I’ve seen way too many people claim the leaks are AI-generated, that SJM’s writing has gone downhill, etc. And as someone who has spent way too much time analyzing her work, I have to disagree. Those six pages reads like her writing style to me. I find it hard to believe an AI tool could replicate her voice that convincingly.
I’m fully aware that my headcanons are just headcanons. Sure, I’ve come up with some pretty solid, well-thought-out theories, but some of those have also been debunked, and that’s okay! At the end of the day, this is SJM’s story, not mine. I can analyze the text, connect dots, and try my best to predict where she’s taking things, but ultimately, I’m not the one writing these books. And I’m perfectly okay with that. I’m here to have fun theorizing, not to convince myself that I know better than the author herself.
Previously I had posted a theory speculating that Azriel is a Vanserra. And since these leaks came out, I keep seeing this possibility being true.
BUT I’m also completely okay with letting this theory go if it turns out not to be true. I can’t exactly argue that it’s correct when it relies on so many layers of speculation: the idea that the narrative itself is lying to us, the possibility of time manipulation, and a whole host of other assumptions that would need to fall into place.
It’s a fun possibility to explore, but I’m not going to pretend I have it all figured out. At the end of the day, I'm only theorizing, and I’m just as excited to see where SJM actually takes the story—even if it completely dismantles everything I’ve come up with.
But I do want to include some additional findings from the leaks, that keep making me side-eye that possibility.
There are a ton of theories that have speculated that Azriel's mother is a seer like Elain, and when re-reading Queen of Shadows, I stumbled across this line:
"Inside it is a coven of Yellowlegs witches, all taken by the duke... to create demon offspring." (32)
And from the leaks we see this line: "That male. That monster. That demon." (ACOSH, 20)
Now, from what we understand we know that Azriel hates himself and his Illyrian heritage. But I really don't know if he is truly Illyrian or if he was Made similar to what had happened to the Archeron sisters.
"I glanced at the others. Rhys was frowning, Cassian and Mor were both grimacing, and Azriel... It was pity on his beautiful face. Pity and sorrow as he watched my sister." (ACOFAS, 12)
With Sangravah being confirmed to reside in the Night Court right against the border of the Illyrian Steps, I can’t help but to wonder if there’s a connection between the Autumn Court and the Illyrians.
Lucien seems familiar with Sangravah, as suggested by his recognition of the carpet in the townhouse. Gwyn and her twin are also from Sangravah, and they have Autumn Court heritage through their grandfather. And interestingly enough, Gwyn feels unworthy to wear the Priestess stones—that unworthiness is something that Rhys says is an Illyrian trait.
And then there’s Eris, an outsider, who seems to know a surprising amount about Illyrian lore and warfare. What if these details are connected? Could the Illyrians have ties to the Autumn Court that we haven’t fully uncovered yet?
"The Illyrians... dwell in clans and camps deep in the mountains of the North and do not like outsiders. Especially High Fae who try to tell them what to do. But they're just obsessed with lineage, and have their own princes and lords among them." (ACOMAF, 16)
Lucien shares this bit of lore of Autumn: "Perhaps it was a good thing. I was able to study for longer than my father allowed my brothers before shoving them out the door to rule over some territory within our lands, and I could train for as long as I liked, since no one believed I'd be dumb enough to kill my way up the long list of heirs." (ACOWAR, 11)
So, then I wonder: we assume Lucien is referring to the lands within the Autumn Court, but what if there’s more to it? It brings me back to the idea of Azriel’s father being a “local lord.” How local are we talking? And is Lucien really referring to the Autumn Court specifically, or could he be talking about Feyre and his lands more broadly—the entirety of Prythian?
Just how far does Beron’s bloodline actually extend?
“The Lady of the Autumn Court was sent to stay with her sisters, her younger children packed off to other relatives. To spread out the bloodline.” (47)
Now of course Illyrians are a different species/class, referred to as "lesser faeries," but Rhys comments how "lesser faeries resent the term—and wish for us all to be called one thing." (ACOMAF, 21)
And what I find really interesting is that Autumn/Dusk are connected by the Horned God/The Dark Mother of the Three-Faced Goddess.
- The Horned God: Warrior (Autumn/Dusk)—Father (Summer/Day)—Sage (Winter/Night)
- The Dark Mother: Maiden (Autumn/Dusk)—Mother (Winter/Night)—Crone (Summer/Day)
And with Dusk being confirmed to have once been the Prison—Bryce being the daughter of the Autumn King, Einar Danaan, who is descended by the Starborn Fae, those originally from Dusk...
"[Azriel] must have had some sort of Starborn blood in him, then—a distant ancestor, maybe. Or maybe his possession of the knife somehow allowed him to also bear the Starsword." (HOFAS, 24)
And then, going back to the leaks, we have this passage:
“Searing power crackled from the High Lord of Autumn’s youngest son. Az’s hand curled at his side, the Siphon atop it flaring to life. But if he manifested that power, drew a weapon—
What worse could he do to Lucien? The male had already found Az in bed with his mate.”
Now, this is a stretch, but there’s something interesting about the way this passage is structured. Typically, when we begin a new passage, we establish the subject. Here, SJM doesn’t identify Lucien by name. Instead, she uses his title: “the High Lord of Autumn’s youngest son.”
On the surface, this makes perfect sense as a callback to Lucien’s fire-based power. But I want to challenge those who are interested to reread the passage with one small change: replace that title with Azriel’s name.
“Searing power crackled from [Azriel]. Az’s hand curled at his side, the Siphon atop it flaring to life. But if he manifested that power, drew a weapon—
What worse could he do to Lucien? The male had already found Az in bed with his mate.”
Suddenly, the passage takes on a slightly different feel. You can almost read it as though Azriel is actively suppressing his own power—as if the searing power belongs to him, and he’s holding himself back from unleashing it.
Again, I know this is a stretch, and I’m not claiming this is definitive evidence of anything. But given how much we’ve speculated about Azriel’s parentage and the possibility of hidden connections to the Autumn Court, I think it’s an interesting detail to play around with.
