fucking firstlight core here, far beneath their feet— (hofas)

These thin places are where ley lines—highways for magic and communication—overlap, allowing travel for those who are suited to it (wayfarers). Starborn and Asteri alike seem to be suited to these places, and have used them to store their power, causing the land around it to wither. 

“Ley lines,” Bryce breathed. Aidas nodded. “These lines are capable of moving magic, but also carrying communications across great distances.” Like those between the Gates of Crescent City, the way she’d spoken to Danika the day she’d made the Drop. “There are ley lines across the whole of the universe. And the planets—like Midgard, like Hel, like the home world of the Fae—atop those lines are joined by time and space and the Void itself. It thins the veils separating us. The Asteri have long chosen worlds that are on the ley lines for that exact purpose. It made it easier to move between them, to colonize those planets. There are certain places on each of these worlds where the most ley lines overlap, and thus the barrier between worlds is at its weakest.” Everything slotted together. “Thin places,” Bryce said with sudden certainty. “Precisely,” Apollion answered for Aidas with an approving nod. “The Northern Rift, the Southern Rift—both lie atop a tremendous knot of ley lines. And while those under Avallen are not as strong, the island is unique as a thin place thanks to the presence of black salt—which ties it to Hel.” “And the mists?” Hunt asked. “What’s the deal with them?” “The mists are a result of the ley lines��� power,” Aidas said. “They’re an indication of a thin place. Hoping to find a ley line strong enough to help her transfer and hide Theia’s power, Helena sent a fleet of Fae with earth magic to scour every misty place they could find on Midgard. When they told her of a place wreathed in mists so thick they could not pierce them, Helena went to investigate. The mists parted for her—as if they had been waiting. She found the small network of caves on Avallen … and the black salt beneath the surface.”

All of the sister peaks thrum with power and are at odds with the land around them. Barren. They might all be thin places, interconnected through ley lines...and hiding a cache of magic in the root (heart) of their souls.

Bryce’s ancestors, separated by the Void, planted clues for those with the gifts and vision to see it.

What had looked like etched seas or rivers of stars now filled in with starlight, became … alive. Moving, cascading, coursing. A secret illustration, only for those with the gifts and vision to see it. (hofas)

A secret carved in stone. What secrets remain under other sacred mountains, such as Ramiel? Is it any coincidence that Enalius, who defended Ramiel, was the owner of Truth-Teller? Or that the Cauldron is depicted there? Who would be equipped with the gifts and vision to uncover those secrets and finally set the soul of the land free, like Bryce? 

“Light blasted up through the blades into her hands, her arms, her heart. Bryce could hear it through her feet, through the stone. The song of the land beneath her. Quiet and old and forgotten, but there. She heard how Avallen had yielded its joy, its bright green lands and skies and flowers, so it might hold the power as it was bid, waiting all this time for someone to unleash it. To free it. […] Helena had bound the soul of this land in magical chains. No more. No more would Bryce allow the Fae to lay claim over anything. “You’re free,” Bryce whispered to Avallen, to the land and the pure, inherent magic beneath it. “Be free.” And it was. (hofas)

Helena bound the soul of Avallen in magical chains. Doesn't that sound like what the Asteri did with the Cauldron and the land? There are so many hints that Elain is set up to address this plot, but the one I find the most compelling is given by the Under-King when he confirms who Wyrd (Urd) is:

The Under-King lounged on a throne beneath a behemoth statue of a figure holding a black metal bowl between her upraised hands. Symbols were carved all over the bowl, continuing down her fingers, her arms, her body. Ithan could only assume it was meant to represent Urd. No other temples ever depicted the goddess, no one even dared—most people claimed that fate was impossible to portray in any one form. But it seemed that the dead, unlike the living, had a vision of her. And those symbols running from the bowl onto her skin…they were like tattoos.” […] “And she,” the Under-King went on, gesturing to that unusual depiction of Urd towering above him, “was not a goddess, but a force that governed worlds. A cauldron of life, brimming with the language of creation. Urd, they call her here—a bastardized version of her true name. Wyrd, we called her in that old world.” (hofas)

Now, doesn't that sound familiar?

Her gaze shifted to the carved wooden rose she’d placed upon the mantel, half-hidden in the shadows beside a figurine of a supple-bodied female, her upraised arms clasping a full moon between them. Some sort of primal goddess—perhaps even the Mother herself. Nesta hadn’t let herself dwell on why she’d felt the need to set the rose there. Why she hadn’t just thrown it in a drawer. (acosf)

The statues are essentially the same and Wyrd has already been described in terms that evoke the Mother, Cauldron, and Fate (Forces That Be). And Nesta just happened to feel the need (fateful tug?) to place Elain’s rose—a symbol of life and joy and beauty—right next to Wyrd, and drew our attention to it again in the final scene of her story. What do you want to bet that Wyrd, the Stone Mother, gave her favorite gardener the gifts and vision she needs to make her dream of building more gardens, of breathing life and beauty into the land, a reality?

Sarah has confirmed that the main female characters in her books are helped by others, usually a love interest and friends. So who might be foreshadowed to help Elain?

I dragged a hand over my face before going to Elain and touching her too-bony shoulder. “Can I set you up in the garden? The herbs you planted are coming in nicely.”  “I can help her,” said Azriel, stepping to the table as Elain silently rose. No shadows at his ear, no darkness ringing his fingers as he extended a hand. (acowar)  - “I’ll help you,” Nesta offered.  But Elain shook her head. “Nuala and Cerridwen will help me.”  Then she was gone–shoulders a little squarer.  - It was three by the time the others went to bed. [...] Azriel and Elain remained in the sitting room, my sister showing him the plans she’d sketched to expand the garden in the back of the town house, using the seeds and tools my family had given her tonight. (acofas)

It’s no coincidence that the characters closest to Elain possess unique powers that complement her own and relate specifically to the elements of Stone Mother. Azriel learned to speak the language of shadow and wind and stone, while the half-wraith twins are nothing but shadow and mist, able to walk through walls, stone as @psychee92 discusses here. Their magic likely thrives in thin parts of the world. It also isn't a coincidence that Nesta noticed and wondered this:  

“You came,” Elain said behind her, and Nesta started, not having heard her sister approach. She scanned Elain from head to toe, wondering if she’d been taking lessons in stealth either from Azriel or the two half-wraiths she called friends. (acosf) 

Their beautiful, wraith-like team has the gifts necessary to traverse the slumbering heart of the earth as easily as foreign courts, which is a hard combination to find and is uniquely suited for Elain’s mission to release the Cauldron and land from the magical chains of the Asteri. Especially since we learn that Bryce uses both blades of the Starborn to free Avallen from its magical chains:

On an exhale, she plunged the weapons into the slits in the eight-pointed star. The small one for the knife. The larger one for the sword.

And like a key turning in a lock, they released what lay beneath. (hofas)

They even help Bryce rid the land of the Asteri and their core of power, creating a larger void to devour the one the Asteri set in place. Back in acowar, as many have noticed, Sarah already planted this moment between Azriel and Elain:

I saw the painting in my mind: the lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two. The only bridge of connection…that knife. (acowar)

She and Azriel seem to represent the balance of light and dark in the Starsword and Truth-Teller, as @merymoonbeam theorized. The Starborn blade—the one belonging to Enalius—is a bridge of connection between them. Bryce leaves the Starsword (Gwydion) and Truth-Teller with Nesta, encouraging her to learn about her connection to the Starborn (eight-pointed star). That might mean the Archeron Starborn connection may happen after all. I could see Elain wielding those blades when needed, activating their magic as she seemed to do with Truth-Teller, to release the land from its magical chains. It would also be interesting if Elain and Azriel functioned like the Made blades themselves, releasing the Asteri’s chains with their own blend of raw magic, and watching joyously as life blooms in earnest again.

Once they remove the magical chains of the Asteri—on the land and their sacred Cauldron—perhaps we’ll also discover what exists between Elain and Azriel at last: 

Elain sat silently at one of the wrought-iron tables, a cup of tea before her. Azriel was sprawled on the chaise longue across the gray stones, sunning his wings and reading what looked to be a stack of reports–likely information on the Autumn Court that he planned to present to Rhys once he’d sorted through it all. Already dressed for the Hewn City–the brutal, beautiful armor so at odds with the lovely garden. And my sister sitting within it. 

“Why not make them mates?” I mused. “Why Lucien?” 

“I’d keep that question from Lucien.” 

“I’m serious.” I turned toward him and crossed my arms. “What decides it? Who decides it?” 

Rhys straightened his lapels before plucking an invisible piece of lint from them. “Fate, the Mother, the Cauldron’s swirling eddies…” (acowar)

@silverlinedeyes, @offtorivendell, @elriell and others have written extensively about mating bonds, so I won’t discuss that in depth here. Essentially, Feysand and Nessian appear to have bonds that are true in spirit, and they are described as living threads of pure golden light between their souls. 

Thread after thread of pure golden light flowed into him, and he met it with his own. Where those threads wove together, life glowed like starfire, and she had never seen anything more beautiful, felt anything more beautiful. (acosf) 

This living light reminds me of the dawn, which is associated with healing and new beginnings. When Feysand and Nessian bind their souls together in these scenes, the dawn is invoked each time: 

Feysand

…I was his and he was mine, and we were the beginning and middle and end. We were a song that had been sung from the very first ember of light in the world. (acomaf)

Nessian

Cassian roared as he came, and the sound was the summons of a hunt, a symphony, a single clear horn playing as dawn broke over the world. (acosf)

And when Azriel first sees Elain in his bonus chapter, her hair is unbound and she appears like the dawn, gilded in living light on the longest night of the year. 

Soft steps padded from under the stair archway, and there she was.

The Faelights gilded Elain’s unbound hair, making her glow like the sun at dawn. (Azriel’s bonus chapter)

Is it possible that, with Elain’s connection to Wyrd and the land, her own threads of life are similarly chained, or warped? Perhaps when Elain clears away the Asteri’s power, we will finally see the truth blooming between them: threads of golden light twining together in an endless, earthy melody.

[anonymousreader4d7]

Species headcanons for rmau?? I love hearing everyone’s different interpretations and headcanons!

Yee!!! I'm so excited people are interested!!!

I've had these percolating for a while now - like, 2 years, actually!!! I keep adding onto and adjusting specifics of the different species, or adding new ones, but I'll list the my shortlist of Hermits/Lifers and their species here, and then I'll start posting the details for species individually, before making a masterpost with links to all of them and this!!!

But yeah, here's my list, under the cut!!!

(Edit: I just realized I forgot to mention what the names in parentheses are - that's in reference to another aspect of the AU, called Code Bonding - which will get its own post after the species. The names are their Code Bonded partner! Also, if someone has a question mark next to their species, it means I haven't solidified my headcanon for them yet, and I'm welcome to suggestions! I'll edit this as I solidify or add ideas!)

Hermits:

Bdubs - Time Deity - (Etho)

Cub - Vex Hybrid - created via Vex Deal (ConVex)

Doc - Playerborn Creeper - Born Moderator

Etho - Unknown - Kitsune - (Budbs)

False - Avian - Eagle

Gem - Fae - Animal/Shapeshift Magics

Scar - Fae Hybrid - Shapeshifting Magics - activated via Vex Deal (ConVex)

Grian - Watcher - Created - (Mumbo)

Hypno - Human

Jev - Slime - Blue, humanoid

Impulse - Demon - Telluris - (Skizz)

Iskall - Code-weaver

Joe - Unknown - Just a Guy™ (or Herobrine?)

Keralis - Primordial

Mumbo - Shiftwalker - (Grian)

Pearl - Moon Deity (Ascended Alien)

Ren - Playerborn Dog

Skizz - Angel - Earth - Fallen - (Impulse)

Joel - Minor Chaos Deity - (Lizzie)

Stress - Fae - Plant Magics

Tango - Pb Blaze/Demon Hybrid - Ignis - (Jimmy)

Beef - Bull/Cow Hybrid

Wels - Human

xB - Guardian Hybrid/Voidwalker Descendant

Xisuma - Voidwalker - Admin

Zed - Playerborn Sheep

Cleo - Mobborn Zombie

TFC - Primordial (maybe Steve? Or Herobrine if Joe's not?)

Non-Hermit Life Members:

Scott - Starborn

BigB - Primordial

Martyn - Listener - Created - Taught Moderator

Lizzie - Fae - Animal/Shapeshift Magics - (Joel)

Jimmy - Listener - Created - (Tango)

Bonus:

Pixlriffs - Watcher - Created

Ollie - Avian - Songbird

Shubble - Witch - not the mob kind…

CaptainSparklez - Celestial

PeteZahHutt - Slime - Green, humanoid

Technoblade - Mobborn Piglin - Blood God - (Philza)

Philza - Admin - Void-glider - (Techno)

I have a few more (including ones for other DSMP members from back when I was really into it) but I'm just leaving this list to these, and my examples for species will be limited to these guys too.

If people have ideas/suggestions for the other Empires members I haven't listed here, feel free to let me know, because I haven't watched as much of those guys and I'd be happy to include them!!!

[silverlinedeyes]

Was talking to @wingedblooms about starborn and the word itself, and where they might come from, and just a thought:

Asteri means star. So are Starborn (Star-born, as in born of stars lol) the descendants of Asteri (or daglan, assuming we’re right that they’re the same) and Fae, like witches are the descendants of the Valg and Fae in throne of glass?

I’m not sure Sarah was this obvious with her naming (like I think she was with lightsingers lolol) but, maybe?

[offtorivendell]

Elain's Possible Powers: Theory Reference List

Feyre rolled her eyes. But then she said to Nesta, “Elain will need time to dust off her powers to try to See the Trove. - ACOSF, chapter 21

This post is exactly what it says it is: a reference list of all the posts I and others could find that theorise about Elain's possible powers, and how they might work. I'll add to this list as I see new theories about Elain's magic, so please let me know if you see any great posts! It doesn't matter if the theory isn't on Tumblr, all I need is the url.

Cauldron-Made/Making

Could Elain Make Ents? @offtorivendell

Did Elain Make her necklace? @offtorivendell

Sight

Did Elain "yank" Bryce into Prythian? @silverlinedeyes

Elain's murky realm... links between Seers, Oracles and Mystics, and how they're relevant to Elain - @wingedblooms

Mystics and Seers - @merymoonbeam

Seers, Blindfolds and Bloodbane... does Elain need to embrace the dark in order to use her Sight? - @offtorivendell

Shapeshifting

Can Elain take a new form? @wingedblooms

Singing

Elain could be a lightsinger - @wingedblooms

Elain is a Singer - @silverlinedeyes

Is Elain's Sight a form of singing? Shadow or light? @offtorivendell

Starborn

Are the Archeron sisters descended from Theia? @wingedblooms and @offtorivendell

Witchcraft

Is Elain a witch? @wingedblooms

Other

Could Elain have Banshee-type powers? @offtorivendell