Mercy.

“If you have time to be on social media, you also have time for…” “If you have time to watch Netflix, you also have time for…” Yeah, but do I have the energy for it? Do I have the emotional and mental capacity for it? Am I pain-free enough for it? Can I focus on it? Can I do it without leaving my bed? Can I safely do it without risk of (physically or emotionally) injuring myself by pushing past my boundaries?

No no you don't understand! I want to watch this show/movie, read this book, listen to this podcast, etc.! But I must be in the right mindset and the exact head space to begin, or I just can't!

where the hell do i start learning about all this aaravos, child queen (??? the kid who locked him away? am i mistaking her for someone else?), elarion, deep tdp lore and timeline type stuff? it seems like there's so much and i have not kept track of any of it, and now im curious

So a lot of it has come from either 1) interviews over the years, 2) fans obsessively analyzing info from the show itself, and 3) Tales of Xadia (TDP's RRPG game) or the season novelizations (just one and two out now) providing extra information and lore hints. But here's the like, brief run-down?

Disclaimer: I may misremember some things and/or the show hasn't been Super clear on some of these things, exactly, on purpose, so the timeline (especially of very early events) is subject to change.

Startouch elves, humans, dragons, etc. all lived together in Xadia as one land. Humans weren't born with magic; the Startouch elves (also called First Elves, which seems distinct from Primal elves, although we don't know why) especially disapproved of the idea of giving them magic. A unicorn - one of the few creatures also connected to the Star arcanum - gave some humans primal stones and taught them draconic. It is implied that some people(s), although we don't know who, didn't like that very much.

We don't know why or when, precisely, but Aaravos was cast down to earth. He may have already been helping humans or 'overly sympathetic' to them, or perhaps working with the unicorns to help them. We don't know.

Presumably after all this, the human settlement of Elarion was growing as a city. We actually see it mentioned by name in the flashback from 3x01 between Sol Regem (king of the Dragons at the time, it seems) and Ziard, who appears to be the first real human dark mage (but that's just speculation). His staff is a gift from one of the Great Ones, another name for the Startouch elves, and we know this gift giver to be Aaravos.

We know that Aaravos is also entwined with Elarion further because of the poem revealed in 2x08, written in Arabic that fans translated back in like, 2019ish? TDP Official later fully released the translated poem, called The Midnight Star. It seems to recount some sort of exchange of Aaravos giving the city of Elarion - or a person - what seems to be dark magic, but the language is too poetic to be fully clear.

We know that dark magic is probably what made humans turn away from becoming primal mages (as Ezran confirms that Callum is the first primal human mage in centuries, not ever, in S4). It may have been Aaravos' influence or their own inclinations. We don't know.

Dark mages accordingly later hunted down basically all the unicorns; this is one of the reasons humans were exiled to the West and the continent was split in two. We also know, thanks to some promo art released in the lead-up to S4, that Ziard was very much a pawn to Aaravos, same as the other human mages he's used. Originally humans were going to be murdered, but a daughter of a Moonshadow leader argued for an exile; this was a 'Merciful Compromise' under the leadership of the Dragon Monarch at the time, Luna Tenebris, who took over after Sol Regem was blinded by Ziard or otherwise seen as unfit to rule. (We see her mentioned in the S4 flashbacks regarding the draconic succession crisis, so I won't go into too much there! We also just know very little about her.)

But finally, we're at the turning point for the narrative, marked definitively 1,000 years ago when Xadia was split in two and the Breach was formed. About 700 years later (or 300 before the start of the show) we get the Orphan Queen. She is Harrow and Ezran's ancestor and the start of their royal line. In the events that likely led to her becoming queen of Katolis, she travelled to Xadia and revealed Aaravos' schemes to the Arch-dragons.

She also kept Aaravos' rune cube, also known as the Key of Aaravos, safe and passed it down to her descendants (Harrow and now Callum) although information has been lost on what it precisely unlocks and how it works. We know the human she's depicted with in the flashback was also a mage known only as the Jailor.

Here's where it gets Messy:

Specifically: when did Aaravos' chest piece get taken, if it is a physical piece he lost and then had, rather than something that flickers in and out per magical usage? (After all, it glows fully when channelling magic through Viren in 2x09, but there is every implication that Star gems called Quasar Diamonds do come from Star touch elves directly thanks to past concept art. Diamonds in real life ancient mythological times were also often seen as Fallen stars and tears of the gods, which would also line up.)

In the textbook's depiction here, he doesn't have it, and this seems to predate the Fall of Elarion and exile, although that's still speculative. (After all, he could've been 'helping' humans in their eyes after the fall, and this is where the art comes from; if he was planning on letting humans strike a blow against Xadia, that'd easily constitute the treachery Zubeia describes in 4x04, in her eyes at least).

However, in the flashback we get to the actual Exile, and in 1x01 no less, Aaravos has his crown (whose diamond pattern matches the ones often found on Katolis' clothing, including the princes) and his chest piece fully.

So like - which Is it?

We don't know.

So as you can see, there's a lot of lore, a lot we don't know, and a shit ton of speculation. Other places to start if you are interested:

Aaravos' short stories including: Birthday story, Patience, Ripples

Tales of Xadia tag

Deep Lore Dive tag

Orphan Queen tag

Elarion tag

Worldbuilding tag

Quasar Diamonds tag + more about the diamond pattern & repeated heraldry

Hope this helps & feel free to send in any more questions! <3 If you're really interested in all the lore and stuff I'd recommend Tales of Xadia for sure - the stuff about Star dragons is worth the price alone imo, they're so freaking cool (and one of them is even on S4's star chart map for the intros!)

An unmotivated Yuuya slug gif, for all your unmotivated Yuuya slug needs.

idk thinking about how sometimes you have to show up for people you aren't that close to, because sometimes you're just the person who's there. sometimes you invite a new friend to a party and end up having to sit with them through a panic attack. sometimes you run into an acquaintance on their worst day and they need to talk about what happened. sometimes someone is crying in a stairwell and you're the only one around to ask if they're okay. and none of this is "trauma dumping" or whatever the fuck it's just being there for people because you're the one in the room with them.

WHAT!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen; fellow Razayans from across the universe. Hear me and rejoice! I have the most blessed news I could ever tell the fanbase. It is with great pride and even greater pleasure to inform you that our beloved Aya will be appearing in the Tomorrowverse movie: Crisis on Infinite Earths part 3. That’s not even the best part: Razer will be featured in it as well!

Do you realize what this means?! After 11 whole years, we’re finally going to witness an on-screen Razaya reunion!!!! When I first discovered this trailer, I think my heart stopped. I kid you not. This will be history in the making and I, myself, will be there with bells on.

Reblog this to every Razaya fan out there please! I beg you! This news must be shared with everybody. It will be a sacred day for us all. No doubt this will be like the second coming of Jesus; both awe-inspiring and tear jerking. It will be released on HBO Max next Tuesday. I urge you to prepare yourselves like I am as this will go down as the greatest reunion in all of DC history.

Even if we never see Razer again in YJ I am just so ecstatic to have seen him have this moment and hope other people will be inspired to give GLTAS a chance and watch it because it really is THAT good.

What is the WHA Archive?📌

The WHA Archive is a project dedicated to finding illustrations, photos, GIFs etc of the art of Witch Hat Atelier and Kitchen of Witch Hat in one place whilst retaining original sources wherever possible. It’s currently an ongoing project to locate and properly document the art produced by Shirahama Kamome and Sato Hiromi for all fans to enjoy!

The archive is contained on a Google Drive presently. To allow the removal of the public link if requested, access is currently being shared through a tweet HERE

Disclaimer

The content contained within this Google Drive is the artwork of Shirahama Kamome (Witch Hat Atelier) and Hiromi Sato (Kitchen Of Witch Hat). It is uploaded here for archival and reference purposes only and the uploader holds no ownership or copyright of the artwork. On request from the copyright holder(s) any and all artwork herein will be removed immediately. 

Do not reproduce any artwork herein for commercial purposes.

Support the official release of Witch Hat Atelier and Kitchen of Witch Hat through the purchase of monthly and volume releases.

A full list of rules for the archive can be found HERE (this can be accessed any time from the Drive’s root folder) - please read the first sections before using the drive.

Please also check the Seeking List and Source List (Index) for more information on what’s missing; background details (including canon information not yet revealed in the manga’s pages) and where each artwork was originally posted!

This blog

This blog will update on major additions to the archive and post occasional interesting information on what has been found whilst locating the original sources of official art!

Current focus: reorganising Index and ensuring all artwork is logged; reorganising file locations for ease of use.

If you have a link to any Witch Hat Atelier art that has not been posted, or know of an artwork that needs sourcing, please get in touch via the Ask or Submit box. If you notice mistakes in any of the information presented, please get in touch also!