[ofduskcourts]

"Who the fuck is Koschei"

Yeah, so. That's what happens when you hyperfixate on a secondary or tertiary character and concoct random plotlines to try to get them involved in the main action instead of. You know. Reading the books.

[bolinhoelriel]

We are getting an out-of-season Elriel summer, girls. Prepare yourself 😎

[manuwritestales]

That’s an old article. They only added the part about the announcement. Sorry.

I know that. And still, this doesn't change anything.

Don't you think that now that the books are officially named Valkyries, they shouldn't include information about the actual Valkyries? They could have scratched all the Elain talk and added details about Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie, mentioning that fans speculate about a love story between Gwyn and Azriel.

Elain Archeron, breaking her Cauldron- determined mating bond with Lucien Vanserra. Will she reject fate to forge her own path with everyone's favorite Shadowsinger, Azriel?

There's still this.

[ofduskcourts]

I don't write for magazines, but I'm a professional writer. And if her mind had changed based on this new information, this would have been the perfect time to alter the article and republish it. It seems pretty clear to me that that's not the case. Updating the existing article is the fastest way to get new information up (rather than starting from scratch), but also offers the perfect opportunity to edit what was said before if new information changed your mind.

It didn't.

It's actually stronger evidence, in my mind, that people outside of the fandom circles still see exactly what we've been seeing all along, whether or not there's a "Valkyrie Cycle" subtitle slapped on the books.

[kayla-2]

ELRIEL SISTERS WAKE UP

Everything We Know About ACOTAR 6 and 7, Sarah J. Maas’s Next Two Books

Maas just announced the next two book titles: A Court of Splintered Harmony and A Court of Forgotten Melody

[murkyrealms]

Naw Im giggling and kicking my feet. RISE MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!

[dietkoke]

E/uciens and G/ynriels when it comes to the new blurbs for both books

[ofduskcourts]

"You doing so will rip apart any fragile peace and alliance we have."

This line from Rhys to Az about Elriel truly is so 👀

That's like. That's directly tied to the blurbs. I don't think there's any getting around that. I think that's a giant authorial finger pointing us toward something.

Elriel disrupts the NC's fragile peace with Autumn, with Spring, with the BoE, AND with anybody who would sympathize/side with any of the above.

Elriel getting together despite that would likely be seen as a kind of betrayal. It would *certainly* cause issues among the NC. That's ALWAYS been part of the point. That's ALWAYS been part of the forbidden romance aspect.

[merymoonbeam]

INNER CIRCLE....INNER....CIRCLE

One more but slowly.....inner circle.

[elainsvisions]

Happy Announcement Day! 🩷

A Court of Splintered Harmony and A Court of Forgotten Melody even the titles, cover and blurbs are giving us SO much to think about. And the fact that the two books are being presented as Valkyrie Cycle: Movement I, II, III has me even more intrigued about how this story is going to unfold.

What was broken will be remade.

What was lost will be reclaimed.

And honestly... the idea of harmony, forgotten melodies, shadows, and things being remade feels particularly delicious for an Elain and Azriel girlie.

I have been waiting for Elain's story for SO long, and knowing we're getting two books in such a short amount of time makes this announcement even more exciting. Whatever SJM has planned, I am READY.

October 27, 2026, please hurry.

And, of course, a huge thank you to the incredible artist @little_alfard for this breathtaking piece. What better way to celebrate announcement day than with Elriel?

⊱❊⊰⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⤞ Art by @little_alfard

⁣⁣⁣⤞ Commissioned by me

⁣⁣⁣⤞ Please do not repost without permission

⁣⁣⁣⤞ Instagram

⊱❊⊰⁣⁣⁣

[howmanysideblogscanihave]

What do they have to give up to resurrect the Bone Carver and the Weaver?

The death gods fell from another world to end up in Prythian. To resurrect them, will someone end up back in their original world with no way to get home?

By book 7, the inner circle is said to have been dispersed far and wide.

I think far and wide has more to do with the distance between worlds vs the distance on the continent.

[merymoonbeam]

Valkyrie cycle - Unmade and made—that is the cycle.

The Carver traced three overlapping, interlocked circles in the dirt. “You have met my sister—my twin. The Weaver, as you now call her. I knew 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 worshipped them. Had I been braver, I might have bided my time—waited for their power to fade, for that long-ago Fae warrior to trick Stryga into diminishing her power and becoming confined to the Middle. Koschei, too—confined and bound by his little lake on the continent. All before Prythian, before the land was carved up and any High Lord was crowned.” Cassian and I waited, not daring to interrupt. “Clever, that Fae warrior. Her bloodline is long gone now—though a trace still runs through some human line.” He smiled, perhaps a bit sadly. “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.”

So what are the odds that female fae warrior being a Valkyrie?

Her descendents having her bloodline? And that bloodline being Archerons?

And this:

Unmade and Made; Made and Unmade—that is the cycle. Like calls to like.

Unmade = human

Made = fae

All three archerons...made. with the blood of ancient female fae warrior who trapped koschei?

Maybe that's why koschei made a bargain with Papa Archeron... who is from her lineage? Or was it mama Archeron? What did papa archeron do with koschei? What had he bargained?

[elainsgirl]

We all knew elriel were going to get down nastyyy with their red hot romance 🤭😏

[ofduskcourts]

Look, I'm not gonna lie to you:

I did always say multi POV was a possibility

Valkyrie Cycle threw me for a second, until I found the blurbs online

Titles aren't at all anti-Elriel/anti-Elain, they seem much more related to the bonds between the IC **AND** the peace/harmony of Prythian than anything else

I am also disappointed at the thought of not having an exclusively Elain-centered book.

HOWEVER.

I would much, much rather have a well-written IC-focused multi-POV (ESPECIALLY if this is the end of the series, which is all speculation on my end) than a too-drawn-out final two novels.

I do think, based on the blurbs, this could be a very satisfying way to tell the story, including the parts relating to Elain and Azriel.

My thoughts on all of this may change if/as new information becomes available, but I'm genuinely more neutral-bordering-on-optimistic than I thought I would be about this 😂

[lamymelaudi]

After seeing this blurb focusing on the Night Court, the IC, and especially wars and conflicts, you’re really feeling discouraged? Elain and Azriel are literally the two characters whose romance was established as something that could have political consequences and potentially destroy the fragile alliances the Night Court has with the other Courts.

I’m already seeing them as the most likely candidates to accidentally start a war. 😂

[howmanysideblogscanihave]

this feels like Captain America civil war into infinity war

[elainsgirl]

Elain is the hope they all need 🥹

Elain who stepped out of the shadows, Elain who stabbed a king for her sister, Elain who looked at the cottage with hope

I can't wait for her story to be told 💙🩷✨

[howmanysideblogscanihave]

wait is this finally getting us to twilight of the gods

are we finally getting the big big big crossover 🥺

[howmanysideblogscanihave]

I’m still reading it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯