The Introverted Bibliophile

Nyktos: *razes a mountain getting to Sera, makes out with sera in the middle of a battle, holds sera in his lap while making war plans*

Attes:

Nyktos: *adamantly refuses to let sera die, responds aggressively if anyone says something else is more important than sera, calls sera pet names more than he ever calls her sera*

Attes:

Sera: it’s just so sad, but it is what it is

Nyktos: *threatens attes for smiling at sera*

Attes:

Attes:

Dominic: Of course, Amor.

Alessandra: Your smile is the most beautiful smile I've ever seen.

Dominic: Can I say something as well?

Alessandra: Yes.

Dominic: This smile only exists when I'm with you.

Rowan and Aelin - Throne of Glass

August 18th, 2023 will be Percy’s 30th birthday. I haven’t finished Tower of Nero but I still want to imagine what some of them are up to.

Percy - Swimming instructor at a school for disadvantaged kids. Annnabeth - Architect gaining renown for delivering any design imaginable.

Grover - Traveling lord of the wild reviving nature in concrete jungles. Juniper - Now runs the Council of Cloven Elders.

Carter - Archaeologist specializing in Ancient Egypt. Sadie - Heavily anti-colonial Egyptology prof. at King’s College London.

Reyna - Attending college in New Rome after having left the Hunters for love.

ASH will Ascend Sera:

1. Ash has "fallen" for Sera in the same vein as the Ancients "fell" and developed kardia/emotion in the first place. This is evident in Nektas's language "he is how you wish him to be." It's clear he is unable to recognize what love feels/tastes like and is unable to place the emotion at the coronation once Sera realized she was in love with him. He feels peace with Sera according to Nektas, we know peace is a defining feature of true love in the JLA-verse because Aios (goddess of love, etc in Poppycas time) describes it as such when Sera asks her before the coronation. He is willing to choose Sera's safety over that of his people/the shadowlands/the world - he admitted he wasnt protecting the embers, he was protecting Sera. This emotional reaction is not the logical/able to put aside caring for the greater good he described in SITE as the advantage of not loving one person above all others.

-there's also the language I've seen pointed out that without a kardia you cannot love someone "not of your own blood" and how Sera has consumed Nyktos's blood so its a loophole

2. Ash will have his kardia restored by Maia or Aios (since Sera Ascended her at the end of ALITF) and will make it to Sera before Kolis drains her of blood and starts the Ascension

-I havent thought this one out as much because it seems more direct narratively, but the “narratively direct” route just doesn’t seem like JLA’s style so this one is much less likely to me

KOLIS will Ascend Sera:

1. This was my immediate assumption at the end of ALITF because Kolis had already begun the process of draining Sera for the embers when he realized she had Sotoria's soul within her. We know that Kolis loves Sotoria (in a twisted, possessive way) and he is currently the Primal of Life, so he could meet the "blood of the Primal that one of the embers of life belonged to" criteria even though he stole his embers from Eythos. Holland states "she will die without the love of the one who Ascends her." We know that only one of the embers in Sera technically belongs to Ash so the other ember (I believe it belonged to Eythos, right?) is the one that would likely respond to Kolis since he stole his brothers birthright and we know he drained Eythos's life force as well (there's also the loophole of blood meaning family, Kolis being Nyktos's uncle and blood relative). 

Narratively, Kolis saving Sera and Ascending her into the Primal of Life makes sense because of the narrative trend of Kolis/Nyktos being swapped in Sera's understanding (her destiny was to kill Kolis, not to kill Nyktos; Kolis caused the Rot, not Nyktos; she tries to run off to seduce Kolis and continue her plan that was originally meant for Nyktos, etc). This also provides reason and closure for Sotoria's soul and possibly explains why Nyktos states he believes Sera is right and she has two souls, hers AND Sotoria's, instead of being another reincarnation of Sotoria alone (I imagine Sotoria's soul/life force would be removed from Sera's body/drained in place of Sera's).

Also Kolis bringing about his own reckoning because of his obsession with Sotoria, giving her/Sera the power to end him and fulfill the prophecy makes for great storytelling

-my main hangup about this is that its not a great message about love because clearly Kolis is toxic and I would hate for it to be confirmed he does truly love Sotoria, but with the narrative trend of unhealthy/ obsessive love (Isbeth to Malec, Eythos/Mycella/Kolis, Nyktos's whole reason for removing his kardia being the fall of the Ancients due to love) and Sera's philosophy on goodness/trying to be good I feel like its a real possibility

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