So I am reading cc3 (first time reader) and I just got done with some major Prythian and Midgard history lesson chapters. But there are still some gaps in the history and missing knowledge on who some of the characters who helped build this history outside of Theia and Fionn are. I have been saying for a while that we need to get out of Night Court, not only to discover what the other courts have to offer in Magic and Strength, but also now to learn what roles the High-Lords ancestors also played in overthrowing the Daglen and creating Prythian into 7 Courts. I know the 7 Courts came about during the years or decades that Queen Theia was in Midgard and king Fionn was dead. And that the magic of the land picked the High Lords of these 7 courts. But how were they chosen. What connection did they have to Fionn and Theia and their Daglen masters that the Magic chose them to rule these lands.
I truly think Day Court libraries have more information on the creation of the courts in their many libraries. And possibly even an accurate history on ALL the High Lords Bloodlines and any branches that came from those bloodlines. I also think Autumn Court is hiding secrets about who the Daglen are and their own involvement in overthrowing them. I also think Autumn Court is hiding the knowledge of who is from the true Royal bloodline.
But to get to my theory of Elain is a time walker. So I think to find the true answers to the history of Prythian, not the second hand history Queen Theia wanted her daughter to know, we need to walk back in time and see it with our own eyes. And we have a character who has been blessed by the cauldron with Time Magic.
And I think the way Elain will be able to walk through time is with sharing her magic with her mate, Lucien, and him sharing his magic with her, as Carranam. Elain’s seer ability is tied to Lucien’s presence. And it also currently seems Lucien’s ability to spell cleave is tied to Elain. And I think Lucien has untold magic tied to his biological father, Helion, that we hopefully get to see in their journey.
Helion has a vast array of magic abilities under his belt. The most prominent being Sunfire, Spell Cleaving and Weaving, and Healing. But he also uses a touch based magic in Silver Flames. He touched the Autumn Court soldiers to not only assess their health but also to tap into their mind and look at what is affecting them. And he also used this same Touch Telepathy to communicate with Rhys about how to disable the wards. He is not Daemati, but he has an ability to touch and connect mentally to people and maybe even possibly items.
So if Lucien has the same ability to perform Touch Telepathy and he shares that ability, that magic with Elain they could potentially Time Walk together. So with Lucien’s touch telepathy magic and Elain’s time magic they could tap into prior owners of ancient magical items memories and essentially be transported to the moments these items were used or created and see how they were used in battle or see how these ancestors help shape/build Prythian. Together they can find the answers that Prythian needs to fight and kill these Daglen, these Asteri, these Valg.
I think it’s imperative to get answer for the future of Prythian and even the history of Prythian.
Seer powers are messy — chaotic visions and prophecies that may never come true. Each Seer’s gift is unique, individual to its bearer. It is both a blessing and a curse, given from birth and impossible to teach or acquire.
These powers may come as whispers of advice in one’s ear, as dreams haunting one’s sleep, or as prophecies spoken with furrowed brows and confusing words. One thing always remains true: Seers see more than the human eye can grasp, and they know more than the human mind can process.
Pandora — the Feeler
Her visions appear as an abstract storm of colors and lights. Her knowledge is a puzzle of symbols and shapes — more sensation than substance. She does not see people; she feels them, their very souls. The universe whispers its words into her ear.
Sybill — the Herald of Prophecy
She never knows where her dreams end and prophecy begins. Her powers are overwhelming, never subject to control. The more she tries to make sense of it, the less it does, consuming her memories and mind. The universe speaks through her — its words winding, tangled, yet inevitable.
Kait — the Spectator
She sees everything: timelines and realities. She sees what could have been, and what may yet be. Her visions haunt her sleep, and her eyes perceive more than this reality can ever contain. She sees magic and its flow, the great weaving of all living things. The universe shows her whatever it deems suitable.
Since My Babysitter’s A Vampire never got any more seasons after season 2 and so we never got to see what all other things Ethan could eventually do with his seer powers as they grow and mature. I thought I’d share with you all what other abilities I think Ethan would’ve been able to do as his powers matured even more throughout the show, if had gotten more seasons.
seeing and reading auras
dream walking or at least being able to enter someone’s mind while their sleeping and enter their dream through touch (kinda like how he can already enter their minds when they’re awake)
locating people by focusing on an item that belongs to the person he’s looking for until he gets a vision off it that will show him clues to where they currently are
being able to sense danger or other supernatural presences that are nearby
being able to sense strong emotions (whether while he’s in someone’s mind or is just standing next to them in the real world)
maybe telepathy
maybe telekinesis
can control what he wants to see in a vision (like their past or future, based on what he wants to know), if he’s trying to get a vision from a person
can probably see and communicate with ghosts/spirits much easier than before without needing a vision to trigger their appearance to him first
Uh... that’s about all I think of at the moment. If any wants to add to this, then be my guest! I’d love to know what you all think Ethan might have been able to do as a seer if the show had gotten more season! 😄😊
This is a very long list of powers and abilities a seer can have and hopefully we’ll see them in acotar 5:
Extrasensory Perseption - perceive things by means other than the human senses or personal experience.
Accelerated Probability - The power to predict what choices one could make and their potential outcomes. The user can perceive the information of any situation and use the variables of that information to predict/perceive the paths that lead to certain outcomes will occur, based on what choices are made. They can then accelerate themselves along the path of their desire, which causes them to reach the conclusion of the path taken.
Clairvoyance - the power to gain direct visual information through non-physical means. The user can gain direct visual information about an object, person, location, or physical event through means other than the user's physical sight and allows them to act when they are unable to use their eyes and may be able to 'see' spiritual/psychic beings.
Danger Intuition - The power to detect impending threats. The user can sense nearing danger, acute danger, potential immediate danger, or impending danger and sense unwanted or hectic threats to their well-being and evade it.
Death Sense - The power to sense the coming of death and the actual act of dying. The user can sense the coming of death, determining when someone is dead or dying or if others have died in a specific location. This may extend to seeing the names and lifespans of those whose faces the user sees.
Destiny Perception - The power to perceive destiny. The user can sense the fate of themselves and others: they can see if they, or others, are meant to be loved, hated, rich, poor, die or if they are fated to be good or evil.
Divination - The ability to gain insight into a question or situation using an occultic, standardized process or ritual. User can employ divination, a method of reading the future, the present and the past and/or provide help to a problem at hand by using an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Divination can be achieved by communicating with the supernatural (i.e. gods, demons, spirits, nymphs) or by reading certain patterns.
Empathic Precognition - The ability to see into the future using emotions and sentiments. The user can foretell future events and observe what might happen by utilizing their personal thoughts and feelings about another. The strength of the user's emotions corresponds to how evident their vision of the future will become.
Flash Precognition - The ability to see things seconds or minutes before they happen. The user is able to see into a short-term future if usually only seconds or minutes worth. While useless for long predictions, it does give several practical advantages.
Mediumship - The power to perceive and communicate with spirits and those who are in the afterlife. User can view ghosts/spirits of deceased and communicate and/or interact with them, even if they have possessed inanimate objects/subjects/people. They are able to repel and run spirits away from an area, compel to employ an armada of ghosts, and may even view a visual conception of a spirit world in a trance if desired. Well trained mediums are even capable of channeling the energy and powers of spirits making them potential host/conduits for channeling their powers through their bodies and manifesting their qualities for their own.
Precognition - The power to perceive future events before they happen. Users have the ability to foresee possible futures and observe what may happen. As knowledge of the future invariably causes that future to change, visions of the future are subject to frequent shifting. While not being able to select futures or travel through time, these visions may assist in possible courses of action. Some visions may be set in stone whether or not you see them, others may happen only if the players select a certain course of action. This depends mainly on whether or not users are viewing Destiny or Probability.
Precognitive Dreaming - The power to perceive future events while in a dream state. The user is capable of perceiving future events in dreams.
Precognitive Speech - The ability to perceive future and/or recite/prophesy it. The user can perceive future and/or recite/prophesy it aloud, they may be aware of the process and able to control it, or it may be completely involuntary and/or be uttered in trance.
Prescience - The power to have instinctive foreknowledge of incoming events. The user has an instinctive knowledge of events before they happen. Such as knowing their enemy's every move/intention, know the cause/effect of events, prepare for/prevent the unwanted outcome, etc.
Psychometry - The power to perceive the residual information of an object and/or person. The user of Psychometry obtains historical memories or sensations concerning beings and objects they observe. With objects, they gain knowledge including the makers, users, and even those who have on passing used the object, and what has been done with it. With living beings or parts of the body, the user learns their general life-history but doesn't gain anything of what they were thinking or feeling.
Retrocognition - The power to discern events of the past. The user can discern the past and past events using various means, usually entering a trance while seeing and hearing a noted past event, whether it be concerning themselves or of an unfamiliar lineage in a past occurrence. Occasionally spontaneous.
Xeno-Accelerated Probability - The power to predict the outcomes of and what choices other people could make. The user can sense all the variables of any situation for other people, predict the outcomes and what choices the other person could make. They sense the possible courses of action for the target, and can see what consequences will happen for each action the target person can make.
Powerful seers can reach nearly or even fully divine status:
Absolute Vision - The power to see everything that happens no matter how far and no matter how the conditions are.
Divine Sight - The ability to see reality from the eyes of a deities or divine, cosmic entity.
Omni-Perception - The power to perceive anything/everything. The user can perceive anything/everything, including the past, present and future, reality, causality, boundaries, energy, even destiny and ultimately everything else.
Causality Perception - The user can perceive and understand all cause and effect relations, deducing the path leading to any effect, allowing them to plan, analyze, and take action with absolute efficiency. They can perceive the cause and effect relations of their own thoughts giving them the ability to tackle various situations by simply thinking about possible routes they could take. In a fighting situation, they can adapt perfectly to all factors before they even appear, achieving maximum efficiency in the offense, defense, and strategy, ensuring optimal success as long as there is the slightest chance. As a strategist, the user can always achieve optimal results (depending on the means at their disposal), perfectly anticipating all variables and their opponents' every move. These calculations can lead to extremely complicated planning in the long run, which always ends up being successful. The user can instantly understand anything by perceiving all the causes/effects it is currently made of, as well as all the previous ones that lead to this state. For example, a simple glance at someone would be enough to learn about their nature, personality, history, expectations, strengths, weaknesses, etc. The perception can also be turned to the person's future, its many paths, their probabilities, and the one which will eventually be realized. In short, users are flawless tacticians. They understand everything, there always several steps ahead of everyone else, impossible to catch off-guard, and always achieve the best possible results.
Combat Perception - The ability to understand how a person thinks and fights in combat. The user can instantly understand an opponent's method of thinking and fighting, allowing them to anticipate the moves of the opponent. Once they understand their enemies' strategy, they are able to find their flaws and weakness and take them down with little effort. While some users of this method do not use it as part of their primary fighting style, it is helpful in emergencies against difficult opponents where ordinary methods will not work against them.
Life Perception - User can perceive the flow of life-force in all living things, perceiving problems life-flow, the coming life and births of others, etc. This may extend to seeing the names and lifespans of those who's faces the user sees.
Supreme Observation - The power to observe/view everything, everywhere, everywhen regardless of where or when it is. User can observe/view/watch everything, everywhere, everywhen, and everyhow at the exact same time and regardless of where or when it is or might be. They can view out into the boundless emptiness and nonexistence where isolated and locked entities dwell.All that is, isn't, might, might not, could, could not, can, can't and won't exist is visible and laid bare before the user, and nothing can be hidden from their eyes. Unlike perception, which is the power to perceive anything/everything, this power only enables the user to observe/view/watch everything.
Evil Eye - The power to inflict harm on a person by gaze. User possesses the evil eye, which allows them to inflict a variety of harmful and debilitating effects on anyone they choose, just by gazing at them including but not limited to: laying horrific curses, inflicting pain and suffering, knocking people out and even killing people. They may also be able to affect inanimate objects with this power.
Illusion Awareness - The power to be aware of one's surroundings is false. The user is completely aware at all times of the true reality around them, potentially seeing through an optical and/or mental illusions that others attempt to deceive them with.
360-Degree Vision - The power to see in all directions at once.
Destiny Manipulation - The power to perceive and affect fate/destiny concerning people and events.
Divine Communication - The power to communicate with and influence deities.
Divinity - The user has divinity and divine powers granting them an immense amount of raw power beyond the mundane, making users a divine being by nature, a status which can be obtained a number of different ways. Users can gain divinity by having a divine ancestry, transform into a deity either by another god or by faith, channels, acts as a vessel for, the power/soul of a deity, mimic/steal powers from a deity, or be enhanced/evolved to the point of godhood. The level and forms of divinity is variable and unique by the user's nature and character of being, thus weaker or stronger users of divinities is ultimately reliant on the user alone.
Flaws/Weaknesses:
Seers connected to the gods may be limited to what god shows them.
Seers limitation will depend on the user but they can run the gamut.
- Seeing things but unable to change them.
- Seeing things but they are unclear.
- Seeing only possibilities.
- The visions may take a toll on the mind and the body.
If you would like to research more and find more about seers and their powers/abilities, check out this page https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Archetype:Seer It’s composed with a lot of powers of seers from books, movies, anime, comics etc. and it’s indeed really interesting.
Now I’m not saying that each of these powers will be used by Elain and neither saying that there’s not a high probablity that our sweet seer will not have one of these. We don’t know what crosses that beautiful mind of SJM, so will have to wait and see how powerful she wants to make the seers in the acotar universe. I just got really mad cuz people are still saying that Elain is boring, her story will be boring yada yada yada without even knowing how powerful Elain is. Is like saying Nesta is weak after reading acowar which is really silly.
But if you ask me, I am very excited to see more of Elain’s powers in her upcoming book. And I know for sure that Elain + Azriel (seer + shadowsinger) is a powerful, dangerous and deadly combination.
Image Details: "BILIBIN, Ivan [Ива́н Я́ковлевич Били́бин] (1876-1942). 🇷🇺 Ivan Tsaryevich-Grey Wolf-Firebird, 1899." by Halloween HJB is marked with CC0 1.0
Hello! The Firebird is a figure in Slavic / Russian folklore, and there are many translations and versions of a story that features this character. Many of them also feature a character named Ivan, and the famous ballet retelling of it includes the evil sorcerer Koschei as the antagonist who has captured thirteen princesses, and the Firebird helps Ivan free them by defeating Koschei.
I am not an expert on all versions, but I read a novel retelling of the story, Firebird by Mercedes Lackey, many years back and the version of the story she draws on has Ivan (in her story, called Ilya) as a maligned youngest brother of many brothers who are all bullies to him for his interactions with the Firebird, before he sets off on the adventure that brings him to the realm of Koschei.
But if I were to guess, if SJM draws from any version it will be The Firebird ballet by Stravinsky. I will grab a few quotes from that Wikipedia page that summarize the ballet's story and bold the details that map to what we know about Vassa and Koschei, from Elain's seer visions and from Vassa’s own words about Koschei in ACOWAR:
The ballet centers on the journey of its hero, Prince Ivan. While hunting in the forest, he strays into the magical realm of the evil Koschei the Immortal, whose immortality is preserved by keeping his soul in a magic egg hidden in a casket. Ivan chases and captures the Firebird and is about to kill her; she begs for her life, and he spares her. As a token of thanks, she offers him an enchanted feather that he can use to summon her should he be in dire need.
Prince Ivan then meets thirteen princesses who are under the spell of Koschei and falls in love with one of them.
Then later:
Exhausted, the creatures and Koschei then fall into a deep sleep. While they sleep, the Firebird directs Ivan to a tree stump where the casket with the egg containing Koschei's soul is hidden. Ivan destroys the egg, and with the spell broken and Koschei dead, the magical creatures that Koschei held captive are freed and the palace disappears. All of the "real" beings, including the princesses, awaken ...
I don't believe SJM will do a literal retelling but instead, similar to what she did with Beauty and the Beast and the legend of Tam Lin in ACOTAR (the first book), draw on elements from the source material but combine it with her own world building to tell us a new version. The only players I feel sure would play a role in a retelling of this in the ACOTAR universe are Lucien (Ivan/Ilya), Vassa (the Firebird), and Koschei (Koschei).
More thoughts after the break that contain ACOSF SPOILERS about my ideas for what could happen in future books, given the above lore I think SJM is drawing on.
What I would LOVE is, if Lucien goes on an adventure to Koschei's lake on the continent to face Koschei in order to free Vassa, that Elain would join him, perhaps from two motivations:
1) To offer her seer powers in aid of this mission that would track back to the wider plot conflict already set up, with the remaining human queens, Fae wanting to land grab in the human realms (e.g., Beron), the Trove, and of course, Koschei; and, 2) Perhaps, as a way to finally face her mating bond with Lucien, not necessarily to accept it immediately, but if they travel together to help the wider conflict, they could test the bond together and see if this is something they both want to choose or not (and Lucien would absolutely go for this because, even though the chance of a rejection lays at the end of the journey, he wants to figure this out as much as she does)....then cue an Elucien love story that is layered into the Firebird retelling ☺️
And yes, I just showed my Elucien cards, but this theory of how their book could go technically allows for either outcome. But whether Elain is involved as I am speculating here, or less so, I honestly believe Lucien will be the one to travel to the continent to face Koschei to free Vassa from her curse, and free the other girls Koschei has trapped in the process.
This single line in ACOSF, ch. 7, bolded at the end of the political discussion about Koschei, is SJM telling us almost as literally as she can from the middle of the narrative, that this is what is coming, and I adore SJM for putting this in there, easing my Lucien, Firebird-loving heart that my hopes for this plotline are well founded:
“Certainly.” Vassa peered at her hands, fingers flexing. “I fear what may happen if he ever gets free of the lake. If he sees this world on the cusp of disaster and knows he could strike, and strike hard, and make himself its master. As he once tried to do, long ago.”
“Those are legends that predate our courts,” Eris said.
Vassa nodded. “It is all I have gleaned from my time enslaved to him.”
Lucien stared out the window—as if he could see the lake across a sea and a continent. As if he were setting his target.
I always hoped this would be the next full length novel after Nessian's, but now I'm thinking it might be the last one because it would end with Koschei's demise, and he seems to be the big baddie for this trio of novels, of which ACOSF was the first.
Plus the Az POV bonus chapter makes me think SJM is setting us up for him being a main character in the next book, which makes me think we're finally going to get the Az / Mor situation resolved, and that they both find partners (in Gwyn and Emerie 👀 showing more ship cards, sorry not sorry!) once they talk out 500 years of tension and pain.
So the Firebird retelling may get punted one more book, which in my head means Elain's story is held off for another book as well... though Elriel shippers might see her playing a main role in an Az novel, and thus the debates continue until we know more ☺️ (she says cheerfully - no anti hate here please!).
I hope this answers your question about the Firebird fairytale and how I see it playing a role in a future book! Apologies for also weaving in my ship theories and predictions. ☺️ But IMO Lucien freeing Vassa from Koschei does not depend on any ship being endgame, and I am ready for SJM's creativity to shine as she (hopefully!) retells this story for us!
Proof that Elaine the seer had a vision about last battle of ACOWAR
1. Elaine has been having visions and has mentioning them to people in her. Kirk when she says to Nests "twin ravens are coming" then Nests gets attached by the king's 2 ravens
2. Elaine mentions to Cassian that he would die with broken wings and bones. While eating breakfast she says to Cassian "he snapped your wings, broke your bones" cassian replied saying "it will take more than that to kill me." Elaine then tells him "no it will not". It's like she has seen it right?!
3. In battle with the king Cassian breaks his bones and his wings and is about to die! "Not twenty feet away, Cassian was on the ground. Wings—snapped in spots. Blood leaking from them. Bone jutted from his thigh."
4. Cassian and Nesta are literally about to be killed by the king when out of nowhere Elaine appears and saves them. How did she know where they where? How did she know they needed help? She saw them
5. This is the girl that was dizzy at the thought of war. She was a rose bloom in a muddy pin of horses. How did she muster the strength to get up go through the battle field, find her sister and Cassian, and then kill the king a man I'm sure Elaine fears. How did she do this???? She had seen it in a vision. She had seen Cassian and Nesta dying and knew they needed her. Only that would have brought her to that field ready to use the sword and stab the king.
I have recently started re-reading HP books and something I have always wondered about, just came back to me.
Did Albus knowingly let the whole Voldemort-Harry prophecy happen in the first place? I don’t mean Sybil’s vision, of course, he had no power over it; but everything afterwards. It’s something that bothered me, ever since the Harry Potter books had ended and now that we know that Grindelwald was a Seer; it would make perfect sense that Dumbledore might have willingly let it all happen, knowing that it’s the best bet to defeat Voldemort for good, because he already saw what a self-fulfilling prophecy can do, with Grindelwald. I don’t want to say it would be all for the greater good but it would still be smart. There was a terrible and long war going on; countless people already died and Voldemort seemed unbeatable; almost unreachable. It would be risky of Dumbledore, sure, but nevertheless smart. After all, Voldemort had a choice; he himself, due to his arrogance and ignorance, let the prophecy happen the moment he decided to act on it.
We also know for a fact that Dumbledore seemed to have a rather low opinion about divination and wasn’t easily keen to believe that one might be a Seer in any sense of the word; and I think it’s safe to assume that Grindelwald is a (partial) reason behind that. I mean, think about it; Gellert is portrayed as an extremely talented Seer, who can actually control his power, which - if I’m not mistaken - is rather rare in HP universe. And instead of using it for something indeed greater, he more than likely let his unique powers make him even more unhinged; he used it for sinister acts, manipulation and, in the end, due to his ignorance, probably let it all lead him to his own defeat. Finally, you have to admit, seeing someone reading the tea leafs is hardly impressive, comparing to what Grindelwald was capable of as a Seer.
First I don’t think Nesta exists in fate and time. I don’t think Elain can see Nesta in her future visions. When she told Cassian it won’t take much to kill him, she could have been speaking about 2 instances. The first being when Hybern used the cauldron to send a blast of power over the Illyrian legion or second being when The King of Hybern was breaking Cassians bones and then going to end him with a final killing blow. Nesta interfered in that first instance by calling for Cassian out of the Illyrian legion, and the second time Nesta threw herself over Cass’ body in hopes to shield him or to die together. There is also a possible third time being with Lanthys in the prison. Cassian was broken against the wall with Lanthys looking to finish him off when Nesta return to help him. When Elain saw Cassians death she did not mention Nesta. It’s possible Nesta exists outside of fates plans which means Elain cannot see her involvement. Which means that anytime Nesta is present Elain’s visions could be changed.
My other thought is I wonder what the repercussions are for Elain if she can alter her visions. So let’s say she did see Cassian die by the hand of the King of Hybern. Maybe she also did see Nesta there ready to die with him (maybe she didn’t) but when she went to that area specifically to stop Cassians death she took initiative to change/alter the future she saw. Which is very interesting to me. Because most seers in stories try to remain removed from the world to ensure they don’t interfere with fates design or they try to alter the future which results in the future the saw to begin with, but what if Elain is seeing the things to come and actually can change it. Does it affect her and/or does it affect the new future she sees? Also does this also mean that Elain can exist outside of fates design or time.
And yes I have seen the arguments that Elaine vision of Cassians death has not been fortfilled yet but I truly don’t believe that theory and I am solely basing my thoughts on the what if Cassian’s death was stopped.
