#sjm universe spoilers
KoA ch.90
And when they were alone on the silent battlefield, Manon’s great-grandmother put a hand on her shoulder and said quietly, her voice somehow distant, “Be the bridge, be the light. When iron melts, when flowers spring from fields of blood—let the land be witness, and return home.”
Manon didn’t hear the words. Didn’t notice when even Glennis returned to the city looming at her back.
For hours, Manon knelt on the battlefield, Abraxos at her side. As if she might stay with them, her Thirteen, for a little while longer.
And far away, across the snow-covered mountains, on a barren plain before the ruins of a once-great city, a flower began to bloom.
@alwayssara thank you for bringing this passage to my attention, and I’m sorry for saving this as a draft, then burying it under about ten others for a month.
“Be the bridge”
- Feyre and Rhys’ bond bridge of adamant.
- The only bridge of connection, that knife - Elriel and Truth-Teller.
“Be the light”
- Could the Archeron sisters be Starborn fae, and each represent a different form of light (hereandhere)?
- Other characters probably descend from the Starborn fae, too, such as Helion and Rhys.
“When iron melts”
- “If Elain was a blooming flower in this army camp, then Nesta … she was a freshly forged sword, waiting to draw blood.” - ACOWAR, chapter 51
- Nesta forged and Made her own weapons trove, and became a Valkyrie/warrior, in ACOSF.
“When flowers spring from fields of mud”
- Elain possibly has some sort of life/rebirth or plant-based powers.
- “Elain was just blinking, wide-eyed, at the camp. The army. Devlon let out a grunt at the sight of her. But Elain wrapped her own blue cloak around herself, averting her eyes from all of those towering, muscled warriors, the army camp bustling toward the horizon … She was a rose bloom in a mud field. Filled with galloping horses.” - ACOWAR, chapter 51
“Let the land be witness”
- Elain’s doe eyes peered across the world to See the Suriel, but how? Through the murky, shadow realm, or can she also use the land?
- “This time, you sent the trembling fawn to find me. I did not expect to see those doe-eyes peering at me from across the world.” - ACOWAR, chapter 58
- The Prison mountain has eyes and ears, but to whom does it report?
“And return home”
- “When knife and sword are reunited, so shall our people be.” - HOSAB, chapter 23
- The Dusk Court and the Starborn / Avallen fae.
“And far away, across the snow-covered mountains,on a barren plain before the ruins of a once-great city, a flower began to bloom”
- Obviously this sentence is referring to the Western Wastes, but could it also be indirectly referring to the Mother’s (Urd’s?) strength returning across all of the worlds, providing much needed balance between forces?
- The Prison island, Ramiel and the mountain in the Middle are barren, each with tunnels hewn into their depths. Were these ancient cities?
There’s almost certainly more going on, but I can’t think of it off the top of my head, and this post has been languishing in drafts for too long now. I don’t know, it’s probably not a coincidence that so many similar themes are being repeated throughout ACOTAR, CC and TOG, especially after HOSAB confirmed that the extent of the crossover would be significant.
I’m going to tag @wingedblooms in this post, too, because I know she’ll have thoughts to contribute.
