🌀🌀🌀 oooo oooooo i’m using my magic powers on youu you wanna yap about the moth crown sooo baddd 🌀🌀🌀 (/nf ofc <3)
Okay so I got two asks about this so I'm answering the one that's just objectively funnier. Had me dying, thank you.
(The other was from @red52z and asked more directly about Kam and Emil)
First, a bit of explanation/backstory:
Empheryne, being the goddess of the future, predicted the events of The Moth Crown hundreds of years in advance; though she could not see the details of what happened (during the time the story takes place, Empheryne’s crown is missing, and the crown is what allows her to see the future in detail), she began to prepare. She rarely interferes with the present or future world (and generally avoids mortals as much as possible), but her inability to see this portion of time worried her.
Empheryne wanted to ensure that she would have someone to essentially do her bidding in the mortal world when the time came for it. For reasons I have yet to think of, she chose a young man by the name of Emil Schneider, the son of a reasonably wealthy tailor family, raised with a high regard for the gods. She met with him and promised he would be essential for a mission far in the future, but first he could prove his loyalty, and to do that he had to complete a simple task: kill the person he loved the most. And he does. Emil kills his closest friend, Kamryn Carlisle.
Now, for the parallels:
Emil came from a powerful family, had a generally positive outlook of life, and enjoyed every moment in his life; he had a passion for the world (similar to Kronyle). Kam, meanwhile, came from humble origins and was largely uninteresting, invested in the world in a gentler sort of way (similar to Kronyle’s mortal lover).
Emil had to choose between the promise of a good future and his best friend (Kronyle had to choose between sparing his future pain or being with his love). Where Kronyle chose happiness in the present, however, Emil chose future greatness. Where Kronyle stayed with his lover, Emil killed Kam. In both cases, the person they care about dies because of them (either directly or indirectly) and in both cases, Empheryne has a hand in it. The key difference is that Kronyle chose his love over himself, while Emil chose himself (although he was manipulated by Empheryne’s insistence that it was necessary). Empheryne told them both to get rid of the man they cared for, that it would be best for the future, but only Emil did it. They both lost someone they loved because of the goddess and because of their own choices, but only Emil dirtied his hands.
Finally, Kam’s transformation into a killer parallels both Kronyle’s transformation from the joyous being he had been into something bitter and heartbroken, and the creation of Praetris - a new being born of the tragedy. Though Carlisle is, in essence, still Kam, he’s different, twisted, a new being in his own way, and it is because of Emil’s actions. He will forever be marked by the tragedy that made him this way, just as Praetris is, and they’re both bitter because of it. Where Kam’s hatred turns toward himself and Emil, however, Praetris’s bitterness is more of a longing to overcome the horrible things that marked the beginning of his existence. They both want to be more than a tragedy. In addition, when Kam returned to his home after being killed and transformed into a siren, his mother responded with fear and anger, turning him away; Praetris is constantly shunned and hated by his own “mother” (Empheryne) for being a painful reminder of what she did to her brother.
I would also like to add that it’s up for interpretation whether Emil’s feelings for Kam were romantic or platonic. Even if they had been romantic, he would not have admitted it to himself or anyone else, and it’s pretty unlikely that the feelings would have been reciprocated (although there is a chance).
Thanks so much for finally forcing me to explain this TvT 👍
If you have any followup questions, as always, feel free to ask
