#thin places

When Nesta uses scrying—an ancient form of divination—to locate the Cauldron, we learn the stones symbolize the three faces of the Mother, and we’re left to wonder what the four bones mean. Some of us have theorized the Mother may go by other names, such as Chaos and Cthona, and Chaos in particular gives us a clue about what complementary force the bones might channel. Apollion refers to Chaos as his dam (translation: mother) and this seems to be the same force that speaks in threes as the second half of the Book of Breathings. Her magical counterpart is Void (nothing, darkness), and we’re told this force existed in the beginning. Before.

So, I believe that after Amren says, “Three stones for the faces of the Mother,” it should be followed by, “and four bones for…the Father.”

Or even better, because these seem to be witchy tools, and different creatures have different terms for the same forces, “and four bones for…her heart of Darkness.” A nod to the Eye of the Goddess sacred to witches in Erilea.

Invoking those opposing forces (Void and Chaos) creates the necessary balance to access the place where they meet:

The space between, where reality and dream entwine.

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Accessed through real and invisible doors and pathways. In Erilea, they are called Wyrdgates and they can be summoned and accessed through a secret language called Wyrdmarks.

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These pathways in the Wyrd are also called Ley Lines. Wyrdgates, the black spaces where life can pass through (where Void and Chaos meet), are known as Thin Places.

Those with powerful sight seem to access these pathways and places, as I (here), @offtorivendell (here), and @merymoonbeam (here) have suggested, and they are connected to the Cauldron.

Wyrd.

She is many things: a mother to all, a force winding between worlds that constantly shifts form, a language of creation, and a cauldron brimming with life.

The Cauldron is older than the Suriel and they are ancient. The Suriel tells us they are older than Prythian, older than even the bones of this world.

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But Silene said the Cauldron was of the fae’s world, their heritage—is this simply a retcon from hofas, or did the Cauldron come from an even older world of fae? While it wasn’t known broadly in Midgard (Bryce had never heard of it), the Under-King knew what Wyrd was and described it in the various terms I mentioned above, including a cauldron of life. He also just happens to be from what he refers to as the old world (Erilea). Did the Cauldron come from Erilea or an even older world, like the realm of the gods? Is that why the Asteri/Daglan (near gods), feared it and sought to warp it to their advantage?

I talked about how Elriel might be connected to mist and ley lines in this post and then I remembered another quote that has mist in it...

“A bird of burning feathers,” I said. “Firebird by day,” Rhys mused, “woman by night … So she’s held captive by this sorcerer-lord?” Elain shook her head. “I don’t know. I hear her—her screaming. With rage. Utter rage …” She shuddered. Mor leaned forward. “Do you know why the other queens cursed her—sold her to him?” Elain studied the table. “No. No—that is all mist and shadow.”

This is about vassa and why the other queens sold her to Koschei.

You might ask how this connects to ley lines...

Look at this quote describing what ley lines are.

“No,” Aidas agreed. “But Helena knew that Midgard possessed its own magic. A raw, weaker sort of magic than that in her home world, but one that could be potent in high concentrations. She learned that it flowed across the world in great highways, natural conduits for magic.” “Ley lines,” Bryce breathed. Aidas nodded. “These lines are capable of moving magic, but also carrying communications across great distances.” Like those between the Gates of Crescent City, the way she’d spoken to Danika the day she’d made the Drop. “There are ley lines across the whole of the universe. And the planets—like Midgard, like Hel, like the home world of the Fae—atop those lines are joined by time and space and the Void itself. It thins the veils separating us. The Asteri have long chosen worlds that are on the ley lines for that exact purpose. It made it easier to move between them, to colonize those planets. There are certain places on each of these worlds where the most ley lines overlap, and thus the barrier between worlds is at its weakest.” Everything slotted together. “Thin places,” Bryce said with sudden certainty. “Precisely,” Apollion answered for Aidas with an approving nod. “The Northern Rift, the Southern Rift—both lie atop a tremendous knot of ley lines. And while those under Avallen are not as strong, the island is unique as a thin place thanks to the presence of black salt—which ties it to Hel.” “And the mists?” Hunt asked. “What’s the deal with them?” “The mists are a result of the ley lines’ power,” Aidas said. “They’re an indication of a thin place. Hoping to find a ley line strong enough to help her transfer and hide Theia’s power, Helena sent a fleet of Fae with earth magic to scour every misty place they could find on Midgard. When they told her of a place wreathed in mists so thick they could not pierce them, Helena went to investigate. The mists parted for her—as if they had been waiting. She found the small network of caves on Avallen … and the black salt beneath the surface.” (hofas)

So it veils and mist is about where ley lines are at most...veiling is also important here bc Im gonna use it compare and add why elain used "mist and shadows" as an explaination why she couldnt see it.

We are gonna use the fourth dread trove and what nesta saw in acosf

A fourth object lay on the altar, veiled in shadow. But she couldn’t make out more than a gleam of age-worn bone—

This here I think connects to leylines bc the fourth dread trove was in crescent city so Nesta couldnt see it... only that it was veiled in shadows and what ley lines do? Veil the space between the world.

So...veil...mist...shadow....it is all connected.

And now shadows...I think it is pretty obvious. Azriel. Shadowsinger. And this connection I added in my thin places/ley lines post. Im adding the link again. You can find all the parallel quotes to this 👇🏻 in there.

Azriel didn’t give them a chance to exchange another word before murmuring shadows swept around them. Nesta couldn’t help clinging to Azriel, gleaning on some innate level that if she let go, she would tumble through this space between places and be lost forever.

And how Vassa connects to this...

I talked about Vassa and Elain connections in this post about the swan lake and how Sarah might use it for Vassa's storyline.

a staircase ascending upwards, framed pictures on the wall to the right. a pink haze over everything. the image is distorted by VCR static. white text reads:

[028] THE CURSE. A CALLER RETURNS TO A DARK PLACE. THE HOST DOES TOO.

listen here, or anywhere you find your podcasts. transcript under the cut: