Come, we fly

call me nell ▪️ she/her ▪️ reads too much ▪️ sometimes i write things ▪️ 🌸🦇

[offtorivendell]

POST MASTER LIST

ACOTAR

🌿 Analyses, Parallels & Theories

🌿 Headcanons & Predictions

🌿 Jokes & Memes

CRESCENT CITY

🌙 Analyses, Parallels & Theories

🌙 Jokes and Memes

THRONE OF GLASS

🔥 Analyses, Parallels & Theories

🔥 Jokes and Memes

FANTASY BOOKS

📖 Tolkien

📖 The Last Binding

WRITING

🖋️ Fan Fiction

ART

🖌️ I'm not an artist, but here's a gorgeous commission of Elain by the amazing theclever.crow

[wingedblooms]

A dream given form

My mind has been swirling with the various clues we’ve been given (can’t be helped, I love clues). Sarah joked about being inspired by the mystical vortex in Montana. What came out surprised her, and offered various insight into things. The story that came out demanded time and space, explaining why it is so long. She had a vision from the start of what it would be and how she would deliver it to us. And so now, when we think about a story told in four movements (something that may be inspired by classical music like a symphony), what we might see is a poetic progression that feels like…

Prophecy.

A dream given form, like the Völuspá (meaning prophecy of the völva, a term for seer, wise woman, witch) in Norse mythology, as both @merymoonbeam and I have discussed. The Völuspá is a vision of life and death and rebirth that involves the gods and mortals and earth.

Völva used songs in their rituals to travel outside of their bodies and influence fate, which might have inspired the trance Nesta entered during the dusk ritual in acosf. They were also believed to able to touch, shift, bind, and unbind the threads of fate. While the dusk ritual involved singing, Gwyn suggests dawn rituals might involve a set of ancient movements instead.

Could Elain master these movements in her book, helping her move through her own emotional, magical, and romantic progression? Will she need access to the wind, like Blueblood witches? And will each movement allow her to influence the threads of fate in different ways, or reveal secrets hidden across time and space? The possibilities are endless and so exciting, but I think this approach would intrigue me the most.

[wingedblooms]

Gonna be golden

The credit for this connection goes to @psychologynerd. She wondered if Sarah mentioning the song Golden could be another clue, connecting the lyrics to Elain’s scenes, and I’d love for her to be right. The theme and specific lyrics of the song align well with Elain’s character arc.

This song is ultimately about female guardians hiding in plain sight and embracing who they truly are with confidence. And that journey is equated to coming into the light, a new dawn. Golden.

It’s also the key to creating a new and inclusive Honmoon, the fabric-like shield made of souls (ie, life) that protect their home, rather than simply strengthen the existing one which is tenuous at best. In acotar, this concept connects so well to the tapestry of the universe and ley lines. Ley lines carry language and life from one place to another. Those with earthen magic can sense this living flow. I’ve wondered if Elain actually see this flow as threads in a tapestry. Could they glow golden like the threads of life we see Nesta and Cassian weave together with true love?

That’s not where this arc and song start though. The song’s opening lines are I was a ghost, I was alone, reflecting the state of Elain when she was first Made:

Since that dark period, she has started healing with the most unlikely friends—two half-wraith twins, Nuala and Cerridwen. Characters who might identify with being misunderstood. Characters who hide in plain sight as part of their job.

She may have friends, and she may be living again, but she isn’t thriving because she hasn’t embraced her true self. She’s still living two lives, playing both sides, as the song suggests. She hides in plain sight like the demon hunters, and that may be one of the reasons her rose is still half-hidden.

But we also see glimpses of her bright future. Her voice is becoming stronger as she learns to speak her truth. She’s weaving her own story of struggle and hope and joy alongside her formidable sisters.

And Sarah has quite literally shown us golden flashes of Elain in the original trilogy and bridge:

-

-

Golden, like pure life blossoming from the Cauldron long ago.

In acosf, Nesta and Azriel, her forbidden love interest—like the demon Jinu—take notice of how she glows. She is as bright as the setting sun and glows like the dawn on the longest night to them.

And yes, she may have moments where she appears to be thriving, to be golden, but she won’t truly feel golden until she breaks free of old expectations and embraces who she really is and what she wants to become.

Waited so long to break these walls down

To wake up and feel like me

Put these patterns all in the past now

And finally live like the girl they all see

No more hiding, I'll be shining

Like I'm born to be

'Cause we are hunters, voices strong

And I know I believe

And if this is what Elain looks like when she simply appears to be golden, what will she look like once she is truly shining from within? I’m betting it’s not just golden, but iridescent. Like Hope shining in the Void.

[psychologynerd]

Happy elriel month!

Lurker here who has never posted in this fandom but I follow what goes on because I can't wait for Elriel. I have something that has bothered me whenever I take a look into the fandom.

Maybe a hot take (don't know) but I don't think there are any "Azriel's shadows" as in something akin to his magical pets or whatever. He says himself shadows are just condensed magic. And it seems Azriel just happens to be able to communicate or wield or interact with that type of magic, because he is a shadowsinger. They're not his. He just has the ability to interact with that kind of magical essence that exists in the world. So when Gwynriels gush over the one shadow that interacted with her breath as if Azriel's pets were gushing over her, i think it misses the mark entirely. I think what happened was some magic, the kind condensed into shadows, interacted with some other magic. And Azriel can interact with the one specific type of magic, the "shadows". But it isn't Azriel's personal shadow dancing with Gwyn. Just like it isn't Azriel's personal shadows vanishing around Elain. It is all magic interacting in different ways. And again, Azriel just happens to be able to interact with the shadow kind of magic like others can't.

Not sure I am making sense. I have only read the books once, last year. But the idea of "Azriel's shadows" like sentient pets he orders around, has never made much sense to me. He doesn't seem to control them entirely. Partly yes, but not entirely. He seems more so to be able to communicate and interact with that type of magic (like i remember when the shadows heard the Cauldron song and az was like "wtf is going on?" Or something. He just picked up on whatever shadows were doing. And when the shadows did not warn him about gwyn, he is like "wtf that's weird"). Does this make any sense at all? I feel like "his shadows" have transformed into something in the fandom that they aren't in the books. Almost like sentient things belonging to Az. They don't seem to be that at all when I read the books. They seem to me like a certain kind of magical essence that Az is able to interact with. And sjm even said explicitly "they're just magic" in hofas, I think.

Did this make any sense? What do you think, or maybe your theory friends (seriously elriel theorists are the best).

Hi anon!

I hope you’ll join us one day but lurking is always welcome (and completely understandable!). I would venture to say many things in this fandom have transformed into things they’re not. Most have been transformed for the sake of the shipwar unfortunately. This idea that the shadows know who Azriel’s mate is and he doesn’t is strange. @dietkoke wrote this very comprehensive meta on Azriel’s shadows way back in 2021. I wouldn’t be doing her post justice to try to simplify, but to answer your ask: I totally agree with you.

Listing some more posts below:

@wingedblooms secret, slumbering land

@offtorivendell

https://www.tumblr.com/offtorivendell/647920419158016000/azriel-elain-sunlight-shadows-and-humanity?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/offtorivendell/687960567126867968/what-if-azriel-or-his-shadows-are-made-beings?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/offtorivendell/660456473057460224/please-dont-share-or-screenshot-this-post-without?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/offtorivendell/682619896965808129/nikethestatue-here-is-an-idea-i-just-thought?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/offtorivendell/766854880216465408/why-is-azriel-so-differenton-dusk-hel-and-the?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/offtorivendell/767214487885512704/is-this-proof-that-the-mating-bonds-of-the-high?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/offtorivendell/701392040802598912/whats-your-favorite-obscure-acotar-theory-one?source=share

[offtorivendell]

Thanks for sharing my theories! I'm just adding them in as clickable links for ease of use. 💜

Azriel, Elain, Sunlight, Shadows and Humanity

What if Azriel, or his shadows, are Made beings?

Azriel's Shadows do NOT run from Elain Archeron

Can Elain and Azriel communicate silently? Are they carranam? (As a reblog from @nikethestatue)

Why is Azriel so different? On Dusk, Hel and the Valg

Is this proof that the mating bonds of the High Fae were corrupted along with Prythian's Cauldron? What might this mean for Azriel and Elain Archeron?

What is your favourite obscure ACOTAR theory?

[wingedblooms]

This year, @elriel-month will be gifted two full moons:

Flower Moon (May 1) - associated with blooming life, the peak of spring

Blue Moon (May 31) - associated with rarity, heightened energy, clarity, and connection to the divine

This is all in good fun, of course, but it seems like such a happy coincidence to have a rare, Blue Moon grace the Flower Moon during elriel month. It also made me think of the rose Papa Archeron carved for Elain, half-hidden in shadows and next to the Mother:

And if you add April’s full moon to this auspicious occasion, the Flower Moon is surrounded by a Pink Moon and a Blue Moon. Like Elain, amid bursting blooms:

Later in the story, when she is compared to spring, she’s wearing a color to honor the queen of shrubs, combining pink and blue:

It all seems sort of fated, doesn’t it?

[offtorivendell]

Have I ever told you that I love your mind? 🩷💜💙

[wingedblooms]

•

Love is the most powerful force in the Maasverse, and as such, it is the only force that can change fate. It is also an essential part of creation: love me, touch me, sing me. As @silverlinedeyes, @offtorivendell, @psychologynerd and so many others have suggested, I think we may find out bonds vary because one is actually Made with the force of true love, and the other, where the match is not ideal and they are not in love, is not. Despite what the Fae have been taught to believe (and we’re meant to question those beliefs, otherwise, why pose the question?), love is what makes those bonds sacred. Elain’s story is set up well for a reveal about mating bonds, the Fae’s beliefs, and what it would look like to change fate through the force of love. In fact, that might be one of the reasons the Archeron sisters represent what the Fae once were and still could be: more elemental, their powers rawer and more connected to nature, and most importantly, able to imbue things with that magic. They are the three faces of the Mother made flesh.

More on this topic:

@silverlinedeyes: two types of mating bonds

@icedflames: threads, spells, & mating bonds

@offtorivendell: bond or spell? • oily residue • the Asteri’s influence • light and dark and grey • corrupted bonds

@elriell: mating bonds, spells, bloodlines, & fate

@psychologynerd: alchemical marriage

[offtorivendell]

Once again I'm nodding vigorously while reading one of your posts 💜

[wingedblooms]

All the world is a song

Previously, Sarah mentioned the forces that be in relation to fated mates, and in her most recent interview (while she’s been editing the upcoming acotar books), she reiterated her interest in free will versus fate, and used the term nature instead. Sometimes, nature gets it wrong when it comes to mating bonds.

It got me thinking about the forces that be, their connection to nature, and it led me back to the chaotic part of the Book of Breathings. This part of the book sings in threes as well as three parts (here, here, here). That pattern makes sense if this part of the book harnesses the creative magic of Chaos.

Part 1 describes the cycles of nature, specifically the stages of life (life and death and rebirth), solar and lunar cycles (sun and moon and dark), and flora and fauna (rot and bloom and bones).

Part 2 welcomes the three Archeron sisters with three distinct hellos; it’s also possible the first two are for Feyre, and the last one combines Nesta and Elain.

Part 3 gives instructions on how to bring the Book of Breathings to life and use it. This allows certain people (those not born of this world, including Made Fae) to control the forces of nature through things that channel it: the Cauldron, Trove weapons, mating bonds, and even the land.

The Book welcomes the three sisters as though it knew they were marked by fate and have an important role to play in the grander tapestry. @psychee92 theorized years ago that this part of the song might even be a prophecy for the three Archeron sisters and indicate their alignment with specific phases of the triple goddess. They certainly seem to be the three faces of the Mother in the flesh. I have wondered if their connection aligns with specific parts of the life cycle, but it is probably more fluid than that since their arcs seem to represent the progression of nature overall.

@silverlinedeyes, @offtorivendell, @merymoonbeam, @psychologynerd and many others have talked about their connection to Made objects. This unique kinship (as vessels) makes them similar, if not the same as, those who are Starborn. We see this kinship begin in the original trilogy through Feyre. She wields magic from nearly all courts (unless the sisters’ lineage is connected to Dusk and it becomes 8), restores the Book of Breathings, hears the Cauldron’s siren song like her sisters, touches the Cauldron to travel with it like a force of nature, and repairs the Cauldron and tear in the world with raw magic from Rhys.

This kinship expands in Nesta’s story, as she both uses Made objects and Makes them herself:

The Harp asks Nesta to play it, to let it sing again.

The House sings because Nesta Made it.

Nesta Makes weapons and it is accompanied by music only she hears.

The bond she weaves with Cassian sings after they Make it together.

The whole world, all of creation, is a song.

Nature can be influenced through song, as @silverlinedeyes and @offtorivendell suggested. This song is a poetic way to describe communication—different parts of nature working together in harmony. This communication is the secret language of Wyrd and in hofas, it is referred to as the language of creation. This connection deepens in the crossover:

The land of Dusk asks Bryce to reach out, open her heart to it, so it might sing again.

Love me, touch me, sing me.

Bryce does not free the land of Dusk due to the presence of the prisoners, but she does free Avallen and we get a glimpse of what that entails. She can hear the land’s quiet song, feel its joy when it is finally seen and freed from its magical chains.

These moments are seeds for the third sister’s story, bringing us full circle.

Elain has always been very connected to nature. She ended the original series as a promise of the future and feeling eager to restore the land.

In acosf, we see hints of how deep this connection might run. When taken together, we find Elain’s appearance reflects the land: in Hewn city, she looks as void of life as the land and in Velaris soon after, she is glowing with life again. This kind of earthen magic would mean that she can sense ley lines—the flow of life in the fabric of the world—and Make gardens. Is that what might happen when her sleeping buds bloom?

Will she need to fully embrace them and what they represent (all of her, including her forced change) to make her magic sing? Many of us believe she was given the vision and gifts to help restore the inherent, pure magic of the land. To free it from the magical threads of the Asteri: the magic they hoarded in sacred peaks and the division they wove into the land and the people who inhabit it. This freedom would, in turn, restore the people and their magic. The land and its magic would be freed for all of them, not simply a powerful few. This plot extends beyond a single court and would certainly demand a big story.

It might also require behavior we don’t usually associate with Elain: using pure life, if she possesses it, to unbind warped threads (the opposite of what Feyre and Nesta did with their healing magic). She might even learn how to do this through her sight as she wanders with the Mother (that’s why her carved rose is placed next to her figurine). Will she come across a healer from another world in her travels? This particular healer may be the key to learning that pure life is world-making power. She can bind as well as unbind the very fabric of life, of worlds.

In this promise of the future, the world would truly be a song, one where the forces of nature exist in harmony once again.

[offtorivendell]

I love all of these connections! 💜

[sandersstudies]

People who are good at stuff are not always good at teaching that stuff to others. Often, in fact, as someone becomes an expert at something, they have trouble viewing the first steps from the metaphorical seventh floor landing.

Try reaching a four-year-old to read “cat” or what 2+2 is and you’ll realize that things that you “just do” are actually a series of difficult steps for a beginner. In much the same way, experts “just do” play an instrument, play a sport, solve an equation, or create art.

Some of the worst teachers I ever had were geniuses, but they had trouble getting into the minds of their students, much like the xkcd comic (“silicate chemistry is second nature to us…”). Teaching is a skill; in fact, it’s a dozen skills stacked on top of each other. Thank your local educator today: the current administration continues to underfund education and the current society underappreciates teaching as a skill (and I haven’t even touched on the classroom management, lesson planning, and social skills required by most educators).

[wingedblooms]

The wanderings of a seer

What if it wasn’t Yrene’s imagination that something, or someone, stared back and listened in this scene?

The Womb seems to mimic what the Cauldron once was. And because song and dreaming are linked, as we see in acosf, this murky dark and music help Yrene connect with someone in the space between.

A sweet darkness of creation whispers to her, offering the guidance she seeks.

Is that sweet darkness a much larger force, conflated with a goddess over time?

Could our lovely seer be wandering within it?

And is she speaking from experience?

You must enter where you fear to tread.

You must enter.

You must enter.

[offtorivendell]

Love these links 💜💜💜

[wingedblooms]

Elain’s rose gold ring with a bright moonstone is giving:

And that sterling silver underneath?

[silverlinedeyes]

I know that’s right!!!

[psychologynerd]

You E/riels will hype and take ANYTHING as proof. The random rings being sold by a random shop and you all are celebrating. It is just a random shop with license. That is all. It is not the official marketing by SJM or Bloomsbury.

Cannot wait for SJM and Bloomsbury to gradually start promoting Gwyn who will be the next FMC. That is the promotion that matters in the end.

Hey Anon,

I hope you have a great day filled with joy and happiness. I hope you find even the smallest thing to feel excited about and have fun with. The world is a hellscape rn and you deserve that!

🫶🫶

[silverlinedeyes]

Have a great day anon!

[offtorivendell]

[offtorivendell]

ACOTAR announcement incoming! Checking for signs of life. Are you excited?!

Hey anon, and thanks for checking in. Real life is pretty overwhelming right now, so I'm aware of fandom stuff but I don't have the energy for it. I hope we get news soon. 💜

[zobb]

christmas eve what about christmas adam

[qoti]

happy christmas adam to all men’s rights activists

[forfuturereferenceonly]

Please stop pestering us with things like this. This has nothing to do with men fighting for their rights. Eve is short for ‘evening’. Please don’t turn activism into a joke. Thanks.

[achillesvevo-deactivated2020090]

Someone isn’t having a good christmas adam

[theguilteaparty]

Christmas Adam: December 23rd. Comes before Christmas Eve and is generally unsatisfying.

[shojo]

Happy Christmas Adam everyone

[elainarcheronweek]

One week until Elain's Sweets Swap begins!

🍪🍒🥧🍓🧁

We can't wait to see what everyone brings to the table this year, happy baking to all who plan to join in!

[duskcowboy]

𝕷𝖔𝖓𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖌

@azrielappreciationweek | Day 6 — Longing

ᶻ 𝘇 𐰁

I think it’s safe to say our moody Shadowsinger is down bad for the gentle flower-grower. Sleepless nights. Skin taught with desire. Pure yearning. Having nothing but a bottle of headache powder to cling to in order to think of and be with her, even only in his mind if that’s all he can have. Poor Azzy 😔 (but let’s be real, we’re loving the angst 😏).

Huge ‘thank you’ to @babushkahihi !! Thank you for your incredible work on this piece ❤️ I’ve held onto it specifically for this week and I can’t believe the time has flown by (without a book announcement, at that 😭). It was so fun commissioning this piece and feeling Azriel’s sleepless torment right along with him.

ᶻ 𝘇 𐰁

˙⋆✮ Art by @babushkahihi

˙⋆✮ Commissioned by me, @duskcowboy

˙⋆✮ Characters belong to @sarahjmaas

ᶻ 𝘇 𐰁

[deadgenerations]

in more pleasant news: this year is seeing the biggest humpback migration in Australian history, bigger than it was PRE whaling. That's right, there are more humpbacks migrating off the coast of Australia than there were BEFORE industrial whaling started.

A huge, fat W for environmentalists and Greenies. what an achievement

[lumsel]

we did it! we saved the fucking whales!!!!

[the-tao-of-fandom]

These whales were hunted to 150 individuals. Now there are 50,000 of them

Once hunted almost to extinction, the population of humpback whales currently migrating down Australia's east coast has bounced back and is

Further info for those interested

[offtorivendell]

Shadows, Siphons and Fog; has something happened in Velaris?

Are the Illyrians demons from Hel, and can Koschei steal their power - siphon it - for his own plans? Was this hinted at in the last chapter of HOSAB?

Please don't screenshot or share this post without credit.

Disclaimer: the following post discusses a theory that, like all the rest, is simply my thoughts based on the text, and makes no claims of accuracy. TOG, CC (HOEAB and HOSAB) spoilers and content below so beware. Thanks to everyone who helped me think this through: @silverlinedeyes, @psychee92, @merymoonbeam, @wingedblooms, @icedflames and more.

Thanks to a massive lack of motivation to actually write up any theory whatsoever, this post has been in draft form since the spoilers were released; it essentially combines a crack theory about the origin of the Illyrians that I had last year with new (and very pertinent) information from CC HOSAB. Because of the crack theory, it'll require a little back story to explain my thoughts, but to summarise: I have been wondering whether chapter 78 of HOSAB hints at some sort of disaster having hit Velaris by the time Bryce had arrived... and who is the chiefest and greatest of calamities in Prythian's world?

Koschei.

But, back to the beginning. The crack theory:

Who created the Illyrians, and can their killing power be siphoned away?

This is something that I had wondered for a while, but I suspected that, like the Asteri created the Malakim in Midgard (Crescent City), Koschei, or another death god - and are they the same as, or similar to, the Asteri of Midgard, or perhaps the Under Kings? The Daglan? - may have had a hand in creating the Illyrians* in Prythian's world.

*I wasn't thinking that the Illyrians would be inherently "bad," just drawing parallels between two winged races in connected worlds, both of whom have, historically, been treated as canon fodder.

ACOSF

ACOMAF

ACOMAF

ACOMAF

Events in HOSAB appear to have debunked this crack theory, and it seems more likely - though still unconfirmed - that Apollion, and/or another Prince of Hel, may have been involved in the creation of the Illyrians, instead. This would mean that they are probably considered demons, or daemonaki.*

* While I'm not sure whether the Illyrians are demons or daemonaki, the story of the lower-level demon bringing an entire city to a standstill (yellow quote below) reminds me of Cassian being banned - some might say "banished" - from the Summer Court for all eternity for destroying "one building." Whereas Rhys on the other hand (and very likely Azriel, too), isn't fully Illyrian, so if this theory holds, he would be considered a daemonaki. It might be nothing, of course, but it could also be something.

CC HOEAB

CC HOEAB

CC HOSAB

All of that being said, given the consistently similar imagery between Koschei and the Princes of Hel - darkness, death, mist, wind etc, which a few of us associate with beings possibly from the Void - I think there could still be potential for some sort of link between Koschei and the Illyrians of Prythian's Night Court. It depends how the Daglan fit in.

The following formed the basis for my theory about Koschei creating the Illyrians, which seems less likely now, but could still be relevant going forward:

Koschei: is a death god who has wind, mist and shadow powers, amongst other magics.

Illyrians: are neither high nor lesser fae; rather, they are "just Illyrian," and are born "hearing the song of the wind." Are they fae at all, given they have demon wings? Could they be demons, or daemonaki? It's certainly plausible.

Illyrian magic: killing power.

Significant places: Windhaven, the House of Wind.

Siphon: means to draw matter from a source, especially illegally or unfairly.

* @silverlinedeyes has written a theory about the Illyrians, too; please check it out, her posts are always worth a read.

In the not too distant future (ie. the upcoming war), I think we could possibly see Koschei use the Illyrians with killing power - with siphons - to charge himself, or perhaps an object of power, as Bryce did using the Heart Gate... and I don't think that he will ask for their permission to do so. It's no coincidence that Azriel and Cassian both exist at the same time as Rhys - the most powerful High Lord - and the newly Made Archeron sisters (and likely Mor, Lucien and Vassa), and that trouble is concurrently brewing.

Speaking of Azriel and Cassian, has anyone else noticed something suspicious about the placement of their seven siphons?

It seems to mimic both the gates of Lunathion, from which Bryce siphoned power during the climax of HOEAB, as well as the six-pointed star of candles that Hypaxia used to attempt a summoning for Ithan, in HOSAB. I've highlighted the Gates on the map of Lunathion below, and added text to demonstrate how they might match their siphons.

CC HOEAB Map

CC HOSAB

Bryce took power from the Heart Gate, the centre of Lunathion's six-pointed star, and Hypaxia said she would focus her power at the candle in the same position, in order to summon the spirit - the secondlight, or rather, the power that remained - of Ithan's brother, Connor Holstrom; Hypaxia also mentioned that the six-pointed star represented balance (although, interestingly, she accidentally summoned the Under King - who I think could be related to Koschei - instead of Connor).

Is this how Koschei might siphon power, primarily using Azriel and Cassian, if not all Illyrians, as batteries? If Illyrians are "born hearing the song of the wind," could they even resist a Death god's magical assault and theft?

Alternatively, will this play into something similar to Hunt charging Bryce/the Horn/the Starsword with his lightning, which seems to be another sort of raw power? Might Elain and Nesta, who were dipped into the Cauldron, and appear to have a more elemental magic than other High Fae, be charged by - or recharge - Azriel and Cassian's killing power, respectively?

Could the priestesses and their invoking stones - which have been likened to siphons before - be involved, too? Either channelling the killing power of "siphoned" Illyrians in general through their invoking stones, turning it into a protective magic, or charging them en masse in return? As @silverlinedeyes suggested - and I agree - they appear to be a standing army left to defend against the Asteri's return; could this be what was intended?

But moving on to the second part of the post...

There were hints that something great and terrible may have happened to Velaris, in chapter 78 of HOSAB

Bryce described Azriel and Cassian, the most likely candidates for the two unnamed, winged males, without their siphons.

Did Bryce, who noted their scaled armour, just neglect to mention the pretty, coloured stones that should also have been there? Or, for whatever reason, were they not wearing their siphons at all?

Azriel's shadows weren't mentioned.

For Bryce, who has a half-brother with remarkably similar powers, who noticed Rhys' resemblance to Ruhn almost immediately, and who described the difference in sound between Hunt's feathered wings and Azriel's leathery "demon" wings during flight... this seems like an odd piece of information to overlook. To clarify, I am NOT saying that he has lost them for good, but I am suggesting that there may be a sinister reason for their notable absence.

Perhaps, as I've mentioned before, he discovered that one or more of his shadows were actually placed by Koschei, to monitor his activities and spy on the Night Court, so he has had to suppress them?

Alternatively, could Koschei - who has magic that sounds eerily similar to that of a shadowsinger, and canonically more powerful shadows, to boot - have (temporarily) lured them away?

"Sighing mist" and dense fog.

This appears to be setting the scene, and giving calm before the storm vibes; Koschei is associated with storms.

HOSAB is full of shadow, fog and mist imagery that doesn't appear to be benevolent, especially when the Under King, the Reapers are present.

Or, on the other hand, if Elain Archeron was at least partly behind Bryce's arrival - like Hypaxia, could she have attempted a summoning and got more than she bargained for? - might the mist be a result of her own powers? She has said before that she must See through "mist and shadow," so it's possible that such a large-scale use of her Sight could have some unintended side effects.

Is Velaris empty, or in hiding?

One of the first things that Lucien noted on his arrival to Velaris was that he could hear children playing in the street. So, what has changed?

Why is Velaris no longer full of the sounds of happy residents and playing children; the signs of life?

The last time this happened, it was because Amren was "on the hunt" for any rogue agents of the King of Hybern - who I suspect was working for Koschei all along - in ACOWAR, after the twin Ravens attacked Feyre and Nesta in the library under the House of Wind.

What could all of this mean?

Is the pervasive presence of the mist and fog in Velaris because of something Koschei the Sorcerer has done?

Does the mist and fog report back to him, or act to dampen the magic of those who may act to save Velaris, Prythian, and their world?

It could be because of Elain attempting a powerful scrying - she once peered across the world with no training, could she See across worlds, plural, with some experience? - but I can't imagine why that would result in the otherwise silent city.

Are Azriel and Cassian not wearing siphons because they are no longer safe to use?

Have the rest of the Illyrians followed suit?

Is this evidence that Koschei, a death god (who is perhaps equivalent to an Under King, or even the Asteri of Midgard), could use the siphons to, well, "siphon" Illyrian killing power for his own use?

Are they managing the killing power some other way, or is it gone, at least temporarily, having been stolen to fuel Koschei's machinations?

Similarly, why were Azriel's shadows not visible?

Was it not because he is happily with Elain, such that they have "brightened" from her presence (crack theory: his shadows can brighten around the Starborn, especially, and Elain is one of them), but because he knows Koschei can use them for his own purposes, so he has to keep them under strict control?

The chapter is giving me vibes from a book by Tamora Pierce, called Wild Magic, where a magical fog that was full of dampening spells that restricted the use of magical "Gifts," was flown over a castle and keep, and the protagonist's wild magic was the only power that could continue unimpeded. Does (any part of) Elain's magic function such that this may be the case? Will she need saltwater, just like Daine? And Azriel, who is, potentially, associated in some way with Koschei the Sorcerer... could he ever learn to use mist and magic spells as Koschei does? Rhys can cast spells, too, and has been studying with Helion Spell-Cleaver. Could Elain and Azriel, maybe with Rhys - hypothetically of course - work together to rid Velaris of the mist and fog that appears to plague it, assuming that this is what's happening at this point in time?

When I first drafted this post, I thought that Bryce's arrival would occurr at the end of ACOTAR 5 - the point by which Koschei would most likely have escaped his lake - so this could be, as I said earlier, the calm before the escalation of the war, when the IC is waiting to see, or perhaps, rather, to See, what move Koschei and his allies would make next. There is a good chance that Bryce was "yanked" into Prythian's world before Koschei has been defeated, purely because the Inner Circle will likely need Gwydion, aka the Starsword, to defeat him. At least, I can see them thinking that, especially given what was suggested about its magical partnership with Truth-Teller.

Now, though? If CC 3 is coming next - and we have no solid reason to assume otherwise - it's harder to say what it could all mean with any certainty; I'm not sure of the impact that bringing CC 3 forward will have on the timing of events in ACOTAR 5 when compared to Bryce's visit to Velaris. Regardless, I think that details from chapter 78 of HOSAB will be pertinent to the plot of future ACOTAR books, as well as CC 3.

[offtorivendell]

Does the following passage further suggest that Azriel himself could be a conduit or condenser of magic?

I'm reblogging this old post with a quick addition for this year's @azrielappreciationweek day 5 (or day 7).

Disclaimer: this is not a proper theory sorry, it's more of a brief, cracked ramble written late at night with no editing.

Spoilers: Maasverse spoilers below the break...

"No one's got any rope?" Bryce asked pathetically. She was met with incredulous silence. Bryce nodded to Azriel. "Those shadows of yours could take form-they caused that cave-in. Can't you, like, make a bridge or something? Or your blue light... you seemed to think it could have restrained the Wyrm. Make a rope with that." His brows rose. "Neither of those things is remotely possible. The shadows are made of magic, just very condensed. These"-he motioned to the blue stones in his armor-"concentrate my power and allow me to craft it into things that resemble weapons. But they're still only magic -power." Bryce's mouth twisted to the side. "So it's like a laser?" - HOFAS, chapter 16

I've previously discussed my thoughts about Illyrian "siphons" containing a clue as to their ultimate function in the name, as well as theorised that Azriel - like Elain - may be some sort of conduit for a deity after his painful experiences in his father's dungeons potentially linking him to the divine.

Well, tonight I wondered if maybe SJM was giving a similar hint when she described Azriel's shadows as simply "very condensed" magic in HOFAS. Could a deity want to use Azriel to condense/siphon a bigger sort of magic - like the Void? - and is the shadows' existence a hint that he would be compatible in this regard?

Furthering this nonsense, in the theory I mentioned above I suggested that the Illyrians may have been designed as some sort of living battery from which Someone could siphon off power in large amounts. I also noted that it was strange that Cassian and Azriel each had seven siphons. It's been years since I took chemistry or physics, so please feel free to correct me, but batteries have both positive and negative terminals. Could Cassian be the hypothetical cathode, and Azriel the anode? Or could Elain be Azriel's cathode, and Feyre and Nesta be the same to Rhys and Cassian (if those of us who think they're all carranam/conduits are correct)? I dunno, like I said this is probably complete bullshit. Or maybe not. I feel like it has to be something. 😅

More theories about Azriel/my thoughts in general if you're interested:

Why is Azriel so different?

How long has Koschei been stirring the Cauldron?

Could Azriel be Koschei's heir?

Mr Brightside

Overall plot

An anti-rainbow

Purification