Asterin Blackbeak

The one who told Manon to live, and made sure she couldn't argue.

Second of the Thirteen. Branded UNCLEAN at eighty years old, and turned the brand into the argument that ended a five-hundred-year war.

At a glance

KIND: Ironteeth witch — Blackbeak Clan
RANK: Second of the Thirteen
TO MANON: Cousin, Second, friend — a hundred years of it
WYVERN: Narene — a sky-blue mare bred for stealth
CARRIED: UNCLEAN, branded across her abdomen
LOST: A mortal hunter, and their child
DIED: Last of the Thirteen, at Orynth — in light, not darkness
TOOK WITH HER: The Blackbeak Matron

Her people

The coven.

Swipe to meet them all

The Thirteen Manon's Coven · IronteethThe Thirteenher covenEnter The Thirteen →

Manon Blackbeak Wing Leader · Heir of the Blackbeak Witch-ClanManon Blackbeakher Wing Leader — and the one she told the truth toEnter Manon Blackbeak →

Sorrel Third of the ThirteenSorrelthe ThirdEnter Sorrel →

Vesta Of the ThirteenVestaof the ThirteenEnter Vesta →

Ghislaine Of the Thirteen · The ScholarGhislainethe scholarEnter Ghislaine →

Imogen Blackbeak Of the Thirteen · The First to FallImogen Blackbeakthe first they lostEnter Imogen Blackbeak →

The one she faced.

The one she faced

The cruelty at the root of the whole clan. She doesn't talk about it.

Swipe to meet them all

The Matron The Blackbeak Matron. Her grandmother.The MatronShe loved a mortal man. The Matron branded her unclean, killed what she loved, left her for dead.Enter The Matron →

What she loves

The heart of the coven

Second of the Thirteen and the fire at Manon's back — everything she loves, she loves like she's daring the world to try taking it again.

The Thirteen
Ninety-nine years of covering the same blind spots. She'd open a vein for any one of them, and has.
Manon
Her cousin and her Wing Leader — the witch she backed over the Matron's law without a heartbeat's hesitation.
Narene
Her wyvern, and the only stretch of sky that ever felt like the Wastes before any of them had seen the Wastes.
The turn
She followed the Matron's law for a century. She follows Manon toward Terrasen because she chose it — and she knows exactly what that cost.

Her heart

The hope she carried

For decades she carried a scrap of her stillborn daughter's blanket and named it hope — through the brand, through everything the Matron burned out of her. It was the one thing the iron never reached. At Orynth she was the last of the Thirteen to fall, and she went telling Manon to live.

The long versionRead her whole storyEverything, in one place.Enter the full story

Her power

The Yieldingwielder

We're Caffeine and Curses. The Library started as my design research — I can't put Manon on a shirt without knowing which way the iron teeth snap — so we keep the notes here where everyone can use them. The pages are fan-made, not official; the licensed designs are in the shop.

Officially licensed