| “ | You are my people. Whether my grandmother decrees it or not, you are my people, and always will be. But I will fly against you, if need be, to ensure that there is a future for those who cannot fight for it themselves. Too long have we preyed on the weak, relished doing so. It is time that we became better than our foremothers. | „ |
| ~ Manon Blackbeak in Kingdom of Ash |
Manon Crochan-Blackbeak is a secondary antagonist-turned supporting protagonist in the Throne of Glass series. She is a half Ironteeth, half Crochan witch, the former heir of the Blackbeak Witch-Clan and the last surviving Crochan Queen.
History[]
116 years before meeting Aelin Galathynius, Manon's mother Lothian Blackbeak, and Tristan Crochan fell in love with one another, and Lothian became pregnant with Manon. During labor, Lothian revealed Manon's parentage to Mother Blackbeak, saying that she believed that Manon's mixed blood could be the key to breaking the curse on the Ironteeth. Manon was told that her mother died birthing her; in reality, Mother Blackbeak killed her own daughter after Manon was born. Tristan never ceased loving Lothian and his daughter, and he continued to diligently search for them. Mother Blackbeak tracked him down; she taunted him, informing him that she had killed his lover and that she would turn Manon into a monster before slaughtering him. Rhiannon, Manon's paternal half-sister, assumed the search in her father's stead. As eyes flecked with gold have been considered a lucky trait among the Blackbeak Clan, Mother Blackbeak, after seeing the child had eyes of pure gold, took Manon away from her mother's still-cooling corpse and proclaimed her the heir to the Clan. Manon's first kill was a young Crochan whose red cape she took as a trophy. She wore this cape, which made her stand out from the rest because no other would risk enraging the Matron by wearing the cloak of their enemy. She created The Thirteen, a group of the strongest young Ironteeth Witches to be her personal coven.
Heir of Fire[]
Manon lives undercover as a Crochan witch in a village in Fenharrow in the hopes of seeking and flushing out the real Crochans. One night, three villagers break into her cottage uninvited. They rummage around her house, searching for valuables and calling for her to come out, though Manon knows they just wanted to rob and kill her because of how terrified the villagers are of her. When two of the men exit Manon's room, she slips out of the dresser that she hid in, sneaks up behind the lone man, and disembowels him on the spot. A second man walks in on Manon drinking the first man's blood and flees in terror, but Manon quickly catches and kills him as well. When the third realizes that his friends are dead, he flees into the field by the cottage; but Manon tracks him down and murders him as well.
Manon then rejoins the other Blackbeaks and heads to the Ferian Gap, where they are to select the wyvern they will ride in battle. All three tribes are there, and Manon develops a rivalry with the Yellowlegs heir, Iskra, rather quickly. She and Iskra begin to show shared interest in the best wyvern, Titus.
Once the clans are to choose their mounts, Iskra shoves Manon into the training pit where the Wyverns are showing off their abilities. Here, Manon is immediately attacked by the vicious bull, Titus. But she senses that the bait wyvern being used for Titus to attack wants a shot at him, and, after cutting the smaller wyvern free and killing Titus with it's help, Manon claims the bait beast as her mount, much to the dismay of her grandmother who believes it to be too weak to be the wyvern of a future Wing Leader. She names her new dragon Abraxos, after the Three Headed Goddess' pet whose coils were wrapped around the earth. On the other hand, Iskra ends up getting Fendir, whom she later uses to kill Petrah Blueblood's wyvern Keelie.
Queen of Shadows[]
Queen of Shadows After winning the title of Wing Leader, Manon and the Thirteen are sent with half the Ironteeth witches to Morath to serve Duke Perrington. After spending four weeks in Morath, Manon and the Thirteen grow suspicious of the strange goings-on and are grating against the duke's orders. On his order, Manon takes her Thirteen hunting for citizens living in areas nears Morath.
Duke Perrington orders Manon to choose a coven to be tested for the notion of whether or not witches are “compatible for breeding with the Valg” to be determined. As part of the test, the witches will be implanted with Valg stones. Manon is inn favor of this but knows her grandmother is expecting her to obey, and that any step out of line would earn them all a brutal and swift execution. When Asterin questions Manon's decision, she is immediately demoted to Third.
Manon encountered a human servant named Elide Lochan who was busy cleaning her room. Manon can tell the girl is hiding somethingjust from observing her. Manon scratches Elide and tastes her blood as she’s exiting the room and can tell she has some amount of Ironteeth witch’s blood, growing curious about the mysterious girl.
Later on, Manon and Sorrel visit the blacksmith at the war camp to examine the weapons he has been crafting for the witches. Manon explains that she needs the weapons to be lighter, so she and Sorrel discuss the demotion of Asterin, and what the power that the Blackbeak Matron holds. Sorrel explains to Manon that Asterin has never forgotten for a second what the Matron is capable of like no one else ever has.
After Manon and Elide stumble upon Lord Vernon, Manon asks Elide if her blood runs blue or red. Elide chooses blue, which causes her to become assigned to Manon for protection.
Manon talks to Ghislaine about the Valg, the latter of whom explains how evil the Valg are and issues a warning about trying to ally with them. At breakfast the following day, Manon tries to talk to Ghislaine about the Valg again, a coven of Yellowlegs under a witch named Ninya volunteer for implantation.
Some time later, Sorrel attends the meeting with Duke Perrington and Lord Vernon to tell him about the Yellowlegs coven volunteers. Manon asks the duke why all this is necessary, and he replies, “Because we can. And because this world has too long dwelled in ignorance and archaic tradition. It is time to see what might be improved.” The duke’s use of the words “the world” as opposed to “this land” or “this continent” unsettles Manon.
Manon questions Duke Perrington about why the witches seeing the Yellowlegs coven that was implanted with the Valg stone is forbidden. The duke informs her she doesn’t need to concern herself with them, all she needs to know is that it was successful. While she is there, she witnesses Kaltain Rompier being ordered to use her shadowfire on a soldier to torture him, shocking her. Manon questions him about what else is going in the mountain caves, but Perrington simply reveals that her grandmother is making weapons for him.
After Manon’s conversation with Duke Perrington at the war camp, she tells Sorrel and Asterin to ensure constant surveillance of the Blackbeak witches. Asterin wants warn the Yellowlegs and Bluebloods about the preceeding danger, but Manon tells her they can only “tug so much at the leash.” Manon orders Elide to find out what’s happening to the Yellowlegs witches in exchange for protecting her.
Elide reports to Manon, Asterin, and Sorrel what is happening to the Yellowlegs, explaining that she learned the witches have already given birth once and are pregnant again. The creatures they gave birth to are not witchlings, but rather demons with fangs of black stone and skin like black diamond, while the witches themselves are chained to tables and begging to be set free. The witches are horrified upon learning about Elide's findings. After Asterin attacks Manon for giving the duke the Yellowlegs witches, Manon demotes her to Fourth, rendering Vesta Third. Sorrel is unwillingly prepared to kill Asterin if Manon wishes for it. Asterin is furious that even after everything that's come out, Manon still won't stand up to the Matron.
The Thirteen take Kaltain, Duke Perrington, and his men to a tribe in the White Fang Mountains and Kaltain where she tortures them with her shadowfire. Duke Perrington then has the Thirteen massacre the tribe.
The Thirteen are in the middle of a meeting when they’re interrupted by a man with a Valg inside him. Utilizing the Valg's power, he attacks them with darkness and mental pain. Manon kills him while the human trapped inside, Roland Havilliard, pleas to be killed already. Manon looks on in shame and horror at the effect that the Valg powers have on those among the Thirteen without golden eyes.
The Thirteen meet up with the King of Adarlan, Dorian Havilliard, and the Blackbeak Matron in Oakwald Forest. Manon sparks a conversation with Dorian and he is able to remember his name, proving he is not completely gone. Manon learns about the witch mirror towers from Dorian. Manon fights Aelin out of rage for the latter's act of killing Baba Yellowlegs. Aelin feels a thread of compulsion to not kill Manon and Manon is left owing Aelin a life debt. Both women are impressed with the other’s superb skills in battle.
When the Thirteen return to Morath, Asterin asks for a private meeting Manon where she decides to finally share her a secret from eighty years ago; she fell in love with a mortal man and got pregnant with his child. Afterwards, she carried the baby full-term, a rare occurence witches. But the baby was stillborn, triggering the fury of Manon’s grandmother who beat her out of rage and branded her with the words “unclean,” before banishing her from Blackbeak Keep. Asterin was devastated, but Sorrel and Vesta helped save her life and return stronger than ever. Asterin begs Manon to betray her grandmother and that Thirteen understand the risks of doing so. Manon is heartbroken upon learning about Asterin’s pain and furious at her grandmother’s lies. Yet the Blackbeak Heir feels a thread of compulsion pulling her to Rifthold. She and Asterin head there and leave a message for Aelin, which is coded and written in Valg blood informing Aelin that Dorian still has some human inside of him. On the way back to Morath, Manon and Asterin feel the return of magic, and return to find Morath in chaos thanks to magic’s return.
Manon, Sorrel, Asterin, Vesta, Fallon, and Faline work together to rescue Elide. The Thirteen barely escape the explosion Kaltain creates that obliterates one-third of Morath, including the destruction of the evidence of the Thirteen’s actions. The Thirteen drop Elide off in the Oakwald Forest and send her on way before returning to Morath, where they all choose to stay until the Matron arrives, which is when they will decide what to do.
Appearance[]
Manon is a tall, overwhelmingly beautiful witch with alabaster skin, long, moon-white hair, and eyes the color of burnt gold. She has the distinct traits for the Ironteeth, namely a set of retractable iron fangs and nails. Once they met her, both Dorian and Aelin stated that she is the most beautiful woman they have ever seen.
Before magic disappeared from Erilea, Manon seemed to be no older than sixteen; however, ten years since the magic vanished and the aging process started, with hew now looking to be in her mid-twenties.
Personality[]
Manon is often cruel and ruthless in her pursuits, yet cunning and resourceful. She can be cold, heartless, uncaring, and icy, but upon meeting Elide Lochan she began to question her beliefs, wondering if being a monster was really making her happy. Upon being forced to kill Rhiannon Crochan, the latter tells her that she, along with the other Ironteeth witches, were made wicked, not born that way. Ever since, Mannon has began to see hope and love in the world and realize that she was not born heartless and cruel, but rather with a heart and emotions. She is slowly growing into a witch with emotions to challenge the others who think that completely lack feelings.
The relationship Manon built with Dorian Havilliard in Queen of Shadows and throughout Kingdom of Ash in particular strengthened her emotions and caused her to see more love in the world. She is now loyal to the Thirteen and shares an affectionate and close relationship with Elide.