#achren

[knightofthenewrepublic]

Achren & Gwydion

[justmeinabigolworld]

As a kid, my dad used to read the wonderful Chronicles of Prydain books to me before bed, but we never finished the third one. Recently, I began reading the books on my own, intending to finish the whole series this time. I just finished the fourth book, Taran Wanderer, so I’ve long since passed the stuff I read with my dad, and I don’t entirely know what comes next.

I actually finished book four this morning; the night before, I dreamed that at the end of the book, Taran finally learned the identities of his parents.

Somehow, his parents were Arawn Death-Lord and Achren.

It was so weird, like the Prydain books had turned into Star Wars or something…

Arawn: “Dallben never told you what happened to your father.”

Taran: “He told me enough! Parentage doesn’t define a man!”

Arawn: “Of course he would tell you that. It was practical for him to keep away the knowledge of who you really are. See, I am your father.”

Taran: “No… That’s impossible!”

Arawn: “And Achren is your mother!”

Taran: “Wait, what? She’s been living in Caer Dallben for months now!”

Arawn: “Ha, how the mighty have fallen! Not long ago, she told me I’d be begging on my hands and knees to serve her, and now she’s nothing but a servant! So much for being better off without me, eh?”

Taran: “Um, should I go? Seems like you’re, uh…busy…”

Arawn: *divorced rambling intensifies* Taran: *backs away slowly*

Okay, that got off track, but I’m not sure where I was going with it to begin with, so…

Anyway, in the dream, Taran had to go to an evil school with the rest of Arawn’s children, as he had dozens of half-brothers and half-sisters. I think Arawn has some deep-rooted issues…

it was a weird dream

[highqueenofprydain]

Scarlet

The great door crashes into its frame, slammed by the hand of the silence that swells into the room. Only as the last echo ebbs away does she remember she is wounded, reeled back to reality by the flat, pittering sound of her own blood dripping upon the floor.

She raises her hands and stares at them, shining crimson streaming from multiple slashes across their surfaces, a pattern to drive any fortune-teller to madness. The idle thought breaks through her numb rage for an instant: imagine the reaction of one of those itinerant peddlers of cheap magic, asked to read the map of horror etched on her palm.

A long lifeline. She almost laughs, but it’s a bitter thing that fills her mouth with iron and salt, or perhaps she’s just bitten her tongue too hard again.

Her gaze wanders over the metal shards littering the floor, reflecting bits of the room like a shattered mirror. She sees her own face, a fleck of skeletal white against a field of scarlet drapery, and turns away from it, leaving the empty room to its silence.

She wraps her hands in her own skirts to keep from leaving a trail down the hall. The sliced flesh throbs and stings, welcome reminders that she still can feel something. It is a long time before she speaks a word…a charm with which she once could have healed such superficial wounds from the inside-out. Now, depleted, it merely closes what was open.

But better that, than bleed where anyone can see.

[princess-ibri]

What would be your design for Arawn Death-Lord, and is there an Achren in your version of the Prydain mythos in the Disneyverse?

Ah, well I’d probably go off these concept art drawings for Aran from the Disney Wiki

And I do have an Achren design here!

" Welcome, foolish mortals..."

Little Canon Descendants idea for The Black Cauldron, not much of a plot idea for this one, mostly cuz I'd be more interested in Disney fin

[undertakers-convention]

Queen Achren from Chronicles of Prydain

This is a design sheet I did (and posted) in November of 2021. I’m reposting it here now because all trace of it on Tumblr seems to have vanished, and I have no clue why, but oh fucking well, tumblr has never functioned properly and I don’t expect a change now. 

This design was primarily based on medieval heraldic gowns (which I believe were primarily English and Celtic). They have a really iconic look to them, split down the center with odd clashing patterns and bright colors, and often emblams of the person wearing them (I think, I dunno, I’m not a real dress historian). I also put Janet from Tam Lin in one, if you saw that post, although hers is a bit more accurate to actual imagery of these dresses from real medieval art I’ve seen. Achren’s look is a little more clean and sinister, I wanted it to be less clashing and garish, more elegant. I also wanted to dedicate extra love to designing her hands, which I actually based on my own. Her whole look is meant to be high fantasy fiction, not as based in real garments from the period as I’d initially planned, as there aren’t many references or extant pieces. As far as I’ve come to understand, as a fashion history novice, it seems to be debatable if these split heraldic dresses even existed, or if they were just from paintings, or what their deal is. I’m no expert, so I can’t say, but something about that draws me to them for Achren. It feels somehow appropriate. Regardless, her design and Eilonwy’s design are meant to be at complete odds, with Achren looking refined, clean, and elegent, whereas Eilonwy opts for a more peasant-inspired simple white robe and really messy vibes.

[troublesome-bog-beast]

I am once again beefing with one mr Lloyd Alexander. Listen. Listen. Achren has absolutely WASTED comedic potential post Castle of Llyr. A declawed but unreformed villain adopted by the protags is an inherently funny thing to be. She should have been, like, a constant annoying background presence AT LEAST. She's never seen a farm in her life. She's like why do you have PIGS and Taran's like that pig is actually a powerful magic wielder unlike SOME of us. Dallben makes a pie or something and she's waiting for her share and he's like I'm sorry world-conquering villainesses don't get dessert. Like she's a naughty child. Someone goes after Eilonwy and she's like oh no! Who would do such a thing? Thirty seconds of cricket noises. Eilonwy is bemoaning her struggles with magic and Achren is like you know we COULD be studying magic right now...... such a shame that SOMEONE destroyed the isle of enchantresses.......... and they're like what do you want us to do NOW, rebuild it? Rebuild the........ island? She hisses every time she sees Gwydion. Sometimes she chants ominously in corners but it doesn't do anything. She yells "a hex upon thee!!" every time someone is rude to her (Flewddur's a little worried about it). She knows all the new villains and thinks they're really lame. Like "oh you had to fight MORDA? That can't have taken long, that guy's such a dweeb. Did u know the password to his wall of thorns is 'password'. deadass." Taran, who almost died in the wall of thorns, is like I did not know that. Everyone gets used to her

[darkmagickingdom]

Achren: ARAWN TOOK MY SPELLS IN THE DIVORCE 🤬

[williambryantlesbianaunt]

*goes up to podium* *shuffles papers awkwardly* *clears throat* ”I would let Achren step on me.”

*runs out of auditorium*