@smallvoids asked me to do a concept sketch for her curse of strahd character, so this is Brahd, a beautiful, respectful, jock sorcerer boy. i love him dearly.
(this analysis owes a huge debt of gratitude and credit to @highponyleedo, who 1. encouraged me, and 2. opened my eyes to a theory that I now believe is the key to a lot of this what-the-fuckery. Read on for that theory)
“Falling from the sky
A feathered arrow
Golden sun ray
Sliding through my hands and
through my fingers like a razor
No apologies for burning
Fire is its own reason”
-- Space Team Electra, “Helios”
We see something in Xion’s teaser cards that we haven’t yet seen from the others. Colors - the splendor of nature, of butterflies and flowers and the blue, blue sky. In contrast with the others, it drives home how dark and myopic their teaser cards and symbolism are. But we are, after all, talking about five monarchs whose souls are imprisoned beyond an unreachable sun.
So how is Xion the one with color, with life, with the vibrant Sun as his element?
Let’s get to that in a minute. First let’s talk about the chalice.
The chalice is an exhaustingly prevalent symbol throughout art and divination, spanning eras of humankind, and with different meanings along the way. In the Gothic and Carolingian periods, a chalice represented the rejection of evil, and the service of the just and holy. For Pagans and Wiccans, it represents fertility and the womb of the Goddess. The Tarot suit of Cups concerns emotions and relationships, and is associated with water and feminine mystique.
So what does a full chalice mean? Well, there’s a common reading of the chalice as a vessel for breath. Breathe in, and the chalice fills. Breathe out, and the chalice is empty.
“I will survive
Even darkness can’t stop us
I breathe in breath in
You’re like oxygen to me
Wait for me...”
--- “Dead or Alive”
Another possible reading of the full chalice is childbirth, or the presence of one’s own child. So who might be divining the machinations of the six monarchs, possibly employing fortune tellers to pull oracle cards and cast runestones in the hope of finding where they disappeared to and what they’re planning?
Why Helios, of course, who grieved the loss of his son, Phaethon.
Phaethon, who was allowed to drive the chariot of the sun for one (1) day, but lost control of the fire-breathing horses and was struck down to Earth by Zeus.
Phaethon, whose father Helios was sus that Phaethon even was his son, until apparently he went and fell to Earth. Now he’s all “oh, my son, I miss my son and I’m grieving, boo hoo.”
Helios, your son is doing fine and he’s found a wonderful clan of vampy (and vampiric!) monarchs to settle in with, and toss around a little of his sun prince power in the process.
