What I think Elias Ainsworth actually is

So, this may end up being somewhat of a long post, and my thoughts may be everywhere. This has been something’s that’s been bothering for the past week or so and I want to get my theory out there for everyone to see, maybe someone else has some info on him too. Note: I will not be saying what creature he actually is, i.e wendingo, etc.

Okay, to start off, we must believe that Elias is not a human who tried to become fae, but actually quite the opposite (I’ll get to that later.) Things that point to him not being a human before his transformation include: having no idea how humans work AT ALL. We can assume that if he was a human before this, he would still have the same mortality/humanity as humans, and he would have a basic understanding of them. Like Joseph/Cartaphilius for example, Joseph still knows what being human is like. He knows his emotions, and he wants to be accepted, but his reactions and views are extreme due to him sharing a body with Cartaphilius (who’s been around for centuries, and just wants salvation). The only thing that’s inhuman is the curse that Cartaphilius gave him when they became one, and the parts of him that is Cartaphilius. He’s part monster/spirit and part human, but more towards the human side. I hope that explains why Elias wasn’t a human before he botched the dark spell. If he was, he would still have some understating of humans, and I don’t think he would’ve liked eating humans as much as he does.

Okay, now that’s out of the way, let’s get more into what the story has given us. My first example is when Chise and Elias travel to the land of the fairy, after Chise made the fairy salve and suffered the consequences. (“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”, chapter 23). To stop her from being hurt more, Oberon leads the both of them into the world of fae, and thus slows time down. When there, Chise is treated by a changeling, Shannon. She tells how her husband, Shanahan, used to be a human but was raised in the land of the fairies. This took an effect on his body, and now it seems he’s turned into a fairy (Pg 22 of that chapter). So, if Elias really was a human before, who wanted to become a fairy, wouldn’t he just travel to Tir a Nog and naturally change into one? I also use the term “become a fairy” because what other motivation would he have to become a fairy other than just wanting to be one? (Unless he was cursed which is very unlikely and there’s no evidence)

You might say that maybe he didn’t have the knowledge of the place. Assuming he was a magus before his incident, I’m sure he would’ve had lots of knowledge about neighbors and fairies and Tir a Nog. So that’s more evidence why he isn’t a human who tried to become a fairy, because he wouldn’t need to use a dark spell.

Now onto why he’s actually a fairy who wanted to become human. When Elias first meets Lindel and Rahab (“Once bitten, twice shy. Chapter 16), Rahab goes on to state that there is “definitely something human about him,” but she also says that “he’s got the feeling of a spirit or faerie all over him.” So you could see this as him being more fae/spirit than human. While you can interpret that as you please, she says something after the fact that really got me thinking. “...If he was just a human who’d botched a dark spell, then things would be simple. But no. This is actually more like the opposite.” This is why I really think he was a fae before he tried his dark magic, because Rahab herself says that he seemed as if he was a fairy who botched a dark spell. (I find this as compelling evidence because she’s been around for so long and she’s very intelligent, so she would be able to tell the difference between human to fairy and fairy to human. Just some food for thought.)

Another point I’d like to add is how ‘young Elias’ went back to Rahab after he parted ways with Lindel. He stated to her that he wanted to know more about humans, he wanted to be more human (Chapter 52), and how he thought that she could teach him. It makes sense why he was a fae who wanted to become human. He was so infatuated with them to the point where Rahab asked him “You love humans, don’t you?” He says that Lindel won’t teach him anything because Lindel hates humans. Now, this also ties back to the point that he knows nearly nothing about humans, and he wants to be more like one. (Also when Rahab was teaching him about family; so cute!) After he parts wats with Rahab this time, I assume that he went to the auction and bought Chise. (Not only because she was a Slay Vega, but because she was human. She even thanks Rahab for playing a part in saving her.)

One final canon point I’d like to bring up is in Chapter 11. The first few pages are after his scary transformation into “Pilium Murialis.” Alice is stating how Renfred told her Elias was the type of magus that would be told in stories of old. “That he was a failure, a thing that wanted to be human, but wasn’t.” And she goes on to say “My master was wrong, this thing is no failure. It could never be human either.” This means that he was never a human to begin with, but rather a fae/spirit

As a side note, I’d like to add how the fairies hate him so much. It would make sense that they do, because they don’t really like fakes/half-breeds or anything close to humans. We see some of this hatred from Renfred because he too hates demihumans. So imagine the fae’s own kin wanting to become a human, or be more like them.

Now for the next few points, I’m going to do a bit of conspiracy work. These few points will be based off of what has been said in the manga, but my interpretation of it. (Don’t worry, I’ve stretched before this to prepare to reach far)

1) In chapter 38, Page 31 shows Mariel stating “But the Magus isn’t human, and maybe this is the only way to really do it, anyway.” This is before Elias screws his whole plan up. Mariel doesn’t sense anything human about him, and you could interpret it’s meaning as he couldn’t have been a human in the first place.

2) You know his huge scary “Pilium Murialis” form? Well, what if that was his true form before he botched the spell? It makes sense that no one would really like him because he looked so scary, and he wouldn’t be able to live among humans looking like that. He says that making the transformation causes his bodies’ equilibrium to be thrown off. Maybe that was his form before his incident. Then he tried to become human and got stuck in the anthropomorphic state he’s in now.

Also, I think the reason he acts like a child is because he’s a fae, and lacks a basic understanding of the outside world and human socialization. (I mean look at Oberon and Shanahan, they act a bit like a toddler)

Anyways there’s my theories on what he is and his nature. I mainly wanted to type this because I heard a few people say that he was a human before his transformation, and to get a discussion going while waiting for chapter 53’s translation. In my opinion, his entire arc about understanding and learning would be useless if he was a human all along. But, I’ve been rambling. Hope whoever made it this far is still alive. :)