Briar Blackbeak was an Ironteeth Witch of the Blackbeak Clan and a member of The Thirteen. She and her cousin Edda Blackbeak were Manon Blackbeak's Shadows.
Biography[]
Some time before the series began, Briar joined The Thirteen.
Heir of Fire[]
Briar is with the rest of the Thirteen when they train with other Ironteeth Witches in the Ferian Gap for the War Games. She serves as a Shadow for Manon in an attempt to gain information about the death of Baba Yellowlegs, but comes back empty handed. Her and Edda also tail the Yellowlegs in the Dining Hall.
Queen of Shadows[]
After winning the War Games, Briar goes with Manon, the Thirteen, and half the Ironteeth witches to Morath to assist Duke Perrington. After four weeks in Morath, the Thirteen become suspicious of the strange goings-on and grate against Duke Perrington's orders. As Manon's Shadows, Briar and Edda have reported whispers of stone alters stained with blood and dungeons blacker than the Darkness.
The Thirteen take Kaltain Rompier, Duke Perrington, and his men to a tribe in the White Fang Mountains and Kaltain tortures them with her shadowfire. Duke Perrington then has the Thirteen slaughter the tribe.
The Thirteen are meeting when they’re interrupted by a man with a Valg inside him. He attacks them with darkness and mental pain. Manon kills him while the human trapped inside, Roland Havilliard, begs for death. Manon looks in horror at the effect that the Valg powers have on those among the Thirteen without golden eyes. Because Briar doesn't have gold eyes, she is affected by the Valg powers and is on her hands and knees vomiting.
The Thirteen meet the King of Adarlan, Dorian Havilliard, and the Blackbeak Matron in Oakwald Forest.
The Thirteen barely escape the explosion caused by Kaltain that destroys one-third of Morath, which includes the destruction of the evidence of the Thirteen’s actions. The Thirteen drop Elide Lochan off in the Oakwald Forest and send her on way before returning to Morath. The Thirteen decide to stay at Morath until the Matron arrives, and then they will decide what to do.
Empire of Storms[]
Briar is with Manon and the Thirteen as they tensely greet the Blackbeak Matron and her coven at Morath. The Thirteen are sent on a mission to take control of Rifthold and bring Dorian Havilliard, now king, to Erawan if he survives. They are also ordered to destroy the glass wall Aelin Galathynius made surrounding the palace. Before leaving for Rifthold, Manon tells the Thirteen not to let anyone kill Dorian. Briar participates in the sacking of Rifthold. She then attends Manon's trial for the death of five Yellowlegs witches.
At Asterin's execution, she and the Thirteen give Manon the gesture to honor a Witch Queen. When Manon yells at the Thirteen to run, she helps the Thirteen escape on their wyverns. Edda and Briar stay behind to help Manon escape. When six Yellowlegs witches come after them, the three of them split up, drawing two Yellowlegs after her. She gets away from them and escapes to safety.
The Thirteen arrive at the beach in Eyllwe and join in the battle against Maeve's armada. They help Rowan and the group win the battle. The Thirteen is reunited with Manon afterwards. Manon asks them if they heard the truth about her parentage and if they will still follow her. Asterin tells her that they will, and once again the Thirteen give her the gesture honoring a Witch Queen. Manon declares that they must become better than their foremothers. Manon, the Thirteen, and Dorian promise the group that they will find the third Wyrdkey and the Crochan witches to unite them to fight with Aelin.
Kingdom of Ash[]
For the past two months Manon, the Thirteen, and Dorian Havilliard have been hunting for the Crochan witches. They are currently in the White Fang Mountains. Manon is worried that Dorian might have to be the sacrifice to forge a new Lock.
Edda decides to let her hair return to her natural hair color, white, because it blends in with the surrounding landscape. Briar decides. to keep dying her hair black because she believes one of the Shadows has to be able to blend in at night. The Shadows continue to scout for Ironteeth patrols.
The next day the group is preparing to move on when Manon is attacked by a mighty, white bear. Dorian freezes the creature with his magic and it shape-shifts into a Stygian spider. The spider is Cyrene, the spider who Manon encountered to get spidersilk for Abraxos’ wings. She tells Manon that she tracked her scent using her belongings left at Morath. She says that there are Crochan witches nearby.
Cyrene leads the group to the Crochan witches who greet them with mistrust. Glennis Crochan introduces herself as Manon’s great-grandmother. When two Yellowlegs covens attack, Manon, the Thirteen, and Dorian, help the Crochans kill them, which gains them some trust. Dorian realizes that Manon deliberately attracted the Yellowlegs to try and gain the Crochans’ trust. Manon and Dorian explain that they are there to ask the Crochans to fight against the Ironteeth witches and Erawan’s army.
Glennis tells her that only a Crochan Queen can summon them to war, and Manon has not been accepted. She says that they are on their way to Eyllwe to answer a call for aid by the southern hearths. The group and the Crochans are delayed for a week while they heal from the Yellowlegs attack. The Shadows return from scouting ahead and inform the group that the rendezvous site with the southern hearths “reeks of death.” When the group is too late to arrive in Eyllwe, Briar helps bury the dead, earning more respect from the Crochans.
When the Thirteen and Manon go to the Ferian Gap to speak to the witches under Petrah Blueblood's command, Briar is there. Back at the Crochan camp, a Crochan scout reports that Terrasen has sent out a call for aid. Manon, as the Queen of the Crochans, spreads the Flame of War to call all Crochan witches to aid Terrasen in the fight against Morath.
Orynth readies for battle as the Ironteeth aerial force approaches, 1,000 strong. Fortunately, Manon arrives at the same time with the Thirteen and 5,000 Crochan witches. The surprise buys them a day. The next day during the battle, Abraxos is hurt and Manon is unable to stop the Thirteen as they sacrifice themselves by performing the Yielding in order to bring down the final witch tower before it can destroy the castle. Edda and Briar go still firing arrows that find their marks.
Personality[]
Like her cousin Edda, Briar rarely spoke, never laughed, and sometimes even Asterin herself couldn't detect her until she was at her throat. Both of the Shadows were raised in darkness and trained to blend into any sliver of darkness and listen. Briar and Edda's only show of humor was when they snuck up on coven members and frightened them for fun.
Physical Description[]
Briar was youthful and beautiful in appearance. Like her distant cousin Manon, she had naturally silvery, moon-white hair. However, she and Edda dyed their hair black after learning that white hair can stand out in the darkness. During Kingdom of Ash she washes the dye out to blend in better with the snow. Her eyes were blue, unlike most Blackbeaks.
Skills and Abilities[]
- Ironteeth physiology: As an Ironteeth witch Briar possessed sharp, retractable iron teeth and nails.
- Immortality: Briar was immortal as a result of her witch heritage.
- Magic: Briar had inherent magical power that could be released in the form of the Yielding.[1]
- Flight: Briar was capable of flight through riding her wyvern or on her ironwood broomstick.
- Stealth: As one of Manon's Shadows, Briar is skilled and trained in spying and staying hidden.
Relationships[]
Edda Blackbeak[]
Despite being only cousins, Briar and Edda were as close as sisters. They grew up and trained together and were seldom seen apart.
Appearances[]
- Heir of Fire (first appearance)
- Queen of Shadows
- Empire of Storms
- Kingdom of Ash
Trivia[]
- Briar's wyvern was large and onyx in color, chosen for its suitability to covert missions and spying.
- Like Cresseida, Briar shares name with a character from another Sarah J. Maas series: A Court of Thorns and Roses. Briar is one of the Children of the Blessed.