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Celaena Sardothien

Celaena Sardothien^{pronunciation}^{(sell-lay-nah sar-doth-ee-en)}
Lillian Gordaina
->"My name is Celaena Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name's Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I'd still beat you, no matter what you call me."

Better known as "Ardalan's Assassin", Celaena Sardothien is a refugee from Terrasen who was raised by the King of Asssasins to be the ultimate Tyke Bomb. A year prior to the start of the story, she was caught and brought to trial for her crimes, sentenced to die in the salt mines of Endovier. She is rescued by Prince Dorian Havilliard, who comes to her with an interesting proposition: fight against other murderers and criminals for a chance to become the King's Champion and work for the man who destroyed her country or remain in Endovier to rot.

In Heir of Fire, Celaena travels to Wendlynn to learn about the location of the missing Wyrdkeys.

Affectionate Nickname: Elentiya.^{pronunciation}^{(elle-len-tee-yah)}
Nehemia: I give you this name to use with honour, to use when other names grow too heavy. I name you Elentiya, "Spirit That Could Not Be Broken".
Anti-Hero: Celaena tries to be as good a person as her situation allows, but she's still a professional assassin with a (sometimes downright frightening) ruthless streak.
Assassins Are Always Betrayed: By Arobynn Hamel, as punishment for choosing Sam over him and leaving.
Badass Bookworm: Caleana has a well-known love of books. In fact, many of her discoveries are made either in, or through use of, the library.
Badass Creed: In the second book, she picks up one: Never forgive, never forget.
Badass in Distress: She's one of the best fighters in the series. She was also captured and forced to work as a slave in Endovier, though she came very close to escaping.
Because Destiny Says So: Once she accepts her role as the heir to Terrasen she feels the need to act because she is supposed to do so. While sometimes she wants to screw destiny and does, after her conversation with Elena in the Witch Mirror she is convinced she cannot worm out of dying in order to forge the lock.
Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Chaol and later Rowan.
Big Entrance: Both Calaena and Aelin really like to make their entrances into any given situation as impressive as possible. While she doesn't use this trope most times, when she does she'll often spend days or weeks planning how to make her appearance as dramatic as possible.
- In Queen of Shadows she doesn't need to rescue Aedion minutes before his execution in the middle of a party, but she does so in the most dramatic fashion possible complete with dancers, body paint, and lots of corpses.
- In Empire of Storms she doesn't need to confuse everyone by sneaking into Ralph's office, bragging about herself, and then having Lysandra enter disguised as a perfect copy of herself, yet she does.
Blood Knight: Celaena really likes what she does. How to, and how easily she could, kill people makes up a significant chunk of her internal monologue and she resents Dorian and Chaol asking her to hold herself back during the competition.
Braids of Action: Celaena usually wears her hair down, but braids it when she knows she's going into action.
Broken Bird: Celaena is this after getting out of Endovier, if not earlier. Considering how much she's lost (from her home and family to her first love and her freedom), it's a wonder she even manages to get up in the morning.
Brought Down to Badass: Celaena, who had Fae powers as a youth but lost them when the magic went away. Without them, she became a world famous assassin.
The Chessmaster: Starting in Queen of Shadows and well into Empire of Storms Aelin is able to manipulate and bring down Arobynn Hamel, steal his fortune to fund the war against Erawan by replacing his will with a fake, send a message to Ansel of Briarcliff to have her bring her armada, call in life debts and eventually coerce and persuade several groups of fighters in order assemble a massive army to fight Maeve and Erawan, even with the eventual knowledge that she would not be there to lead to army and would have to sacrifice herself. While it is for the greater good, she hides information from and misrepresents her actions to everyone up to and including Aedion and Rowan.
The Chosen One: If Elena and Nehemia are to be believed, Celaena's the only person who can make any rebellion against the king sucessful. Or, rather, Aelin Galathynius is.
- In fact, certain aspects of her are specially cultivated, prophesied, and otherwise helped along by the gods because they are so focused on her being the chosen one.
- It turns out she is one of several possible chosen ones. Dorian would be the other obvious choice, but really most magically gifted members of the Galathynius or Havilliard lines would do. What sets her apart is her training, readiness, and magical talent.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Celaena's first one-on-one fight with another Champion is over in an instant, with her as the victor.
Cute Little Fangs: Celaena has them in her Fae form.
Damsel in Distress: She was captured and sent to live as a slave before the first book began, though she very nearly escaped.
Dark Action Girl: While Aelin is a more straight forward Action Girl, Celaena is by no means a hero and is seen to delight in some less than savory adventures.
Don't You Dare Pity Me!: In Crown of Midnight, Celaena assumes that Chaol constantly warns her to be careful because showing him her vulnerabilities made him think that she is incapable of caring for herself. She also feels a spike of anger at the pity in Dorian's eyes when they first meet.
Doomed Hometown: Terrasen is conquering by Ardalan, which resulted in Arobynn finding her and training her to become an assassin.
The Dragon: As the King's Champion, Celaena is another kind of Dragon, representing an enforcer rather than a second-in-command.
Dude Magnet: She attracts the attention of Dorian, Chaol, and Archer. Though to what extent the latter was just manipulating her is up for debate.
Expecting Someone Taller: Both Chaol and Dorian are surprised to find out that Ardalan's Assassin is both female and a teenager. They aren't the only ones.
Female Gaze: If Dorian or Chaol are in the room, expect this to be going on.
Girly Bruiser: She's a better fighter than almost every other character in the series (including the males) and made significant contributions to Adarlan's homicide rate. She also likes pretty dresses, candy, dances, and other feminine things.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Zigzagged. She's young, caring, has blonde hair, and cares for her homeland. However, while she tries to do the right thing, she does enjoy being an assassin and can be vain.
Half-Human Hybrid: Celaena is a human-Fae hybrid.
I Have Many Names: She's known as Adarlan's Assassin, Aelin of the Wildfire, Witch-Killer, Fireheart, The Queen Who Was Promised, Fire-Breathing Bitch-Queen...
I Just Want to Be Normal: A large part of the reason why Aelin initially prefers being Celaena - being an assassin gives her the freedom and anonymity she craved as a princess. It also allows her to live as a normal human with normal abilities instead of having to acknowledge the gifts of her fae heritage - gifts she does not want. Even as an assassin she seems to want a simpler life with Sam.
I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Nehemia sets up her own murder specifically to invoke this, and boy does it work. Her death still haunts and motivates Aelin even at the end of the series.
Insufferable Genius: Celaena is smart, good at killing, and she knows it. When not in disguise she makes sure everyone else knows it as well. However, she is later much less boastful and full of herself, especially after getting knocked down a few pegs by Rowan. Still, she will still revert to being an insufferable genius at times (usually when she's disguised as Celaena).
Involuntary Shapeshifting: Apparently, as a small child, Celaena couldn't always control shifting between her human and Fae forms. As the magic mostly went away since then, she no longer has this problem.
Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: She is the Dark to Nehemia's Light, although her own love for dresses and finery does make her more a shade of grey.
The Lost Lenore: Sam is this for her.
Made a Slave: Dorian and Chaol find Celaena working as a slave in the mines of Endovier, where she's been for a year.
Magic Knight: Celaena sometimes pulls borderline-superhuman feats and Crown of Midnight proves she's part Fae and magic is in her blood, though it's hard to access with the general state of magic having gone away.
My Greatest Failure: Nehemia's death becomes this to Celaena.
Noble Fugitive: After the reveal that she is the lost heir to the throne of Terrasen, Celaena retroactively counts as this.
Noble Top Enforcer: Celaena becomes this as well as Champion, though she goes out of her way to hide it.
Obfuscating Stupidity: Chaol and Dorian purposely have Celaena play this up, and have her pretend to be a bubbly jewel thief named Lillian rather than boast her true identity as the famed Celaena Sardothien—partially because she's only eighteen and many would find that hard to believe.
Obliviously Beautiful: In the first book, Celaena describes herself as slightly above average but not necessarily beautiful. The official art and coloring book show she looks gorgeous.
One-Woman Army: She's a very powerful fighter who can defeat multiple enemies whether they're together or not.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Everyone knows Celaena as Ardalan's Assassin. Even Celaena Sardothien is an alias. Her real name is Aelin Galathynius.
Parental Abandonment: Celaena lost her parents to one of the king's campaigns when she was very young, and Arobyn never became a true father to her.
Pay Evil unto Evil: Celaena pretty much makes a career out of this:
- Celaena mentions that part of the reason she survived in the salt mines of Endovier was a woman who treated the severe lash wounds she'd been given on her first night there. Sadly, she never got a chance to learn the woman's name since she was later raped and murdered by the guards. Celaena made sure to avenge the woman, and Chaol doesn't disagree with her actions.
- Her Roaring Rampage of Revenge against Grave, for killing Nehemia in Crown of Midnight is pretty horrifying, but Grave being a homicidal maniac and the murderer of one of her best friends, it's hard to say he didn't have it coming.
- At the end of the second book she kills Archer, after promising to let him go. Considering that he was the mastermind behind most of the dangers Celaena had faced during the book including hiring Grave for the above murder, he's another one it's hard to feel bad about.
Playing with Fire: In Heir of Fire, she learns to weild fire magic. Scary powerful fire magic.
Pride: Celaena's most charming character trait.
Chaol: Crime isn't an accomplishment, Sardothien.
Celaena: Yes, but becoming the world's most famous assassin is!

Chaol: I don't want you to think I'm agreeing to keep it a secret because I'm ashamed in any way.
Celaena: Who said anything about shame? Honestly, I'm surprised you're not strutting about, boasting to everyone! I certainly would be if I'd tumbled me.
Professional Killer: She's known as "Ardalan's Assassin," and not without reason. This becomes a plot point when Rowan finds Aelin's hair has nearly doubled in length after her kidnapping, implying the healers had to replace her hair and scalp at least once during her torture.
Really Royalty Reveal: She's the lost princess of Terrasen.
Red Baron: Ardalan's Assasin.
Safety in Indifference: Aelin, for much of her time as Celaena, prefers to only have negative emotions towards others and shuns relationships. Although by the start of the series she allows herself some friends, her continued tendency to keep even friends at arm's length causes her problems.
Sent Into Hiding: In a roundabout way, how Celaena ends up with Arobbyn.
Shrouded in Myth: People still whisper in fear of Ardalan's Assassin even though she's been in Endovier for a year and no one knows what she looks like or how old she is. This is all despite Celaena's absolute glee for bragging about her exploits.
Chaol: The Chief Overseer informed me this afternoon that there was one incident. Three months—
Celaena: Four months.
Chaol: Four months after Sardothien arrived, she attempted to flee.
Celaena: That's not even the best part!
The Smurfette Principle: Celaena is the only woman Champion.
Sociopathic Hero: Her kill count exceeds that of everyone except probably King Havilliard. Her onscreen kill count exceeds even his.
Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Celaena in a nutshell, although at least some of the sour is inside as well.
Starting a New Life: Aelin may not have had a choice about going to Arobynn, but she doesn't seem to mind the change from her past life both because it absolved her of her responsibilities and because it served as a coping mechanism for all of her anger and grief.
Strong Family Resemblance: She looks very similar to her cousin Aedion, so similar in fact that she's surprised that no one in Adarlan's court figures out that she's actually the heir to Terrasen on the basis of their looks alone. When she sees him as an adult for the first time, she thinks about how easy it would be for her identity to have been revealed if they had ever been in the same room.
Surpassed the Teacher: It's debatable whether or not she surpasses Arobynn at assassination or fighting ability, but by Queen of Shadows she is able to outgambit the master of gambits on his own turf.
Survival Mantra: She tells herself "I will not be afraid." to give herself confidence. In Kingdom of Ash, she gets another one to help her survive Maeve's torture and carries it through the rest of the book: "You do not yield."
That Man Is Dead: In the first two books, Celaena seems to see Aelin as an entirely separate person and often (purposely or not) perpetuates rumors that Aelin is dead or otherwise not coming back.
Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Celaena can be very Tomboy or very Girly-Girl, depending on the specifics of her situation and mood. She's equally at home dancing at a ball in a pretty dress and tearing through criminal kidnappers while laden down with virtually every weapon known to man.
Training from Hell: Arobynn would leave Celaena tied up on the floor in various locks and ropes for days to force her to learn how to get herself out of them.
Tranquil Fury: Celaena notes that Arobynn referred to it as the "killing calm". She's felt it three times in her life: when she was betrayed and Sam was killed, when she snaps at Endovier, and when Chaol was kidnapped by a rebel group. All three times ended with massive body counts.
Tyke-Bomb: Arobyn, the king of assassins, found Celaena nearly starved to death and drowned in a river when she was very young. He took her to his keep and had her trained extensively in the killing arts, and then made her pay back the "debt" with the money she made by killing. With the revelations about her backstory in Crown of Midnight, it would appear Celaena actually wanted to become a Tykebomb. After all, her parents were assassinated and she nearly was too, so she embraced becoming an assassin herself in order to survive.
Unstoppable Rage: If you manage to get Celaena worked into a full fury, run. It's only happened a couple of times so far, and is terrifying.
Violently Protective Girlfriend: Celaena, who cuts down a room full of men who made the mistake of kidnapping Chaol. Her vendetta against the people who killed her boyfriend Sam was a bloodbath that led to her capture and enslavement in Endovier prior to the start of Throne of Glass.
Walking Armory: Both Celaena and Aelin love to deck themselves out in as many weapons as they can realistically fit on their body.

Dorian Havilliard

Prince Dorian Havilliard^{pronunciation}^{(door-ee-en have-ill-yard)}

"I'm not married because I can't stomach the idea of marrying a woman inferior to me in mind and spirit. It would mean the death of my soul."

Dorian Havlliard is the nineteen-year-old crown prince of Ardalan. Cocky, flirtatious, and kind-hearted, Dorian has the eye of every girl he meets, but the one he falls in love with happens to be the one girl he can't have. When his father decides to host a competition to choose the King's Champion from among a band of murderers and thieves, Dorian travels to the slave mine of Endovier to get Celaena Sardothien, Ardalan's Assassin, as his Champion. The two form a friendship that soon blossoms into attraction and love.

An Ice Person: Dorian's power seems to be controlling frost and ice, as of Heir of Fire. Subverted, as it is later revealed he won the Superpower Lottery and has raw magic, allowing him to use any type of magic he wants.
Badass Bookworm: Dorian loves the library almost as much as Celaena does and when his magic begins to display itself the first thing he does is hit the books to find out why.
Badass in Distress: His presumed fate at the end of Heir of Fire, when his father puts one of his mind-control collars around his neck.
The Charmer: Dorian enjoys flirting with pretty girls.
Chick Magnet: Whether because of his personality, his looks, or his royal title, Dorian is never short for ladies vying for his attention.
Childhood Friends: Dorian and Chaol have known each other since they were little.
The Chosen One: While Aelin is the one Elena and the gods favor as the chosen one under the circumstances, Dorian could play the same role if needed.
Distracted by the Sexy: In their very first meeting, Celaena is pulled from the salt mines, escorted by several guards, and dragged before the prince, who has come to evaluate her worthiness to be his Champion in the competition. Despite the seriousness of the moment, Celaena catches Dorian's eyes combing over her appreciatively even through the grit and grime. Later he finds himself very distracted by Manon.
Heroic BSoD: Dorian struggles with this after he escapes the Valg Prince, kills his father, and is thrust into the role of King at a very bad moment for his kingdom.
Heroic Sacrifice: Pulls one at the end of Heir of Fire to help Chaol escape from the castle.
His Own Worst Enemy: After the witches' seige of Rifthold Dorian is pulled out of his Heroic BSoD, but begins to develop shades of this, including developing self-sacrificing tendencies.
Ladykiller in Love: Dorian's romantic subplot with Celaena follows this more or less to a T.
The Magic Comes Back: Dorian's subplot in Crown of Midnight is dealing with the sudden emergence of magic in the Havilliard bloodline. Specifically, his involuntary and untamed magic.
Male Gaze: Even before he got to know her, Dorian was shining one of these on Celaena.
Mind over Matter: While Dorian can technically use any kind of magic he wants, being one of the rare people born with affinity for raw magic, his default application is this. It's strong enough to easily snap necks, but subtle enough that he can use it to make phantom hands in bed with Manon.
Noble Male, Roguish Male: Dorian is the Roguish Male to Chaol's Noble.
The Not-Love Interest: Quickly becomes this for Celaena.
Power Perversion Potential: Every time Dorian discovers an ability that can be used in a sexual manner, such as his invisible hands and the ability to turn himself into a woman he inevitably uses it or jokes about using it in a sexual manner. This both amuses and turns on Manon.
Relectant Ruler: Dorian really isn't happy or ready to take over for his father in part because he was still recovering from Valg possession and in part because he never thought it would happen any time soon.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Prince Dorian actually wants to be a good leader instead of a conqueror like his father.
Sex for Solace: The primary reason why, along with his new self-destructive tendencies, he sleeps with Manon. At least according to our heroes.
Sheltered Aristocrat: When you're surprised at just how bad life is inside the slave mine your father throws criminals into, you definitely qualify for this.
The Social Expert: While sheltered from life outside of the court, he is very adept at the world of the court. He ends up using these skills to help Manon improve her relationship with the Crocans.
The Unchosen One: Although several characters don't want him to carry out the role of The Chosen One because Aelin is "more ready", he considers doing it in her stead because he is capable of carrying out what must be done.
Will They or Won't They?: An odd example, given their months-long series of hook-ups and emotionally charged conversations, but by the end of the series it's still unclear if Manon and Dorian will end up in any actual relationship.

Chaol Westfall

Chaol Westfall^{pronunciation}^{(kay-all west-fall)}

"I worry because I care. Gods help me, I know I shouldn't, but I do. So I will always tell you to be careful, because I will always care what happens."

At twenty years old, Chaol Westfall is the Captain of the Guard and Prince Dorian's closest friend since childhood. He is dutiful, loyal, serious, and aloof — especially where Celaena is concerned. While he doesn't approve of Dorian choosing Ardalan's Assassin as his Champion (or even of the whole competition idea itself), he still follows his prince's word to the letter and keeps a sharp eye on Celaena to make sure she doesn't try anything funny. When that sharpness turns to affection, Chaol fights his feelings for as long as he can because he knows that Dorian has fallen for Celaena as well.

Aloof Ally: Chaol is initially this to Celaena. He spends most of his time with her, helping her train and sharing her interests, and yet he refuses to actually call them friends for a very long time. Nevermind how long it takes for him to admit he's falling for her.
Archnemesis Dad: Chaol has a poor relationship with his father. Let's leave it at that.
Berserk Button: Do not try to kill Celaena when her back is turned.
Blue Blood: Formerly, anyway. Chaol gave up his title to join the royal guards, but his father is forever trying to convince him to come back and claim his birthright.
Bruiser with a Soft Center: Chaol may be strong, tough, and an excellent fighter, but he's one of the most sensitive, loyal and reserved characters in the series.
Childhood Friends: This is how Chaol and Dorian know each other.
Combat Pragmatist: How Chaol wins his first fight with Celaena. It's not cheating, it's winning.
Compassionate Critic: Chaol is this to Celaena. She complains that he criticizes nearly everything she does and how she chooses to do it, but when he does compliment her she knows he means it.
Extreme Doormat: In Queen of Shadows.
Former Teen Rebel: Chaol technically counts as this, considering his entire career happened after he turned his back on everything his father wanted for him.
Genius Bruiser: Chaol is a fierce warrior as well as an intelligent and compassionate person.
My Master, Right or Wrong: Chaol has this sort of loyalty to the king. Although he frequently acknowledges that the king is a cruel man, he considers himself "nothing" without his loyalty to the crown. That is, until Heir of Fire.
Noble Top Enforcer: Chaol, as Captain of the Guard, is a much better person than his master, the King.
Male Gaze: More subtle than Dorian, but present all the same.
Morality Pet: Occasionally acts as this to Celaena.
Chaol: Why are you crying?
Celaena: Because you remind me of what the world ought to be. What the world can be.
Noble Male, Roguish Male: Chaol is the Noble Male to Dorian's Roguish.
Only Sane Man: Chaol, especially in the first book. He treats Celaena with contempt and suspicion that later turns into begrudging respect and almost reluctant affection. His behavior is completely at odds with that of Dorian, who spends most of the novel Distracted by the Sexy.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Chaol didn't make captain of the guard so young because he's impulsive and reckless.
These Hands Have Killed: After Chaol kills Cain to save Celaena's life, he's wracked with guilt and horror over taking another person's life at the end of Throne of Glass and the beginning of Crown of Midnight.

Allies

Princess Nehemia Ytger

Nehemia Ytger^{pronunciation}^{(neh-heem-ee-ah yet-gerre)}

"You and I… we will always stand apart. We will always have… responsibilities. We will always have burdens that no one else can ever understand. That they will never understand. And if they did, then we would not want them."

Nehemia is the princess of Eyllwe, who has been sent to Rifthold by her father in order to learn northern customs. She and Celaena become fast friends after Nehemia insists on having Celaena tutor her in the Ardalan tongue. Naturally, there turns out to be much more to Nehemia than meets the eye.

Ambiguously Brown: Nehemia. She's described as dark-skinned, but it's unclear what (if any) real-life ethnicity her people most closely map onto (fanart tends to depict her looking somewhat Indian).
Badass Pacifist: Nehemia arrives in Ardalan to learn their language and customs and find a peaceful way to liberate the Eyllwe rebels laboring away in the salt mines.
Black Dude Dies First: Nehemia is the first major character to die in the series, something which has since received a lot of criticism.
Hope Bringer: Nehemia is this to her people.
Lady of War: No matter who she's going toe-to-toe with, Nehemia always remains poised and graceful.
Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: She is the Light to Celaena's Dark.
Magical Minority: One of the criticisms regarding her character is being a person of colour whose only role in the story is to further Celaena's character arc and later on die.
My Death Is Just the Beginning: A heroic example. It's implied by a conversation she has with Elena beforehand and hints Celaena picks up on after her Heroic BSoD that Nehemia knew it would take something like her death to motivate Celaena into finally taking action against the king.
Morality Chain: Nehemia is this to Celaena. After she dies, Celaena goes into such a murderous rage that she tries to kill Chaol.
Ojou: When she and Celaena first meet, Nehemia seems more of a blend of the Ice Queen and Royal Brat type. As they become friends, she settles more into the Proper Lady type.
Politically-Active Princess: Nehemia was sent to Rifthold by her father to learn the northern customs. At least, that's her excuse. She spends most of her time trying to subtly work in favor of the Eyllwe rebels.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Nehemia works hard for her people. In fact, it's her entire reason for being in Ardalan.
Sacrificial Lion: See My Death Is Just the Beginning.
White Magician Girl: Nehemia reveals that she has been using Wyrdmarks to keep Celaena safe through the competition and her ability with them seem to trend toward this trope.

Aedion Ashryver

Prince Aedion Ashryver

Aedion is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius's cousin, general, and trusted adviser. After being born as an illegitimate child to the Queen's sister, he was raised alongside Aelin and trained in combat by her father. Through the training and education of royalty he became a strong fighter and strategist. By age 14 he was fighting as a member of Terrasen's elite fighting force, The Bain. After Terrasen falls he becomes a commander for Adarlan's military. In the process he becomes known as Adarlan's whore.

Big Brother Instinct: He is very protective of his younger cousin Aelin and isn't entirely pleased to hear about her career as an assassin - not because of what she had been doing, but rather because she's endangering herself. He isn't exactly pleased with Aelin's relationship with Rowan. He sees they're a good match, but he doesn't want to actually see or hear any of the affection between the two.
But Not Too Bi: Given the criticism that Maas received for the treatment of LGBTQ+ characters in the series, it is likely that the fact that Aedion is hinted to end up in a romantic relationship with Lysandra is a case of this.
I Will Wait for You: He himself is somewhat hesitant to get into a sexual relationship because of his past, so he understands why Lysandra isn't eager to rush into anything. He is happy to wait for her until she is again comfortable enough to have a meaningful relationship.
Meaningful Name: He's known as Adarlan's Whore for his betrayal of his people and service to the King of Adarlan. It's actually an ironic name given that he's really secretly working to free Terrasen. Understandably he has something of a complex about it.
Really Gets Around: Especially when he was younger, although it's implied that he did it to perpetuate his image as a partier who only cares about sex and battle and turned his back on his people.
Servile Snarker: What Aedion wants the world to believe he his, of course he only does this to ensure the survival of his countrymen.
Shared Family Quirks: He and Aelin share some similarities in personality and habits, which leads them to butt heads.
Strong Family Resemblance: He is noted to look quite a bit like both of his parents, and his mother in particular. More importantly to the plot, he is said to look like a masculine version of Aelin. This becomes a plot point when Aelin is concerned she will die. She arranges for Lysandra to pose as herself, and tells Lysandra to have Aedion father any heirs. That way the child will appear to be Aelin's offspring and therefore legitimate heirs to the throne.
Winning Over the Kids: Aedion begins to act like Evangeline's father long before he and Lysandra make anything official.

Lysandra

Lysandra is Celaena's childhood rival. She was found as a street urchin and adopted by Arobynn to be trained as a courtesan. Much to her chagrin she becomes one of Rifthold's most in-demand courtesans, serving the rich and famous. Despite her dislike of the profession and hatred for Arobynn she works hard to ensure she will pay off her debts and be free of her life as a courtesan. Along with her role as a courtesan, Arobynn uses her for his own purposes including intelligence gathering and delivering messages.

While she grew up hating Celaena, as an adult she becomes one of her closest friends and a valuable ally.

Adoptive Peer Parent: Despite only being 19, Lysandra "adopts" the pre-teen Evangeline as her own daughter of sorts after ensuring the girl wouldn't be raised into the life of a courtesan.
Ambiguously Bi: Lysandra isn't afraid to say that she slept with clients of both sexes during her time as a courtesan, but it's yet to be seen if she's actually sexually attracted to women or if she serviced them as a duty of her profession. She ends up with Aedion, which does little to clarify the debate. While some fans point out Power Perversion Potential could be used to please Aedion, it's up for debate as to whether this means she herself is bisexual.
Animorphism: While some shapeshifters prefer to impersonate humans (and Lysandra is perfectly capable of this), Lysandra has a preference for animal forms.
Girly Girl: She is the girly-girl to Celaena's tomboy, or so she thinks. The two are actually equally addicted to shopping, dancing, and other feminine interests.
Defiled Forever: Lysandra is worried that her past as a courtesan makes her a poor ally to Aelin.
- This starts off true: people are hesitant to ally with Aelin because having a prostitute in her court is an example of bad judgement. Once she uses her powerful shapeshifting abilities to turn the tide of battles and save lives, no one important cares about her history.
- Although she believes no man will love her because of her past, Aedion has a similarly bad reputation for his sexual history and thus has absolutely no issue with Lysandra's past.
Disposable Sex Worker: Although she is his favorite, when push comes to shove Arobynn is not exactly hesitant to let Celaena fulfill her promise to murder Lysandra. To both Lysandra and Arobynn's surprise, Aelin reneggs on her promise to do so.
Heroic Safe Mode: After being released from her life as a courtesan Lysandra processes the horrors of her job by exploring her newly freed magic. She spends the better part of weeks in only animal forms so no human would touch her in a sexual way. This also allows her to avoid conversation. After this period of time, she is once again comfortable enough to return to a human form, but will still occasionally live for periods of time in the form of a ghost leopard.
High-Class Call Girl: She is a courtesan that provides services to Rifthold's elite - both male and female. Along with legitimate noble clients, she is most frequently asked to service Arobynn.
Hooker with a Heart of Gold: To Celaena's surprise, Lysandra is far from the spoiled brat Celaena thought she was. In fact, Lysandra saves the girl meant to be her protegee by permanenly scarring her face. As a consequence Lysandra has to extend her career as a courtesan - which she is willing to do to spare another girl from the life of a courtesan.
Morphic Resonance: No matter what form she's in, Lysandra has green eyes.
Multiform Balance: Although the stomach of a ghost leopard can hold a bunch of torn human and valg flesh, a human stomach cannot. This sends Lysandra into a several-day-long vomiting spell after a battle.
My Instincts Are Showing: Lysandra is influenced by the behavior of whatever creature she becomes, as is seen in her point of view chapters.
Sexier Alter Ego: As a street urchin she noticed the more attractive children got more handouts, so she would switch her appearance to make herself more attractive. This backfires big time when Arobynn finds her.
Silk Hiding Steel: To protect their investment, Arobynn and her mistress teach Lysandra basic fighting and self defense techniques. While not as skilled as any of the assassins, she can hold her own in a fight. After magic is released, she becomes one of the deadliest warriors on the battlefield.
Shapeshifter Mode Lock: When magic was blocked in Adarlan she was in the form of a beautiful young girl. Unfortunately, her being stuck in that body was what drew Arobynn to her, forcing her to become a courtesan. Because she has long since forgotten what her original human form looked like, even after magic is freed she takes on this appearance, but with intentionally smaller breasts for comfort.
The Rival: She grew up as this to Celaena, both due to their natural hatred for each other and due to Arobynn's manipulations.
- Her alliance with Aelin is pivotal to bringing Arobynn down because he never saw it coming or thought it possible given Lysandra's feelings towards Celaena.
- While Celaena thinks she's a spoiled brat, she is jealous that Celaena was chosen for a profession that grants more freedom and power.
Shipper on Deck:
- Lysandra is one of Aelin's greatest supporters in her quest to seduce her mate, Rowan. She does everything from lending Aelin a sexy nightgown to making excuses for them to spend time alone together.
- She is one of the few individuals that has no problem with Dorian sleeping with Manon. Based on her past she recognizes he needs someone like her in his life - at least at that point in time. After she explains it the others in Aelin's party are more understanding, if not exactly enthusiastic about it.
The Social Expert: During her days as a courtesan she became very adept at reading people, learning social conventions, and understanding the motivations of others. This helps her impersonate Aelin well enough to fool some of her allies. This also leads her to become something of a Shipper on Deck, as she is able to recognize who, when, and why any given party member may need for company.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: Lysandra can turn herself into nearly anyone or anything she wishes. After magic is freed she spends weeks on end trying different animal forms. Other than her human form she most prefers to stay in the form of a fearsome ghost leopard. She can also manipulate her own human form bit by bit. Before magic returns she promises herself the first feature she'll change is reducing her bust size.

Elide Lochan

On the surface, Elide is a poor, weak servant girl of Morath with a mangled ankle. She is the niece of one of Morath's commanders, Lord Vernon, and heir to one of Terrasen's lands: Perranth.

Ambiguously Human: For all intents and purposes Elide is human, however Manon claims she must have at least a few drops of witch blood in her. By the end of the series we still do not know what the source of this blood is.
Ambiguously Related: She is said to look eerily similar to Kaltain. Both being noble, it's possible they are related by blood, but this is never confirmed or further hinted at. Manon also seems to think she's related to the ironteeth witches.
Childhood Friends: With Aelin
Hiding the Handicap: She will, at times, try to either hide or play up her disfigured ankle. Later, Lorcan's magic allows her to hide the handicap very effectively.
Master Actor: Perhaps Elide's greatest strength. She is very good at playing whatever part she needs to get what she needs out of people. She can quite convincingly play the crippled girl begging for goods, the jilted lover, a fortune teller, or a loyal wife (and likely more) as needed.
The Mole: Initially she collects and catalogs everything she can possibly get to know about Morath as a simple part of her routine, not intending to give the information to anyone. Later she uses this information and gathers more to feed to Manon. and gives information she's previously gathered to help our heroes out.
The Power of Acting: Elide is easily able to use her acting to get exactly what she or someone else needs.
The Smart Guy: Elide is one of the smartest characters in the series and uses this to help her allies.
Weak, but Skilled: Elide isn't physically strong and cannot fight like many of the other women in the series. Rather than fight she is skilled at manipulating others and gathering information, something that becomes very useful in a number of ways.

Antagonists

Duke Perrington

The Dragon: Duke Perrington is the King's right-hand man.
Evil Overlord: He is eventually revealed to be Erawan.
Fat Bastard: Kaltain references his repulsive girth and appearance several times in her narrative.
Manipulative Bastard: Plays Kaltain like a fiddle without a shred of remorse.

Lady Kaltain Rompier

Kaltain Rompier^{pronunciation}^{(cal-tane rom-pee-ay)}

Alpha Bitch: In the first novel, backhanded compliments, subtle machinations, and snide looks are her main weapons.
Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted. After spending some time in a jail cell, Kaltain looks like hell.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Kaltain is less subtle about this than others as even Dorian, the guy she's trying to attract, can recognize that she's not a great person.
Blue Blood: Lady Kaltain.
Gossipy Hens: Kaltain and her ladies-in-waiting spend half their time doing this.
Lady Macbeth: Kaltain thinks that she is this to Duke Perrington and plots to use him and his influence in court to get closer to Prince Dorian and get rid of Celaena. She is wrong.
Love Makes You Evil: A combination of both these things make Kaltain awfully susceptible to trying to bump off any rivals for Dorian's affections.
Unwitting Pawn: She thinks she is playing Duke Perrington, but it's actually the other way around.

The King of Adarlan

A God Am I: Despite being human, he believes he is a god at least after a Valg possessed him.
Dorian Havilliard: Perhaps you should consider your difficulty in getting past Wendlyn's naval defences to be a sign that you should stop playing at being a god.
King Havilliard: Playing? I am not playing. And this is not a game.
Archnemesis Dad: He spends most of his time being this to Dorian.
Big Bad: The King is shaping up to be this, even though Celaena (ostensibly) works for him.
Demonic Possession: When he was younger, he was possessed by a Valg (which are malicious demons).
Everybody Calls Him "Barkeep": King Havilliard is only ever referred to as "the King" in either dialogue or narration. His first name is never revealed, and we only know the "Havilliard" part because it's the name of his dynasty. His first name is Dorian. Later revealed to be a product of his manipulation by Erawan. His name was erased from memory. The only time he could remember it was during Dorian's birth. While he could still remember it he made the effort to name Dorian after himself.
Evil Overlord: The king of Adarlan may be relatively good to his own people, but Celaena knows of what he does to everyone else:
He should be hanging form the gallows. He had killed many more than she—people undeserving and defenseless. He'd destroyed cultures, destroyed invaluable knowledge, destroyed so much of what had once been good.
Hidden Agenda Villain: After going into the series knowing he's a tyrant king, two books have passed without any indication as to whether or not he's actually got some grand plan in mind. In fact, each book has it's own individual Big Bad while the King seems more like a background villain.
Large and in Charge: The King's imposing size is frequently commented on.

Cain

The Ace: Cain is easily one of the strongest Champions. The only person who seems to be able to stand up to him is Celaena. However, Dorian and Chaol have her hold back her strength and masquerade as a simple jewel thief in order to make sure the others underestimate her, so she doesn't get many opportunities to outshine him. The only time she does is during the archery competition, as archery isn't exactly an uncommon hobby for women.
Arc Villain: He is the first major villain of the series, as The Heavy of Throne of Glass.
Magic Knight: Thanks to the King and Perrington messing with the Wyrdmarks.
Name of Cain: His name doesn't make him out to be a very nice guy, even in this world.

Archer Finn

A courtesan and old friend of Celaena.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: When Celaena is sent by King Havilliard to kill him, she quickly assumes he must be innocent of whatever the king suspects him off. She's very, very wrong.
Evil Versus Evil: Archer may want to overthrow the King, but that doesn't mean he's not a horrible human being in his own right.
High-Class Call Girl: A rare male example. Archer's official job title is "courtesan".
Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Archer's status as this is what persuades Celaena of his innocence and propels her to help him fake his death instead of killing him for the King. Except he's not.

Fae

In General

Fae are one of Erilea's native humanoid species. They are very long-lived, with some surviving a thousand years or more. Most fae have magic of varying types and strengths. While the fae seen in the series are the closest to humans, there are many species of fae that are less commonly featured.

The Ageless: Fae and some humans with fae blood "settle" at a certain age, usually in their 20s. After this point they do not age until they die. Fae can also tie their lives to a human or otherwise choose to age at a human rate. Elena and Lorcan do this to be with the humans they love.
Healing Factor: Fae heal faster than humans, but may also use their own magic to further increase the rate of healing.
Immortality Begins at Twenty: Fae generally settle around their 20s. This can lead to some strange family dynamics, such as Aedion's father looking the same age as him.
Interspecies Romance: Fae and humans are biologically similar enough that there's a fair amount of human-fae romances. These can result in Half-Human Hybrid children, as seen in Terrasen's royal family. Yrene believes that humans (or at least healers) with magic are a direct result of these romances.
Voluntary Shape Shifting: All fae have an animal form they can shapeshift into at will.

Maeve

Maeve, Queen of the Fae

Maeve is a power-hungry sadist who is extremely old, manipulative, and cunning. Revealed in Tower of Dawn to have been a Valg Queen all along.

The Ageless: Although most fae can live hundreds of years, she is much, much older. While some fae are suspicious of how long she's lived given the normal lifespan of fae, no one brings it up.
Big Bad: She is ultimately responsible for the deaths of Rowan's lover and their unborn child in order to break him and bring him under her control as well as the imprisonment and torture of Aelin Galathynius at the hand of her sadistic scion Cairn at the end of Empire of Storms.
God Save Us from the Queen!: She's the undisputed queen of the Fae, and is really, really not a nice person.
Karmic Death: The members of the cadre she assembled and threw away for sheer spite end up swearing a Blood Oath to Aelin instead and give her the advantage she needs to kill Maeve in the climax.
The Chessmaster: She is ancient and has plans that stretch hundreds of years, not limited to convincing Rowan that Lyria was his mate when his true mate was Aelin, who would not be born for centuries, then having Lyria and their unborn child killed so that Rowan, heartbroken, would bind himself to her and then when he and Aelin accepted their mate bond, she could control both of them.
Villain Ball: She grabs this at the end of Empire of Storms and refuses to let go for the rest of the series. She spends years creating a cadre of the most deadly immortal warriors she could find and enslaving them with a Blood Oath that gives her almost total control over them, she releases two of her cadre just for spite and then doesn't bother to do anything to keep them from coming for revenge later. She orders one of the remaining members to kill himself just to hurt his brother, who eventually ends up killing her. She even tells Aelin her Origin Story, something Aelin happily uses against her later.
0% Approval Rating: She presumably has it since all it takes to turn her armada against itself is Rowan flying off to talk to some of his cousins leading part of the fleet. Later on Aelin is able to spare a coup and get her kicked out simply by writing a letter. A letter with some rather damning information in it, but it's clear the Fae have very little actual love for their queen.

The Cadre (In General)

The Cadre

The Cadre (as some call them) are Maeve's elite force under her direct command. All were chosen for their great fighting ability and magical powers. While some like Rowan were chosen from the nobility, others were chosen from the lower classes for their unique talents.

All are bloodsworn to her, allowing her control over their actions. Despite this, they all have a measure of independence over their actions and opinions about Maeve.

Members of the cadre include: Rowan Whitethorn, Lorcan Salvaterre, Gavriel, Fenrys, and Vaughn

Badass Crew: The cadre are all very adept at fighting alongside each other, but in more peaceful times act more like a brotherhood with plenty of teasing, emotional support, and deep discussions.
Living Legend: All members of the cadre have stories told about them around the world. Some even have names they are known by other than their own. Aedion in particular is a huge fan of the cadre and the stories told about them. He looks up to Rowan and Gavriel the most.
One-Man Army: While they may or may not fight or do missions together, each member of the cadre is a one-man army in his own right.
Really Gets Around: Back in the day they would all drink and sleep their way through the places they visited on missions from Maeve. Now most have settled down in their (relative) maturity.
Violenty Protective Male: Male fae tend to be "territorial bastards" as Aelin refers to them. This may or may not extend to other fae. While this is most prominently seen with the cadre's love interests, they can also be seen being rather overprotective and territorial about any female they feel loyal to in some way (friends, family, their leader, etc.).
Walking Armory: Some members of the cadre wear more than others, but all tend to bring an obscene variety and number of weapons into a battle.

Prince Rowan Whitethorn

"You collect scars because you want proof that you are paying for whatever sins you've committed. And I know this because I've been doing the same damn thing for two hundred years. Tell me, do you think you will go to some blessed Afterworld, or do you expect a burning hell?"

An immortal Fae warrior and distant relation of Queen Maeve, Prince Rowan Whitehorn serves in her court in Wendlynn. He meets Celaena at the start of Heir of Fire and is assigned to train her in return for information about the missing Wyrdkeys. Sullen, cold and unfriendly, he and Celaena clash frequently throughout the book, until they become unexpected friends.

From Roommates to Romance: He and Celaena sleep in the same bed for months. Eventually it becomes much less innocent.
Headbutting Heroes: With Celaena. They eventually get over this.
Improvised Weapon: Once in a Bar Brawl Rowan killed someone with a table (well, the leg of the table.) This story endears Aelin to him.
Intergenerational Friendship: With Celaena. He's about hundreds of years old while she's only in her late teens.
Jerkass: Like stated above, turns out to be a bit of a Jerkass Woobie.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Definitely has his nice moments, especially later on, towards Celaena.
Jerkass Has a Point: Makes some spot on criticisms about Celaena.
The Leader: He is debatably the leader of the cadre.
Platonic Life-Partners: His bond with Celaena by the end of Heir of Fire.
Shapeshifting: He can turn into a white-tailed hawk.
Safety In Indiffernce: Something he and Aelin bond over. After Lyria he only has brief flings with females he doesn't seem to have any feelings for.
Spare to the Throne: Rowan is technically royalty, but is so far down the line of succession that he has no realistic expectation of ever ruling anything. His cousin Sellene is determined to be first in line for Doranelle, but he does end up ruling Terrasen at Aelin's side.
Student–Master Team: With Celaena while he's training her. They're no longer this by the end of HOF.
The Stoic: Especially when he's first introduced. Turns out to be a bit more of a Stoic Woobie

Gavriel

Gavriel is a stoic and honorable member of Maeve's cadre who serves her faithfully.

Luke, I Am Your Father: He is furious with himself when he realizes he does have a child he didn't get to raise and is eager to rectify the situation by meeting his child. His child, Aedion is much less eager to meet him.
Luke, I Might Be Your Father: Upon seeing Aelin he worries she is the product of his love affair with Aelin's aunt. He is somewhat relieved when she reveals this to be impossible (she is too young). Later, we find out he is actually the father of her older cousin Aedion.
Team Dad: Gavriel is the most responsible and least rambunctious of the cadre members.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: He can turn into a mountain lion.

Fenrys

Fenrys is the youngest member of the cadre. He and his twin brother, Connall, were scouted as much for his unique ability (teleportation) as for their looks. Maeve insists on keeping one as a sex slave while she lets the other adventure with the cadre. With Connall currently being at Maeve's side, Fenrys follows her orders to keep him safe.

Fenrys is a Fae warrior and a member of the cadre. He serves Maeve, albeit unwillingly.

Angsty Surviving Twin: After Maeve forces Connall to kill himself in Kingdom of Ash, with the specific purpose of torturing Fenrys.
The Baby of the Bunch: Fenrys and Connall may be around 100 years old, but they are young in comparison to the 300-500+ years of the other cadre members. Fenrys's less-than-stoic personality really emphasizes this difference.
Embarrassing Last Name: Fenrys isn't exactly eager to share his last name with others.
Heroic BSoD: After Maeve makes Connall kill himself in front of Fenrys (among other things, including forcing him to watch Aelin's torture) Fenrys refuses to use his powers and becomes much more stoic. He finally uses his powers again to kill Maeve and save Aelin.
Plucky Comic Relief: Fenrys serves this role for the cadre. Although they say he's annoying or obnoxious, his jokes serve to relieve tension in tense moments.
Really Gets Around: As of the timeframe of Throne of Glass, Fenrys is the only member of the cadre that still sleeps around.
Sex Slave: Maeve kept Fenrys' brother Connall as a sex slave, and when Fenrys found out he also swore a blood oath took Connall's place to keep him safe.
Teleportation: Fenrys's main power, and one reason Maeve became interested in him. This is a very rare power among the fae.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: He can turn into a wolf.

Lorcan Salvaterre

Lorcan is one of the older members of the cadre. With his gloomy personality, crazy ideas, and overzealous overprotection of Maeve he isn't exactly the most well-liked member of the group. His magic is something of a mystery even in-universe, although it's sheer power and deadly nature drew Maeve to add him to the cadre. He is said to be blessed by Hellas, the god associated with death.

Alliterative Name: When me marries Elide his name becomes the rather alliterative Lord Lorcan Lochan. The other members of the cadre (and Aelin) get quite a kick out of this.
Blessed with Suck: His magic is associated with death, and he is therefore associated with the deity of death. This alienates him from others to some extent, but he finds ways to alienate himself further.
Butt-Monkey: Even though he's neither weak nor stupid, his bad attitude and strange decision making process make him the butt of many jokes and leave him on the bad side of many who should be his ally.
For Your Own Good: Lorcan sees his trip to Rifthold as part of his rogue mission to save Maeve from her own devices. When she finds out, Maeve assures him that what he wanted to do wasn't good for her and punishes him accordingly.
Rogue Agent: Maeve does not want him to do what he ends up doing, and in fact is very annoyed that he dare betray her.
Undying Loyalty: In the vein of male faes being extremely territorial and possessive, Lorcan is loyal to a fault to any woman he loves.
Unwitting Pawn: Upon arrival in Rifthold he quickly becomes a pawn in Aelin's plans. As soon as he figures this out he begins to rebel as much as he can.

Vaughn

A member of the cadre that is not seen in the books but often mentioned. The other members of the cadre paint him as more of a free spirit than themselves. As of the end of the series he is still effectively missing in action, though presumed safe by his brothers in arms.

The Ghost: Vaughn is mentioned frequently in the context of the cadre and is given several chances to show up, yet he somehow never manages to show up in the main series.
Rogue Agent: Or at least implied to be by the other cadre members. They suspect that he will intentionally spend far more time than necessary (and ignore as much as possible) the mission Maeve sends him on.

Witches

In General

Ironteeth Witches

A Mage Species created by Valg interbreeding with Fae. They take after their Valg parents, while the more virtuous Crochan Witches allegedly take after their Fae ancestors.

Action Bomb: The only overt magic Ironteeth can perform is the Yielding, which consumes them and everyone around them in a huge blast. Most Ironteeth believe only young witches hungry for glory are actually stupid enough to use it.
Alien Blood: Ironteeth bleed blue.
Always Female: All Ironteeth are female. Oddly, Crochan Witches occasionally produce the rare male child, but most of them are always female too.
Amazon Brigade: Ironteeth witches, being Always Female, organize themselves into groups of thirteen all-female warriors
Dragon Rider: They used to ride around on ironwood brooms until the magic went away. Erawan offers to replace their now-useless broomsticks with wyverns if they'll join him, and once the witches get a look at their new mounts they can't sign on fast enough.
Love Is a Weakness: A central part of their philosophy. Men are useful for one night stands to produce offspring, and that's it.
Prefers Raw Meat: Ironteeth witches strongly prefer to eat raw meat.
Wolverine Claws: In addition to the retractable iron teeth that give them their names, the Ironteeth also have retractable iron nails they use to gleefully disembowel their enemies.
Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Other people's children are fair game, but their own are not. 'Witchlings' are rare and considered sacred. To harm a pregnant witch, their unborn child, or any witchling under sixteen is the greatest crime possible for Ironteeth.

Manon Blackbeak

Heir to the Blackbeak Clan of witches and the Crochan Witches.

And Now for Someone Completely Different: She's first introduced in Heir Of Fire and is one of the characters whose POV we see along with Celaena and Chaol's.
Calling the Old Man Out: Her first attempt at confronting her grandmother for the evil things she's done...doesn't end well. Her second attempt after spending some time with the Crochan goes much better and sends her grandmother running for her life.
Deuteragonist
Does Not Like Men: Human men, anyway. She says point-blank in Heir of Fire that she generally only sees them as food or breeding stock, with rare exceptions like Duke Perrington, Vernon, and Dorian.
Dual Wielding: In an utterly epic way during Kingdom of Ash, wielding her own sword in one hand and her Crochan great-grandmother's in the other to defeat all three Ironteeth Matrons simultaniously.
Morality Pet: Abraxos definitely becomes this to her.
No Social Skills: Manon has perfectly acceptable social skills for a bloodthirsty Ironteeth witch, but is not good at socializing with less violent species including the Crochan, Fae, and Humans. Her lack of social skills becomes a barrier she must overcome in order to win over the Crochans and unite the witches. Through interaction and instruction with/from Dorian and the Crochans, she is slowly improving.
Red Baron: The Crochan Witches call her White Demon, for a very good reason.
Rightful King Returns: The secret heir to both the Ironteeth and the Crochan Witches, Manon finally embraces her role in Kingdom of Ash and unites both groups against the Valg.
Sadist: Has shades of it. Starts to avert this after she gets Abraxos.
Took a Level in Badass: In Empire of Storms, Manon gets her ass kicked just trying to fight her grandmother. Come Kingdom of Ash, she defeats not only her grandmother but the other two Matrons as well, and makes it look easy.
Villain Protagonist: Until her Heel–Face Turn, anyway...
What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Manon is not good with her own feelings and finds herself confused to care about anyone outside of her thirteen.
- When she first finds Elide, Manon believes that the small bit of witch in her is why Manon should care what happens to the girl. Later, Manon becomes somewhat more aware that she actually respects and cares about Elide as a person.
- She initially treats Dorian as someone more along the lines of a one night stand and then a friend with benefits. When she realizes she feels more for him it takes a lot of conversation and thought to work through the feeling of caring for someone. By the end of "Kingdom of Ash", she is still unsure or unwilling to admit what (if anything) she feels for him.

Asterin Blackbeak

Manon's second-in-command

Heroic Suicide: Uses the Action Bomb ability all Ironteeth Witches have to blow herself up along with the rest of the Thirteen to save Orynth.
Love Redeems: Fell in love with a human hunter years before the story began. He and their stillborn child are what cause her to reject the usual Love Is a Weakness Ironteeth doctrine long before Manon does.
The Dragon: Serves as this for Manon most of the time.

Others

Sam Cortland

Always Someone Better: He started out jealous of Celaena for being Arobynn's chosen heir instead of him.
Forced to Watch: To punish Sam for helping Celaena free two hundred slaves, Arobynn has three assassins restrain Sam and forces him to watch Arobynn beat the hell out of Celaena, knowing how Sam feels about her.
Foregone Conclusion: Sam appears (alive) in the prequel book The Assassin's Blade and we all know from the main series that he won't make it to the end.
I'll Kill You!: When Celaena reflects back on her memory of her beating in The Assassin's Blade novella, The Assassin and the Desert, she suddenly remembers Sam screaming this phrase at Arobynn over and over.
Plot-Triggering Death: Sam's death led to the revenge kills that got Celaena caught, arrested, and sent to the salt mines that Dorian and Chaol find her in at the start of Throne of Glass.
Posthumous Character: One of the first things we learn about Sam is that he died before the events of the story.
Pretty Boy: Celaena makes numerous references to the good looks he inherited from his mother, even before she begins to respect him.

Sorscha

A healer who works in the catacombs in the Glass Castle, Sorscha is a warm, talented healer who we are introduced to in Heir of Fire when Dorian is injured.

Ambiguously Brown: Many fans consider her a woman of colour, since like Nehemia she is from Eyllwe, yet Maas's Pinterest pins seem to present her as white.
Collateral Angst: Sorscha is killed off in order to provide drama for Dorian's character arc.

Yrene Towers

A healer and heir apparent to the world's most prestigious center of healing. She meets Chaol on the Southern Continent before returning to Erilea.

Ambiguously Brown: She is often portrayed as dark.
Early-Bird Cameo: She appears in the novellas. Celaena gives her the means to get to where she will eventually meet Chaol.
Healing Hands: Yrene's magic is based entirely on healing and is primarily seen in that function. [[Spoiler: It is perhaps even better at defeating the Valg.]]
Pregnant Badass: For all of Kingdom of Ash, Yrene is in the early stages of pregnancy. Despite being pregnant she winds up being the one to kill the Big Bad.
Workaholic: Pretty much every character points out that Yrene never seems to take time to rest. Even after getting pregnant she never takes a moment to rest.

Characters / Throne of Glass

Main Characters

Celaena Sardothien^{pronunciation}^{(sell-lay-nah sar-doth-ee-en)}
Lillian Gordaina
->"My name is Celaena Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name's Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I'd still beat you, no matter what you call me."

Prince Dorian Havilliard^{pronunciation}^{(door-ee-en have-ill-yard)}

Chaol Westfall^{pronunciation}^{(kay-all west-fall)}

Allies

Nehemia Ytger^{pronunciation}^{(neh-heem-ee-ah yet-gerre)}

Prince Aedion Ashryver

Elide Lochan

Antagonists

Duke Perrington

Kaltain Rompier^{pronunciation}^{(cal-tane rom-pee-ay)}

The King of Adarlan

Cain

Archer Finn

Fae

Maeve, Queen of the Fae

The Cadre

Prince Rowan Whitethorn

Gavriel

Fenrys

Lorcan Salvaterre

Vaughn

Witches

Ironteeth Witches

Manon Blackbeak

Asterin Blackbeak

Others

Sam Cortland

Sorscha

Yrene Towers

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Index

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Characters / Throne of Glass

Edit Locked

Main Characters

Celaena Sardothienpronunciation(sell-lay-nah sar-doth-ee-en)Lillian Gordaina->"My name is Celaena Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name's Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I'd still beat you, no matter what you call me."

Prince Dorian Havilliardpronunciation(door-ee-en have-ill-yard)

Chaol Westfallpronunciation(kay-all west-fall)

Allies

Nehemia Ytgerpronunciation(neh-heem-ee-ah yet-gerre)

Prince Aedion Ashryver

Elide Lochan

Antagonists

Duke Perrington

Kaltain Rompierpronunciation(cal-tane rom-pee-ay)

The King of Adarlan

Cain

Archer Finn

Fae

Maeve, Queen of the Fae

The Cadre

Prince Rowan Whitethorn

Gavriel

Fenrys

Lorcan Salvaterre

Vaughn

Witches

Ironteeth Witches

Manon Blackbeak

Asterin Blackbeak

Others

Sam Cortland

Sorscha

Yrene Towers

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Index

Next

Celaena Sardothien^{pronunciation}^{(sell-lay-nah sar-doth-ee-en)}
Lillian Gordaina
->"My name is Celaena Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name's Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I'd still beat you, no matter what you call me."

Prince Dorian Havilliard^{pronunciation}^{(door-ee-en have-ill-yard)}

Chaol Westfall^{pronunciation}^{(kay-all west-fall)}

Nehemia Ytger^{pronunciation}^{(neh-heem-ee-ah yet-gerre)}

Kaltain Rompier^{pronunciation}^{(cal-tane rom-pee-ay)}