The War
A spoiler-free guide to A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR).
Only showing what’s been revealed up to your current progress. Future events, identities, and relationships are hidden.
Overview
The War was a widespread human rebellion against enslavement by High Fae overlords. Its immense bloodshed ended when six mortal queens forged the Treaty and the Wall was built to separate the human and faerie realms.
Five hundred years ago, Mor, Cassian, Azriel, Amren, and Rhys all remembered the War as participants who had fought Hybern and known Jurian personally.
The fighting also left lasting damage on its survivors. Rhys returned from the War physically broken and emotionally changed, and the killing on every side continued to shape his view of Amarantha, Hybern, and the Treaty afterward.
The War also remained infamous for destroying most of the Valkyries at Meinir Pass, where they died without aid from male forces that might have reached them, and where legend says the few elderly survivors later let themselves die from shame.
Important Events
After the conflict, mortals destroyed High Fae palaces and temples across the world out of spite.
Amarantha served as the King of Hybern’s deadliest general and fought to preserve human slavery. Tamlin’s father also aligned the Spring Court with Hybern.
Rhys led a Night Court legion in support of the mortal-faerie alliance and fought in the heavily contested south. Mor, Cassian, Azriel, and Amren also participated in the war against Hybern, though Rhys’s father separated Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel into different wartime assignments because he feared their combined loyalty.
The Book of Breathings was divided after the War. Rhys also carried a lasting injury from the fighting, with rain causing pain in his wounded right knee.
Miryam, Jurian, and Drakon were prominent figures in the rebellion against the Black Land and Amarantha’s northern forces. Drakon commanded a formidable aerial army, while human forces used the Veritas during the conflict.
The fighting left Rhys physically broken and emotionally changed, forcing him to recover while the final negotiations proceeded. Rhys says too much killing had occurred on every side for everyone responsible to be punished, leaving him unable to forgive Amarantha or Hybern even after the Treaty.
The War included prolonged, high-casualty battles in which allied humans and faeries held strategic positions against the Loyalists and their legions. One defensive line endured for three days before reinforcements arrived and turned the battle.
The War destroyed most of the Valkyries. They died at Meinir Pass without aid from male forces that might have reached them, and legend holds that the few elderly survivors allowed themselves to die from shame after losing their sisters.