World Theory
Contains spoilers for; ACOTAR, TOG, CC and the LOKI TV SERIES.
In October 2017 I posted one of my First major Solo theories. I found it by accident. It was potential evidence that Prythian and Erliea worlds were linked. I made this conclusion based on shifting coastlines. Using what I knew about global warming/cooling cycles, sea level rising and how the landscape can change over time.
This theory had a lot of discussion on it, we discussed parallel world theory, and differences in time and space and we talked about how the world could be the exact same world but also how it might not be.
At the time the post blew up and I was shocked. I received hate because “!!!THE WORLDS AREN’T THE SAME!!” Shouted some very vocal fans! And “HOW DARE I try to even think about writing crossover theory” shouted others (as much as someone can shout over text on a tumblr post). Luckily I had friends at the time who shared my excitement and in thinking it was potentially cool and could open up a range of opportunities for storytelling. Not all, some friends told me I was thinking too hard and it wasn't going to happen and I was fine with that - back then it was a bit of a jump to make. Excitement from other Fans did feel nice though.
However, In this post, I aim to share some evidence that points to the potential for parallel worlds. A connection between ACOTAR (Prythian), TOG (Erilea) and CC (Midgard). And what these parallel worlds might mean for us as we are reading SJM’s books.
In October 2017, I would have finished Tower of Dawn a Month before and I would have been in the Fandom for approximately a year. The connection to other worlds was mostly in the TOG series. The portal in TOG that Cain opened; and in CoM Celaena opened one and went through in search of Nehemia. In HoF there was talk of how creatures from other worlds could come through the deepest caves and when Rowan and Aelin were on the ice. In QoS the Sin-Eater God feels an awful lot like the bone carver we meet in ACOTAR. Then in ToD I was very excited. There was mention of portals that the Valg stepped through and how Maeve was the first to step through and then the three brothers made their own portal to follow her. How the Fae had fled from Antica and the Valg, finding sarcophagus, ancient ruins and strange mountains.
Then in ACOMAF and ACOWAR we had the Bonecarver tell us in his own words that he was from another place so long ago that the world would have long ago turned to dust. He also mentioned that he would have sided with a fae long ago if he could have. So I tried to find any possible connections between the series.
My theory was that actually Prythian and Erilea might be connected somehow. I had one tweet. One tweet from SJM that went against what the majority of people thought. People argued that they were separate series and had nothing to do with each other. It was this tweet: where she mentions the multiverse.
I sadly cannot find the original tweet on twitter as SJM appears to have cleared out a lot of her social media (lordy i’ve been in this fandom a long time). Her pinterest board has either been privatized/hidden or removed, her twitter is almost silent since 2015, and she is very careful about what she shares on instagram and in lives etc. But this is from the internet archives and google images.
So using this tweet and playing with maps of Erilea and Prythian I made this gif… (sadly i’ve thrown out my cut outs from that time, but here is a low quality gif from my original post.)
It shows a matching coastline for Prythian and Erilea. Mountainous regions in similar places and where there are great deserts in Erilea - in Prythian the ocean has swallowed these low lying areas up. No it’s not exact but our own coastline here changes over hundreds of thousands of years so it's not impossible.
So that was back then. In 2017, after the release of Tower of Dawn in Sep 2017.
This all happened BEFORE...
Before A Court of Frost and Starlight in May 2018 where we were reminded that Amren had a new body and wasn't from Prythian.
Before Kingdom of Ash in October 2018, where Aelin fell through multiple worlds, passing through Prythian and Lunathon.
Before Bryce closes all the open portals to Hel in Crescent City in March 2020.
Before Rhys saw a red star fall through the sky with his pregnant wife beside him in A court of Silver Flames in March 2021.
Before Nesta tested the harp and moved through space with it in A Court of Silver Flames (March 2021) and mentioned how she might also be able to move through time and that perhaps others had before her.
So, That's my introduction/above the cut - hailing back to where I've been and what we all know now. I’m pretty convinced that SJM’s worlds are all connected through parallel world theory and I’m going to explain why I think that.
First What do I mean when I say Parallel world theory?
If you have recently seen the Loki Series (spoilers - Sorry) - Then what I am about to explain might make more sense if you think of every single world as a variation of another world.
