Werent these the same people already confirmed to make a bunch of fake accounts to rig one of these before? And now were letting one run the game? Okay
dirt enthusiast
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her

Discoholic 🪩

No title available
Claire Keane
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
KIROKAZE

JBB: An Artblog!
wallacepolsom
Xuebing Du

oozey mess
todays bird

PR's Tumblrdome
Jules of Nature
styofa doing anything
No title available
almost home
hello vonnie
Keni
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
seen from Australia

seen from Spain

seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from Canada
seen from Australia

seen from Brazil
seen from United States

seen from Malaysia
seen from United States

seen from Germany

seen from United States

seen from T1

seen from Japan
seen from United States

seen from South Korea

seen from Germany
seen from Brazil

seen from Canada
seen from Spain
@brycerielofficial
Werent these the same people already confirmed to make a bunch of fake accounts to rig one of these before? And now were letting one run the game? Okay
And who cares who cares who cares
Its not over until the books are out. Anything could happen before this series finishes
some of you really can not read the room?
Right back at you. ☺️ In light of very recent events, you better change your attitude or delete your account. 🥰
Why? SJM is a liar and nothing is canon until its canon
✨ Unicorn ✨
Bryce still hates her fae heritage and left her birthright on a different planet to return to a chosen 'mate' who she cant stop fighting with and people think her story is over?
Id have questions for why an author hates one of her fmcs so much more than the others if I believed that was true
Bryce and Azriel
«Azriel dragged Bryce back, sword and dagger calling to her to draw them, use them. But he kept pulling her away, deeper into the tunnel as the undead thing and the Wyrm grappled with each other. The ceiling shook, debris shattering on the floor. Azriel arched a wing, shielding them both from its slicing rain.»
Artist : Lelvenlock
Crescent City : House of Flame and Shadow
Sarah J. Maas
some of you really can not read the room?
Time & Space in the Maasverse
PREFACE
It started with a simple question…How did Aelin fall through worlds? It ended with a 26 page dissertation deep diving Bosonic String Theory, Einstein's Theory of Relativity, Wormholes and Black Hole Theory in an effort to reconcile how the three worlds of TOG, ACOTAR & CC - in addition to our other realms (ie Hel, Iphraxia etc.) – work and are connected.
Author’s Note: Most people will have no interest in this, but for the giant nerds (like me) out there who need to know how everything works and want to read my dissertation on how theoretical physics in our world can be applied to the world building of the Maasverse, enjoy.
The full paper can be found here:
Don't want to read the full paper? Fair play. A condensed (albeit still quite long) abstract version is below. If you want more information on a specific section, there is a hyperlinked table of contents in the full paper so you can easily skip around.
Warning: SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE MAASVERSE
––––––––––––––
ABSTRACT
String Theory as a Framework for the Maasverse
There are 3 main string theories, bosonic string theory: spacetime is 26-dimensional, superstring theory: spacetime is 10-dimensional, and in M-theory: spacetime is 11-dimensional.
“When she first came here, she was obsessed with theories regarding the existence of different realms—different worlds. Living on top of each other without even knowing it. Whether there is merely one existence, our existence, or if it might be possible for worlds to overlap, occupying the same space but separated by time and a whole bunch of other things I can’t even begin to explain to you because I barely understand them myself....Some philosophers believe there are eleven worlds like that. And some believe there are as many as twenty-six, the last one being Time itself."
Bosonic String Theory is the one we will lean into given the evidence from the text, 26 dimensions with 1 being time. To reconcile with our observed universe, string theory utilises "compactification," where the extra dimensions are curled up into tiny, compact manifolds. When applied to a fantasy realm, where we do not need to reconcile the physics with the world around us, Bosonic String Theory could be used as a framework for hidden realms and/or other planes of existence.
I hypothesise that SJM began working with the idea of Bosonic String Theory and the existence of a multi-verse in COM, published Aug 2013. These points are illustrated in COM when Baba Yellowlegs speaks to Celaena about the Wyrd: "The Wyrd governs and forms the foundation of this world. Not just Erilea, but all life. There are worlds that exist beyond your knowledge, worlds that lie on top of each other and don't know it. Right now, you could be standing on the bottom of someone else's ocean. The Wyrd keeps these realms apart." This quote points to the concept of compactification, further bolstering the argument that SJM is using principles from Bosonic String Theory to bridge the connections between her worlds. While the existence of multiple worlds is referenced and shown early on in the Maasverse – in TOG and COM, the physics behind how these worlds overlap begins to be fleshed out and integrated from ACOWAR forward. Aelin falling through worlds in KOA is the cornerstone of the connection between these realms and illustrates concepts of Bosonic String Theory principals.
The Time Dimension
The flow of time in the Maasverse is vital to understanding the overlap between worlds. Many use Aelin’s fall through worlds to argue that these stories are happening concurrently, but I believe this is a false dichotomy that ignores the influence of the dimension of time on the Maasverse. We see other examples in fantasy and science fiction books of worlds being interconnected, but time does not flow at the same rate in each of these worlds – for example Narnia time, where years in Narnia are minutes in our world.
Newton vs. Einstein
Newton believed that time is absolute and flows uniformly. This is often described as an arrow moving in a straight line suggesting that time is a constant and universal entity, unaffected by events or motion within the universe.
Einstein believed time was a flexible dimension that can be affected by gravity and speed, often likened to a river that can speed up, slow down, or even curve around massive objects. This is part of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.
I believe time in the Maasverse works on Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. We see instances of time “slowing” and “warping” throughout the three worlds - specifically around the deaths of “true immortals.”
The Gregorian Calendar
While we are dealing with different universes, realms and planets – all evidence in the text points to our 3 main worlds operating on the Gregorian Calendar that most of our world uses today; 365 days a year, 12 months to a year, 4 weeks to a month, 7 days to a week, 24 hours to a day etc. Confirming evidence is provided in the full paper.
Maasverse Intra-Dimensional Travel
Before we delve into travel between different dimensions, let’s talk about bending spacetime on a single plane of existence.
Winnowing
Is the ability to winnow the ability to world-walk? Looking at the descriptions of winnowing in the text, it appears that winnowing could be a precursor to world-walking and works on the same principles. Winnowing is folding the fabric of spacetime on the realm you currently inhabit. Winnowing is described in more science fiction terms in HOSAB, “Like a wormhole,” Hunt mused, wings rustling. Cormac waved a dismissive hand. “Wormhole, teleportation, yes. Whatever you want to call it.”
Teleportation, in a scientific context, refers to the transfer of information about a particle from one location to another without the particle itself traveling through the intervening space. A wormhole is a hypothetical shortcut or tunnel through spacetime, connecting two separate points in the universe and potentially allowing for rapid travel across vast distances. These structures are predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity and are often visualized as a tunnel through a folded sheet of paper.
Let’s apply theoretical science to when Bryce is attempting to winnow in HOSAB: I am here. I want to go there. Her magic didn’t so much as budge. Two points in space. I’m folding a piece of paper, joining them. My power is the pencil that punctures through the paper, linking them— The shortest distance between two points is created by folding spacetime. To do this, we need to make holes in the spacetime graph, by making a wormhole. To create a wormhole, we need an element with negative mass – in this case the starborn power.
Pocket Realms
In string theory, pocket dimensions are a theoretical region of spacetime within our universe that is self-contained and potentially has different physical properties. We see the use of pocket realms by Theia, Rhys and Feyre in the ACOTAR and CC worlds. They appear to operate under similar principles to theoretical pocket dimensions in String Theory.
Shortcuts
We are introduced to a number of caves that act as portals or “doors” between the courts as they allow for individuals to travel great distances over short periods of time. The caves appear to act as physical wormholes, created by some unknown magic. We don’t see a portal that moves people through spacetime across Midgard, but we do see the 7 Gates in Lunathion. These are set along ley lines (more on these later) and pre-technology allowed guards in the city to communicate with a kernel of a person’s power. The Gates are also where the portals to Hel open when Micah experiments with the Horn on Bryce’s back.
Maasverse Inter-Dimensional Travel
Aelin Falling - A Tachyon
Bosonic String Theory predicts the existence of Tachyons. Tachyons are hypothetical particles that are proposed to always travel faster than the speed of light. They are considered theoretical and have not been observed and later string theories/physics disproves their existence. However, these tachyons, if they existed, could potentially allow for time travel. So while people much smarter than myself have disproved the theory of Tachyons existing in our physical reality and thus moved away from Bosonic String Theory, I postulate that the theoretical framework behind Tachyons is evidenced in the Maasverse in Aelin’s fall through worlds.
I theorise that Aelin herself is acting as a tachyon as she is falling through BOTH time AND space. She is moving faster than the speed of light through overlapping worlds, and breaking BOTH the dimensions of time AND space. She is “tumbling” and “flipping”, she is not falling in one direction, rather multiple as she is shooting through worlds and also the timeline. I like to think of Aelin a bit like a pinball in a pinball machine as she bounces around multiple dimensions.
Bryce Falling - Traversable Wormholes
Wormholes are hypothetical tunnels through spacetime, connecting two distant points in the universe, potentially allowing for faster-than-light travel or time travel. They are based on solutions to Einstein's field equations in general relativity. While theoretically possible, scientists have no evidence of their existence in our universe. Traversable wormholes are theoretical tunnels through spacetime that could allow for human travel between distant locations, potentially even different universes. Traversable wormholes require a way to keep the "throat" open, often involving exotic matter with negative energy density. Even with exotic matter feeding the wormhole, wormholes in string theory can be unstable, meaning they might not exist for a long time. Back to the relativity of time, scientists believe that even if traversable wormholes exist, there might be significant time dilation effects, potentially making travel through them very different from travel in normal spacetime.
Bryce’s fall is described very differently from Aelin’s fall, and she moves between two worlds, rather than travelling through multiple worlds. I believe Bryce is travelling in the magical equivalent of a traversable wormhole. Bryce is using both her “starborn” power and the Horn to open this wormhole. I think the horn and her power acts as the magical equivalent of our “exotic matter with negative energy density” that allows for a traversable wormhole to open or close as directed by the wielder.
HOSAB, Bryce falls sideways: She fell, slowly and without end—and sideways. Not a plunge down, but a yank across.
Now let’s compare this to how Silene describes her travel from Midgard to Prythian. Silene is using the harp to move between worlds. The Horn is with her sister, but sounds as she travels through the “wormhole” back to Prythian.
HOFAS, Silene falls down and sideways: Silene fell and fell and fell, down and sideways.
Silene falls BOTH down AND sideways. I think this points to Silene falling through BOTH space AND time. If this is true, then Bryce’s sideways fall must be through space, which would confirm Prythian as being a different realm/world/plane of existence; not a past or future Midgard. The powers of the harp also support this argument – the Harp appears to be able to control BOTH time AND space. We will delve deeper into the powers behind the Horn and Harp in Objects of Power later in this section.
Wayfarers & World-walkers
We see the terms “Wayfarer” and “World-walker” appear in all three of our worlds. Using the information we are given in the series, I propose the following definition for Wayfarer and World-Walker, which appear to be interchangeable terms. Wayfarer/World-Walker: A being that can access power to open a pathway to travel between different worlds.
The CC and TOG series imply that certain people or powers are key to the ability to World-walk. The “starborn” and “starlight” power appears to be tied to the ability to world-walk. When we look at how theoretical wormholes are created, exotic matter with negative energy density is needed to open the throat of the wormhole. I posit that the “starlight” power acts as the exotic matter, giving people with this power the ability to world-walk. People without this power rely on different modes of opening portals or wormholes – like Objects of Power – which will be explored in the next sections.
It appears that Maeve also possessed the ability to World-walk, stating to Dorian in KOA: “I am a world-walker, ” Maeve said. “I have traveled between universes.” It does not appear that the Valg Kings possessed this same innate power. To follow Maeve, they used “Death-maidens” to rip 3 pieces from the Wyrdgate and give them the ability to open and close gates at will. The Asteri’s power as World-walkers is not necessarily a power possessed by all of them. Vesperus states: “Our brightest minds found ways to bend the fabric of worlds. To travel between them. Wayfarers, we called them. World-walkers.” She is referring to others as World-walkers, not herself. Rigelus’ necessity for Bryce and Bryce’s power also supports this notion.
Objects of Power
Throughout the three series we are introduced to objects that have the ability to alter and even control spacetime. We are going to break down how these objects function in the Maasverse and also draw parallels to scientific theories and principals from our known universe.
In the TOG World:
The Wyrd: The Wyrd is the force that governs the universes. The Wyrd is String Theory
Wyrdgates: Wyrdgates are places in the Wyrd that allow for life to pass between universes. Wyrdgates are Transversible Wormholes.
Wyrdkeys: Wyrdkeys were three slivers of stone unbound from the Wyrdgate by “death-maidens” and used to control the Wyrgates and the Wyrd. Wyrdkeys are the exotic matter with negative energy density needed to create and control a wormhole.
Wyrdmarks: Wyrdmarks are the language of the universe that can be used to walk between realms. To wield this language you also need “power.” Wyrdmarks are mathematics or physics.
In the ACOTAR World:
The Cauldron: The Cauldron appears to be an extension or a physical presence of the Wyrd.
In the ACOTAR/CC Worlds:
The Dread Trove: The Dread Trove are 4 cauldron made items – The Mask, The Harp, The Crown & The Horn. The Dread Trove appears to have similar properties to those of the Wyrdkeys. It seems only someone “Made” or “Starborn” is able to wield the power of the Dread Trove safely.
The Harp: The Harp was made by the Cauldron and allows the wielder to control both space and time.
The Horn: The Horn was made by the Cauldron and allows the wielder to open and close portals.
In the CC World:
Black Salt (Obsidian): Black Salt is used to summon demons from Hel – essentially opening a portal for a demon to pass through. Black salt appears to work similarly to Wyrdstone.
Ley lines & Thin Places
CC introduces the concept of ley lines. The concept of “ley lines” appears to be taken from our own world. The concept of “ley lines” originated in the early 20th century and proposed that the alignments of ancient monuments, prehistoric sites, and prominent landmarks, were connected by invisible energy pathways, suggesting ancient civilizations intentionally built structures along these lines for various purposes. Please note: Archaeologists and scientists regard ley lines as an example of pseudoarchaeology and pseudoscience.
I believe ley lines in the Maasverse act to help enhance the power to world-walk, whether that power is through innate magic or through objects of power. More permanent gates/rifts between worlds will exist on ley lines, using the magic of the ley lines to help keep the path open – or working as the exotic matter that is feeding the wormhole, keeping the "throat" of the blackhole open.
Closed Worlds
The major conflict in both TOG and CC series involve powerful beings who are stuck in a single realm, or “cut off from the cosmos.” They are using the main characters of the series to re-open and fix the “portals” to allow them to world-walk again.
Maps - Stars & Tattoos
The Asteri appear to use Star-maps to aid in their world-walking and exploration of other universes. Aelin’s tattoo of Wyrdmarks acts as a map home when she falls through worlds in KOA. It is highly speculated that Bryce’s tattoo is of Wyrdmarks. It is also speculated that her tattoo also works as a map, either to Prythian (the fae homeworld) or to Midgard (her world).
Cosmology in the Maasverse
In HOFAS, Vesperus says, “Oh, this planet will be long dead before eternity has ended. Its star will expand, and expand, and eventually devour everything in its path. Including this world.” In our universe, string theory offers a potential framework for addressing fundamental questions in cosmology, particularly those related to the very early universe and the origin of the cosmos.
Vesperus’ quote aligns with Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Einstein's model predicted that either space would be expanding causing all the stars to move apart from one another as if from a gigantic explosion, or space would be contracting. This would cause all the stars to ultimately collapse upon one another. Astronomical observations have confirmed that our universe is in fact expanding.
We are now going to explore the importance of cosmology in the greater Maasverse, which is shown through Stars, Black Holes and the concept of “The Void.”
Stars in the Maasverse
In our universe, stars are luminous, spherical celestial bodies of hot gas, primarily hydrogen and helium, that produce energy through nuclear fusion in their cores. They form from massive clouds of gas and dust called nebulae and vary in size, temperature, and luminosity. Stars are the main components of galaxies, and their life cycles lead to diverse outcomes, including white dwarf stars or explosive supernovae, which create and disperse the elements for future stars.
The Asteri: Asteri is the greek word for “star” and the root word for Asteria, a Titan goddess associated with falling stars and nighttime. The Asteri in CC claim claim that their powers are from holy stars inside themselves. Bryce describes the Asteri as being "made of light." The 8 Asteri we meet all have names associated with stars in our universe. However, the Asteri need firstlight to fuel their existence, whereas true stars shine by radiation derived from their own internal energy sources.
Star Power: We don’t know exactly how this “star power” works, but throughout the series blinding white light – often compared to starlight is referenced and used to destroy immortal beings of immense power. In the section World Walkers & Wayfarers I theorised that the “starborn” and “starlight” power appears to be tied to the ability to world-walk and “starlight” acts as the exotic matter needed to create a blackhole, giving people with this power the ability to world-walk.
Stars as Maps: We also see stars used for maps, both intra- and inter-dimensionally. The use of star-maps by the Asteri has already been mentioned in a previous section, but we also see stars and constellations used as maps in Elena’s Tomb (TOG) and the Harp’s chamber in the Prison (ACOTAR).
Black Holes and the concept of “The Void”
Black holes are regions in space where an enormous amount of mass is packed into a tiny volume. This creates a gravitational pull so strong that not even light can escape. In our reality, black holes are formed when massive stars die and collapse in on themselves.
How to Create a Black Hole in the Maasverse:
Destroy the cauldron
Bryce creates a black hole or a “portal to nowhere” by uniting the Starsword and Truth Teller with her power of “Theia’s star.”
Firstlight core destruction
The “Void” as Both Creation and Destruction: In our known universe, the ultimate origin of the universe, especially beyond the Big Bang, remains a topic of ongoing scientific and philosophical debate, with the question of what was before time and space being a profound mystery. The universe likely did not come from philosophical "nothing," but rather from a state described as "almost nothing" by some theories, or a quantum fluctuation of a pre-existing state. The widely accepted Big Bang theory explains that the universe began from an extremely hot, dense "singularity" about 13.8 billion years ago, from which space, time, and matter emerged and expanded.
Some physicists propose that our universe may have originated from a black hole in another universe. This idea suggests that the collapse of a massive black hole could lead to a "bounce" or explosion, initiating a new universe. We see the concept of the “Void” and true darkness throughout the Maasverse, especially tied to the creation of worlds. I theorise that the concept of the “Void” as the starting point for the Maasverse. I believe this concept acts as the “singularity” or “black hole” that all worlds in the Maasverse emerged from, as well as where all worlds will return.
The Character of Apollion: In CC we are introduced to Apollion – The Prince of the Pit – who resides on level 7, the deepest level of Hel. He possesses the power of Helfire and the power of “The Void.” He is also called “Star-Eater” after he attacked the Asteri Sirius with Helfire and pulled her burning heart from her chest and ate it. I believe the power of “The Void” to be the power to control/create black holes. We could also theorise that “The Pit” is also a black hole. Appollion states in HOFAS, “Do you not know where I come from? My father was the Void, the Being That Existed Before. Chaos was his bride and my dam. It is to them that we shall all one day return, and their mighty powers that run in my blood.”
The Cauldron also appears to be associated with coming from darkness. ACOSF: “In the beginning, and in the end, there was Darkness and nothing more. She had first heard that truth, understood it, during her battle with the Cauldron.”
The Tapestry
Cosmology in the Maasverse focuses on starlight and the void. The tapestry Feyre purchases in ACOFAS that truly weaves (pun 100% intended) these ideas together. I believe the primary function of the tapestry is to be symbolic, with the Winter Solstice said in ACOFAS to be: “a time to reflect on the darkness – how it lets the light shine.” I believe the tapestry also serves a secondary function, and a subtle hint to String Theory.
Aelin connects the use of Wyrdmarks to manipulating the threads of things in HOF: The music was a tapestry woven of light and dark and color, building delicate links in a chain that latched on to her heart and spread out into the world, binding her to it, connecting everything. She understood then. The Wyrdmarks were—were a way of harnessing those threads, of weaving and binding the essence of things. Magic could do the same, and from her power, from her imagination and will and core, she could create and shape.
A tapestry is a common metaphor for String Theory:
The Tapestry: Represents the entire universe, encompassing all matter, forces, and the fabric of spacetime.
The Threads: Represent the fundamental strings or vibrating filaments that, according to string theory, are the most basic constituents of reality. These strings have different vibrational patterns, which are perceived as different particles and forces.
Weaving: The process by which these vibrating strings are organized and connected to form the grand tapestry of the cosmos. String theory describes the rules for this weaving, unifying disparate forces like gravity and electromagnetism into a harmonious whole.
Conclusion
The Maasverse is a tapestry – a unified, complex multi-verse where everything is connected, rather than a collection of independent worlds. Each series deals with powerful magical beings – Valg, Daglan, Asteri – who have learned to manipulate the strings of this tapestry to control space, time, and even reality itself. String Theory shows us that everything is interconnected, and I believe we will see a lot more cross universe cause and effect moving forward.
You want to let idiots boss you around and be weak?? None for me thanks. You dokt own the internet
Yap yap yap like you've never heard of a sideblog. Youre embarassing go take care of your kids grandma
hate me all you want cry about it no one cares🤩
Whats the point of posting in the debate sub if you dont want to engage woth one of the major ships? If you dont want to discuss the other ships maybe get out of the SHIP debate sub🤪
Analysing the Ouroboros and the Potential for a Cyclical Timeline in the Maasverse
Preface
I’ve been thinking a lot about cyclical timelines in the Maasverse recently. There is a lot of discourse that TOG is “before” ACOTAR and CC chronologically, but if the timeline is a circle, there is no before and after or everything is before and after - it’s a glass half full/empty quandary, but let’s stay off the philosophy for the moment and look at the clues that could support a cyclical timeline and what this could predict going forward in the Maasverse.
What is an ouroboros?
An ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent (sometimes a dragon) devouring its own tail. When applied to time, the serpent's circular form embodies the unending flow and return of time, contrasting with linear progression.
The Ouroboros Mirror
In ACOWAR we are introduced to the Ouroboros mirror. The mirror was once owned by Stryga and is described as a “window to the world.” It was in possession of Keir’s family and kept in a chamber that let snow and moonlight in near the uppermost peak of the Hewn City. Feyre claims to mirror by looking into it and facing who she truly is at the behest of the Bone Carver.
“My sister had a collection of mirrors in her black castle,” the Carver said. … “She admired herself day and night in those mirrors, gloating over her youth and beauty. There was one mirror—the Ouroboros, she called it. It was old even when we were young. A window to the world. All could be seen, all could be told through its dark surface. Keir possesses it—an heirloom of his household. Bring it to me. That is my price. The Ouroboros, and I am yours to wield. If you can find a way to free me.” -ACOWAR Ch. 23
Keir rose to his feet, smirking like a cat with a canary in its mouth. “To take the Ouroboros, to claim it, you must first look into it.” He headed for the doors, not waiting to be dismissed. “And everyone who has attempted to do so has either gone mad or been broken beyond repair. Even a High Lord or two, if legend is true.” A shrug. “So it is yours, if you dare to face it.” Keir paused at the threshold as the doors opened on a phantom wind. He said to Rhys, perhaps the closest he’d come to asking for permission to leave, “Lord Thanatos is having … difficulties with his daughter again. He requires my assistance.” -ACOWAR Ch. 26
And when I wasn’t doing that … I was combing through more books, any and all Clotho could find me, all regarding the Ouroboros. How to master it. The mirror was notorious. Every known philosopher had ruminated on it. Some had dared face it—and gone mad. Some had approached—and run away in terror. I could not find an account of anyone who had mastered it. Faced what lurked within and walked away with the mirror in their possession. Save for the Weaver in the Wood—who certainly seemed insane enough, perhaps thanks to the mirror she’d so dearly loved. Or perhaps whatever evil lurked in her had tainted the mirror, too. Some of the philosophers had suggested as much, though they hadn’t known her name—only that a dark queen had once possessed it, cherished it. Spied on the world with it—and used it to hunt down beautiful young maidens to keep her eternally young. I supposed Keir’s family owning the Ouroboros for millennia suggested the success rate of walking away was low. It was not heartening. Not when all the texts agreed on one thing: there was no way around it. No loophole. -ACOWAR Ch. 29
There was a winding stair, deep within the mountain. It led to only one place: a chamber near the uppermost peak. I had learned as much from my research.I stood at the base of that stairwell, peering up into the impenetrable gloom, my breath clouding in front of me. A thousand stairs. That was how many steps stood between me and the Ouroboros. The Mirror of Beginnings and Endings. -ACOWAR Ch. 67
I did not expect the snow. Or the moonlight. The chamber must have lain beneath the palace of moonstone—shafts in the rough rock leading outside, welcoming in snowdrifts and moonlight. I gritted my teeth against the bitter cold, the wind howling through the cracks like wolves raging along the mountainside beyond. The snow glittered over the walls and floor, slithering over my boots with the wind gusts. Moonlight peered in, bright enough that I vanished my ball of faelight, bathing the entire chamber in blues and silvers. And there, against the far wall of the chamber, snow crusting its surface, its bronze casing … The Ouroboros. It was a massive, round disc—as tall as I was. Taller. And the metal around it had been fashioned after a massive serpent, the mirror held within its coils as it devoured its own tail. Ending and beginning. From across the room, with the snow … I could not see it. What lay within. I forced myself to take a step forward. Another. The mirror itself was black as night—yet … wholly clear. I watched myself approach. Watched the arm I had upraised against the wind and snow, the pinched expression on my face. The exhaustion. I stopped three feet away. I did not dare touch it. It only showed me myself. Nothing. I scanned the mirror for any signs of … something to push or touch with my magic. But there was only the devouring head of the serpent, its maw open wide, frost sparkling on its fangs. -ACOWAR Ch. 68
I did not know how long had passed. Time—it had been different inside the mirror. -ACOWAR Ch. 68
History of the Ouroboros
The ouroboros is seen across many cultures and historical time periods. Here is an overview of cultures where we see the ouroboros and the context for the symbol in culture. There are annotations connecting this history to themes and characters from the Maasverse that will be expanded on further.
An ancient Egyptian funerary text found in the tomb of Tutankhamun (14th Century BCE) depicted the ouroboros twice, in connection to the union of Osiris and Ra. This depiction of the ouroboros represents the beginning and the end of time, life and death, as well as day and night.
The Union of Osiris and Ra: Ra – the ancient Egyptian sun god, considered the creator of all life and the king of the gods – travels to the Underworld and merges with Osiris – god of the afterlife, the dead, and fertility. This union ensured the continuity of the cosmic cycle of day and night, and the afterlife for deceased individuals.
Elsewhere in Egyptian history, the ouroboros represents the formless disorder that surrounds the orderly world and is involved in that world's periodic renewal.
The ancient Egyptians understood time as a series of repetitive cycles, instead of something linear.
Cosmic Cycles:
We see the idea of Cosmic Cycles across the plot of all three series, with all three wars fought being reiterations and continuations of the past.
Cain’s attention was on Celaena as he said, “You were brought here—all of you were. All the players in the unfinished game. My friends,” he gestured to the dead, “have told me so.” -Cain, TOG Ch. 49
“Only once before was a human Made into an immortal. Interesting that it should happen again right as all the ancient players have returned.” -Amren, ACOMAF Ch. 16
“It is the same war we fought fifteen thousand years ago, only renewed. The same war you fought, Hunt Athalar, in a different form. But the time is ripe again to make a push.” -Rigelus (pretending to be Aidas as a cat) HOSAB Ch. 15
The Union of Osiris and Ra:
The union of Osiris and Ra is reminiscent of the mating bond of Theia (starlight) and Aidas (Prince of Hel). Their union was cut short, which directly resulted in Apollion (Prince of Hel) uniting - and by that I mean eating - Sirius (an Asteri).
“Why do you think I slew Pelias? Why do you think I went on to devour Sirius? All for him.” -Apollion, HOSAB Ch. 62
Lidia and Ruhn similarly symbolise the cosmic cycle with their codenames and representations of Day and Night.
Did you just give me a code name? Night and Daybright. Night and Day—he liked that. -Ruhn, HOSAB Ch. 22
Ancient Greece
The name comes from the Greek words "oura" (tail) and "boros" (eating), meaning "tail-devourer.”
The Ancient Greek philosopher Plato believed the ouroboros was the symbol of the ultimate perfect being, it needed nothing but itself to survive because everything in existence resided within it and it fed on itself. The ouroboros is the creator and destroyer all in one being.
Creator and Destroyer - The Void:
Across the Maasverse, the Void appears to be associated with both creation and destruction.
“Do you not know where I come from? My father was the Void, the Being That Existed Before. Chaos was his bride and my dam. It is to them that we shall all one day return, and their mighty powers that run in my blood.” - Apollion, HOSAB Ch. 21
It began with a cauldron. A mighty black cauldron held by glowing, slender female hands in a starry, endless night. Those hands tipped it over, golden sparkling liquid pouring out over the lip. No—not sparkling, but … effervescent with small symbols, perhaps of some ancient faerie language. Whatever was written there, whatever it was, the contents of the cauldron were dumped into the void below, pooling on the earth to form our world … -ACOTAR
There was night, and there was the darkness of extinguishing a candle, and then there was this. Not only the true absence of light, but … a womb. The womb from which all life had come and would return, neither good nor evil, only dark, dark, dark. -ACOSF
Antithesis - Made and Unmade, Creation and Destruction:
Not healers to us, but executioners. Death-maidens. Capable of healing—but also unhealing. Unbinding the very fabric of life. Of worlds. -Erawan, KOA
The power of creation and destruction. That’s what lay within her. Life-Giver. -Yrene, KOA
The Starsword is Made, as you called it. (...) 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. -HOFAS Ch. 36
“Starfire’s ability to destroy is but one facet of a wonderous gift. The greatest difference, of course, lies in how the bearer chooses to use it.” -Aidas, HOFAS Ch. 53
Gnosticism
“Life is a beautiful ring of growth and decay,” the Under-King said, the words echoing through the Sleeping City around them. “No part left to waste. What we receive upon birth, we give back in death. What is granted to you mortals in the Eternal Lands is merely another step in the cycle. A waypoint along your journey toward the Void.” - The Underking, HOSAB Ch. 29
Alchemy
The early alchemical text, The Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra, probably originally dating to the 3rd century Alexandria, features an oroborus enclosing the words, "the all is one". Its black and white halves may perhaps represent a Gnostic duality of existence, analogous to the Taoist yin and yang symbol.
The chrysopoeia ouroboros of Cleopatra the Alchemist is one of the oldest images of the ouroboros to be linked with the legendary opus of the alchemists, the philosopher's stone.
The philosopher's stone is a mythic alchemical substance capable of transmutating base metals such as lead and mercury into gold or silver. Alchemists additionally believed that it could be used to make an elixir of life which made possible rejuvenation and immortality.
In the beginning And in the end There was Darkness And nothing more. She did not feel the cold as she sank into a sea that had no bottom, no horizon, no surface. But she felt the burning. Immortality was not a serene youth. It was fire. It was molten ore poured into her veins, boiling her human blood until it was nothing but steam, forging her brittle bones until they were fresh steel. And when she opened her mouth to scream, when the pain ripped her very self in two, there was no sound. There was nothing in this place but darkness and agony and power— They would pay. All of them. Starting with this Cauldron. Starting now. She tore into the darkness with talons and teeth. Rent and cleaved and shredded. And the dark eternity around her shuddered. Bucked. Thrashed. She laughed as it recoiled. Laughed around the mouthful of raw power she ripped out and swallowed whole; laughed at the fistfuls of eternity she shoved into her heart, her veins. The Cauldron struggled like a bird under a cat’s paw. She refused to relent. Everything it had stolen from her, from Elain, she would take from it. Wrapped in black eternity, Nesta and the Cauldron twined, burning through the darkness like a newborn star. -ACOSF, Prologue
The ouroboros was a symbol for the Roman god Saturn, who was believed to rule over time and the changing seasons. His rule was seen as an endless, circular process that connected one year to the next.
The ouroborus also represented infinity, the idea that there is no true beginning or end.
The ouroboros was often used on magical talismans during the Roman era.
ACOTAR Seasonal Courts:
In ACOTAR, the seasonal courts appear to be in direct juxtaposition to the ouroborus.
No Beginning and No End:
We see things described as having “no beginning and no end” throughout the Maasverse around concepts of love, darkness and power.
There was no end to the darkness in that ravine. No end, and no beginning, either. -Celaena, COM Ch. 20
The darkness had no end and no beginning. It was the abyss that had haunted her steps for ten years, and she free-fell into it, welcomed it. There was no sound, only the vague sense of going toward a bottom that might not exist, or that might mean her true end. -Aelin, HOF
Darkness flowed through me, soft and seductive, echoing up from an abyss of power so great it had no end and no beginning. -Feyre seeing through Rhys’ eyes, ACOMAF Ch. 28
His power filled the throne room, the castle, the mountain. The world. It had no end and no beginning. -Feyre on Rhys’ power, ACOMAF Ch. 42
I was the Book and the Cauldron and sound and silence. I was a living river through which one flowed into the other, eddying and ebbing, over and over, a tide with no end or beginning. -Feyre, ACOMAF Ch. 62
Hunt sat in a simple folding chair at the bottom of an abyss, nothing but blackness around him, the only light coming from the faint glow cast by his body. There was no beginning or end to the perpetual night. -HOSAB, Ch. 21
Jörmungandr, or the World Serpent or Midgard Serpent is a monstrous sea serpent in Norse mythology that encircles the Earth. One of the three offspring of Loki and the giantess Angrboða – their other offspring include Fenrir, the massive wolf and Hel, guardian of the underworld of the same name.
Odin feared the children of Angrboða and Loki and threw Jörmungandr in the Ocean. Jörmungandr grew so large that it encircled the world of Midgard, biting its own tail.
Jörmungandr releasing his tail is one of the signs of the beginning of Ragnarök or the end of the world, sometimes referred to as Twilight of the Gods. Thor and Jörmungandr (the Midgard Serpent) have a fated, catastrophic battle during Ragnarök, where Thor slays the serpent but dies moments later from its venom, fulfilling prophecy and bringing an end to their rivalry in a tragic mutual destruction.
Abraxos as Jörmungandr
The concept of a World Serpent appears in witch mythology in the Throne of Glass world. It is this ancient serpent who Manon names Abraxos for.
Manon named her wyvern Abraxos, after the ancient serpent who held the world between his coils at the behest of the Three-Faced Goddess. -HOF, CH23
Twilight of the Gods:
Twilight of the Gods is rumored to be the name of SJM’s next series. It is also another name for Ragnarök or the end of the world, which ends with everything being swallowed into the sea. The final Crescent City book is assumed to be named The House of Many Waters.
Mutually Assured Destruction:
We see the concept of mutually assured destruction in the Cauldron in ACOTAR and the Firstlight Core in CC. The Daglan/Asteri tie objects to the existence of planets, so to destroy one is to destroy the other.
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.” … But Bryce said, “You gave this world a kill switch.” “We gave many worlds … kill switches. To protect our interests.” -HOFAS, Ch. 25
“You made the core a kill switch for this world,” Bryce breathed. The Asteri to Rigelus’s left—Eosphoros, the Morning Star—sneered, “To prevent rodents like you from getting any ideas about destroying us.” “Our fate,” Rigelus said to Bryce, folding his hands in front of him almost beatifically, “is tied to that of this planet. You kill our source of nourishment, and you doom every living soul on Midgard as well.” -HOFAS, Ch. 96
Thor, Thurr and Hunt
Thor is the Norse god of thunder, lightning, storms, strength, protection, and fertility, often depicted as a mighty warrior with a red beard, wielding his magical hammer Mjölnir, and serving as the defender of gods and humans against giants and monsters.
In Crescent City we are meant to connect Hunt with Thurr, and therefore Thor.
That one reminds me of Athalar.” Bryce arched a brow, grateful for the change of subject, and twisted toward where he’d pointed. On it, a powerful Fae male stood poised above an anvil, hammer raised skyward in one fist, lightning cracking from the skies, filling the hammer, and flowing down toward the object of the hammer’s intended blow: a sword. Its label read simply: Unknown sculptor. Palmira, circa 125 V.E. Bryce lifted her mobile and snapped a photo, pulling up her messaging thread with Hunt Athalar Is Better at Sunball Than I Am. … With a few sweeps of her thumbs, the picture zoomed off into the ether, along with her note: Long-lost relative of yours? -HOSAB, Ch. 1
“I’ve got a nine-thousand-year-old Rhodinian bust of Thurr here.” Basically a broody male who was supposed to pass for the nearly forgotten minor storm deity. All that remained of him in their culture was the behemoth of a planet named after him. And Thursdays, apparently. -HOSAB, Ch. 8
Hunt didn’t stop at destroying the suit. His lightning slammed the parked trucks, too. Every single one of them. Bryce couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of him—like a god of lightning. Like Thurr himself. -HOSAB, Ch. 43
“And Project Thurr? Why was Danika so interested in that?” “Thurr was the last time someone got as far as Danika did in learning about us. It didn’t end well for them. I suppose she wanted to learn from their mistakes before acting.” -HOSAB, Ch. 73
“There was a scientist at the Asteri Archives,” Aidas said. “An angel who was delving into the origins of the thunderbirds, how strange their power was. He named the project after a near-forgotten god of storms.” “Project Thurr,” Bryce said. “Was Danika investigating it, too? I found mentions of it, after she died.” “I don’t know,” Aidas said, “but the angel was researching thunderbirds at the behest of the Asteri, who worried they might return. It led him to us instead. When we told him the truth, he offered to help in whatever way he could. Thanatos was finishing up his work then. And with a male volunteer, only a female to breed with was needed.” -HOFAS, Ch. 61
Amazonian Mythology
In some indigenous Amazonian beliefs, a great snake, often an anaconda, is thought to encircle the world at its edges.
Jewish Mythology
The Leviathan is a primordial sea serpent often mentioned in the Hebrew bible, that is sometimes associated with the ouroboros symbol. Jewish mystics, especially in the Zohar, describe the Leviathan as a singular, monstrous serpent that encircles the world, with its tail in its mouth.
The Leviathan is used to symbolize chaos, the enemies of Israel, or the immense power of God's creation.
Jewish mythology says in the messianic era, the Leviathan will be slain and its flesh served at a great feast for the righteous, signifying the ultimate victory over chaos. The act of eating the Leviathan is a transformative experience, symbolizing the righteous individual's deep connection with the spiritual.
The Zohar offers a metaphorical interpretation, stating that eating the Leviathan is not a literal act but a metaphor for spiritual enlightenment. The consumption of this primordial being allows for the righteous to attain a higher, more complete state of being, representing a profound spiritual and physical transformation.
Chaos
Chaos is heavily associated with Apollion and the Princes of Hel.
Do you not know where I come from? My father was the Void, the Being That Existed Before. Chaos was his bride and my dam. It is to them that we shall all one day return, and their mighty powers that run in my blood.” -Apollion, HOSAB, Ch. 21
“The Temple of Chaos is a sacred place,” Apollion said sharply. “We shall never defile it with violence.” The words rumbled like thunder again. -Apollion, HOFAS, Ch. 59
The “gods” in TOG are said to triumph over chaos.
“Today,” the priestess said, “is the day on which we celebrate the end and the beginning of the great cycle. Today is the day on which the Great Goddess gave birth to her firstborn, Lumas, Lord of the Gods. With his birth, love was brought into Erilea, and it banished the chaos that arose from the Gates of the Wyrd.” -TOG
Transformation
There are a number of instances across the three series that are reminiscent of a profound spiritual and physical transformation. CC categorizes these moments as the “ordeal” and the “drop.” Ordeals include: Feyre’s 3 trials, the Blood Rite, Bryce vs Micah, Aelin vs Valg at Mistward and Aelin and Dorian defeating the Valg in the King of Adarlan.
They joined hands. So the world ended. And the next one began. They were infinite. They were the beginning and the ending; they were eternity. The king standing before them gaped as the shield of flame died out to reveal Aelin and Dorian, hand in hand, glowing like newborn gods as their magic entwined. The King of Adarlan bellowed as Aelin and Dorian fractured his power. Together they broke down every spell, every ounce of evil that he’d bent and shackled to his command. Infinite—Dorian’s power was infinite. They were full of light, of fire and starlight and sunshine. They overflowed with it as they snapped the final tether on the king’s power and cleaved his darkness away, burning it up until it was nothing. -QOS
But we also see transformation in not only coming into your power during “the drop,” but also taking power - Feyre’s death and rebirth, Nesta in the cauldron, Bryce uniting the parts of Theia’s star.
She tore into the darkness with talons and teeth. Rent and cleaved and shredded. And the dark eternity around her shuddered. Bucked. Thrashed. She laughed as it recoiled. Laughed around the mouthful of raw power she ripped out and swallowed whole; laughed at the fistfuls of eternity she shoved into her heart, her veins. The Cauldron struggled like a bird under a cat’s paw. She refused to relent. Everything it had stolen from her, from Elain, she would take from it. Wrapped in black eternity, Nesta and the Cauldron twined, burning through the darkness like a newborn star. -ACOSF, Prologue
Christian Mysticism
In Christian mysticism, the Ouroboros was sometimes used to symbolise eternity and the idea of God as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
Alpha and Omega:
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, Ch, 78
Beginning and End:
In the beginning, and in the end, there was Darkness and nothing more. She had first heard that truth, understood it, during her battle with the Cauldron. And understood it again now as she floated into that same strange place, both full and empty, forever cold. Where is the Mask? she asked the void. -ACOSF, Ch. 31
Wild Theory TIME
All three stories feature language and concepts associated with the ouroboros, “no beginning and no ending.” These themes run through character internal development, character relationships, world-building and more.
So what if the timeline of the Maasverse is an Ouroboros? This could play out a few different ways. This is all extremely speculative, but there are hints that time is operating on principles of relativity throughout the Maasverse, rather than running in a linear fashion.
The Time Dimension
The flow of time in the Maasverse is vital to understanding the overlap between worlds. Many use Aelin’s fall through worlds to argue that these stories are happening concurrently, but I believe this is a false dichotomy that ignores the influence of the dimension of time on the Maasverse. We see other examples in fantasy and science fiction books of worlds being interconnected, but time does not flow at the same rate in each of these worlds – for example Narnia time, where years in Narnia are minutes in our world.
Newton vs. Einstein
Newton believed that time is absolute and flows uniformly. This is often described as an arrow moving in a straight line suggesting that time is a constant and universal entity, unaffected by events or motion within the universe.
Einstein believed time was a flexible dimension that can be affected by gravity and speed, often likened to a river that can speed up, slow down, or even curve around massive objects. This is part of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.
Why does this matter in the Maasverse?
I believe time in the Maasverse works on Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. We see instances of time “slowing” and “warping” throughout the three worlds - specifically around the deaths of “true immortals.”
HOEAB Michah’s Death: Time warped and stretched…The death of an Archangel, of a world power, could shudder through time and space. A second could last an hour. A day. A year.
HOFAS Polaris’s Death: The slowing of the world when a great power died was familiar to Hunt from Micah’s death, from Shahar’s, from Sandriel’s, but this was so much worse.
HOFAS Black Hole Deaths: Time slowed for a heartbeat—only one, time dragging, dragging—and then resumed. Their deaths had been fast. A swift swallow…Time slowed and shuddered as the black hole devoured him, too….Time slowed. It stretched and rippled as a flare of light plumed, either Rigelus or the erupting missile, Shahar and the Fallen’s cause vanishing with it into darkness.
KOA Erawan’s death: Yrene reached him, hands like burning stars, and slammed them upon his chest. The world slowed and warped.
ACOWAR Nesta readying her power to go up against the King of Hybern: The power Nesta was holding back…Time seemed to slow and warp.
Time is a Circle
Philosophy Time! The concept of eternal recurrence is a philosophical concept which states that time repeats itself in an infinite loop, and that exactly the same events will continue to occur in exactly the same way, over and over again, for eternity. In ancient Greece, the concept of eternal return was most prominently associated with Stoicism. The Stoics believed that the universe is periodically destroyed and reborn, and that each universe is exactly the same as the one before. According to Stoic physics, the universe is periodically destroyed in an immense conflagration (ekpyrosis), and then experiences a rebirth (palingenesis). These cycles continue for eternity, and the same events are exactly repeated in every cycle.
Similarly, a physics theory by Roger Penrose, Conformal Cyclic Cosmology postulates that our universe is one of infinite cycles if the universe, each starting with a Big Bang and ending in an infinitely expanded, cold state that becomes the Big Bang of the next cycle through conformal rescaling, where time and distance scales vanish.
“Oh, this planet will be long dead before eternity has ended. Its star will expand, and expand, and eventually devour everything in its path. Including this world.” - Vesperus, HOFAS
The cosmic ouroboros resurrects an ancient symbol with modern insights from astrophysics & cosmology. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Sheldon Glashow created the cosmological ouroboros in 1979, connecting the 4 fundamental forces in one striking image.
When looking at theories of circular time and applying them to the Maasverse, we get - at the simplest level - the Void births a world, the events on this world occur, the world dies and returns to the void and that death feeds the void which births another world and the cycle continues infinitely.
The Butterfly Effect Across the Maasverse
We see the interaction between multiple worlds throughout the Maasverse. The actions in one world or plane of existence both directly and indirectly affect the events on other worlds.
Aelin bellowed and bellowed, the sound ringing out across all worlds. -KOA, Ch. 98
So Nesta held her sister tightly, with Time halted around them, and she whispered, “If you show me how to save her, you can have it back.” The world paused. Worlds beyond their own paused. -ACOSF, Ch. 76
She could have sworn the very world—all worlds—shuddered as Nesta’s hand crossed into Midgard and passed the Mask to Bryce. -HOFAS, Ch. 77
Quantum entanglement is a physical phenomenon where pairs or groups of particles (e.g., photons, electrons) become so deeply linked that the quantum state of each cannot be described independently, regardless of the distance separating them.
The worlds and timelines of the Maasverse are similarly entangled. The events of each series influences actions in the other worlds. Maasverse theorists often have these causes and effects happening in a linear fashion. A simple example is how the creation of the Dread Trove on Prythian leads to Rhysand being able to slow down Aelin which leads to the defeat of the Valg on Erilea.
When we look at these actions further, we uncover many more ripples and far more entanglement.
In the Maasverse, we are dealing with multiple worlds, that might be existing at the same time. The worlds are most definitely intertwined, and their timeline entanglement might be able to be represented by a multi-ouroborus. A double ouroboros, features two intertwined snakes swallowing each other's tail. For simplicity we will look at the worlds of Prythian and Midgard and apply their timelines to a double ouroborus.
The death of one world creates another world. The worlds timelines are entangled, with each place the worlds cross in space and time creating an overlap of the coils of the snake. We also see the repetition of timelines, and timelines looping back on themselves.
In terms of the Maasverse, we could be dealing with 26 intertwining snakes creating a massive entangled universe: Great, scaled black beasts were carved into those gates, all coiled together in a nest of claws and fangs, sleeping and fighting, some locked in an endless cycle of devouring each other. -ACOMAF, Ch. 42
What is this to you? This thing we have? Buffy and Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (seasons 5, 6 & 7).
the problem with watching buffy the vampire slayer for the first time when you're 13 is that it will fundamentally reshape your brain chemistry to the point where literally all fiction becomes buffy the vampire slayer in different fonts. "watch another show!" you might say, and believe me i have! i promise i've watched many other shows since i was 13. but the problem is that all those other shows as well as films, books, podcasts etc. are simply deviations of buffy the vampire slayer to me. it's the holy text, the primary source. everything else is just commentary.
Castle Schloss Lichtenstein, Germany 🇩🇪
Schloss Lichtenstein, located in the Swabian Alps of southern Germany, is often called the “fairy-tale castle of Württemberg.” The current castle was built between 1840 and 1842 by Count Wilhelm of Württemberg. He was inspired by the historical novel Lichtenstein (1826) written by Wilhelm Hauff.
Although it looks medieval, the castle is actually a Neo-Gothic reconstruction built on the ruins of an older medieval fortress dating back to around the 12th century. The original castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times before falling into ruin.
Today, Schloss Lichtenstein is a popular tourist attraction, known for its dramatic cliffside location, romantic architecture, and panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.