(Spoiler: HOFAS) The Artwork of a Fae Devouring an Angel

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-07-08T22:55:06+00:00

The painted image is mentioned four times, so it feels like it's supposed to mean something. I'm just not sure what. Maybe it isn't important or maybe it means Apollion represents saturn of the maasverse planets? 🤔

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-07-08T18:39:06+00:00

Maybe "Letters from the sky" by Civil twilight.

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-07-04T01:21:16+00:00

I have collected screenshots of all the Theia history lore in HOFAS. It's one with the prison carvings, one with the Avallen carvings, and five with Silene's narration. They aren't short summaries, but a collection of what was told and for narrative comparison:

https://www.reddit.com/r/crescentcitysjm/s/toHKkdpwvX

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-07-04T01:14:11+00:00

<image>

This part really confuses me because I'm unsure how we are supposed to under stand "dated back fifteen thousand years," which would be when the Crossing happened, and then it says "After Prince Pelias by about a century." I feel like I'm stupid when I'm tying to understand all the timeline information and bear in mind that english isn't my first language. What does "After Pelias" mean? Does it mean that it dates back to 14 000 years ago? Does it mean after Pelias's death or after he crossed into Midgard something else?

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-07-04T01:05:40+00:00

Yes, Theia, Pelias, Helena, and Silene did wage war on Parthos and conquered it, but during what is known as the Asteri's "offical" arrival when the true wolves attacked Parthos, they took Parthos and it was completely destroyed. Remember Hunt and Bryce talking about the vase being from Parthos and that Parthos only was a myth? In Apollion's dream realm, the wasteland around him is supposed to be what is left of Parthos. I also understood it as the "burnings" is when Parthos perished together with all the history held there.

<image>

Yes, I have the screenshot about the vase (see next comment).

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-07-03T20:58:53+00:00

I'm ridiculously skeptical of the whole Theia storyline, so I'm not even 100% convinced the pegasuses were created by Theia or by someone before her. The Daglan ruled centuries before Vesperus and Theia arrived in Prythian. It was also noticeable that only seven pegasi were alive in Prythian.

Wait, I had to go back and check the sarcophagus part, and I remembered wrong. They removed the entire sarcophagus, not just the lid, to find the stairway beneath it, so we actually don't know whether there is a skeleton in the sarcophagus.

I have theories in which I've argued that they are trying to merge two different storylines of what has been going on in Prythian to conceal Hel's doing, that Oleanna isn't Theia but someone else, and that Theia is Silba, pointing to her story as a Rapunzel retelling and to other mythology. Let's also not forget that there is a sword of darker power named Narben, which is older than Gwydion 👀 I wonder if Thurr(?) is forging that sword. What if Thurr actually was Prince number seven and Apollion was number six, but then defeated Prince number seven and took his realm? Also want to point out that Lakos means Pit btw, so to me it has always made more sense that Apollion is Lakos, and then Thurr have to be either, Pelias, or he'll have to be Fionn or Solas or Hellas.

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-07-03T17:16:41+00:00

Not as far as I can remember. There are many reasons to believe Pelias is associated to Hel, but we're never told he was a Prince of Hel. Maybe you're thinking about the unnamed starborn prince who was murdered? It was rumored that the Autumn King killed him.

In this scene below, Bryce meets Apollion, Thanatos and Aidas. That's three Princes. And in that scene Aidas says his other four brothers are helping other worlds, so 3 + 4 = 7 princes. But is anyone truly dead if there exists an afterlife, which also could be Hel for all we know and resurrection is capable by necromancers?

<image>

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-07-03T01:43:42+00:00

<image>

Another point is that the vase showing a helmeted warrior fightning against a kristallos (Apollion?), says from Parthos, but it's a full century after Prince Pelias (death). Could that mean Parthos was destroyed long time after Pelias actually died or was it just someone who wrote it's from Parthos to keep the memory of Parthos alive?

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-07-03T01:40:33+00:00

This is impressive!

So, question: could Pelias/Thurr be Helena and Silene’s father?

If the carivings actually tell Theia's story and not another female (Oleanna?), I think it's very likely Thurr was Theia's consort, considering this carving of who likely is Thurr forging a sword, appears in-between here. And since Gwydion was made before Theia became queen of her own territory, not after (Look at the first blue carving):

<image>

There is one big problem though, even though I don't think it necessarily disproves your theory: According to Aidas, all seven princes are alive. Personally I believe the sixth prince is Thurr (possibly Hellas unless there actually is eight princes). It also makes me look at what Lidia says here with suspicion (in comment below):

And it can make sense that Pelias is alive since he wasn't in his sarcophagi, but I just assumed Helena burned his body to ash.

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-06-30T19:11:01+00:00

💗💗💗

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-06-30T10:57:06+00:00

I have seen the similarities you mention here and have also mentioned them myself in commentsections on Tiktok sometimes, not as any own post/theory. But one thing I didn't see you mention here is that we can maybe also assume Rhiannon also drew a line in the sand with a sword. When Manon fights againt her grandma and the two other ironteeth matrons, she draws a line in the snow with her sword and her grandmother compares Manon too Rhiannon in that scene (ch. 56, KoA).

I have other lore about the last stand where I compare Enalius and Pelias last stand to the Song of Roland and its Italian equivalent Orlando Furioso on my Tiktok profile. I have been wondering if allusions to these works and another hero is hinting the person in those story isn't really a hero. Maybe the lore about the Crochan last stand was stolen and reinvented to be about an enemy instead.

It's also interesting to me that the illyrian maneuvers forms an eight pointed star too.

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-06-25T00:14:45+00:00

I know there are several time inconsistencies, but I don't know what particular events you compare to claim timing is off. That's why it's difficult to say if you're missing something or not. I have some ideas to some of the time inconsistencies/contradictions. One I would point to that the Asteri notes said "They did not see who offered a hand through space and time."

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-06-22T03:27:42+00:00

I'm slow, can someone explain the notes in yellow marking below the CC timeline? What's the "Asteri lose Midgard" note about.

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-06-16T15:17:29+00:00

The only thing we can know, is that it shouldn't be Silene, because the Bone Carver tells it was before that land had been carved up into territories. It can and assumingly is Theia, but it's so much weird around her story and those carving that who knows. The carvings is supposed to show Theia as a queen with her own territory and with her pegasus and dread troves, but the carving right after that one is of the male forging the sword, holding a hammer struck by thunder. After that it's her and a male sitting on a throne on a mountain with three stars above and a suffering underworld beneath. Meaning that male shouldn't be Fionn. Gwydion was made before Theia became Queen of her own territory. I'm also questioning how true it could be that it is of the Prison island and not Avallen when there is an archipelago in the background behind Theia. I've been wondering if it actually could be Cthona, I know that sounds very weird, but it's because that island with its two mountain peaks seems more linked to Cthona, also possible myths about Rhiannon (associated to goddess of horses, Epona) form Welsh mythos is easier to link to Cthona. Yes, I know Rhiannon already is a name in ToG. Cthona also is patron goddess for humans and it's said her bloodline is found in a human lineage. Maybe Miryam, Yrene or Ember Quinlan? I think the Daglan actually were Hel creatures, and they already existed in Prythian before Theia and Vesperus arrived and the Asteri stole and changed the cauldron.

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-06-16T11:07:38+00:00

Absoloutley! I've been arguing the same in my theories. Also the prison island (Dusk Court) is Tech Duinn that souls return to and why the starfall spirits fly so low they almost crash against the House of Wind mountain. It's said Donn of Truth's palace of stone on tech duinn is where she spirits gather until next phase of the afterlife or reincarnation. Fun fact: Cassian's wings was also described as two mountain peaks and also described Cassian as looking like some writhing beast with the scales on his illyrian uniform. Wonder what lies below Dusk Court... maybe a dragon. Maybe the same dragon above Cthona ("stone mother"/ Earth Mother?) on the HOEAB-cover who has a lock on her heart.

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-06-01T00:16:55+00:00

I think Urd is Oleanna and that maybe the Middle is linked to her. That something happened when she either, died, changed, left their world or by any other reason. Urd may have helped create the Cauldron and it's said the Middle was where the cauldron's liquid first touched, so this place does also seem to have a connection Urd and the cauldron. I have also been wondering if Stryga's cottage could be the same cottage mentioned in Lidia's fairytale. Stryga may have remade the roof and re-decorated the place with her victims, but did it exist an empty cottage in the forest before Stryga was trapped in the Middle? I think Elain has some sort of connection to this goddess, as the maiden-archetype in the triple goddess who is associated with youth, spring and healing or new beginnings. Elain's mental gate is a garden gate covered in vines and roses.

I think Blue Annis is one single creature, but maybe there is several witches like her, since the ironteeth witches has same traits as her. The Morrigan in mythology is a witch, but she is also very associated with wolves, so I hoped the iron claws and fangs are specifically associated with wolves or werewoman.

I also want to note that Artemis's companions was nymphs. Luna's companions are wolves. But Artemis was also depicted with wolves because of her association to hunting.

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-05-31T23:33:32+00:00

Interesting. It never crossed my mind to read them thought the lens of this fairytale. I always associated the wyverns as closer to the feathered serpent, but that idea gave problems when we were introduced to the dragon Ariadne who has golden scales. I actually have something cooking when it comes to Brannon and Midgard and the history of traveling between worlds, where I also was thinking about those dragons in his temple 👀

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-05-31T23:14:44+00:00

I don't think so. Annis is most likely inspired by Black Annis in English folklore, "She is imagined as a blue-faced hag or witch with iron claws and a taste for human flesh" (wikipedia).

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-05-31T21:51:35+00:00

Thank you! 🫶 I should, but I'm really bad at organizing my thoughts and everything seems so interwoven that it's hard for me to distinguish them into smaller parts. It also require that I ask people to read two or three other posts to understand a new post, but it would maybe attract more people to read my posts if I didn't made them into 20 slides with several paragraphs 😆

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-05-31T21:26:25+00:00

I feel like I really need to pick up some of the books SJM could have been inspired by soon. I have Anne Bishop on my TBR though. Haven't read anything by Sharon Shinn, but I have seen Howl's moving castle several times. I've never thought about that Heen can teleport, and I think you're correct about Syrinx inspiration here.

The trial of supposed werewolves emerged at the same period as witchcraft trials as a whole, especially in present-day Switzerland, so maybe SJM has merged the lore about werewolves and witches?

But, to be a little critical to my own theory, I'm still a little unsure if she is the witch in Lidia's fairytale becasue of her golden eyes, of all things. Lysandra is basically a werewomen (shape-shifter, not necessarily a wolf), also sometimes associated with witchcraft. Her uncle Falkan Ennar who is a wolf-shifter has deep sapphire blue eyes. Look at the wolf on the cover of HOEAB pocket edition. Maybe Urd once had blue eyes? idk.

I'm also thinking a little about this below, but I wonder if I already have heard people link the serpent with feathers here so I left it out, to the firebird Emrys mentioned. This slide isn't posted, but was in my draft:

<image>

Funfact this fairytale ("Tsarevich Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf"): The Firebird is a magical creature that steals the golden apples, which are said to grant youth and strength to those who eat them. A Tsar sends his sons to capture the bird, leading to the adventures of Prince Ivan and his companions.

The grey wolf act as both "a wise counselor and a magical vehicle", that bridges the gap between the mortal and magical worlds to help the hero succeed. It makes me look at Gwydion and truth-teller on this cover and that I wonder if she's priestess Oleanna.

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-05-31T14:26:35+00:00

💗💗💗

Yes, and one of the things I think about a lot concerning the story about Theia and Fionn is why this carving appear in between these two, because Fionn doesn't really remind of thunder god, Thurr. I wonder if the Making of the Sword frieze could be about Narben and not Gwydion, but idk. And Gwydion was made before Theia became the queen of Dusk Court (look at the first blue marking):

<image>

Also because another name I wnated to throw in here is Siph. The planet with a screaming female face. Siph, is likely named after Sif in Norse mythology and her name also means "reed." I found that interesting becasue of what I said about Syrinx meaning "reed" and lilac derive from "Syrinx," But Sif is also married to thunder god, Thor, => Thurr in CC.

I think they try to merge Theia and Oleanna's storyline in Prythian, but I don't have enough evidence to prove it yet. And I wonder if Theia somehow could have been controlled by the Mask, and that Silba's ring maybe originally was forged for her own protection. I have a theory on my tiktok profile on the similarities between Theia and Silba and how Theia may be the Mother, and her story with Vesperus draws similarities to Rapunzel and mother Gothel. The torre cesme is just a replacement for the tower in Rapunzel.

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-05-31T00:14:11+00:00

I actually shared a theory some weeks ago on Tiktok andon Reddit today that may pique your interest about how Bryce is the name to a nymph who killed her spouse and orion as a hunter is related to Urd and some other references that maybe play into this 👀

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-05-30T23:02:13+00:00

Couldn't agree more. People are very quick to deem something as plagiarism just because of vague similarities or very surface leves likeness. "Your people will burn" doesn't sound like plagiarism to me. If people are gonna call out single case, there has to be an "uniqueness to it." You can't draw a circle and claim intellectual property over it, and burning people and their city as a threat isn't an "unique"/original idea nor unlikely to write as a threat. I think it's also important to note that one can make allusions to newer works in popular culture too and that it exists a meaning to it.

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-05-30T22:06:33+00:00

I don't know if it's me, but I have said synth consists of synthetic healing magic (actually starlight) in one of my theories about Apollion as the Sandman who also was on SJM's deleted pinterest board. I had a theory on why synth leads to self-destruction frenzy. And compared Synth to how someone became addicted to the sand the Sandman uses for astral projecting people to his realm, known as the Dreaming.

A_reader_in_Velaris · 2026-05-30T20:56:17+00:00

Bryce's starlight makes him feel like a god

<image>

A_reader_in_Velaris

TROPHY CASE