#eythos

If you're new around these parts, here are some acronyms that may be used within to keep in mind as we go:

JLA = Jennifer Lynn Armentrout (author)

ACOGB = A Crown of Gilded Bones (third book in B&A series)

ASITE = A Shadow in the Ember (first book in F&F series)

TWOTQ = The War of Two Queens (fourth book in B&A series and most recent release)

My list in December 2021 contained fourteen(ish) characters. Of those fourteen, only one character was unalived in TWOTQ. So long and farewell to Isbeth, who I had down as #2 last year. I wasn't expecting her departure so soon, but I can't say I'm upset about it either.

Now onto my current list.

#17 - Hisa Fa'Mar

Ooo, this one hurts. This one hurts me. But I’ve read a LOT of fantasy and the ‘bury your gays’ trope is unfortunately strong in the genre. It’s getting much, much, much better, but until proven otherwise, I’ll always add some weight to the death chance percentage if they’re LGBTQ+. I originally had Perry here instead, but I’m not certain JLA would want to invoke the wrath of the Delano stans by hurting his love. 

We know she’s one of the people Casteel trusts most and is Commander of the Crown Guard. The woman is frequently in a dangerous position guarding Poppy and Casteel or fighting in their war. It would hurt me so much to lose this huge piece of LGBTQ+ representation, but I see it as a very real possibility. Can I also take this moment to point out that I need to see more of her and Lizeth’s interactions? Their ‘be careful but be brave’ mantra, however cliché some might see it, is probably my favorite inspirational quote to come out of this series to date.

#16 - Eloana Da'Neer

Eloana was much, much higher on my list last year. I’m not entirely sold on the idea of her being left alone forever, but I think her life is in a lot less immediate danger after the events of TWOTQ. Eloana didn’t appear at all in the flesh in TWOTQ. I understand it didn’t make sense plotwise for her to be there, but her absence was noted. I also believe Sera was able to burn off some of her revenge rage on Isbeth and she will now have at least one son to distract herself by caring for and a whole godsdamned world to save. Exacting revenge on Eloana could wait until she dies and Nyktos deals with her in the Abyss. 

#15 - Sage

Nothing has happened on the page to make me think that Sage’s number is being pulled, but it’s a feeling. She’s someone we don’t have a lot of history with yet who Poppy really likes and we’ve seen her interact briefly with other characters, like Naill and Reaver. Wolven, who the big three have had a connection to, have been killed in these pages with little warning before (namely Lyra and Arden). It wouldn’t take much to lose Sage either.

#14 - Valyn Da'Neer

After the bonding moments between Poppy and Valyn and the reunion scenes between Valyn and his sons, Valyn suddenly holds more emotional weight than he did just a book before. Considering his wife wasn’t featured in this book at all, it gave Valyn a chance to shine on his own and he did so marvelously. But unfortunately, it does paint a bit more of a target on his back. Like other parental figures in this series, he is now something that could be taken away from some big players in this series, causing pain, but one that they’ll have an easier time surviving and taking revenge for.

#13 - Poppy Da'Neer (temporarily)

The track that Poppy is currently on could see her becoming the ruler of Atlantia, Solis/Lasania, and Iliseeum. That is too damn much! Even just Atlantia and Solis/Lasania is too much! Just a few short months ago, this woman was the maiden. She’s never ruled a toothbrush, let alone a country. She’s barely spent any time in Atlantia, the only one of these three where she was formally named queen, before she had to traverse off to fight a war. Now this is no fault of her own, but how could anyone expect her to take on all of that responsibility straight out of the gate? It’s not healthy for her or the people.

That said, I’d like to believe that something will happen to relieve her of all of that duty. Unfortunately, the easiest ways for this to happen would be if she were to figure out how to give up her Primal powers, though I’m not sure how that could even happen considering it’s fundamentally tied into her life force, her soul. But this is where her death on this list comes in. I wouldn’t be surprised if JLA does go this route, and giving up that power, or even killing Kolis with that power, causes her to die. 

But I also can’t see JLA pulling an Allegiant and seriously killing off her heroine at the end, so it would be a temporary sort of death and could even serve to momentarily kill Casteel and Kieran, highlighting the gravity of such a choice as the Joining.

Ideally, this is what I’d like to see happen. I’d like to see Poppy retain her title as Queen of Atlantia and only that title, regardless of her power. I’d like to see Solis stay as its own country for a while, perhaps even change the name back to Lasania, with Millicent and Malik possibly ruling there. And finally, Sera and Nyktos holding their crowns in Iliseeum. This is a pipe dream, but it’s mine and I’d appreciate y’all letting me have it please.

#12 - Ires

When creating this ranking, I originally had him placed higher before I realized I had no concrete reason to do so. We haven’t really met Ires yet and what was said about him in TWOTQ was all from other characters’ perspectives, namely Isbeth and Reaver. I’m sure I won’t have some idea until we actually meet him, at which point it will likely be too late, but I don’t feel secure enough in his living to take him off the list entirely. If everything Isbeth said about Ires is true and he bedded Isbeth willingly, even after everything she did and what she meant to his twin, I would place him much, much higher. I just can’t place any degree of confidence solely in what that bitch queen said.

#11 - Queen Calliphe

To say that Sera has a complicated relationship with her mother is to put it lightly. It’s implied that their relationship wasn’t great before the beginning of ASITE, but Calliphe would try every once in a while to be there for Sera, showing up to practice or just sitting with her for a moment. That all changed drastically after the Primal of Death rejected Sera as his Consort in the prologue. Calliphe, who we know had never been physically affectionate with Sera due to her status as the maiden, gets physical with her, slapping her on the throne before blaming her for their misfortunes and cutting out Sera nearly entirely. 

As the book is from Sera’s perspective, we get a front row seat to her conflicted feelings about her mother. If someone, like say Kolis or Callum, were to kill Calliphe before Sera for whatever reason, it could cause untold emotional devastation for her. Particularly if she never has the chance to tell her mother that the Rot was never her fault like she wants to.

#10 - Malec

Originally I had Malec and Ires listed together. Then I remembered how very different these twins are, and how much more of a precarious position Malec may wake to find himself in. Malec will likely wake and have to deal with the aftereffects of his imprisonment, the realization of what Isbeth did in her grief, and his own mourning for the loss of his heartmate and son. That’s in addition to whatever happened before the events of Blood and Ash between Malec and his family that caused him to turn his back on Iliseeum. Eloana swears he was a good man at one point, just made some bad choices. Will he still be that man after all this time and agony? Will he want to be?

When Poppy asked if he was alive at the end of TWOTQ, Nektas answered “For now.” That is probably the most ominous statement at the end of that book and doesn’t bode well at all for this god.

#9 - Holland

Holland’s death would be a perfect way to devastate Sera. Only two people from her life before Iliseeum seemed to love her and care about her beyond her role as the future Consort: Princess Ezmeria and Holland. Holland filled bits and pieces of certain essential roles for Sera as she grew, never really fitting entirely into one box: mentor, father, brother, friend. As such, he became one of the only people Sera ever learned to trust, one of the only people she learned to be vulnerable around. The loss of his life could be seen as the final piece removed of whatever lingering innocence or desire for a normal childhood she may have had.

#8 - Eythos' soul

In ASITE, we find out from Ash that Ash’s father, Eythos, was killed and his soul was captured by Kolis. We don’t know what state that leaves Eythos in, whether he is aware or not or if he is any sort of pain. Kolis is also known to grant “final death”: the destruction of one’s soul, meaning the person in question just stops existing with no afterlife. I don’t see Kolis willingly giving up his brother’s soul, but I could see him either destroying it or Eythos somehow behind helped to escape for one final act before death.

#7 - Nyktos’ Court

Just like last time, I can’t narrow down who I believe to most firmly be sitting on the chopping block, but I find it highly unlikely that every single one of them make it through the Blood and Ash series alive. These gods have only been seen in the flesh in the pages of ASITE, which is what makes it so difficult for me to judge who may or may not die. I may be able to decide further depending on how ALITF goes, but as of right now, they’re all lumped in together. 

Just as a recap, these are the gods I’m referring to : 

Aios – Goddess of Love, Fertility, and Beauty

Bele – Goddess of the Hunt

Theon – God of Accord and War

Lailah – Goddes of Peace and Vengeance

Rhahar – the Eternal God

Rhain – God of Common Men and Endings

Penellaphe – Goddess of Wisdom, Loyalty, and Duty

#6 - Ector

~ ‘Cause I’m an international Super Spy! ~

Sorry for that. In the months since ASITE came out, it’s the first thing to pop into my troubled mind every time I think of his name. Because he’s totally a villain, right?

If he isn’t, cool cool cool, but the way he disposed of Hamid was so strange. In addition to that, after Bele’s Ascension, Ector and Saion seem to be at different levels of wary of Sera. Saion seemed unnerved but solid, like he was just concerned, but Ector read to me as almost afraid of Sera. Ector also seems none too pleased to be used as an errand boy, which we see earlier in the book when he delivers the dagger to Sera. He doesn’t show it in the Shadowlands, but he is asked to do small tasks by Nyktos quite a lot (grabbing a cloak before heading to the Rise, fetching a bowl of water and a towel for Sera, cleaning up the mess after Hamid) and I imagine if he were someone with an ego, he might be chaffed by that a bit. 

He also knew Eythos and Mycella before they were killed, which makes me raise my eyebrows a bit because we don’t know who killed Mycella. We know it was on Kolis’ orders, but it’s mentioned at one point that the gods in the Shadowlands don’t know if Kolis can even enter the Shadowlands now that he isn’t the god of death. Which tells me that they don’t think he’s been there since he ruled there, so he couldn’t have killed Mycella. But someone did…

It's also telling that he's the only Shadowlands god we've met that wasn't named in the Blood and Ash series.

#5 - Nektas

He’s gonna die to get Jadis to safety, isn’t he?

It seems like a very strong possibility that one whatever adventures everyone goes on to find and rescue Jadis, Nektas will end up staying behind to fight some yet unknown horror to give Poppy and Co. a chance to escape with his beloved daughter in tow. We’ve seen it played out time and time again over countless forms of media, the sacrifice to give others a chance to escape, because this trope works. When executed well, it’s heartbreaking and terrible in its selflessness. This death would also serve to cause pain to not just Poppy and her friends, but Nyktos, Sera, and their court.

#4 - Nyktos

If you’ve seen any of my other posts on this topic, you know that one of my greatest fears going forward is that Nyktos doesn’t see the end of this series. For a character who is so kind, decent, generous, and brave, it wouldn’t take much to have him sacrifice himself to save others. It could be anyone, from common folk to his children and grandchildren to his court to his queen. I think his death would mainly go in one of two ways: 1. defending his liessa or 2. captured (alive or just his soul) by Kolis to be used as leverage against Sera and/or Poppy.

#3 - Callum

While reading TWOTQ, did anyone else want to punch through their book every time he opened his golden mouth? He’s such an awful person and his death has been promised by several characters at this point, with more to join I’m sure. It’s not even a matter of if he will die, but who will be granted the pleasure of killing him. My money is on JLA giving it to Casteel, but I would love to see Millicent get the chance.

#2 - Kolis

What else is there to say about this steaming pile of excrement that couldn’t be summed up in a bevy of curses that would scandalize gentler ears? Kolis is the big bad in both of these series. He’s so villainous that there’s no point of redemption for him at all, not that anyone would want to see him redeemed. The entire point of the Blood and Ash series going forward is that Poppy has to kill Kolis. It’s the only way to save lives and restore balance to the universe. He is a guaranteed death at this point. 

He is also the only character I believe to be virtually guaranteed to have his soul destroyed. Seems only fitting that someone who looked at souls as if they were disposable would then have his own soul destroyed.

So why isn’t he number 1 on this list like he was last year? Well…

#1 - Seraphena Mierel

How could Sera possibly be featured higher than Kolis on this list?

I believe she is the only character still on the board who could have a very real possibility of dying twice between now and the end of both series.

Her first death I’m predicting to happen in the Flesh and Fire series. I have held the belief since ACOGB that Poppy actually died when Commander Jensen's people shot her through the chest. I don’t believe that her dormant Primal blood and Casteel’s blood was enough to save her. I think Nyktos caught her soul before it could cross and Sera actually helped save her, giving her a little life boost back to her newly Ascended body. But Poppy could have saved herself. As we discovered throughout this series, she was born a god (at least from Ires' side and whatever the hell Isbeth gave). She was never actually mortal.

But pieces of Sera very much are, as stated by Penellaphe at the end of ASITE. I think that Sera might end up gravely injured and could possibly even die temporarily before being brought back by Nyktos and possibly someone else (Eythos’ last act as a soul?). It doesn’t help that the Flesh and Fire series has some serious parallels to Poppy and Casteel’s story, with their own unique twists.

I also feel like she will die by the end of the Blood and Ash series. Once again, all conjecture, but if JLA keeps her pattern of making Poppy more powerful with each book, Poppy could very easily end up ruling Iliseeum by the end of the series. I hope this doesn’t happen, I don’t believe she’s ready and I’m certainly not ready to say goodbye to Sera. However, it is a possibility and fear in the back of my mind and it would be so easy for JLA to do.

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So there we have it folks. My complete list of all of the characters from the Blood and Ash series that I believe have the highest chance of dying post TWOTQ. I'm not sure if I'll revisit this after ALITF, but I will for sure revisit it after B&A 5.

These are the characters I had on my list of fourteen in December who, after TWOTQ and reevaluation, I believe are safe enough for right now (less than 50% chance of kicking the bucket): Malik (#8), Jasper (#9), Jadis (#11), and Millicent (#14).