Big spoilers for all Maasverse series.

“And old enemies will emerge from nightmares of the past.“

A long long time ago, way back when Queen of Storms was still in the works, an interviewer asked Sarah J. Maas if she had a favorite character. She answered:

>”Celaena/Aelin, of course. But I looove writing Manon’s scenes (I can unload my every horrible thought onto her), and Rowan’s scenes (because he’s…Rowan). And anything with Aedion (boyfriend looooves to push buttons). I also really, really loved the stygian spider in HOF—like, weirdly loved her.”

I’m sure we’ve all seen the spider on the cover of ACO7, and read the blurb about “old enemies” and OH BOY DO I HAVE A THEORY ABOUT THAT. I’ve actually been shouting this theory into the void for a little over a year AND I AM EXCITED!!

Not Possessed, But Born

I’ll dive right into it. Erawan’s Valg army collapsed upon his death, so no more Valg exist in Erilea, right?

>“The spider, somehow, was Valg. And not possessed, but born.”

Well, maybe not. Erawan’s armies were comprised of demons summoned from the Valg lands and bound into human hosts using wyrdstone. But the Stygian Spiders aren’t possessed - they came over through a portal with Maeve.

The power that bound Erawan’s armies to the Wyrdstone implanted in their hosts died with him. But the Stygian Spiders weren’t bound to Erilea by Erawan’s magic. Which means they likely stayed behind in Erilea after Erawan’s fall.

So what do we think happened to them After Erawan?

Prior to Erawan’s uprising, the Stygian Spiders were generally tolerated because (unlike the kharankui) they took steps to integrate themselves. They created a product of value and established trade. Granted, this was mostly done to lure in unsuspecting victims, but still. Spidersilk was a lure most merchants considered worth the risk.

However, in the wake of Erawan’s War, do you think Queen Aelin or King Dorian would let an established population of Valg continue to live and hunt in their lands? I think not.

So do we think they were killed off, or what? Glad you asked. I’ll tell you what I think they did - they walked right out of Erilea and into another world. Because the Stygian Spiders are world-walkers.

The Stygian Spiders followed Maeve into Erilea. They were not brought over, they walked of their own accord. They are as much world-walkers as she is. Remember, world-walking can be taught - Maeve and Aelin learned it from books. Hel’s Princes learned it from their enemy’s captured lieutenants. And the Spiders live by the Ferian Gap - a place shrouded in mist. A thin place. And the word ferian means “to transport.”

So where do we think the Spiders went After Erilea? I’ll give you a hint: I think we see them again. (And yes, I did capitalize “After Erawan”and “After Erilea” on purpose; thank you for noticing x)

Last we saw of them in ToG, the Stygian Spiders had just learned how to steal power. Falkan’s shapeshifter magic appears as “a little seed of light” glowing in Cyrene’s belly - doesn’t that imagery sound familiar? Where else have we seen magic in the form of a little glowing kernel or seed being transferred to another?

>Bryce's breath caught in her throat as an image of a Fae female kneeling at the foot of a throne appeared, a seed of light in her upheld hands. Smooth, delicate fingers closed around the Fae female's droplet of power. It flickered, illumining pale skin.

Again. The Stygian Spiders can shapeshift. They can world walk. They can steal power. They use lures to trap their prey. Are y’all picking up what I’m putting down?

The Wolf Shifters and the Asterion Fae

The Stygian Spiders have ancient beef with a certain wolf tribe who showed up at the 11th hour to slay their cousins, the kharankui. Said wolf tribe showed up with *magical blades that glow with starlight*, blades that were crafted by an ancient race of Fae with a *very* familiar name. The Asterion Fae were old allies of the Doranelle Fae, who took Asterion weapons to Antica and then to Terrasen, where they joined the Fabled Wolf Tribe.

Still with me? Ok.

Remember how in HOSAB, a certain other group of world-walking, shape-shifting, magic-stealing bad guys bragged about how the shifter fae “didn’t see the old enemy that reached a friendly hand across time and space?” Who was the old enemy again?

The Old Enemy

>“But you know who they hate even more?” Aelin pointed with Goldryn toward the battlefield. “Those spiders. Nesryn Faliq told me all about how their ancestors battled them in the southern continent.

Remember how in HOFAS, we learn that this race of “ancient monsters” suddenly started going by a new, very familiar name around the same time that they *lured* the shifter fae into their new land? Remember how the wolf shifters - likely the descendents of a certain fabled wolf tribe - were said to be their most loyal soldiers??

The Daglan went back in time and space to lure their old enemy into Midgard. And they went back disguised as friends - the legendary Asterion Fae.

Ancient Monsters

Remember how we see one of these ancient monsters crawling out of her glass coffin “like a hatching spider”? And this particular creature has onyx hair, moon white skin, and unnaturally red lips - just like a certain spider queen?

How about the fact that Rigelus’s magic burns like acid and “spiderwebs” across Hunt’s brow, that Hunt claims it feels like insects crawling inside him.

Rigelus in Fae form:
> He appeared as a Fae boy of seventeen or so, dark-haired and gangly. A weak facade to veil the ancient monster beneath.

Cyrene in human form:
> Small and unremarkable, save for those unnerving black eyes. Not pretty, but with a deadly, ancient sort of allure that even a new hide couldn’t conceal.

Cyrene is *also* described as an “ancient monster” by Manon.

The Dawn of the Asteri Era

Speaking of Cyrene, the Stygian spider that SJM “weirdly loved” - she becomes the first Stygian spider to steal magic and shapeshift.

She’s also the first Stygian spider to see the true potential in Dorian’s raw power - also known as first light.

>Cyrene sucked in a breath. “A rare gift of magic.” **Her stare turned ravenous** as she took in Dorian. “For a rare king.”

Cyrene - the spider that captured Sarah’s heart all the way back in HoF - is the first to realize that if her people learn to take *raw power* rather than beauty and dreams and years, then some day they might learn to wield it. The Asteri Era begins with her.

Want some other interesting things to think about?

How about the 7 Valg princesses that the Kharankui revered? How about the fact that a Valg queen sacrificed herself and six of those princesses hybridized with her trusted handmaidens to Erawan’s war. The Stygians live right by the Ferian Gap where Erawan kept his aerial legion - instead Maeve kept her control over them a secret and opened a portal to bring up the kharankui all the way from the south.

How about the fact that the Valg, including the spiders, feared fire above all - and the Asteri live in a Crystal Palace and sleep in glass sarcophagi.

How about the fact that the Stygian Spiders hale from the Ruhnn Mountains? Or that the kharankui come from the Dagul Fells? Or that the kharankui are enemies of an aerial legion from Windhaven?

So anyway, that spider on the cover of ACO7 has me stoked for what comes next.