The Poem of Aaravos, and his Arabic Roots
Get ready for AARAVOS THEORY AND OBSESSION TIME.
In season 2 of the Dragon Prince, we see Viren search for information about Aaravos. Before the text disappears, we get a brief glimpse of what is written inside the books.
It first should be noted that most of the text surrounding Aaravos is in Arabic (see the poem below) according to my Egyptian/ Arabic speaking friend @jo-the-poetic-rock, an ancient dialect of Arabic specifically. Something a lot of people don’t realize is that Aaravos is voiced by a black actor, and coded as Afro- Arab. This makes sense with Aaravos being a Startouch Elf.
Aaravos is built up as a figure of ancient history, and so it entirely makes sense to place the Startouch Elves culture in the ancient cradle of civilization, where the world’s oldest stories were written. Further, the ancient Arabs were notable scholars-- particularly in astronomy (and many other subjects as well). And so, the Elves inspired by them are connected to the stars.
The books are written in Danish, however. Not Arabic— an interesting choice. So, what exactly does it say?
It reads (translated by myself): “Finally he told me his name. I had never heard of a name like his, but I had never imagined that elves are like him. He is stronger, older and wiser than any magical creatures in Xadia. Still, he is a friend to all humans. Where others look down on un us and call us simpler, he sees great potential in us. When we accept the things Aaravos promises us, that they shall pay for their pretension, they will be forced to see us like equals. And when we are equals we will take fate in our own hands.”
These words are written by Elarion, an important figure in Aaravos’s history. Continuing off of that, we have the Poem of Aaravos, which features the prophecy of Elarion, found on an ancient Arabic scroll.
This poem is titled “The Midnight Star”, and was posted to the official Dragon Prince website. It consists of seven stanzas, and tells the tragic prophecy of Elarion. The translation posted below was done by user throwawaythisarab on reddit, an Arabic speaker. The post is linked below so you can read their featured notes about the translation:
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheDragonPrince/comments/asm576/aaravos_complete_arabic_poem_translation_in/
~~~~~~~
Elarion, seeds trembling
Lying on the ground on an icy night.
And in the cold
She withdrew her roots
Challenging the sting of the deadly winter.
Elarion, and her blooming flower,
afraid of wilting, darkness and death,
Had searched the dark
For a spark
And so the eyes of the hungry dragon flared.
Elarion, the frightened foundling
Stretched her white branches towards the night.
Asking the stars,
To receive her light,
And to stop the fire of the raging dragon.
Elarion, in a heavy rest,
cried while the stars of the skies turned black
They wore their masks,
Turned their backs,
And left Elarion to die.
Elarion, as her skin struggled death,
Withered and suffered in the dark,
Until the last star,
Reached out from far away
Its touch: a fire, a gift, a spark.
Elarion, and her blinding light,
Embraced the great black flame of night.
And when she bowed,
She declared her faith,
He whispered, "Aaravos," his name.
Elarion, black-eyed child,
her twisted roots spread deep and far,
The humans’ might
sparked by the light
of Aaravos, her midnight star.
~~~~~~~
A truly beautiful poem, and I cannot help but anxiously await for more information regarding Aaravos’s past, and this poem, to be revealed in future seasons. By far and away one of the most fascinating characters I have ever had the pleasure to watch OR read.
These are most likely the events which got Aaravos imprisoned. Don’t forget that Aaravos is a very ancient elf, and the first arch mage of Xadia and master of all six arcanums. In the opening narration of the show-- which Aaravos narrates-- we see him amongst the elven forces driving humans to the west.
He looks particularly Arabic in this younger design, and more powerful. He is clearly at his height of power at this moment-- the Midnight Star who would become legend, and eventually break the chains which both the world attempted to shackle his power with to reclaim the world. Even amongst the other elves, he seems to have a higher presence.
I’m sure this has been translated and discussed before I watched and joined the fandom, but I was simply itching to share the incredible history being built up behind this character. The mythology surrounding him is unparalleled. I hope you all enjoy, and perhaps take time to look at the beautiful language which is Arabic, as well as the entire Semetic language family.
