I Had To.

This part was funny to me…Ichi ur stalwart companion is on some freak behavior

Me when I try to justify why I like him and it just turns into a character analysis again

Me every time I talk about viren it just becomes

Has layer

The Ziard art we didn’t know we needed

the first of a new breed

I love you Viren TDP

Viren didn't even bother to teach Soren where babies come from... (Dark magic, obviously)

Fake idgafer I saw that “the audacity…” look cross those eyes

Hypothesis: Rejecting Dark Magic Could Save Viren's Life? Season 5-6 Theory!

This theory/speculation/thought experiment won't leave me alone so I'm gonna officially shout it out into the world!

There's a chance that Viren could maybe have unfucked saved himself.

We're all wondering - did Viren survive season 5? Has he kicked the bucket for good this time? Or is he like that cockroach you just can't get rid of?

I have some unfortunate (or maybe fortunate) news! Viren could definitely be alive!

And it's about dark magic, power, and fever dreams!

Those dark magic dreams Viren had all season had to mean something more! A push for Claudia to go full baddie? Yeah, most likely. We've all seen the Season 6 teaser.

But what if those fever dreams meant something... more?

What if it leads up to more than just Viren's ultimate end?

tl;dr - What if by rejecting dark magic, Viren unknowingly saved his own life? AKA: I dive into Viren's mind, and try to decipher his character arc a teeny bit.

Let's goooooo-

I have little evidence to back up this 'what if'. But I have something, however small.

So, to start this off:

"Tomorrow, the sun will rise, and you will not."

At first this sounds pretty clear - and it might still be! Viren could be sleepin' with the Xadian fishes. But when has Aaravos ever been perfectly clear? Mr 'I Swallowed Her' speaks in riddles and rhymes, and does he even know what the fuck he's talking about? (of course he knows, he's Aaravos, what am I thinking-)

One alternative take on this cryptic little message could be that the old Viren can't come to the phone right now. Because he's dead.

Viren rejected dark magic for the first time ever! He finally sees what Harrow has been seeing all along - dark magic twists you, twists everything around you, into corruption. We can see this with the corrupted Banthers - and Viren's face.

The sun will rise, and the old Viren will be dead.

But perhaps in his place will come a new man - one with a new goal, a new purpose, new motivations. In writing-terms, this means Viren will basically be a whole new character.

Characters are defined by their goals and motivations.

Since the beginning, Viren's goal has been somewhat the same (a bright future for humanity by using dark magic and overthrowing Xadia). But things have changed for Viren, especially during Seasons 4-5. Viren is completely powerless for the first time since Arc One.

Lord Viren has always been a character defined by his power. Even without using dark magic, he can still influence others to bend to his will.

Example image: Lord Viren threatening the young Crowmaster to summon the Pentarchy.

Lord Viren also takes Gren off the mission to find the missing princes, effortlessly placing Soren and Claudia in charge seconds after Amaya left. Viren convinced Soren to go and kill the princes on this mission.

Whenever his power and authority is threatened, Viren keeps pushing forward. Like the dark mage he was, Lord Viren keeps pushing until he gets the desired outcome. Soren said it best:

So, the truth is, someone who wants you to do horrible things, and convinces you that they're good, that's a villain. My dad... is a villain. And he's only gonna get more powerful, and the more powerful he gets, the more people will listen to him, and believe him, and follow him.

Meeting Aaravos is a pivotal moment in Viren's further pursuit of more power. Aaravos promises Viren more power and influence than ever before. Aaravos guides Viren to send the smoke assassins after the other kingdoms to motivate them by fear. Aaravos brings out the worst in Viren by targeting this fatal weakness.

Ultimately, Aaravos guides Viren to further pursue his hunger for more power. Viren convinced Claudia that Soren misunderstood the assignment of 'kill the princes' (dick move, Viren).

Then they march into Xadia, and take down the Sunfire Kingdom. And Aaravos takes Viren to the top of the Storm Spire to capture every essence of magic from baby Zym.

Power, power, and more power. Take a sip of water every time I write 'power', honestly.

So Viren falls to his death, and Claudia brings him back 2 years later. The fourth season begins, and Viren is already different. He is powerless. He isn't even wearing his High Mage attire, instead he's in bloodied and dirty prisoner clothes.

He's travelling with an elf, and he doesn't have his staff. He realises he doesn't even want his staff anymore. He's suddenly horribly afraid of heights, and is obviously frustrated about how he's losing power over everything.

His own mind and body are warring against him. He's going to die in 30 days, and he's experiencing panic attacks. Viren is falling apart worse than his tattered clothes.

And after he finally uses dark magic? He ends up passing out, and missing out on his last few days alive. Instead he's thrust into visions for days on end. Interesting to note that Callum didn't suffer from his own visions as long as Viren did. (perhaps because Viren does indeed have a long history of dark magic?)

These visions take Viren into his past, makes him look at everything in a new way. He sees the harm he caused, sees every scar he left on the world. In his pursuit of power, he ripped everything he loved apart. Including his own children. Soren hates him, and Claudia is diving deeper and further than Viren had ever gone.

It is the vision of Claudia that seems to shake Viren the most. To see what corrupted path he has laid out for his children horrifies him. To see Claudia follow this path so eagerly puts the final nail in the coffin.

No dark magic, never again.

Viren is done with dark magic, and he's done with Aaravos. He's done with his pursuit of power. He's ready to be free.

Interesting to note is that his past self is the one reaching out and holding on here. Reconnecting with his roots, his oldest beliefs.

--

At the end of the season, Viren is the most powerless he has ever been.

Laying under the stars, he cannot even find comfort in their shine. They remind him of Aaravos, and of all the mistakes Lord Viren has made. He certainly doesn't feel free.

He's chosen not to kill The Being, he's chosen to align himself with his roots. His roots as a young man dreaming of things far bigger than himself. He turns his eyes away from the stars, no longer reaching for them. Instead he closes his eyes, and awaits death's embrace.

What happens next?

Well, maybe the rejection of his old life leads him to find a new path. Maybe rejecting the call of dark magic puts him out of Aaravos' reach, and he can finally become someone better.

But I guess we won't know for certain until Season 6. So pls share your own thoughts and observations! I'd love to see what you all come up with!

Puts glowy lights on a drawing and pretends it makes up for the lack of background /lh

Ichi is immune to death threats💔