Character from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
The tyrant who conquered a continent and banned magic — a man who may once have been decent before a Valg king crawled into his skull and used his throne to wage war on an entire world.
The King speaks in commands — flat, final, unchallengeable. He conquered every kingdom on the continent, banned magic through the wyrdkeys, enslaved millions, and sent Celaena to Endovier's salt mines. He is, for most of the series, the face of institutional evil. The complication is Erawan's possession. How much of the King's cruelty was his own and how much was the Valg king wearing him like a suit? The series suggests it's both — he was ambitious and ruthless before Erawan, but the possession amplified everything human about his worst qualities into something demonic. His death at Dorian's hands is both a liberation and a tragedy — a father killed by his son, a vessel finally freed from the parasite, a moment of clarity that comes too late to matter.
Imposing and broad with graying dark hair, cold dark eyes, and the bearing of absolute authority. Wears the crown and finery of Adarlan's monarchy but carries them like armor rather than decoration. His face is hard, lined with cruelty, and devoid of the warmth his son Dorian inherited from someone else.
Also known as: The King of Adarlan, King of Adarlan