Azriel is not like the other boys
We often hear that there is no way that Azriel is not fully Illyrian. There are people who absolutely insist that that's all he is, and despite a whole list of 'unusuals' about him, they refuse to acknowledge that he might be something entirely different than just a simple Illyrian.
Setting aside his Seven Siphons and his immense killing power, which he sort of randomly has, alongside Cassian and literally no one else, he is also a Carynthian, a Shadowsinger, and an "illyrian' who can winnow--none of these are capabilities that other Illyrians have. He also carries Truth Teller, a Made weapon, no less.
I was chatting with @shitwillnotbegiven about something unrelated, and then the highlighted paragraph (above) jumped out at me.
In it, we have Vesperus the Asteri who's been kept in a glass coffin for 10K years, and stuck under the Prison, unable to wake or escape. Bryce, Nesta and Azriel happen upon the glass coffin and wake Vesperus up, but don't let her out of the coffin.
Now, if you haven't read HOFAS, a little background: Prythian is/was a land that overflowed with wild natural magic. When the Asteri conquered it, they made the Fae of Prythian pay a Tithe (no doubt the remnants of that custom trickled down all the way to when Tamlin collected the Tithe from his citizens) of their magic, siphoning some of it to sustain themselves.
Let's examine the passage above:
Kneel, soldier. Make the Tithe so I can regain my strength and leave this cage.
Next to Azriel, Nesta (Made) and Bryce (a Starborn visitor from Midgard, which Vesperus isn't familiar with) are standing, and arguably, both Nesta and Bryce are SIGNIFICANTLY more powerful than Azriel.
Yet, Vesperus demands that HE make the Tithe. Not the two (non native) but very powerful Fae.
Now, let's go back allllll the way to early ACOMAF, where Feyre meets the Inner Circle for the first time. When she is introduced to Cassian and Azriel, Cassian jovially announces 'we are just Illyrians' and that they have 'no magic'. The only magic that they possess is the Killing Power, which is controlled by the siphons. Additionally, Rhysand tells Feyre that he couldn't wear the siphons because he kept breaking them, because 'his magic' worked in a different way. He is, of course, only half Illyrian.
Azriel meanwhile, is interesting because he can use the siphons and in fact has a surplus of Killing Power, like Cassian. But he can also control the shadows, because, as he said himself 'that's what he is. He is a Shadowsinger.' BUT, unlike the rest of the Illyrians, he can also winnow and as Cassian said in ACOSF 'Az is different in many ways'.
Now, back to Vesperus and Azriel again.
She asks HIM to make the Tithe. Not Bryce or Nesta (they are both Fae looking and presumably, Vesperus wouldn't know the difference). But, she does, doesn't she?
Because what has sustained her before? Natural Prythian-specific magic that the Fae of Prythian carried. And the only person out of the 3 in front of her that she senses this magic in is...Azriel. That would mean then that Azriel has NATURAL magic, which supposedly Illyrians don't possess at all. That also implies that HIS magic is so ANCIENT that Vesperus immediately recognizes it. It also implies that his magic is so pure that that's what she needs.
But what it also implies is that his natural magic is SO POWERFUL that only a little bit--a Tithe--is strong enough to actually break through Theia's spells and powers, which had kept Vesperus in that glass coffin all this time. Theia, the first Starborn, the one who could outwit an Asteri and imprison her in a glass coffin, the one who became Queen and ruled from Dusk, and the one who found a Rift into Midgard--her power is matched by...Azriel. Because just a little bit of his would seem to break through all of Theia's.
If that doesn't make Azriel more than just an Illyrian, then I don't know what will.
PS. I also thought about Prythian's Tithe, which supposedly everyone has to some degree. Interestingly, Rhys doesn't. He has simple taxation.
This is a whole different post, BUT--what if all the High Lords are part Starborn but also Asteri. What if their magic is also derived from the land, especially the seasonal Courts, where the High Lord is literally responsible for sustaining the season, and the environment is tied to his powers. What if the Tithe is necessary to maintain his magical powers? Kind of like the Asteri needed it to maintain their powers?
And Rhysand, for whatever reason he is part Valg doesn't pull as much from the land itself. His powers are so immense that he exists outside of what Prythian offers.
But like I said, it's a different post.
PSS Isn't it interesting that Elain said that she heard a heartbeat. Through the stones, she heard a heartbeat. With Lucien next to her, she'd assumed that the heartbeat was his. But he couldn't hear the heartbeat. Not hers, not anyone's. What if it wasn't Lucien's at all? What if she heard Vesperus's heartbeat? What if the little gardener who likes to grow things and wants more gardens has NATURAL MAGIC inside of her? What if that was the Cauldron's gift to her? What if she is actually not simply Made, but reborn? Reborn as a Prythain Fae whose magic blossoms and sustains life?