human rebellion theory
If the Vanir are so powerful, why let the human rebellion go on for as long as it has? If just one Asteri on a battlefield means destruction for the other side (which Bryce states outright), why not just destroy the human rebellion? They have no magic, you’d think it would be easy.
I think it’s because the Asteri need to allow the Vanir to have something to fight against, because they need a reason for more of the immortal Vanir to die.
The Asteri rely on the Vanir’s firstlight when they make the drop, and their secondlight when they die. But Vanir are some level of immortal, at least very long-lived. So how can the Asteri make sure Vanir die more often so they can get more secondlight?
By throwing them into this war, letting them fight against the humans (who are useless to the Asteri in terms of firstlight/secondlight), and in the processs, Vanir die in the fights and their secondlight can be consumed by the Asteri.
And as a bonus, the Vanir get an “enemy” to fight against so they’re too distracted to fight the Asteri.
