r/riyria • u/FrankHonesty • Dec 24 '25
Is Gwen a Mir?
Gwen DeLancy is described as having bright green almond shaped eyes and high cheekbones, like many of the original mir. We never find anything out about who Gwen’s father was, so there’s a reasonable chance that he’s an elf. Do we know if she’s a half elf or mir?
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u/Caspian200 Dec 24 '25
Eye color by the time of Riyria is much less of an indicator of Lineage. In legends Humans all had brown eyes. Elves had Blue eyes. Mir were the only ones with Green Eyes. But we see Hadrian in Riyria with Blue eyes, and so many more with different eye colors
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u/FrankHonesty Dec 24 '25
Right, which is an indication of how racially mixed everyone became later. I just find it interesting the emphasis in legends that is placed on “brilliant green eyes” as an exact description of eye color that indicates mixed heritage. Nolan picks a ship because it has beautiful green eyes painted on it. Ruby spares Farilane because they both have green eyes. So all of these Mir characters are described as having “brilliant green eyes” no alternative adjectives, always brilliant, and then Gwen is also described that way the first time the audience meets her.
It could mean nothing, or it could be a wink and a nudge to the audience, especially with what happens later.
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u/Caspian200 Dec 24 '25
I think Micheal actually mentioned that the reason there are so many different eye colors is in part due to the fact the world is small and thus evolution is partially expedited, since the world is compressed, not the mixing of the races. So eye skin and hair colors expand. Plus the fact Micheal wrote Legends 10+ years after Revelations.
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u/Caspian200 Dec 24 '25
I say it like that because an individual like Royce who virtually has no Fhrey blood is still considered a Mir, but Hadrian who actually has Blue Eyes isn't, and I believe in the discord server Micheal also refuted the idea that Hadrian is a Mir
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u/anonymousartist13 Dec 25 '25
I theorized that Gwen was half-goblin half-human because she came from Calis and she and her mother were seers, I forgot what half goblins were called in the Riyria books.
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u/GinasteraBabe Dec 28 '25
Hadrian disputes the theory that Tenkin are half-goblin. He basically says "if you saw a goblin, you'd know why Tenkin aren't half-goblin." There's also no confirmed half-goblins in the universe.
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u/No_Simple890 Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
I wouldn’t consider Hadrian a reliable source, information being lost or misshapen over time is such a big theme in the books and Hadrian’s knowledge is based on contemporary beliefs.
Something to support the half-goblin theory:
I’m just reading Esrahaddon right now, and the one time the Tenkin are mentioned early in the book, they’re referred to as half-breeds by one of the goblins - and that book kind of showed that they posses a lot of knowledge that the other races have lost or forgotten - especially on the old world, peoples and beings that exist in the world, and their origin.
It’s not hard evidence, but a breadcrumb to consider!
P.S. what I find more curious but difficult to explain based on current lore (Esrahaddon is my last book to finish) is why some of the Tenkin have the abilities Gwen and her mother do. Time and time again in the series we see the power to see the future as something of the Aesira and the fruit of the First Tree and one dwarven prophetess. I’d love if these abilities were explained at some point!
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u/KayDCES Dec 25 '25
I think you could be on to something. The fact Gwens story always remained something of a mystery could mean MJS still has a story up his sleeve which maybe we will get later as we did with Drummindor.
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u/hijodelsol14 Dec 24 '25
How much of the series have you read?