This was his soul made flesh, the truth of him laid bare in the blazing sun, shorn of mystery and shadow. This was the truth behind the handsome face and the miraculous powers, the truth that was the dead and empty space between the stars, a wasteland peopled by frightened monsters.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone

The Darkling is a character from The Grisha Trilogy. The books include Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising.
He is described as being very handsome .  He looks like a young man in spite of his advanced age.  He claims to be 120 years old.  He has inky black hair, quartz gray eyes, and sharp features.  He is the leader of the grisha, a group of Ravkans with magical abilities.  He always dresses in black

He is power hungry ,manipulative, vicious, ruthless, and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Years ago he was known as the Black Heretic.  He created the fold to use against his enemies, but in doing so he also created the volcra, who are capable of killing all humans including The Darkling.  The fold is total darkness and no one dares go there, not even The Darkling.

The Darkling comes across a young grisha, Alina, just coming into her powers.  She appears to be a sun summoner and he will use her to get control of the fold and use it as he intended.

Now we ask the question: Hero or a Villian?

Does the character do things that cause good consequences or bad consequences?

Whatever The Darkling does it usually causes bad consequences.  He has dark magic and he tried to use it to create a darkness that he could use against his enemies.  The darkness tuned all the people in the area into volcra, flying monsters.  The darkness is now called the shadow fold and no one can enter it and survive.

Does the character intend to make good or bad consequences?

He doesn’t care as long as he gets what he wants.  He will do anything to increase his power.

Do they do perform acts for personal gain or to help others?

He only performs for personal gain.  He is proud, arrogant, and thinks he should rule the world.

Are their personality traits noble and with good intent?

Absolutely not!  The Darkling is very self centered, arrogant, proud, ruthless, and manipulative.

Is the character dishonest?

If he needs to be to further his goals.

Does the character only consider their own interests?

All the time.  That is all that he considers.

Does the character permit selfless acts?

He would only perform a selfless act if it would further his goals, which would make it not selfless.  So the answer is no!

Did the character feel guilty about his poor actions?

No, he never feels guilty!

Does the character kill without thought or reason?

Yes he does.  He will do anything to further his goals.

Does the character do things out of revenge?

Of course!  If you get in his way he will squash you.

My Thoughts:

I think The Darkling is a total villain.  He is one of my favorite characters to hate.  If you haven’t read The Grisha Trilogy, you should.  It is very good!

What do you think?

Aaron Warner

Aaron Warner is the son of Supreme Commander Anderson and Leila Warner in the Shatter Me Trilogy. He is the leader of Sector 45. He has blonde hair and green eyes, slender, and toned. He’s not super tall, standing at 5’9″. And let’s just say that Warner is perfect, as described by Juliette in Shatter me, and I’m sure other readers will agree with her (including me). He’s 19 years old, tall, mysterious, commanding, and handsome. Warner has two tattoos, one is the words Ignite  on his back, the other is a quote from Shakespeare “Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.” Warner is a very intriguing character in the Shatter Me Series . He’s observant, detailed, loves fashion, and has a knack for knowing and reading people’s emotions. Many of his officers see him as a monster, a madman, cold and cruel. In Shatter Me, Warner seeks out Julliette for her special abilities, and hopes to have her join his team in the upcoming war. He is obsessed and fascinated by Julliette, to a point where she is a weakness for him. He is selfish, and kills without a thought. He is used to being in charge and getting his way. But there’s more to Warner than meets the eye. For one, he has the capacity to love. For another, there’s a great beauty within him.

Excerpt from Shatter Me:

“Your soldiers beat me! You keep me here like a prisoner! You threaten me! You threaten to kill me! You give me no freedom and you say you care about me?” I nearly throw the glass of water at his face. “You’re a monster!’ 
Warner turns away so I’m staring at his profile. He clasps his hands. Changes his mind. Touches his lips. “I am only trying to help you.”
“Liar”
He seems to consider that. Nods, just once. “Yes. Most of the time, yes.”

― Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me

Is Warner good or bad?  Some of you have probably read all the books in the series (I have, that’s for sure) and probably already know all there is to know about Warner. But those of you who don’t, let’s answer our questions to determine his character!

Does the character appear evil? That is a definite yes! When Julliette first meets him she describes his smile as cruel. He forces Julliette to do things against her will and places her in tough situations, and he doesn’t even bat an eyelash!

Does the character fight for the opposing side? He is the commanding officer of Sector 45 and is under the charge of the “bad guy” Commander Anderson. He is most definitely fighting on for the forces of evil!

Do they perform acts for personal gain or to help others? With Warner, most of his actions appear to be for personal gain. Does he help others? You’ll have to read the books to find out 🙂

Is the character dishonest? Yes. He lies all the time, and he even admits it!

Does the character only consider their own interests? At first, I would have to say yes. It takes him awhile to consider the interests of others.

Does the character permit selfless acts? Warner is very selfish. I do not believe he does anything selfless in Shatter Me.

Did the character feel guilty about their poor actions? Warner… guilty? Ha! This question makes me laugh! Warner never  feels guilty! That would go against his character.

Does the character kill without thought or reason? Warner kills without thought, but most definitely has reasons.

Does the character strive to get what they want by any means necessary? Yes. Warner is slightly OCD and when he obsesses about things he can’t stop thinking about them, and when he can’t stop thinking about them, he does whatever he can to get it by any means necessary.

Does the character do things to be kind for someone else? …. I guess you could say that looks can be deceiving concerning Warner. Though his actions appear heartless… they are with intent of helping another and understanding that person.

My thoughts:

Warner is one of my all time favorite characters. He is HOT! Yes. That pretty much sums Warner up in one word. Destroy Me (a novella between book #1 and book #2) is entirely from his point of view and it’s awesome getting inside his complicated head. When Warner feels something, he feels it to the extreme. I was convinced in Shatter Me that he was a complete evil jerk. But there’s more to him than meets the eye. However, based off my responses from the first installment, Warner is pretty heartless and a classified villain. The entire series of Shatter Me  is available to read. Be sure to check them out if you haven’t. One of the best series I have ever read.

I’m curious, for those that haven’t read the Shatter Me Series,  what do you think of Warner?

Aaron Warner: Hero of Villain?