#the illyrians

[pitohiu]

It’s wild the Acotar Wiki says the Illyrians have a ‘rich culture’ cause genuinely, outside of the Blood Rite, tattoos, living in tents for the most part, being warriors, and abusing women (if you deign to call that culture).

What to we ACTUALLY know about their culture beyond the most bare bones things. Cause I’m drawing blanks. 😭

[nessiandefenseattorney]

I really want to see Cassian on a murderous rampage at some point, like picture this he is at windhaven or some of the other illyrian war camps and the rebellion is going strong and they decide to try to assassinate Nesta and him and he’s like okay I had enough and starts killing the traitors game of thrones style, like the man puts heads on stakes as an example of what happens to those who disobey orders from their general.

I will eat this up so fast (tbh something like this seriously needs to happen bc the illyrians genuinely think the IC is a joke)

[nikethestatue]

The Bat Boys

Art: Gonzalom_art

[bookofmirth]

In Silver Flames what do you think this meant:

“The world seemed to pause at the words. As if it had been following one path and now branched off in another direction. In a hundred years, a thousand, this moment would still be etched in his mind. That he would tell his children, his grandchildren, Right then and there. That was when it all changed.

Azriel went wholly still, as if he, too, had felt the shift. As if he, too, were aware that far larger forces peered into that training ring as Gwyn moved.”

I don’t want to read too into it and be called delusional. I know some like to say that for Azriel it’s the start of something new. He felt a shift. This did happen a few days after Solstice and he helped Gwyn with the ribbon. Kinda wish I knew what was going on through his head during this moment.

But the wording is interesting. I think this does show that we’ll be seeing more of the Valkyries. They’re role might be bigger/more important. I don’t see how people came up with Gwyn being evil. It doesn’t really make sense to me.

So I have actually written a post about this before! You can see that here.

People think Sarah is subtle, but honestly she's not. We can't say yet with 100% certainty that that quote will be meaningful, but... That quote is a huge flashing neon sign! She's literally telling us that something important is happening. One of my posts for after the hofas release is actually related to everything you are saying here, about fate, the Valkyries, the Illyrians, and what I think might happen next with Az.

I pointed it out here, too, more to say hey, it's canon that Az and Gwyn (and Emerie and Nesta and Cassian, and even Mor!) are going to continue working together. And not only that, sjm used some pretty strong language to describe the importance of that work.

We know for sure that Nesta, Emerie, Gwyn, and the other Valkyries are going to keep training with Azriel and Cassian. We know that after having passed the Blood Rite, Azriel and Cassian wanted to perfect their techniques. We know that Mor has toyed with the idea of training with the Valkyries. All of this is established fact in canon, it is not theory, it is fact. I don't think that it's a stretch to then say that we will see these actions continued in acotar5 is wildly out there, or that Sarah writing that "fate stood up" is meaningless. (You could say the most innocuous, un-debatable fact, like Az is an Illyrian, and somewhere, some dinghole jackass would call you delusional. Don't let this fandom convince you you're wrong.)

I don't know if you read CC or want my input on how I think hofas plays into this, but there are definitely some arrows pointing to "yes". :D

[silverlinedeyes]

The Illyrians—A (Crack) Theory

Major HOSAB Spoilers below

Theory: The Illyrians are originally demons from Hel that Aidas (or Apollion or maybe even Theia) sent with Theia’s second daughter through the Rift to protect her and Truth-Teller

Theia’s Second Daughter

In HOSAB, we again learned that Theia (and Fionn) had two daughters: Helena, and a second daughter. While Helena was forced to wed Pelias and remained in Midgard, no one knows what happened to her second daughter. Indeed, Aidas*** says she disappeared into the night, and he never learned her fate.

(***the real Aidas of course might know where Theia’s second daughter is)

The Starsword has a twin, without which the Starsword does not have (all of) it’s powers. As far as the history books show, Gwydion’s twin was lost sometime during the first wars:

We also learn in HOSAB that the Starsword is Gwydion, and that it’s twin is Truth-Teller, which is in Prythian:

Which means somehow Truth-Teller got from Midgard and Theia/Pelias’s possession back to Prythian.

So how did Truth-Teller get back to Prythian?

My best guess is that Theia’s second daughter took Truth-Teller through the Rift to keep Pelias from being able to use it, and from being able to use Gwydion at its full power. Originally I wondered if she stole it from him after he killed her mother, but this passage gives me pause:

Here, Rigelus is talking about how the Asteri’s attempt to go back to Prythian to seek revenge on the Fae who defeated the daglan (asteri) there was thwarted by “your ancestor who also bore that star on her chest.” Which to me is saying that a *female* closed the rift, not Pelias. So was it Theia before Pelias slew her, or was it Helena after Theia died? Which one had a scar like Bryce’s on her chest?

If it was Theia, did she give her second daughter the knife and tell her to flee with it through the rift to protect her people and stop Pelias from getting to full power?

If it was Helena, was this her last act of defiance to stop Pelias and the Asteri, and to protect her people? To take the knife from Pelias, and to stop the Asteri from returning to Prythian?

Anyways, back to the point: I think Theia and Fionn’s second daughter fled through the rift with Truth-Teller, returning it to Prythian.

And I don’t think she went alone.

The Illyrians are Hel-demons

At the beginning of HOSAB, Bryce is at the ballet looking at art of the first wars:

“An army of winged demons swooping down from the skies upon a terrestrial army gathered on a plain below.” And Bryce later remembers the leathery wings of the demons she killed in HOEAB.

An army of winged soldiers—sounds familiar.

Hunt later describes Apollion’s wings as leathery:

And when Bryce sees Azriel, she says he has “demon wings” and later describes his and Rhys’s wings as “leathery.”

…

Are Illyrians descended from demons? Do they descend from the flying winged demons in Hel’s armies from the first war?

We also learn that Apollion slew Pelias for his brother Aidas, who loved Theia. To avenge what Pelias did to Theia.

Did Aidas or Apollion (or maybe even Theia) send a group of Hel’s winged demon soldiers through the Rift with Theia’s second daughter to protect her and see her through safely?

Indeed, the Illyrians are bred soldiers who are brutal and old-fashioned in their ways. Is this because they were born and bred warriors from Hel, trained to fight against the Asteri? (Thanks @wingedblooms for this connection)

And if the Rift is under or on Ramiel as I suspect it might be, did they come through in the Illyrian mountains and make their home there, guarding and hiding what Theia’s daughter brought through the Rift—Truth-Teller?

Is that why there are Illyrian runes on the scabbard? And are those really runes from Hel?

Are the Illyrians still tasked with guarding the Rift, to stop the Asteri if they try to come back through to regain Prythian?

If the Rift is under Ramiel, what else might be there? What else might the Illyrians be protecting?

And one last thought (again, thanks to @wingedblooms for helping me with this idea and brainstorming with me):

Could Theia’s second daughter have mated with one of the Illyrians/demons that helped her through, and could her (and Theia and Fionn’s) bloodline be in the Illyrian line?

We know Helena had shadow powers as well as starborn powers—could her sister have had them too?

Could that be where Azriel’s shadowsinging ability comes from—Theia’s second daughter?

And if that’s the case, he is an heir of Fionn, and to Truth-Teller:

Theia and Pelias killed Fionn, “taking some of his bloodline’s most powerful and precious weapons.”

Weapons. Not weapon. Gwydion and Truth-Teller are two of Fionn’s bloodline’s most powerful weapons. And if Azriel descends from Theia and Fionn, they’re his bloodline’s weapons too.

And Azriel has one of them. Had had it for centuries.

Did it choose him? Is that how he found it? Was he drawn to it? Did Azriel “win” Truth-Teller in a similar way that Ruhn won the Starsword? And does that mean Azriel can wield Truth-Teller and its powers?

And does this mean that Rhys is also an heir to Gwydion and Truth-Teller, given the hints we got that Ruhn and Rhys are related? That Gwydion and Truth-Teller are Rhys’s bloodline’s weapons as well?

I think Azriel and Elain are certain to go to Ramiel in ACOTAR 5 to search for the fourth trove or for the trove weapons. To see what is under Ramiel. And I wonder if we might discover more about the Illyrian’s history then, and what they’ve been guarding.

And one final question: was Elain also able to use Truth-Teller’s powers, and how? Is it because she is starborn, or simply because she was made? Or is it something else? Was Truth-Teller pointing to several connections between Azriel and Elain when it formed that bridge between them? True mates, but also starborn, or heirs to TT?

Wait, a final final question! Is Theia’s second daughter also the fae warrior that trapped Koschei????

Also, regardless of when the Illyrians got to Prythian or why, I am officially convinced that they are demons from Hel, and the questions are why they came, when they came, and why they’re still there.

Thanks as always to my friends for talking to me about my theories, especially @offtorivendell (who has a different theory about the Illyrians I think she’ll be posting about soon) @psychee92 @merymoonbeam @avallens and, as already mentioned, @wingedblooms

[yazthebookish]

Illyria - Ramiel - The Blood Rite

Illyria is located in the North-Western region of the Night Court and consists of steppes and Mountains. It's inhabited by a warrior race of faeries called the Illyrians after they migrated from the Myrmidons long ago. The Myrmidons is a mountainous area south of the Night Court and it serves as a border between the Night Court and the Day Court.

The Illyrians are neither High Fae nor lesser Fae. They have their own princes and lords among them (Azriel is the bastard son of an Illyrian lord).

The Illyrians are considered the largest army in Prythian and the expendable Aerial Cavalry for the Night Court. They live in war-camps but are people that have a rich culture with traditions and stories they fiercely protect. Once an Illyrian is acknowledged as a warrior, they are given tattoos for luck and glory on the battlefield. They are also trained to protect their wings at all costs.

For the Illyrian males that do not become warriors, they tend to various trades, whether merchants or blacksmiths or cobblers.

The females are expected to commit to the required tasks: cooking, cleaning, child-rearing, clothes making, laundry. The Illyrians view there is honor in such tasks, pride and good work to be found in them. Unfortunately, every single Illyrian female is expected to fulfill these tasks and if they are not tended to, then they are punished by whichever Illyrian male responsible for them or camp mothers. Azriel's mother was a maid, Cassian's mother was a laundress, and Rhysand's mother worked as a seamstress. As of ACOSF, only Azriel's mother is alive but never showed up on page.

The Illyrians practice wing-clipping on their females when they bleed for the first time. It's done to prevent females from flying which results in crippling their wings forever since their main task to the Illyrians is to breed warriors. Rhysand forbade wing clipping but some camps continue to practice it.

Windhaven is one of the Illyrian war-camps and it's formerly the home of Rhysand's mother. Rhysand's mother brought him to the camp when he turned 8 to train with other warriors. He met Cassian there and a year later, 11 year old Azriel showed up.

Illyria is where the mountain Ramiel is located. Ramiel is a sacred mountain to the Illyrians. It is considered the heart of the Night Court and the first ruler of the Night Court made the mountain along with the three holy stars that only appear during a brief window each year, the Court's insignia.

Ramiel and the territory surrounding it is off-limits for anyone save for the Illyrians and they are only allowed to once a year—during the Blood Rite.

It is prohibited for anyone to walk around the mountain and its slopes. It is also to prevent any of the novices from scouting ahead for the best routes and traps before the Blood Rite. It is likely that the Illyrians patrol the area 24/7.

Legends say the black stone jutting atop of it had existed before the Night Court. Once the onyx monolith is touched during the Blood Rite, the Rite ends and the stone heals whoever touches it and teleports them out.

Around Ramiel monstrous creatures roam, most were slain or sent fleeing to the steppes but the most cunning and ancient of them found ways to hide and emerge on moonless nights to feed. Some of them hunting on the winds, some crawling out from deep caverns in the rock itself.

The Illyrians possess raw killing powers and the powers are channeled through the Siphons to keep them from destroying everything in their path “incinerate now, ask questions later.”, the bearer of the siphons included. According to Rhysand, their power in its natural state lends itself towards something far messier and unrefined, and potentially dangerous. Cassian even wonders where the Illyrians got the killing power from.

Magic is rare among the Illyrians, it's usually possessed by only the most powerful, pure-bred warriors, but when it manifests it requires Siphons to be controlled and filtered into something usable. It gives the Illyrians that do manifest magic an advtange over the others.

Bastards are never given Siphons only to the pure-blooded Illyrians, but Cassian and Azriel are the first bastard-born males to ever be allowed to wear them. They're also not allowed to participate in the Blood Rite but Devlon, the camp lord of Windhaven, allowed them to.

Facts about The Blood Rite:

It occurs every year in early Spring, when the three holy stars (Akrtos, Carynth, Oristes) shine above it for a week. On the final day of the Rite, the three stars are directly above Ramiel's peak.

When an Illyrian warrior comes to full power usually in their early 20s, they have to go through the Blood Rite before they can qualify as a fully warrior and adult.

All qualifiers from every clan and village are deposited across the mountains and forests for a week with two goals: survival and make it to Ramiel.

There is a spell that restrains all magic and wings are rendered useless as they are bound.

the Illyrians do not possess magic except on one night: the Night before the Blood Rite. It is not known to anyone why is that—the magic allows the war-band leaders to winnow drugged novices into the wilds.

Weapons or supplies are banned except for clothes the qualifiers are wearing.

If anyone breaks into the Rite to extract or save someone, both the rescuer and the other person shall be hunted down and killed for trangression. Even a High Lord is not exempt from those rules.

There are three routes to reach Ramiel, the worst route is called the Breaking. The Breaking leads to the Pass of Enalius.

Rhysand, Cassian and Azriel set foot on Ramiel only once in their lives: when they won the Blood Rite, earning the title Carynthians.

The three tiers of warriors are named after the holy stars:

1. Arktosian: the ones who don't make it to the mountain but survive.

2. Oristian: the ones who make it to the mountain but don't reach the top.

3. Carynthian: the ones who scale the summit and touch the stone atop Ramiel to win the Rite. They are considered elite warriors.

In the last 500 years, only six Illyrians (including Rhysand, Azriel, Cassian) had become Carynthians. Two died during the War against Hybern and the other one survived. Gwyn and Emerie are the newest Carynthians. By the end of ACOSF, there are five Carynthians in the Night Court, two of them are females.

Warriors that don't participate in the Blood Rite are not considered and honored as true warriors by the Illyrians.

It is said the Blood Rite takes place to honor Enalius, but most of the history is lost.

Long ago a Great War was fought between the Fae and the Ancient Beings that oppressed them. One of the key battles was at Ramiel, for some reason the enemy was desperate to reach the stone atop Ramiel but the reason for that was never known or it's been forgotten. A young Illyrian warrior named Enalius held the line against the enemy soldiers for days. He held off the enemy long enough for their Allie's to reach but died in the end. So much of the history has been lost but the memory of his bravery remained.

Azriel calls the Blood Rite “a week of pointless bloodshed”. Cassian considers the Blood Rite an escape to valve for dangerous tensions within the Illyrian community. It is better settled during the Blood Rite than risk Civil War.

In ACOSF, Briallyn used the Crown to influence the Illyrians like Bellius and others (who were in the continent for some time on a scouting trip) to break the rules of the Rite and plant weapons on it for some reason.

[tardigraded20]

[starfallkaz]

Cassian on any given occasion comes bounding into the room laughing and tackles Rhysand and Azriel to the ground, and they’ve just gotten used to it by now, so they sigh and just let themselves be knocked to the ground