Maya's War Fans

**Maya's War Fans** are bladed fans able to be used in combat, much like a sword. However, these fans allow for much greater maneuverability and sneak attacks, perfectly matching Maya's strength and fighting style. First made for her by Levi Ackerman, Maya now has an assortment of war fans, all with different abilities and features.

## History

### Until Our Last

The first pair of war fans, ***'Wings of Freedom'***, were a Christmas gift to Maya Prasanna from Levi Ackerman after noticing her struggles with wielding a sword properly due to her lack of strength. After Maya gave Levi his gifts, he gave her these personally smithed war fans, secretly made over the course of three weeks in the smithy near the stables on The Embrace. He'd also given her leather holsters to carry them around on her hips. This would turn out to be a tradition for every Christmas, where Levi would gift her new war fans.

Between 2012 and 2018, when Éternel: Wings of Fire began, Levi made a total of 10 pairs of war fans for her, both to replace the ones she'd lost or damaged, or to create new ones for different abilities or features, such as lightness or the ability to cut through chainmail. These pairs were ***'Sharpshearer'***, ***'Elder Dragon's Talons'***, ***'Fatal Autumn'***, ***'Tears of the Stars'***, ***'Hope's End'***, ***'Lightbringer'***, ***'Bloodletter'***, ***'Headtaker'***, ***'Severance'***, and the original ***'Wings of Freedom'***.

When visiting The Bind to help with the new recruits of the Ravensguard in 2016, Levi had recently made her new fans, ones lighter than her previous. These would turn out to be ***'Sharpshearer'***.

**Levi**: "*How are those fans treating you? Are they any easier to handle?*"
**Maya**: "*Oh, they're so much lighter than the gold ones. But anything you make me is perfect.*"

### Éternel: Wings of Fire

The first time Maya's war fans are shown in the main series is when she takes the boys of BTS around The Embrace to give them their own dragons, and she carries them on her hips as backup.

Throughout the book, Maya is seen using her fans in combat, both practice and real. She'd practiced with the boys of BTS the day she gave them their own weapons, and was seen using ***'Lightbringer'*** to deflect Jungkook's arrows, catch Taehyung's blade between her fan blades, fan out Seokjin's sword, and consistently strike against all seven of them. The first time she was ever shown to use them in real combat was later in that same chapter (Chapter 7, **Innocence**), when she killed the last Magister Mortalis assassin by cutting them in the thigh and stabbed him in the heart once he fell.

Minjun was seen briefly using ***'Headtaker'*** to deflect against the Rubyhide's attacks after the dragon was injected with modified Tracker Jacker venom to target Maya specifically in Chapter 11, **All Secrets Known**.

In Chapter 13, **Closer To Me**, Maya uses ***'Hope's End'*** by tapping them together to alert Costa, a Spring Clicker, hiding in the trees. Later in that same chapter, Maya trains with Yoongi and uses her fans to attack him.

In Chapter 21, **Stay True**, when Chanwoo and seven other assassins come to kill Maya on The Embrace, Maya uses ***'Fatal Autumn'*** and throws her fan at the female assassin after she stabs Jungkook, cleanly slicing the woman's neck before it came swinging back around to Maya, like a boomerang. She then killed Chanwoo by cutting through his face with both of her fans, severing the top of his head and easily cutting through his skull.

The Christmas of 2018, in Chapter 22, **Only You**, Levi pulled Maya aside and gifted her ***'Bloodletter'*** privately, a pair of fans that are significantly quieter than her other ones for maximal stealth. Although Levi told her that they aren't as effective being thrown, Maya threw one at the cabinet and nearly hit Yoongi's head.

Maya's war fans, in this case ***'Sharpshearer'***, were taken along with her after Minjun came to The Embrace to capture her once again in Chapter 24, **Lost Stars**. After her friends rescued her after the Seven Days of Death, they were only able to retrieve one of her fans, the other ending up in Seungsik's possession as he was escaping. It is presumed the second fan is either lost or has been destroyed.

During the Battle of the Guardian, before Maya's transformation, she used ***'Fatal Autumn'*** in the fight. Most notably, she cut off Daewon's head as he was attacking her, disemboweled a warrior charging her, and killed Minjun with them, able to cut through his armor, use them as boomerangs, and deflect against his trident and sword.

### Éternel: The Fire Within

Maya was seen using her fans much more often in Éternel: The Fire Within, and wielding different pairs for different uses.

The first time she is shown to wield fans in The Fire Within is Chapter 4, **Lost In You**. She was simply visiting the Jinsei Chamber, but took out ***'Tears of the Stars'*** when Dakiva snuck up on her from behind. Later in the chapter, when Maya and BTS go to The Vale to help tame the invasive dragons, Maya deflects a Deadly Nadder's spines with her fans.

In Chapter 6, **Bed of Roses**, Maya runs into Namjoon in the training room, and decides to train with him, using ***'Lightbringer'*** to fight.

When Minho comes to The Embrace for redemption in Chapter 11, **Returning**, Maya takes ***'Headtaker'*** with her to examine the ship Minho had arrived in. When she saw him, she took out her fans, but Jimin grabbed them faster and threw them into the sand, being retrieved once Maya was sedated and placed in Yoongi's room.

After Maya showed her memories to the boys and consequently had a nightmare in Chapter 12, **Eye of the Beholder**, Maya requested to have Fawn and Axel stay with her instead of the boys. While she waited for the girls to come, she held onto ***'Headtaker'***, closed and resting on the bedside table where Yoongi had left them.

Later in the same chapter when Maya, BTS, and Minho traveled to Havenholme to find clues on Magister Mortalis, Maya took ***'Wings of Freedom'*** with her. When she was attacked by a member of Magister Mortalis, she attempted to raise them, but was cut on the hand and dropped them. The man was killed by Minho after he stabbed the man in the back of the head with a closed fan. When entering the base house of deliberation and seeing it was empty, and listening to Minho faking his ignorance as to what the Dragon Eye was, Maya threatened Minho with her fans by raising one to his throat and the other to his stomach.

In Chapter 14, **A Song For You**, when Ariea's mother comes to retrieve the baby dragon, Maya carries ***'Elder Dragon's Talons'*** with her, although she is unable to use them as she quickly becomes trapped in amber.

During Minho's execution in Chapter 15, **True Colors**, Maya uses ***'Headtaker'***, the ceremonial pair of fans often used for executions such as this. She cut across his arm before slicing cleanly across his abdomen, disemboweling him.

In Chapter 16, Control, Maya and Yoongi train with each other, and she uses ***'Lightbringer'***. When Daenerys invades The Embrace, Maya takes them into battle, although not the most ideal pairs. After Vhaghar was killed and Daenerys gained control of her dragons, Maya, BTS, and Levi were taken back to The Isle of Night, where Daenerys destroyed ***'Lightbringer'***, along with Maya's armor.

When meeting the Fategazer in Chapter 20, **Letting Go**, the dragon notices Maya's fans resting on her hips in her holsters. This pair was ***'Hope's End'***.

In the final chapter, **Goodbye**, Maya uses the new fans Levi had made for her just a month prior as a late Christmas gift, since they had spent Christmas in captivity. These would turn out to be ***'Heartseeker'***, and would be used only twice to cut her hand to allow entry to the Jinsei Chamber, and to stab Yoongi in the shoulder after he charged Maya. After sedating the boys and tattooing them with the enchanted ink, and before taking them to The Spire to transport them, Maya flew on Toothless over the ocean and threw ***'Heartseeker'*** into the water, unable to see these fans in the same way after having to stab her own lover just to wipe his memories of her and their life together.

## Physical Appearance

Due to the many variations of Maya's war fans, there is no specific look to them. But they all have the same basis - at least three blades connected at one joint, steel connecting to the blades and taking a shape of a handheld fan. The only one to not follow this rule is ***'Bloodletter'***, which only has two blades, and replacing the middle ones are diamond shaped points. The colors vary, most commonly gold and blue, but there are black, silver, bronze, purple, and red fans as well to help differentiate them.

***'Mother's Heart'*** is unique in the fact that on each of the nine blades is the name of each of Maya's dragon children, on both fans. This was meant to be a welcome home/Christmas present for Maya after she escaped Amesstall, but after losing three of her children, it became a heavy-hearted one.

AgonizerBloodletterConvergenceDeath's ReachElder Dragon's TalonsFatal AutumnGuardian's RoseHeadtakerHeartseekerHope's EndLightbringerMother's HeartSeveranceSharpshearerTears of the StarsWidowerWings of Freedom
## Uses and Features

Each of the fans has a specific attribute or feature that differs from the others, giving Maya a large pool to choose from for different situations and uses.

* **Agonizer**: The flattest out of all fans. Able to slip through armor plates, but is best used against unarmored opponents. Best used to cut and hack rather than slice. Opens quietly, good for stealth.
* **Bloodletter**: The most silent out of all fans, due to the fact that there are only two blades. Although not as effective while throwing, it's sharp enough to cut through bone up-close.
* **Convergence**: Able to be thrown as a throwing knife, and has much further reach doing so compared to other fans.
* **Death's Reach**: The heaviest out of all fans to deal heavier blows. Cannot be thrown, but is perfect for slicing through armor.
* **Elder Dragon's Talons**: Best for cutting through chainmail. Can also be used as an everyday domestic tool, such as chopping firewood. Slightly thicker than other fans while folded.
* **Fatal Autumn**: Allows the user to throw it as a boomerang. Thicker than other fans while folded.
* **Guardian's Rose**: All-around usage. Good for catching small blades in between the holes of the fan blades.
* **Headtaker**: Ceremonial and all-around usage. Good for stabbing and decapitating. Lightweight and has a far reach when being thrown. However, opening them is louder than other pairs, so unless opened slowly, they are not good for stealth.
* **Heartseeker**: All-around usage. Able to deflect projectiles if timed correctly. Slightly heavier than other pairs, and are dropped easily if not held correctly.
* **Hope's End**: Able to block projectiles such as knives and arrows while opened. Best used to stab.
* **Lightbringer**: Able to catch swords and blades between the fan blades, making it easy for the user to disarm an enemy. Slightly illuminates in the dark from the Lemon Corddtite jewels after being charged in the sunlight. Although not recommended due to the open spaces, these fans are strong enough to deflect arrows if timed correctly.
* **Mother's Heart**: All-around usage. Best for stabbing and slicing. Has the ability to boomerang, but it must be thrown hard. Can be thrown as throwing knives. Slightly heavier and larger than other pairs.
* **Severance**: Better for slicing and severing body parts. Allows the user to move faster due to the holes in the steel.
* **Sharpshearer**: Lighter than the other pairs. Able to be thrown as a throwing knife. Best for stabbing rather than slicing. Useless against heavy plate armor.
* **Tears of the Stars**: All-around usage. Can be used as a cleaver when folded. Able to deflect projectiles if timed correctly.
* **Widower**: Replica of Sharpshearer. Able to be thrown as a throwing knife. Best used for stabbing rather than slicing. Lightweight, but useless against heavy plate armor.
* **Wings of Freedom**: All-around usage. Best used to stab when closed, but can slice through bone when opened. Able to be thrown as a throwing knife, although the reach is not as far.

## Creation Dates and Status

Between 2012 and 2024, Levi Ackerman has made Maya Prasanna 17 pairs of war fans for her to use. However, as of the end of Éternel: Between Two Worlds, she only possesses 5 full pairs, those being ***'Wings of Freedom'***, ***'Tears of the Stars'***, ***'Headtaker'***, ***'Elder Dragon's Talons'***, ***'Mother's Heart'***. She has one of out two fans of '***Guardian's Rose'***, and has since then shelved it as decoration. The other fans have either been lost in battle, destroyed, or discarded of for other reasons.

## Gallery

War fans openingWar fans openingWar fans openingWar fan openingWar fan danceThrowing war fansJumping and decapitating with war fansDecapitating with war fans from belowSevering parts of the head with war fansCutting off hands with war fansStabbing and slitting the throat with war fansDisemboweling with war fansCombat with war fansDisarming a sai holder with war fansThrowing a war fan as a boomerang in combatThrowing a war fan as a boomerang in combat
## Quotes

**Jungkook**: "*Maya, what are those?*"
**Maya**: "*Oh, these are my war fans, Kook.*"

**Maya**: "*These are perfect for stealth, holy shit! How did you-*"
**Levi**: "*Trial and error. They’re not as good when being thrown.*"

## Trivia

* Maya's war fans are Kitana's war fans from Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11.
* Maya is the only war fan user to be shown in the entire Éternel series. However, it can be said that Kim Seungsik is a war fan user, although temporary, after escaping from Magister Mortalis, as could not locate his sword and was only able to grab one fan with the little time he had.
* ***'Bloodletter'*** is the first pair of war fans to be named through dialogue in the main series, with ***'Mother's Heart'*** being the second.
* These war fans are inspired by the real-life Japanese war fans known as '*Tessen*.' However, these war fans are armed with blades, unlike the real-life counterpart where no blades are present.
* Maya's war fans are not fireproof. During the Decimation of Two Tree Island, the fire Maya let loose ended up melting her holsters and war fans, although she was untouched due to her fireproof armor and Pure Dragonborn blood.