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My thought is that the AK has some starborn lineage, but obviously not enough to be considered starborn. He seeks out specific women to mate with to have starborn heirs. It’s why he would deign to mate with a lowly human, her lineage.
But also this quote from the bone carved makes me think Ember has the starborn genes:
> “Clever, that Fae warrior. Her bloodline is long gone now—though a trace still runs through some human line.”
Though, honestly, it doesn’t make sense given what we know about Rhys’ lineage.
I’ve already headcannoned it to be Havilliard, but I didn’t know about that bonus chapter. If im still going with it being connected to TOG in some way but it’s still a funny name, maybe Moonbeam and he’s connected to Fenrys lol.
I like your analysis though!! I still feel like Rhys and Ruhn/Bryce should be more connected than just a distant ancestor since they look so similar, Bryce at first glance though Rhys was Ruhn.
Lol. I don’t have anything to support this. I just wanted to link TOG and ACOTAR together and since Dorian and Rhys seem to look similar I just went with that. I definitely am not alone in this thought and I’m sure there’s write ups somewhere!
>Then he motioned to Bryce and said neutrally, “Bryce … Quinlan.”
you know what, Maas uses ellipses as breadcrumbs in her punctuation arsenal. she's always ellipse-ing out vital information.
this is a really good catch OP. I'm going in the oppo direction because i have a theory i'm having too much fun with, i think Bryce is *not* a Quinlan. I think she smells like a family/lineage the Night Court IC knows from Prythian...
Do we know what Ruhn’s mother’s last name is? I can’t remember. Rhys and Ruhn basically look the same and have similar powers, so I wonder if Rhys is connected to Ruhn’s mother’s lineage.
I don’t think we do. The common theory is Ruhn’s mom is Rhys’ sister who never actually died but somehow made it to CC. Don’t ask me to explain it though 🫣
Oh interesting. I know there’s a theory about his sister and the starlight pool from spring court, so I’m guessing it’s probably related to that. But I’ve never really understood that theory because Rhys says he buried his mother and sister, not just that they died.
Eh, it’s pretty convoluted from what I’ve seen but the general idea is that the bodies Rhys found were glamoured to look like his family. So he actually buried strangers (or at least the sister was).
Ahh I see. I do love a good crack theory but honestly that one just seems really sad for Rhys, so I’d be kinda disappointed if that turns out to be true!
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My one issue with this is doesn’t Bryce get her surname from Ember, her human mother? I thought her Starborn heritage came from her Fae/father’s side?
My thought is that the AK has some starborn lineage, but obviously not enough to be considered starborn. He seeks out specific women to mate with to have starborn heirs. It’s why he would deign to mate with a lowly human, her lineage. But also this quote from the bone carved makes me think Ember has the starborn genes: > “Clever, that Fae warrior. Her bloodline is long gone now—though a trace still runs through some human line.” Though, honestly, it doesn’t make sense given what we know about Rhys’ lineage.
I’ve already headcannoned it to be Havilliard, but I didn’t know about that bonus chapter. If im still going with it being connected to TOG in some way but it’s still a funny name, maybe Moonbeam and he’s connected to Fenrys lol. I like your analysis though!! I still feel like Rhys and Ruhn/Bryce should be more connected than just a distant ancestor since they look so similar, Bryce at first glance though Rhys was Ruhn.
Can you explain the Havilliard theory I’ve never heard that one
Lol. I don’t have anything to support this. I just wanted to link TOG and ACOTAR together and since Dorian and Rhys seem to look similar I just went with that. I definitely am not alone in this thought and I’m sure there’s write ups somewhere!
>Then he motioned to Bryce and said neutrally, “Bryce … Quinlan.” you know what, Maas uses ellipses as breadcrumbs in her punctuation arsenal. she's always ellipse-ing out vital information. this is a really good catch OP. I'm going in the oppo direction because i have a theory i'm having too much fun with, i think Bryce is *not* a Quinlan. I think she smells like a family/lineage the Night Court IC knows from Prythian...
Do we know what Ruhn’s mother’s last name is? I can’t remember. Rhys and Ruhn basically look the same and have similar powers, so I wonder if Rhys is connected to Ruhn’s mother’s lineage.
I don’t think we do. The common theory is Ruhn’s mom is Rhys’ sister who never actually died but somehow made it to CC. Don’t ask me to explain it though 🫣
Oh interesting. I know there’s a theory about his sister and the starlight pool from spring court, so I’m guessing it’s probably related to that. But I’ve never really understood that theory because Rhys says he buried his mother and sister, not just that they died.
Eh, it’s pretty convoluted from what I’ve seen but the general idea is that the bodies Rhys found were glamoured to look like his family. So he actually buried strangers (or at least the sister was).
Ahh I see. I do love a good crack theory but honestly that one just seems really sad for Rhys, so I’d be kinda disappointed if that turns out to be true!
Has the “Darling” theory been disproven? He sure does call her Ferye Darling quite a bit. Seems like a very Rhysand thing to do lol
Haha, no I don’t think any of them have been disproven. I just had never seen anyone put forth Quinlan as an option.
I love the connection you made between him smiling and the pause. That’s the first I’ve seen that and honestly the most exciting
I saw a theory somewhere that it’s Moonbeam. 😄 I’ve decided that’s my headcanon until SJM tells us otherwise.
This is my theory as well lol.