Violets-Ianthe. Ocyrhoe. Persephone. A crack theory and how Koschei might be able to trick Azriel.
Disclaimer : Everything in this post is just a reflection of my thoughts and opinions. I don not claim anything as a fact when I theorize. Also, I am certain others have commented on those things as well, but I just wanted to add my own interpretation. Keep in mind, when I discuss different mythologies I just do it because it's fun to try and guess where SJM might have been inspired from, since we know she uses mythology and legends in her books.
This a very long post, I'm sorry. I hope everything makes sense.
Violets, their symbolism and Ianthe.
We all know that Feyre drew something on the drawer they shared, to represent each sister. The night and stars for her, flames for Nesta, and flowers for Elain. I've seen theories that claim that each drawing represents a sister and her potential love interest, and while I do believe that, I mostly agree with the theories that suspect that there might a deeper meaning. That the symbolism behind them reflects the journey/story of each sister.
I won't get into detail about Feyre and Nesta's drawers, because their stories have already been told and there are other amazing posts out there that analyze them perfectly. I won't get into great detail about Elain either, because, like I said it's been done before. But, I want to point out that the description we get about Elain's drawer is ever-changing and I want to give you the reason why I believe it's a representation of her journey.
I slung off my outer clothes onto the sagging dresser - frowning at the violets and roses I'd painted around the knobs of Elain's drawer...
What I want to talk about is the violets.
They are said to represent "innocence, everlasting love, modesty, spiritual wisdom, faithfulness, mysticism, and remembrance."
What stuck out to me in particular is innocence and then something clicked in my brain, because in the next book Elain's drawer was mentioned violets were gone :
I painted flowers for Elain on her drawer. [...] Little roses and begonias and irises.
Now, I know that in the beginning Sarah didn't intend for Feyre's sister to have a major role, but in ACOMAF things started to change and I wonder if she paid closer attention to things associated with Nesta and Elain. Sarah is known for her foreshadowing, which sometimes is truly good and other times terribly obvious. And that brings me to the violets, Ianthe and Elain's innocence.
At first I had assumed the 'innocence' thing was associated with Elain being a virgin and then losing her virginity with Greysen and that's why the violets where gone in ACOMAF.
But then I remebered Ianthe and what her name means.
In Greek mythology, Ianthe was one of the 3.000 Oceanids (water nymph, naiad) and, also one of Persephone's companions. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and her name means "violet flower" (it also means "she who delights").
That made me believe that the virginal innocence wasn't the reason violets weren't mentioned again, but Elain's innocece as a whole.
Ianthe was the one who sold them out to King of Hybern, she was responsible for the sisters going into the Cauldron and being made into High Fae.
Elain's innocence died that day. After that she was forced to see a new side of the world, a darker side. From that moment forward, after her autonomy was violated, she couldn't be as she was before. She was "forced" (not really, it was her choice, but essentially turning into high fae sort of forced her) to participate and play a great role in a war. No one comes out unscathed from something like that and the price Elain paid was her innocence.
Violets are also a symbol of untimely death in the young (Elain's human body died that day) and melancholy (in ACOWAR Elain is struggling and is described as catatonic) and are identified with the natural cycle of life, death and rebirth and as a catalyst to transition. They are also among the flowers Persephone was said to have been picking when Hades kidnapped her.
All of these things make me believe Elain's flowers depict what will come to pass in her life and it's also quite symbolice if you think about it, since she is a seer.
Ocyrhoe was another Oceanid in greek mythology, her name means "swift-flowing" and she, too, was one of Persephone's companions/playmates.
âAll we were playing in a lovely meadow, Leucippe and Phaeno and Electra and Ianthe, Melita also and Iache with Rhodea and Callirhoe [420] and Melobosis and Tyche and Ocyrhoe, fair as a flower, [...] we were playing and gathering sweet flowersâ - Homeric Hymn to Demeter.
There are 5 characters she refers to :
One of the 3.000 Oceanides.
Daughter of Imbrasus (a river god) and Chesias (a maiden).
Mother of Caicus, son of Hermes.
Mother of Hippomedon (defender of Troy).
As I was scrolling absentmindedly through the internet looking at this and that, I came across Ocyrhoe and her story might have inspired Elain's character. (I repeat, it's not canon. Just my opinion)
In the story as Imbrasus and Chesias's daughter, Ocyrhoe became Apollo's object of desire, and while trying to flee from him she asked for help from a seafarer and an old friend of her father, Pompilus. He took her on his ship, but eventually Apollo reached them. Apollo took Ocyrhoe and turned the ship into stone and Pompilus into a fish.
In one version of the story where she is Chiron's daughter, she was a centaur and she had the power to see the things concealed by the Fates. One day, she revealed Chiron's fate to him (that he would give up his immortality to be spared the agonizing pain of a serpent's poison). For that transgression the gods punished her by taking her voice and turning her into a mare.
"...became Apollo's object of desire..." Elain has become L/cien's "object of desire" in a sense. I don't think he truly wants to be with her. I believe it's just the bond forcing these feelings on him.
"...trying to flee from him..." She wants nothing romantic to do with him and avoids him as much as she can.
"...she had the power to see the things concealed by the Fates..." She is a seer.
"...turning her into a mare..." She'd shown curiosity about whether Amren could've chosen a different form and we speculate that shapeshifting of some kind might be one of her powers.
What led me to research the possible connection between the two, was the fact that Ocyrhoe was present when Persephone was kidnapped to the Underworld, just like Elain was present when Feyre (the og Persephone in the ACOTAR series, but I believe Elain is also associated with her, and not just because of the flowers) was taken to Prythian. Ocyrhoe was also referred to as "fair as a flower" in Homer's Hymn to Demeter. It's not much, but...I thought it was interesting.
Also, as Chiron's daughter her mother was Chariclo. In another myth Chariclo was a nymph and Tiresias's mother. Tiresias became blind when he saw the goddess Athena naked. His mother begged her to lift her curse, but she couldn't. Instead she gave him the gift of sight. He is often portrayed as Apollo's oracle. And that made me think "What blinds an oracle?" and that Athena, the goddess of wisdom, is often depicted with an owl - Elain is shown to have owl like mannerisms.
Then we have Apollo who was said to be the god of "divine distance, who sent or threatened from afar; the god who made men aware of their own guilt and purified them of it; who presided over religious law and the constitutions of cities; and who communicated with mortals through prophets and oracles his knowledge of the future and the will of his father, Zeus."
I've seen a lot of posts claiming that Elain and Persephone have nothing in common except flowers.
I know that Rhysand and Feyre are a loose retelling of Hades x Persephone, but I think Elain and Azriel are one too, only more heavy on the light/dark theme.
So, there are two versions of the myth.
In one version - the one I think Feysand got - Hades is said to have fallen in love when he first saw her in one of his rare visits from the Underworld and decided to form a plan and take her away. - Rhysand met Feyre when he crashed Calanmai and it was rare for him to be able to leave UtM. Even though he wasn't in love with her yet, he felt a connection.
Zeus helped him with his plan. When she was out picking flowers with her friends, the naiads, they made the ground split beneath her. She fell and Hades took her to the Underworld and made her his wife. - Mor helped Rhys free Feyre, when Tamlin had locked in the mansion. He took her to NC and the two slowly started getting to know each other.
At first Persephone was sad and unhappy, but after a long while she eventually fell in love with Hades and was able to live happily with him in the Otherworld. - After Feyre was surrounded by people who didn't suppress her and cared about her mental state and trauma, she slowly begun to heal, along with Rhys. The two fell in love, Rhysand made her his High Lady and they lived happily ever after in the NC.
The other version has Demeter in it and Persephone was lured away from naiad friends by a narcisuss flower, planted by Gaia who was following Zeus's orders. The earth opened as she pulled the flower and that's how Hades was able to abduct her.
In the Az's bonus chapter, we could say that Rhys had taken the role of Demeter by commanding Azriel to stay away from Elain (Not because he doesn't want them together or values L/cien's happiness more than his brother's, but because of the consequences. I also do not think Rhys will keep that stance forever. I believe many people who will be against Elriel will take the role of Demeter or even the difficulties the couple will face will represent her). In the myth Demeter in her despair and desperate search for her daughter abandoned her duties, starvation reigned and people died. - Elain and Azriel coming together while she's still L/cien's mate could either cause L/ucien demand the Blood Duel or a civil war between the courts, since tensions are high already.
Hades agreed to let Persephone leave once a year for six months and live with her mother, but the rest of the year she would stay with him (although Persephone ate only 4 pomegranate seeds) - I believe, and hope mostly, that's the reason why SJM mentioned that Azriel owns a place called Rosehall and his mother lives there. I think they will split their time between Rosehall and the NC.
Also, the flower narcissus (daffodil) represents rebirth and new beginnings.
Fun fact : In the myth, Demeter was the one who turned all the naiads into sirens because they lost her daughter.
Papa Archeron promised Koschei to give him Elain and Nesta.
The Archerons' father didn't give Koschei his soul or spirit in exchange for Vassa, but instead gave him his two remaining mortal daughters. This possibility is something I've been pondering for quite a while.
âWhere is Briallyn?â Azriel demanded, Siphons flaring like cobalt flame.
âI spend so many months preparing for you,â Koschei crooned, âand you donât even wish to speak to me?â
This quote right here suggests that there is indeed a connection between Azriel and Koschei.
If we assume that some theories out there are correct, about how Az's shadows could be made somehow, that Az could have an even deeper connection to him and that Koschei has a connection to the Cauldron, I think Koschei knows how powerful Azriel really is and what a fine weapon he would make in an upcoming war. I don't think he wants him to find the 4th Trove. Better yet, I don't think he wants him just for that.
âCertainly.â Vassa peered at her hands, fingers flexing. âI fear what may happen if he ever gets free of the lake. If he sees this world on the cusp of disaster and knows he could strike, and strike hard, and make himself its master. As he once tried to do, long ago.â
We know Azriel is very powerful and he can "winnow", something not many powerful fae can - although, I believe this ability has to do with him being able to control shadows. We also know that he is the only known living shadowsinger and that they are very rare. Also, we don't know very much about his past in general.
What if Koschei was the first shadowsinger or had the ability to control shadows as a death God? What if Azriel is his descendant and some that's were his shadows come from? What if Koschei's essence lives inside of Azriel, but not enough to control him completely? What if now Koschei has found a way to overcome that problem? - I'll circle back to that because I think there may be some truth there. And I know that's a lot of what ifs, but this is a crack theory.
In the original tale, Koschei using spells has hidden his soul inside nested objects to protect it. It may be hidden "in the needle that is hidden inside the egg, the egg is in the duck, the duck is in the hare, the hare is in the chest, the chest is buried or chained up on a far island."
Couldn't Koschei in ACOTAR, who is also a sorcerer, do the same? But instead of keeping it in nested objects, he split it in two, kept one piece inside the onyx box - which I suspect might be wyrdstone - and hid the other in the Cauldron?
It is said that "It (the Cauldron) fell into the wrong hands and great and horrible things were done with it". Could it have fallen to Koschei's hands? Could he be the one who created the original Dread Trove, and so parts of his soul are in these objects? And that's why people can't remember it, because he spelled it to keep it safe? But now that he found a way to be free from the lake he wants it back, to be complete?
The Cauldron is, also, called The Bowl of Life and Death, but is there a chance that at one point it was just The Bowl of Life, since it gave life to Prythian, and the death part was added later, when Koschei meddled with it? Koschei, being as powerful as he is described to be, could have manipulated everyone into thinking that if something happens to it then all life would end, to ensure that no one would try to destroy it, and by extension him, completely.
Let's talk about the Book of Breathings for a second, because it might seem like plot hole in this scenario. The Book of Breathings was created from the last of the molten ore used to forge the Cauldron, not in the Cauldron, therefore not by the Cauldron itself. So, the way I see it, it could still cause damage to the Cauldron and Koschei himself, if part of his soul was indeed there
Everything I'll talk about from now on are based on the assumption that Koschei's soul is in the Cauldron and in the objects of the Dread Trove and he is somehow Azriel's predecessor or that his shadows contain Koschei's essence.
What Vassa suspected is true. The death-lord Koschei has been whispering in Briallynâs ear. He remains trapped at his lake, but his words carry on the wind to her. He is ancient, his depth of knowledge fathomless. He pointed Briallyn toward the Dread Troveânot for her sake, but for his own ends. He wishes to use it to free himself from his lake.
From this quote we know that Koschei has the ability to communicate with people, even though his trapped at a lake. That leads me to assume the wind whispers back (and maybe it does in canon, but I don't remember). If that is so, then he heard about Feyre, the human girl who died and then was reborn made into High Fae. He must've also heard that when the 7 High Lords brought her back to life, a piece of them, a piece of their power, transferred to her, making her as powerful as Rhysand.
And he thought he could do the same, if he pulled all the strings right...
He manipulated Papa Archeron to travel to the continent to meet with him and trade away both himself and his daughters. And He manipulated the King of Hybern to have them thrown in the Cauldron...
...to be made into weapons - Amren had mentioned that the sisters might be as powerful as Rhysand after being Made, just as Azriel might be on the same level of power as Rhys - and to bear a part of his soul so he can get it back.
We later learn that the sisters accumulated power/powers from the Cauldron. Nesta took hers forcibly, while Elain's was a gift. And I believe there's a reason for it.
The Cauldron/Koschei sensed Nesta's resilience and that she could not be easily fooled, - remember how she broke through Tamlin's glamour in book 1? - but she stole from it nontheless.
Elain, though, the gentler, kinder, more naive of the two, was perfect. We know that she became a seer, but we don't know what else. I think, Elain is immensly powerful, even though we haven't seen it yet. I think she is more powerful than Nesta was, before she gave her power away.
And that leads me to what I speculate Elain's other power might be. Being associated with dawn is not a coincidence, not just for the Dusk Court theory, but also about her hidden power. A meeting of light and shadow. Beside the shapeshifting - which is not a sure thing, but it might have been foreshadowed - I think Elain has shadowfire, like Kaltain Rompier in ToG, or more accurately shadowlight and that power was triggered when Azriel offered her Truth Teller and she accepted it. When she touched TT she tapped into it and that's one of the reasons Feyre highlights that scene between them. Light. And dark. A bridge of connection. I'll cricle back to that because there's something more I want to add.
I also believe that the Cauldron/Koschei thinking Elain would be more easily manipulated was not the only reason it gave her gifts and purred in her presence.
The Bone Carver mentions :
"...Had I been braver, I might have bided my timeâwaited for their power to fade, for that long-ago Fae warrior to trick Stryga into diminishing her power and becoming confined to the Middle. Koschei, tooâconfined and bound by his little lake on the continent. All before Prythian, before the land was carved up and any High Lord was crowned.â Cassian and I waited, not daring to interrupt. âClever, that Fae warrior. Her bloodline is long gone nowâthough a trace still runs through some human line.â
That human bloodline could potentially be Vassa's. But what if there's another one though in the Archeron line? And that's why the Cauldron/Koschei has shown so much interest in her? Because that trace runs stronger in her blood and she could be made into a more lethal weapon and not just because she is beautiful? That also makes me consider the fact that Elain being a seer has nothing to do with her going into the Cauldron. That it's just simply the dormant magic in her blood being activated and that she can't sleep because a type of "bond" was created between her and Koschei and he's messing with her, not in a fun kind of way. I think he's preparing her, just like he said he did with Azriel.
Now, let's move on to parts Koschei's soul/essence-heritage (in Azriel's case) being inside Elain, Az and other objects.
âNo one really knows the full scope of the Troveâs powers. Beyond freeing him from his lake, Koschei may very well know something about the Trove that we donâtâsome greater power that manifests when all three are united.â
What Koschei might know, that other's don't, is that the Trove is in its core him, and that with it he will be truly unstoppable, a real God of Death, with his full powers and maybe something extra, since the objects were created in the Cauldron, thus restoring his soul in his body he will be some type of Made too.
It is said that the Trove has been used by Fae rulers as a way for them to establish and secure their rule (this seems like a plot hole to me in SJM's books actually or I wonder if it's actually misinformation started by Koschei and he was the only "ruler" who used them and none of the fae were made, at least, if they were it is not mentioned. Koschei, though, could be able to use them since part of his soul was in them, but not fully. Now, I'll continue building on the fact that they were indeed used by other fae rulers). What I suspect is that even though they were able to use these objects, they couldn't unlock their full potential, and neither does/will Koschei, because none of them are made. He might be able to access more of their power because his soul is in them, but he will still need someone Made.
Someone like Elain or Nesta.
In my line of thinking, Koschei needed people to go into the Cauldron, to be changed, made into something that combines both him and it, in order for them wield the Trove succesfully and free him from the lake. He may have tried it in the past with other humans, but was not successful, because in order to survive the person would need to already have magic in his blood. Maybe that's why Briallyn was turned into a crone, because she didn't possess magic.
I suspect that when Nesta gave back her power in order to save Feyre, the piece of Koschei's soul was guided back to him by the wind, or at least a large part of it. The same goes for Bryallin, but the whole part went back to Koschei because she died. And I do believe someone has to be dead, for him to get it all, and not leave behind a sliver.
Amren is also someone who went into the Cauldron, but I don't think she counts as something made, because she went as something other than human inside and gave up her own power instead of something she took/recieved from it. I could be wrong though. (In my mind, that scene with Amren is literally life, death, rebirth.)
Azriel, too, can only wield some part of the Trove and not the Trove as a whole thing, because he is not Cauldron-made.
*Again, this is just based on the assumption that there is a connection between him and Koschei. And that Elain has and the Trove have parts of his soul. I do not believe either Azriel or Elain are evil or will turn evil. So if someone who doesn't like Elriel and reads this, please don't twist my words out of context.*
The only one that remains is Elain.
She can locate the 4th Trove and wield it to its full power. She is the only one who can help Koschei and that's why he will target her and may have already started.
As for the objects, I think they have to be destroyed in order for Koschei to get his soul back. But maybe he doesn't want the soul back inside him, he just wants to have it back, hide it and control it to come back to his god-like status.
A thing that needs clearing up is what is L/cien's deal in all of this. Is really Elain's mate? I do not think so.
I think that Koschei manifactured the mating bond with L/cien to keep Elain and Azriel away from each other. I think he knew or could somehow sense that Az and Elain are mates, true mates, soulmates, and that if they accepted it, their bond would be stronger than his magic. What I didn't highlight before is that Feyre's mention of the Elriel painting makes me believe they're carranam. That scene is too significant to either be nothing at all or something of little importance.
Also, the Cauldron's power in the battlefield when it almost blasted Cassian in ACOWAR is described as "burning-light". That also factored into thinking that Elain has shadowfire/shadowlight.
And finally, what I think is the reason Koschei found a way to manipulate/trick Azriel.
"Again, the Cauldron sang its siren song."
A shake of the head. "No - but the shadows, the wind...They recoil."
Did you read that? If that's not foreshadowing, I honest to god will scream my lungs out.
Azriel's shadows reacted to the Cauldron's song. Something that only those who are Made can hear. There might be some truth after all that a deeper connection between Azriel and Koschei exists.
What new species were we introduced to in ACOSF? Lightsingers.
Who, for all intents and purposes, are described as what? As the modernized version of SIRENS.
Who do we know that has a strong, strong, strong assossiation with lovely singing, that puts people in a trance? And lures them in? Made people? People who one way or another Koschei wants to use? Who blabbed to Merill about the Trove? You guessed it! Gw/n.
This might be nothing, but it can also be everyhting.
It's not that farfetched to imagine Koschei having something to do with the Cauldron. Not what I said, but anything. And it's also not farfetched to say that G/wn is a lightsinger and Koshei is manipulating her (I actually believe that).
I claimed that there might be a part of Koschei's soul in the Cauldron, but he might be connected to it in some other way. It doesn't really matter right now. Let's continue with the assumption that indeed he controls it, where was one of the Cauldron's three feet hidden? At a temple in Sangravah. Who else was there? Gw/n.
If there is a link between Koschei and Cauldron, he's been whispering in Gw/n's ear since she was at the Temple. Otherwise, Merill is acting like a mediator or he found her another way. Her singing, that canonically put Nesta in a trance-like state, might be what Koschei uses to trick Azriel.
âI spend so many months preparing for you,â Koschei crooned, âand you donât even wish to speak to me?â
He spent months preparing him? How? What is the one thing that changed in Azriel's life when we read about him? He started training Nesta and her friends. Maybe Gw/n was supposed to do something to him. Maybe she already did it. Maybe she has his shadows in dazed and hazy state. Or she will.
âEyes can be blinded,â Nesta said.
âNot the ones under my command,â Azriel said with soft menace.
Was that quote Sarah telling us that his shadows - his eyes - will be outsmarted and fooled? And that he will find a way to break whatever "curse"/"spell" that is?
Before anyone asks : No, I don't hate Gw/n. No, I don't think she will be evil. Yes, I do believe she's a lightsinger. Yes, I do think Koschei is using her. No, I don't have to hate her to think that. Yes, I actually like Gw/n, canon Gw/n, not the other one that lives on Tumblr, Twitter, IG, and Goodreads.
For the antis out there : the Cauldron sings too, maybe that's Azriel's mate, because you know...singing...
