Celaena Sardothien, an 18-year-old girl who was once the “most notorious assassin” in the kingdom of Adarlan (1), has been enslaved for a year in the Salt Mines of Endovier. Endovier is a death camp for political prisoners of the tyrannical King of Adarlan, who aims to conquer the entire continent of Erilea. Other prisoners at Endovier include suspected practitioners of magic—outlawed by the King—and rebels against the King’s corrupt court. Many of the prisoners at Endovier are citizens of Eyllwe, one of the last kingdoms on the continent to resist Adarlan.

Chaol Westfall, the royal Captain of the Adarlan Guard escorts Celaena in chains to the Endovier overseers’ building. He takes Celaena on a meandering route to intimidate and confuse her, but Celaena’s instincts and training as an assassin are too highly developed for these tactics to work. Still, a year of hard labor has left her too physically and emotionally depleted to attempt to escape. Worried that she is being escorted to her execution, Celaena tells herself, “I will not be afraid,” a refrain which has helped her survive the horrors of enslavement (2). Celaena is surprised to be escorted directly to Dorian Havilliard, the Crown Prince of Adarlan.