S6 : Ep 24 - Everything You Need to Know About Koschei Before ACOTAR 6/7

Summary

Podcast Summary: Flights of Fantasy – S6 : Ep 24

Title: Everything You Need to Know About Koschei Before ACOTAR 6/7
Date: July 14, 2026
Hosts: Anna, Kim, Christina

---

Episode Overview

This special episode of Flights of Fantasy—originally part of the Patreon "Mass Masterclass" series—presents a comprehensive deep dive into Koschei, the enigmatic and dangerous villain set to play a major role in the upcoming A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) books 6 and 7 by Sarah J. Maas. The trio breaks down everything canonically known about Koschei, unpacks key theories from ACOTAR’s existing lore, explores the Slavic folklore origins, and speculates on how he might factor into the story’s future, especially in connection with Vassa, Elaine, Lucien, and the made objects. The conversation is filled with signature bookish banter, humor, and an impressive grasp of SJM universe lore.

Spoiler Warning: This Masterclass includes full spoilers for the ACOTAR series up to "A Court of Silver Flames" and dives into deep theories for future books.

---

1. Who is Koschei?

(Timestamps: [02:58]–[04:44])

• Koschei is an ancient, immortal death god/sorcerer trapped on the continent in a magical lake.
• He is based on Koschei the Deathless from Slavic folklore (to be explained later by Anna).
• In ACOTAR, he’s the older brother to the Bone Carver and the Weaver (Striga), all ancient beings who originated from outside Prythian, from another world or dimension.
• Koschei is unique in that, although physically trapped in a lake, he can influence the world via spells, manipulation, curses, bargains, and whispers on the wind.
• Seen more in "A Court of Silver Flames" than earlier books; his presence is felt rather than directly observed.

Notable quote:

“For being kidnapped, he's quite productive, you know what I mean?” – Kim ([04:48])

---

2. Koschei’s Canonical Backstory

(Timestamps: [04:44]–[15:41])

• The sisters (Koschei, the Bone Carver, and the Weaver) arrived on Prythian before the Cauldron, before the current courts, and were regarded as gods by the ancient fae.
• All three ultimately were imprisoned by a powerful ancient fae female warrior.
  • Weaver lost power and was confined to the Middle.
  • Bone Carver chose the Prison to avoid his siblings.
  • Koschei was tricked and trapped in his lake.
• The ancient fae female’s bloodline is said to be "long gone, though a trace still runs through some human line” ([13:06]).
• Motivation: Koschei’s primary drive is to free himself; he manipulates events and people toward that goal.

Notable quotes:

“I bet that's why he has this affinity for trapping women... are you just getting revenge on this female Fae warrior who trapped you?” – Kim ([12:11])

“What is special about Vassa? ...If she is a descendant of the bloodline that trapped Koschei, that is why he would want her.” – Anna ([14:05])

---

3. Vassa and the Lake Curse

(Timestamps: [06:56], [20:11], [25:03]–[25:48])

• Vassa, originally a human queen, was deliberately manipulated into Koschei’s possession by the other mortal queens at his behest.
• Under Koschei’s curse, Vassa becomes a Firebird by day and human by night, bound to the lake.
• A mysterious bargain made with Papa Archeron temporarily allows Vassa out, but the details are unknown. The arrangement feels intentionally suspicious.
• Koschei appears to single out Vassa because of something special—possibly her bloodline, unique magic, or potential to break his curse.

Notable quote:

“We know his whole motivation is getting out of that lake and he manipulated the queens to get him Vassa. So what about her is special?” – Christina ([06:56])

---

4. The Swan Maidens, Female Imprisonment, and other Captives

(Timestamps: [39:46]–[40:44])

• Multiple women are imprisoned by Koschei as swan-like beings ("white as snow, gliding across the water"), while Vassa (the Firebird) rages through the skies.
• This dynamic draws directly from Slavic "swan maiden" archetypes—magical women bound by enchantment, controlled by powerful male sorcerers.
• The roles and importance of these women remain mysterious, but the hosts speculate they may be vital in guarding Koschei’s soul or the onyx box.

---

5. Koschei's Powers & Abilities

(Timestamps: [24:18]–[29:47])

• Immortality: Known as "the Deathless"; may hide his soul outside his body, per folklore.
• Magic: Cursing, mind manipulation, bargain-making, advanced magic that can influence people remotely.
• Unique Transport: Can move others magically (“winnowing” people against their will) even while imprisoned.
• Illusions: Capable of powerful illusions, as when Cassian and Azriel are lured to the lake.
• Whispers on the Wind: Communicates/manipulates via wind; possibly influencing characters like Meryl, who hears voices as she studies other worlds.

Notable quote:

“This is his power while he's trapped in the lake. If he gets out, terrifying.” – Kim ([24:54])

---

6. Slavic Folklore & The Firebird Ballet Connection

(Timestamps: [30:08]–[35:41])

• Koschei’s ACOTAR incarnation borrows heavily from Slavic myths and Stravinsky’s "Firebird" ballet.
  • In folklore, Koschei is an emaciated, immortal sorcerer who hides his soul externally, often in a magical object (egg, box, etc.).
  • The Firebird in folklore and ballet is a magical creature whose feather is a talisman; in ACOTAR, Vassa seems to fulfill this archetype.
  • The ballet's plot (destroying the magical object containing the villain’s soul to defeat him) mirrors the likely endgame for Koschei.
• Onyx Box Theory: Elain’s vision of a “box of black stone” is suspected to be where Koschei’s soul is hidden. The group believes destroying this box will make him mortal/vulnerable.
• Made Weapons: Weapons forged with special power (like Ataraxia or Truth Teller) may be needed to bind or destroy Koschei once his soul is accessible.

Notable quote:

“In the original Slavic mythology, Koschei the deathless cannot be killed traditionally. Okay. Because his soul is hidden outside of his body. So inside a magical object.” – Anna ([33:50])

---

7. Thematic & Symbolic Patterns: Three Siblings and Interlocking Circles

(Timestamps: [16:05]–[17:44])

• The three siblings (Koschei, Bone Carver, Weaver) are symbolized by three interlocking circles, which tie back to major motifs across Sarah J. Maas’s other series ("Throne of Glass," "Crescent City").
• Three is a recurring magical number; the siblings’ separation may echo the distribution of magical power, similar to the cauldron’s feet.

---

8. Koschei’s Manipulations: The Dread Trove & Briallyn

(Timestamps: [25:52]–[27:36])

• Koschei has allied with Briallyn, a vengeful human queen, subtly manipulating her and steering her toward seeking the Dread Trove, hoping to use the items to secure his freedom.
• Many of Briallyn’s motivations (and villainous acts) are theorized to be orchestrations from Koschei for his own ends.

---

9. What’s Next? Predictions for ACOTAR 6/7

(Timestamps: [35:41]–[44:53])

• The hosts’ main theory:
  1. Koschei’s soul is hidden in an onyx box (per Elain’s vision).
  2. To destroy Koschei, the heroes must:
     • Locate and destroy the onyx box (likely using Elain’s seer abilities).
     • Use a made weapon (Ataraxia, Truth Teller) to bind and physically kill Koschei.
• Elaine is positioned as central to this story—her visions unlock the path, and her wielding of Truth Teller foreshadows her significance.
• Lucien’s “spell cleaver” heritage (as Helion’s son) is believed to be key to breaking curses (possibly Vassa’s and the other swan maidens’).
• Azriel, with his shadows and made weapon, is hinted to play a pivotal role; his shadows are uniquely sensitive—or even fearful—of Koschei ([45:44]).
• The trio speculates on character combinations—Elain/Lucien/Azriel (and maybe Gwyn) on a quest, navigating complicated relationships and destinies (“Force proximity!”).

Notable quote:

“Her being able to be like, I'm not a Nesta... but still I am powerful and I have this magic that is useful and worthy and important.” – Christina ([36:34])

“She could tie Lucian and Vassa together because he could help free her. Spell Cleaver!” – Kim ([38:02])

---

10. Final Thoughts, Theories, and Looking Ahead

(Timestamps: [44:46]–[49:10])

• Discussion continues of how future ACOTAR book titles might tie together thematically (“A Court of Shadows and Fire”, etc.).
• The hosts reflect on SJM’s tendency for planting Easter eggs and long-game plotting—many “random” details now seem like deliberate hints.
• They emphasize how much has been set up for Koschei to step in as the next big villain and how excited they are for Elain, Lucien, and Asriel to take central roles.
• Humorous speculation about possible throuple romances, Gwyn’s role, and how these messy combinations might play out.

---

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On Koschei as a villain:

  “Old white incel. He's an incel. Like, that's kind of the whole thing, right? …Are you just getting revenge on this female Fae warrior who trapped you?” – Kim ([12:18])

• On SJM’s plotting:

  “Leave it to Sarah to plant these little Easter eggs for us to then deep dive and just lose our minds over.” – Christina ([51:17])

• On Elain’s potential:

  “Her being able to be like, I'm not a Nesta... but still I am powerful and I have this magic that is useful and worthy and important.” – Christina ([36:34])

• On the core theory:

  “We have to find this onyx box. It contains Koshe soul. That's the only way we can kill him. She's either gonna go with Asriel… But I feel like this is going to be the big overarching adventure here.” – Kim ([35:50])

---

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:58] Introduction to the Koschei deep dive
• [04:44] Koschei’s lore, siblings, and mythological roots
• [06:56] Vassa’s curse and its mysteries
• [13:06] The ancient fae bloodline and Elain’s visions
• [16:05] Three siblings, three circles, and series-wide symbology
• [25:03] Koschei’s curses, abilities, and made weapons
• [30:08] Slavic folklore and Firebird ballet connections
• [35:41] The “Onyx Box Theory” and finale speculation
• [44:46] Title theorizing, character journeys, and predictions

---

Conclusion

This deep-dive masterclass demystifies Koschei’s backstory, powers, and influence within the ACOTAR universe while drawing fascinating parallels to Slavic myth. It positions Koschei—not just as the next Big Bad but as a catalyst for major character arcs and multi-book plotlines involving Elain, Lucien, Vassa, and Azriel. Overflowing with witty banter and thorough research, it’s an essential listen for fans prepping for ACOTAR 6 and 7.

Action Step:
If you want more of these high-level theories and deep dives, check out the Flights of Fantasy Patreon and follow them on Instagram and TikTok.

---

Note: The summary deliberately omits ads, intros, outros, and non-content banter per instructions.

Transcript

[Anna]

All new drinks are now at McDonald's with refreshers like the Strawberry Watermelon Refresher and the Mango Pineapple Refresher with Popping Boba to crafted sodas like the Sprite Berry Blast with berry flavors and cold foam. Who knew ice cold drinks could be so fire six all new drinks are here now at McDonald's.

[Kim]

Refreshers contain caffeine when you're a maintenance

[Christina]

engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place so nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. Welcome to Flights of Fantasy, your Romantasy Podcast book club. I'm Christina, joined by my book besties Kim and Anna and together we're diving into the characters, theories, lore and magic behind all your favorite fantasy romance books. Hello listeners, we are here with a very special, special episode. Today we are bringing you an episode from our Patreon Mass Masterclass series where we break down topics and theories and couples and characters and scenes and basically everything from all of Sarah J. Maas's worlds. So all of her series we break down the stuff you guys want us to talk about as your resident PhDs and all things SJM. And we have had this series going on for quite a while now. It is definitely a fan favorite over on Patreon. But of course leading up to October we are focusing hell heavily on all things acotar. We have so many episodes over there waiting for you in addition to the entire back catalog of this series available on Patreon. So we wanted to give you a little taste of what we have got going on over there. So you can find the link in the show notes to come join us over on Patreon or you can go there [e-mail] Flights of Fantasy podcast also speaking of ACOTAR 6, we are so excited to say that we will be podcast partners at the Love and Legends midnight release party for ACOTAR 6 in October in Brooklyn. We're so excited to see you guys there and all of the fun stuff planned. You can find tickets at the link in the show notes for that. So with all that being said, thank you, thank you to all our patrons. Thank you to everyone who has liked and reviewed the show and without Further ado, here is your little exclusive look at a mass masterclass episode. And this is your spoiler war for all of the Acotar series thus far. Okay, let's go. Enjoy.

[Kim]

Hello, everybody. Hi. Welcome back to our math masterclass series. We are so excited to be here today to do a deep dive download on the big bad of Acotar Koshay. Oh, guys, I've had a time and a half putting this outline together. Let me tell you what I did. Really, Expert, I am ask me so much. So, yes, this is going to be everything you need to know about Koshe as of where we are right now. Obviously we don't have ACOTAR 6 and 7 yet and we will get to what we think his role is going to be in those books. But this is like going into ACOTAR 6 and 7. What you need to know if you're like, I don't even know who that is. Don't worry, we do.

[Christina]

We got you.

[Kim]

We gotcha. Okay, so let's start out with who is Kosher? Oh, you know, we don't know a lot about him.

[Anna]

But you really don't.

[Kim]

We really don't. But yet I did make a 10 page outline about him. So I mean, we're just that talented. Okay.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

We briefly meet him sort of in Acowar, but really he was featured heavily in Silver Flames. So Koshei is an ancient immortal death God slash sorcerer trapped on the continent in a magical lake. He is heavily inspired by the Slavic folklore figure. That's hard to say. Koshe the deathless, which Anna will be explaining in great detail here very soon. However, in Acotar canon, he is a death God. He is the older brother to the bone carver and the weaver, AKA Striga. He's an ancient being from another world slash dimension, bound to a lake by powerful magic, unable to physically leave. However, he still is capable of influencing the world through spells and fargons and whispers and curses.

[Christina]

He could do a lot.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

While still being trapped in that lake. Yeah. Yeah.

[Kim]

I feel like for being kidnapped, he's quite productive. You know what I mean?

[Christina]

Oh yeah.

[Anna]

I picture him like on a giant float, maybe like a swan float.

[Christina]

And he's just like.

[Kim]

And you get a curse and you get a. And I'm going to whisper to you. And he's like, oh wait, I got my. My swan float needs to turn around. Hold on, I'll be right there.

[Christina]

I'll be right there.

[Anna]

I want to be fabulous.

[Christina]

Hold on.

[Anna]

I want him to be fabulous.

[Kim]

Okay.

[Anna]

We've had Creepy two Creepies. We've had the Weaver, and we've had the Bone Carver. Both very creepy. But Axis seems not as scary as Cassian makes her out to be. Yeah, and I just want Koshay to be, like, sassy.

[Kim]

Oh, okay.

[Anna]

Okay.

[Kim]

You know what?

[Christina]

From what we've gotten on Paige, I'm not getting sass. But I will go with you. I will go with you.

[Kim]

But if we're doing wish list items, like. Okay, sure.

[Christina]

Wishlist. Sass. Love it. I also love the idea of him, like, he's turned these women into actual swans, and they're floating around him, and he's on a swan float, just, like,

[Kim]

amongst them, amidst them, just, like, give me some grapes. Who has a fan? Like, he's.

[Anna]

Fan me with your feathers.

[Kim]

Fan me with your feathers, peasants. I can see this. I can see this.

[Christina]

Yes. Okay. These poor swan girls.

[Kim]

Oh, no. Bless them. Okay, so this is from Silver Flames. Cassian is speaking with Eris and Vassa. Vassa says Koschei is no mere sorcerer. He's confined to the lake only due to an ancient spell, because he was outsmarted once. Everything he does is to free himself. And Cassian asked, why was he imprisoned? And Vassa says, the story is too long to tell.

[Christina]

I hate it.

[Kim]

I hate it.

[Christina]

Is it? Is it Vasa?

[Kim]

I feel like we're having story time in this story for now.

[Anna]

A story for now, please.

[Kim]

I don't.

[Christina]

Also, is. Is this story too long to tell? I eat. Why? ACOTAR7 is going to be a thousand pages. Like, is that the story that's too long to tell? Because maybe I'm going to say right now, I think we could have done some spark notes. Vasa.

[Kim]

I think she could have just said

[Christina]

some highlights to make a long story short.

[Kim]

One sentence we could have, but she just says the story is too long to tell. But know that Briallyn and the others sold me to him. Not through their devices, but his. By words he planted in their courts, whispered on the winds.

[Christina]

Pause here. So this means that Koshe wanted Vassa specifically, why did he want her? Why did he make this happen? What does she do for him? Like, he manipulated the queens to get him Vassa. And she's different than the other birds. She's a firebird. Like, what is special about Vassa that's special to him and therefore special? What is it about Vassa that he thinks will free him from the lake? Has to be something we know. His whole motivation is getting out of that lake and he manipulated the queens to get him Vassa. So what about her is special?

[Anna]

I know. There's barely anything to speculate on.

[Kim]

I know.

[Anna]

We know that she's sassy.

[Christina]

She doesn't.

[Anna]

She's a human now. She's a Firebird. But she was a human queen. And she doesn't. Like. We know that they can winnow occasionally.

[Christina]

Yeah, but then there's fire in her eyes. And that could be from Firebird. But what if that's. She has magic. We know some humans have magic, Right? I feel like maybe there's something else special about her. Also, we don't know her last name. Is that gonna be important? I don't know. And we also don't know last names.

[Kim]

True.

[Christina]

That's fact. Anna. That's canon. But also hers. I want to add it to the list. And also, we don't know where she's from. Like, we don't like, know the area where she's from.

[Anna]

Well, they're from. Aren't they all from the castle?

[Christina]

She's from a different. Like, she's. As the sixth queen is from, like, a different land. Yeah, that's from different lands. Yeah.

[Kim]

Oh, that's right. Yeah. Yeah.

[Christina]

Anyway, sorry, Kim, keep going.

[Kim]

Totally fine. Great point. Why does he want Vassa? What's special about her? Maybe we'll find out in actor six and seven. Okay, so then she says, I fear what may happen if he ever gets free of the. I feel like this is fortunate. If he ever gets free of the lake. If he sees this world on the cusp of disaster and knows he could strike and strike hard and make himself its master, as he once tried to do long ago. And Eris says those are legends that predate our courts.

[Anna]

I'm gonna be honest. We're gonna do a whole world overlapping masterclass episode at some point. I've been working on it. Yeah. Side project. But when you put this in the outline, Kim, I was like, oh, this gives era one. Like, this gives the Valg. I just don't think that they. I just don't know that I believe it. But like, I. It is giving master conqueror, like Asteri, Val. Something. But I mean, if they're not Asteri, I think that's pretty canon at this point.

[Kim]

I don't know though, because on the Acotar Wiki page says that the bone carver and the weaver and Koshei, like, feed on, like, it used terminology that gave.

[Anna]

While the weaver does make herself youthful.

[Kim]

Right.

[Anna]

From human hair.

[Kim]

And the bone carver does. Based off of, like, Stories or truths

[Christina]

and stuff like ingests.

[Kim]

It Ingests. Yeah. It's interesting. Those are legends that predate our courts. Speaking of things that predate our courts. Anna, let's run through what we know canonically about Kosche.

[Anna]

I'm so glad you said that word because I struggle with that word.

[Kim]

Canonically.

[Anna]

Canonically, like I really struggle with it. Okay, so we know that he came from another world, right? The bone carver reveals this when Feyre visits him. And that Strega and Kosche are his brother and sister, as you've already said, Kim. And they have been here before the Cauldron and the Mother before Prythian had courts before Prythian is as we see it today. Right. And they fell, quote, into this world of their own free will with his siblings. So we know also that the three siblings are immensely powerful by this world's standards. Right? And they were taken as quote, gods by the ancient Fae that lived in this world. And the bone carver says that of the three siblings between the Weaver, the bone carver and Koshchei, the bone carver admits, I was the weakest. He is the weakest. And he actually chose to be imprisoned. He was like, I rather be imprisoned than have to deal with my siblings. So like, I'm happy in here. Like, leave.

[Kim]

That's scary.

[Anna]

That's really scary. And it's the same ancient Fae female warrior who tricks his sister the Weaver into diminishing her power and then being confined to the middle where the Weaver's cottage is. And then later, she is also the same person who confines Kosche to. To the lake.

[Christina]

Oh, I didn't realize that. Yeah, I thought we didn't know who did it. Okay, got it.

[Kim]

Yeah, that's what it says. Yeah. No, it says on the wiki page that it was the same ancient Fae female. Which is really interesting.

[Anna]

Yes. In ACOWAR in chapter 23, it says that Koshe too confined and bound by his little lake on the continent. Now I'm insinuate I'm like reading this and context clues are telling me it's the same female warrior. Because then he follows up again with clever, that Fae female warrior. Her bloodline is not long gone. So I took that as like, it's the same female warrior. And then he just willingly allowed her to trap him in the prison.

[Christina]

Yeah, because he was scared of his brother and sister. Valid. No, I would be too. No, I didn't realize I knew that ancient fey warrior trapped him. And so I didn't realize that was like the origin story. Of Koschei being trapped as well. So this ancient fey warrior was powerful enough to curse him and trap him there.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

Yeah. And also, that's what I'm insinuating from that paragraph.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Anna]

Yeah. Now something else could come out. You know, I guess there could be room for, like, we misinterpreted that text, but.

[Kim]

No, that's how I take it, too.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Yeah. That's just wild. Like.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And he was outsmarted once is what it says. Right? So, like, he was outsmarted by this woman. We're guessing.

[Kim]

Yeah, right.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

So in everything. You know what?

[Anna]

What?

[Kim]

I bet that's why he has this affinity for trapping women. Oh, females.

[Anna]

He's just a little angry.

[Kim]

Old white incel. He's an incel. Like, that's because that's kind of the whole thing, right? Like, what is it about these girls? Elaine later calls them girls. We'll get to that.

[Anna]

But he does.

[Kim]

Elaine calls him like that. He has these girls that he's trapped. And I'm like, are you just getting revenge on this female Fae warrior who trapped you?

[Christina]

Oh, my gosh.

[Anna]

Guys, wait. Bitter much?

[Christina]

Ugh.

[Kim]

Yeah, really move on.

[Christina]

Also, what if Vassa is related to her? And that is what he needs. Ancient say, female line is like, maybe that's the line and he thought that she could break it or something. Do you know what I mean? Like, maybe she is related to the ancient female warrior.

[Kim]

We've solved it.

[Christina]

We've solved it.

[Anna]

That's it.

[Kim]

I bet that's what it is.

[Christina]

Like, why else would he want her, you know?

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

So because. Okay, exact quote. Clever, that Fae female warrior. Her bloodline is now long gone, though Trey still runs through some human line. Human line remembers her name, but I do. Oh, my God. But I do, the bone carver says. And then he continues. She would have been my salvation had I not made my choice long before she walked this earth. I don't know what that means, but salvation is interesting.

[Kim]

Very interesting choice of words there.

[Christina]

I wonder if salvation no.

[Anna]

Like, could she have destroyed me? I made my fate. I trapped myself in here too early. And she could have destroyed.

[Christina]

Well, I wonder if he's like, well, I did this out of order. If I knew she was gonna trap my brother, right, I would have been fine up there.

[Kim]

Like, I spoke too soon. And now I'm trapped in here. I didn't know she was gonna trap him in the lake and trap my sister in the middle. And I would have been free as a bird.

[Christina]

It could have been my salvation from this prison. Yeah.

[Kim]

Oh, my God. Yes. I bet that's right.

[Anna]

I love this. Because what is special about Vassa? Going back to our previous conversation.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Anna]

You also make her very special. If she is a descendant of the bloodline that trapped Kosche, that is why

[Christina]

he would want her.

[Anna]

Yes.

[Christina]

Because he thinks she could do something to free.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

Like use her blood. Blood magic and with curses and breaking bargains and whatever. So it makes sense if he's like, yeah, I'm keeping her close.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Well, yes, exactly.

[Christina]

This is very interesting, the human line thing. Really?

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Christina is making me think this.

[Kim]

The fact that we were like, what is it about her? Like, she's a human. Yes. She might have magic, but I think her being part of that bloodline makes so much more sense, because the curses and breaking the curse. And I also have a theory about Lucien that I can't wait to talk about in terms of, you know, breaking curses.

[Christina]

I mean, you need a curse breaker spell.

[Kim]

Do you think one might say spell?

[Anna]

Some might say.

[Kim]

Some might call it spell cleaving. Like his papa. I don't know.

[Christina]

Do you?

[Anna]

Real papa. Okay, so wrapping up what we know about Kosche. He is not native to Pythian. He could be connected to other interdimensional beings from other worlds.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

Who's to say? He predates the current courts and the political structure that we see currently. So he is very old, just like the bone carver and the weaver, obviously, because they were siblings. So, like Kim said, all three of them are siblings. And what we know about them is that they were gods and they were worshiped by the ancient fae who were on Prythian, and they were all trapped, which is very interesting, that they were all trapped.

[Kim]

I agree.

[Anna]

Parts of the continent.

[Kim]

I hadn't put that together until I did this, and I was like, wait, they were all trapped in different areas. That's so interesting.

[Anna]

Three prisons, essentially, for three gods. Right.

[Christina]

It feels like we're almost trying to spread them out, like, too. Like, what is too much of their power together? What does that do? It's giving. When we separated the feet of the cauldron, you know, we're trying to separate them.

[Anna]

You know, three is magical.

[Kim]

Oh, three is 100% a magical number. There's something very. Yeah. And, okay, Anna, read this next line about the bone carver.

[Anna]

So when the bone carver is talking about his siblings, he's drawing in the dirt. He's telling the story about how they were all captured, and he's drawing in the dirt, and what he draws is three overlapping Interlocking circles, which is obviously important in the other series. Right. The three interlocking circles in the symbol that we see through all of Sarah's series in Throne of Glass, it's representative of the eye of Elena, the three faced goddess. It's specifically referenced with the word keys in Crescent City. It's the Arkesian Amulet. It's described as three interlocking knots.

[Christina]

Yes, yes.

[Anna]

And Danika calls it a hazmat suit against danger that protects Bryce from a lot of different things that happen. And as soon as it gets taken off is when bad things start happening.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Oh, God. Right. Oh, God. I have not had a city in a long time. So I also think it's so interesting, the idea that the three siblings are imprisoned in three different places. And he's drawing three complete circles in three, like the interlock. But it almost reads to me like those are their cells. They are trapped in these three places. It's like full complete circles. And as he's talking about his siblings. Do you know what I mean?

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Like, it's this interesting thing. I mean, also the mass verse theories are just endless with this. Of the.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

How the world are.

[Anna]

The maiden, the crone.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

There is all.

[Kim]

There's so many worlds. Yeah. The series, the books, it's.

[Christina]

You know, there's a lot.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Anna]

There's a lot that you can do with this. It's so hard to know what Sarah is wanting to interconnect. Like, we saw some really beautiful in Crescent City things that happened, but then other things. We were like, way off base. Like we were doing too much.

[Christina]

Sure.

[Kim]

Yes. Right.

[Anna]

That's great and wonderful. And that's why we're here. So it is really fun. But anyways.

[Christina]

Okay, so let's talk about Kosche being bound to this lake a little bit. So he can't leave the lake. Okay. But he can do a lot. Like we've said, he can do a lot from this little lake prison. Okay.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Christina]

So from there, his power can still emanate and affect people outside the lake in so many ways. Like ways that normally people can't. Even non imprisoned people can't do. This magic. Like, this is very rare magic. So he can communicate through the wind? Specifically on whispers.

[Kim]

Whispers?

[Christina]

Who else hears whispers on the wind? Friends.

[Kim]

Meryl. Meryl.

[Christina]

Just saying.

[Kim]

Wait, so do we think potentially that the whispers that Meryl is hearing could potentially be Koshe?

[Christina]

I do. I think that she might be hearing. He might be using her.

[Kim]

Right.

[Anna]

She's a descendant of some, but she

[Kim]

is researching the 26 different worlds. Right.

[Christina]

And.

[Kim]

And the Valkyrie.

[Christina]

Why would she be researching Valkyries? Why does she talk about Valkyrie?

[Kim]

We know she's hearing whispers on the wind. Like, I don't know.

[Christina]

She's also like a princess of the wind. Her dad.

[Anna]

That's what I'm saying, is her dad

[Christina]

is the Lord of the Wind or something.

[Anna]

That's what it is.

[Kim]

Yeah. He's like, yeah, Lord of the western winds.

[Anna]

That's like something like that.

[Christina]

And so I. I think that's a red herring. I think we're supposed to think that she's like, princess of the wind. And maybe that allows her to hear things on the wind, but I don't think that means that she could not be.

[Anna]

Do you think she doesn't know that she's hearing Kosh? If she. We're speculating this, but if she's hearing Koshei, do you think.

[Kim]

No, I don't think she does.

[Anna]

Do you think she's evil or do you think that she's just, like, hearing things? And then I wonder if it's going to come up and she's gonna be like, wait a second.

[Christina]

No. So, yeah, I think that she is not meaning to, but I think she is hearing whispers on the wind. And I think they are. I think he is using that to use her.

[Anna]

Interesting. I wonder if they'll be able to utilize her. Like, if they figure that out. And they'll be able to be like, what are you hearing?

[Christina]

Yeah. She might be able to puzzle piece some things together with Elaine. Okay. But, yes. So he can communicate through the wind. We also know that he can make bargains. And we know this because, of all people, Papa Archeron was able to make a bargain with this Death God.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

For the Death God to allow his firebird, his coveted little bird girl, to leave the confines of the lake.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Whatever Papa Archeron bargained with him was that important.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Makes. Makes no sense. I don't understand.

[Kim]

I don't understand what's happening.

[Anna]

Possibly offer Koshe to allow him to take the firebird.

[Christina]

That's what I'm saying. Yeah.

[Anna]

And now he's dead. So I'm like, what did you. But Vasa knows, and I'm worried about what that bargain entailed. The receiving end of it.

[Kim]

Right.

[Anna]

And, like, unless it's null and void now that he's dead.

[Kim]

Right.

[Anna]

Or does Vasa have to take it on?

[Christina]

Well, Vesta's still able to come and go, though she's with the exiles. So, like, it's still in place.

[Anna]

She has to get back, right? But she keeps. And she says at some point, right, that she has to get back soon. Like her running out. All new drinks are now at McDonald's with refreshers like the Strawberry Watermelon Refresher and the Mango Pineapple Refresher with popping Boba. To crafted sodas like the Sprite Berry Blast with berry flavors and cold foam. Who knew ice cold drinks could be so fire six? All new drinks are here now at McDonald's.

[Kim]

Refreshers contain caffeine.

[Christina]

Granger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering, and 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. I don't remember that. I do remember Koshe saying, like, he's allowing her to be out right now in place like that.

[Anna]

But why?

[Kim]

He says, tell my Vasa I'm waiting.

[Christina]

But like, oh, yeah, he says, I'm waiting.

[Kim]

Yeah, he says it at the end of but like, why is he allowing her out? This feels very like for someone who's supposedly trapped, like Tabassa's supposed to be trapped in, like she's out and about. She is sheep and bopping all over the place.

[Christina]

She's made herself a little ragtag group of exiles.

[Kim]

She has. So I'm like, I feel like you don't understand what kidnapping someone really means. I feel like you're confused about that. You're loaning her out like a library book and then. I don't understand.

[Christina]

Inform you on true crime really quickly. Like, so what?

[Kim]

So when you kidnap somebody, they aren't allowed to just be out and about. Like, that's how you lose them.

[Christina]

Well, and I do think it's on purpose.

[Anna]

Where does she fly around during the day? Like, does she just. And she becomes a firebird, right?

[Christina]

I don't. I think that only have to happen. That happens at the lake.

[Anna]

But she's a fire.

[Christina]

I think she just gets to be a lady during the battle.

[Kim]

A lady in the streets. Lady on the street.

[Anna]

But she's a firebird in Acawar during the battle, right? And that's during the daytime.

[Kim]

Oh, is she?

[Anna]

Oh, yeah, she flies in.

[Kim]

Oh, that's interesting.

[Christina]

Well, but I always thought she just could shapeshift.

[Kim]

She's a lady. She's a shape shifter. The late. Like, she's a lady. Whenever Cassian and Eris are talking to her. I'm pretty sure that that might be at night.

[Anna]

That's what I was wondering. Now I have to go. Now I'm like, what time? I'm doing.

[Kim]

I just reread it too.

[Christina]

But I. And I. I get. I think this has to go back to the fact that Koshay's not doing anything. Not on purpose. Everything he's doing has a reason. And he is manipulating, I think everyone involved. I don't think there's one person in the book I wouldn't be like, oh, that person couldn't be manipulated by him. Like, I think there's like spymaster. Asriel didn't know about Vassa being the Six Queen being there. He is letting people know things on his timeline.

[Kim]

Yeah, for sure.

[Christina]

Vassa being out is on purpose.

[Kim]

Yeah. But anyways, yeah, I just want to. Why?

[Christina]

Yeah, why?

[Anna]

Why?

[Christina]

But yes, back to the pointed hands. You can make bargains. We know that because he made one with God damn pop. ARCHER on okay, now, we also know he can curse people. Of course. Vasa. We know he can manipulate minds. We also know he can winnow people without actually being with them. So I don't think we should call this winnowing anymore. It's like he can just think about like, okay, me being in New York. I could just be like, Anna, I want you to go to Texas and I could just make you beep up and put you in Kim's house. Yeah, like, I'm not there. I'm not carrying you on my back or like bridal style. I'm not involved. I'm just thinking about you and making you go somewhere else.

[Kim]

You're right.

[Anna]

That is interesting.

[Kim]

That's different than winnowing.

[Christina]

Like it is.

[Anna]

That's a death God power.

[Kim]

Totally.

[Christina]

And it's actually. We've only seen it be used in a way of on his benefit. He transported Eris's soldiers or transported Cassian and Bry Allen and whatever. We've seen that. But what's stopping him from being like, oh, you know what? I don't want to battle you. Or like, Rhysand's doing something good here. I'm just going to pick him up and take. Put him elsewhere.

[Kim]

Like, it's terrifying.

[Christina]

That's a power that. Like, what would you do? You can't battle against that. Just keep winnowing back.

[Kim]

Yeah. Keep in mind, like, this is his power while he's trapped in the lake. If he gets out, Terrifying.

[Christina]

Like Vassa said. I'm scared.

[Kim]

Okay.

[Christina]

Yes. So let's talk about this curse of Vassa's. So Vassa, as we know, was sold to Koshei by the mortal queens. But it was Kosher's doing that this happened. And her curse is that she turns into a firebird by day and she is a human by night. Unfortunate timing. And it also binds her to Koshei's lake. So we do know she is now out on loan. She is out of her binding.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Christina]

Currently. But that Kosche is waiting. So that will really come into play in the next books.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Christina]

This curse is described as being woven into her blood and incredibly difficult to break. We know this because Helion and Feyre, our spell cleaver and curse breaker, both cannot break it.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

All right, let's talk about his connection to Briallyn.

[Kim]

Yes. So we know that in a court of silver flames, Kosche allies with Queen Briallyn. If we remember from Silver Flames, Briallyn wants revenge on Nesta. Because if we remember, Nesta went into the cauldron before the human queen Briallyn. Nesta pissed the cauldron off. And so, to get retribution, or the cauldron was just in a pissy mood, threw Briallyn in. Briallyn became a crone, like a withered old lady. So she's pissed. She's blaming Nesta. Briallyn also wants the Dread Trove. But when I went back and reread parts of Silver Flames, they are theorizing that Koshe was actually the one that steered Briallyn toward the Dread Trove because he wants to use the Dread Trove to free himself from the lake. So again, he's doing that manipulation. He's doing that whispering with Briallyn. So it wasn't actually Briallyn that wanted the Dread Trove the entire time. It was actually, actually Koshe working through

[Christina]

her Again, he's manipulating everyone. Everything's on purpose.

[Kim]

Exactly. And so Koshe is using Briallyn as a proxy because he can't leave the lake. And so he's like, hey, you really want this Dread Trove? This is going to help you, you know, get your youth and power back. But really, he's like, no, I'm actually going to use it to free myself from the lake.

[Christina]

Honestly, I wish that we had thought about this in our Silver Flames coverage when we Were like, Briallyn's motivation doesn't make sense. What do you mean? She just, like, wants to take the youth back. Like, that doesn't make sense.

[Kim]

Right.

[Anna]

It's.

[Christina]

Cause Kosche was manipulating her.

[Kim]

Right.

[Christina]

This makes. This is a lot of fun.

[Kim]

Literally, when they say that it's such a throw. Like, it's a throwaway. Common in, like, one conversation. I feel like Sarah could have made that a little more clear about, like, hey, just remember, Koshe is whispering and manipulate. They do say that. Vassa says that. Oh, it wasn't the queen's idea. It was Koshei. But like, yeah, we did not keep that top of mind.

[Anna]

Yeah, yeah.

[Christina]

And I wonder if that was on purpose to be like, oh, I'm gonna make them kind of forget about Koshe so that then they're not like, we didn't defeat the big bad at the end of this book. Because we didn't.

[Kim]

We sure did not. No. So as we said, the main focus of Kosher's is freedom. He wants out of the lake. The mortal queens mention his whispers. Characters repeatedly discuss him trying to free himself. His alliances all revolve around gaining influence and power outside of his prison. And like I mentioned, we have never seen Koshei at full strength. All of these insane powers that he has, he has done while imprisoned in the lake.

[Anna]

Fascinating.

[Christina]

That is a terrifying. That's an ACOTAR 7 storyline waiting to happen there.

[Kim]

Absolutely, absolutely. So speaking of Kosche's powers, let's just. Christina, do you wanna quickly just kind of run through. Here's the current canon list of his powers.

[Christina]

Yeah. And we've already talked about these, so I'll do them real quick. Yeah. So immortality. Kosher the Deathless. Deathless. I just, you know, it's important. He's also referred to as a Death Lord. We know he's an immortal sorcerer. I also want to note that in folklore, Kosher hides his soul outside of his body, making him, I mean, nearly impossible to kill. It's. I mean, it's Voldemort.

[Kim]

It's Voldemort.

[Christina]

It's Horcruxes.

[Kim]

Now I'm thinking when I was researching the folklore story, I'm like, J.K. rowling totally took inspiration for Deathly Hallows and the Horcruxes from the folklore story Kosher the deathless. Exactly 100%. She did. Because I was reading it. He hides, like, it's like his death, his soul in different things that you have to, like, go on a adventure to find. And I'm like, wow.

[Christina]

Legitimately, the plot. Okay, yeah, yeah. Okay. Also, we know he can curse people. We've gone through that. His magic in general, it's very ancient. It's binding. It's difficult to unravel. We know he can whisper on the wind. We know he can manipulate people's minds. We also know that he can create illusions because in Silver Flames, when Cassian and Asriel are going to rescue Aerys at the lake, and they're led there by Briallyn. When they get there, Briallyn takes her hood off, and there's nothing there.

[Kim]

Right.

[Christina]

So. And then he is out on the lake with Briallyn. Like, he has created this whole crone Queen Briallyn out of nothing. And they followed that. Again, terrifying. We have no. Like, the limit does not exist to the powers here. Totally.

[Anna]

Very interesting.

[Kim]

Totally.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Okay. I'm so excited for this part.

[Anna]

All right, guys, let's break down some of this Slavic folklore and the Firebird Ballet connection that Sarah has clearly been pulling from.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Anna]

So I think it's very clear at this point that Koshay is obviously going to play a big role. The big bad hope, I. We think, in the upcoming Acotar new releases. And in traditional Slavic folklore, Kosche is an immortal sorcerer associated with curses, dark magic, imprisonment, abducting women. He's often described as skeletal and emaciated. Most importantly, though, he is impossible to kill through conventional means because he hides his soul externally. So pin that. Okay, so this brings us directly to Acotar. Now, there is a ballet called the Firebird Ballet, scored by Igor Stravinsky, and it is pulled directly from Slavic folk tales. Okay, in the ballet, you have Prince Ivan. He enters the realm of the immortal sorcerer. In the Firebird Ballet, he's called Kashay. It's K A, not ko, So I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. Apologies if I'm not. But Prince Ivan enters the realm of Kashay the Deathless, which is exactly what the deathless is called.

[Kim]

Come on.

[Anna]

Yeah. So Prince Ivan captures this magical firebird. She gives him an enchanted feather, and that feather is used as a summoning talisman. So, like, if Prince Ivan, at some point they're separated, he can summon the firebird because he has one of her magical feathers. Now, I don't know if that's gonna come into play.

[Kim]

Like, Jurian and Lucian are gonna have a little firebird feather. A little Find My Firebird.

[Christina]

I like it. Exactly.

[Anna]

Find My Firebird, maybe. So not only does Prince Ivan discover the Firebird but he also discovers all these other princesses who have been imprisoned by Kachay. And ultimately. And ultimately, he is able to defeat the sorcerer by destroying the magical object that was housing Koschei's soul. Now, how does this tie into Acotar? Let's break this down.

[Kim]

Let's do it.

[Anna]

Obviously, you have Kosche the deathless, which is the Big Bad, and the Firebird, also called Koschei and Akasoff, Both imprison maidens. In Akisoff world. They are swan people.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Anna]

And the fire. In Massa, there is also a magical object containing Kache's soul. In the Firebird ballet, it's an egg. And in Akisoff, there is a reference to an onyx box, which we'll get there in a second. Now, in the Firebird musical, Prince Ivan destroys the egg that contains Kashay's soul, which then destroys, and he's able to kill Kashay the deathless. Okay, keep that in mind. This brings us to the box theory. I don't know what else to call it. And the made weapons connection that we started to make in our Akasoff Revisited episodes.

[Kim]

Right.

[Anna]

So if you remember, back in Akavor, Elaine has one of her visions, and she says, I saw young hands wither with age. I saw a box of black stone. I saw a feather of fire land on snow and melt it. So at first, this feels very disconnected. We're all, like, kind of making fun of Elaine for her weird visions. Like, once you understand the Slavic mythology and what it's pulling from, there seems to be a very specific pattern start to form here. So obviously, the young hands withering with age, those are the queens. They come out of the cauldron. The feather of fire is obviously Vassa, but the black stone, Elain later says there is an onyx box that he possesses. Meaning, Coche more vital than anything, save for them. The girls.

[Christina]

Why are they vital? Like, why are the girls vital?

[Anna]

I don't know.

[Christina]

Vasa, we have kind of uncovered. But the other girls are also important.

[Kim]

The girls aren't.

[Christina]

This tells us those other girls are there for a purpose.

[Kim]

Totally. Totally.

[Anna]

So in the original Slavic mythology, Koschei the deathless cannot be killed traditionally. Okay. Because his soul is hidden outside of his body. So inside a magical object. And it's always hidden. It's always somewhere impossible to reach. So if Sarah is following that same framework, then the onyx box that Elain refers to probably literally contains Koschei's soul, his immortality.

[Kim]

Right.

[Anna]

Which then brings us to this Akasoff theory that we had after Nesta and Cassian fight Lanthus in the prison. Nesta says this a slice from Ataraxia, which is her maid sword that she created. A slice from Ataraxia seemed to bind him into physical form. Struck true only after Lanthus had been forced to give up his mist. So we speculated in our Akasoff Revisited episodes that clearly Serra is establishing that some of these ancient beings may not have a physical form, a stable physical form, but that made objects like Ataraxia or Truthful Teller can force them into one. Because it's after. After Nesta swipes against Lanthus mist with Ataraxi, it immediately binds him. Yeah. So let's quickly recap this with bullet points to lead us to how we think this is going to play out in Acotar 6. Koshei's soul or his immortality is likely hidden externally inside of this onyx box that Elain sees in her vision, meaning he cannot be killed conventionally. But we know from Nessa's encounter with Lanthus and Akasoff that made weapons may be capable of bind immortal beings into vulnerable physical bodies, allowing them to be destroyed. Which means two things. One, we need to access this object, this magical box, and destroy it. And then we have to use a made weapon to then physically bind him and kill him.

[Christina]

I like it.

[Anna]

Those are the two things that have to happen.

[Christina]

I like it.

[Kim]

I have a theory. I have. I, I, I have a. I'm having a vision. I'm having. I'm. Elaine, give it to us.

[Christina]

Come on, Elaine.

[Anna]

Elaine. Come on, Elaine.

[Kim]

So the two things that you just said, access the object. Who's the only person who can see that right now? Elain. Elaine, who also used Truth Teller to stab the king. Elaine. Azriel gave her truth teller, and she was able to wound the King of Hyber.

[Christina]

She could wield it.

[Kim]

She can wield Truth Teller. So this, to me feels like we are setting up for. This is going to be Elain's like, journey. Her. Her plot throughout the next book is going to be, we have to find this onyx box. It contains Koshe soul. That's the only way we can kill him. She's either gonna go with Asriel. She could also go with Nesta. She could use Ataraxia, or she could go. Nesta could use it. But I feel like this is going to be the big overarching adventure here.

[Christina]

And I love the use of Elayne's visions in this because again, a piece of Elayne that We are so excited to see is this more quiet power and strength that is just as powerful and exciting and worthy as Nesta and as Feyre in battle. Her being able to be like, I'm not a Nesta. I'm not gonna like, do this. I'm not gonna conquer armies, etc, I'm not gonna go through the blood rite. Still. I am powerful and I have this magic that is useful and worthy and important. So, like, that idea of this being how we're using her magic is so cool. So I love that. That tie because, like, even now, all the little visions, I feel like Sarah, I want to have faith that again, all the Easter eggs are there on purpose. But like, the feather landing in snow, are they gonna have to go to winter? Is that something we haven't seen yet? Like, oh, yeah, actually landing snow? Because we haven't. We have.

[Anna]

When would been to the winter the

[Christina]

feather have landed in snow. So is that something that is going to happen? I did see Vassa as a bird have to go to winter. Things like that are really.

[Kim]

Oh, I could totally see her doing that. Christina.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

I feel like she's using Elain's visions already to set up things. Oh, I got that.

[Christina]

This does make sense why Koshe wanted the Dread Trove. Because there's a maid items.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

So I feel like he's trying to either collect the maid items or use the maid items or something.

[Anna]

Nesta has like.

[Kim]

Yeah, yeah, that's a. If Sarah decides to have Elain and Azriel together, I like it. She could tie Lucian and Vassa together because he could help free her.

[Christina]

Spell Cleaver. Yep.

[Kim]

Spell Cleaver.

[Christina]

Spell Cleaver.

[Kim]

Spell Cleaver. And we had.

[Christina]

Cleaver is hilarious.

[Kim]

Spell Cleaver.

[Christina]

Cleaver. Why is that fun?

[Kim]

Don't you think that could be true?

[Christina]

Oh, yes.

[Kim]

Like, he's gonna find out Italian son

[Christina]

on purpose is a part of the band of exiles when, like, we know that's gonna be his power, I. E. What Vassa needs. Also, I've been saying I feel like there's hints of romance between him and Vasa. That's what people are picking up on Vassa and Jurian. So, like, finally gonna give us that.

[Kim]

She's gonna give us the throuple guys.

[Anna]

Three some we didn't ask for.

[Christina]

I would be into it, but let's go.

[Kim]

Yes. Okay. Let's move on to kind of. We've touched upon the female imprisonment that Kosher is obsessed with and also the Swan Maiden connection.

[Christina]

Yep.

[Kim]

So another Recurring element this is also pulled directly from Slavic folklore is the imprisonment of women. Koshei's abducting and controlling women is a huge part of the original My and Sarah is obviously kind of reinforcing that pattern. Throughout Acotar. Yeah, obviously. Vassa is cursed and imprisoned. Koshe references other captive women, and he appears obsessed with controlling feminine power and autonomy. In Acowar, Elaine is just getting more and more useful. Every time I deep dive into this, she says, there. There is a lake deep in the continent, I think, hidden amongst mountains and ancient forests. He keeps them all at the lake. And then I believe it's either Azrael or Cassian says other women like her. And Elaine says, yes and no. Their feathers are white as snow. They glide across the water while she, Vassa, rages through the skies above it.

[Christina]

Yeah, they're swans. Yeah, they're swans. I mean, they got white feathers.

[Kim]

They're gliding across the water.

[Anna]

They're Odessas. It's a lake full of Odessas.

[Kim]

It's a lake full of Odessas. And this imagery feels very inspired by the swan maiden archetype found throughout Slavic folklore. Magical women bound by enchantment, often trapped or controlled by powerful male sorcerers. So I feel like these other women are going to become more important in future books because we really just focus on Vassa. But there are other women that are trapped there.

[Christina]

And why are they there? Yes, why are they useful to him? Like, they are vital. When discussing those women, they are noted as vital to him.

[Kim]

Why vital? He calls them girl. Elaine refers to them as girls, too.

[Christina]

His girl. The girls. Yeah.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And like, what? But like, we know that he got Vassa there on purpose. Like, who are these girls? Like, why are they helpful to him? And I mean, the fact that they're all trapped on the lake and on top of the water makes me be like, is there some sort of magic or power or something? Where, like, is the onyx box under the water? Are they, like, guarding it?

[Kim]

Oh, guarding it. Yeah.

[Christina]

Or like there's something about them not being able to leave the lake and the fact that they're vital that I don't understand yet.

[Anna]

I'm so curious to see where this, like you said with Elain and the using her visions and stuff. Because I feel like if you. Koshe was smart, he would put the box nowhere near him. Right. Because you'd want it away. Well, I guess maybe he'd want to protect it. But then at the same time, I'm like, if it's separated from him. Because I think even if you destroy the box, you still have to go kill him. Like, it just releases his soul.

[Kim]

Oh, yeah.

[Christina]

Okay.

[Anna]

Right.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

I mean, it's like, why Voldemort hit his Horcruxes across the continent.

[Kim]

But then that's a risky little game that you play. Like, would you be able to tell that they're gone and destroyed?

[Christina]

Also, like, I don't know. There's this onyx box. It's gonna be very important.

[Kim]

Agreed?

[Christina]

Agreed.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Anna]

Okay. Sorry. Moving on.

[Christina]

Moving on. Yes. I think we already kind of talked about Elaine and why we think that it just makes sense. All of the puzzle pieces are aligning here for her to be very central to this Koshay story. It just makes sense narratively. It just all aligns for really beautiful storytelling that we think Sarah will give us. And it just feels important that her mate is Lucian, even if she ends up with him or not, but that her mate is Lucian and that he is a spell cleaver.

[Anna]

All new drinks are now at McDonald's with refreshers like the Strawberry Watermelon Refresher and the Mango Pineapple Refresher with popping Boba. To crafted sodas like the Sprite Berry Blast with berry flavors and cold foam. Who knew ice cold drinks could be so fire six? All new drinks are here now at McDonald's.

[Kim]

Refreshers contain caffeine.

[Christina]

Granger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering, and 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[Anna]

This.

[Christina]

What do we need for this? Some spell cleaving. There's a lot of spell work happening here. Cleaving, you know? Right. I feel like if Lucian's used for Vassa to cleave her spell or to cleave some spell on the swans or the box or something. It just feels like Lucian and the spell cleaving being involved is going to be important.

[Anna]

This is a great force proximity situation for Elain and Lucien.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

Elain has to go on the quest. Like, they're using her visions. Like, what do you see now? And she's starting to learn how to harness her visions. Or something. And that forces her and Lucian to be together. Because although Lucian doesn't yet know that he is the son of spell cleaver.

[Christina]

Oh no, that'd have to happen first.

[Anna]

But like that would have to happen first.

[Kim]

Yep. That'd be some point. He's on his little trek with her

[Anna]

and he all of a sudden he realizes.

[Kim]

Yeah. Something.

[Christina]

Okay.

[Kim]

But you know what though? If Lucian has to go with her on this trek, so does Azriel. Needs a made object. It has to be Ataraxia or truth teller.

[Christina]

Oh, do you think Sarah's gonna put the three of them together Vacay. Shut up.

[Anna]

That would be that tension.

[Kim]

That would be so messy. And I feel like she would do

[Christina]

it so real

[Kim]

guys. Like it just pops out and it's like, what's happening?

[Christina]

I mean vibes. There wasn't just one cereal. True surreal Is a species. True a race.

[Kim]

I don't know. I just feel like I agree that it is force proximity with Lucian once he figures out his connection to Hellion. And he maybe can hone some of his spell cleaving abilities. But she. Yeah, they will need a made object. And who. Who has a made object on him at all times? Asriel.

[Christina]

I like this thought, Kim. It's like, how can we make this messier? Yeah, let's do it. We've waited this long. I want to see all the dynamics. Yeah. All the time.

[Anna]

That's like the end of the part one of ACOTAR 6. It's like. And the three of them have.

[Kim]

The three of them have to go off together. Shut up.

[Anna]

What about Gwen? Okay, well this is not a Gwen.

[Kim]

We can find something for her to do.

[Anna]

Tag along.

[Christina]

Yeah. Could she go as well? Yeah, she.

[Anna]

She reads the books. They need a Valkyrie.

[Kim]

Yes. There we go.

[Christina]

I love it. We can tie in memory.

[Kim]

We can tie in more. We could get the whole kick caboodle to go on the whole kit. Kim, Poodle, run us through the last time that we see Koshe in Akazole.

[Anna]

Yeah, so it's when Cassie and Azriel are tricked into following Eris and Brielle in to the lake where Kosche is trapped. He says a lot of interesting things here. A lot of which we break down in our Akasoff Revisited episode. But he says to Azriel, I spend so many months preparing for you and you don't even wish to speak to me.

[Kim]

That's weird, you guys. What does that mean? I spend so many months preparing for you. Asriel.

[Anna]

What again? Setting him Up.

[Christina]

Yep. I think this. It's making it very clear that Azriel is also going to be central to this Koshay story. I think that him and Elain, if they are together or not, are going to be our two characters battling Koshei for different reasons. Elaine with her visions. And there has to be a tie to Azreal's shadows. The amount of times we talk about shadow, it's like the shadows and his shadows are scared of Koshei's shadows, and Koshei's made of shadows.

[Anna]

Koschei is described as a shadow atop the lake, which, again, another reason we made object to bind him. Right. Just like Lanthus is mist. And then we see this interaction with his shadows and Asriel. They could make out nothing of him beyond the shadow of his form. Even Azrael's own shadows kept tucked behind his wings. And then Koschei laughs, and Asriel stiffens like his shadows had murmured a warning. And his siphons flare and he just yells run. Again. I think his shadows are talking to him and. And there's pure terror on his brother's face is what Cassian notes.

[Kim]

That scares me. Because for Azrael to be terrified.

[Christina]

Terrified. What. What did the shadows tell him that made him terrified?

[Anna]

Also, what's more interesting to me is the fact that Asriel's shadows were almost delayed in their response because his shadows are always out seeking and feeling things out. And it's like they didn't warn him until right before was time to go. I think he was being blocked.

[Kim]

Well, I think it was something about Koshei laughing, because this is. Koshei laughed, and Asriel stiffened like his shadows had murmured a warning.

[Christina]

Like, yeah, and his shadows are scared. I think they're like, hiding behind him.

[Anna]

Yes.

[Christina]

Yeah. And so interesting.

[Kim]

This is so interesting, you guys. I just.

[Christina]

We break this down in Akisoft too, but. Yes, but I think the shadows are very important. I think the shadow language is important. I know we talked about this in Akasoff, but I wouldn't be surprised if shadow was one of the words in the title for ACOTAR 6 or 7. I don't know which one. Agreed. But I feel like shadow is important. And Asriel. This is going to be our. I think we're going to get Asriel Piyu. This is going to be like the Asriel books. Like, this just all makes sense.

[Kim]

Yeah, 100%.

[Anna]

Do you think ACOTAR 6, 7 and 8 are going to have the same title? It's just going to be like part one, part two, part three.

[Kim]

Oh, you know, I have not thought about that somehow because she was like,

[Anna]

it's one story, but it's one story to tell in one book. So I'm like, so is it gonna be. Oh, like, if. You know.

[Christina]

Right. The fact that they're releasing separately makes me feel like they're gonna have different titles that would not work with what she said about them being one cohesive story.

[Kim]

Right, right.

[Christina]

And maybe it'll be like, wicked. Like how we get wicked colon for good. Yeah. Or like, you know, but I think it's gonna be like a lot of words.

[Kim]

Something for book six. Something colon. Something else for book. You know what I mean? Like, let's. Okay, let's say do Shadows. Book six is just shadows.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

It's not gonna be a Court of Shadows, of course.

[Kim]

A Court of Shadows. Book seven is like a Court of Shadows for good. Book eight is a Court of Shadows for worse.

[Christina]

The end.

[Anna]

The end.

[Kim]

The finale. You know what I mean? Like, she could do something like that. Because I agree. If she has them all different titles, how is that any different from A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and. You know what I mean?

[Anna]

Yes. Yeah.

[Christina]

Like, I do.

[Kim]

I've gotta.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Delineate it somehow.

[Christina]

I do think if we did two words at the beginning, it would be a lot of words. Like, okay, we're doing a Court of Shadows and Fire. That's six. A Court of Shadows and Fire for good. Part seven. A Court of Shadows and Fire. The end, part eight. Like, that's a lot of words.

[Kim]

That is a lot of words. But she's doing something very different here to begin with. Like, it's a very risk. Not risky, not for her, but it. I mean, we don't see this.

[Anna]

I don't think anyone is like, nobody's back there being like, yeah, no, that's too long. She's like, I'm doing what I want.

[Christina]

Yeah. No, yeah.

[Anna]

She's like, no, you made me, you know, Kingdom of Ash.

[Kim]

Like, you made me take out chapters for no reason. We're not doing that anymore. I feel like she's kind of tailor served of like, I'm gonna tell you what I'm gonna do and you're gonna just take it and accept it and be happy with it.

[Christina]

And they will say thank you.

[Kim]

And they will say thank you.

[Christina]

I wonder, what if they change one word? What if it's like, okay, a Court of Shadows and Fire, and then we Kind of resolve. Vassa. And so the next book, fire, changes into a different word.

[Anna]

A court of shadowy fire. A coat. A court of shadowy. Because. Right. Isn't it a court of silver flames? They don't do the. It's like a.

[Kim]

Right, but it's a court of thorns and roses. A court of mist and fury. A court of wings and ruin.

[Christina]

And then.

[Kim]

Yeah. Silver flames is like its own because

[Anna]

it was like an olive, but then.

[Kim]

So she could do something else.

[Anna]

Yeah, that's.

[Christina]

Yeah. But I wonder if, like, if we did. If we did the. And in between. I wonder if we could just keep changing the second word or, like, changing one of the words so it's tying together.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Continuation.

[Kim]

Shadows and fire. Shadows and, like, something with vision.

[Christina]

Something with, like, shadows and sights. Shadows, you know, like, we're, like, moving on, you know?

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Yeah. But shadows stay the same.

[Kim]

I like that. I could. That. That would be a good way to kind of show that it is one story. But these are just three different pieces.

[Anna]

We'll send it in to us.

[Kim]

Sarah, call us. We've got lots of ideas.

[Christina]

Be on the lookout.

[Kim]

We'll text you.

[Christina]

Okay. Okay.

[Kim]

I think that wraps up our mass master class on Koshay.

[Christina]

This is fun.

[Kim]

This was, I feel, like, so fun.

[Christina]

I know.

[Anna]

I love how we were like. I mean, he's like, barely on the

[Kim]

page, but like, an hour later, here we are.

[Christina]

But we have a lot to say about him.

[Kim]

Yeah, we do. We do.

[Christina]

And I feel like we even have more to say.

[Anna]

Oh, totally.

[Christina]

Theories we didn't touch on here. Leave it to Sarah to plant these little Easter eggs for us to then deep dive and just lose our minds over.

[Kim]

Yeah, it's really fun.

[Christina]

Hours at a time. I love it. I love it.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

I'm so excited.

[Kim]

So let us know what you guys thought about this, and we'll see you next time. Well, friends, that wraps up another episode of Flights of Fantasy podcast. Don't forget to join our book club community on Instagram and TikTok at flights of Fantasy Podcast, where you can share your thoughts, theories, and favorite moments with us and fellow listeners. We'd love to hear from you. If you enjoyed today's episode. Please rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform. Your support helps us spread the magic of Romantasy to even more book lovers. Until next time, keep dreaming, keep reading, and remember, every good story deserves to take flight.

[Christina]

Grainger knows. When you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building. You're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, Filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it.

[Anna]

All new drinks are now at McDonald's with refreshers like the Strawberry Watermelon Refresher and the Mango Pineapple Refresher with popping Boba to crafted sodas like the Sprite Berry Blast with berry flavors and cold foam. Who knew ice cold drinks could be so fire six? All new drinks are here now at McDonald's.

[Kim]

Refreshers contain caffeine.

[Christina]

Rakuten opens up a world of rewards.

[Anna]

You can earn cash back on fashion,

[Christina]

beauty, electronics, pet supplies, kids stuff, groceries. But what I'm here to tell you is with Rakuten, you get cash back on travel, too. Join and save on your next trip.

[Anna]

You'll get cash back on the flight,

[Christina]

the hotel and the car rental book

[Anna]

on your favorite travel sites like Expedia,

[Christina]

Booking.com, viator, Verbohotels.com, iHG and more. Save on cruises, vacation packages and experiences as well.

[Anna]

And don't worry, cash back can be

[Christina]

earned on top of your credit card points and with many loyalty programs because we know you're saving every way you can.

[Anna]

So go ahead, take a trip.

[Kim]

Find that perfect hotel.

[Christina]

Book an artisan cheese experience inside a cave in Spain.

[Anna]

Wherever you want to go, go with Rakuten.

[Christina]

Join today for free. Go to rakuten.com or get the app that's R A K U T E N.