#tdp merciful one

[thewholediamondsky]

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[star-dragon-art]

where the villain arc really started

[catcherwrites]

That’s been my running theory for a while! I wasn’t fully on board with Startouch immortality just…not applying if the Startouch elf gets killed by another of their kind? The logic just doesn’t make much sense?

As for your point about the lack of funerals in Startouch elf culture - that could be a factor behind The Merciful One’s questionable words of comfort for Aaravos. What are they supposed to say when none of them have ever experienced a true, permanent death before? (something about how Leola is “stardust” i.e., still belongs to the star primal even though she wasn’t allowed to rejoin the source)

It might also explain what happened between Aaravos and Khessa in 3x07? Centuries after the Leola’s death, he’s witnessed a lot more death across mortal kind. Aaravos by now would know the cultural significance of elves being granted funerary rites akin to Archdragon deaths, but he doesn’t fully respect that tradition. Him turning Khessa to ash might’ve been a bitter attempt to grant her that honourable death without understanding why it’s sacred. Consider it a “something is better than nothing” mindset to murdering elves - especially when compared to his daughter

Walk with me a sec, ok?

So in The Dragon Prince, we see a fair share of death. But the ways in which the Archdragons die has always caught my eye. Just look at Sol Regem and Rex Igneous as an example

Sol Regem, a sun dragon, turns into fire and motes of light. Rex Igneous, an earth dragon, crumbles into molten rock. Both return to the primal source they are bonded to

You could also extend this to the other god-like beings of Xadia: Startouch elves. When they die (with similar flair I might add), they “return to the heavens,” ie., their primal source

There seem to be rites in elven culture that embody this concept too, like the Sunfire elves soul flame ceremony, but it’s pretty clear a physical return to the source only happens with the most powerful beings in Xadia. After all, we see plenty of dead/dying humans and elves, but none of them spontaneously combust!

The only exceptions that comes to mind are Ibis and Khessa. In Ibis’ case, Zubeia specifically requests that Callum perform a ritual that turns the body into a flock of birds, and affirming that he was her friend. Perhaps it is considered the greatest honour in Xadian culture to have your physical body rejoin your primal source like the Archdragons? Conversely, Aaravos flicks Khessa on the chin and turns her to ash - but it is unclear if this is a twisted way of giving her a ‘death fit for a queen’, or if it’s something else entirely

I guess the point I’m trying to make is if the natural end for Archdragons/Startouch elves (and the honoured tradition for regular elves) is for their essence to rejoin their respective source in death - then to be denied that would be deeply unnatural and disrespectful

Perhaps that is an additional element to the tragedy of Leola and Avizandum’s deaths? Leola, who should have been laid to rest among the stars, was cast down and denied that right. And Avizandum, who should have returned to the sky, had his body and soul imprisoned in stone

[sentimentallyannoying]

anyone else notice that Aaravos is the only Startouched elf we’ve seen so far that has darkened scaleras? wonder why that might be. Hmmm…

[ac0531]

Omg, TMO playing a bigger part in arc 3?! 👀

[bat-snake]

Yeah….

[salty-and-spiraling]

I THINK I'VE GOT SOMETHING!

Ever since s6 the fans have always wondered 'why hasn't the council stopped Aaravos yet!?'

Unless Aaravos surrenders of his own will, which is definitely not gonna happen, they are the only ones who can defeat him permanently.

Now, given what we've learned so far, the council members can't really see into the future. We know that because of Leola's trial- them needing Sol Regem as a witness to tell them what happened- which tells us something BIG.

The archdragons are capable of contacting the star council!

But this introduced a new question- 'if the archdragons could contact the startouch council, why haven't they done that to stop Aaravos?'

I think that they already did. I think that's how they were able to imprison him in the first place.

Look at this!

At first I thought these statues were a reenactment of this-

But it couldn't be because this scene is so different! (The poses and facial expressions)

So that got me thinking- why is this here? Are these statues supposed to be foreshadowing for something else? If so, what?

Also, WHO MADE THIS STATUE!? Why is nobody questioning how it was created in the first place? This alone is sheer proof of the council's involvement with Aaravos's imprisonment! That they didn't just neglect Xadia after Leola's death.

So, to answer these questions, here's a few theories I have!

The Jailer is actually the Merciful One in disguise.

I'm gonna need y'all to hear me out on this one!

The Jailer seems to have a strangely deep knowledge of startouch elves. That would be strange for anyone in the show, let alone a human in that time period.

Think about it! This random human mage(?) who apparently knows how to trap a startouch elf? Also, assuming that the location of Aaravos's prison was The Jailer's idea, how would they know the significance of the Sea of the Castout!?

There were so many other places to put the pearl! It could've been thrown into a volcano and it probably wouldn't have freed Aaravos! The spell to free Aaravos was really complex and required one of the rarest ingredients in Xadia, it definitely wouldn't have freed Aaravos if they'd just chucked it in lava.

Now, with all this in mind, I'd like to present my next theory!

TMO was the only one that got directly involved with Aaravos's imprisonment.

I feel like this isn't too farfetched because TMO is the only one depicted in the statue. If the other council members were involved I'm sure they would've been there.

Now, I say 'directly' involved because I do think the entire council was aware of the situation and that they had some say in Aaravos's imprisonment.

Next theory!

It was TMO's idea to imprison Aaravos instead of killing him.

We already know that the council has the power to kill Aaravos so now it's just a matter of 'why didn't they?'

My idea is that when the council heard what was going on down there they were like "Let's go down there and execute him too, just like we did Leola" but TMO was like "wait no, let's be merciful and just imprison him forever!"

The only reason I think that TMO would've done this is because of @stardustamaryllis78 's theory that Aaravos used to be on the council but left.

I wholeheartedly agree and also think that when he was on the council, he and TMO were friends or had some sort of relationship. That's why they were the only one to go down to "comfort" him after Leola's death. They might've had a soft spot for him because he was probably their friend. But not for Leola.

Now, with that being said, obviously TMO's "mercy" isn't merciful, like at all. I think it's just because they have a very fucked up definition of what mercy is.

-Something about being so emotionally removed from everything that it makes you unable to really comprehend things like compassion and empathy-

Theory number four!

The archdragons knew who the Jailer actually was.

In Zubiea's storytime about Aaravos, she mentions The Orphan Queen but not the Jailer. I think this is because she already knew who the Jailer actually was so for some reason she didn't feel the need to mention them? This theory honestly isn't as strong as the others. I only think this because the archdragons definitely wouldn't include some random human in their plan to trap the most dangerous person in Xadia unless they were really important or something. The first time the Jailer is mentioned is when Akiyu tells her story and I don't think anyone else knew their true identity.

And, last but not least…

The statues are supposed to be depicting Aaravos's imprisonment.

This one makes the most sense to me and my other theories kinda back it up. The Jailer actually being TMO explains why they're there in the first place and it being their idea to imprison him kinda explains why in the statue depiction they're looking at him with such pity.

So, to summarize, here's how I think it went down…

The archdragons called upon the council to defeat Aaravos and the council wanted to execute him but the TMO offered to have him imprisoned instead. TMO then came down to Earth disguised as The Jailer to help the archdragons. The archdragons knew who TMO actually was but nobody else did.

Honestly I don't actually have any theories for who made the statue or why they made it but trying to come up with some sparked this idea. Idk, this makes a lot of sense to me so I kinda want it to be true. Hopefully I framed this all well and it doesn't sound too farfetched.

[raayllum]

She had every opportunity to think about the harm she could cause. She was callous. She was cruel. And in truth, so was I. / This is your mercy? Sometimes the line between mercy and cruelty can be thin. / So it is only fitting that I deliver their fear, the Great Unravelling. / So if you want to punish me, I can't stop you. But I don't think it will bring you peace. Only more pain.

4x06 / 6x09 / 7x04

[m4rs-ex3]

if tdp has taught me anything, it's that god is NON BINARY and angels are AUTISTIC CHILDREN

[thegurlwhoisntthere]

Hey y’all

I’ve been seeing a lot of post that are like “oh it’s kinda fucked up that the Dragons imprisoned Aaravos in the sea of the castout where (insert tdp s6 spoiler)” and yeah that would be fucked up… if that’s what happened.

But it seems that we all either forgot the plot of the last two seasons or literally weren’t paying attention (looking at you season 4 haters) because at least 70% of the plot revolved around the fact that no one knew where or what Aaravos’ prison was.

The only person that knew what the elf that built and hid it. That’s it. The dragons had pieces of the puzzle, but they literally did not know. Not even Aaravos himself knew where his prison was, or he’d have manipulated his way out sooner.

The fact that the sea of the castout was where she died may have been nothing more than a coincidence or it could’ve been the “merciful one” offering some bullshit “mercy” letting his prison lie in her final resting place.

But yeah, the archdragons, Elves and humans were not being especially cruel with that, the writers were

[thewholediamondsky]

Soooo, do you guys remember this video here?

I ended up doing a second part of it, but this being what would have happened before that. Right after the "We are, all of us, stardust.. held together by love, for an instant" speech

[parroset]

The Merciful One

[chattychatty4]

Parts of Aaravos’ first dark magic dream

Based off of @thestarswillguide’s thing about Aaravos’ first dark magic dream

The post

[nexis9]

You know, I hate the Merciful One. They goes up to a father, who they had a part in killing the child of, and just goes and says the fancy equivalent of 'Thoughts and Prayers' to him. Like, wtf Merciful One, that's really rude AND insensitive.

I hope Aaravos murders all of the celestial council. They deserve it.

[miyanaxxi]

What time is it?! Theory Time!

This has been rattling around in my brain for a really long time and now I think I fully believe it.

Startouch elves' appearance.

Startouch elves look ethereal and, well, star-touched. But what if their appearance held deeper meaning?

Now this might just be me, but Aaravos looks a lot like Ziard. If you squint really hard, I suppose. A similarity they share is that they are the first Dark Mages of their species, but their personalities are opposite; Aaravos is cruel and deceiving, Ziard is shown to be compassionate and a genuinely nice person.

Leola and Claudia are alike in many ways, from the magenta fade in their hair (temporary for Claudia) to them both being the only characters confirmed to have ASD (Autism). In physicality, it's mainly the hair and similar eye shape. Personality wise, Claudia exhibits a goofiness akin to Leola's own, but she is twisted and too much the opposite to be considered identical to Leola anymore (at least on the surface).

I surely don't need to point out similarities here. Surely. Literally everything about the Merciful One is identical to Sarai. They look like the same person, I think we all saw that. Again, opposites. TMO is willing to grant mercy, however it's whatever mercy appeases to the Order. If that means offering a denying father to die with his child, then that's the mercy that must be delivered. Sarai was willing to help Queens Neha and Annika, but she did it for Harrow, someone she loved. Not for the "Order" of things, because she genuinely felt bad for Duren and loved Harrow too much to say no. Opposites.

The Stern One looks a lot like Kpp'Ar if you try hard enough. TSO is not, by any means, compassionate, and he is biased towards the Cosmic Order. He makes it as though the Order is his entire lifeblood, his lifeline, and what should be valued the most. He is arrogant. Kpp'Ar at least felt something when Viren said Soren was going to die. He was trustworthy, according to Atticus, and a seemingly relaxed person. The opposite of the Stern One.

The rest of the Cosmic Justice. Unsure of their personalities, but the characters that look like them wouldn't kill a child. At least not directly.

So, the theory: Startouch elves are created looking like someone yet to exist, both human and elf, and host opposing personalities to their person.

[bat-snake]

Wishing we had more examples that aren't Aaravos in his most vulnerable moment getting Thoughts And Prayer'd by someone complicit in that vulnerability but

Looking at the Merciful One's clothing compared to Aaravos, they seem to be wearing some form of shirt that goes under an overcoat....like what Aaravos wears.

So until we see what other masc-leaning Startouch Elves wear, it's looking like Aaravos is just actively choosing to be pecs half out all the time always