Cairn

Every warrior in Maeve's Cadre carries some ancient gift. Cairn's whole power is that he enjoys the work.

Cairn is the Fae torturer Maeve sets on the captive Aelin after her Cadre falls apart, from Throne of Glass — no elemental magic, no honour, only a cruelty that Rowan himself could never discipline out of him. He is the wound Aelin wears out of Doranelle, and the reason Fenrys breaks an oath that was supposed to be unbreakable.

At a glance

KIND: Fae warrior — no elemental magic, only strength and cruelty
ROLE: Maeve's torturer; sworn in to replace the fallen Cadre
ONCE UNDER: Rowan's command — expelled for sadism nothing could curb
ASSIGNED TO: Breaking the captive Aelin into Maeve's blood oath
HIS TOOLS: Iron mask, iron coffin, broken glass, a heated table
MADE FENRYS: Watch, in wolf form — until Fenrys broke the oath to stop him
KILLED BY: Rowan — skinned and beheaded on his own torture table
LEAVES BEHIND: The wound Aelin carries out of Doranelle, every old scar erased

Bound to

The queen he served.

Swipe to meet them all

Maeve MaeveThe queen he served, and licked the boots of.Enter Maeve →

His reckoning.

His reckoning

The torturer who lashed a chained queen — undone by one of Maeve's own.

Swipe to meet them all

Fenrys The wolf who tore freeFenrysBlood-bound to Maeve and forced to watch, Fenrys broke the oath no one breaks — and came for Cairn.Enter Fenrys →

What he covets

Pain, and a chained thing to spend it on.

He was never ordered to enjoy it. He simply did.

The infliction
Pain for its own sake, drawn out slow, with nothing behind it but the wanting.
A chained thing
Anything that cannot fight back — the only kind of power he trusts.
Maeve's favour
A crueller queen to serve, and boots to lick for the privilege of it.
Dominance
Total command of one body, for as long as she would let him keep it.

What he wants

To be the one holding the iron

Maeve set him to break Aelin, and he took to it like a calling. He doesn't want power over the world — just power over one chained body, and the time to make it last. His queen's favour is the only reward he's after.

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.

Officially licensed