Trellis

Upon rereading book four, I came to an odd observation. Grouls are humanoid creatures of the catacombs that were brought in to guard treasures. We have no other explanation for their appearances and they are not seen again following book four. The last time we see them are in the forms of statues being animated by Max, so it’s safe to assume they either died out and the ones we see are Max’s tricks or they still live in the dark of the Cielis Catacombs.

What I found about these creatures is that they vaguely resemble elves, like a distant relative or still existing ancestor. Both have peculiar eyes, pointed ears, sharp teeth, and some elves lack a cartilage structured nose with only serpent like nostrils, similar to the Grouls. It’s likely that they are a related species.

However, I have another theory: These Grouls are not a related species but are actually corrupted elves, twisted by the Guardian Council to serve as “guard dogs” or a punishment for crimes.

It’s no secret the Guardian Council has a history of discrimination against the elves following the war. They locked up Layra’s Parents as soon as war broke out without proper reason, simply for their species and they felt no remorse or even grief for their deaths. They imprisoned Trellis and Liger merely for their blood relation to the king and covered it up for war crimes. It could be possible that they could have used elves as test subjects for the stone’s power.

We see stones be able to create powerful engergy shields, form shockwaves capable of wiping out an army of Grouls, levitating large masses, flight, a doorway and teleportation within the Void, and animating both statues and corpses. Further more, if the user loses control of their powers, the stone with transform them and melt away whatever humanity and sentience they had. It turns them into colossal beasts manipulated by the puppeteer spirit, Ikol. If it can work on the user, it may be able to affect an opponent.

The Guardian Council may have tried to master this ability, first with animals, which may have created monsters like the Arachnopod. Then after mastering it on animals, attempted to try it on sentient opponents. The elves. After capturing elves and sentencing them for “war crimes,” they would have taken them to the catacombs and experimented there in secret. It would explain how few know of the Grouls’ existence. Only a few students and the Council themselves know.

In short, the previous Guardian Council may be guilty of inhumane experimentation on elves for the use of stone power and have hid it from the eyes of the public. What would be the reaction of the elf nation and of Trellis if this theory is true? What are your thoughts.

• Note* This is just a theory, so if it is proven wrong, please don't spam me.

Ok, so I've had this theory in my head for a while now, and I think I have a enough evidence to show for it. My theory is that Luger is not the King's biological son, but Virgil's son (therefore making Trellis and Luger cousins). Lemme explain...

In book 4, ( I think?) we get to learn more about Trellis and Luger's backstory. We see that Luger heavily distrusts Virgil, and is openly disrespectful towards him. Most normal relatives would rightfully scold him for being so rude, but instead, Virgil just calmly replies with "How very sweet of you" or something along those lines. This could be a stretch, but it's almost like Virgil is trying to be nice to Luger. Later in the same book, there's a shot of Virgil's library and in the background, there's a photo of a female elf. Sure, this could just be a random background character that will never affect the plot, but there's still a possibility. Not only that, there is a lot more physical similarities between Virgil and Luger, because when we see the Elf King's backstory, the young King looks more like Trellis. From the lanky body type to the bushy bangs and semi- long hair, there's no doubt he and Trellis are father and son. Even more evidence can found with the amulets. We know that stones can be passed down between family members. For example, Vigo passed his stone down to his son, and Emily's great-grandpa passed his stone down to her. The Elf King couldn't have passed his stone down to either Luger or Trellis, because his corpse is being possessed by it. So that leaves their mother(s) to give them the stones.

Here's what I think happened: Virgil had a wife ( the woman in the picture) that died while giving birth to his son, and right before she died, she passed on her amulet to her newborn son, named Luger. Heartbroken over the loss of his wife, Virgil was in no proper state of mind to raise a child. So, he decided to give up his son to his then, not King of a brother, until he could fully healed from the loss. And maybe the king gave Virgil the false promise that he'll let Luger know who his real parents are. Years later, Virgil's brother has become the king, and has tasked him to take care of his "two sons". At first, Virgil is delighted. He finally gets to see his son again, but he quickly finds out that, not only is Luger completely unaware that Virgil is his real father, but he is taught to be untrusting and disrespectful towards him as well. Knowing that he can't reconnect with his real son, Virgil forms a bond with the young Trellis, and the rest is history.

This not only explains why Luger is not first in line for the throne, but it also explains the major age difference between him and Trellis. I know this is highly unlikely to be true, but it's still an interesting theory to think about.

You know layra didn't need to die so tragicly i like her too i gotta admit she is pretty cute everyone in my class says so too we collect lots of amulet books in our library. I also feel sorry for her because she tried to show Max something but he refused he can be a real bugger these days...