#neporo

[winter-wise]

The woman on the mountain - Tonra - might be Neporo. She was immortal, had power over dreams consistent with the descendents of Neporo, isolated herself because she thought she deserved it (Kalyba implied that Neporo comitted some great crime) and she had the jewel.

Samantha Shannon did say that Neporo ‘might’ have outlived Kalyba, but Tonra was dead when Dumai came to her.

Or was she? In her own writing, Tonra states that falling from a height and being dashed to pieces might not be enough to kill her. On the mountain, she might simply have slipped into a coma, and seemed dead when her body was found. Dumai, Nikeya, and Kanifa were all suffering altitude sickness when they found Tonra’s body - they weren’t thinking straight, and might have not checked for her pulse and breathing very well.

Also, Canthe/Kalyba had no pulse when it was checked. It might be that it was an illusion, but it might also be that the first to eat the fruit of the siden trees get their whole body paused - not just an end to aging, but no pulse either.

If Tonra is Neporo, then her hair still grew, but it might just mean that bodily processes slow to the point of being nearly undetectable. If Neporo, Cleolind, and Kalyba’s hearts only beat once a minute, it would be easy to miss.

This would also explain why Cleolind’s body in the tomb hasn’t decayed. Cleolind isn’t dead either - just in a deep sleep. With no pulse, she’d seem dead to anyone who examined her.

[theroseeternal]

I can’t stop thinking about the celestial jewels, specifically the one in the east. In ADOFN, Dumai finds the jewel on Brazhat guarded by Tonra. She takes the jewel, then gives it to Nikeya, who finally gives it to the Grand Empress. Then, in Priory, we learn that Neporo had the rising jewel when she ruled Komoridu, and then it passed to her descendants to guard and protect. Tané is one of Neporo’s descendants and finds the jewel sewn into her side.

If Tonra is actually Neporo, which I believe she is, then it would make a lot of sense for her to have the jewel. But then how does the jewel go from being with the grand empress at the end of ADOFN, back to a descendant of Neporo, Tané? I’m sure we’ll learn more about this as Samantha Shannon puts out more Roots of Chaos books, but I just can’t stop thinking about it!

Also, the jewel never answered to Dumai, and I think it’s because the person it was bonded to was still alive, and I think that was Tonra/Neporo. She would have needed to die before Priory of the Orange Tree in order for Tané to be able to use the stone as she does. Just my theory!

[randombookposts]

Prediction time, Kalyba, Neporo, and Cleolind are not dead, they're just eepy and in comas, and in the sequel to the Priory, aka the last book, after all the other loose ends are tied up, they're gonna come back and have an immortal girlboss fight. I have no idea how it would be work but it would be really cool.

[wintourmelon]

i need kalyba as a storyteller. that's all i ask for. well, that and what really happened back then

[thatonechickbrea]

I’m rereading Priory after having finished A Day Of Fallen Night and I have some thoughts about the Saint. I don’t know if this is controversial or not but I’m very curious what exactly about Galian is true. With the Priory not knowing that Neporo actually chained the Nameless One instead of Cleolind that makes me wonder how much of their history is incorrect or at least has morphed over time.

They say there are three sides to every story, in this case we have Inys, the Priory, and the Truth. As much as I love to see a man humbled, I’d love to find out that Galian is a lot more grey than we’re led to believe. Maybe he had Kalyba make Ascalon for him to give to Cleolind, the woman he truly loved. I actually wouldn’t even be surprised to find out Cleolind loved him but when he could not be brave enough to help her fight the Nameless One she was too disgusted to feel anything other than pity towards him.

If we’re getting another Roots or Chaos book I feel like an obvious story revolves around our three legends: Neporo, Cleolind, and Kalyba. And I will be fascinated to learn Galian’s true lore.

P.S. shoutout to the theorist who believes Neporo and Cleolind are actually still alive, they’re just in comas because the first to receive the fruit are incapable of dying. I love that and I’m here for it. Could even provide a sequel to bounce between the three waking up and when they fought the Nameless One the first time.

[portrait0fthem00n]

I really wanna write something about Cleolind, Kalyba and Neporo because these three have such an interesting dynamic, and seemed to know each other quite well despite the inevitable fall-out with Kalyba, also I get queer vibes from Cleolind and Neporo, but also Kalyba was definitely a little in love with Cleolind, maybe?? Idk just gay mages brain go brrrr

[evangelineartemiasamos]

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon:

- The Firstblood: Kalyba, Cleolind and Neporo

“The sisters of the Priory are practitioners of siden - terrene magic. It comes from the core of the world, and is channelled through the tree. Those who eat of its fruit can wield its magic. Once there were at least three siden trees - the orange, the hawthorn, and the mulberry.

“I am Firstblood. I was first and last to eat of the hawthorn, and it granted me eternal life.”

[winter-wise]

Theory: Neporo’s crime was creating the jewels.

We know from both Priory and Day of Fallen Night that Neporo comitted some great crime - Kalyba mentions this, and since I think Tonra is Neporo, Tonra/Neporo isolated herself because she comitted a great crime.

Now, here’s what we know about the world of the Priory:

The Nameless One rose because of a great imbalance of siden and sterren.

The jewels are linked to sterren.

Neporo’s rule was threatened during her time - we know that the mainland refused to recognise her as Queen of her island.

So here’s my theory.

Neporo’s rule is threatened, so she finds a way to create the jewels out of sterren to protect herself and her people. But this causes a huge imbalance in the world. The Nameless One rises and kills many people.

Cleolind fights and defeats him, and when Neporo and Cleolind meet, Neporo realises that because of the jewels she’s created, an awful monster has risen: the deaths caused by the Nameless One are on her hands.

She’s horrified, but try as she might, she can’t destroy the jewels. The jewels are separated, one going with Cleolind, one with Neporo.

Neporo changes her name to Tonra and goes to live on the mountain, and eventually falls into a coma, to be found by Dumai.