Soli Theories that i've found and some i've been gathering myself so far.
So there is a theory that elias is the fox due to quite a few things in canon that just seem to point to him being the fox. The gored left eye, Elias' left eye, the fox appearing on campus wherever the corruption breaks out. The fox shows no sign of erupting, elias has aether rot but controls it with a vile of ( )
Someone also pointed out how the fox' wispy tail trails as thorns wrap around both of them in the chapter covers.
It would seem elias has been intrigued by the corruption and aether rot since he was younger, having played with a corrupted parasites insides when he was just a boy, barehanded. When he brought the parasite closer to his face he grinned in a very creepy way, almost like he enjoyed being so close to it. When his brother came up behind him, from the panel it looked like he quickly ate it.
So when Maia got bit and Elias looked it over he "Jokingly" said "its a gift" and "Heed them, make your form a worthy vessel" "Just as those who came before you, Just as I gave mine" and for some reason I don't doubt that he might've given his vessel over to it. He is corrupted after all, and no one yet knows how.
After the spell rebounded in Callistoskeep he seemed hurt, weaker and in need of help but swore he was fine. He held a vile in his hand and said it happens all the time, and that it'll pass after a few. I wonder if him using powerful spells triggers the blight and corruption within him, making it worse and harder to keep at bay over time. Question is, did he infect himself when he was younger in the streets with that parasite he found? Or was he just feeding on it already corrupted, and in need of more corruption to sustain him? Hierphants clariet i'm assuming is what helps him keep it at bay these days.
In talking about the corruption: "It looked liked it was screaming." "They always do. Together. By late stage assimilation theres no hope in seperating them. Its beyond just a tangle of flesh and aether. They're a coalescense. So if one must die so will the other. Both corruption and host" it seems like he knows this all too well, almost seemingly speaking from experience and knowing it may be impossible for him to ever be seperated from the aether rot and corruption.
Ahhh!!!! I love this story so much!
@bleaksqueak
