Team Continent
Let’s talk about the continent and everything that has been mentioned about it. (Please note this is a long form post, also If I have missed out on any information. Which I’m sure I might have it’s been a long two days of research. Please let me know in the comments) Here’s our map for reference of the continent, and all the locations.
So here’s some primary locations on the continent that the map highlighted in ACOSF, but there are other locations that are also on the continent that aren’t listened here. Or they’re in the mortal realm and we’re just mentioned in passing. But since part of the mortal realm is on the continent I’ll give it a pass. So here’s some locations that we learn about through the books that still have yet to be explored.
We have:
Bharat
The Black Lands
Montesere
Neva
Rask
Scythia
Vallahan
Koschei’s lake/castle.
So let’s go over all the references we get to these locations.
-Bharat
“My father was called The Prince of Merchants, but that title, which he’d inherited from his father, and his father before that, was a lie. We were just a good name that masked three generations of bad debts. My father had been trying to find an ease those debts for years, and when he found an opportunity to pay them off, he took it regardless of the risk. Eight years ago, he amassed our wealth on three ships to sail to Bharat for invaluable spices and cloth.” Tamlin frowned. “Risky indeed. Those waters are a death trap, unless you go the long way.” “Well, he didn’t go the long way. It would have taken too much time, and our creditors were breathing down his neck. So he risked sending the ships directly to Bharat. They never reached Bharat’s shores.”
“All those ships we lost were found in Bharat, complete with father’s profits!”
My mother had died of typhus, and her cousin had died of malaria after going to Bharat.
-The Black Lands
“I marched back into the Black Land with Miryam to free the slaves left in the burning sand, the slavery she had herself escaped. The slaves Miryam had promised to return to free. I marched with her-my friend. Along with Prince Drakon’s legion. Miryam was my friend as Feyre is now, and your ancestors, those queens who signed that treaty..they were my friends too. And when I look at you…I see nothing of those women in you. When I look at you, I know that your ancestors would be ashamed.”
“Five hundred years ago, in the years leading up to The War, there was a fae kingdom in the southern part of the continent. It was a realm of sand surrounding a lush river delta. The Black Land. There was no crueler place to be born a human-for no humans were born free. They were all of them slaves, forced to build great temples and palaces for the High Fae who ruled. There was no escape; no chance at having their freedom purchased. And the Queen of the Black Land…She made Amarantha seem as sweet as Elain.” “Miryam was a half fae female born of a human mother. And as her mother was a slave, as the conception was…against her mother’s will, so, too was Miryam born in shackles, and deemed human-denied any right to her fae heritage.” “Tell the full story another time, the gist of it, girl, if that Miryam was given as a wedding gift by the queen to her betrothed, a foreign fae prince named Drakkon. He was horrified and let Miryam escape. Fearing the queen’s wrath, she fled through the desert, across the sea, into more desert and was found by Jurian. She fell in with his rebel armies, became his lover, and was a healer amongst the warriors. Until a devastating battle found her tending to Jurian’s new fae allies-including Prince Drakkon. Turns out Miryam opened his eyes to the monster he planned to wed. He’d broken the engagement, allied his armies with the humans, and had been looking for the beautiful slave girl for three years. Jurian had no idea that his new ally coveted his lover. He was too focused on winning The War, on destroying Amarantha in The Norrh. As his obsession took over, he was blind to witnessing Miryam and Drakkon falling in love behind his back.” “It wasn’t behind his back.Miryam ended it with Jurian before she ever laid a finger on Drakkon.” “Long story short, girl, when Jurian was slaughtered by Amarantha, and during those long centuries after, she told him what happened to his lover, that she betrayed him for a fae male. Everyone believed Mirayam and Drakkon perished while liberating her people from The Black Land at the end of The War. Even Amarantha.”
“Hybern’s wealth has been dwindling for centuries. Most of their trades wars before the war dealt with the south- with The Black Land. But once it went to the humans..We don’t know if Hybern’s king deliberately failed to establish new trade routes and opportunities for his people in order to one day fuel this war, or if he was just short sighted and let everything fall apart. But for centuries now, Hybern’s people have been festering. Hybern let their resentment of their growing stagnation and poverty fester.” “There are many High Fae who believed before the War, and still believe now, that humans…that they are property. There were many High Fae who knew nothing but privilege thanks to those slaves. And when that privilege was ripped away from them, when they were forced to leave their homelands or forced to make room for other High Fae and reform territories-create new ones above that wall…they have not forgotten that anger, even centuries later. Espicially not in places like Hybern, where their population remained mostly untouched by change. They were one of the few who did not have to yield any land to the wall- and did not yield any land to the fae territories now looking for a new home. Isolated. Growing poorer, with no slaves to do their labor…Hybern has long viewsed the days before The War as a golden era.and these centuries since as the dark ages.”
-Montesere, Rask, Vallahan (since they are mentioned together for the most part in this series)
“Our army is ten times that girl,” Brannagh sneered. “And twice that number if you count our allies in Vallahan, Montesere, and Rask.”
“We barely stand a chance of surviving Hybern’s armies on our own. If armies from Vallahan, Montesere, and Rask join them…” He drew a line across his tan throat.
“Are those three territories that powerful?” “Yes. Vallahan has the numbers, Montesere has the money, and Rask….it is large enough to have both.” “And we have no potiential allies amongst the other overseas territories?” “Not ones that would sail here to help.”
“Hybern’s people see their king and their army not as conquerors, but as liberators of the High Fae, and those who stand with them.” “How could anyone believe that?” “That’s what we’ve been learning. Listening in Hybern. And in territories like Rask and Montesere and Vallhan.” “We’re to be made an example of, girl. Prythian. We were amongst the fiercest defenders of the treaty. Hybern wants to claim Prythian not only to clear a path to the continent, but to make examples of what happens to High Fae territories that defend the treaty.“ “But surely, other territories would protect it.” “Not as many as we’d hoped. There are many-too many- who have felt squashed and suffocated during these centuries. They want their old lands back beneath the wall and the power and prosperity that came with it. Their vision of the past has been colored by five hundred years of struggling to adjust and thrive.” “Perhaps we did them a disservice in not sharing enough of our wealth, our territory. Perhaps we are to blame for allowing some of this to rot and fester.” “That remains to be discussed. The point is that we are not facing an army hell bent on destruction. They are hell bent on what they believe is liberation. Of High Fae stifled by the wall, and what they believe still belongs to them.” So how do the other territories play into this-the three Hybern claims will align with them?” …”We can’t afford to let those three territories join with Hybern. If they send armies to Prythian. We’re done.” “So what do we do?” “We’ve been keeping them busy. We planted information-truth and lied and a blend of both- for them to find. And also scattered it among our old allies, who are now bulking at supporting us.” “You’ve been playing the territories on the continent off of each other?” “We’re making sure they’ve kept busy with each other. Making sure that long time enemies and rival nations of Rask, Vallahan, and Montesere. Have suddenly recieved information that has them worried about being attacked. And raising their own defenses. Which in turn made Rask, Montsere, and Vallahan start looking toward their own borders and not our own.”
“I’ve spent weeks in that blasted court freezing my ass off, trying to kiss their cold asses, and their king and queen refused to sign the treaty. I came home on the earlier side today because I knew any last minute pushing from me would be unwelcome. My time there was supposed to be a friendly visit after all.” “Why won’t they sign it?” “Because those stupid human queens are stirring-their army still isn’t disbanded. The Queen of Vallahan even asked me what the point of a peace treaty would be when another war. This time against the humans, might redraw the territory lines far below the wall. I don’t think Vallahan is interested in peace. Or allying with us.” “So Vallahan wants another war in order to add to their territory?” “They’re bored. And the humans, despite those queens, are far weaker than we are. Pushing into human lands is low hanging fruit. Montesere and Rask are likely thinking the same thing.”
Now even with Hybern’s king dead, it’s people remained angry. An army might be raised in again in Hybern, and if they united with Vallahan, if Montesere and Rask joined with the goal of claiming more territory from the humans….
“You already told Rhys this?” “That’s why he’s asking you to look into what’s going on with the human queens. I’m taking a few days off before I head back to Vallahan-but Rhys needs to know where the human queens stand in all of this.” “So you’re supposed to convince Vallahan not to start another war, and I’m supposed to convince the human queens not to do so either?” “You won’t get near the human queens, but from what I observed in Vallahan, I know that they’re up to something. Planning something. We just can’t figure out what. Or why the humans would be stupid enough to start a war they cannot win.” “They’d need something in their arsenal that could grant them the advantage.” “That’s what you have to find out.”
“We are weakened. All seven courts. Even more at odds with each other and with the rest of the world since the war. If Montesere and Vallahan march on us. If Rask joins with them, we will not withstand it. Not with Beron already turned against us and allied with Briallyn. Not if Tamlin can’t master his guilt and his grief and become who he once was.”
Despite being a High Priestess, she and her family had escaped the horrors of Under the Mountain by running. Her father, one of Tamlin’s strongest allies amongst the Spring Court and a captain in his forces. Had sensed trouble coming and packed off Ianthe, her mother, and her two sisters to Vallahan. One of the countless faerie territories across the ocean. For fifty years, they lived in the foreign court, biding their time while their people were butchered and slaughtered.
“Tell me what happened in Vallahan.” The ancient, mountainous fae territory across the northern sea had been stirring since before the war with Hybern. And had been both enemy and ally to prythian in different historical eras. What role Vallahan’s hot tempered king and proud people would play in this new world of theirs was yet to be decided. Though much of its fate seemed to depend upon Mor’s now frequent presence at their court as Rhys’s emissary. “They don’t want to sign the new treaty.” “Fuck.” Rhys, Feyre, and Amren had spent months working on that treaty, with input from their allies, in other courts and territories. Helion, High Lord of the Day Court, and Rhys’s closest ally, had been the most involved. Helion Spell Cleaver was unrivaled in sheer, swaggering arrogance-he’d probably made up the moniker himself. But the male had one thousand libraries at his disposal. And had put them all to good use for that treaty.
“Why does your father want to go to war so badly?” “Why does anyone go to war? Why does Vallahan not sign the treaty? The borders of this new world have not been set yet.” “Beron doesn’t have the military strength to control the Autumn Court and a territory on the continent." "Who says he wants land on the continent?" "Beron knows another war that pits fae against fae would be catastrophic. Many of us would be wiped out entirely. Especially. Especially those of us who are weakened. And when the dust settles, there would be at least one court left vacant, its lands bare for the taking."
"I need to head to the library." "So do I actually. The work I'm doing for Rhys and Feyre in Vallahan requires some research and Clotho has been looking into it for me."
"So you really are learning Valkyrie training techniques?" Nesta nodded. "You mind if I start joining you once this business with Vallahan is over? I never got to train with the Valkeryies before the first war, and after it, they were gone." "I think the priestesses would like to see you."
"Maybe not. But you and yours have more important things to think about than ancient history. My father is furious that his ally is dead, but he's not deterred. Koschei remains in play, and Beron might very well be stupid enough to establish an alliance with him, too. I hope that whatever Morrigan is doing in Vallahan will counteract the damage my father will unleash."
-Neva
"Where is father?" "In Neva, trading with some merchants from the other half of the world. And attending a summit about the threat above the wall. A threat I wonder if you've come back to warn us about."
Koschei's lake/ references to the continent.
As far as we knew, the High Fae still governed the northern parts of our world-from our enormous island over the narrow sea separating us from the massive continent, across depthless Fjords and frozen wastelands and sandblasted deserts. all the way to the great ocean on the other side. Some faerie territories were empires. some were overseen by kings and queens. Then there were other places like Prythian, divided and ruled by seven High Lords-being of such unyielding power that legend claimed they could level buildings, break apart armies, and butcher you before you could blink. I didn't doubt it. No one had ever told me why humans chose to linger in our territory, when so little space had been granted to us and we remained in such close proximity. Fools-whatever humans had stayed here after the War must have been suicidal fools to live so close. Even with the centuries old treaty between both mortal and faerie realms, there were rifts in the warded wall separating our lands, holes big enough for those lethal creatures to slip into our territory to amuse themselves with tormenting us.
Mural. That's what it was. At first I could do nothing but stare at its size, at the ambition of it, at the fact that this masterpiece was tucked back here for no one to see, as if it was nothing-absolutely nothing-to create something like this. It told a story with the way colors and shapes and light flowed, the way the tone shifted across the mural. The story of...of Prythian. It began with a cauldron. A mighty black cauldron held by glowing, slender female hands in a starry, endless night. Those hands tipped it over, golden sparkling liquid pouring out over the lip. No-not sparkling, but...effervescent with small symbols, perhaps in some of some ancient faerie language. Whatever was written there, whatever it was, the contents of the cauldron were dumped into the void below. pooling on the earth to form our world. The map spanned the entirety of our world-not just the land on which we stood, but also the seas and the larger continents beyond. Each territory was marked and colored, some were intricate, ornate descriptions of the beings who had once ruled over lands that now belonged to the humans. All of it, i remembered with a shudder, all of the world had once been theirs-at least as far as they believed, crafted for them by the bearer of the cauldron. There was no mention of the humans-no sign of us here. I supposed we were as low as pigs to them. It was hard to look at the next panel. It was so simple, yet so detailed that, for a moment, I stood there on that battlefield, feeling the texture of the bloodied mud beneath me, shoulder to shoulder with the thousands of other human shoulders lined up, facing the faerie hordes who charged at us. A moment of pause before the slaughter. The humans arrows and swords seemed so pointless against the High Fae in their glimmering armor, or the faeries bristling with claws and fangs. I knew-knew without another panel to explicitly show me-the humans hadn't survived that particular battle. The smear of black on the panel beside it, tinged with glimmers of red, said enough. Then another map of a much reduced faerie realm. Northern territories had been cut up and divided to make room for the High Fae, who had lost their lands to the south of the wall. Everything north of the wall went with them: everything south was left as a blur of nothing. A decimated, forgotten world as if the painter couldn't be bothered to render it. I scanned the various lands and territories now given to the High Fae. Still so much territory-such monstrous power spread across the northern part of our world. I knew they were ruled by kings or queens or councils or empresses, but I'd never seen a representation of it, of how much they'd been forced to concede to the South, and how crammed their lands now were in comparison. Our massive island had fared well for Prythian by comparison, with only the bottom tip given over to us miserable humans. The bulk of the sacrifice was borne by the southernmost of the seven territories: A territory painted with crocuses and lambs and roses. Spring lands. I took a step closer, until I could see the dark, ugly smear that acted as the wall-another spiteful touch by the painter. No markers in the human realm, nothing to indicate any of the larger towns or centers, but....I found the rough area where our village was, and the woods that seperated it from the wall. Those two days journey seemed so small-too small-compared to the power lurking above us. I traced a line, my finger hovering over the paint, up over the wall, into these lands- The lands of the Spring Court. Again, no markers, but it was filled with touches of spring trees in bloom, fickle storms, young animals..At least I was to live out my days in one of the more moderate courts, weather wise, A small consolation. I looked northward and stepped back again. The six other courts of Pryhtian occupied a patchwork of territories. Autumn, Summer, and Winter were easy enough to pick out. Then above them, to glowing courts: The southernmost one a softer, redder palate."
Above in bright gold and yellow and blue, The Day Court, and above that, perched in a frozen mountainous spread of darkness and stars, the sprawling, massive territory of the Night Court. There were things in the shadows between those mountains-little eyes, gleaming teeth. A land of lethal beauty. The hair on my arms rose. I might have examined the other kingdoms across the sea that flanked our land, like the isolated faerie kingdom to the west that seemed to have gotten away with no territory loss and was still law unto itself, had i not looked to the heart of that beautiful, living map. In the center of the land, as if it were the core around which everything else had spread, or perhaps the place where the cauldron's liquid had first touched, was a small snowy mountain range, From it arose a mammoth solitary peak. Bald of snow, bald of life-as if the elements refused to touch it. There were no more clues about what it might be: nothing to indicate its importance: And i suppose that the viewers were already supposed to know. This was not a mural for human eyes.
"For some time now, The King of Hybern has found himself unhappy with the Treaty the other ruling High Fae of the world made with you humans long ago. He resents that he was forced to sign it, to let his mortal slaves go and to remain confined to his damp green isle at the edge of the world, and so, a hundred years ago, he dispatched his most trusted and loyal commanders, his deadliest warriors, remnants of the ancient armies that he once sailed to the continent to wage such a brutal war against you humans, all of them as hungry and as vile as he. As spies and courtiers and lovers, they infiltrated the various High Fae courts and kingdoms and empires around the world for fifty years, and when they had gathered enough information, he made his plan, But nearly five decades ago, one of his commanders disobeyed him. The Deceiver."
"These bulbs came all the way from the tulip fields of the continent. Father promised that next spring he'll take me to see them. He claims that for mile after mile there's nothing but these flowers. You should come with me, Nesta won't go because she says she doesn't want to risk the sea crossing, but you and I-oh, we'd have fun, wouldn't we?" "I think-I think I'd like to see the continent."
"i would have liked to see the continent with you, Feyre." "Maybe someday."
"Prythian is all that stands between the King of Hybern and the continent, He wants to reclaim the human lands there-perhaps seize the faerie lands, too. If anyone is to intercept his conquering fleet before it reaches the continent, it would be us."
"Did you fight in the War?" "I was young-by our standards, at least. But my father had sent aid to the mortal faerie alliance on the continent and i convinced him to let me take a legion of our soldiers. I was stationed in the south, right where the fighting was the thickest. The slaughter was..I have no interest in ever seeing full scale slaughter like that again."
There were no cities left in our mortal territory. Though some had sprung up on the main continent, full of art and learning and trade. Elain had once wanted to go with me. I didn't suppose I'd ever get the chance now.
"You are an immortal faerie-with a human heart. Even as such, you might very well set foot on the continent and be..hunted for it."
My father thankfully would remain on the continent for another two months-due to whatever vital trade he'd been seeking across the kingdoms.
"This territory is a slip of land compared to the vastness of the continent. It is not in our best interests to defend it. It would be a waste of resources. "
"Oh? The High Lord of the Night Court asks us to join with him, to fight for peace. And what lives you have taken during your long, hideous existence? What of the High Lord who walks with darkness in his wake, and shatters minds as he sees fit? We have heard of you, even on the continent, Rhysand. We have heard what the Night Court does, what you do to your enemies, Peace? For a male who melts minds and tortures for sport, I did not think you knew the word."
My father, I remembered, was still trading on the continent, for the Mother knew what goods. Another variable in this.
"You made a very big mistake the day you went after the Book. I had no need for it. I was content to let it lie hidden. But the moment your forces started sniffling around...I decided who better than to be my liason to the human realm than my newly reborn friend, Jurian? He'd just finished all those months of recovering from the process, and longed to see what his former home had become, so he was more than happy to visit the continent for an extended visit. The brave, cunning Jurian, who suffered so badly at the end of the War-now my ally. Here to help me convince these queens to aid in my cause. For a price of his own, of course, but it has no bearing here. And wiser to work with me, my men, than to allow you monsters in the Night Court to rule and attack. Jurian was right to warn their majesties that you'd try to take the Book-that you would feed them lies of love and goodness, when he had seen what the High Lord of the Night Court was capable of. The hero of the human forces, reborn as a gesture to the human world of my good faith. I do not wish to invade the continent-but to work with them. My powers ensconced their court from prying eyes, just to show them the benefits. Such impressive attempts to infiltrate their sacred palace, Shadowsinger-and utter proof to their majesties, of course, that court is not as benevolent as you seem."
The keep looming at my back was too valuable to be yielded to the loyalist. Not just for the location in the heart of the continent, but for the supplies it guarded. For the forges that smoldered day and night on its western side, toiling to stock our forces.
"The continent surely has spots, too." "Their queens have an even weaker grasp on their people than you do."
"I was on the continent. At the human queens palace." "You were where?""....."It's the quiet on their side of the sea that bothers me. No whispers of armies gathered, no other human allies summoned. Since Hybern, we've heard nothing. So I thought to see for myself why that is..."
"What are you looking at?" "I can see so very far now. All the way to the sea." "It takes some getting used to."....."I can hear the sea. Even at night. Even in my dreams. The crashing of the sea-and the screams of a bird made of fire." "There is a garden at my other house, I'd like for you to come tend it, if you're willing." "Will I hear the earthworms writhing through the soil? Or the stretching of the roots? Will the bird of fire come to sit in the trees and watch me?"
"She needs fresh air." "We'll judge what she needs." "Take her to the sea. Take her to some garden. But get her out of this house for an hour or two."
"I've heard that the humans have free libraries on the continent-open to anyone." "In one of the territories, they allow anyone in, regardless of their station or bloodline. Did...were there libraries before the War?" "Yes great libraries, full of cranky old scholars who could find you tomes dating back thousands of years. But humans were not allowed inside-unless you were someone's slave on an errand, and even then you were closely watched." "Why?" "Because the books were full of magic, and things they wanted to keep humans from knowing. The scholars and librarians refused to keep slaves of their own-some for personal reasons, but mainly because they didn't want them accessing the books and the archives." "What happened to the libraries once the wall was built?" " Most scholars had enough time to evacuate-and were able to winnow the books out, But if they didn't have the time or the brute power...They burned the libraires. Rather than let the humans access their precious information." "They'd rather have lost that information forever?" "Prejudices aside , the fear was that the humans would find dangerous spells-and use them on us." "But we-I mean, they don't have magic. Humans don't have magic." "Some do. Usually the ones who can claim distant fae ancestry. But some of those spells don't require magic from the wielder-only the right words, or use of ingredients." "Could-I mean obviously they did but...Humans and fae once interbred. What happened to their offspring? If you were half fae, half human, where did you go when the wall went up?" "It did not go well for the half-breeds, many were offspring of unwanted unions. Most usually chose to stay with their human mothers-their human families. But once the wall went up, amongst humans, they were a reminder of what had been done. Of the enemies lurking above the wall. At best, they were outcast and pariahs, their children-if they bore physical traits as well. At worst...humans were angry in those initial years , and that first generation afterward. They wanted someone to pay for slavery, for the crimes against them. Even if the half-breed had done nothing wrong..it did not end well." "And the ones above the wall?" "They were deemed even lower than lesser faeries. Either they were unwanted everywhere they went or..many found work on the streets. Selling themselves."
"Do you think I let them trap me here without good reason? You have met my sister-my twin. The weaver, as you now call her, I know her as Stryga. She, and our older brother, Koschei. How they delighted in this world when we fell into it. How those ancient fae feared and worshiped them. Had I been braver, I might have bided my time-waited for their power to fade, for that long time ago fae warrior to trick Stryga into diminishing her power and becoming confined to the middle. Koschei too-confined and bound to his lake on the continent. All before Prythian, before the land was carved up, and any High Lord was crowned. Clever, that fae warrior. Her bloodline is long gone now-though a trace of it still runs through some human line. No one remembers her name, but I do. She would have been my salvation, had I not made my choice long before she walked this earth. She could not kill them in the end-they were too strong. They could not be contained. I knew that long before she ever trapped them-took it upon myself to find my way here....If you knew my brother and sister, Cursebreaker, you would find this a much wiser and more comfortable alternative."
"There is another queen?" "Yes." "The sixth queen, the queen the golden one said wasn't ill." "She said not to trust the other queens because of it."
"The Sixth queen is alive?" "Yes." "What sort of curse?" "They sold her to some darkness, to some...sorcererer lord..I can never see him. What he is. There is an onyx box that he possesses. more vital than anything..save for them. The girls. He keeps other girls-others so like her-but she...by day, she is one form, by night, human again." "A bird of burning feathers." "Firebird by day, woman by night..so she's held captive by this sorcerer lord?" "I don't know. I hear her-her screaming. With rage. Utter rage," "Do you know why the other queens cursed her-sold her to him?" "No. No-that is all mist and shadow." "Can you sense where she is?" "There is..a lake. Deep in the continent. I think. Hidden amongst mountains and ancient forests. He keeps them all at that lake." "Other women like her?" "Yes-and no. Their feathers are white as snow. They glide across the water-while she rages through the skies above it." "What information do we have on the sixth queen?" "Little. We know little. Young-somewhere in her mid twenties. Scythia lies along the wall, to the east. Its smaller amongst the human queens realms, but rich in trades and arms. She goes by Vassa, but I never got a report with her full name." "She may have posed a considerable threat to the queens if they turned on her. And considering their agenda." "If we can find Vassa, she could be vital in convincing the human forces to fight. And giving us an ally on the continent." "If we can find her, It could take months. Not to mention, facing the male who holds her captive could be harder than expected. We can't afford that potential risk. Or the time it's take. We should focus on this meeting with the other High Lord's first." "But we could stand to gain much. Perhaps she has an army-" "Perhaps she does, but if she's cursed, who will lead it? And if her kingdom is so far away..they have to travel the mortal way too. You remember how slowly they moved, how quickly they died-" "It's worth a try." "You're needed here, I need you on the battlefield-not transpiringthrough the continent. The human half of it. If those queens have rallied armies to offer Hybern, they're no doubt standing between you and Queen Vassa." "You don't give me orders." "No, but I do, don't give me that look. He's right-we need you here, Mor."
"Scythia. I remember them. They're horse people. A mounted cavalry could travel far faster-" "No." "There is a reason why Elain is seeing these things. She was right about about the other queen turning old, about the raven's attack-Why is she being sent this image? Why is she hearing this queen? It must be vital. If we ignore it, perhaps we deserve to fail." "I'll go." Lucien was staring at Elain as he spoke. "To find the sixth queen." "What makes you think you could find her?" "This eye..it can see things that others..can't. Spells. glamours...perhaps it could help me find her, and break her curse. I'm not needed here. I'll fight if you need me to, but...I do not belong in the Autumn Court. And I'm willing to bet I'm no longer welcome in h-The Spring Court, but I can not sit here and do nothing. Those queens with their armies-there is a threat in that regard, too. So use me. Send me. I will help find Vassa, see if she can..bring help." "You will be going into human territory. I can't spare a force to guard you-" "I don't need one. I travel faster on my own. I will find her. And if there's an army to bring back or at least some way for her story to sway the human forces..,I'll find a way to do that too." "It will be-very dangerous." "Good. It'd be boring otherwise." "I'll load you up with some illyrian steel." Elain now watched Lucien wearily, Blinking every now and then. She revealed no hint of whatever she might be seeing-sensing. None."I'll winnow you as close as we can get-to wherever you need to begin your hunt." Lucien indded had been studying all those maps lately. Perhaps at the quiet behest of whatever force had guided us all. "Thank You." "Are you sure?" He only glanced at Elain, whose face was a calm void while she traced her finger over the embroidery on the couch cushion."Yes. Let me help in the ways that I can."
"You know precisely where you want Rhys to take you?" Lucien nodded, glanginc to where my mate now waited by the front door, He'd bring Lucien to the edge of the human continent-to wherever Lucien had decided would be the best landing spot. No farther, Azriel had insisted. His reports indicated it was too watched, too dangerous. Even for one of our own. Even for the most powerful High Lord in history. "Thank you." "It was time for me to do something." "Thank you." Rhys extended a hand to Lucien. Lucien studied it-then my mate's face, I could nearly see all the hateful words they'd spoken. Dangling between them, between that outstretched hand and Lucien's own. But Lucien took Rhys's hand. That silent offer of not only transportation. Before that dark wind swept in, Lucien looked back. Not to me I realized-to someone behind me. Pale and thin, Elain stood atop the stairs. Their gazes locked and held. But Elain said nothing. Did not so much as take one step downward. Lucien inclined his head in a bow, the movement hiding the gleam in his eye-the longing and the sadness. And when Lucien turned to signal to Rhys to go..He did not glance back at Elain. Did not see the half step she took towards the stairs-as if she'd speak to him. Stop him. Then Rhys was gone, and Lucien with him. When I turned to offer Elain breakfast, she'd already walked away.
"Did everything go well?" "As well as can be expected. He's now on the continent heading eastward. How's our new seer holding up?" "Don't call her that."
I'd heard of catacombs on the continent where skulls of beloved or infamous people were kept in little alcoves-dozens or hundred of them to a wall.
Did she wonder where her lost son was now? Had she heard the rumors I'd crafted, the lies that I's spun? I couldn't tell her that Lucien currently hunted the continent, dodging armies, for an enchanted queen. To find a scrap of salvation.
"The wall is gone. Shattered. Across Pryhtian, and on the continent. We were too late-to slow. Hybern just destroyed the wall."
"Graysen-we've come to beg you..both of you..open your gates to any humans who can get here. To families. With that wall down..we-they believe..there is not enough time for an evacuation. The queens will not send aid from the continent, but here-they might stand a chance."
"Upon his arrival, Jurian explained what had been done to you-both of you. What the queens on the continent desire." "And what is that?" "Power. Youth. The usual things." "Why are you here?" "The queens are snakes They deserved to be butchered for their treachery. It took no effort on my part when Hybern sent me to woo them to our cause. Only one of them was noble enough to play the game-to know we'd been dealt a shitty hand and to play it the best that she could. But when she helped you, the others found out. And they gave her to the Attor. He resurrected me to turn them to his cause, beleiving I had gone mad during the five hundred years Amarantha trapped me. So I was reborn, and found myself surrounded by my old enemies-faces I had once marked to kill. I found myself on the wrong side of the wall, with the human realm poised to shatter underneath it. You were my friend. We fought back to back during some of those battles and yet you believed me at first sight-believed that I'd ever let them turn me." "You went mad with-with Clythia." "And I was glad to do it. I was glad to do it, if it bought us the edge in that war. I didn't care what it did to me. What it broke in me, If it meant we could be free. And I have had five hundred years to think about it. While being held prisoner by my enemy. Five hundred years, Mor."
"Why this obsession to find Miryam and Drakon?" "It's what the world expects of me. What Hybern expects. And if he grants my asking price to find them..Drakon has a legion capable of turning the tide in battle. It was why i allied with him during the war. I don't doubt Drakon still has it trained and ready. Word will have reached him by now. Espicially that I am looking for them." A warning. The only way Jurian could send one-by making himself the hunter.
"What's the next move then? I assume you're doing more then warning humans to flee and hide." "The next move, Rhysand, is me going back to that Hybern war camp, and throwing a fit that my search for Mirayam and Drakon whereabouts wasn't fruitful. My step after that is to take another trip to the continent and sow the seeds of discourse amongst the queens court. To let some vital things slip about their agenda. Who they really support. What they really want. It will keep them busy-too worried about their own internal conflicts to consider sailing here, and once that's done..who knows? Maybe I'll join you on the battlefield."
"Queen Vassa offered me a place within her court." Indeed, Vassa still remained inside chatting with Lucien animatedly. "Are you going to accept?" "What sort of court can a cursed queen have? She's bound to that death lord-she has to go back to his lake on the continent at some point. Too bad the king was so secularly beheaded by your sister. I bet he could have found a way to break that curse of hers." "Too bad indeed. Do you think we stand a chance? Of peace between us all?" "Yes. I do."
"but perhaps more pressing is the fact that the human queens have not returned to their own territories. They linger in that joint palace of theirs. Beyond that, Hybern's general populous is not too thrilled to have lost this war. And with the wall gone, who knows what fae territories might make a grab for human lands."
"What about the Human Queens?" "We continue to watch. You continue to watch." "Vassa and Jurian are still with Greyson. Do we loop them in?" A strange gathering down in the human lands. With no queen ever having been appointed to the slice of territory at the base of Prythian, only councils of wealthy lords and merchants. Jurian had somehow stepped into the lead. Using Greyson's family estate as his seat of command. And Vassa...she had stayed. Her keeper granted her a reprieve from her curse-the enchantment that turned her into a firebird by day, woman again by night, And bound her to his lake deep in the continent. I'd never seen such spell work. I'd sent my power over to her, Helion too, hunting for any possible threads to unbind it. I found none. It was as if the curse was woven into her very blood. But Vassa's freedom would end. Lucien had said as much months ago, and still visited her often enough that I knew nothing in that regard had improved. She would have to return to the lake, to the sorcerer lord who kept her prisoner, sold to him by the very queens who had again gathered in their joint castle, Formerly Vassa's castle too.
"Vassa knows that the Queens of the realm will be a threat until their dealt with." Another tidbit that Lucien had told us. Well, Az and me, at least. "But unless the queens step out of line, it's not for us to face, If we sweep in, even to stop them from triggering another war, we'll be seen as conquerors, not heroes. We nee the humans in other territories to trust us, if we ever hope to achieve lasting peace." "Then perhaps Jurian and Vassa should deal with them. While Vassa is still free to do so." "The humans must be given a chance to rule themselves. Decide for themselves. Even our allies." "Send Lucien then, as our human emissary." "Lucien is away right now." "Where?" "You're my spymaster, Shouldn't you know?" "I don't make a point of looking at his movements." "Why?" "He is Elain's Mate. It would be an invasion of her privacy to track him." To know when and if Lucien sought her out. What they did together.
"I'm going to need you. Mor Not with Keir and the Hewn City, not with holding the peace long enough to stabilize. Az can infiltrate most courts. Most lands. But i might need you to win those lands over. Treaty negotiations are dragging on for too long" "They're not happening at all." "You wouldn't need to be gone for months. Just visits here and there. Casual." "Casual, but make kingdoms and territories realize that if they push too far or enter into human lands, we'll obliterate them?" "Something like that. Az has a lists of kingdoms most likely to cross the line." "if i'm flirting with the continent. who will deal with the Court of Nightmares?""I will." "You're not doing this because you think I can't handle Keir, are you?" "No. I think you can. I know you can. But your talents are better wielded elsewhere for now. Keir wants to build ties with the Autumn Court -let him. Whatever he and Eris are scheming up, they know we're watching, and know how stupid it would be for either of them to push us. One word to Beron. and Eris's head will roll."
She nodded and fell quiet. I debated asking her if she wished to know where Azriel and I thought she might go first, but her silence said enough. She'd go anywhere. Too long. She'd been cooped up within the borders of this court for too long. The war barely counted. And it wouldn't happen in a month, or perhaps a few years, but I could see it. The invisible noose tightening around her neck. with everyday she spent here.
Mor turned towards the ruined house and grounds behind them. Staring not at them I realized, but eastward. Towards the continent and the lands within. As if wondering what might be waiting there.
“I…I’ve been in the Spring Court every now and then. But if I’m not here in Velaris, I’ve been mostly staying with Jurian. And Vassa.” “Really where?” “There’s an old manor house in the southeast, in the humans territory. Jurian and Vassa were….gifted it.” From the lines that Bracketed his mouth, I knew who had likely arranged for the manor to fall into their hands. Graysen or his father. I didn’t dare glance at Elain. “Rhys mentioned that they were still in Prythian. I didn’t realize it was a permanent base.” “For now. While things are sorted out.” Like the world without a wall. Like the four human queens that still squatted across the continent. But now wasn’t the time to talk of it. “How are they-Jurian and Vassa?” “Jurian..thank the cauldron for him. I never thought I’d say that but it’s true. He’s keeping everything running. I think he’d been crowned king by now if it wasn’t for Vassa. She’s been doing well enough. Savoring her temporary freedom.” “She and Jurian are getting along?” I hadn’t seen them interact, could only imagine what the two would be like in the room together. Both trying to lead the humans who occupied the silver of land at the southernmost end of Prythian. Left ungoverned for so long. Too long.No king or Queen remained in these lands. No memory of their name, their lineage….”Vassa and Jurian are two sides of the same coin. Mercifully, their vision of the future of the human territories is mostly aligned. But the methods of how to attain that…”
How far the continent seemed, Rhys’s request with it. To go. To play spy and courtier and ambassador, to see those kingdoms long closed. Where her friends had once dwelled. Yes. He blood called to her. Go as far and as wide as you can. Go on the wind. She knew Azriel would say no, would want her safe. As he had always done. Cassian would have said yes. Amren with him. And Feyre would have worried but agreed. Az would have been pissed, and withdrawn further into himself…
She had hated her father, hated him deeply. And yet he had loved her, not enough to spare them from poverty or keep them from starving. But somehow it had been enough for him to raise an army on the continent. To sail a ship named for her into battle.
She wasn’t stupid. She knew there had been unrest since the war had ended. Both in these lands and on the continent. Knew that without the barrier of the wall, some far territories were pushing their limits on what they could get away with in terms of border claims and how they treated humans. And she knew that those four human queens still squatted in their palace, their armies unused and intact.
“There have been tensions amongst the humans regarding your kind. But as far as we’ve heard from Lord Greyson’s forces, the humans here have kept to the old demarcation line, and have no interest in starting trouble.” Yet was left unsaid. Would asking about the human queens reveal Rhys’s hand?….”what about your-your sisters?” He nodded to Vassa. “Would they have anything to do with this?” “We were getting to that actually. You heard the same rumors we have. They’re stirring across the sea. And poised to start trouble.” “Are they stupid enough to do it is the real question” “They’re anything but stupid. But leaving a human scent at the site is so obvious of a clue that it seems unlike that it was one of them.” “Any move the make is heavily weighed. Though I can not think of why any of them would capture your soldiers. There are other far on the continent itself, so why bother to cross the sea to take yours? And why not the Spring Court’s? Tamlin wouldn’t notice anyone missing at this point.” Lucien cringed. And Cassian while inclined to smirk at the thought of that asshole suffering, found himself frowning. I war was coming, they needed Tamlin and his forces in fighting shape. Needed Tamlin ready. Rhys has been visiting him regularly, making sure he’d both been on their side and capable of leading.
“I suppose this could be to sow tension amongst us. To make us eye each other with suspicion. Weaken our bonds.” “Hybern would have done that. He might have taught them a thing or two.” “The queens require no teaching. They were well versed in treachery before they ever contacted Hybern. And have dealt with greater monsters than him.” Both Jurian and Lucien stared at her, the former’s face utterly unreadable, and the latter’s pained….He should have asked before coming here how much time remained before Vassa would be forced to return to the continent-to the sorcerer lord at a remote lake who held her leash, and had allowed her to leave only temporarily, as part of a bargain Feyre’s father had struck.
“Send that Shadowsinger of yours to track Briallyn. If she’s somehow capable of capturing a unit of far soldiers, we need to know how. Swiftly.” Spoken like the general Jurian had once been…..”The queens can winnow. They did so during the war. Remember?” “Only when several of us are together. And it is not the winnowing that the fae do. But a different power. It’s akin to the way all seven high lords can combine their powers to perform miracles.”
“She’d only do this if she had someone of immense power behind her perhaps pulling her strings.” “Who?” “You wonder who is capable of making a unit of Fae soldiers across the sea vanish? Who could give Briallyn the power to winnow or do it for her? Who could aid Briallyn so she’d be bold enough to do such a thing? Look to Koschei.” “The sorcerer who imprisoned you is named Koschei? Is he..is he the bone carver’s brother? The bone carver mentioned a brother to me once. A fellow true immortal and death lord. That was his name.” “Yes. Koschei is-was-the Bone Carver’s older brother.” Lucien and Jurian looked at her in surprise. But Vassa’s gaze laid upon him. Fear and hatred filled it, as if speaking the male’s name was abhorent. “Koschei is no mere sorcerer. He’s confined to the lake only due to an ancient spell. Because he was outsmarted once. Everything he does is to free himself.” Why was he imprisoned?” “The story is too long to tell. But know that Briallyn and the others sold me to him, not through their devices. But his. By the words he planted in their courts. Whispered on the wind.” “He’s still at the lake.” Lucien said carefully. Lucien had been there, Cassian recalled. Had gone with Nesta’s father to the lake where Vassa was held captive. “Yes but Koschei is as old as the sea-older.” “Some say he is death itself.” “I don’t know if that is true, but they call him Koschei the deathless, for he has no death awaiting him. He is truly immortal. And might know of anything that might give Briallyn an edge against us.” “And you think Koschei would do all this to free himself, not out of sympathy for the human queens but to free himself?” “Certainly. I fear what might happen if he gets free of the lake. If he sees this world on the cusp of disaster and knows where he could strike, and strike hard. And make himself its master. As he once tried to do a long, long time ago.” “Those are legends that predate our courts.” “It is all I have gleaned from my time away from him.” Lucien stared out the window- as if he could see the lake across the sea and a continent. As if he were setting his target.
“Whatever it is that you’re doing, whatever it is that you’re looking into. I want in.” “Why? And no.” “Because I need the edge Briallyn has. What Koschei has shown her or told her.” “To overthrow your father.” “Because my father has already pledged his forces to Beron and the war he wishes to incite.” “What?” “I wanted to feel out Vassa and Jurian.” He didn’t mention his brother oddly enough.”but they clearly know very little about this.” “Explain what the fuck you mean by Beron pledging his forces to Briallyn.” “It’s exactly what it sounds like. He caught wind of her ambitions, and went to her palace a month ago to meet with her. I stayed here, but I sent my best soldiers with him.”
“You know where I stand with my father and this unholy alliance he struck with Briallyn will only hurt us. All of us. It will turn into a fae war for control. So I want to find answers on my own-rather then what my father tries to feed me,”
“Then you certainly have a war on your hands. My father would go straight to Briallyn-and Koschei, I suppose. And then go to the other discontent territories. And you would be wiped off the proverbial map. Perhaps literally. Since the Night Court would be divided up between the other territories if Rhys and Feyre die without an heir.”
“Elain is pleasant to look at.” Her mother had once mused…. “But she has no ambition, she does not dream beyond her garden and her pretty clothes. She will be an asset on the marriage market for us one day, if her beauty holds, but it will be by our own maneuvering, Nesta, not hers, that will win us an advantageous match. We shall have to petition your father to go to the continent when the time is right. There are no men here worthy of either of you. Human royalty rules there still-lords and dukes and princes-but their wealth is tapped out. Many of their estates nearing ruin. Two beautiful ladies with a king’s fortune could go far.”
If her father had offered to bring them on one of his ships, to let them see the strange and distant shores. Would they have gone? Elain had always wanted to go to the continent to study the tulips and the other famed flowers, but her imagination stretched no further. Feyre had talked once about glorious art in the continent’s museums and private estates. But that was all the western edge of it. Beyond that the continent was vast. And to the south, another continent sprawled. Would she have gone?
“I had no kind of on my father’s side and my mother had one cousin, who lives on the continent and conveniently forgot about us when we fell on hard times.”
And so far those are all the references I’ve gathered. There might be a few I missed, and If so please drop them in the comments since this was a lot of cover. But if the next books aren’t about the continent I’d be surprised.
