Character from Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
A Fjerdan drüskelle who was taught that Grisha are witches — then fell in love with one, and spent the rest of his short life trying to reconcile the two halves of himself.
Matthias was raised to believe Grisha were abominations — drüskelle oath: 'Jer molle pe oonet' (I have been made to protect you). He hunted them. He burned them. Then he was shipwrecked with Nina Zenik, and everything he believed started to crack. His arc is the most painful in Six of Crows because it never gets easy. Even after falling in love with Nina, he flinches at casual Grisha power use. He argues against plans that involve Grisha abilities. He struggles with the programming of his entire upbringing while trying to be the man Nina sees when she looks at him. He dies in Crooked Kingdom — killed by a young drüskelle boy, a mirror of what he used to be. His last words are to Nina. The cycle of hatred claims him even as he was trying to break it.
Tall, broad, blond, and blue-eyed — the Fjerdan ideal. Built like a warrior trained from childhood. His severity softens around Nina but never fully disappears. Even when he's on her side, he looks like a man built to hunt people like her.
Also known as: Matthias, Helvar