Kings and Valg? - possible ACOTAR link to Throne of Glass *spoilers but not including Koa*
Does anyone find it strange that we don’t know the names of some characters in SJ Maas’ world that we’ve spent a lot of time interacting with or that is talked about a lot?
Forenames (first name) and surname missing:
The King of Hybern & the King of Adarlan
Villains have usually been named by Maas, for example Maeve, Amarantha, Erawen etc. However, Maas didn’t reveal the name of Dorian’s father in ToG, he was known as the King of Adarlan. Is there a reason she didn’t name these two men? Was it to undermine their influence or say they would become forgettable Kings in the history books? Maybe it’s because the lack of name makes it harder for the reader to sympathise with? (thanks for the point @pinkprincesseommajin )
Or is it to link to two characters together?
We know that the king of Adarlan had been possessed by the Valg, and that Maeve is a valg Queen. While I don’t think they had association as he became possessed through her valg brother-in-law, why didn’t he have a name?
Also missing a name is a certain king from Hybern. Do you think it was done on purpose? Both nameless? Could he be linked to Maeve or the valg too like the King of Adarlan. They talk of darkness when describing both men, and Maeve, who we now know is Valg now. What’s more is that the King of Hybern looks awfully like her (or at least the body she inhabits) with dark eyes and dark hair, so do his neice and nephew: (pics at the end of this post...)
King of Hybern: “But his face—which looked perhaps like a human man in his forties … Blandly handsome. To hide the depthless, hateful black eyes that burned there.” (ACOMAF, ch 63)
King of Adarlan (inhabited by valg): “There was a darkness in his eyes that felt cold and foreign, like the gaps between the stars.” (Throne of Glass, ch 44)
“High Fae in appearance, their skin the same ruddy hue and hair the identical inky black as their king. But it was their vacant, unfeeling faces that snagged the eye. A lack of emotion honed from millennia of cruelty.” (Twins, ACOWAR, ch 2)
“They shot their dark eyes toward me.” (Twins, ACOWAR, ch 2)
What if it wasn’t a millennial of cruelty but valg possession? Also it’s interesting to note that they have titles (King, Princess, Prince) like many of the valg so it could be a hint that they are inhabited by royalty. Perhaps Erawan is banished from his realm or survives ToG by inhabiting another body.
Also it’s worth mentioning that both twins are Daemati, a power not unlike how Maeve is described to use on Aelin
“the darkness in Maeve’s eyes spread, reaching. There was a faint pulse in the air, a throbbing against her blood. A tapping, then a razor-sharp slicing against her mind—as if Maeve were trying to cleave open her skull and peer inside. Pushing, testing, tasting—“ heir of fire, ch 8)
So what do you think? Do you think that King of Hybern and his nephew and neice were valg? Though it might not matter now as all 3 are dead as of ACOWAR, it might suggest that valg a exist in the ACOTAR world, and that the series are linked
Though I couldn’t find any pics of the King of Adarlan, here are some pics of
The King of Hybern
Brannagh and Dagdan
And Maeve
All done by the talented @morgana0anagrom












