Maasverse Theories

As with everything I do, this is a spoliers-heavy article about various universe theories. I’m starting with Throne of Glass because that’s what I’ve re-read first.

For a bit this will function as a somewhat, semi-organised brain dump as I wrap my head around all the information. I am not someone who does super-deep dives into universes, this is a curiosity for me and I don’t expect all this information (particularly if I start including timelines) to be accurate. So anything that should be updated, added or included, please comment!

My Hot Takes

All of the species in Crescent City are Fae.
I’m torn whether Amren is the seventh Asteri or a Valg princess.
One of the things the Asteri say in House of Sky and Breath is there was a world where they reached their hand out to ask them to come and they weren’t recognised again, and these people were duped into coming back under the Asteri’s power. I’m thinking this is Aelin’s world, and potentially also why we haven’t seen the other Fae island in Midgard.
How can Fenrys winnow?
Where do Lorcan’s powers come from?
I think even in Feyre’s world, the power is muted, that even they are maybe under the Asteri’s control, less obviously. Not sure how. But in Aelin’s universe they’re the only ones that talk about tunnelling down into their power, essentially taking a Drop each time they draw their power? Not sure if this is deliberate or an artefact of Sarah J. Maas writing Throne of Glass first and not fully mapping out the mechanisms of the magic across worlds.
Who are the gods in Aelin’s world? The ones that were going to take Erawan as prisoner back to the world they were returning to?
Rhysand is Valg or Valg-adjacent. Azriel is more like a witch or Lorcan.
Hunts brow tattoo is the equivalent of a Valg collar

Throne of Glass

Timeline

‘Dawn of time” valg invaded
2,000 years ago First War p45 Empire of Storms
‘Millenia ago’ when witches did not exist. Ironteeth veer Valg, Cochrans Fae p171 Empire of Storms
1,000 years ago: Erawan “defeated” the first time by Gavin & Elena. Also around when the marshes were forgotten. p488 Empire of Storms
900 years ago (at least): worshiped the god of truth by carving confessions on bone p411 Empire of Storms
700 years ago (ish): Baba Yellowlegs born (p128, Heir of Fire)
500 years ago (ish): all the cadre born (or at least Lorcan) p253
200 years ago: Solemere destroyed by Lorcan and Rowan p254
116 years ago: Manon Blackbeak born
18 years ago: Aelin Ganathyus born
10 years ago: Magic vanished

Gods & Goddesses

Nine gods and goddesses, two of which are Maeve and Mab. Excluding those are seven. p80 Heir of Fire.
Mala – fire p201 Queen of Shadows
- Mala’s ring grants immunity from the Valg’s powers p430 Queen of Shadows
- Said when she returned her godhood she would not remember them. p602 Empire of Storms
Silba
Deanna, Keeper of moon. Posesses Aelin when she’s released too much magic, p 320. Silver eyes, not gold. Cold white light. Moonfire. p320Empire of Storms
The dozen immortal figures were promised a return with the lock, instead Elena trapped Erawan.
- Figments of light and shadow, wind and rain, song and memory.
- Meant to send “home” “us and The Dark King” – the seperation of “us” and “The Dark King” indicadies maybe home to them was not home to him. Part of the original bargian, so their home world is definitely not his.
- Could exist in multiple places, spread themselves wide like nets being thrown. They had not been born in this world. Perhaps they had become trapped after wandering through a Wrydgate. Empire of Storms

Maeve

Raven-haired beauty, “black, depthless eyes”, fearsome in her perfection, utterly still, eternal and calm and radiating ancient grace. p53 Heir of Fire
“wildness could not be contained in a single form” p272 Heir of Fire
Can control wolves (?) p497 Heir of Fire
Described as having a feline interest p505 Heir of Fire
“But there was only a white barn owl flapping off into the moonlit night.” p517 Heir of Fire
“Dreams and nightmares given form; the dark face of the moon.” p643

Mindspeak/ matebond

The first time they basically mind speak is p78 in Heir of Fire: “Rowan looked at her with raised brows, and she could see the words in his eyes as clearly as if he’d spoken them: You wanted to remain unidentified, so go ahead, Princess. Introduce yourself with whatever name you want.”
p110, Heir of Fire ; Not a wight / what was it Heir of Fire
p157, Heir of Fire ; Just this once Heir of Fire
p205; I let you bait me Heir of Fire
p377 the more you talk / brat Heir of Fire
p363 fussing Heir of Fire
p389 magic playing together Heir of Fire
p391 only for the afternoon Heir of Fire
p404 you were unprepared Heir of Fire
p428 some things are worth the risk Heir of Fire
p516 I don’t want you enslaved to me Heir of Fire
The bond described as “something lightening bright” as they shared blood. p517 Heir of Fire
Aelin seeing Rowan in her bed while they’re seperated p98 Queen of Shadows
p306 I’ll make your life a living hell Queen of Shadows
p317 are you alright? Queen of Shadows
p345 he never specified only you had to wear it. Queen of Shadows

Rowan

Shifting described as a “flash of light, ripple of color”. p158 Heir of Fire
The bite. p159 Heir of Fire
Smells like snow and pine p 161 Heir of Fire
Captured and put in irons in a dead kingdom. p 175 Heir of Fire
thoght fae were gentler on Aelin’s continent, not trained in magic p 203 Heir of Fire
Has Moras blood p271 Heir of Fire
Gavriel – mountain cat, golen-haired; p273 Heir of Fire

Duke Perrington/Erewan

First introduction: “obsidian eyes” p7 Throne of Glass
Erawan is not his true name. Means dark king. p414 Queen of Shadows
Not defeated, but put to sleep by the Eye of Elena, buried in a sarcophagus in the Black Mountains (Morath) p415 Queen of Shadows

Celaena/Aelin

Mab/Deanna>??>Evalin>Aelin
Ashreyver eyes: “brightest blue ringed with gold.” p418 Heir of Fire
The hunting dogs love her when they don’t usually like people p23, Throne of Glass
Nehemia’s name for her: Elentiya, meaning ‘Spirit That Could Not Be Broken’ to use when all other names grow too heavy. p321 Throne of Glass
When shes dying in the final duel she sees “a man, pale and rotting. His eyes burned red, and he pointed at her in a broken, stiff way. His teeth were all sharp and so long they barely fit in his mouth.” p359 Throne of Glass
- Second creature had wings
She “could rattle the stars” p399 Throne of Glass
“Nameless is my price” p307 Crown of Midnight; Nameless is the price of Maeve’s alligence. p459
blue wildfire – power
Aelin and Dorian “glowing like newborn gods” to defeat the Valg in the king. p575 Queen of Shadows

Oakwald Forest

Leaves described as like jewels: ruby, pearl, topaz, amethyst, emerald, garnet
“It still echoed with the remnants of the power that had once given these trees such unnatural beauty.” p29 Throne of Glass
Described as King Brannon’s
“legends of dark, terrible glens and deep, still pools and caves full of light and heavenly singing.” p31 Throne of Glass

King Brannon

Wyrdmarks

“part of an ancient religion that died long ago” p169 Throne of Glass
Exist outside of magic
way of weaving and binding the essence of things p358 Heir of Fire
Aelin assumes Cain learnt of them in the White Fang Mountains p336 Throne of Glass

Circle with a vertical line through the middle that extended beyond the circumference, with hooked ends, one directing downward, one up.
Triangle inside a circle (Cain’s mark)
Vertical line with an inverted peak stretching upwards from it’s middle p169 Throne of Glass
Small diamond with two inverted points protruding from either side, the top and bottom peaks elongated into a single line, symmetrically perfect p170 Throne of Glass

Nehemia’s book

Single wyrdmark in blood red on the spine
“It is only with the Eye that one can see rightly”.
“full of Wyrdmarks — every page covered with them, and with words in a language she didn’t recognize.” p94, Crown of Midnight

King of Araldan/Erawan

“there was something greenish about the flame, something that made her spine straighten” p66 Throne of Glass
His voice made her “bones crack and splinter, made her feel the astonishing cold of a winter long since past.”
His sword is Notuhing and has a wyvern on the hilt.
“eyes of iron” p325 Throne of Glass
“Darkness in his eyes that felt cold and foreign, like the gaps between the stars.” “air of death” “stench of another world, a dead world.” p326 Throne of Glass
“There was something brewing, a cauldron that the king had journeyed to stir.” p327 Throne of Glass
Hadn’t seen anything like Aelin’s “nameless” wyrdmark on her forehead before p388 Throne of Glass
“greenish fire”, voice made her “bones splinter” p401 Throne of Glass
“obsidian ring” p6 Crown of Midnight

Aedion

Thought the Valg ring smelled strange so didn’t take it, p147 Heir of Fire
All he got were the physical traits: strength, swiftness, keen smell, sharp hearing. p153 Heir of Fire

Prince Dorian

“‘When you get angry […] your eyes get this…cold look. Glazed.’” p67 Crown of Midnight
As his power is surfacing: “a nightmare of teeth and shadows and glinting daggers.” p108 Crown of Midnight
“glittering rage” re: magic p144, Crown of Midnight
Eyes seem to glow when doing magic. p141, Heir of Fire
Dorian’s first powers are ice. p549 Heir of Fire
Rowan notes Dorian’s power is “rarely encountered.” p133 Empire of Storms
Invisible hands p428 Empire of Storms
tastes like the sea and winter mornings p575 Empire of Storms

Kaltain

Flapping wings, p71 Crown of Midnight
Describes her memory as “shards of a broken mirror, each gleaming with it’s own individual image” p71 Crown of Midnight
“Something is coming. And I am to greet it.” p72 Crown of Midnight
Smelled like “tilled soil in a graveyard.” to Manon p64 Queen of Shadows
Power manifests as black fire p265 summons only pain, no burns Queen of Shadows
“Death, devourer of worlds.” p443 Queen of Shadows
Hid and then destroyed her collared prince. Didn’t like fire “of any kind”. Queen of Shadows
Living gate – she had the wyrdkey in her arm. p600 Queen of Shadows

Valg

Eyes of Valg kings – golden. p414 Queen of Shadows
Erawan is described as “wicked enough to make the stars quake.” p186 Throne of Glass
Gate to home world described as “a darkness so black that it seemed to devour the world.” p311 Throne of Glass
“Someone completely concealed by a black cloak, hood drawn far over the face […] cloak darker than night […] the way it moved, like smoke and shadow” p43 Crown of Midnight
Generally Cochran witches take after the Fae, the Ironteeth witches take after the Valg
The Valg invaded at the “dawn of time”, p194 Crown of Midnight
The monster through the gate was: tall, sinewy, unnaturally long fingers with claws, white skin that looked like crumpled paper, distended jaw with fish like teeth, milky eyes. p373 Crown of Midnight
The handlers had black blood and it tasted rotten. p226 Heir of Fire
Homeland described as “a realm of eternal dark and ice and wind.” p439 Heir of Fire
“There are many different races of Valg — creatures that even your darkest nightmares would flee from. They are ruled by the princes, who themselves are made of shadow and despair and hatred and have no bodies to occupy save those that they infiltrate.” Once saw a whole legion devoured by six princes. [[Get reference, from Maeve in Heir of Fire]]
Their blood smells like “curdled milk and vinegar” to Aelin p 128
Witch legend has it the Valg are “the origin of evil. They are blackness and despair incarnate.” p172 Queen of Shadows

Valg Princes

Black torque
Leeching away life, causes nosebleeds p376 Heir of Fire
Reliving your worst moments, p 111 Heir of Fire
the dead carry the same smell p206 similar to her parents Heir of Fire
hole of silence p348 Heir of Fire
black blood, like the creature under the library p392 Heir of Fire
Doesn’t like Aelin’s flame p408 Heir of Fire
Delayed, not killed, by skinwalkers p432 Heir of Fire
“Whip of darkness” p433 Heir of Fire
“As if they were all of one mind, one body.” p438 Heir of Fire
Can create shields of darkness to protect from Aelin’s fire. p441 Heir of Fire
Brushing up against her “like cats” p447 Heir of Fire
Power when fighting Aelin described by her as “the abyss that had haunted her steps for ten years […] perhaps this was hell.” “There was no sound, only the vague sense of going toward a bottom that might not exist or might mean her true end. […] Maybe her soul was forever trapped here, in this plunging darkness p448 Heir of Fire {{HER DROP???}}
- “But then there was a rushing […] this was the bottom. An end to the abyss. And an end to her, perhaps, at last. […] they slammed into that frozen river at the bottom of her soul.” p450 Heir of Fire
As he was dying Narrok sent her a vision of a possible future. p474 Heir of Fire

Cain

“Smear of black” ; “shadows seemed to leak from him […] like spilled ink” , “the whisper of wings filled the air” Kaltain’s POV, p333, Throne of Glass

WyrdHounds

Gargoyles. p225 Can speak. Empire of Storms

Other

Ilken: Mottled blue, clawed (poison) hands. p100 Hunters. Must be beheaded. Another variant had leather wings. p379 Empire of Storms
Bloodhound: Auburn hair, glamour / shapeshifting as gorgeous woman, glacier blue eyes (what colour are Danika’s?) has wings in natural shape. p231-2 Empire of Storms

Ridderak

“Hairless gray skin […] stretched tightly across its misshapen head, displaying a gaping mouth filled with black fangs […] vaguely human body” p 312 Throne of Glass
Nothing in their eyes but hunger p313 Throne of Glass
Long spidery limbs p314 Throne of Glass
Hollow bones, black blood, poison feels like ice up the arm p316-17 Throne of Glass
“using the victim’s blood, mark the area around it accordingly. Once the creature has been summoned, these marks guide the exchange: for the flesh of the sacrifice, the beast will grant you the victim’s strength.” p309 Throne of Glass
Started with the royal hounds, “half-eaten remains” p102 Throne of Glass
“Like someone ripped him open […] body in ribbons” p106 Throne of Glass
“Brutally mauled and dismembered” p158 Throne of Glass
“Guard the portal between our worlds” p186 Throne of Glass
“half eaten” p191 Throne of Glass
“‘missing […] vital organs — like someone had split him open from neck to navel’ […missing] his brain […] and the skin from his face had been ripped off.’” p201-2 Throne of Glass
Cain surrounded by “greenish light” and speaking in a “guttural and harsh” language Aelin didn’t recognise p311 Throne of Glass

Wyrdstone

“inky black stone”
Clock towers guarded by gargoyles, “soundlessly roaring at those beneath”, with surrounding wyrdmarks on the pathways p53 Throne of Glass
“black irridescent stone glimmered” p 106 Throne of Glass
12 Wyrdmarks around the tower, forming a circle p200 Throne of Glass
Birds died when the barrier was put in place, p216 Heir of Fire

Spirits & Religion

High Priestess: midnight blue gossamer robe, eight-pointed star tattooed on her brow
Yulemas: day the Great Goddess gave birth to Lumas, Lord of the Gods. He “banished the chaos that arose from the Gates of the Wyrd.” p281 Throne of Glass
Sun stags holding immortal flame p203 Heir of Fire
Stones are put on graves in Terrasen, because they’re enternal. p199 Empire of Storms
Tiny temple inside Oakwald, in the middle of a ravine. To Temis p475 Empire of Storms
“Sacred mirrors of the ancients. Mirrors that were once used to build and break and mend.” p492 Empire of Storms
Sulde: “where those hairs waved in the wind, there our destinies waited.” p31

Wyrd

Generally thought ‘Wyrd” was an old term for Fate or Destiny
Some claim the Wyrd is the force that holds together and governs Erilea (“countless other worlds, too”)
Not a religion in the northern hemisphere, not included in the worship of the Goddess of the gods.
Some suggest the “Mother Goddess is just a spirit from one of these other worlds, and that she strayed through something called a Wyrdgate and found Erilea in need of form and life. […] There’s an idea that before the Goddess arrived, there was life — an ancient civiliazation, but somehow, they dissapreared. Perhaps through that Wyrdgate thing. Ruins exist — ruins too old to be of Fae making.’” p 207-8 Throne of Glass
“‘The Wyrd keeps the realms apart” p308 Crown of Midnight
White flags are a sign of mourning in Antica, an “ancient holdover” p6

Wyrdgates

“The gates were both real and invisible things. Humans could not see them, but they could be summoned and accessed using the Wyrdmarks. They opened into other realms, some of them good, some of them bad. Things could come through from the other side and slither into Erilea. It was due to this that many of the strange and fell creatures of Erilea existed.” p209 Throne of Glass
“Doors of wood, doors of iron, doors of air and magic.” p363 Throne of Glass
Three obsidian gates were made by the Valg kings, p280 Crown of Midnight
Wyrdkeys cannot be destroyed, only returned to the gate p501 Heir of Fire

Elena & Gavin

Elenas mom is Mala. p366 Empire of Storms
Trees were carved into the stone ceiling, the woman’s face bathed in moonlight, the mans darkness. p183 Throne of Glass
Elena has a Wyrdmark on her forehead, #4 in the above list
Floor covered in stars, inverted from reality p183, Throne of Glass
Ah, time’s rift
“Countless Wyrdmarks were etched into their surface. They were in swirls and whorls, in lines and squares, The small Wyrdmarks made up larger ones, and the larger ones made up even larger ones, until it seemed the entire room meant something she couldn’t possibly understand.”
“There was something familiar about the queen’s face, something that reminded [her] of the rose smell. But there was still something off about her, something odd.
Elena is Fae, Brannon’s daughter: “crystal, sparkling blue” eyes
Damaris was “the sword that had slain the Dark Lord Erawan.” p185 Throne of Glass
Elena’s power described as a “golden light bursting from her palm” p364 Throne of Glass
Elena about herself: “There are many things history has forgotten about me […] I fought on the battlefields during the demon wars against Erawan — at Gavin’s side. That’s how we fell in love. But your legends portray me as a damsel in distress who waited in a tower with a magic necklack that would help the heroic prince.” p398 Throne of Glass
“Damaris […] the legendary sword of Gavin. It’s hilt was silvery gold and had little ornamentation save for a pommel in the shape of an eye. No jewel lay in the socket; it was only an empty ring of gold.” p51, Crown of Midnight
Damaris is the sword of truth – blessed by the god of truth? p412 Queen of Shadows
“‘This war […] is but the second movement in a game that has been played since those ancient days across the sea.’” p6 Empire of Storms

Eye of Elena

“Made of intricate bands of metal, within the round border of the amulet lay two overlapping circles, one on top of the other. In the space they shared was a small blue gem that gave the center of the amulet the appearance of an eye. A line ran straight through the entire thing.” p187-88 Throne of Glass
Legend says Erawan couldn’t harm Elena when she was wearing the Eye. p266 Throne of Glass
“The metal was always warm” p14 Crown of Midnight
Crone (outermost circle), Maiden (interior top circle), Mother (bottom), the darkness within her (the eye). Empire of Storms

The Walking Dead

Large, black, The Walking Dead in tarnished silver letters
Appears when required (“didn’t remember selecting this from the shelves”)
Reeked, almost like soil
Included an “illustration of a twisted, half-decayed face […] hollow, mad eyes of the monster were full of malice.”
Heard a guttural animalistic noise immediate after pushing away. p209, Throne of Glass

Witches

Blueblood witches said they needed the montain breeze to complete their daily rituals.
Ironteeth witches light black candles at funerals, and going through the “Sacred words to the Three-Faced Goddess” p90, Heir of Fire
Some said pain was the gateway to magic, p92 Heir of Fire
Faline and Fallon – “more demon than witch” p122 Heir of Fire
Have a nictitating membrane to go over their eyes, p125 Heir of Fire
Blueblood heir smells lije myrrh and rosemary. p180 Heir of Fire
Edda and Briar “trained to blend into and sliver of darkness and listen.” p230 Heir of Fire

Manon

Wyrdstone smells “wrong” to her, but none of the other witches seem to notice – it didn’t “belong to this world.”
Abraxos- Three-faced Goddesses serpent who held the world between his coils
“Eyes of the Valg Kings […] eyes of our masters […] do not touch that one.” p462 Queen of Shadows

Miscellany

On Samhuinnn after having a nightmare of Endovier Celaena felt an “odd draft […] smelling strangely of roses” p161 Throne of Glass
Roses again in her dream, p182 Throne of Glass
Roses again after visiting the tomb for the first time p189 Throne of Glass
Gloriella smells musky and causes paralysis
The library had 2x upper levels and how many below? p106, Crown of Midnight
Tapestry at the back of the library: “red thread so dark it look black, depicted…nothing.” p109 Crown of Midnight
The cells beneath the library smelt like iron, p111 Crown of Midnight
Iron is immune to magic in Aelin’s world and in front of the iron door in the depths of the library, notes that at one point in their history, iron doors meant something. That there was, in fact, some sort of nullifying power when powers were stronger. Iron in blood in strong powers can still cause fainting spells “or worse” p112, Crown of Midnight
In the library she sees eyes gleaming in the dark “like a feral cat”, p113, Crown of Midnight
Rena Goldsmiths executed daughter had “eyes like thunderclouds.” p120, Crown of Midnight
Nehemia talks about Dorian’s power sleeping, and then “something ancient and slumbering inside of him opened an eye.” p137-8, Crown of Midnight
Nehemia talks about having dreams of “shadows and wings” p204, Crown of Midnight
Is the “one of them has to break” also a reference to an Ordeal-type experience for either Aelin or Dorian? p207 Crown of Midnight
A wyvern is the royal seal
The centre of the spiral, the single cell after the sixth door…representing the seven levels of hell? p329 Crown of Midnight
- what was in the cell had forgotten it’s own name, what it used to be. But it knew Wyrdmarks, and kept the doors locked behind itself. p335, Crown of Midnight
- bleeds black: what looked like a mans face but was no longer. p337, Crown of Midnight
In Hel (?) Aelin throws her power into Damaris, edges “crackling with lightening” p382, Crown of Midnight
One of the barrows lost it’s door – “only blackness within. Ageless, breathing blackness.” [Temporary rip?] p105, Heir of Fire
Strange, dead air, and the man from the barrow had an onyx torque…a wave of blackness slamming down on her. p107, Heir of Fire
Skinwalkers smelt like leather and carrion. And older. Earthier. Dont breathe. Cannot be killed with a mortal weapon. p167-71, Heir of Fire
Long ago, when there was no mortal king on Wendlyn’s throne, faeries still walked among us. Some were good and fair, some were prone to little mischielfs and some were fouler and darker than the blackest night.” p271 Heir of Fire
Story of a clever wolf & a magical firebird, p271 Heir of Fire
Giant red eye, p289 The monster was missing an eye, was “not a dragon or a wyvern, not a serpent or a fish, but something in between.” Has a horned head. p290 As if it could not withstand the sunshine. p292 Almost as old as the mountain itself, “claimed to have been born in another world, but had slipped into this one when the gods were looking elsewhere.” Spoke the Old Language. p299 Heir of Fire
Goldryn: ruby the size of chicken egg in the hilt, with a ring, golden hilt. p291 Heir of Fire
Stygian spiders gain some of the powers of those they make bargians with. p325 Heir of Fire
Carranam – old language, requires compatability and “active blood connection.” p371 Rare. Heir of Fire
Nobody can remember what the engravings meant on the back of the Amulet of Orynth. p460 Heir of Fire
Nameless is the meaning of Aelin’s mark – the bastard mark. p503 Heir of Fire
Evangeline has “citrine eyes.” p78 Queen of Shadows
Nesryn smells like mint and spice p230 Queen of Shadows
Arboyrn smells like/scent is almonds p315 Queen of Shadows
The witches Valg babies: “‘They are demons. Their skin is like black diamond, and they — they have these snouts, with teeth. Fangs. Already, they have fangs. And not like yours.’” p333 (These remind me of the creatures on the Court of Nightmares throne…and that’s what Rhys’ natural form is. Could he be a child of a Valg-heritage witch and Valg?) Queen of Shadows
Hellfire p407 Queen of Shadows
“Legend has it the Shadow Market was built on the bones of the god of truth.” p410- Writing on the bones. Sin-eater Queen of Shadows
Lorcan “appeared from the shadows.” p428 Lorcan’s magic was “blasted from him in near-invisible dark winds.” p567 Queen of Shadows
- Flung out a net of power. Chill wind edged in black mist. p98 Empire of Storms
- Not even Maeve knew where it came from – was will. Death and thought and destruction. p100 Empire of Storms
- Cool night wind p178 Empire of Storms
- Lorcan himself thinks his magic is Death, gifted by Hellas. p388 Empire of Storms
Witches have no magic but for the Yielding. p88Empire of Storms
Band of black tattoos on Fenrys’ neck is likened to a black collar, from Dorians POV. p207Empire of Storms
The Settling. p279Empire of Storms
Fenrys winnows. But only short distances. p 324, p444, p618 – nobody knows where it comes from. Only short distances, only a few times. p450 Empire of Storms
The lock reminds Aelin of the Sin-Eaters temple. p497 Empire of Storms
The rukhin. Enourmous birds, eagle-like shape. p15
“If the Torre Cesme was the domain of healers, the Parvani was the domain of knowledge.” p122 linked by the scholars road.