Iโve talked about the orrery before (buried under layers of connections in my murky realm meta), and wanted to come back to it on its own. It is, in my opinion, one of the biggest hints we have for Elainโs role in the crossover.
We are first introduced to the official term, orrery, in HOSAB. When Bryce and her friends seek out the Astronomer and his beauties, also known as mystics, they use a space map to track down information across the cosmos:
Bryce set aside her outrage and waved a hand to the drifting planets. โThis space mapโโ
โIt is called an orrery.โ
โThis orrery.โ Bryce approached the maleโs side. โItโs techโnot magic?โ
โCan it not be both?โ (HOSAB)
Bryceโs murky memory reminds her that her father has his own orrery in his study.
Bryceโs fingers curled into fists. But she said, a murky memory rippling from her childhood, โThe Autumn King has one in his private study.โ
The Astronomer clicked his tongue. โYes, and a fine one at that. Made by craftsmen in Avallen long ago. I havenโt had the privilege to see it, but I hear it is as precise as mine, if not more so.โ
โWhatโs the point of it?โ she asked.
โOnly one who does not feel the need to peer into the cosmos would ask such a thing. The orrery helps us answer the most fundamental questions: Who are we? Where do we come from?โ (HOSAB)
Craftsmen in Avallen, a place with powers that mirror the Night Court, made an orrery long ago. And it is kept in her fatherโs study. Sounds familiar, doesnโt it?
There was the main floor of the studyโbedecked in the hand-knotted blue carpets that Feyre had gone to Cesere to select from its artisansโwith its two sitting areas, Rhysโs desk, and twin long tables near the bookshelves. At the far end of the room, a little dais led into a broad raised alcove flanked by more booksโand in its center, a massive, working model of their world, the stars and planets around it, and some other fancy things that had been explained to Cassian once before he deemed them boring and proceeded to ignore them completely. Az, of course, had been fascinated. Rhys had built the model himself centuries ago. It could not only track the sun, but also tell time, and it somehow allowed Rhys to ponder the existence of life beyond their own world and other things Cassian had, again, instantly forgotten. (ACOSF)
We know now that Sarah was planting seeds for travel across the cosmos. By the end of HOSAB, Bryce lands in Prythian and desperately needs to find Aidas to help her rally the armies of Hel against the Asteri. But who makes the most sense to help? Who has successfully located frightening beings from afar like the mystics? That would be Elain.
There are striking parallels between Elain and the mystics, which I discuss in depth here, so I wonโt spend time on the details in this post. The mysticsโ sleepy travel and use of a space map remind me of similar scene in ACOWAR.
Three mystics slept, submerged in greenish, cloudy water, breathing masks strapped to their faces. Their white shifts floated around them, doing little to hide the skeletal bodies beneath. (HOSAB)
When Feyre seeks out Elain to track down the Suriel, she finds her in a dim, dreamlike environment that seems a lot like the mystic tubs. Her eyes are even unfocused, as though she is lost in space. Is it possible she was drifting in her murky realm, like the mystics?
Her tent was dim, and quietโthe sounds of slaughter far away, dreamlike. She was awake, staring blankly at the canvas ceiling.
Feyre asks to plant an image of the Suriel in her mind to help her locate it, and when she passes her mental gates, she finds even more dreamy, half-life imagery:
The gates to her mind โฆ Solid iron, covered in vines of flowersโor it would have been. The blossoms were all sealed, sleeping buds tucked into tangles of leaves and thorns.
And then, without any training whatsoever, Elain uses the map to find the Suriel on the move.
Elain again glanced at the map. At me. Then closed her eyes. Her eyes shifted beneath her lids, the skin so delicate and colorless that the blue veins beneath were like small streams. โIt moves โฆ,โ she whispered. โIt moves through the world like โฆ like the breath of the western wind.โ
โWhere is it headed?โ
Her finger lifted, hovering over the map, the courts. Slowly, she set it down. โThere,โ she breathed. โIt is going there. Now.โ I looked at where she had laid her finger and felt the blood rush from my face. The Middle.
Much like Thanatosโa prince of Helโwith the mystic in CC, the Suriel also sees Elain from across the world.
Its over-large teeth clacked faintly. โThrice now, we have met. Thrice now, you have hunted for me. This time, you sent the trembling fawn to find me. I did not expect to see those doe-eyes peering at me from across the world.โ
On the third hunt for the Suriel, the third sister to have her story told finds a terrifying, deadly creature who repeatedly provides help to Feyre. Coincidentally, this fits the bill for Bryce and Aidas as well. And what map might help her find him? The high lordโs orrery, of course, if it is as precise as the one his (theoretical) distant relatives created in Avallen long ago.
Thatโs not the only connection Rhysand and his sister-in-law have when it comes to this plot point. According to Rigelus, mystics can also pry into charactersโ minds and influence their behavior like a daemati. Is it possible Elain is already experimenting with this power? That kind and sage voice Nesta starts to hear in dire circumstances appears after Elain said she could reacquaint herself with her powers. And like the high lord again, she might have some glowing magical hands to go with that voice if her influence is at work with the Cauldron at the end of ACOSF. Please let this be one of the many secrets youโve planted in ACOSF, Sarah.
โWe were eventually notified by one of our mystics here, who learned it from prying into the mind of one of Ophionโs Command. So we did a little tugging. Pointed Micah toward synth. Toward Danika.โ (HOSAB)
Whatโs the significance of these connections? Alongside her siblings, Elain is going to be a key player in the crossover. And weโre likely in for even more Rhysand-Elain bonding time. This time, though, sheโll be the one taking him on a mental tour of the cosmos, leaving the Sidra far behind. Sarah already laid the groundwork for this: Rhysand wonders about her surprising behavior in the final battle against Hybern in ACOFAS, and in ACOSF, his interest only grows as he supports Amrenโs order to approach Elain for help next, suggests she may be more than capable of getting her hands sparkly dirty, agrees with his mate to help her after Nesta, and even meddles in her love life (like an overbearing older brother). In fact, he interrupts and forbids her intimacy with the only other person we know, in canon, that is also interested in Rhysandโs orrery: Azriel.
So, what role, if any, will Azriel play in this plot point besides his obvious connection with Bryce, the Starsword, and demon-like wings and cold, dark shadows? Perhaps itโs just a coincidence, but the mystic in CC is snared by the Prince of the Ravine like Elain is lured by the Cauldron. Even the camp where she is trapped operates similarly to the Prince, and it just so happens to sit next to a ravine and is home to fearsome hounds, like the Princeโs Shepherd:
Hybernโs camp and hounds
Campfires burned, as numerous as the stars. Beasts snapped and snarled, yanking on leashes and chains. On and on and on that army went, a squatting terror drinking the life from the earth. (ACOWAR)
The nearest houndโit was not a hound, I realized as the arrow spiraled for its head. But some cousin of the nagaโsome monstrous, scaled thing that thundered on all fours, serpentine face snarling and full of bone-shredding white teethโ(ACOWAR)
Azrielโs roar echoed off the rocks as the hound slammed into him, dragging those shredding talons down his spine, his wingsโ The girl screamed, but Elain moved. As Azriel battled to keep them airborne, keep his grip on them, my sister sent a fierce kick into the beastโs face. Its eye. Another. Another. It bellowed, and Elain slammed her bare, muddy foot into its face again. The blow struck home. With a yelp of pain, it released its clawsโand plunged into the ravine. (ACOWAR)
Prince of the Ravine and his hound
โAllow me to introduce my shepherd,โ the Under-King said from the mist ahead, standing beside a ten-foot-tall black dog. [โฆ] Designed to latch into flesh and hold tight while it ripped and shredded. Its eyes were milky whiteโsightless. Identical to the Under-Kingโs.
Her light would have no effect on something that was already blind.
The dogโs furโsleek and iridescent enough that it almost resembled scalesโflowed over bulky, bunched muscle. Claws like razor blades sliced into the dry ground.
His attention snapped again to Bryce. Ripped away skin and bone to the being beneath. You slew one of my creations. My beloved pet, kept for so long on your side of the Crossing. [โฆ] You cost me a key link to Midgard. The Shepherd reported faithfully to me on all it heard in the Bone Quarter. The souls of the dead talk freely of their world.
I grow tired of these questions. I shall feast. [โฆ] It has been a long while since a mortal fly buzzed all the way down to Hel. I will taste this oneโs soul, as I once sipped from them like fine wine. [โฆ]. You have gone too deep. I think I shall keep you. (HOSAB)
Like Bryce and Hunt, Elain and Azriel work as a team in this scene. Azriel holds Elain and helps her escape the clutches of Hybern, and she in turn defends him against the hounds. Might this teamwork foreshadow another rescue, on a different plane? Is that why we were reminded of it more than once in ACOSF? It wouldnโt surprise me in the least if Elain, like the Suriel, was snared again and needed an anchorโsomeone who can navigate the dark, wonโt abandon her, and will pull her back when neededโif she travels too deep in her search. And as his past behavior suggests, it makes sense for that anchor to be the Shadowsinger.
If youโre interested in comprehensive metas discussing Elainโs powers in the context of the crossover, check these out:
Shifting forms of fate: Elainโs connection to Urd and changing form/appearance
Elainโs murky realm: how her sight might work, using evidence from ACOTAR and connections to oracles and mystics in the multiverse (mostly CC)
The space between: what is it, where does it appear in the multiverse, and how might Elain and Azriel use it to travel
Mapping the mysteries of the sister peaks: a forbidden couple exploring forbidden secrets deep underground
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