Elician and Lio: Platonic Love

There are many different types of love depicted in The Sun Blessed Prince. Each has its own challenges to face. One of the most evident forms of love, though, is that between Elician and Lio.

Though they are not bound by blood, they have lived with and next to each other all their lives. Literally, in Elician’s case, from the day he was born. Throughout the book both Elician and Lio regularly reference the other as brothers, but it is clear that social class and expectations do differ. Lio is expected to be subservient at times, and his character is one that was raised always to be protective of Elician. As an adult, and one given free will, he could certainly leave his place at Elician’s side, but he chooses not to because he has decided the relationship he does have with Elician is worth it.

There is something undeniably precious about Lio and Elician’s relationship. They sleep beside each other. They are intimately familiar with each other’s anxieties and concerns. Lio, in particular, serves as a shield not only for Elician’s body but his emotional and mental state as well. He is continuously worrying and working towards ensuring Elician’s well-being whenever possible.

Their friendship at times could be considered perhaps too intimate, and at one point Elician’s sister comments that some members of their household questioned whether Elician was in love with Lio.

There is nothing textual to imply that this has ever been the case.

Shippers may of course believe whatever they wish, and I would not stand in the way of anyone who would make an argument saying that Elician and Lio were romantically entangled. However, for me, I’ve always considered their relationship to be fully platonic. Elician knows he loves Lio, but he also knows that there will come a time where Lio will leave him, and he is terrified of loving him any deeper than he currently does for fear of the hurt that someday might bring.

This is not to say that romantic relationships take precedence over platonic ones. Elician trusts Lio unlike any other. Similarly, he loves Lio unlike any other. Lio’s final death will devastate Elician, and his world will change as a result of it. But Lio, in many cases, is a security blanket for Elician, a comforting balance that reminds him that he is not alone.

Elician’s greatest fear is that one day: he will be alone. His family, all of them - including Lio - will die before him. He knows this. He didn’t necessarily have a choice in loving them when he was a child. He didn’t know what his fate would be. So he became Lio’s brother, he cherished his cousin and new little sister. And when reality set it, he already cared too deeply for these people to let them go on his own. But he knows: one day, he will be alone.

There’s perhaps a sense of delusion in Elician’s feelings with Lio. He loves Lio deeply, but if he denies himself the thought of a romantic relationship he can convince himself he didn’t love him that much.

This, of course says nothing for Lio’s feelings on the matter. In the text, we don’t get Lio’s point of view. What we do see, is that he is deeply devoted and committed to a romantic relationship with Elician’s cousin Adalei. Both she and Lio share the desire to help support Elician wherever they can, and they likely initially bonded due to this shared desire.

Lio knows Elician better than anyone, and he knows Elician’s fears of falling in love with someone romantically and what it will mean for his future. He gently tries to encourage Elician to find someone to bring into his life, but knows: it just might never happen. Lio, however, has no intentions of sacrificing his own chance at happiness in the one life he has. If he cares for something, or believes in it: he will do what he can for it. And for him, the person he chooses in Adalei.

Lio and Elician do love each other, incredibly deeply, and their relationship is perhaps a bit too intimate to be considered a pure brotherhood alone. However in the text, there is an understanding that romance will never play a part between them, and what grows instead is a fierce commitment to simply do whatever they can to make the other happy in the time they have left.

Even without being romantically entangled, their platonic love is deeply profound and I personally think it is so important to be able to see two people who certainly could be in a romantic relationship together mutually deciding that such a relationship wouldn’t make either of them happy in the end and still deciding to stay close to one another. Their lack of romance doesn’t make them love each other any less, and for Elician at least - it forces him to look for and at least try to find someone else in his life who might be able to fill a hole that for once, Lio can’t.