The Alvalaithen, also known as the Earthwing or simply the dragonfly, is a powerful Tan'ji which allows its Keeper to become incorporeal. Chloe is its Keeper.
Background[]
Before the events of the series, Mr. Meister was in possession of the dragonfly, but found himself unable to identify it. Despite knowing about the existence of a similar, legendary Tan'ji called the Alvalaithen, he assumed the dragonfly was only a moderately strong Tan'ji. However, upon further examination with intent, he identified subtle but unmistakable signs of its immense and unequaled power.
Chloe first Found the Alvalaithen at the House of Answers at age five.
Description[]
The Alvalaithen is a figurine in the shape of a dragonfly. It has a long, thin body with a sharp tail and two sets of wide, intricate, lacy wings. It is gleaming white in color. It looks extremely realistic, like an actual dragonfly, and is described as one of the most beautiful Tanu.
Chloe wears the dragonfly as a pendant, hanging vertically from a cord around her neck. She attaches it by making it go thin. Whether the dragonfly's head is hollow, or this damages the dragonfly or the cord, is unknown.
When activated, the wings of the Alvalaithen vibrate silently, moving so fast they become almost invisible.
Properties[]
The Alvalaithen allows its Keeper to pass through solid objects. The Keeper can become incorporeal, or "go thin", for a brief period of time before becoming tangible again ("going thick"). While they are incorporeal, they can pass through any solid object, including dumins and the curtain of the Guan'dao. The Keeper can only stay incorporeal over a limited interval. At the beginning of the series, Chloe can stay thin for about two minutes at a time.
The Keeper can carry objects with them, making those objects thin as well. This evidently extends to clothes, though it takes some practice to bring one's clothes under the influence of the dragonfly.
When objects overlap due to the Alvalaithen, they temporarily occupy the same physical space. Two objects thus overlapped will appear joined, with no visible seams or fuzzing. If both objects are made thick, they will meld, becoming permanently and inextricably joined, often damaging one or both of the objects.
It is possible for the Keeper to meld with objects, though this interaction has slightly different behavior. The Keeper is able to sense if they are deeply overlapped with something before they go thick, and thus to stop the process without getting hurt. Chloe, as a Paragon, is also able to unmeld her body with other objects. This is the source of her many scars, as well as how she was able to survive after her legs were melded as a child.
Chloe conceptualizes the dragonfly's abilities in a very strange way throughout the books. Early on, she states: "Things don't go through me. I go through things." By this she means that she can choose to move through objects, but when objects move towards her, they hit her dead-on. However, as the series goes on, this is shown to be false.
The Alvalaithen has an interesting additional property: when activated, its Keepers feel a sweet song in their flesh, "like a kind of wind that sings."
The Alvalaithen is not a passkey; its power is far vaster. Nonetheless, on a surface level it appears to have similar properties.
Trivia[]
- According to Mrs. Hapsteade, the Alvalaithen takes the form of a dragonfly not only because of its flight-like abilities, but also because dragonflies are natural predators. These are interesting words for a character who had dismissed the dragonfly as a trinket several months earlier.
- The Alvalaithen is often used as an icon for the series in promotional materials.
- While the Alvalaithen is repeatedly described as "bone-white" in the books, most art depicts it as gold in color.
- Horace speculates that the Alvalaithen works by allowing the Keeper to pass the molecules of their body through the molecules of other objects. This is only partially correct.
- When the Alvalaithen's Keeper overlaps their body with someone else's, the new person is able to sense the Keeper's bodily functions and growth, as well as the dragonfly's song.
- Mr. Meister genders the dragonfly in the feminine, though the intention and background of this choice is unknown.
- Mr. Meister considers the Alvalaithen an "instrument of legend".
