Who is Elain Archeron?
Elain is the seer for the Night Court, as well as sister to the High Lady, Feyre Archeron, sister-in-law to the High Lord, Rhysand, and sister to Nesta Archeron, warrior.
She is one of 2 cauldron made individuals in the entirety of Prythian and the mortal lands.
She is someone who sees the good in everyone, volunteers to help others, lives with kindness, and embraces change.
She works to help others after the second war with Hybern in an effort to bring more joy to the world through teaching people how to cultivate and tend to gardens.
She offers a helping hand and nurtures others, such as when she saddles up Feyre's horse in ACOTAR and packs supplies for her.
She welcomed Feyre back home despite the fact that Feyre was now high fae, and Elain had been taught to fear high fae her whole life.
She is humble, despite being noted as a great beauty, and is gracious towards others, often making friends everywhere she goes.
She is highly observant and makes use of her observations in important moments such as when she encouraged Feyre to be kind about Winter Solstice and noted that people had died to preserve the right to have those traditions.
She is thoughtful and on several occasions goes out of her way to get gifts for people that she thinks might help them or make their lives better, such as when she gives the twin wraiths, Nuala and Cerridwen, plush blankets in ACOSF. She also gives Nesta a book from her favorite bookstore and gives Azriel headache potion, which she had made for him, based on her observation that everyone always gives him headaches.
She is also able to meet the moment when needed. She was the one who convinced Nesta to help Feyre and the IC during ACOMAF and allow them to meet the human queens at the Archeron Manor.
She is the one who shouted a warning to Feyre during ACOMAF that Tamlin was trying to forceably take her and winnow away despire the great danger she was in and fear she felt.
She was the one who offered to go to Grayson to ask for his help in providing safe haven for the humans in her former village, despite the pain of seeing him.
She used her visions to kickoff the search for Vassa, who was integral to winning the war.
She was the one who offered to use her sight to find the Suriel to help Feyre during the war in ACOWAR.
She kicked the hounds off of Azriel despite being chained and encouraged Briar to jump on his back to escape the war camp.
She was the one used her visions to prevent Hybern from killng Cassian and Nesta by stabbing him in the neck using Truth Teller. She may have also wielded shadows and used Truth Teller to its full capabilities in order to clear the battlefield and make it to Nesta and Cassian in time.
She shows her love and care for her family, even when they are unkind or when it is difficult for her. She often prepares meals for them, and she designed Feyre's birthday gift and made a point to acknowledge Feyre's role as the foundation of their family, which further shows her observation skills and humility.
She volunteered to continue scrying to help the IC find the Trove despite the Cauldron luring her away to danger in ACOWAR because she wants to help her family and her court. Even after Nesta interfered to disallow it, Elain confidently asks that they find her when they are ready.
She is brave and has shown a willingness to act for herself, take the reigns of her own life, be independent, and free herself of patriarchal traditions that dictate she is another fae male's property due to a mating bond she did not ask for and actively does not want. And she does this all while recovering from being groomed by her mother and trained to be a people pleaser.
She will not let a mystical, corrupted cauldron control her life or make her choices and will take risks to live her life on her terms.
She processes her trauma, her pain, and her sense of loss after being turned against her will and having her bodily autonomy violated by taking her time to feel her emotions and grieve in her own way. She healthily makes it out on the other side of her pain and settles into her new life even though it is not the one she chose for herself.
Her visions about heartbeats are widely believed to be about the Dusk Court, and her visions about a black box are theorized to be about Koschei, both of which will be integral to future ACOTAR books.
She has shown a keen ability for stealth and secrecy, both traits that are highly prized for spies and by the spymaster of the night court.
She is not afraid of people's darkness and often makes friends with people who are surrounded by shadows.
She can make Azriel feel seen, calm, and understood without needing to say anything, and even he notes that she knows how he feels and why he does the things he does without him needing to say. She makes him laugh with a joy and fierce happiness in his eyes that one of the people closest to him had never even seen.
She brings light and joy to his eyes, and he has stayed up all night to listen to her talk and has chosen to sit with her in companionable, comfortable silence. She is who he wants, who he thinks of at night, and who he will choose.
She makes Azriel question his religion, his customs, and his high lord.
She is who he will beg on his knees for. She is who he will fight for.
She is the woman that calms his shadows and makes him feel safe and brings him peace.
She is the one he will choose, his chosen mate and life partner, and together they will change their culture and their lives.
And that my friends is facts. Sorry but a ribbon and a sassy one-liner is not erasing this.
Elain Archeron, kindness incarnate and Azriel's future.
Art by Termesart
