Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius, formerly and also known as Celaena Sardothien, is a major character in the Throne of Glass novel series. She is the Lost Princess and later Queen of Terrasen, and the last surviving member of the Galathynius bloodline who took up the position of an assassin after being displaced from Terrasen.
History[]
Early Life[]
Aelin Ashryver Galathynius was born to King Rhoe Galathynius and his wife, Queen Evalin Ashryver, in Orynth. For the first eight years of her life, she lived as the prestigious Princess of Terrasen. While some people expected her to marry Aedion Ashryver, her cousin and confidante, to solidify the family's claim to the throne, Aelin found the idea laughable, outrageous, and sickening, because after all, she considered Aedion to be her brother, a feeling he reciprocated. Aelin tapped into her powers manifesting from her Fae heritage at an early age. She could shift between Human and Fae Form with ease, though her powers over fire was less than exemplary. Her lack of control led to a deep-seated fear of her own powers, which was so intense that she considered it a relief when magic fell and she no longer had to be terrified of herself. As a child, Aelin also encountered Dorian Havilliard while his parents were visiting the Kingdom of Terrasen.
The Fall of Terrasen[]
One night, the King of Adarlan decided to overthrow one of his major political opponents, the royal family of Terrasen, and to gain control over the country as a whole. Upon discovering her parents dead when she climbed into their bed thinking the wetness on the bed was due to rain coming in from the open window in their chamber and woke to a maid's screams to discover the bed was in reality soaked with their blood. Her mother's dearest friend, Lady Marion Lochan, sacrificed her life to save Aelin, giving her the chance to escape and survive the massacre of her family. Aelin tumbled into a river on the way, and only Elena sacrificing herself to save her kept her alive. The King cemented his rule over Erilea by promoting across the country the deaths of the Terrasen nobility, all the while unaware of the survival of the King and Queen's daughter Aelin. After the deaths of her parents and Orlon, her uncle and King of Terrasen, Aelin was left as the sole survivor of Terrasen's royal family.
Arobynn Hamel, King of the Assassins, was led by Elena in a trance and found a freezing Aelin close to death on the banks of the Florine River. He offered her a choice; to stay with him and be trained as an assassin or be cast off into the streets, with Aelin choosing the former. She wound up killing her first target at the age of nine. She was renamed Celaena Sardothien to hide her true identity. Aelin trained at the Assassins' Keep in Rifthold, and it was there that she spent the majority of her life following the deaths of her parents and conquering of her home. However, she was captured after attempting to exact revenge on Ioan Jayne and Rourke Farran for murdering her first love Sam Cortland. As a result, she was sent to the Salt Mines of Endovier—a labor camp—and demoted to serving as a slave to reside there for the remainder of her life.
The Assassin’s Blade[]
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord[]
Aelin meets with Arobynn's inner circle of assassins late at night, where Arobynn announces that Gregori's mission was a failure, resulting in his capture and incarceration in the castle dungeons. Aelin suggests that the assassins poison him before he leaks any information to the authorities, as per protocol, but Sam turns it down in horror. She then inquires about Ben, noticing his absence, to which Arobynn explains that Ben was killed during the mission. Enraged, Aelin demands to know why the others did not retrieve his body. Sam replies that there were too many guards and that the retrieval could potentially lead the guards to discovering the Assassins' Keep. Furious, Aelin storms out of the room, vowing to recover her friend's body.
Two months later, Aelin and Sam travel to Skull's Bay to meet with Rolfe as Arobynn's emissaries, in order to get revenge from the Lord of Pirates for the murders of three other assassins by pirates. Aelin expresses indignation at Rolfe's tardiness and roots around his office, much to Sam's agitation. Rolfe arrives and demands that Aelin get out of his chair.
She rises, sits beside Sam, and then accuses Rolfe of being involved in the death of three assassins who perished in Bellhaven, citing the tattoos spotted on the attackers. The Pirate Lord argues that the tattoos couldn't have been picked up on since there are no streetlights at the docks, but the incident occurred during a full moon. She and Sam hand Arobynn's letter to Rolfe; he finishes reading it, then reveals that he will not be compensating Arobynn in gold, but rather is brokering a slave trade agreement with him, horrifying Aelin. Although she was unaware of what the letter truly stated, Aelin acts as if she knew exactly what the message was.
Rolfe then sends Aelin and Sam to their lodging. Initially, Rolfe plans to provide two separate rooms for them, but Aelin insists that only one room would be necessary. Rolfe raises his eyebrows suggestively, prompting Aelin to clarify that she wishes for the room to have two beds.
Alone in the room with Sam, Aelin turns on him, believing that he had prior knowledge of the letter's contents, but he denies the claim. Aelin rants, baffled as to why Arobynn would trick them and dispatch them to reprove Rolfe for a crime he was not involved in. Sam says that Arobynn has his reasons, but Aelin presses on, expressing disgust at the idea of enslaving people and trading them. She asserts that the guild does not need the money, but she wonders if Arobynn is not as wealthy as she believes and has been spending money that he does not have, or if he simply desires to become more affluent. Sam asks if she is going to bathe or if he can go first, to which Aelin stalks away to take a bath.
Rolfe taunts Aelin at dinner, urging her to remove her mask to partake in the meal, but she turns him away. When he questions her about her past, Aelin shoots back a gibe about the map tattoo, implying Rolfe did not work to earn his position as she did for hers. Rolfe then tells her that the map has been immutable for the past eight years, much to Aelin's discomfort, and that he did have to toil and kill to earn his title. Once again, Rolfe remarks on her hubris and cites Sam as an example of discretion in choosing when to speak. He warns Aelin to be wary of Sam, as he could be waiting for a chance to kill her. Aelin snaps at Rolfe to just mind his own business.
Back in their room, Sam pokes fun at Aelin, who menacingly suggests that perhaps he should not sleep that night. He asks if she really is that sensitive about being teased, to which she replies that she cannot when it involves her life. He grows anxious as he asks if he should be concerned about sleeping that night, but she laughs to herself and reassures him that he need not worry—for tonight, at least. Once he falls asleep, Aelin keeps watch as she listens to his breathing. Aelin on the other hand does get a good night's sleep because of how much the situation with the slave trade frustrates her. She thinks Ben would be appalled by the deal, too, because he was the more compassionate person she knew. Disgusted with the immorality of slaving and Arobynn's choice to involve her in his deal, Aelin decides to rescue the slaves and convinces Sam to stick by her side during her escapade.
After disarming the guards of the two slave ships, disabling seven other ships, and starting a city-wide brawl, the two assassins successfully help the two hundred slaves escape and secure a contractual agreement with Rolfe, effectively stripping both Arobynn and Rolfe from involvement in the slave trade and establishing Skull's Bay as a safe haven for rescued slaves. Their collaboration blossoms into a tentative—if somewhat awkward—friendship between the rival assassins and they return home together to face the wrath of Arobynn side-by-side.
Upon their return to Rifthold, Arobynn is absolutely livid. Restraining Sam, he beats Aelin mercilessly until she fall unconscious, forcing Sam to watch the whole thing.