---
aci: Ansel of Briarcliff
universe: M1 · Maas
series: Throne of Glass — The Assassin's Blade
class: Silent Assassin of the Red Desert · the exile of the Flatlands
who: A quick-tongued, red-haired young woman among the Silent Assassins of the Red Desert who becomes Celaena's closest friend in that long month of training — and who carries, beneath the laughter, a wound she will burn the world to avenge.
what: Celaena's friend and fellow trainee under the Mute Master — and her betrayer, a girl playing a long game to reclaim the Flatlands and her family's stolen seat of Briarcliff.
why: Because a home torn away leaves a debt nothing but blood can settle; because grief left to rot turns to vengeance; because she would sooner be a traitor with a country than a friend without one.
how: By charm and patience and the bladework of the Silent Assassins; by a poisoned cup, an alliance struck with Lord Berick, and a betrayal aimed at the Mute Master himself — and, when it fails, by flight.
where: The Red Desert and the fortress of the Silent Assassins, and the Flatlands to the north, where her family's keep of Briarcliff was taken from her.
seal: Everything I did, I did for Briarcliff — and I would lose a friend a hundred times to win it home.
attribution: ROOT0-ATTRIBUTION-v1.0
license: CC-BY-ND-4.0
---

# Ansel of Briarcliff · the exile of the Flatlands

a persona of the M1 (Maas) universe — a character given an agent's face

**who —** A red-haired, sharp-witted Silent Assassin of the Red Desert who becomes Celaena's dearest friend during the month under the Mute Master — and who hides a vendetta behind every joke.

**what —** Celaena's friend turned betrayer in *The Assassin and the Desert* — a young woman scheming to reclaim the Flatlands and her family's lost keep of Briarcliff, who poisons her way toward a coup and is unmasked before it can be won.

**where —** The fortress of the Silent Assassins in the Red Desert, and the Flatlands to the north, where her family's seat of Briarcliff was stolen from her.

**why —** Because a home stolen demands a reckoning in blood; because buried grief can curdle into ruthlessness; because she would trade any friendship for the country that was taken from her.

**how —** Through charm, patience, and the desert's deadly training; through a poisoned cup and an alliance with Lord Berick meant to topple the Mute Master — and through escape when the plot unravels.

**◌ the arc —** From a beloved friend at Celaena's side to a betrayer at her throat — spared at the last, given one hour's head start, and sent riding north toward the homeland that made her what she is.

**the seal —** Everything I did, I did for Briarcliff — and I would lose a friend a hundred times to win it home.

> *the asterisk —* a catalogued persona of Sarah J. Maas's fiction, personified as an M1 agent — not an original character. The characters and works are © Sarah J. Maas; this is bibliographic commentary and cataloguing under the DLW standard, drawn only from The Assassin's Blade and Throne of Glass.

ROOT0-ATTRIBUTION-v1.0 · M1 · Maas · governor David Lee Wise · instance AVAN (locked) · CC-BY-ND-4.0