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MELISANDE
Kingdom in Erilea

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Leader:               Ansel of Briarcliff | Figurehead for Queen Aelin of Terrasen | Current
                            Unnamed Queen of Melisande | Figurehead for King of Adarlan

                            Unnamed Royal Family of Melisande 
 

Loyalty:               Terrasen | Current

                            Adarlan | Before book events to Empire of Storms

                            Melisande | Before book events
 

Language:          Have own language
 

Key Locations:    Innish 

                                       White Pig Inn (The Assassin and the Healer)
 

Key Characters:  Yrene (The Assassin and the Healer)
                             Benzo Doneval (The Assassin and the Underworld)

                             Leighfer Bardingale (The Assasin and the Underworld)

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Melisande Facts

  • It is the smallest country in Erilea.

  • Melisande has its own song

  • The people of Melisande are known for their amazing clockwork toys and inventions, that work so well its like magic.

  • Due to it's location, trade is difficult for Melisande.  Until the road is build between Adarlan and Melisande, the only way they could get things in and out of the country was through their ports.

  • There is a group of people in Melisande that are against the slave trade, and actively smuggle slaves out to safety if they are able to.

Melisande Politics

    The Kingdom of Melisande was ruled over by an unnamed royal family.  The only royal that is mentioned, still unnamed, is a young Queen.  In Heir of Fire, we learn that this Queen sent an emissary to Terrasen to discuss a possible alliance, but in truth, it was a spy, meant to gather information on Aelin, and if she would be a future threat. 

    This royal family ruled Melisande until Adarlan conquered them and killed most of the royal family, sparing the young queen.. To spare the Melisande people a war, the young Queen pledged allegiance to the King of Adarlan, and she was allowed to "rule" as a figurehead for the King.  (before publishing, confirm this after reading series.  Unhighlight and erase this when confirmed, because the Assassin's blade says the next things about the Melisande's royal family.  The royal family of Melisande is one of the very few royals that the King of Adarlan didn't kill.  It is suspected this is because they handed over their crowns and swore fealty to the King of Adarlan.

    In the Assassin and the Underworld, Celaena considers the Queen to be ambitious after learning that she was going to ask the King of Adarlan for permission and resources to build a road between Melisande and Adarlan.  Melisande's trade relies on what they can get and sell through their ports, due to its location.  A road would make them much more rich and influential.​

    The young queen is mentioned again in Empire of Storms, when it is found out that Melisande has allied with Adarlan and Morath against Aelin and Terrasen, and doing whatever she could to keep the Valg out of Melisande's borders.  She allowed Adarlan's and Morath's troops to travel across Melisande and hide parts of Adarlan's fleet.

    The young Queen is brought down when Ansel of Briarcliff leads her army there and the queen assumes that they are there to offer aid.  When the queen lets them in, Ansel and her army are able to overtake Melisande easily because Melisande's army is spread to it's limits.  The young Queen yields, and Ansel eventually brings her out of the dungeon to show the previous queen that the flags now flying in Melisande are Terrasen's flag, alongside her family symbol - the wolf.

    Ansel of Briarcliff, the Queen of the Wastelands, is a figurehead for Terrasen in Melisande.

Innish

        Innish is a tiny port town, one that is so small, it's not even on most maps.  Celaena hated Innished, because it was filthy, reeked of trash, the dampness from the heavy blanket of mist, the second-rate merchants and mercenaries, and the miserable people who resided there.

        White Pig Inn was considered the best establishment in Innish, which isn't saying much, considering Yrene and Celaena describe it as filthy, and Yrene notes that the ale is watered down and the daily stew is made from whatever could be caught in the alley.

        Innish had nothing good in their shops, because after Adarlan conquered Melisande, they switched trade from Melisande to Eyllwe.

Amier

    A small port town.

Aelin's Connection

  • When Aelin was a child, a Melisande spy was sent to Terrasen to gather information on Aelin and if she would be a threat.

  • In The Assassin and the Healer, Aelin is in Innish waiting for a ship to take her to the Red Desert.  She meets Yrene Towers, a young healer who has worked at White Pig Inn for a year.  She gives Yrene the coin she needs to travel and train as a healer.

  • In The Assassin and the Desert, Aelin buys a ticket on a ship from Xandria to Amier, with plans to ride from there to Rifthold.

  • In The Assassin and the Underworld, a Melisande convoy arrives in Rifthold.  She is hired by Leighfer Bardingale, a good friend to the former Queen of Melisande, to kill her ex-husband Benzo Doneval, a powerful Melisande businessman.  

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