A Court Of Thorns And Roses Most Powerful Characters Ranked By Strength

Strength is a relative term, and there are a few different ways someone could define the word within the spicy world of "A Court of Thorns and Roses" (ACOTAR). It doesn't always refer to physical, or even offensive, power. Sometimes strength has to do with the prestige of someone's gift or ability. Sometimes it has to do with the strategic value of a character's gift.

Often, in the ACOTAR books (and soon, streaming series), strength is used to refer to a person's ability to endure through terrible obstacles and pain. All of the series' main characters are strong by multiple definitions, but in looking at the abilities that set each of them apart from their peers, there are definitely those that rise above the rest.

There was a time when Amren would have easily taken the number one spot on this list, but since her heroic actions at the end of the third book in the series, "A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOWAR)," she's become the least powerful inner-circle member in the Night Court. In "A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOMAF)" chapter 16, Feyre remarks on Amren's power: "Amren's silver eyes were unlike anything I'd ever seen; a glimpse into the creature that I knew in my bones wasn't High Fae." Amren was once an immortal, all-powerful being from another world but slipped through a rift into Prythian eons ago only to become trapped there. She was placed in the Night Court's ancient island prison and is unable to leave until she binds her power to a normal Fae body.

At the end of ACOWAR, Amren unleashes her true self on the Hybern armies, helping the courts of Prythian win the war and giving Feyre and Rhys time to repair the Cauldron. Amren is unable to maintain corporeal form afterward, but Rhys is able to bring her back to life in the High Fae body to which she bound her original form. Now, Amren is just a High Fae with enhanced strength and reflexes, more powerful than an average human, but not the other characters on this list.

Lucien is one of the first people Feyre meets in Prythian and is a formidable example of a High Fae. He's the youngest son of Beron, High Lord of the Autumn Court, and as such, possesses the ability to create and manipulate flame. His brothers have always envied him his power, as he projects more magical strength than another younger son might; some in Prythian have hypothesized this has to do with Lucien being Beron's true heir despite not being his eldest son.

At the end of ACOMAF, Lucien frees himself from the king of Hybern's magical restraints in order to tend to Elain even when others, like Rhys and Tamlin, are not (ACOMAF chapter 65). In ACOWAR, upon learning that the Lady of Autumn once had an affair with Helion Spell-Cleaver, High Lord of the Day Court, Feyre comes to suspect that Helion is Lucien's true father. Were this the case, Lucien would be Helion's heir, and it would make sense that he possesses the magical strength of a High Lord's eldest son as well as powerful Autumn Court powers, which he inherited from his mother.

Morrigan (Mor) ranks above Lucien on this list, not because of demonstrated abilities but because of the testimony of the characters around her as well as herself. Mor possesses the ability to winnow (a transportation power only a handful of High Fae are capable of) and has trained for centuries in martial combat. Mor's essential power, though, is truth. It's not clear what this means, exactly, but it's enough to shut up the mortal queens in ACOMAF chapter 40: "I am the Morrigan. You know me... You know that my gift is truth. So you will hear my words now, and know them as truth— as your ancestors once did."

Whatever Mor's power is, when she first got her period, "[it] awoke in full force, and even that gods-damned mountain trembled around [them] (ACOMAF ch. 22)." Mor also mentions that everyone around her could smell her ability when she was born. Readers have yet to see any real manifestation of that massive power from Mor, but the books have made it clear that it's there, and it's extraordinary.

Nesta is another character whose power has been described both ominously and ambiguously. She was introduced as Feyre's eldest human sister and was Made High Fae by the Cauldron against her will in ACOMAF. Nesta didn't go into the Cauldron without a fight, though, and Feyre — in her narration — observed that "from however Elain had been Made... Nesta was different... As if the Cauldron in making her... had been forced to give more than it wanted (ACOMAF Ch. 65)." Later on in ACOWAR, readers learn that Nesta's power is death.

In "A Court of Silver Flames (ACOSF)," Nesta's stand-alone POV novel in the series, some of her power becomes more clear. She is Made, which means that she can communicate with the Cauldron as well as other Cauldron-Made items, like the Dread Trove. Nesta also displays the ability to summon and wield cold, silver flames. Whatever deathly power she took from the Cauldron, though, she gives up at the end of ACOSF in order to save Feyre's life, and that is why she now ranks below Elain, even though he still has the gifts of a Made Fae and is by no means helpless, thanks in part to her rigorous Valkyrie warrior training.

We know what many characters think about Elain, and we know what Elain expresses to other characters, but her true strength — the true scope of her current abilities — won't be clear until we have chapters written from her point of view. Elain, like Nesta and Feyre, began the series as a human woman but was Made High Fae at the end of ACOMAF alongside Nesta. She was forced into the Cauldron against her will and was thoroughly traumatized by the incident for most of ACOWAR.

Part of what most of the inner circle attributed to trauma, however, was actually a new and powerful gift that Elain was given by the Cauldron. In ACOWAR, Elain continually speaks things that seem nonsensical, which is concerning to her sisters, but there is a reason for her apparent madness. It is Azriel who eventually understands, revealing in chapter 32, "'A seer,' he said, more to himself than us. 'The Cauldron made you a seer.'" Elain's seer abilities represent an enormous leg up for the Night Court in their war against Koschei. She is able to see things in the past, the present, and the future, and she is also just as Made as Nesta, which means that she can communicate with the Cauldron and the Dread Trove as well.

Cassian is probably the least mysteriously powerful main character in the ACOTAR series. He is Illyrian (one of a number of Fae sub-species in Prythian), which means that he has strong, bat-like wings as a part of his anatomy, granting him the ability to fly. Cassian is the general of the Night Court's forces because he is probably the greatest warrior Prythian has ever seen, given that he can beat just about anyone in single combat (as long as they're fighting relatively fairly). Plus, as an Illyrian, Cassian also has access to raw, offensive magic in his blood.

"The power of stronger Illyrians tends toward 'incinerate now, ask questions later.' They have little magical gifts beyond that— that killing power," Rhys explains in ACOMAF, chapter 16. Illyrians wear magical items called siphons, which allow them to channel their raw magic into useful tools like shields and darts of power. While most Illyrians require only one or two siphons to handle their output, Cassian uses seven when outfitted in full armor.

Azriel, an Illyrian as well, also has wings and the gift of flight thanks to his anatomy, and just like Cassian, Azriel has so much raw magic in his blood that he also requires seven siphons to channel his energies in battle. Azriel is nearly as well-trained a warrior as Cassian and fights with a special, Made dagger known as Truth-Teller, a blade that is said to always find its target. Azriel is also the spymaster for the Night Court because of his natural stealth and shadowsinger abilities.

"Shadowsingers are rare—coveted by courts and territories across the world for their stealth and predisposition to hear and feel things others can't," explains Rhys to Feyre in ACOMAF, chapter 16. Azriel is almost constantly surrounded by tiny, dark, fluttering wisps of shadows that often react to Azriel's emotional expression and serve as all-seeing companions to him, whispering about the things they see that no one else has noticed. Azriel can also use the shadows to winnow and practice ingenious stealth in combat situations.

As a High Lord, Tamlin's entire life force and measure of power are tied to an entire Court's worth of land and life. Even though he isn't the most powerful character on this list, he is still one of the most powerful Fae in Prythian thanks to his High Lord status. Tamlin has all of the strength and heightened senses of a High Fae as well as a particular talent for glamouring and a not-insignificant ability to manipulate wind.

Tamlin is most known by readers for his ability to shape-shift, though, and it is in his beast form that he initially kidnaps Feyre from the human lands. While Tamlin is fearsome — his bestial self being particularly ferocious in combat and other aggressive situations — he doesn't have a particularly exciting slate of abilities.

At the end of ACOTAR, Feyre is brought back from death as a High Fae thanks to the magical contributions of each High Lord. In ACOMAF, Feyre soon finds out that, not only does she have the abilities of a normal High Fae, she also possesses a piece of magic belonging to each of the different Courts. Feyre can manipulate water, flame, and ice. She can shape-shift, like Tamlin, and she has the ability to enter people's minds, like Rhys. She can also self-illuminate like the High Lord of the Dawn Court and wield the glowing, healing light of Helion's Day Court.

With Rhys's help, Feyre learns to use these gifts in interesting ways, including shape-shifting into an Illyrian form to learn to fly. On top of all this, Feyre becomes High Lady of the Night Court when she marries Rhys, which gives her the same authority and magical connection to the land as any High Lord. The only person in Prythian whose magic really surpasses Feyre's is Rhys himself.

Rhys is the most powerful High Lord in contemporary Prythian and probably the most powerful High Lord who ever lived. He is half-Illyrian, so he has natural wings that he can shift in and out of his back at will. Rhys is also a daemati, an incredibly powerful type of Fae who has the ability to infiltrate, read, and toy with another person's mind. This also allows him to communicate with everyone in his inner circle, mind-to-mind, which is helpful in any given combat scenario.

Most significantly, Rhys has the power of pure night — a beautiful, silent substance that is as effortless for him to wield as it is deadly to anyone else. Feyre witnesses this power in ACOWAR chapter 70, where he says, "Rhys was still smiling at me as he extended a hand toward Hybern's army, now trying to adjust to the rampant havoc. His fingers pointed. Obsidian power erupted from him. A massive chunk of Hybern's army just... Misted. Red mist and metal shavings lay where they had been." There's not a single other character in any of the ACOTAR books who displays this level of power. Thus, Rhys is rightfully number one on our list.

Want more ACOTAR rankings? Check out how readers rank every book in the "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series!