#a reaper at the gates
Spoilers for a sky beyond the storm.
Honestly the only way I’m coping is by holding onto the belief that Avitas Harper is actually alive. That ending did not happen. That book did not happen. I did not wait for years for that to be how this ends. With a random maelstrom trying to eat them or whatever. Never mind that it makes no sense because why would NB go to all the trouble of saving his people to kill them three months later.
My grievances with the book are numerous, but I’d have forgiven it entering YA fantasy trope land if she had at least let Avitas live.
I don’t mind Helvitas’s ending in A Sky Beyond The Storm. Their relationship always made me uncomfortable considering the first time they meet is him beating her for five days and beating her so bad her father was horrified upon seeing her. It wasn’t a light beating either and her family ended up having to nurse her back to health afterwards.
- “Father?” What in the bleeding hells is he doing here? Is Marcus using him as leverage? Planning to torture him until I give up information? “Your Majesty.” My father’s voice as he addresses Marcus is smooth as glass, so uninflected as to be uncaring. But his eyes flick to me, horror-filled.
- “Six broken ribs, twenty-eight lacerations, thirteen fractures, four torn tendons, and bruised kidneys.”
Helene was even so traumatized by it that when Avitas so much as moved his hands she would flinch. Then as time progresses he never brings it up again. Never apologizes. Never sits down and talks about it with her. Granted that still wouldn’t magically make everything okay. I’d still find it very problematic but at the very least it still should’ve been acknowledged. That’s not to say he’s a bad guy. As all masks had to do horrific things in their life. So I don’t think Avitas is evil or anything like that. I actually think as a friend he’s fantastic. I do not hate him. He’s done many good things and has been there through some of the roughest times to help out and battle through. He clearly is kind and does believe in the cause he’s helping. It’s just this concept of their relationship is not okay to me. As well as the fact that the reason she caught his eye in the first place was because he realized that she was close to his brother so that peaked his intrigue. They just started off on the worst foot that I can’t look past it. It feels wrong to romanticize a relationship that had started with trauma and assault and try to pass it off as okay cause he ends up deciding to team up with her and be nice to her afterwards.
Its very triggering actually.
It’s just a very sensitive topic for me.
He crossed a line when he brutally tortured her and that’s something he can’t undo. The damage has been done and it took a huge toll on Helene afterwards. Both physically and mentally. It also doesn’t feel right to me that instead of talking about it together Helene just justifies the situation for him to herself so she can accept him as an ally. No matter how nice he was to her afterwards it doesn’t erase or lessen the grief he put her and even her family through. She wasn’t able to feel trusting or comfortable around him for months and not in an enemies to lovers sort of way but because she genuinely felt threatened and would remember the interrogation torture whenever she saw him. I’m not saying this means his character is completely ruined and no one should ever like him. I still like him enough. Just not as a love interest. Avitas by himself? Perfectly fine. But pairing him up with the girl he tortured, traumatized, and whose mere presence had her on edge and would make her shudder and recoil whenever he was near, not so much. So I’m satisfied with their ending and glad Sabaa ended it that way.
I feel…conflicted.
I do mind their ending, a lot. I feel like it was written badly and wasn’t believable considering the characters involved. But then again, I think the whole of Sky was a plot disaster so what’s new.
Having said that, there are really valid points here. One of the things that bothered me about Sky in particular was that the torture was never, ever brought up. It had bothered me since Torch, but I thought surely as their relationship was developing, we’d see that conversation. And we didn’t. Not even a mention of it.
Even in Torch it was mostly glossed over. There’s this moment where Avitas goes to give Helene the Blood Shrike’s ring only a few days after he tortures her, and she flinches away from him. She’s terrified, quite reasonably, because she instinctively thinks he’s going to hurt her. And why wouldn’t she? But that’s the only mention of it. It’s literally not brought up again, or not that I can remember, so forgive me if I missed a quote.
Again, it’s not brought up in Reaper and by this point they’re working really closely together. Even if they didn’t have a conversation about it, you’d expect it to at least be a part of Helene’s internal monologue, but it isn’t. And then in Sky, when their relationship really gets going again, they don’t talk about it and Helene doesn’t think about it.
I can’t believe that for one single second.
It also doesn’t seem to fit with the character Sabaa created for Avitas. He obviously feels like he isn’t a worthwhile person. He even says to Helene that he assumes his brother got their father’s better qualities. And although he supports the Empire, he’s also angry at it, as evidenced by his expression in Reaper when they’re going to fight, and Helene thinks about the fact that Avitas is Plebeian. I feel like he would have talked about it with her. Because he was carrying so much guilt around. He was so careful after that so I don’t believe that he wouldn’t have wanted to know that she was ok with the development of their relationship.
I do think we can’t apply our standards to their relationship and say it was terrible. I’m not condoning either physical or emotional abuse for one second. But the whole society they were living in was violent and terrible. It’s not like Helene hasn’t murdered people with her bare hands before. But what I do expect is that when a relationship begins, the characters at least acknowledge their past. And that torture, it was part of their past. A really messed up part of it that needed to be talked about.
I also think Sabaa has a responsibility to her readers. Many of us can look at the relationship with a critical eye and also the plot and writing in general. We can see how there are numerous faults with the book and include that along with it. But there are lots of fans of the series who aren’t critical of it in the slightest. What kind of message does this send to them?
I’m still so angry about the ending they got, particularly because I think Sabaa really just wanted to take everything from Helene and it made for really cheap writing in the end. But there are layers of issues here, and this one deserves to be acknowledged.
Honestly the more I think about ASBTS the more I’m convinced I won’t read one of her books again. Which makes me sad to say because I adored the series up until that point. But meaningful interactions were swept aside to be replaced by quite frankly laughable plot devices and ridiculous outcomes. I’m not here for it, there are better books out there.
Top 10 AEITA Characters:
10. You
9. Just
8. Can’t
7. Rank
6. Them
5. They’re
4. All
3. Fricking
2. Amazing
1. Helene Aquilla and Avitas Harper
Fight me. And no, I will not choose between them.
So I was going through Saba Taahir’s Q/A session on Instagram that she recently did and someone asked her why does she enjoy writing a character’s death? (Or something along those lines) and she goes she likes writing complete story lines that sometimes end in death.
First of all I seriously CANNOT be the only one that thought that Harper’s story line was incomplete. This is my personal preference and means no offense to the writer but I refuse to accept Harper’s death and that supposedly his story line was complete. That’s utter bs. His story line was not complete, his character death was absolutely unnecessary and added nothing to the plot. Everything that happened after he died still would have happened if he lived only Helene would have finally gotten the happy ending she deserved.
I’m getting worked up again.
This this this. And it’s ironic because Mirra’s character arc did feel complete. I’m not saying Laia didn’t deserve to have a mother, she absolutely did and it’s quite honestly tragic that she lost all of her family. But Mirra’s death felt fitting with the story. So if Sabaa likes writing complete arcs why bring Mirra back? And why kill Avitas and Darin when their stories weren’t complete? There was still so much unknown about Avitas. His relationship with Elias, his motivations. And same with Darin. Poor Laia has spent the better part of two books either as a slave or fighting her way through the countryside to get him out of prison then boom he’s dead. Killing Darin in Kauf would have made more sense than at the end. But killing them both at the end made zero sense. And yes I get it, good people die in war and it makes no sense etc. I see this argument to defend this choice and I do get it. But also, may I remind you that this is a book? Authors make choices when they’re writing that fit the arc of that character. If they’d died in ways that actually reflect their character I’d have been sad, but I could understand it. But Darin rushes off to help Laia and you’re telling me that she couldn’t have used her new magic mind chat to ping him to let him know she’s ok? And Avitas, a trained mask, clearly one with incredible skill first let his armor come loose then failed to dodge not one, but two blades. Get out. Sky was a bad book. I talk about the deaths a lot but it was a bad book for more than just that. In fact, the deaths are only a small part of it. I loved the series up until Sky, and as I was reading it all I could think was that I’d waited years for that? I know some fans of the series won’t like me saying it, but it fell into all the worst tropes of ya fantasy and lost the qualities that had made it a wonderful series up until that point. Happy to expand on the many reasons why I think the book was terrible, but I’ll save that for another post.
Laia: Shoutout to Sabaa for giving everyone the hea they deserved. Me and Elias, Elias and I, we’re happy.
Helene, Avitas, Faris, and the rest of the f***ing world:
I’m happy for you Laia but really…
So a few weeks ago someone asked me if I would consider doing another Laia and Elias from the Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir since the last book was coming out soon. At first I didn’t thought about it but around this week the idea popped into my head. So in my spare times I started doing this illustration and I’m really happy that I could finish it before the book release. So to create more hype, here you have this couple illustration. Hope you like it as much as me! I’m still learning how to do this kind of lighting
Post link
Rewritten - Helene x Avitas
I needed to write this to preserve my sanity and otp - the world needs more Helvitas shippers
***
“Harper, no-” I whisper. “No- please- ”
I promise I will keep you safe. The vow I made Zacharias. The vow that had been for Harper too.
I will not lose him.
But the blood flows too quickly. I cannot stop it, I cannot save him. It is impossible.
The Commandant, traitorous bitch that she is, watches me, basking in my suffering. But her training manages to take root in my mind yet. And impossible is one word that has never existed in the world of Keris Veturia.
The pain in my side pierces through me anew as a second dagger digs into my hip. Still, my power should be enough to sustain both me and Harper.
I have already been broken, if he is lost to me, I will be nothing at all.
Avitas’s song floats quickly to my lips. I venture into his soul, more deeply than before, sharing his pain, feeling his love in its purest form.
Waves of exhaustion pour over me, and still I sing. I sing of his past, I sing of his hopes for the future, our future. I sing until my voice is cracked and broken and I can sing no more. Don’t you dare die on me now.
Stupid bleeding orders, Shrike.
The light continues to seep from his eyes in time with the unending flow of blood from his chest.
“Emifal Firdaant, Harper,” I lower my gaze to his. “May death claim me first. I will be damned if I let the love of my life get there before me. Emifal Firdaant.”
He reaches out his arm with striking swiftness. I look up to see one of the Commandant’s daggers clenched in the palm of his hand. His smile is weak, voice low as he whispers, “Helene, don’t lower your guard.”
The deadly white hue of his face has begun to color, scarlet blood pooling on his chest, but flowing no longer. And his reflexes and overprotectiveness are as perfectly irritating as ever.
“Skies, Avitas, shut up.” I press my lips to his and the world is right again.
“Poor little girl. If not for your worthless love, you may have lived yet.” Keris approaches us, dagger in hand, murder in her eyes. And something else, something shimmering right on the surface of all her walls. Disappointment?
It does not matter. For when I tell Keris of her mother, when Mirra of Serra brings steel to her throat and grants her the same end as my family, I am sure she will bite her words forevermore.
***
The formalities that come with the aftermath of the war are made bearable with Avitas by my side as Shrike. And though I am occupied with my duties on many nights, there are others when Harper and I spend much time together occupied by… other things.
***
“Happa!” Zacharias greets Avitas with an adorable grin and his first word.
“Zacharias, you know Auntie Empress, right?” I glance at Harper. “He calls me ba.”
“Whatever you say, Sheep sir.”
***
“Hel, is that a bleeding smile?” Avitas and I dance through the streets of Nur, eye to eye, his warm hands placed firmly on my hips.
“Well, you dance… not unpleasantly.”
“I remember you saying something similar about my smell.” His green eyes shine in the moonlight, lips quirking up in a smile.
“Harper, I would… I am with child.” Skies, that was excruciating. “I just wanted to bleeding tell you before my stomach blew up to the size of a Skies forsaken cannon ball.”
“Hel…”
“Raising Zacharias is a grand task of itself, a child will only complicate things. Our duty to the Empire must come first.”
The amount of passion he puts into kissing me upon my saying the words is dizzying.
“Skies, Hel, this is probably the first time in my life that I’ve received a pleasant surprise. Don’t be moronic.” And then, for the first time since I met him, he truly laughs, hearty and beautiful and clear, and so very full of life.
***
*Sigh* Harper is so AMAZING!!!!
“Skies save me from the men in my life and all the things they think they know.”
― Sabaa Tahir, A Reaper at the Gates
I have finally finished “A Sky Beyond The Storm!!”
I am so happy to see how the story ended with the characters
I will post a full review of the whole series soon!
hi so it’s currently 3:08 AM and ik i have school tomorrow but i just finished a sky beyond the storm from the an ember in the ashes series and i’m just so emotionally drained but also happy at the same time
i think i’m experiencing the symptoms of shock and i got way too attached to each character and i don’t know what to do with my life now
i didn’t expect to love every character but here i am
Okay so i think this month is really stressful for all bookworms what with Chain of Gold and Crescent City being released on THE SAME DAY and Sabaa Tahir FINALLY revealing the cover, title, and release date of An Ember in The Ashes 4 “A Sky Beyond The Storm” i mean seriously guys what are you doing to us!!!
why is it always “i love you” and never “you are my temple, you are my priest, you are my prayer, you are my release”?
When the point of view said Soul Catcher, instead of Elias:
“You are my temple-”
Me:
When I accidentally leave my book at some one’s house:
Going about your day and then remembering the ending of REAPER:
Darin: so I’m just gonna get my self a healthy breakfast-
Laia: are those gummy bears wrapped in a fruit roll up?l
Darin: breakfast burrito but yeah
just finished a sky beyond the storm and im gonna cry my eyes out
THIS SHIT IS SO HEARTBREAKING I HATE MY LIFE
