In the book, however, Alina uses merzost through her still-active connection to the Darkling in order to create her own nichevo'ya (shadow monsters like the Darkling uses) to fight back against him at the end of the second novel. As a result of her using the power that one time her hair turns permanently white.
Once Alina comes into her powers, she appears healthier, although her hair turns white at the end of Siege and Storm.
Physical description. Alina is a young woman of Shu and Ravkan descent. She has pale skin, with dark brown hair and eyes. There is a scar on her hand from when she cut her hand on glass during the Grisha test.
Libby Alina's hair is brown in the first book, but later turns white in either the end of the second book or the third book.
In the books, Alina and Mal go into the Fold, but the Darkling finds them and they don't have a chance to execute their plan. Mal tells Alina to stab him. And she does, but unlike in the show, he's not already dying when she does so. However, instead of the power surging into her, she loses her powers.
While she doesn't lose her powers as a punishment, she isn't in the clear either. Instead, her consequences are darker – literally. In the final scene, Alina uses her powers again and finds them changed. To Alina's surprise, she performs the Cut with shadows like the Darkling rather than her former light.
During the Shadow Fold crossing, volcra attack the sandskiff, but Alina lets out a burst of light killing the volcra in order to save Malyen. Better known as the Sun Summoner, Alina is the protagonist of the series. As one of the most powerful Grisha, she is the only one capable of saving Ravka from the Fold.
6 Alina's Scar
In the book, Alina was just a fifteen-year-old in love when she got her scar from holding a broken piece of a cup: After Mal returned from a hunting trip, the loving character forgot that she was holding it in her hand because she was too overwhelmed with her feelings.
The two go to find the stag before the Darkling can and grow close again before confessing their love for each other. Alina gets Mal to promise to her that he should kill her if they are about to be captured by The Darkling, as she does not wish for her powers to be used against her will.
Though mother and son have no amplifier to tie them together, as Alina and The Darkling do, they are family. And the inherited power of being a living amplifier seems to be a sufficient substitute. Baghra is able to reach into The Darkling's mind as Alina does, projection herself into his location.
Mal was oblivious to Alina's love from before book one even began. He slept with Zoya and countless others before he realised who was waiting by his back door.
Nina is a Grisha Corporalnik. Initially, she is a trained Heartrender.
Between the novels Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising, on which season 2 is largely based, Alina loses her Sun Summoner powers completely for a time after a fight with Kirigan. She also ends up gaining a piece of the Darkling's power and vice versa.
Four months after Alina Starkov discovers she's pregnant, the father of her unborn child finds her hiding place.
Alina Starkov is described as somewhat small, pale, and mousy, having often been frail and sickly as a child. As a teen, she is skinny with dull brown hair and eyes; once she begins training with her Grisha power, she becomes healthier, physically and in appearance. She has a scar across her right palm.
Mal is a human amplifier, which means a Grisha can use his powers to enhance their own. He learns that he descended from the Darkling's aunt, who was killed by her sister, Baghra, the Darkling's mother, and then brought back to life by their father, Ilya Morozova, which turned her into a human amplifier.
Mal didn't do anything wrong, he didn't betray Alina or ever try to hurt her. It was a monumental change when Alina found her powers and that would be an incredibly hard transition for anyone, no one would have handled it perfectly.
He sees her strong desire to belong and to find herself and it reminds him of himself. While his desire for Alina is not a healthy one and is obsessive, he truly does develop feelings for her. She is the one person who can bring balance to his life.
Rather than raping or assaulting women, the Darkling tricks Alina into falling in love with him, his goal being to take Alina's power for himself and effectively enslave her.
The night before the big battle, Alina and Mal finally have sex and it's Alina's first time and they're worried about not making it through the next day and I am just so sick of seeing this. This sort of thing pops up in so many fantasy novels that it just annoys me now.
Zoya was initially infatuated with the Darkling. Upon Alina's arrival at the Little Palace, Zoya instantly hates her for becoming the Darkling's new favorite, and expresses her jealousy by cheating during a duel and injuring Alina.
A firm part was ensuring that the letters of Alina and Malyen Oretsev (Archie Renaux) never reached each other. This was because Mal had been Alina's constant since childhood. That connection had only grown over the years — with Alina so devotedly attached to Mal that she even ventured willingly into The Fold.
Sun Summoners: A suborder of Grisha who can manipulate light. These are the rarest type of Grisha, which is why Alina (Jessie Mei Li) is so important.
Grisha are known to age more slowly than humans because channeling their natural element rejuvenates them; those who do not practice much will grow weaker and die faster.