10 Biggest A Court of Splintered Harmony Fan Theories After That Ending

Spiders, shadows, the Dusk Court and a side eye at Amren? Here are the theories fans are already fighting over for A Court of Forgotten Melody. And some of my own thrown in for fun.

Still deciding whether to read the book? Start with my spoiler-free A Court of Splintered Harmony review (8/10). Then come back here when you’re ready for the conspiracies.

Warning: MASSIVE spoilers for A Court of Splintered Harmony, along with references to Crescent City and Throne of Glass. Read the book first. Seriously. You have been warned. 

Well, I’ve finished A Court of Splintered Harmony, and it went so freaking fast. For real, it felt like a 100-page book; how does she do that? Either way, I started pulling at some threads to see what might stick, and as ever, went on a deep rabbit-holey dive into what everyone else is putting together around the internet.

Because Splintered Harmony is the first movement of a larger story, with A Court of Forgotten Melody arriving January 12, 2027, there is going to be a lot of very cool things set up in this book we need to watch for. Including that cliffhanger (what did I say about cliffhangers in original ACOTAR 6 guide? Yup. There were cliffhangers that opened more questions.) So, let us dive in to some convincingly scary guesses, and some less so easy to string together, and see what there is to plunder.

A small caveat: these theories were gathered during the first days after release. There are more to come.

Quick Takeaways

• Nesta’s trip to the Prison and the disappearance of Gwydion have put the lost Dusk Court at the centre of the new theories.
• Clotho’s ribbon, the Stygian spiders and the book’s repeated songs may be separate mysteries—or part of something much older.
• Elriel, Gwynriel and Elucien readers are examining Azriel’s shadows for very different reasons.
• These are early post-release fan theories, not confirmed answers. That’s half the fun.

Need a refresher on who everyone is and what happened before you read this book? Or have a friend who can’t get into it because they keep getting lost? My free Splintered Harmony reader cheat sheet (PDF) is linked from the ACOTAR 6 news and reading guide, too.

1. Will Nesta Become High Lady of the Dusk Court?

Nesta tries and tries to winnow throughout this book, with lots of mist thrown in her face as she does. Eventually, she gets the distance she’s after and travels to the Prison with Gwydion…only for an ancient magic to take the sword straight out of her hand.

Update: The mist. THE MIST. I kept wondering why Nesta was being hit with so much of it while learning to winnow, and this YouTube Short about mists and thin places has sent me right back to that question. If mist marks a boundary between worlds, is the repetition here a clue about Nesta and the Dusk Court, rather than just a description of winnowing? That’s a theory, not a confirmed explanation, but I’m watching it.

Throughout the whole book we were hit over the head with the image of Nesta’s star again, and again, and again, and…it’s absolutely going somewhere. Is that somewhere the Dusk Court? Because the prison has connections to the lost Dusk Court through the Crescent City crossover, and Nesta has her own connections too, via the eight-pointed star and Gwydion.

Readers are now wondering whether Nesta is being called to reclaim the Dusk Court, perhaps by becoming its High Lady and establishing somewhere the Valkyries could exist beyond Rhys’s authority.

And I would absolutely read that, because I have thoughts on that in my review, along the lines of “giving her a court of her own would be one hell of a development that is completely needed”.

There is a competing theory, though, that some people are pointing out. Bryce has a far more obvious historical claim to the Dusk Court through her ancestry. Perhaps Nesta is meant to restore it without ruling it, or perhaps the sword has returned to Bryce. Or maybe…maybe they rule it together somehow? Hm.

2. Did Amren Know What Was Going to Happen at the Prison?

Amren, ma’am. What are you doing? What is with all the shady-acting-shady? And out-of-character reactions? Many readers are starting to question the motives behind her actions because of this, and well…

After Bryaxis attacks Nyx’s Naming Day, Amren talks about how much has changed because of it. I mean, Rhys is willing to give Nesta the Made weapons back, he starts trusting her again, Cassian comes around, and basically a fire was lit under everyone’s butts. Nothing like a good dose of fear to put your head back on straight. Am I right?

And maybe Amren knows this and wanted that attack to happen, especially after that early book argument with Feyre. It’s a little bit of a leap…just because someone likes an outcome doesn’t mean they caused it, and Clotho’s song probably did most of the work…so for those who are considering the theory, I’d love to know further connections you have!

Why Did Amren Send Nesta to the Prison?

Right now it’s the back end of the story that is really bolstering this theory. Amren tells Nesta to take Gwydion to the Prison. Nesta goes. The Prison takes the sword. Or well, something does anyway. Did Amren know this would happen, and is this her plan all along? 

There are two ways I can see this going: either 1. Amren is manipulating Nesta toward something she wants, or 2. she knows the Prison needs Nesta and is nudging her into a role she isn’t ready to explain to her outside of wink, wink, nudge, nudge. This wouldn’t make Amren evil, unless evil genius counts. 

So, I guess we’ll find out soon if Amren is setting Nesta up to take over the Dusk Court or not in the next installments. 

3. Is Clotho’s Thread Made From Stygian Spidersilk?

As soon as that Clotho thread–the one for Nyx’s naming day–made an appearance, I knew something was up with it. And my next thought after that. Wait, the spiders from Throne of Glass! Cue me scrambling for my laptop to Google the cover for the next book to make absolutely sure I saw a spider on it. “Yup. There it is.”

Some explanation for you: In Splintered Harmony, Clotho gives the family an unusually light, silvery thread for the ceremony. It is described in a similar way to the spidersilk in Heir of Fire. During the Bryaxis attack, the ribbon seems to bind Feyre, Rhys, and Nyx together at the worst possible moment.

And, for anyone who has forgotten their Greek mythology: Clotho is one of the three Fates, just FYI. The one who spins the thread of life (Atropos is the Fate with the scissors). The spiders, meanwhile, are known for trading in years of life. Suspiciously similar imagery, if not quite the same magic, don’t you think?

Therefore, some fans are going as far as asking whether Clotho is a Stygian spider, or somehow connected to them. Which was my exact thought too; I love this theory. 

Could the Thread Connect Bryaxis and Koschei?

Another theory? The string has something to do with Bryaxis’s homecoming. As the call happens, it keeps Nyx and his parents stuck. It could be two different things, but if that’s true, it’s a bloody coincidence, isn’t it? 

Let’s link this to another thought too. Koschei’s life-thread, inside of a box. Is this a broader magic of fate, involving strings? Is there someone weaving certain lives together? Are the strings one and the same?

Could Spidersilk Be Used to Age Nyx?

Outside of this, I had another thought. Rhys might have the High King title to bring the whole fae world together, but do you know who else could? Nyx. He might inherit more than just Night Court power. Little snag right now: of course, he’s a baby. So what if he wasn’t? In Throne of Glass, the Stygian spiders bargain for years of a person’s life in exchange for their silk. That does not mean the silk itself can age someone. But what if the same kind of magic could be used to manipulate Nyx’s age? Could we see a Twilight-style rapidly ageing child on our hands?

For now, the question to follow is thus: what did Clotho make that ribbon from, and why did she give it to Nyx?

4. Is Music the Magic Behind the Forgotten Melody?

Ok, the title would be super on the nose for this one. But hear the fans out. You see, there is a lot of singing going on in this book, which is suspicious. Then if you look at when that singing happens? It becomes its own conspiracy theory.

1. The priestesses sing about calling a lost sister home, and Bryaxis turns up. 
2. Gwyn sings, and Azriel’s shadows seem extraordinarily interested. 
3. Later, Erebos talks about Truth-Teller as a singing blade and refers to a Song of Songs. 
4. Throw in the Harp and the fact that the books are being released as musical movements.

It would be silly to think that magic had nothing to do with music at this point. And this is where I must introduce you to this wonderful person I found on the internet because it’s a theory all of their own that frankly took them a lot of time, so you must go there to see it: 88-page fan theory about music as the underlying magic of the entire Maasverse. (It also goes into light, which I’m sure you can quickly draw together the why of that).

Eighty-eight pages! This is a person after my own heart. 

I did make sketch notes all over the place about music too. Especially for Az. Az is a shadowsinger whose shadows react to actual singing, and a dagger he seems to have an almost (ok more than almost) personal relationship with that apparently has its own song? Something literal is happening with music for sure. And now I’m picturing scenes of Fey singing lullabies to Nyx and it meaning something, because cute. 

The other theory is that music is being used to connect people back together…and maybe even to separate them. We had a lot of arguing in this series that just didn’t feel right to me…like we had been dropped into High School territory instead of, you know, people in charge of wars and lives. 

5. Why Do Azriel’s Shadows Keep Leaving Around Elain?

This one got my little brain going as I was reading it, as it was a rather convenient way to keep Azriel’s spying at bay. Plus, the massive fallouts over Elain felt a little contrived to me….as if they had to be there for something else to make sense. Basically. It was too convenient. Let me explain.

Ok, so Azriel is a spymaster who speaks to shadows. And Elain makes those shadows vanish, to the point of vulnerability. This could mean that Elain is hiding something, whether she knows it or not, and this is Maas’s way of avoiding the question: well, Az would have known that, so it’s a plot hole. 

Elain also doesn’t get a POV, strengthening this theory. 

The fun part of playing with this idea in the story is that it makes Elain Azriel’s kryptonite, a place he finally has peace, so of course he would be drawn to Elain. I actually like that for him. How are you supposed to have a relationship with someone if your shadows are always feeding you information about everyone around you? But I digress.

Could Erebos and Elain Have Something in Common?

Next, remember Erebos, the rather nasty shadow creature Azriel uses as a spy? Azriel’s shadows avoid him, just as they seem to avoid Elain, so are they similar? After all, Erebos hisses at Azriel, while Elain hisses when Nesta produces her weapons as if they are made of the same.

Then there’s Lucien’s mechanical eye in the conversation. Bear with me. We know it can detect magical enchantments, and some readers noticed that Elain seems particularly determined to avoid his gaze, and not even want to be in the same freaking room as him, let alone have a conversation. At dinner, she even arranges flowers between them. Now, Elain has every right to avoid Lucien, but his eye can detect enchantments. I mean, come on. Could there be something else going on here?

Could Someone Be Using Elain to Weaken the Night Court?

And if there is some kind of outside influence involved, the political consequences are dire. Elain and Azriel’s relationship has already contributed to a massive fallout with Lucien, just as the Night Court desperately needs allies. Perhaps that’s simply the result of some spectacularly unfortunate romantic decisions. But if something really is manipulating events, weakening those alliances would be a pretty effective result.

Put all of that together, and you get the rather alarming theory that Elain may have come out of the Cauldron changed in ways nobody has discovered yet. Is she concealing something, knowingly or not? Could she be influenced by Valg-like magic? For anyone who skipped Throne of Glass, the Valg are otherworldly beings associated with possession and mind manipulation. If someone else is influencing her, weakening the Night Court’s alliances could be the point. We’ll have to watch what happens when she travels with Mor in the next book. 

Also, P.S. Gwyn: when she sings at the House of Wind, his shadows run to her. Which must mean something too.

6. Is the Made Object Beneath the Sea Actually Narben?

This one is neat because it has a very specific clue from an older book, and it’s one I’d completely forgotten until I started looking into what everyone was saying.

Early in the book, Nesta senses something beneath the water when she’s trying to winnow toward the Prison. The object comes up again later, so clearly we were meant to notice it. But what on earth is down there?

One fan theory is that it’s Narben, a terrifying old death-sword mentioned in A Court of Silver Flames. Amren tells the others that Amarantha was rumoured to have found Narben, but the sword refused her and her commanders, so she supposedly had it thrown into the sea rather than let Hybern use it. 

If this is true, and we get both Narben and Gwydion, that opens up the question, what is Nesta meant to do with them?

7. Has Splintered Harmony Changed the Elriel, Gwynriel and Elucien Theories?

Elriel (Elain and Azriel), Gwynriel (Gwyn and Azriel), and Elucien (Elain and Lucien). 

Elriel: Will Elain Reject Her Mate for Azriel?

Elain and Azriel have been building a connection for several books. Azriel was the one who recognised her abilities as a seer, he trusted her with Truth-Teller during the war against Hybern, and they’ve shared several rather sweet moments together. Then we get this book, and boy, there is heat.

Elriel fans believe Maas is setting up a romance in which Elain chooses love over a mating bond she never asked for. Some also believe Azriel might be her true mate, pointing to the rather convenient arrangement of three Archeron sisters and three Illyrian brothers. Others have wondered whether the Cauldron gave Elain two mates or whether her bond with Lucien was somehow manipulated. And now we have the theory that Elain came out of the Cauldron changed in a way nobody understands. 

I love this theory mostly because Elain chases Azriel’s shadows away, giving him peace. Could they come together somehow and control that? Could it mean Azriel could have connections with others without brooding in the corner yelling at his shadows the whole time?

This romance is the forbidden romance that turns out to have been fated all along, which would leave a lot of readers very satisfied.

Gwynriel: Is Gwyn Azriel’s Actual Mate?

Gwyn is one of Nesta’s fellow Valkyries, a priestess at the House of Wind, and someone Azriel helped rescue during the attack on Sangravah. Their relationship develops further when he helps train the Valkyries.

The original Gwynriel theory really took off because of Azriel’s Silver Flames bonus chapter. After his disastrous encounter with Rhys over Elain, he finds Gwyn training alone. His shadows behave differently around her, dancing with her breath as though responding to music. As he leaves, he thinks he hears singing, with his shadows answering it.

Then there’s the necklace bit.

Azriel bought Elain a beautiful rose necklace, but she returned it after their almost-kiss went wrong…leading him to ask Clotho to give it to Gwyn anonymously.

Gwynriel fans believe these moments suggest Gwyn and Azriel may share a magical compatibility, possibly even a mating bond. 

In this book, after everything falls apart with Elain, Azriel returns to the House of Wind where he hears Gwyn singing, and his shadows practically race toward her. They gather around her, apparently delighted, while Azriel has to call them back. 

This is the opposite of their reaction to Elain…so does this mean his shadows know something Az doesn’t? And we have that next book title: A Court of Forgotten Melody. Could this be the love story between them?

Elucien: Will Elain Eventually Accept Lucien’s Mating Bond?

And then we have Lucien. Poor bloody Lucien. I really liked Lucien and feel pretty awful for him; everyone seems to mess with him constantly, but frankly, he needs to grow a pair.

Elain and Lucien are already confirmed mates. Lucien recognised the bond when Elain was transformed by the Cauldron in A Court of Mist and Fury. Which, of course, doesn’t mean Elain has to accept it.

Mates or not, Elain does not accept the bond. And we should all respect a woman’s choice, because consent is very important.

Still, Elucien fans believe Maas has been setting up a slow-burn romance in which Elain eventually chooses to accept Lucien after getting to know him on her own terms. For this to happen, the rest of the group needs to stop telling her who she can and can’t date, and who she should or shouldn’t talk to. Gross. 

(And Lucien needs to realize he can’t threaten violence toward people who want to kiss her; if this were the real world, I’d be suggesting a restraining order. It’s not cute to threaten death and carnage to groups of people, or even one person in the case of Az, because you love someone who won’t consent. That’s called coercion. Anyway, I digress.)

The more interesting Elucien theory now is whether their bond can actually be broken, or whether they’ll eventually find a way to make a choice without everyone else interfering. Some fans have even compared their situation with the false mating bond Maeve created in Throne of Glass, although there’s no confirmation that anything similar happened here. So, we will see! Whatever the case, I’d be fine with the outcome, as long as Elain was given full autonomy. 

8. Is Vassa Working for Koschei?

Why is Vassa free? And why has Koschei allowed it? Could it be that Vassa is working for Koschei?

I mean, what does Koschei gain from this arrangement exactly?

We know Feyre’s father negotiated Vassa’s temporary freedom, but we still don’t know exactly what he offered in exchange. And Vassa has been away from that lake for an awfully long time, considering Koschei supposedly wants her back. It all seems a little convenient if you ask me.

Maybe, just maybe, Vassa is slipping him information, willingly or otherwise. 

And worse, Vassa reveals that the women Koschei holds are descended from the ancient Fae warrior who imprisoned him in the lake. So why that bloodline? Does he need their magic to break whatever is keeping him there? That’s the theory readers are trying to untangle.

Could Breaking Vassa’s Curse Also Free Koschei?

Which brings us to another possibility: what if breaking Vassa’s curse also breaks Koschei’s imprisonment?

Imagine that, if you will, for a moment. Everyone is running around trying to save Vassa from this horrible bargain, gathering powerful allies and searching for ways to undo ancient magic, and all the while they’re potentially playing into the villain’s hands.

Elain’s seer magic may hold some answers. Her old visions contain birds, trees, roots, and Koschei’s hidden life, so some fans think that Elain will discover the box containing his life or death, or at least know where to find it. This is supported by the ending of the Splintered Harmony book, where Elain realizes just how useful she can be.

9. Are Nesta and Cassian Going to Separate?

I had a lot of feelings about Cassian in this book, and unfortunately most of them weren’t particularly flattering. Sorry, I know, I know. 

Listen, Cassian spent so much time punishing Nesta for doing what she thought was right, that I really didn’t like it. He bangs on about being a team, but being a team takes trust. So where is his trust, hm? With that said, many fans are asking if we’re watching the breakdown of their bond. Cassian’s anger felt like it lasted longer than the situation really earned, tbh, and the return to physical intimacy before a proper conversation was…well, I wasn’t sold on that. Then there was Nesta’s injury after Bryaxis, and the fact that he didn’t seem to check on her? Wow. Just. Wow. 

A lot of readers are frustrated with him, so I’m not alone. Some are predicting a separation, some are reviving the Nesta/Eris theories, and others are looking all the way back to Elain’s old warning about Cassian dying. 

And this all leads us back to Nesta. If Nesta ends up with a new court or role, and Cassian doesn’t have a say in how she runs it, how will that actually play out? He’s bound to her, but he’s also loyal to Rhys and the Night Court. Those loyalties have already caused trouble. What happens if the story finally forces him to choose?

10. Is Rhys a Red Herring for the High King Storyline?

Rhys doesn’t want to be High King, which would be more convincing if he didn’t spend so much time acting like everyone else’s decisions required his approval. I’m just saying.

Fans are wondering if the High King question is coming back up as a real possibility, especially as Fey is so gung-ho about it. It could fix a lot of things, but Rhys would never go for it. So is there someone else who would fit this title?

Nesta is one candidate if the Dusk Court theory turns out to be right. Feyre is another, especially with the strange awakening after the Bryaxis attack. And, honestly, honestly, I’ve been wondering about Nyx since the Naming Day.

Could Nyx Become High King Instead?

Remember how Feyre received magic from all seven High Lords when she was resurrected? I started thinking about what, if anything, her son might have inherited. Could Nyx have a connection to more than the Night Court? Could that eventually make him a figure capable of bringing the courts together in a way that all courts would agree to the legacy? Could he be carrying all of the powers of the court?

There’s also a difference between uniting the courts and ruling them; Rhys doesn’t seem to understand this thought too well. I would quite like to see the series explore that idea, what it means to rule, and be able to let go. Rhys certainly needs a lesson on that for sure. 

Considering how much of this book was about people struggling to make their own choices, a solution that amounts to one person giving them all the freedom to do just that would be glorious. 

More ACOTAR Rabbit Holes

If you need to go back through what was actually announced, start with my Splintered Harmony news and reading guide (the free reader cheat sheet PDF is there too), then revisit the original announcement of the new ACOTAR books. I’ve also got a separate breakdown of the Crescent City crossover if Bryce, Gwydion and the Dusk Court have made your head spin.

For everything else currently causing chaos in publishing, there’s the Book News hub. Or, if you’re ready to read something else while we wait for January, my Romantasy hub and fae romantasy books like ACOTAR list should help with the withdrawal symptoms.

For the Writers in the Room

There’s a reason I love pulling fan theories apart: they’re a rather brilliant way of watching readers try to solve a story. Each detail they find creates a question, and readers start looking for the rules that might connect them together instantly. If you’re writing fantasy, that’s the craft lesson here. Readers will notice small things, you don’t need to beat them over the head with a speech on how the world works.

So plant clues, and make sure those clues have a pay off later in the book. That’s the way to do worldbuilding correctly, and how you avoid info dumps.

This is the sort of reader-experience question I focus on when working with manuscripts. If you’re wrestling with your opening’s promise, try my fantasy and romantasy first chapter critiques. For the bigger problems like how the clues, character decisions and story structure hold together across an entire novel, there’s developmental editing.

If you’d rather start with free craft help, the writer list is separate from the book-news emails. It has revision advice, writing resources and updates about editorial availability.

Frequently Asked Questions About Splintered Harmony Fan Theories