Maeve is Theia, the original Starborn Queen.
This theory contains spoilers for ACOTAR, Crescent City, and Throne of Glass!
As discovered in CC2, Ruhn and Rhys look identical. If they are not reincarnations of each other (still a plausible theory), then they must share a common ancestor. As most people have already deduced, logically, this must be Queen Theia; the first Starborn Queen, and ruler of the Dusk Court.
It then begs the question; "well, who actually was Queen Theia?"
I truly believe that there is only one candidate for this; Maeve, from the Throne of Glass (TOG) world. Here is a summation of the evidence for this:
Maeve, Ruhn and Rhys are the only 3 characters who have the "violet" or "violet blue" eyes. (Some argue that this is irrelevant as Maeve could change her form, but so could Erawan, and his gold eyes were passed onto Manon).
They all have the same "raven black hair."
Maeve, Ruhn and Rhys have the same darkness/shadow power.
They also all have the rare mind-speaking (or "daemati") power; an ability we first saw originate in Maeve and the other Valg Royalty.
Even Ruhn's name is (seemingly) derived from the Ruhnn mountains; the place in TOG where Maeve kept her handmaidens (and I suspect where Maeve walked between worlds).
Rhys is Lord of the Night Court; Ruhn is Agent Night; and Maeve is Queen of the Night.
With this many uncanny similarities between all three people, it makes the most sense that Ruhn and Rhys descended from Maeve, and that ultimately, Maeve is Queen Theia.
I first suspected that Maeve may be Queen Theia when reading the Original Throne of Glass book, 'Queen of Glass,' that SJM published on a fan fiction website when she was younger.
This is how Maeve was originally described; does it not sound like a Starborn Queen (and also... exactly like Rhys)?
Even the iconic way that Rhys's eyes are described (as having stars inside of them), is akin to how Maeve's eyes were originally described:
Additionally, in this original version of TOG, Maeve was engaged to Athril (which is similar to the events of the published TOG). However, Athril was said to be the first Fae to ever exist, and the greatest warrior in history.
When the Valg broke into their world, Athril forged Goldryn (and 3 other weapons). It was a death sword that was capable of slaying the Valg, and emitted a bright "white light." Sound familiar?
Athril then fought on the the peak of a mountain "archway," in an attempt to stop the Valg from entering his world. Although he was successful in destroying the Valg, he was killed - right on the mountaintop. After that, the cities were formed and a period of peace ensued.
This sounds EXACTLY like the story of Fionn that Rhys detailed in ACOSF (the mighty "fae warrior" who used Gwydion to overthrow the Daglan), AS WELL as Enalius (the first Illyrian who fought an "unknown enemy" on the top of Ramiel, and died there).
What's more, is that after Athril died, Maeve closed the gates and all rips between all worlds.
This is EXACTLY what Queen Theia did.
Proof in the published version.
Although 'Queen of Glass' is not officially canon, it gives us important clues regarding SJM's line of thinking.
However, there is still evidence in the actual TOG that points to Maeve as being Queen Theia. Most prominently, Maeve states that in her "original world," she came from a "small territory" where she was made Queen.
This sounds just like Theia and the Dusk Court.
It is also explicitly stated that this "small territory" that Maeve ruled was a place where powers were not given, but "simply born" (as if... starBORN?)
Further, Erawan also suggested that Yrene's power (which is almost 100% certainly the Starborn power) existed in his home world. Interestingly, he refers to wielders of this power as "death maidens," which sounds an awful lot like Nesta's power (and perhaps explains why she has the Starborn tattoo...)
In some strains of Celtic mythology (which appears to greatly influence the ACOTAR world), Queen Maeve was seen as the chief and deity of the Tuatha dé Danaan. Is it then any coincidence that Ruhn's (and possibly Rhys's) last name is Danaan?
In the same mythology, Maeve had 7 sons.
Just like the 7 High Lords.
A pitfall of this theory is that Maeve's power (as far as we saw in TOG) did not manifest as light. But, are we sure we know the whole story of the Starborn? It is mentioned multiple times in CC2 that Bryce has not fully understood what her power is capable of. Similarly, Rigelus seems to hint that Bryce can walk between worlds simply because she is Starborn, and Maeve was a world-walker.
And perhaps more curiously, most people in the Starborn lineage (ie. the Avallen people) actually have shadow/darkness powers - just like Maeve did.
For this theory to be correct, it also suggests that Maeve was involved with Aidas.
Yet, as per another theory I have posted, I have already theorised that the Princes of Hel are actually the Valg.
Aidas is also a play on the name "Hades," and Hades is another name for Orcus - Maeve's original husband. This checks out.
As Theia and the Starborn likely originated from Prythian, there must also be evidence of Maeve's existence there.
It is then not surprising that many have already theorised that Maeve (and subsequently Queen Theia) is "the Mother" in the ACOTAR world.
Maeve is the only character we have seen with the ability to manipulate fate (and assign 'mating bonds' to people); just as the Mother does. Even in Celtic mythology, Maeve is another name for Mother.
Then, by extension, the Valg (or Princes of Hel) must also have existed in Prythian for this theory to be true. Interestingly, in the Crescent City audiobooks, all of the Princes of Hel have distinct British accents.
Is it then a mere coincidence that Prythian is in the shape of Britain, and similarly, Prythian is an ancient name for Britain?
(Map courtesy of Cassiopeia Reads).
Thanatos (a Prince of Hel) is also seen in the Hewn City.
The 7 layers of the library are reminiscent of the 7 layers of Hel (with many musing as to whether the 'cat like' presence is Aidas).
And, when Bryce says she is going to Hel, she lands in Prythian.
Alternatively, for Maeve to have been Queen Theia, she must have also existed 15,000 years ago. This suggests that Throne of Glass is a story that takes place in the PAST.
Linking with this idea, I theorise that the ACOTAR and TOG characters actually shared the same world (with the TOG characters existing many thousands of years ago). In fact, the notion of ACOTAR and TOG characters sharing the same world is something that Rigelus straight up suggests is true:
It also links in with Merrill's theory about the universe; that different worlds share the same space, but are separated by TIME.
This would explain why Rhys suggested that the old fae, 15,000 years ago, were more "elemental," and would imbue their swords with their magic.
Just as Aelin and the TOG fae did.
It would also explain why the Night Court and Terrasen (both in the North) are so similar.
Velaris is also exactly how Rowan described the future city that Aelin would rebuild.
What's more, is that Velaris smells like "lemon verbena," which is Aelin's scent.
This may all seem impossible if you believe the timelines to be concurrent - but, what if they're not?
What if, when Aelin fell through worlds, she fell forward in time? The Harp even mused that when it was last played, it transported the user through "TIME and space," and through the "eons."
If this is all true, perhaps it offers an explanation as to why the last names of most ACOTAR characters have been hidden. That the big reveal is that they all descend from TOG characters.
For example, the Winter Court would descend from the Whitethorns; with their wind/ice power, and signature white/silver hair.
The Spring Court (and Tamlin's lineage) would descend from Lysandra (with her shapeshifting abilities), and Aedion.
I mean, the resemblance is rather uncanny.
Even the Dawn Court, the place of healing, with their parallels to Yrene and Silba's descendants (even their book being called Tower of DAWN...).
Ultimately, the connections and possibilities are endless.
Yet, no matter what, I theorise that the person at the centre of everything, across all worlds, is Maeve.
Or, otherwise known as Queen Theia.
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