Each character holds magical power that takes the form of a specific element or ability, except for Dorian, whose raw magic allows him to accomplish almost anything. Certain characters’ abilities are specifically designed to combat the near-invulnerable villains. On the other hand, some of the Throne of Glass TV show would be a massive spectacle, vividly illustrating which characters are the most powerful.

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10 Lorcan Salvaterre

Lorcan can call on power gifted to him by the god of death.

Lorcan is one of the six of Maeve’s elite guard, along with Rowan, Fenrys, and Gavriel. Aelin calls this group the “Cadre,” and they are described as each being “law unto himself.” Lorcan’s magic, vaguely characterized as being of darkness and death, is supposedly just as if not stronger than Rowan’s. However, he doesn’t have enough chances to prove this in the books themselves.

The most Lorcan ever does is use his magic to prop up Elide’s bad ankle and for minor assistance in a fight. Demonstrations of his power lean more toward his being a formidable warrior. However, Lorcan is still overpowered by Valg soldiers during a battle in Kingdom of Ash, prompting Elide to undertake a dangerous mission to rescue him. Ultimately, there aren’t enough instances in the books that illustrate Lorcan as one of the most powerful characters.

9 Manon Blackbeak

Manon has little magical ability but is a ferocious warrior.

While Manon is immortal, she does not have much magical ability. The Ironteeth Witches’ only power is known as the Yielding: the ability to release an explosive blast that kills everyone nearby and the witch herself. However, Manon still seems to be affected and empowered by magic. When it returns to Erilea, the Queen of Shadows novel describes her feeling a sense of renewed strength. Even without magic, Manon is one of the deadliest characters in the books, having lived for more than a century and trained brutally for most of her life.

Manon is a match for Aelin in of fighting skill — their battle is one of the things that makes Queen of Shadows the best Throne of Glass novel. Additionally, it is not impossible to imagine that Manon could hold her own in a fight against Rowan or Fenrys. Manon doesn’t have the same amount of power that some of the other characters do, but no one who has read the books would underestimate her. However, Manon does have the unique ability to go unaffected by the Valg’s influence due to her golden eyes.

8 Lysandra Ennar

Lysandra can turn into any person or animal.

What Lysandra lacks in combat skills she makes up for with her shapeshifting power. She cannot use it while there is no magic in Erilea, but when it returns, she becomes a powerhouse and immediately proceeds to save Rowan and Aedion’s lives. Some of the strongest forms she takes include a ghost leopard (this world’s version of a show leopard) and a wyvern. Lysandra is also able to become an extinct sea dragon by studying drawings of them in Empire of Storms.

However, shapeshifters are not only regarded as powerful because they can become threatening animals, but also any human form. Lysandra can make herself appear to be any other person she has seen, meaning she could trick almost anyone into giving her valuable information. The only true caveat of Lysandra’s abilities is that the shifting does take up a significant amount of energy and there are a limited number of times she can do it before needing to rest.

7 Kaltain Rompier

Kaltain has a destructive power and incredible mental strength.

Kaltain Rompier cuts a mysterious figure in the books. She first appears in Throne of Glass as a scheming courtier who wants to marry the crown prince and tries to kill Aelin (at this point Celaena). However, Celaena regrets her hostile relationship with Kaltain when Kaltain is imprisoned and taken away due to the powerful magic in her bloodline. As it turns out, Erawan and his army want to use Kaltain’s ability to summon shadowfire, which causes unbearable pain in addition to being generally destructive.

Kaltain also demonstrates a psychological power that no one else in the series has except for perhaps Aelin. Kaltain slowly gains control over the Valg Prince inhabiting her body, so when magic returns, she uses her power to turn on Erawan. She destroys a large part of Morath, the base for the Valg army, killing herself in the process. Although this and sending one of the Wyrdkeys to Aelin are her only major acts of heroism, Kaltain makes an impression as a dark, tragic, and ultimately powerful character.

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6 King Erawan

Erawan is one of the three terrible and powerful Valg Kings.

The Valg are a demon race that comes from another world; they are called "parasites" due to their feeding off humans and Fae’s life and emotions. Erawan is the youngest of the three Valg Kings and the only one who appears in the books. The Valg Kings are almost always treated as the penultimate evil presence in the story and their power is far-reaching and very harmful. Erawan can manipulate darkness and use it as a destructive force. He can also sense others who are nearby and inhabit and control other people.

Even if they are not inhabiting or controlling someone, most Valg make anyone around them feel overwhelmed by despair. Erawan is set up as someone impossible to defeat because even the legendary heroes of the previous war against the Valg were unable to kill him, only imprisoning him. Erawan serves his narrative purpose well as a powerful villain over whom the main cast must triumph or their entire world will fall.

5 Yrene Towers

Yrene holds the power needed to defeat the Valg.

However, while the Valg’s power is unprecedented, they are not invulnerable. In Tower of Dawn, the characters discover healers’ specific type of magic that can burn away the Valg, even saving a person who has been possessed by one. Yrene serves as a kind of symbolic embodiment of this power, as she is the first healer in the story to use it. Yrene and Dorian kill Erawan together in the final battle of Kingdom of Ash.

Yrene’s most powerful moment is killing Erawan — which triggers the fall of the rest of the Valg army — but she demonstrates her skill and power before this. Namely, by reversing Chaol’s paralysis and destroying the Valg Princess (stronger than a Prince) inhabiting Princess Duva, both in Tower of Dawn. Yrene’s power is not the most obvious in the Throne of Glass series, as it is characterized by endurance and study more than sheer force. Yet the fact that she can defeat Erawan is telling.

4 Dorian Havilliard

Dorian's magic grants him many different abilities.

Dorian possesses what is referred to as raw magic, meaning he can do just about anything. His power primarily manifests itself as ice, but he learns to harness it to accomplish other things including healing and shapeshifting. The extent of how much power he can exert at once is unknown, but it is probably substantial because he is a descendant of the same line as Aelin. His biggest weakness in the books is a lack of experience and time. However, Dorian learns new skills quickly.

When Dorian sets out to infiltrate Morath in Kingdom of Ash, he decides that the best way to accomplish this would be to learn to shapeshift — fast. With only a brief description from Lysandra of what her shapeshifting feels like, Dorian teaches himself to take the appearance of a different person within a couple of weeks at most. If Dorian lived as long as Rowan, he would probably become one of the most powerful people in this world. However, he is limited by his mortal life.

3 Rowan Whitethorn

Rowan's extremely powerful magic takes the form of wind and ice.

Because of his two centuries of experience, Rowan is the de facto magic expert among the main characters. He teaches Aelin to wield her fire magic and spends some time teaching Dorian. Rowan’s magic is described as the closest match to Aelin’s, although it manifests as wind and ice rather than fire. While Rowan’s abilities do have a limit, he would most likely overpower Dorian.

Rowan also has the magical powers that are common among the Fae, such as healing, immortality, and the ability to shift into a specific animal form (in his case, a hawk). His combat skills are also unparalleled. Rowan lacks the shows of power that Aelin has because the story is about her realizing her destiny, but the story generally treats him as one of the most powerful Fae in the world.

2 Queen Maeve

Maeve accomplishes feats no other Throne of Glass character can.

Although the characters believe she is Fae for most of the series, it is revealed in Tower of Dawn that Queen Maeve is also Valg. The books suggest that Maeve is more powerful than the Valg Kings, as the Princesses are to the Princes. Everyone knows that she possesses unimaginable power before, but this revelation completely changes the nature of it. When Aelin is told of this, she experiences a feeling of hopelessness, wondering if it is even possible to kill Maeve.

Maeve’s backstory includes discovering the Wyrdgates and escaping into Erilea’s world, where she uses her magic to make the Fae sister queens Mab and Mora — as well as the entire kingdom — believe that she is their third sister. When her “sisters” gave up their immortality and eventually ed, Maeve took control of the Fae kingdom of Doranelle. Maeve uses magic to trick Rowan into believing another Fae woman is his mate; she also has some foresight. The things Maeve does are impossible and terrible, and it seems as though her power has no limit.

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1 Aelin Ashryver Galathynius

Aelin's fire magic makes her the most powerful character of the Throne of Glass series.

A periodic display of her monumental power is characteristic of Aelin. First, she destroys several Valg Princes in Heir of Fire. Next, she destroys an entire fleet of ships in Empire of Storms. Finally, Aelin turns a tidal wave to steam when a dam breaks in Kingdom of Ash, saving everyone on the battlefield from being killed. In the last instance, she spent several months prior burrowing into her magic to store up enough power to kill Maeve but used it on the wave. Aelin’s power is also augmented by her own intelligence, as she knows how to use her power to the most effect.

Aelin is an expert strategist and outwits all her enemies — most notably, the very gods who used her as a pawn to return to their own world, earning her the moniker “Gods Killer.” Yet even without her magic, Aelin beats every enemy with her unbreakable spirit and combat skills from 10 years of relentless training. Although Aelin loses most of her magic in the end, she is still able to defeat Maeve (with some help), earning the title of the most powerful character in the Throne of Glass series.