Please bear with me, because I have been trying to make sense of ATHWTU for weeks. I low-key wonder if my folklore professor would accept an essay on the topic. I need to talk about all my theories with someone or I'll burst. The message that Milon shares with Siana reminds me of the lyrics of the song from S1 ep 5.
"Oh World Tree, with roots so deep and strong...
Give us the answers for which we long.
Why are we here, from where did we come from?
What must we do to turn back to where we belong?"
I think the masked stranger is guiding MC through the steps of the initiation ritual.
In the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European creation myth, the world is created by two primordial twins, who in some versions of the myth seem to emerge from a boiling well or a primordial spring, born out of the cold mist and fire of the underworld. One of the siblings sacrifices themselves, so the other can build the world from their remains.
In Norse mythology Odin shifts into a mortal as he travels down the world tree to seek knowledge of the final battle. To drink from the well of memory, he first has to sacrifice one of his eyes. But in his pursuit of knowledge the sky god travels further down the tree, deeper into the underworld to find the Well of Urd (the Well of Destiny), guarded by the three Norns - the sisters of fate. The three sisters are the scribes of destiny, carving the runes into the roots of the world tree to declare what will happen to every living thing in the cosmos. There's no evidence that Slavs ever used the runic system that we see in ATHWTU, so I'm going to assume that the writer took inspiration from the western Indo-European population, while trying to reconstruct the Slavic pantheon. The Norns bring water from the three magical wells to sustain life in Yggdrasil. It's said that everything that enters Urd's waters will become as white as the feathers of their pet swans. The Norns instruct Odin to pierce himself with his own spear and to hang himself from Yggdrasil. Only once he experiences death is he able to peer down into the shadowy waters. (I sooo wish we had a pet bird in ATHWTU. Ravens and swans are cool and all, but I'd absolutely do the Yav route to unlock a zhar-ptitsa). After nine days and nine nights Odin is reborn again with the knowledge of the runes and their power. There are three major springs that sustain the world tree: The Well of Urd, The Well of Mimir and Hvergelmir, the boiling cauldron amidst the primordial fog land - Niflheim. Hopefully, Lada isn't going to stay dead for nine days and nine nights before she finds out what the Alatyr inscription says. I don't know if the well that Volot is looking for is the same old well from Ozar's vision, but I guess it's locked away in Nav where the gods can no longer reach it.
In some Slavic mythologies there exist the Rozhanitsi. However, Mockosh is supposedly the weaver of fate of the old pantheon, whereas the Zorya sisters are the guardians of time itself. In a way they are more similar to Neith, the Egyptian mistress of stars who brings forth the sun and reweaves the entire world on her loom at dawn.
I think Hannah, Vereya and Lada were the next in line to inherit the powers of the celestial guardians of the cosmic order, but something disrupted the cycle of life and death. The world tree decayed, the spindle of necessity was thrown off balance, the dead souls could no longer fly back to Iriy, the fabric of reality itself was unraveled as the realms collapsed upon each other.
My theory is that Hannah has the power to travel between the worlds. In the first episode when Lada looks up at the sky she sees dim stars sail through the darkness, making their way to other worlds. A moment later she sees the fallen star. Vereya's soul is linked to the fallen star, but I think Hannah may possess the ability to travel between Nav and Yav, constantly wandering between what is seen and what is hidden. Maybe it's Hannah who's showing Lada a vision of one possible future in s2 ep3. I hope that the two sisters will meet at the crossroads between the worlds, even though I know that the masked stranger will likely be the one to guide Lada through the initiation ritual. The village defenses will probably crumble as Lada's powers grow. Lada, the koschei she talks to in the final episode of S1, the high priestess' sister and the woman who's neither dead nor alive all seem to be connected in some sort of cyclical renewal ritual. Maybe one that repeats itself every 18 years. I just had to put this all out there. All the theories that I have are driving me insane.
No baby because I'm right here with you!!
And the thing about three stars!?!?!
And One shines bright – Lada
Listen, listen, we're practically on the same wavelength. Why are all three girls on the cover if they weren't important, why are the ties that bind us almost always related to our sisters!?!?!
