Ok so before I delve into drafts, here are my thoughts on all the recent shorts condensed and how that affects / is interpreted in my portrayal.
This is very long, so I may edit / add onto this, but ...
Just a small thing and distinction for myself, Dan Heng appears a lot more free with his outfit, he shows more skin and it seems battle ready compared to the more elegant, modest look that Yinyue wore. It almost looks more tradition bound, whereas Dan Heng added his own flair and touch to it. This even appears to be reflected in their hair, with Yinyue wearing it long and fully black compared to Dan Heng's shorter and also more colorful strands, clearly setting the two apart. It makes Dan Heng look far less poised and more distinct, like something personalized rather than what one would have asked for one in this position as a High Elder.
Yinyue also clearly had shorter horns than Dan Heng in this particular scene. However, after going through the other renditions of Yinyue again, especially the one from the revised High Cloud Quintet artwork that was leaked a while ago, it's obvious that he did have bigger horns in the past. He did not have short horns like this by default, meaning that they were likely shorter due to being restrained by the Dracocatena Nails that were staked into his body. For comparison's sake, below is Yinyue in his prime:
This basically just confirms my previous theory of the horns being a direct reflection of power and potency. Even more symbolic given that Bailu's horns look like Yinyue's in that scene — small, budding, not at their full potential. On top of that, Dan Heng's has an idle where his horns sprout like a branch, growing into full antlers. I talked about this before, but that whole idle is likely a direct reference to Yaoshi, the Abundance, and also the revered status that Imbibitor Lunae held. Imbibitor Lunae is, at this point, clearly a full vessel of the Permancene's remaining power, a conduit and inheritor in equal measure, someone who now wields the Aeon's last vestiges of power, and the solemn duty that comes with it.
These overlaps are physically visible as well, which is 100 % intended by design. As stated in a previous post of mine, this position is called lalitasana, a stance or mudra from Indian art / dharmic religions. It is also known as " the royal position " and was commonly used in portraits of people whose kingly characteristics were intended to be emphasized. The person is seated on a throne, often stylized as a lotus, with one leg tucked under and the other hanging down. When it comes to Imbibitor Lunae, I find this even more interesting given the fact that Long was adjacent with the Abundance and potentially even became one with the Abundance later on. Thus sharing these traits speaks volumes about how closely tied he still is to these origins, how much these traits are on full display. It's giving Emanator vibes with how significant and deep they run and that's honestly basically what Imbibitor Lunae ( and likely the other High Elders ) already are on paper — individuals favored and blessed by the Aeon that ruled their path, granted permission to wield their powers. The word " Scion " doesn't fit them or what they represent, that matches all the other Vidyadhara as a race, but they are on a whole other level.
Something else to note is that the Imbibitor Lunae did not start out as an Imbibitor Lunae. They gained this identity as they were taught and came of age, undergoing the necessary rites to take up this position. Meaning that in order to become the High Elder, you had to give up your own identity. You had to push who you were aside to become something else. There are countless mentions of how detached and cold Yinyue was when fulfilling his duty, how many people didn't even know who he was as a person, how Yinyue " was a dragon, a hero, a sinner, but never a person with love, hatred, sorrow, or joy like everyone else in this world. " Becoming a vessel of Long, taking up the Azure Dragon's Legacy, essentially meant erasing yourself. This makes his relationship with the High Cloud Quintet all the more remarkable — and so much more significant why Dan Heng has been undergoing this identity crisis and internal struggle. He is the first High Elder since their conception that broke free from this cycle, who is no longer shackled by duty. When he said it was both a blessing and a curse, he meant it. He is the liberated one, and holding onto this hard.
But that animation short made it clear that he doesn't really resent Yinyue or the High Cloud Quintet or what happened in the past. After all, he said it himself : Yinyue is his past, he will always be a part of him in some manner of speaking. But he doesn't want to subject himself to the same fate, he doesn't want his life to be pre-determined, he wants to forge HIS OWN PATH that is not guided by duty or some other higher power. He wants to remain himself and not lose who he has become as a person, or these precious bonds he has found for himself. That is what he stood up and fought for and honestly, it made me so emotional seeing him like this, because facing his past head on was a huge step for him as a character.
This scene and what's being said here screams both deflection, projection and by extension, what Dan Heng almost certainly has been told by others as well. These are the things that stick with him and the past that he must face. That he's seen as a criminal without remorse, that death would be the only suitable punishment — in spite of the fact that he has done nothing himself, he still carried that weight and continues to carry it. Only now does he have the resolve to openly face it, and through it, Yinyue.
I also want to touch onto the Shackling Prison. We already knew that Yinyue was there, we knew that he was kept there mostly in solitary confinement and restrained ... but all these recent artworks really show just how harsh that treatment really was. He wasn't just bound and kept locked away, he was literally impaled by countless nails, suspended and likely in perpetual agony. Which makes it even wilder to me that during this entire time, he never spoke. He never said anything. He legitimately held onto an iron will until the very end, and that in and of itself is also testament to the detachment and dissociation Yinyue had developed to serve his position as Imbibitor Lunae and which he proceeded to utilize in other situations outside of his role. A dutybound tool that bore whatever misfortune happened to him quietly first, not an individual permitted his emotions. They had to be swallowed down and suffocated and it was likely a persistent state of being because you were always Imbibitor Lunae, every hour of the day. I really believe it was the High Cloud Quintet, especially Yingxing, who were the ones who gave him that sense of self back, who humanized Yinyue and gave him back individuality after all that had been methodically ripped away by rites and ascension. Speaking of which ...
The revised artwork and animation short also hammers home once more how close Yingxing and Yinyue really were before everything went to hell. They have now added the matching Passerby's Roaming Dragon Bracers onto them ( it was missing before ) and in the short they now also have distinctly matching earrings. They are not beating the married allegations.
Keeping everything else I just said in mind, this scene hits so different and becomes incredibly bittersweet. Most people never knew who Yinyue was, nor did they bother to see him as a person — but the High Cloud Quintet did. They were what the Astral Express now is to Dan Heng. They were his found family, his closest friends, the people who actually knew who he was beyond titles and decorum. I love that parallel between the two of them and how it was only upon remembering his friends that Dan Heng found the strength to face this inner turmoil head on, and it was only then that Yinyue conceded and told him to live on as he wished ... This was the resolve that broke through to Yinyue, because it resonated with him, because it threw all the projection he was doing back into his face. And I'm really happy they framed it in the way that they did here, because it's hinted that this is what heavily drove both of them forward. Not themselves — not their duty or responsibility or some other higher power, but the loved ones they surrounded themselves with and cherished.
