#also matching fionn with that...

[chez-cinnamon]

AUGHH The site update was sooooo good- It motivated me to finish something I've been wanting to do for a while now: tweak and redesign the RW AU designs!!

Looking at the old one it's crazy to see how far they've come, being around before the Halloween update-- idk it's fun to see, same w my art style changes!! <3

Linking the old just for comparison,,,,,

[hairtusk]

thank you lovely grace @sapokanikan for tagging me !! as usual i'm too anxious to tag anyone, but if you do one i would like to see it

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

i don't have the words to articulate it at this moment but there's something about the way that people have specific expectations for "authenticity" and will dismiss anything that falls outside them as a mangled, anglicised version of the thing when actually that is the older and more traditional form of something, it just doesn't match their expectations. obviously in my personal experiences i'm mostly talking about medieval literature here especially medieval irish literature

sometimes this is as simple as spelling – i've had people argue that the name "finn" is anglicised and it should always be "fionn" to be Really Irish, but "finn" is an older spelling, glide vowels are later, if you wanna go real far back it'll be "find" (nd in place of nn is an older spelling pattern). or they'll hear someone say "ogam" and assume they're mispronouncing "ogham" due to lack of knowledge of irish and not consider the fact that medievalists tend to use the older form of the word. or they'll Well Actually you about "correct" terminology which wasn't standardised (and/or invented) until the 20th century

a lot of this is defensive and the result of seeing a lot of people ACTUALLY get this stuff wrong and have no respect for the language. in that regard i understand it, although it becomes very tedious after a while, particularly when people sanctimoniously declare something "inauthentic", "fake", or "anglicised" without doing enough research to realise it's not trying to be modern irish and is in fact correct for older forms of the language

more often however this search for the projected "authenticity" is ideological and has much larger flaws and more problematic implications. "this can't be the real story because it's christian" well... that's the oldest version of the story that exists and it postdates christianity in ireland by about nine hundred years, so... maybe question why you're assuming the only "real" version of irish stories can't be a christian one? this is especially true when it comes to fíanaigecht material tbh, but in general there seems to a widespread misapprehension about ireland's historical relationship with christianity (i have seen people arguing that christianity in ireland is the result of english colonialism which took their "true" faith from them... bro. they were christian before the "english" existed. half the conversion efforts went the other way. please read some early medieval history thank you)

however i also saw someone saying this about arthurian literature lately which REALLY baffled me. "we'll never have the Real arthurian stories only the christianised versions" and it was in the context of chivalric romance. buddy you are mourning something that does not exist. this "authentic" story you're looking for isn't there. that twelfth century story you're dismissing as a christian bastardisation is as "real" a part of this tradition as you're going to get

[sabusthings]

A commission for @auniverseforgotten who wanted Fionn to match the Diarmuid they also commissioned!

He has white hair on request for lore accuracy, and my friends would never lie to me.

Commissions are still open!

[ficretus]

I agree with the sentiment Oscar should at some point forge his own weapon. After all, Old Memory is Oz' weapon not his, and his character arc is about becoming his own person instead of repeating Oz' path.

If he forges his own weapon, I'd say it should be spear for several reasons.

It's relatively similar to staff he already uses. Oscar also pokes a lot with his staff, which would be significantly more useful with spear.

He seemingly has a spearhead symbol on his back. It's not a common spear, it resembles lugged/winged spear. That spear was most commonly used by hunters, which matches Oscar's profession of being Huntsman.

Oscar is honorary member of JNPR, thus making him Pyrrha's replacement. It would make sense for someone to inherit her fighting style.

It makes sense allusion wise since all Oz incarnations seem to have Odin references to them and Odin's weapon was spear Gungnir. You can also make some connections between Oz incarnations and Irish mythical hero Fionn mac Cumhaill, who was also a spearman.

Comparison:

[excentricanthropologist]

Era 0 Ghoul Names

More Ghost worldbuilding

We now have more Era 0 ghoul content thanks to the music video for The Future Is a Foreign Land, and since I had so much fun coming up with a name for the Satanic version of the Rosary, I wanted to have some more etymological fun and try my hand at giving these ghouls some names!

Many have noticed that the patches that the ghouls wear in the dystopia sequence feature not only their elemental symbols, but also the symbols of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. This got the gears in my brain turning; since each Horseman is associated with a different colored horse, I wanted to see if I could find names for each ghoul that incorporates both their element and their Horseman color. After some fun research, I've come up with names for all four that meet both criteria!

Water/Conquest: Finn

"And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow..." (Revelation 6:2)

The name Finn is derived from the Irish/Scottish Gaelic name Fionn, meaning "white" or "fair-haired". It's also a homophone for the word "fin", like a fish's fin, which I think is perfect for a water ghoul. 😉

Fire/War: Phoenix

"And there went out another horse that was red...and there was given unto him a great sword." (Revelation 6:4)

Obviously the name Phoenix puts to mind the fiery mythological bird of the same name, which is derived from the Greek word φοῖνῐξ [phoînix]. The word has a rather complicated etymology and multiple meanings besides the mythical bird, one of which is the color crimson.

Air/Famine: Raven

"And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand." (Revelation 6:5)

This one is fairly straightforward; raven can be used as a synonym for black and is also the name of a bird, which I thought suited an air ghoul!

Earth/Death: Celadon

"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him." (Revelation 6:8)

This one is a little tricky as the original words used to describe the color of Death's horse (pallidus in Latin and χλωρός [khlōrós] in Greek) were used to mean either pale/pallid or a shade of green. I decided to split the difference and went with the pale grayish-green color celadon, which gets its name from a type of glazed green pottery. I think that the association with earthenware matches up well for an earth ghoul!

And there you have it! This was really fun to put together and I'm very happy with the results. If you like these names feel free to use them in fanworks. 😊

Thanks for reading!

- Sister Serena

[connorsnothereeither]

I dont know if youve talked about this before, but if not, how did you come up with some of your characters' names?

I’ve talked about it before for Ulysses here in this post but not some of the others!! But I would love to I shake their names about!!

Virgil Coronis (Sky Bound SMP)

So Virgil went through a lot of potential names. He was built up vibes-first in development, so I had my gothic, conspiracy librarian, and no names. I wanted something that sounded more sharp, and angular. Crow-like.

I went for some classic gothic literature names to start. Jonathan (for Jonathan Harker from Dracula), Percival/Percy (for Percy Shelly), and Auguste (from Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue), along with some others were all potential candidates. By then, however, @jamphibiann had already chosen Pietro, and so I looked for some other Italian names to match since we were playing brothers. Romeo, and Salvatore were somewhat higher contenders then!

Landing on Virgil was actually sort of stolen from @venear-tmblr . When throwing around potential names, one of the ones that didn’t make the cut for him was Dante. And while Dante didn’t quite fit the character I had in my mind, Virgil definitely did! It had Latin/Italian roots, and felt angular and distinctly raven-like to me! :D

“Coronis” as a last name is actually an ancient Greek word, which is both referring to the curved flourish in old handwriting, and is same root word (corone) for the Greek for crows or ravens, referring the curvature of their beaks! So it felt very fitting too.

Leopold Haust (Terramortis)

Leopold was honestly… kind of a silly one. He never had any alternate names. I knew he was going to be from the 1920s, so I wanted a vaguely old-timey name, which fit the vibe, but could still be shortened into something more modern and easy to quickly say. And, at the time, I was reading Ulysses by James Joyce as a joke… and “Leopold” is the name of the Odysseus/Ulysses counterpart in that novel. So it just sort of… ticked all the boxes lol. It wasn’t supposed to be connected to Ulysses at all, but it jumped out at me as a perfect name for the character I had created. Haust was just a made up name that sounded like it matched well when spoken allowed!

D’Hakth’rkael “Daniel Thorns” Thoricht (Cantripped)

So Dan was… interesting name wise. I had the “bit” in mind long before I came up with the name. I was somewhat inspired by a lot of people I know or grew up knowing, who would have long, intricate names, and would shorten it to just like,,, “Mike”. But mostly I was inspired from the “folk hero” angle of how through Christianisation and colonisation, Celtic mythology names were super worn down into common, short Anglican names. Things like “Cú Cuhlainn”/“Conochubar” or “Fionn mac Cumhail” being worn down to names like Connor or Finn. I also just love when folklore figures have what feel like really mundane names, with a descriptor or trait. “Robin Hood”, “Jack Frost”, etc. it’s very English folktale to me.

For a while I wanted to play with “Tom” of “Jack” but for whatever reason “Dan” just stood out to me as a very mundane feeling name (and to be fair, Dan does go by Jack sometimes… in some places… just nowhere we’ve been yet…). So Dan Thorns came first, and I worked backwards from there.

From “Daniel Thorns” it was basically just a process of mashing fantasy sounds together until they sounded like a name. Thoricht felt like a believable evolution of “Thorns”, and could still pass as a human name. “D’Hakth” came next; I liked the juxtaposition of sounds, and the ways you could linguistically interpret it, taking it in a D, H, Y, or even J direction. The final part, “rkael” was mostly just for flavour. I started looking into vengeance Paladin, “avenging angel” imagery for Dan for a while, felt biblical, and I really liked the vaguely biblical feel it brought to the name, while adding another layer of “oh that’s why he just goes by Dan” akgakag

[silverlinedeyes]

An initial list of questions spawned from HOFAS

HOFAS spoilers below the break.

I’ve been thinking about some big and some small questions since I finished HOFAS last night and wanted to preserve them here with some of my thoughts for later discussion. I am also planning some larger theory posts to try to answer some of these questions.

Also, please reblog with any additional questions you may have if you’d like!!!

Where are the other Hel princes and what are they fighting?

Are Valg related to the Asteri or the Hel princes (or both)?

Are Valg children of the Void like the Hel princes?

Is the Under-King Valg and has he been hiding in the Under-King body living off of some of the Second Light?

How do Koschei and the Carver and the Weaver fit in with this?

Is Az also a descendant of the second daughter since he’s Starborn?

Is ToG on the same timeline as Prythian and CC?

Are the tall fae that came to Midgard from Erilea coming from the same time period depicted at the oasis in ToD when Yrene and Chaol find those carvings from the first demon wars, before Elena or Gavin were born?

Who on Prythian is a powerful enough starborn to wield and use Gwydion and TT? Is Elain? Or will the three Archeron sisters together make Theia’s light anew, as @offtorivendell @wingedblooms and I have theorized that each Archeron sister has part of Theia’s light.

Will the Archeron sisters be able to wield TT and Gwydion together to kill the unkillable—Koschei?

Did Bryce revive Dusk by taking Silene’s light back like she did Avallen when she took Theia’s light out of it? Or will someone (Elain???? Cc @wingedblooms) revive Dusk?

Does Urd = Wyrd = Chaos = the Dark Mother?

Is the temple in Hel that looks like Urd’s temple a temple to Chaos, Hel’s version of Urd and Apollion’s mother?

Were the ToG gods and the Asteri sucked (back into?) the Void, and if so, can the Void send them back or can they be retrieved from the Void by something?

What IS the connection between the gods in all these worlds, like Bryce asked when she was in Prythian?

Why do all these different fae societies oppress the females? Is it because only females can be powerful starborn, and some forces are at work to suppress that power to protect darker beings? Like how Pelias seems to have created a society that doesn’t allow women to get access to anything related to starborn to prevent another starborn queen from rising?

Can only females be powerful starborn/light wielders and can only males be powerful dark wielders/shadow wielders? Like how Hypaxia says six pointed star is two triangles, one male one female one light one dark (three brothers who are dark princes, three sisters who are starborn/princesses of light?)

Are there male lightsingers or female shadowsingers, or do singers follow these same rules?

Are morven and the murder twins descended from people from Hybern? The murder twins are daemati and remind me of the Hybern twins, and Morven’s shadows are described like ravens.

Does this mean TT has slewn two Hybern kings?

Where does the Starborn power come from?

Where in Prythian are the avallen from?

Are the Starborn and Avallen the same people?

Was Fionn the original king of darkness/shadows and theia the original queen of light/starborn queen? And are the males of their line the former, and the females the latter?

Where in Prythian did Fionn and Pelias come from?

Can TT unMake a mating bond?

Can Elain wield Gwydion and TT together to unMake her bond with Lucien and Make a bond with Azriel?

Aidas tells Hunt some higher power must have made them Mates. We have all these super powerful fae finding their powerful mates right before these huge universe altering moments. Is this part of how Urd is using them as pawns in her plans/games?

Why does Amren’s timeline not match Silene’s re the creation of the Prison? Was this just a continuity error, did Silene manipulate memories, or is this fishy on Amren’s part?

Was Enalius one of the people with Fionn and Theia on Ramiel when they made Gwydion and TT?

Did Nesta give up some of her Starborn powers when she gave back what she stole from the Cauldron, and does this mean she won’t be able to wield and use Gwydion and TT, which will lead to Elain’s role with this?

[merymoonbeam]

Spear?

CC3 spoilers

This is just a manifesting post and more connections I found from cc3 🫡

In my wild hunt post I talked about narben being a spear for... reasons.

I think Gwydion and Truth-Teller are inspired by King Arthur's weapons. In myths it is talked about how he has a sword, a knife and a spear...

Other weapons have been associated with Arthur. Welsh tradition also knew of a dagger named Carnwennan and a spear named Rhongomyniad that belonged to him. Carnwennan ("little white-hilt") first appears in Culhwch and Olwen, where Arthur uses it to slice the witch Orddu in half. Rhongomyniad ("spear" + "striker, slayer") is also mentioned in Culhwch, although only in passing; it appears as simply Ron ("spear") in Geoffrey's Historia. Geoffrey also names Arthur's shield as Pridwen; in Culhwch, however, Prydwen ("fair face") is the name of Arthur's ship while his shield is named Wynebgwrthucher ("face of evening").

So other than excalibur Arthur has a dagger and a spear.

To me it looks like

Excalibur= Gwydion

Carnwennan= Truth-Teller

Rhongomyniad= Narben

So why? Lemme explain.

With Excalibur it is about who is worthy to pull it out of the stone.

Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Traditionally, the sword in the stone that is the proof of Arthur's lineage and the sword given him by a Lady of the Lake are not the same weapon, even as in some versions of the legend both of them share the name of Excalibur.

Romance tradition elaborates on how Arthur came into possession of Excalibur. In Robert de Boron's c. 1200 French poem Merlin, the first known tale to mention the "sword in the stone" motif, Arthur obtained the British throne by pulling a sword from an anvil sitting atop a stone that appeared in a churchyard on Christmas Eve.[18] In this account, as foretold by Merlin, the act could not be performed except by "the true king", meaning the divinely appointed king or true heir of Uther Pendragon. (As Thomas Malory related in his English-language Arthurian compilation, the 15th-century Le Morte d'Arthur, "whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born of all England."[19][d])

And we have Gwydion/Starsword

That your son, not you, retrieved the Starsword from the Cave of Princes in Avallen’s dark heart. That your son, not you, stood among the long-dead Starborn Princes asleep in their sarcophagi and was deemed worthy to pull the sword from its sheath. How many times did you try to draw the sword when you were young? How much research did you do in this very study to find ways to wield it without being chosen? (Hoeab)

So it matches even though at the end it is Bryce who can access the real power of the sword not Ruhn bc it is sarah and we have the females as a main character.

And now the dagger—Carnwennan and Truth-Teller.

In myths the dagger is described like this.

Carnwennan, or Carnwenhau ("Little White Hilt"), was the dagger of King Arthur in the Welsh Arthurian legends

In Culhwch and Olwen, Arthur names it as one of the few things in the world which he will not give to Culhwch. Later, he uses it to slay the witch Orddu, the daughter of the witch Orwen, by slicing her in half.[1] In the Welsh Triads, Carnwennan is listed alongside Arthur's spear Rhongomyniad and Arthur's sword Caledfwlch as sacred weapons given to him by God: "the sacred weapons that God had given him: Rhongomiant his spear, Caledfwlch a sword, and Carnwennan his dagger" (Bromwich's translation).[2]

The fact that Arthur would not give the weapons to Culhwch when we know Fionn didn't give the Gwydion and TT to Theia? Kinda similar.

My father had never shown himself to be giving—long had he kept Gwydion and never once offered it to my mother. The dagger that had belonged to his dear friend, slain during the war, hung at his side, unused. But not for long.

We learned in cc2 that Gwydion and TT are twin blades.(I went into detail about this and how it connects to elriel in several posts > light and dark, sing me, alpha and omega)

The male drew it, and Bryce flinched. Flinched, but—“What the fuck?” The knife could have been the twin of the Starsword: black hilted and bladed. It was its twin. The Starsword began to hum within its sheath, glittering white light leaking from where leather met the dark hilt. The dagger—.The male dropped the dagger to the plush carpet. All of them retreated as it flared with dark light, as if in answer. Alpha and Omega. “Gwydion,” the dark-haired female whispered, indicating the Starsword.(hosab)

And in cc3 we learn that when you use Truth-Teller...there are shadows.

Bryce threw her power into the Starsword, light ripping through the black blade, willing it to tear this fucking monster apart— She willed it into Truth-Teller, and shadows flowed—

Seems...weird that Truth-teller has "shadow powers" and in acowar we have Elain literally stepping out of a shadow. And we never learned the reason why???

But as a black blade broke through the king’s throat, spraying blood, I realized someone else had. Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.”

So how these connect to Arthur's dagger? (Just gonna add here that @riddlecrux told me about this before so credit goes to her 🫡)

In addition to his other magical items, Arthur had the invisibility granting Carnwennan. The dagger was providing a kind of presence concealment to Arthur or to its wielder. In European folklore, invisibility-granting items are rather prevalent. These are often recognized as caps or invisibility cloaks. The invisibility attribute of Carnwennan was probably the main reason Arthur named his dagger among the things he could never give up for any reason:

Invisibility? Shadows? @silverlinedeyes made a post before how elain could get a cloak made of void? And we know with Gwydion and TT you can make a portal to nowhere—the void.

“The Starsword is Made, as you called it.” He waved an idle hand, sparks at his fingertips. “The knife can Unmake things. Made and Unmade. Matter and antimatter. With the right influx of power—a command from the one destined to wield them—they can be merged. And they can create a place where no life, no light exists. A place that is nothing. Nowhere.”

It had been a gamble. But she’d seen what the Starsword and Truth-Teller had done to Polaris. They had created a void that had sucked the Asteri in—the only sort of prison that might destroy a being of light. The only force in the universe that ate light, so strong no light could ever escape it. A portal to nowhere. To a black hole. Wasn’t that the unholy power that Apollion possessed? The power of the Void. The antithesis of light.

So maybe we are gonna see elain and the void connected?

Also more about the dagger in Arthurian legends:

Carnwennan, or Carnwenhau, meaning "white hilt" was the dagger belonging to the great King Arthur. It is attributed with the magical power to shroud its user in shadow. This dagger, it is said, was one of three sacred weapons given to King Arthur by God. Arthur names it as one of the few things in the world which he would not give to his cousin Culhwch. King Arthur used this very dagger it to slay the witch Orddu ,daughter of Orwen. by slicing her in half. It is also possible that this is the dagger he once used to kill a giant.

So there is that.

And lastly we have the spear—Rhongomyniad.

There is not much we can use from the myths because the only things we have are its name and it was given to Arthur by god.

Rhongomyniad, or Rhongomiant (variously translated as "Slaying Spear," "Cutting Spear" or "Striking Spear"), was the spear of King Arthur in the Welsh Arthurian legends. Unlike Arthur’s two other weapons, his sword Caledfwlch and his dagger Carnwennan, Rhongomyniad has no apparent magical powers.

In the Historia Regum Britanniae, Geoffrey of Monmouth calls Arthur's lance Ron,[2] presumably an abbreviation of the original Welsh name. Layamon also calls it this in his Brut. Geoffrey states that Arthur carried this lance with him at the Battle of Mount Badon. Layamon states in a passage (without naming the weapon) that Arthur's spear was forged in Carmarthen by a smith called Griffin. He also adds that it formerly belonged to Uther Pendragon.

The wiki says it has no magical power but...if sarah took inspo from Excalibur for Gwydion and the dagger for TT...I wouldn't put it past her to use the spear as an inspo for Narben... especially with her love for 3s.

Also like the spear we dont have much to go on for Narben either. We have so little information.

“Amarantha destroyed one,” Amren said. Cassian started. “I never heard that.” Amren amended, “Rumor claimed she dumped one into the sea. It would not come to Amarantha’s hand, nor the hands of any of her commanders, and rather than let the King of Hybern attain it, she disposed of it.” Azriel asked, “Which sword?” “Narben.” (Acosf)

"Narben was even older than Gwydion,” Rhys said. “Where the hell was it?” (Acosf)

Narben’s powers had not been the holy, savior’s light of Gwydion, but ones far darker. (Acosf)

Rhys studied her blade. “Narben is a death-sword. It’s lost, possibly destroyed, but stories say it can slay even monsters like Lanthys.” (Acosf)

So that's all we know.

Another point...Fionn connection.

In myths there is a HUGE part about Fionn using a spear to defeat a giant.

Also known as the Spear of Fiacha (or Fiacail), Birgha was an enchanted, venomous spear. The warrior Fiacha, a follower of Cumal (a leader of the Fianna), gave the spear to Cumal’s son Fionn mac Cumhail so that he might defeat Aillén, an evil creature/former member of the Tuath Dé Danann who resided, three-hundred-and-sixty-four days a year, in the Otherworld. Each and every Samhain the monster—nicknamed “the burner”—would wreak havoc on the royal residence of Tara (also: Teamhair) with his fire-breath after lulling its defenders to sleep with enchanted music. Specifically, Aillén plays—or weaponizes, I should say—the suantraí (lullaby) strain of ancient Irish music, which is frequently deployed by gods, druids, and other musicians in the myths in order to incapacitate opponents. That’s where Birgha comes into play. In Lady Gregory’s version of events, Fiacha teaches Fionn how to unlock the power of the spear, instructing his pupil as follows: “When you will hear the music of the Sidhe, let you strip the covering off the head of the spear and put it to your forehead, and the power of the spear will not let sleep come upon you.”

Just saying...with all of a new character singing...having some effects on others...IDK. WEIRD. 🫣

Another point is Four treasures of Tuatha de danaan. ( @offtorivendell made a post about them before )

Dagda's Cauldron

pretty self explanatory...cauldron.

Claiomh Solais (the sword of light)

Gwydion.

The sword may be rendered in English as the "Sword of Light", or "Shining Sword".

The Sword of Light or Claidheamh Soluisis a trope object that appears in a number of Irish and Scottish Gaelic folktales. The "Quest for sword of light" formula is catalogued as motif H1337.

The Starsword sang with light, her power flowing into it. Activating it. And nothing had ever felt so right, so easy, as plunging the blade into the bony chest of the wounded Reaper. It arced, bellowing, black blood spurting from its withered lips. (Hosab)

Narben’s powers had not been the holy, savior’s light of Gwydion, but ones far darker.(acosf)

Lia Fail Stone

My whole wild hunt post is about this. You can read it there. Basically I think this is the inspo for the stone on top of Ramiel.

The Spear of Lugh

And here is the reason I think Narben might be a spear.

Lugh's spear (sleg), according to the text of The Four Jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was said to be impossible to overcome.

Interesting that Amren said this about Narben in acosf:

“I don’t know, but she found it, and when it would not bend to her, she destroyed it. As she did all good things.” It was as much as Amren would say about that terrible time. “It was perhaps in our favor. Had the King of Hybern possessed Narben, I fear we would have lost the war.”

More info for Spear of Lugh.

In a full narrative version called [A]oidhe Chloinne Tuireann (The Fate of the Children of Tuireann),[51] from copies no earlier than the 17th century,[52] Lugh demands the spear named Ar-éadbair or Areadbhair (Early Modern Irish: Aꞃéadḃaiꞃ) which belonged to Pisear, king of Persia. Areadbhair's tip had to be kept immersed in a pot of water to keep it from igniting, a property similar to the Lúin of Celtchar. This spear is also called "Slaughterer"[53] in translation.

Narben is a death "sword"

Rhys studied her blade. “Narben is a death-sword. It’s lost, possibly destroyed, but stories say it can slay even monsters like Lanthys.” (Acosf)

Also the spear of Lugh is connected with lightning.

Lugh's projectile weapon, whether a dart or missile, was envisioned to be symbolic of lightning-weapon.

Also known as the Lightning Spear, or simply Lugh’s Spear, the Gae Assail was one of the Four Treasures or Jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann

And to me it is interesting that Ramiel means "god has thundered" maybe there is a connection?

Lugh's sling rod, named "Lugh's Chain", was the rainbow and the Milky Way, according to popular writer Charles Squire.[57] Squire adds that Lugh's spear which needed no wielding was alive and thirsted so for blood that only by steeping its head in a sleeping-draught of pounded fresh poppy leaves could it be kept at rest. When a battle was near, it was drawn out; then it roared and struggled against its thongs, fire flashed from it, and it tore through the ranks of the enemy once slipped from the leash, never tired of slaying

So thanks for reading.

I NEED A SPEAR 😭😭

[bright-side20]

The blood rite

I think that after Hofas we have a kind of explanation for the blood rite :

ACOSF:

Emerie’s eyes shone. “Long ago—so long ago they don’t even have a precise date for it—a great war was fought between the Fae and the ancient beings who oppressed them . One of its key battles was here, in these mountains. Our forces were battered and outnumbered, and for some reason, the enemy was desperate to reach the stone at the top of Ramiel. We were never taught the reason why; I think it’s been forgotten. But a young Illyrian warrior named Enalius held the line against the enemy soldiers for days. He found a natural archway of stone amongst the tangle of boulders and made that his bottleneck. He died in the end, but he held off the enemy long enough for our allies to reach us. This Rite is all to honor him. So much of the history has been lost, but the memory of his bravery remains.”

“You know, our god—the first of the Illyrians —held the ground against enemy hordes right where you’re standing.”... Bellius smirked. “He drew a line in the dirt as well.”.... “It didn’t end well for Enalius,” Bellius went on. “He died after defending this spot for three days. Climbed with his guts hanging out to the sacred stone at the top and died there. It’s why we do this stupid thing. To honor him.”

HOFAS:

Snow drifted across the image, and then Theia was standing atop a mountain, a black monolith rising behind her. "Ramiel." Azriel whispered from behind them, from beyond the wards.

But my mother and father knew they needed the most valuable of all the Daglan's weapons.

The snows around Ramiel parted, revealing a massive bowl of iron at the foot of the monolith. Even through the vision, its pres- ence leaked into the world, a heavy, ominous thing. "The Cauldron," Nesta said

Conclusion :

Enalius was Fionn's best friend, and he planned the uprising alongside him and Theia. During the war, Enalius and the Illyrians fought in Ramiel against Daglan. The reason they aimed to reach the top of Ramiel was that their most valuable weapon, the Cauldron, was there. I remember the bone carver saying that the cauldron was stolen back at great cost, so it all makes sense. Illyrians with Enalius's lead prevented Daglan from reaching the Cauldron until Fionn, Theia and the Fae joined them. He died next to the monolith and the Cauldron.

If what the Illyrians know about history is true and the blood rite was indeed created to honor Enalius after his death, it means that it was established after overthrowing Daglan. Who else could have created it other than his best friend, Fionn? Plus, he possessed the Cauldron, so he definitely had the ability to create such a thing. If so, I wonder if Rhys would have the ability to at least change laws concerning the rite.

Also, I wonder if it could be tied to some prophecy since :

Cassian forged ahead, “Even so, the other males knew that we were different. And not because we were two bastards and a half-breed. We were stronger, faster—like the Cauldron knew we’d been set apart and wanted us to find each other. Rhys’s mother saw it, too.

As one, the three of them had touched the stone—the first to reach its peak at the end of that brutal week. The uncontested winners.

Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel are all related to Fionn and Enalius; they are reunited by fate and completed the rite simultaneously.

+

do not forget that Nesta herself—and Elain, with whatever powers she has—is here. Feyre is here. All three sisters blessed by fate and gifted with powers to match your own.

I'm really curious to see how this all will wrap up, I'm curious to know what secret is beneath Ramiel and why that mountain and the three stars were chosen to be the enigma of the Night Court.

[acourtofthought]

We've probably all seen it. The theory that Bryce is Az's mate because she's got Gwydion (the Starsword) and he's got Truth-Teller.

I don't subscribe to that theory but I've also seen a similar theory for Gwyn, that maybe she has a connection to Gwydion for the same reason.

I've never thought that either because I think Gwyn will retrieve and wield Narben (it seems too intentional that Amren told us she heard a rumor from a fleeing water nymph that it was tossed into the sea when it wouldn't bend to Amarantha). Gwyn not only seems to have water imagery associated with her but her voice does seem to call and beckon (pretty perfect for bending Narben to her will).

The following makes me feel even more certain that Gwyn will be in possession of a great sword but that it will not be Gwydion:

Both Gwydion and Truth-Teller have black hilts and black blades.

But SJM gave us this line from Gwyn:

We have no description for Narben yet, but the fact that SJM had Gwyn (without being asked) with a name all ready to go has me thinking Narben's blade will be silver.

If anyone in the ACOTAR world is meant to wield Gwydion, I still love the thought of it being Lucien:

Autumn Court males have imagery associated with the forest, the name Gwydion means "born of trees" and it is the name of the uncle in the Blodeuwedd fairytale (which SJM tagged Elain under) who created a wife out of flowers for his nephew (Blodeuwedd becoming the Welsh Goddess of Spring).

I also can't think of any other character who is more well matched to the legend of Fionn, the role of High King and the keeper of peace. Lucien has done his best to remain diplomatic, to try to consider what is best for everyone involved (not just one individual), and has not sought revenge (Beron, his brothers) or set out to harm others (i.e Graysen) unless in self defense.

I have no idea whether the legend of Fionn will turn out as the ACOTAR characters believe it but Lucien is a pro at trying to diffuse tension for many characters who have been "at each other's throats". 😂

[elains]

Is CC3 bad? I’ve heard it’s not very good at all

It all depends on perspective of who is reading, I believe. I would say that if you loved HOSAB and HOEAB, there's a chance you could genuinely like HOFAS too. But my objective opinion is that the book is not great and falls short on many points

Some more spoilers and the TLDR below.

The first half of this book drags. Sure, there are things happening, but my general impression reading is that it was slow-paced, dragging, and rather awkward. We get some gratuitous torture porn to see how sadistic Pollux and the Hawk are, the Frat Boys are going around and want to get Ruhn out. In all fairness, having so many PoVs and where they cut was sometimes a problem to me: something exciting was about to happen, then cut to a section which was comparatively boring and then more pages until I got my resolution.

The Crossover is CRIMINAL. Anon, I'm a lore girl at heart. I was super looking forward to what it would reveal of Prythian's past, of what happened to Fionn, Theia, the Daglan. Nesta and Azriel are easily the highlight of it, their interactions where the breath of fresh air in what was otherwise a slog to get through. The Crossover is one single HUGE loredump and you know what's more? By the end of it you ask "And this needed to be a Crossover why exactly?".

There's nothing there that couldn't be learned from the Midgard or the Prythian. I kinda think SJMs ran into a corner by ending HOSAB as she did. It feels as though the crossover was meant to be bigger, but it fell flat, and she had to course-correct. To be honest, it was a bit of a chore to get through these parts.

Bryce is also a personal problem to me because I cannot just connect with her. I would have liked much better if more of her human side was explored, rather than the fae, as the humans are the most oppressed and have it worst here. I don't know, her desire for change and everything feels shallow. Hollow. As if she would never have gone down this path had Danika not died — and I could accept that, if I thought it wasn't framed for me to think of her as heroic and not a hypocrite. There IS such a thing as too much girlboss.

Ruhn and Lidia are the highlight of this book for me. I love them in HOSAB, I love them in this one despite some things coming right out of left field lol. Still! Definitely the two characters I enjoyed most.

I know Sarah wanted to try to tackle some big social issues but look. Would you get if I say that the girlboss slips into it? The way she handles these topics, the tone of them, doesn't land right for me. Someone shouting words of change and order, but look a little more closely, dig a little, question, and it's just superficial. In your face, with not the appropriate nuance. Bryce's general attitude does not help.

Oh and there's one hell of a cliche in the end that had me ROLLING MY EYES. Unnecessary. The resolution also feels rushed to me and there are things that I just stared blankly at the book "Is this for real?". Once again, I think she raised the stakes waaaaay too high and the resolution doesn't match them, the same issue I had acowar.

All in all, this book was a let down from HOSAB.

[lily-thesuriel]

Sad and Angry

please someone prove me wrong

HOFAS SPOILERS

Well, I've already seen a spoiler of the HOFAS leak. And it has happened what I feared the worlfbulding doesn't match

HOFAS spoilers below

What I read from HOFAS is the chapter about the creation of the prison chapter 21 (interesting that the prison territory was thought to be cursed but it was Silene who actually made sure it was cursed, so can it be fixed ? And if it is fixed even if it continues to function on the inside as a prison externally it will come back to life ? Will the pegasus return to the prison island? I say yes (I have read only 2 chapter ok , let me be delulu) ) )

I haven't read further so I could be wrong please someone tell me I am.

Well, what we learn from the prison is that Silene locks up the "monsters" once she returns to Prythian, that is to say once the high lords rule.

And this does not fit with what we learn in ACOSF, in ACOSF chapter 55, we learn that in short the story is as follows 1 Daglan 2 Fionn defeats the Daglan 3 1000 years of peace that ends with an almost war and to avoid it Fionn is High King. 4 Fionn is betrayed and from then on High lords

Well, this story may not be true, in fact from what HOFAS says it is not true since we know that after Theia betrayed Fionn the High lords did not arise but Theia ruled and it is when she went to Midgard that the High lords arose. So according to HOFAS the chronology is as follows 1 Daglan 2 Fionn king 3 Theia queen 4 Theia leaves Prythian 5 When Silene comes back High lords rule 6 Silene "creates" the prison aka starts to lock up "monsters".

Now, why is that with the Time-Line we have from ACOSF ? If we know that ACOSF's history is altered and we have no direct source to counter the information ? Except that we do have a direct source of information that was alive 15000 years ago and it is our dear minion Amrem (the dates do not exactly match either because in ACOWAR we learn that Amrem is 15000 years old, and should have more to match the 15000 years since Silene, but we take it for valid and we understand that the multiverse was not yet developed in ACOWAR). Returning to the subject Rhys says the following

“Does Amren remember this?” Rhys shook his head. “Only vaguely now. From what I’ve gleaned, she arrived during those years before Fionn and Gwydion rose, and went into the Prison during the Age of Legends—the time when this land was full of heroic figures who were keen to hunt down the last members of their former masters’ race. They feared Amren, believing her one of their enemies, and threw her into the Prison. When she emerged again, she’d missed Fionn’s fall and the loss of Gwydion, and found the High Lords ruling.” (ACOSF chp 55)

Summarizing Amrem's time-line 1 arrives before Fionn "rose", rose to defeat the Daglan ? Or "rose" as High king ? I understand that it arrives before he defeats the Daglan, but the second meaning is also valid because : 2 Amrem went to the prison in the "Age of legends" and when she came out of the prison she had missed the fall of Fionn and there were the High lords ruling.

You have already seen it, haven't you? If not I continue to develop

How is it possible that Amrem missed the fall of Fionn and the rise of the High lords while she was in the prison if by the time Silene started to bring "“monsters” to the “prison” Fionn was already dead (and Theia had disappeared) and the High lords were already ruling????

How ???? Please someone tell me I'm wrong and explain it to me for dummies.

I just don't understand :(, they don't fit, and it's ACOSF the last Acotar book, its not ACOMAF that I understand that the multiverse was not developed there, it happens in the chapter where they tell you the story of the Daglan, it could have been solved by saying that Amrem was happy for the continent and that she didn't know anything about what happened in Prythian until they put her in prison. Why doesn't it add up ? 🙁

[taisestarr]

Structural parallels between Lugh and Fionn mac Cumhaill

Lugh has the knowledge of incarnating, as shown in the previous post. So I assume that Fionn mac Cumhaill might be Lugh’s incarnation. The idea is not new, here are some references on research from Mark Williams’ ‘Ireland’s Immortals’ on this topic (and he also mentions this idea in the book):

- J. Carey, ’Nodons, Lugus, Windos’,  - T. O Cathasaigh, ‘Cath Maige Tuires as Exemplary Myth’,  - P. Mac Cana, ‘Fianaigecht in the pre-Norman period’.

I haven’t read them yet, but I’ve read stories about Lugh’s and Fionn’s youth. Here are some parallels that I’ve found (for Fionn I rely on James Stephens’ retelling):

1. Childhood far away from other people, where the hero gained all necessary knowledge. For Lugh it’s Emain Ablach with Manannán as his foster father. Fionn grew up in an isolated forest of Sliabh Bladma.

2. The importance of foster mothers: Tailtiu for Lugh and druidess Bodhmall with a female warrior Liath Luachra for Fionn mac Cumhaill. Both Lugh’s and Fionn’s birth mothers are alive, living their separate lives.

3. Once the hero gained all knowledge, he went to Tara, self-assertive and audacious.

4. Fionn gained the magical weapon and instruction from a foster father-like figure Fiacha mac Congh before the battle. Lugh possessed a number of magical items from his foster father Manannán, who also gave him the necessary knowledge.

5. The hero defeated the fire-related otherworld deity persona, who burned everything with his music (Áillen) or evil eye (Balor). Both of them are related to that otherworld persona from maternal lineage. Fionn is Nuada’s descendant, Lugh is Balor’s grandson. 

6. This victory is crucial, being an initiation. Both Lugh and Fionn became rulers after that.

7. Same magical items. Fionn obtained a special spear, which seems similar to one of Lugh’s spears. He also has other artifacts from Manannán, like crane-bag (more details here).

On the top of that, Fionn’s name meaning also matches Lugh:

Finn/find means "white, bright, lustrous; fair, light-hued (of complexion, hair, etc.); fair, handsome, bright, blessed; in moral sense, fair, just, true" (from here)

The main difference here is that the people and their otherworld changed. In the Mythological Cycle Tuatha Dé Danann were the people with Fomori as otherworld. In the Fianna Cycle humans are the people, while Tuatha Dé Danann became the otherworld creatures. Time changed, while the essence is the same.

These parallels are enough for me to state that Fionn is an incarnation of Lugh, representing his Macnia aspect. All Lugh's aspects are in this post.

[nrc-danceclubofficial]

ight screw it since I did a selfie drop earlier, might as well do an about me.

Name's Ash Megumi, I have a twin named Rin, who's also in Ignihyde. (which is a terrible match imo, they're better off in Savanaclaw)

This is a pic my friends took of me randomly but I don't look too bad in it so i guess? face reveal

Picrew link here

Anyways I'm a second year in Ignihyde and the founder of the NRC dance club.

I enjoy cooking and singing (sometimes at the same time) and if you stay up late enough or wake up early enough, you might be able to hear me in the cafeteria doing just that.

My favorite class is potions and as it turns out I'd destroy any of you at a contest in them <3 Although there have been some incidents...

Fun fact: the shark thing was the second time something like that happened at school. The first time was a rabbit beastman and I don't want to talk about it-

Speaking of animals I like cats! (Sorry fionn!) I have one at home and she's really chill. Not too keen on loud dogs though. Which is weird, considering my taste in people. I also enjoy video games and dance (big surprise there), as well as lurking online to see if anyone’s committing cyber crimes <3

What else, uh… Oh! Unique magic. Mine is called Phantom Eye and it allows me to mark people and see through their eyes when needed. Of course I can’t move, talk, or affect their bodies in any way but it’s useful for information gathering. Unfortunately my real body would be defenseless which is why I’m more an off the field strategist!

I think that’s everything, feel free to ask if you have any questions. I look forward to getting to know you all!

[alilmuseramblings]

THE COURT OF LUXURE

Brief background story:

Luxure had become a big enough court that they wanted to seed a daughter court. In the process of moving and setting up the new courts mountain-thorn, a Fell flight took advantage and attacked. By the time word reached the mother court, most of the daughter court had been killed or stolen, their tree ravaged. Many Luxure warriors died taking out the flight that lingered, saving those that managed to hold out. Luxure brought the survivors- mostly arbora, with only one royal aeriat (the consort that fled looking for help) from the four that left- back home. After the grief and trauma of this, the survivors suffer from a difficulty to clutch, with still-birth being common.

Reigning Queen:

Topaz -she/her -massive no matter the shift -pale gold (rose-gold?) scales with pinkish-red webbing; bright red eyes -kind and soft spoken -loves to let children play on her -clutchmates: Jewel, Citrine, Onyx, Tanza -Jewel is only sister queen -Onyx was a consort who moved on to a different court -Citrine and Tanza are senior female warriors

First Consort & Second Consort:

Raggos / Old Raggy -First Consort; he/him -BIG: clearly turning into a line Grandfather -has sired many different clutches throughout the tree & with the reigning queen -more or less retired from that nonsense -mane is thick with spines and frills to the point you cant see his ears -prefers raksura shift over groundling (which is darker complexion w/long grey hair) -almost always in the nurseries -has green undertone to scales -dark eyes no matter the shift

Holly -Second Consort; she/her -tall and bony; more delicate looking than Raggy no matter the shift -keeps track of the consorts well being and training -very honest and blunt- strong morals- a consort of honor -argues with Eden about young consort and queen compatibility sometimes -bright green eyes, deep red undertone to scales; long frills and spines that match longer hair that flows down her back, wavy -the consort actively trying to make another royal clutch happen

Head Mentor:

Robin -strongest mentor in the court (magic-wise) -young for the position -peppy and determined -eggshell blue eyes, somewhat short; raksura form: coppery-red hide with long spines & frills usually pinned back by a cloth, longer tail and naturally slight for an arbora; shifted form: reddish-brown hair and a pale complexion w/freckles -they/she

Sister Queens:

Eden -claimed consorts: Gale, Bo -daughter of Jewel, Gentry -manages young raksura royalty; makes sure they pair up with good bloodlines -helps with diplomacy/alliances w/other courts -icy blue with dark pink webbing

Jewel -she/her -clutchmate of reigning queen Topaz, meaning she is also old as hell -very kind to a fault, though that does not mean she is always nice -many of her previous clutches have moved on to other courts (were mostly consorts/warriors) -bright green scales tinged with white from age, dark pink webbing -Claimed consorts: Gentry, Dale; daughter: Eden

Braver -claimed consort: Marzha -orange scales with jagged yellow webbing -manages warriors and soldiers to defend territory -loves fighting -son of Topaz and Raggos

Patience -claimed consort: Ribbon -mother of Jacobi (D) -was once sister queen with Topaz -teal scales with yellow web -manages trade with other courts

Agate -claimed consort: Theo -was once sister queen with Topaz; very old -mother of Fionn (D) -lovely jade-green with light pink, spiraling web -works closely with the arbora teachers of young queens and their warrior spokesman, helping with manner lessons

QUEENS FROM FAILED DAUGHTER COURT:

Loon (Dead) -former sister queen of Luxure, to be Reigning queen of daughter court -mother of Lunari -died defending court- weakened by poisoned talons of a Ruler and slaughtered when they couldn't contain her still

Lunari (Dead) -claimed consort: Bo -oldest friend of Eden -best / lead singer of the court -magenta scales, light pink webbing -died of infected wounds inflected by Fell during attack; had been defending the last part of the nursery, and the surviving mentors couldn't save her

Fionn (Dead) -claimed consort: Blook -daughter of queen Agate, consort Theo -jade green scales with purple web -captured by Fell while clutched (almost to term) alongside many arbora -only one of their clutch survived; named him after themself (Fynn) in the hopes that someone would recognize his bloodline in the future when he was rescued -eventually killed when it became clear no one was coming to save them and they went berserk trying to carve a bloody path to freedom -ended up killing remaining progenitor and one ruler before dying

Jacobi (Dead) -claimed consort: Konan -birthqueen of Benji & Josephine -son of queen Patience, consort Ribbon -dark-blue scales, pale pink web -Died trying to keep the kethel out of the nursery; his young clutch is stolen (Benji, Josephine, & three warriors that are eventually killed)

Sister Queen Consorts:

Gale -first consort of Eden -consumed with the need to fix the decline of the bloodlines caused by the death of most all the royal aeriat in the failed daughter court; works closely with the arbora to monitor the revival process -often distracted to the point of accidentally neglecting his own bloodlines emotional needs

Gentry -first consort of Jewel -very stubborn/unyielding; will keep going til he gets what he wants -nearly as old as Raggos

Dale -second consort of Jewel -significantly younger than Gentry, slightly older than Gale -has a good sense of judgement; can be impartial in an argument -often settles disputes within the court before they can become a queen problem

Marzha -queen: Braver -prefers to deal with the youngest fledglings of the court -quiet and soft-spoken, is the only one that can make Braver sit and relax

Ribbon -queen: Patience -loves arts and crafts; works as a go-between for young, shy fledglings and the arbora to make jewelry/clothing; prefers to personally oversee things for young consorts

Theo -queen: Agate -he prefers to deal with older fledglings, helping teach them manners with the arbora

CONSORTS FROM FAILED DAUGHTER COURT:

Bo -first consort of Lunari -now second consort of Eden -afflicted by early onset dementia -blames himself for how bad the Fell attack hit them when lucid -has early onset dementia worsened by the loss of his first queen; often doesn't remember he has a surviving daughter -scales/hide is greying early

Skyne (Dead) -first consort of Loon -killed fighting side-by-side her queen

Blook (Dead) -first consort of Fionn -died defending the nursery from the flight -the arbora clutches he'd help sire survived, and now are back in Luxure

Konan (Dead), -first consort of Jacobi -died defending the nursery from the flight

(Relevant) Daughter Queens:

Allura -daughter of birthqueen Lunari and bloodline consort Bo -one of the surviving fledglings from the failed daughter-court -magenta scales with silver webbing; wavy, delicate frills; spines size is thicker & long, not as many of them as normal going down spine; red/orange eyes, one of which is mostly blind

Regina -daughter of Jewel and Dale -light blue scales with a vibrant pink, swirling web; spines are both blue and pink all the way down spine; one blue eye, one pink -hasn't claimed a consort, ends up low-key flirting with Cocoa

Fynn -birthqueen Fionn, bloodline consort Blook -raised by Arbora alongside Benji, Josephine, Coco, Lewy after birthqueen went berserk on a bunch of fell -was experimented on (via drugs) by Fell mentor/dakti Carrion -kills Fell Rulers w/Benji -mostly purple scales with hints of former green hue in spines/along stomach, golden webbing; green eyes that get more purple when agitated

Benji -birthqueen Jacobi, bloodline consort Konan -raised by Arbora alongside Fynn, Coco, Lewy, and only surviving clutchmate Josephine -was experimented on (via drugs) by Fell mentor/dakti Carrion -helped Fynn kill Fell Rulers -dark blue scales w/darker purple hued spines, white/cream colored web; bright blue eyes that get swirls of purple when agitated

(Relevant) Unclaimed Consorts:

Rohan, son of Eden and Gale -raksuran shift: mismatched pink eyes; consort black w/shorter spines that get smaller as they go down spine; shorter tail than average -groundling shift: pink eyes, one of which is darker than the other; pale complexion w/short cropped blonde hair; tall and skinny -clutchmates: Desi, Corbel

Desi, son of Eden and Gale -raksuran shift: surprisingly small for a consort; mane of frills rounds out face; spines are thin and long, don't go all the way down tail (unusual birth defect); tail is thin and long; pink eyes -groundling shift: fair complexion; blonde hair that is longer, held in a pony at nap of neck -clutchmates: Rohan, Corbel

Josephine (Dead) -hatchmate of Benji -believed that she and Benji should procreate to start up their own colony -raksuran shift: consort black w/purple undertone; fully purple eyes -groundling shift: bronze skintone w/long dark hair (blue toned)

(Relevant) Warriors:

Corbel / Corbin / Corbi / Cor -warrior born from a royal clutch (Eden & Gale) -clutchmates: Desi, Rohan -raksuran shift: indigo scales that flare brighter violet in the light; light violet eyes -groundling shift: pale complexion with shorter blonde hair; light violet eyes -they/he pronouns, trans

Penn / Penny / Penelope -scrawny female warrior -raksuran shift: slate blue scales, dull grey-purple eyes -groundling shift: medium length hair in a tight pony w/longer bangs covering one eye -distant bloodline descendant of consort Blook

Esme -former Arbora that metamorphosed into warrior due to lack in mountain-tree -small and stocky for a warrior due to arbora roots -not that fast of a flyer, great at climbing & gliding -parented Tsuki before her metamorphosis -very awkward -pale pink eyes -raksura shift: yellow scales with orange undertone w/short frills and spines; pale red eyes -groundling shift: naturally round face w/bob of brown hair & pale complexion

Hans -helpful warrior male -born a female warrior, identifies as male -big and strong -pale blue scales, soft round frills, very few but long spines -gives good hugs

Lewis -Katrina's Father's main fuckbuddy -eldest warrior male -leads the warriors that go with arbora hunters

Preston -child of the survivors from the failed daughter-court -clutchmates: Marrissa -raksura shift: orange scales w/lighter belly, long tail -groundling shift: gangly and tall, red hair shaved short, bright green eyes

Allison -female warrior born from a royal clutch (Jewel, Dale) -thinks she's better than everyone else -bullies the other warriors

Tanza -clutchmate of Topaz, Citrine, Jewel -old as hell, to point of being faded scale color (grey purple) -used to be senior female warrior that greated other queens to the court -heavily scarred from fight against Fell attack -more or less retired; isn't allowed to fight, can still help train warriors -speaks for Topaz still; training younger female warriors to do so

Citrine -senior female warrior that speaks for Jewel -clutchmate of Topaz, Tanza, Jewel

(Relevant) Arbora:

Katrina; mentor, prefers work as agrarian -can augur with plants -only surviving fledgling of clutch, birthparent weak from childbirth & clutchmates (already small and weak) died of disease -when she learned of this, she blamed herself for the loss -maimed herself in nursery, lost most if not all of sight in one eye -prefers to stay in groundling shift; taller than normal Arbora in either shift -raksura shift: grey-blue scales, darker spines; pale-grey scarring around lame eye -groundling shift: bronze skin, black hair shaved in back, long in front (covers lame eye) -close friend of Ro, Desi, Allura

Katrina's Father; senior artisan -raksura shift: yellow brown, darker spines, green eyes -groundling shift: short and portly, shaved head, bronze skin

Katrina's Mother; senior agrarian (D) -dead of lung disease after clutching -shifts look strikingly similar to Katrina's

Lucinda -mentor: training to be head of hall management -one of the surviving fledglings from the failed daughter-court -descendant of Blook bloodline, didn't gain mentor abilities -manages the guest hall for visiting courts -raksura shift: blue-green scales, long frills -groundling shift: pale complexion, LONG hair usually in an updo

Lucinda's parents; Head scholar/teacher & a senior mentor

Oliver -teacher: recently appointed head of the nurseries -one of the surviving fledglings from the failed daughter-court -descendant of Blook bloodline, didn't gain mentor abilities -daughter in Tsuki / Kiki - Oliver & Esme’s child before her metamorphosis -raksura shift: darker blue with grey-purple eyes, taller than average arboras -groundling shift: long, straight hair, pale complexion, even taller in this shift (tall like an aeriat)

Oliver's parents; senior teacher/bloodline tracker, artisan

Leo -one of the surviving fledglings from the failed daughter-court -hunter / artisan ( specifically cook/drink maker ) -raksura shift: bronze scales, very short spines/frills -groundling shift: short, muscular af; wavy black hair kept in an updo

Wick; artisan ( tea crafter ) w/low level mentor abilities -purple-pink eyes, fond of heart shapes -raksuran shift: pale green scales -groundling shift: tall and less muscular for an arbora, wavy hair kept just above shoulder length

Cocoa; hunter / soldier -daughters Arianna & Leah (half fell) -clutchmate: Lewy -considers Fynn & Benji her family

Marrissa; teacher (nursery caretaker) -child of a survivor from the failed daughter-court -clutchmate: Preston -has a clutch with Marlene -Fledgling clutch: Mandy (arbora), Mint (warrior), Morrow (warrior), Magenta (arbora), Moss (arbora)

Marlene; scholar teacher -dating Marissa; has a clutch with her -doesn't like Preston

Preston and Marrissa's parents; artisans -survivors from the failed daughter court -had trouble conceiving/carrying to term, ended up only having two children

---

Lost band:

Fynn's birthqueen, Fionn, is captured by Fell while heavily clutched (late term, unable to shift or easily move), and gives birth not long after the abduction via kethel. Fynn is the only queen in the clutch, the four others ending up warriors that are culled. Benji and Josephine are two of the fledglings the flight managed to steal, corralling them alongside the arbora they took. They were very young when this happened. Cocoa and Lewy are also born into Fell captivity. They end up the only survivors; children that the Fell attempt to drug into submission. While the two queens do not end up conceiving, the two arbora do.

Original members of this lost band are: Fynn & Benji (queens), Cocoa & Lewy (arbora), ad Josephine (consort). Arianna & Leah (half-fell warriors) are born to Cocoa later on.

---

Kings Band:

A group of Raksura that decided they wanted to make a new court "their own way" so they left/abandoned their original court. King is more or less in charge, with Rita listening and obeying his every whim.

King - Consort

Rita - Queen (pale pink w/ice-blue web and eyes)

Snipe - Warrior

Switch - Warrior

Coal - Warrior

Chance - arbora

Ore - arbora

LUXURE TREE DESCRIPTION:

Naturally light colored heartwood, light browns and near white, obvious rings inside that arbora artisans accentuate with colorful murals made with mix of paint and gemstones. Mountain's trunk curls back into itself in a gentle slope, and there are many ridges crafted into leisure platforms.

(Imagine a willow tree, but the size of a mountain:

^much like these examples)

Native fungi cultivated to grow on the undersides of platforms/walkways glows a light pink and blue at night, to match the native lichen that grows along the trunk.

Court grows lots of flowers, spices, and makes perfumes/incense for trade. Lots of spiral patterns in their handmade crafts. Heart shapes too, thanks to the shape of their native tree's trailing leaves.