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Chain me to a tree Rhys. Go ahead. I'll rip it out of the ground and fly with it on my damned back.

–Azriel to Rhysand in A Court of Wings and Ruin

Azriel is a member of the Night Court and part of Rhysand's Inner Circle. He is a childhood friend of Rhysand and Cassian. He is a shadowsinger, and acts as spymaster for Rhysand. He is considered to be one of the most powerful Illyrians in Prythian history, along with Rhysand and Cassian.

Biography

Azriel is the bastard son of an Illyrian lord. For eleven years he lived with his father, stepmother, and two older half-brothers. The two boys and their mother were cruel and spoiled. While living in his father's keep, his stepmother kept Azriel in a cell with no windows or light. He was allowed to come out only for an hour a day, and to see his mother for one hour every week. He was not allowed to train or fly, even when his Illyrian instincts urged him to do so.

When he was eight, his two cruel half-brothers decided it would be fun to see what happened when you mixed an Illyrian's quick healing gifts with oil and fire. They poured oil on his hands and lit them on fire. His father's warriors heard Azriel's screaming, and rescued him but not quick enough to save his hands, leaving them permanently scarred.

At the age of eleven, he was dumped in the Illyrian training camp, Windhaven, where he was well received by the camp lords due to his shadowsinging gifts. He eventually met Rhysand and Cassian, as they were training at the same camp. At this point, like Cassian, Rhysand's mother took him in, for she was a friend to Azriel's mother.

When Rhysand's father saw that his son had started to rival him in power and had allied with the two most powerful Illyrian warriors in history, he separated them in fear that they would eventually turn against him. Rhysand was given command over a legion, Azriel was kept as his personal shadowsinger, and Cassian was appointed as a foot soldier.

Once Rhysand became the High Lord of the Night Court, Azriel was appointed as spymaster and became part of his Inner Circle.

Physical description

Azriel is described as classically beautiful, but near-unreadable. He is tall, with dark hair, tan skin, and massive Illyrian wings. His eyes are hazel and the planes of his face are elegant. His Illyrian training is described to have shaped his body to be extremely powerful and muscular. He has brutal scars on both hands. Azriel is constantly surrounded by shadows as if even the light shied from him. A cocoon of silence seems to pulse around him.

Illyrian warriors typically wear one or two Siphons to channel their raw power into magic, but Azriel requires seven cobalt Siphons to maintain his power. He keeps his dagger, Truth-Teller sheathed at his thigh.

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Powers and Abilities

Azriel is a shadowsinger and is physically powerful due to his Illyrian background. As a shadowsinger, he has the predisposition to hear and feel things others can't. He can merge into shadows and move throughout them. He is also the bearer of the magical knife, Truth-Teller.

Relationships

Morrigan

Azriel has a romantic interest in Mor, yet he has never acted upon his feelings. Mor told Feyre that his inhibitions are probably related to the fact that he believes he is not worthy of Mor.

However, his feelings aren't returned by Morrigan as she confessed to Feyre that she is bisexual and preferred the company of females to males. Azriel does not know this, however, and continues to quietly pine away for her.

Nuala and Cerridwen

The twins work as Rhysand's personal servants and spies. Azriel trained them and the twins report to him on spymaster matters.

Elain Archeron

When the pair met in ACOMAF, it was during a tense dinner with their respective siblings. Elain was still a human and was very frightened to be in the presence of fae, yet she didn't appear to be as scared of Azriel. Though the entire meal was quite forced and strained, they both seemed to notice each other's less confrontational nature and Feyre even referred to them as "the only two civilized ones" as they both tried to make polite conversation. Elain asked Azriel if he and Cassian could truly fly and he told her they were born hearing the song of the wind, which she said was very beautiful. Elain also seemed to be reassured by Azriel's ease at the ending of the dinner, showing how she was already starting to trust him.

During ACOWAR, Elain and Azriel formed somewhat of a friendship. He kept her company while she recovered from being Made. Feyre mentioned many times how she thinks the two would be a handsome couple if they ever got over the current obstacles in their way (Azriel's unrequited pining for Mor and Elain's broken heart over her ex-fiancé, Graysen). She went as far as to ask Rhysand why the Cauldron didn't make Elain and Azriel mates, rather than Elain and Lucien. Rhys explained that sometimes mates weren't right for each other and the bond could be rejected if that was the case. Later, when Elain is captured by Hybern, Azriel risked his life to save her, ignoring even Nesta's protests of how it would most likely cost him his life. He even lent Elain "Truth-Teller", which he had never let anyone so much as touch in his 500+ years of life.

In ACOFAS, Azriel revealed that, despite being Rhys' spymaster, he did not keep tabs on Lucien because he was Elain's mate. Rhysand infers that it was because he didn't want to know if the pair ever seeked each other out. When Rhys prompted Azriel to elaborate, he just said that it would be an invasion of Elain's privacy, though Rhysand seemed unsure that that was the true reason. For Solstice, Elain gave Azriel a powder meant to treat the headaches he seems to get from his friends all the time as a gift. This caused Azriel to laugh with a joy Feyre had never heard before and he thanked Elain, saying the gift would be invaluable (it was later revealed that, rather than use the power, Azriel would stare at it as he tried to fall asleep). The pair spent Solstice evening together talking in the sitting room as Elain explained to him her plans for expanding the garden.

In ACOSF, during Solstice, Nesta catches Azriel standing far away from everyone, he explained that his shadows didn't like the flames but Nesta guessed that it was because of who was sitting close by the fireplace (it was later confirmed in Azriel's POV extra chapter it was because of the scent of the Mating Bond between Lucien and Elain). Later that night, Azriel catched Elain trying to discreetly place her gift for him next to the other presents. She revealed the present to be a pair of earplugs, meant to help him sleep better with all the noise from Nesta and Cassian's nightly "activities", which made him laugh. Azriel then gave her his own present: a rose charm necklace. She said it was beautiful and asked him to put it on her. This lead to the pair sharing an almost-kiss before a furious Rhysand catched them (unbeknownst to Elain) and made Azriel stop via his daemati powers, demanding that he met Rhys in his office. Azriel forced himself to pull away, saying that the almost-kiss was a mistake. Elain is left confused and hurt as to why Azriel stopped them and, assumedly thinking she had misread his intentions, apologizes to him. He deflected the apology, saying she should never apologize before he disappeared without another word. In Rhys' office, Rhysand told Azriel to stay away from Elain and forbid him from pursuing her in fear of the political repercussions it would have if Lucien, as Elain's mate, decided to declare a Blood Duel. Azriel refused and argued that she didn't want Lucien and that he could easily defeat the male if they did have a Blood Duel. Rhysand asked him about Mor but Azriel ignored the question. He revealed that he wondered if the Cauldron had made a mistake and that he and Elain should have been mates instead. This angered Rhysand even more and, using his authority as High Lord, forbid Azriel from pursuing Elain and threatened that if he does he would regret it. The meeting ended with Azriel stalking out of the room and sitting outside to "feel nothing and return to nothing". When Azriel returned from the House of Wind to the River house to collect his solstice presents, he saw the rose necklace he'd gifted Elain resting next to the rest of his presents. He pocketed it, planning on returning it to the shop he'd bought it from, but later decided to anonymously re-gift it to Gwyn. The next day, Nesta noted that Azriel seems more closed off and moody than usual.

Gwyneth Berdara

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Gwyneth and Azriel first met two years prior in Sangravah when Hybern attacked the Temple. She was raped by a Hybern General. She was about to be forced against her will once again as the soldiers gathered but Azriel arrived and slaughtered all of them within moments. He wrapped her in his cloak and was then taken by Mor to live with the priestesses in the Library.

They met a second time when Gwyn started training with Nesta and Cassian. Cassian noticed that during the training Gwyn had been distracted, one eye on the other side of the ring where Azriel was. It was implied that Azriel and Gwyn trained together behind the scenes when Azriel winnowed Cassian and Nesta and told them he would be back in an hour because Gwyn wanted him to go over dagger-handling. After Nesta and Cassian returned, Nesta noticed a new wood beam that Gwyn was focused on tying a white silk ribbon on, she wondered how Gwyn could anchor the wood into the stone, probably it was Azriel who helped her.

Gwyn and Azriel are both very competitive people. During training, Gwyn was very focused on winning and is often seen challenging Azriel. After she passed the Blood Rite qualifier, she extended her hand to Azriel to demand her prize. Nesta winked at an amused Azriel, telling him he was Gwyn's new ribbon.

In the bonus chapter of A Court of Silver Flames, Azriel retreated to the training pit after his almost-kiss with Elain and Rhysand pulling him away and demanding he stay away from Elain. He landed in the pit and Azriel noticed Gwyn training there, his shadows did not inform him of her presence. She greeted him with a smile and wished Azriel a happy Solstice as he jokingly asked if she was kicking him out. She said she didn't mind sharing the ring but knew that he liked to be alone. Azriel noticed his shadows peering at her. She then asked Azriel if he was called a Shadowsinger because he sang, which he confirmed with a chuckle. He then instructed her on how to handle the dagger until she corrected her form. She thanked Azriel smiling broadly and Azriel sketched a bow and felt something restless settling in him. After he left he heard a faint beautiful singing following him and swore his shadows sang in answer.

The next day, he was planning on returning the necklace he bought for Elain to the shop but he found himself in the library beneath the House of Wind. He stood in front of Clotho's desk and slid the small box asking her to give it to Gwyn. Clotho asked him if it was a Solstice gift but he asked her to not reveal that it was from him. Clotho asked him why but he replied that she didn't need to know or she could say it was from Rhys. Clotho told him that it would be a lie which slightly annoyed Azriel. To avoid Gwyn knowing it was a gift from him, he asked Clotho to give it to another priestess who might appreciate it as he was not taking the box back.

Clotho agreed to give the gift to Gwyneth telling her that it was from a friend. Azriel thought that he wouldn't go as far as calling Gwyneth his friend but thanked Clotho anyway. As he was ascending the stairs he was picturing how Gwyn's teal eyes would light upon seeing the necklace, and for whatever reason he could see it. The chapter ends with Azriel tucking away the thought, consciously erasing the slight smile that it brought to his face. He buried the image of Gwyn's joyful face deep down where it glowed quietly, describing it as a thing of secret, lovely beauty.

Feyre Archeron

Feyre met Azriel for the first time at the House of Wind, where Rhysand took her to meet his Inner Circle after she left the Spring Court. They developed a good friendship. It's strengthened when Azriel offered to train Feyre on how to fly, saying that because he also learned later in his life, he knows what mental blocks can happen.

Trivia

  • The name Azriel means "help of God", derived from Hebrew עָזַר ('azar) "help" and אֵל ('el) "God." This was the name of three minor characters in the Old Testament. [1]
    • The name Azrael, closely resembles Azriel. Azrael is the name of an angel who separated the soul from the body upon death. He is sometimes referred to as the Angel of Death. [2]
  • In A Court of Wings and Ruin Feyre says that Azriel smells like night-chilled mist and cedar.
  • Azriel's voice is described as dark, smooth, and cold as shadows given form. It is low, almost flat.
  • It is said, by Mor, that Azriel has the biggest wingspan out of Cassian, Rhysand, and him.
  • According to Sarah J. Maas “Azriel is a freak in bed”.
  • In a bonus chapter of A Court of Silver Flames, he reveals to Gwyn that he can sing.

Appearances



Night Court
Velaris Feyre Archeron · Rhysand · Nesta Archeron · Cassian · Elain Archeron · Azriel · Amren · Morrigan · Nyx · Lucien · Gwyneth Berdara · Nuala · Cerridwen · Ananke · Aranea · Aranea's Husband † · Bryaxis · Clotho · Deirdre · Ilana · Lorelei · Madja · Merrill · Neve · Polina † · Polina's Sister · Ressina · Rhysand's Father † · Rhysand's Grandfather † · Rhysand's Mother † · Rhysand's Sister † · Rita · Riven · Roslin · Sevenda · Unnamed Healer · Young Faerie Boy · Young Faerie Girl · Polina's Nieces · Polina's Nephews
Hewn City Darkbringers · Keir · Morrigan's Mother · Thanatos · Thanatos's Daughter
Illyria Azriel's Father · Azriel's Half-brothers · Azriel's Stepmother · Balthazar · Bellius † · Camp-mother · Cassian's Mother † · Cassian's Father · Devlon · Emerie · Emerie's Brother † · Emerie's Mother † · Enalius · Kallon † · Kallon's Father · Proteus
Locations Amphitheater · Amren's Apartment · Aranea's Gallery · Athelwood · Cesere · Dunmere · Emerie's Shop · Feyre's Studio · Hewn City · House of Wind · Illyria · Illyrian Mountains · Illyrian Steppes · Ironcrest Camp · Lucien's Apartment · Moonstone Palace · Mr. Archeron's Gravesite · Myrmidons · Nesta's Apartment · Neve's Shop · Night Court Inn · Night Court Lake · Palace of Bone and Salt · Palace of Hoof and Leaf · Palace of Thread and Jewels · Rainbow of Velaris · Ramiel · Ressina's Studio · Restaurant · Rhysand's Mother's House · Rhysand's Treasure Chamber · Rita's · River House · Sidra River · The Cabin · The Four Market Squares · The Library · The Prison · The Town House · Velaris · Velaris Lingerie Shop · War-Camps · Western Isles · Windhaven Camp · Wolf's Den
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