Athril

He loved Maeve. A thousand years after she killed him, his own sword and his own ring are the two things that finally kill her.

Athril is a Fae warrior of the ancient world, friend of Brannon Galathynius and lover of Queen Maeve, from Throne of Glass — the original bearer of the flaming sword Goldryn and of Silba's ring. He dies early and off-page, and then spends the whole saga killing the woman he loved, one inherited weapon at a time.

At a glance

KIND: Fae warrior of the ancient world — owl secondary form
ALLIES: Brannon Galathynius and, once, Maeve
LOVED: Maeve — who killed him herself
CARRIED: Goldryn, the flaming sword; Silba's ring
KILLED BY: Maeve, for refusing to give up the Wyrdkeys
HIS SWORD NOW: Aelin's — pulled from the lake where Brannon hid it
HIS RING DOES: Grants immunity from the Valg (Silba's gift)
IN THE END: Both his weapons kill Maeve at Orynth

His people

Who he chose.

Swipe to meet them all

Brannon Galathynius otherBrannon Galathyniushis sworn brotherEnter Brannon Galathynius →

The one he faced.

The one he faced

One enemy. Not an army — a lover, a queen, a single betrayal.

Swipe to meet them all

Maeve The queen he lovedMaeveShe had his devotion and betrayed it, and left him dead — his blade lost for an age.Enter Maeve →

What he loves

Brannon's old ally

An ancient Fae lord of the deep past, remembered for the company he kept and the relic he left behind.

Brannon, at his side
Friend and ally to Brannon in the first days — the two of them named together in the old stories.
The golden ring
A relic that outlasted him and passed down the ages, gold against a long darkness.
The old war
The old war their names both touch, back when the enemy was new and the world had everything to lose.
The old Fae world
The world he stood for — the first age of the Fae, long before the courts we know.

His heart

The old alliance, and what it left

What Athril loved comes down to us through Brannon — the alliance between them, the old war their names both touch. And it comes down as a ring: a small gold thing that outlived the lord who left it, passed through hands and ages, tangled all the while in Maeve's long cruelties. The friend is gone; the friendship, and the relic, are not.

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

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.

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