Adarlan is the former center of the Adarlanian Empire of Eastern Erilea. It is ruled by the Havilliard family, known for their brutal conquest of the continent. Major locations include; the capital city Rifthold—where the royal family resides—and the cities Meah, Anielle and Morath.
History[]
Adarlan was founded by the mortal man Gavin Havilliard after helping defeat the Valg King Erawan and marrying Elena Galathynius of Terrasen, daughter of King Brannon Galathynius. As a wedding gift, Gavin received the lands of the future Adarlan.
By the time Throne of Glass takes place, Adarlan had become an empire under the reign of Dorian Havilliard I, conquering new territories, including Melisande, Terrasen, Fenharrow and Eyllwe. It was presumably ten years prior to the Throne of Glass series when Adarlan conquered Terrasen. They abolished the monarchy, killing the royal family, and destroyed the library in Orynth.
The conquest continued when the King of Adarlan had the entire royal family of Fenharrow assassinated brutally when the country was conquered. Adarlan then conquered Melisande and Eyllwe but, for some unknown reason, allowed their Queen and King respectively to hold their Royal titles, though only as figureheads with no power.
Adarlan established the slave trade of conquered countries two years prior to the events in The Assassin and the Pirate Lord. The King opened two labor camps where prisoners and rebels were forced to work in rock salt mines.
Queen of Shadows[]
After a fight with his son, the King of Adarlan is killed and the Glass Castle is shattered; supposedly by Aelin Galathynius of Terrasen, who outlaws slavery before returning the city to Dorian Havilliard II.
Empire of Storms[]
Erawan—through Duke Perrington—sends the Ironteeth Legion to sack the city. Duke Perrington issues a decree, signed by the majority of Adarlan’s lords and ladies, naming Dorian Havilliard II an enemy to the kingdom, claiming that the Duke liberated Rifthold from Dorian after he and the Queen of Terrasen slaughtered so many innocents this spring. The Duke, now King, states that any ally to Dorian and Aelin is an enemy and will be crushed under his armies if they do not yield.
Kingdom of Ash[]
With Erawan's death at the hands of Yrene Towers, the Valg armies occupying Rifthold and other territories collapse and die, leaving the citizens to overthrow the remaining forces and take back their cities.
Once the war ends Dorian vows to return Adarlan to a time of peace and plenty. Yrene decides to remain in Erilea with Chaol and establish a new Torre Cesme in Rifthold, and ruk riders from the southern continent find clutches of wyvern eggs that they decide to raise. Dorian asks Manon Blackbeak to help him form his new aerial legion with the Ironteeth, and he returns to Rifthold with his Hand—and Yrene—to begin rebuilding.
Notable locations[]
Rifthold[]
- Main article: Rifthold
Rifthold is the capital city of Adarlan, where the royal family resides, resting at the mouth of the Avery River with the harbor opening into the Great Ocean. The harbor contains warships, merchant vessels, and fishing boats. The city is protected by large, white walls and floored with cobblestone streets. A large, lower-class occupies the slums, giving the city a constantly dirty and spoiled odor. It also contains a wealthier shopping district with trees lining the broad avenues of white stone.
The glass castle is its crowning achievement, which houses the Royal Family. Built above the original stone castle, it is an enormous crystalline structure with numerous towers, bridges, and turrets in addition to large, domed ballrooms and various wings. It contains 600 rooms, military and servant's quarters, three gardens, a game park, and two stables.
Meah[]
- Main article: Meah
Meah is a small yet prosperous city located on the coast of Adarlan. It is ruled by a cadet branch of House Havilliard, it's current Lord is Roland Havilliard's father, one of the most powerful lords in Adarlan.
Morath[]
- Main article: Morath
Morath is a merchant city in Adarlan located near the side of mountains, formerly ruled by Duke Perrington, a noble closely related to the Havilliard family.
Anielle[]
- Main article: Anielle
Anielle, or "The City on the Silver Lake" is a city situated near the White Fang Mountains. The Avery River runs from Rifthold to Anielle. It is ruled by House Westfall, Chaol Westfall's family and was built to protect the city from savages attacking the city from beyond the mountains.
The Royal Family[]
The royal family is the Havilliard family, comprising of a King, formerly Dorian Havilliard I, now Dorian Havilliard II, his mother, the Queen Georgina Havilliard, from another noble family that had frequently intermarried with the Havilliard family, and Dorian's younger brother Hollin Havilliard.
Another branch of the Havilliard family rules the port city of Meah in the north of Adarlan. Roland Havilliard, the son of the Lord of Meah was Dorian’s cousin.
Religion[]
The people of Adarlan worship a Goddess and her nine children. Her firstborn is the God Lumas, called Lord of the Gods; they believe that with his birth, love was brought into Erilea, and it banished the chaos that arose from the Gates of the Wyrd. His birth is celebrated on Yulemas, where the royal family throws a masked ball. There are numerous minor gods, called the Goddess's nine children, represented during the festival of Yulemas.
They celebrate two religious festivals; Yulemas around the winter solstice celebrates the darkness that gave birth to the spring light and the birth of the Goddess’s firstborn son Lumas. Samhuinn celebrates the coming of winter where the gods and the dead are closest to the earth, bonfires are lit as an offering to the Gods and as a way to spread ash over the fields and fertilize them.
The Goddesses known children are as follows; Lumas, first born the god of love, Anneith, the lady of wise things, Deanna, the goddess of hunting, maidenhood and the moon, Hellas, the god of death and the underworld, Mala, called Mala Fire-Bringer, the goddess of light, learning and the sun, Silba, the goddess of healing, Temis, the goddess of wild things and Farnor the god of war.
In Rifthold other religions are worshiped such as the Sea God and the Sin Eating God.
Magic[]
Magic is strictly forbidden in lands controlled by Adarlan, as playing "god" insults the Goddess that the people of Adarlan worship. Magic, since the war, has disappeared entirely from the continent, leaving all previous magic users powerless. Many magic and non-magic users during and after the war were hunted, turned in by their neighbors, or falsely accused and were killed by orders of the King of Adarlan. The Fae fled, seeking shelter in the wild, untouched places of the world. The King of Adarlan had removed any trace so thoroughly that even those who had magic in their blood almost believed it had never really existed. But even though the king had banned magic, most knew the truth: within a month of his proclamation, magic had completely and utterly disappeared of its own accord.
Magic has since returned to Adarlan with the destruction of the Wyrdkey mechanism that eliminated it from the kingdom.
Trivia[]
- Gavin Havilliard and his wife Elena's bodies are both buried beneath the Glass Castle in Rifthold.
- The language spoken is referred to as the common language.
- Adarlan's colors are gold and ruby (Tower of Dawn pg. 51)