The Dusk Court of Prythian never vanished. It is the afterlife.
It is also where Danika is waiting for Bryce.
Spoilers for ACOTAR, TOG and CC2!
As of ACOSF, the famed Dusk Court is basically confirmed. Rhys suggests that the Prison Island is where this mysterious 8th court used to be; this matches up with Rigelus telling Bryce that the Starborn hailed from an island "a few miles from the mainland."
Yet, if this is true, why is there no proof that this court ever existed? How does an entire city vanish with no trace, no ruins left behind?
Further, Bryce has been foreshadowed as the future Queen of this court. Many other ACOTAR (and TOG!) characters have also been theorised to be connected to this illustrious court. If the Dusk Court is just the Prison Island in its current state, what is Bryce and everyone else going to do? Rebuild an entire city from scratch?
That is, unless, the Dusk Court never vanished.
It has always been there; hidden behind a veil. Because, it is in another realm. It is the afterlife.
To explain this theory, I am going to start right at the start, with our leading man: Hunt Athalar.
Hunt Athalar will die. He will also be resurrected.
As of Crescent City, Hunt has death flags galore:
His real name, Orion, is based on the mythology of a hunter who was killed by his lover.
The Oracle warned Hunt to stay "well away" from Bryce.
He is often seen reflecting on the quote "Memento Mori," which means "remember that you will die."
However, the greatest evidence of all is that Hunt's character appears to be inspired by Jesus Christ.
Orion is a constellation that is symbolic of Jesus.
Jesus was given a crown of thorns upon his death. Hunt had (has again as of CC2?) that same crown of thorns tattooed on him.
Further, Hunt is referred to as the Umbra Mortis, which means "the shadow of death."
The Shadow of Death is a famous painting depicting Jesus's death.
As per the Bible, Jesus was killed by the Roman Empire. It is then no coincidence that the Asteri are symbolic of the Roman Empire:
The Asteri live in the "Eternal City," which is another name for Rome.
There are 7 hills in the Aster's city; there are 7 famed hills that Ancient Rome was built on.
The Asteri's symbol is "SPQM." The term "SPQR" means "The Senate and the People of Rome," and was used to symbolise the government of Ancient Rome.
The Asteri's language is Latin; this is the language of the Roman Empire.
Jesus died via crucifixion, as per the orders of the Roman Empire.
The Asteri have already been killing civilians in this way:
Considering these very blatant parallels, I believe Hunt will be next. He will be crucified, just as Jesus was.
However, similar to Jesus, Hunt will be resurrected.
Recall this quote from Hunt's POV in CC1; as if foreshadowing such a miracle:
However, I do not believe Hunt will be resurrected into the Crescent City world.
He will be resurrected in Prythian. In the Dusk Court. Because, as mentioned - the Dusk Court is the afterlife.
The mythological inspirations behind the Dusk Court.
In Russian and Slavic mythology, there is a famous island mentioned throughout various fairytales. It is known as Buyan Island.
Interestingly, this is where Koschei the Deathless hid his soul; in a box on this island. Recall that our very own Koschei in the ACOTAR world is hiding a similar black box somewhere. Thus, does this suggest that Buyan Island = Dusk Court island?
Well, it is then perhaps no coincidence that Buyan Island was home to a magical race of unicorns. Helion's pegasus's (which are similar to Bryce's pegasus-unicorn dolls) are said to have originated from the Dusk Court (Prison Island).
The similarities don't stop there. Buyan Island was hidden from the world because it held an ancient stone. This stone was said to be the "power of the universe," and was inscribed with "strange symbols." Does this not sound identical to Wyrdstone?
And here's the craziest part of all; the symbol for this ancient stone, and for Buyan Island as a whole - is an EIGHT POINTED STAR.
Just like the symbol of the Starborn and the Dusk Court.
Most importantly, Buyan Island was seen as an island where heroes go after death. This is similar to other famed mythological islands; for example, the Celtic/Arthurian "Avalon" Island. Perhaps it is then no coincidence that the Starborn in CC currently reside on Avallon Island?
If you thought it couldn't get any more insane, it does. Buyan Island was overseen by two sister goddesses; one of DUSK, and one of dawn.
The dawn goddess was called DANIKA.
Danika: She is far more connected to the story than we think.
Bryce and Danika often refer to each other as "sisters." I theorise that they are both symbolic reincarnations/parallels of the two sister goddesses of Buyan Island. Of the Dusk Court.
With this in mind, I also think they're both descendants of Theia's two daughters.
If Bryce is symbolic of the Dusk Goddess, then Danika must be symbolic of the Dawn Goddess - of Theia's other daughter who "disappeared."
Yrene Westfall of the Throne of Glass series has Starborn powers; her power is described as "starlight," and behaves in the exact same way as Bryce's power.
Yrene's book was Tower of DAWN. The DAWN Court in Prythian has her healing powers.
I believe that Theia's other daughter ended up in the Throne of Glass world and passed on her Starborn powers.
It is then no coincidence that Danika's lineage (as confirmed by Rigelus) also comes from the Throne of Glass world, and that Danika and Yrene are the only two characters who have been explictly described as having "caramel eyes."
It was said in CC2 that Danika was trying to find her way to a new world where she and Baxian could be together (yet curiously, she died without knowing what was in the Asteri archive rooms...)
I believe that Danika figured out that the Dusk Court was the afterlife; that you can be "reborn" in a new world when you die. After all, Danika's emails and files were titled "Dusk's Truth."
Danika also curiously made many plans before she died (as if she orchestrated her death). She ensured that Bryce had the horn. She was even trying to find a new Prime to ensure that Sabine would not rule. She also somehow knew the language of Wyrdmarks (?!).
Most interestingly, Danika told Sofie to meet her "where the weary souls find relief from their suffering." Sofie then died. We are lead to believe that Danika was referring to the Meat Market (a disappointing and non-sensical reveal). But, what if that was a red herring?
What if, instead, Danika told Sofie to die; to meet her in the Dusk Court?
Conner's last words to Bryce were "message me when you're home safe."
The star in Bryce's chest is said to lead her to the Dusk Court. More specifically, Rigelus says that it'll "lead her home."
I think Danika, the Pack of Devils, and Hunt - when he is killed in CC3 - will be waiting for Bryce to come home. To the Dusk Court.
Such a concept shouldn't be shocking; the notion of resurrection and an afterlife has been hinted at heavily throughout all 3 of SJM's series. In Throne of Glass, Aelin regularly interacts with the "dead." However, it was shown in the final TOG book that the "dead" are simply living in a different realm, and that their soul moves between them (yet not Elena's, as her soul was destroyed).
It was also surprising that Crescent City characters were dropping dead like flies (something SJM traditionally steers clear from). That is, unless they were resurrected in another world.
Further, Cassian says to Nesta that he will "find her in the next world - the next life." Curiously, Elain, a seer, appears to hint at Cassian's death:
Is it then a coincidence that both Cassian and Nesta have the tattoo of the Dusk Court on their backs?
You may be thinking, "well, how does everyone get to the Dusk Court if it's the afterlife?"
Starfall explains it perfectly; the day where strange spirits are unleashed across the sky, on a mysterious and unknown journey.
In CC2, it is said that Conner and the rest of the pack are waiting for the "allotted time" to pass before their souls move on. Are they waiting for Starfall?
Rhys also comments that the spirits are dwindling in numbers each year. We know that the Asteri and the Under King have been eating the souls of the dead (secondlight); ensuring that these people cannot pass on to the next world - that they cannot travel on Starfall.
Further, when Aelin travels between worlds, she is seen as a star on Starfall; this in itself hints that this occasion is people (or souls) travelling between realms.
Does this mean everyone turns into ghosts?!
No. The Dusk Court's inhabitants are real people, just in a different realm/world. It is the same as Hel (the opposite of the afterlife), which has real-life Princes and civilians.
All in all, this theory suggests that the Dusk Court never vanished; it is physically in the same space where the Prison Island is - but in a different realm. Recall Merrill's theory that different worlds share the same space:
I also believe this explains why Nesta believed there were Fae stuck in the stone of the Prison. Such a thing sounds unlikely (even Rhys doubts it) - but it makes more sense if you consider that Nesta was sensing Fae in another realm.
This also doesn't mean that the Dusk Court is inaccessible; after all, Theia and the Starborn presumably interacted with those in Prythian. However, they did so at a time when the gates between realms were open; when they wielded the Horn and the Harp.
If the current characters could do that once again... it might just save them all.
As a final point, it is worth noting that in Greek Mythology, when Orion was killed, he was immortalised in the sky as a constellation. To ensure he wasn't alone, Zeus also gave him a dog as company. The dog was named Sirius.
I have always held the theory that Sirius (the dead Asteri) had more to do with the Starborn than the Asteri. Sirius is known as the "Wolf Star." In astronomy, Sirius is also known as the "Morning Star," which is otherwise called DANIKA.
I theorise that following CC3, just like Sirius and Orion, Danika and Hunt will be keeping each other company in the Dusk Court.
They will be waiting for Bryce to come home.
"Through love, all is possible."
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dailybridgerton
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