Plot details follow. Caution is advised!
“ | Ronan didn't need physics. He could intimidate even a piece of plywood into doing what he wanted. | ” |
—Adam about Ronan |
Ronan Lynch was a student at Aglionby Academy. He is the son of Niall Lynch and Aurora Lynch. He is the Greywaren, a dreamer, capable of bringing items out of his dreams.
Ronan has four best friends: Richard Gansey III, Adam Parrish, Noah Czerny, and Blue Sargent. He lives at Monmouth Manufacturing with Gansey and Noah.
Biography[]
Birth[]
Ronan's parents, Niall Lynch and Mór Ó Corra, were both dreamers and through their dreams were able to communicate with a forest near their home in Virginia. They made a deal with the Forest to give it a human form called "Greywaren" in exchange for more power for their dreaming. Mór, Niall, and the Forest worked together to manifest this form, which became Ronan. Mór gave Ronan the appearance of a toddler closely resembling Niall, Niall gave him feelings, and the Forest poured itself into him. Once Ronan was created, the Forest’s vast knowledge faded from him and Niall named him Ronan to help him feel human.
After his creation, Ronan's parents, especially Mór, were unsettled by him and feared the immense power he would have as a dreamer. They considered killing him but decided against it after Niall saw that his older brother Declan loved him. Mór remained uncomfortable with Ronan and soon decided to leave Virginia, after which he and his brothers were raised by Aurora, a more loving and motherly dreamt copy of Mór.
Early History[]
In most of his formative years, Ronan and his family lived at a farm called the Barns a little outside of Henrietta, VA. When Ronan was three years old, he manifested his younger brother Matthew from a dream. Ronan was always particularly close with his father Niall and is considered by his brothers to have been his father's favorite son. Knowing Ronan's otherworldly origins, Niall sought to make Ronan feel loved and cared for in hopes he would not use his powers to harm others. Growing up, the Lynches never spoke about their ability to manifest dreams and Ronan learned to keep it a secret. Ronan began high school at Aglionby Academy where he befriended Richard Gansey III, who regularly visited the Barns and came to know the Lynch family well.
Prior to the start of the series, Ronan finds his father brutally murdered in the driveway outside their home. Niall's will prohibits his sons from living at or visiting the Barns, and Ronan moves in with Gansey at Monmouth Manufacturing. Because she is a dream, Aurora goes into a catatonic sleeping state after her husband's death and the Lynch brothers are effectively orphaned.
This trauma affects Ronan greatly. The books say little about what Ronan used to be like before his father's untimely death, but it is implied that he used to be of a friendlier and gentler disposition. Niall's death also drives a wedge further between Ronan and his older brother Declan, with whom he already had a complicated relationship.
Before the events of the first book, there was an incident in which Ronan brought back injuries he had received from a night terror in one of his dreams, and would have likely died had Noah not found him. Everyone else falsely believes it to have been a suicide attempt, as Ronan was keeping his Dreamer abilities a secret at that point. It is revealed in The Dream Thieves that Joseph Kavinsky was witness to the wounds appearing when Ronan woke, making Kavinsky the first person to know about Ronan being a Dreamer.
The Raven Cycle[]
Ronan copes with his trauma by drinking alcohol and street-racing in his father's old BMW along with other Aglionby thrill-seekers – most notably the unsavory Joseph Kavinsky. He is also an insomniac and is frequently haunted by night terrors, which manifests themselves as physical creatures taken from his dreams.
In The Dream Thieves, he gets some semblance of closure with his father and finds a loophole in his father's testament which allows him to return to the Barns by dreaming an updated version of the will. He keeps living at Monmouth but often visits his childhood home.
After Aurora is killed, Ronan spends hours just sitting in the driver's seat of his car, staring blankly down the road to the Barns, waiting for Gansey to come and tell him what to do.
The Dreamer Trilogy[]
In Call Down the Hawk, Ronan is essentially living a simple farmer's life at the Barns. He is shown to be much more acclimated to his dreamer abilities, but also struggles with the dangers of Nightwash. Ronan worries about his relationship with Adam due to his unpredictable dreaming that keeps him bound to the Barns. He repeatedly encounters another dreamer, Bryde, in his dreams and saves Jordan Hennessy from drowning.
Personality[]
Ronan is "dangerous" and confrontational, rarely attempting to filter his words. He is bad tempered, irritable, extremely sarcastic, and cynical. He is described as being as "dangerous as a shark and about as friendly." He doesn't seem to care much about hurting others’ feelings. He is secretive and prone to hostility, even among his friends. Even though he appears apathetic and irritable, he demonstrates his compassionate and loving nature through his affection for his friends and his family. He also loves animals and is very nurturing towards them. He doesn't believe his education will aid him in the future and generally skips classes, aside from Latin, which he excels in, and has no plans to go to college after graduation. He joined the search to find Glendower when he met Gansey, having no trouble committing himself to the search as a result of his own impossible existence as the Greywaren.
According to Gansey, Ronan was much friendlier and happier before his father's death. He is suggested to be a loving individual plagued by his abilities, the circumstances surrounding his father's death, and his relationships with his brothers. Ronan doesn't build casual relationships and only has space in his heart for the people he's made his family. He is left flat-footed after everyone goes in different directions after high school. Many people note that between his family's money and his dreamer abilities, he could do pretty much anything with his life. But all he wants to do is live on his family's farm.
Ronan suffers from PTSD as a result of finding his murdered father's body and losing his mother, home, and friendship with Declan immediately after. Part of his significant self-hatred has to do with his repressed sexuality. He also blames himself for not looking for Niall sooner. Eventually, Ronan discovers that the night horrors' attacks are a manifestation of his own self-hatred. He is reclusive and standoffish. He swears a lot, loves racing his car, and loves drinking. He tries to hide his genuine emotions through snarky comments.
Ronan is also a perfectionist. He agonizes over recreating the Pig perfectly after wrecking the original. He spends months making excuses for why he couldn't manifest a new form of Cabeswater, because he was afraid that he couldn't make it as good as the old one. His poor schoolwork is also typical of someone with perfectionist tendencies, as they tend to refuse to put any effort into something if they don't think they can be perfect at it.
When Adam is being beaten by his father, Robert Parrish, after getting dropped off by Ronan, Ronan returns to defend him by fighting his friend's abuser. When the police arrive, Adam decides to press charges against his father, realizing that Ronan defended him and that he would be kicked out of Aglionby, and Monmouth Manufacturing--as a result--if he was arrested. This fosters a better relationship between the two boys; following the incident, Ronan goes to the library to study for an exam out of respect to Adam, knowing that he sacrificed his family and everything he knew to keep him from being arrested. Adam gains respect for Ronan for coming to his defense.
In The Dream Thieves, when Aglionby's tuition is raised, he convinces the landlord of Adam's apartment to accept his own money to cover the extra cost and tell Adam that his rent has been lowered by a tax reassessment. He knows that Adam is barely scraping by as it is and that the additional cost would be too much to handle on top of his other problems. He mentions that Adam has appeared in his dreams, and has what is reminiscent of a strange dream of Adam touching his bare back. He notices the changes in Adam following his sacrifice to Cabeswater, finding him "stronger, stranger, farther away" than before. It is implied that he fears for Adam, either as a result of his ties with Cabeswater or association with Ronan himself; in another dream, Adam wears a mask of Niall's and turns into a monster, attacking Ronan, and starts to bleed out when Ronan removes it. Later, in the group's first trip to the Barns since his father's death, Adam tries to look at the real mask on the wall and Ronan violently intervenes by grabbing his arm. By the end of the novel, Adam reveals that he knows Ronan is the one who covered his rent, unnerving Ronan, and it is suggested that this is when Adam discovers Ronan's feelings for him. Ronan reveals that Adam is "his second secret" - in other words, his crush.
In Blue Lily, Lily Blue, the relationship between Ronan and Adam continues to develop and improve to the point where Gansey picks up on their changing relationship and regards it with suspicion. Throughout the novel, Adam is exposed to more of Ronan through their interactions, realizing that he barely knew him at all and witnessing his softer, more compassionate side. Ronan visits Adam at work to give him lotion made in Cabeswater, noting his cracked skin, which Adam is implied to be using. Adam reveals his knowledge of Ronan's crush, finding it flattering to the point where he doubts it can be true that Ronan could like him when he could like anyone else. Ronan takes Adam to the Barns to show him the objects he has been creating to combat the lifeless state of his father's dream things; he carries out these experiments with such fervor that Adam discovers that Ronan is also trying to prevent his brother Matthew's demise upon his own death, revealing that Matthew is one of his dream things. Ronan had asked Adam to help him to set up Colin Greenmantle in revenge for hiring a hit man to kill his father. However, in order to do that, Adam needed Ronan to dream evidence that he committed criminal acts of murder and possibly pedophilia against children. While dreaming these events, Ronan's night horrors arrived, and he had to dream a double of himself for them to kill. Adam, who used his connection with Cabeswater to show Ronan an image of Greenmantle's phone, wakes up to discover the double's body and believes that it is the real Ronan who is dying. Ronan reveals his survival by talking—echoing the same words Adam hears in his vision from Cabeswater—and is disgusted with the work he's done and himself for allowing Adam to witness the damage it's caused, seeing that Adam is unnerved by his dead double. Later, they go together to Greenmantle's home to deliver an envelope of the evidence, effectively chasing him out. By the end of the novel, Ronan and Adam become partners in Cabeswater, working together to clear a cave in pursuit of Blue's mother and demonstrating a closer relationship than ever.
Finally, throughout The Raven King Ronan and Adam take it up a notch. Ronan is quite aware that his feelings for Adam are getting much stronger. And Adam is also showing more signs of being attracted to him -- describing him in depth, noting his speech, reading his expressions, paying attention to little details that we don't see from anyone else's perspective, etc. his eyelashes -- so we are lead to believe that somewhere in the book they become an official couple. While at the Barns, Adam goes into Ronan’s bedroom. He finds a toy car that plays a different tune when each of the wheels is moved. When Ronan finds Adam, he kisses him. Later, Adam kisses Ronan back, and they officially start a romantic relationship. Ronan seems to be able to handle much more intense situations, and follow his heart, while also making decent decisions.
Physical Description[]
Ronan has an intimidating presence. He is quite tall and muscular, with a shaved head and blue, sharklike eyes. He is described as a, "a pale-skinned, dark-haired Celtic sort." Adam thinks Ronan has nice eyelashes. Ronan’s wardrobe is mostly grunge, featuring black muscle tees, expensive jeans, and a leather jacket. He wears five knotted leather bands on his wrist. His Aglionby uniform is deliberately rumpled, with his tie worn loose and sloppy. He has a tattoo of a Celtic knot covering his entire back and creeping up the nape of his neck. The knot is interwoven with objects from Ronan’s dreams, and Gansey mentions seeing new imagery every time he sees it. Ronan is considered handsome to almost everyone who meets him.
Special Abilities[]
As a dreamer, Ronan can take things out of his dreams. The night horrors he manifests are described as monstrous crow-men. He is always temporarily paralyzed immediately after dreaming something.
Possessions[]
- BMW: Ronan's shark-nosed black BMW was stolen from his father's possessions shortly after his death. Niall dreamed the car.
Relationships[]
Romances[]
Adam and Ronan begin as friends. Their relationship is complicated, and they often fight over many things. Declan notices how Adam and Ronan bicker like an old married couple. Ronan helps Adam to get away from his abusive father, press charges against him, and find an apartment after being kicked out. Ronan considers Adam his “second secret,” referring to the romantic feelings he has for him. In Book 1 of the spin-off series, "Call Down the Hawk," we learn that Ronan fell for Adam the first time he saw him, sometime after Niall's death but before Adam had befriended Gansey. After seeing him walking to school, Ronan prayed to God, a simple "Please." Adam begins to wonder if Ronan has a crush on him, especially after he discovers it was Ronan and not Gansey who paid his rent. He dismisses the thought as vanity, but the two boys begin to slowly take their friendship to a romantic level and share a number of personal and heartwarming moments. Ronan describes himself as being in love with Adam, and aware that he knows this. Ronan is shown to put Adam’s well-being above his own life. While Adam is protective of Ronan and is constantly worried about his safety. Ronan kisses Adam in his bedroom at the Barns, revealing his feelings for Adam. Later that night, Adam kisses Ronan on the porch of the Barns to show that he feels the same way. Upon acknowledging each other’s feelings, they begin dating and raising a flock of baby Ravens named after power tools.
Friends[]
Gansey and Ronan became friends before Niall’s murder. Ronan was Gansey’s first friend at Aglionby. Gansey worries over Ronan frequently, especially when Ronan goes drinking, racing, or missing in the middle of the night. He repeatedly chides Ronan to behave properly. Gansey is often “cleaning up” Ronan’s messes. He breaks up fights between Ronan and Declan, and blackmails Headmaster Child to keep Ronan from being expelled. Ronan is extremely dependent on Gansey after his father’s death and subsequent banishment from his home. They think of each other as brothers. Both suffer from insomnia and occasionally spend time together when neither can sleep. Their friendship is close enough that Kavinsky is convinced Ronan must be in love with Gansey, which is not true. Though Ronan definitely finds Gansey physically attractive, despite not having romantic feelings for him. He repeatedly gets angry at himself for noticing how good Gansey looks when he appears like a “normal person” by wearing jeans and a t-shirt, rather than his usual “polished, unattainable self.”
Noah and Ronan are friends, and Ronan is not as troubled about the fact that Noah is dead as the others. Ronan writes the word “remembered” onto the dirty window of Noah's abandoned car after learning that Noah is a ghost. Ronan also throws Noah out the window of Monmouth Manufacturing apparently in jest, because he knows that it won’t hurt him. They are like brothers and care about each other.
Blue and Ronan’s friendship is sarcastic and sibling-like. At first, they don’t really like each other. Blue found Ronan intimidating within the first moments of meeting him and didn’t have “an ambition to earn his approval.” Ronan calls her “maggot” to which she frequently retaliates. Eventually they come to care for each other deeply. For example, Blue acknowledges that Ronan is “not such a shithead” after he gives her his ghostlight to cross the lake even though that would mean he would be waiting in darkness. They are described “different brands of the same impossible stuff.”
Family[]
Declan and his brother Ronan stopped getting along when their father died. Nevertheless, Declan feels responsible for Ronan. They, along with their younger brother Matthew, go to church every Sunday and sit together. It is revealed that Declan is and has been protecting Ronan for many years, keeping the secret that Ronan, like their father, has the ability to remove objects and living creatures from his dreams. It was this ability that got their father killed, and Declan, while being beaten and threatened, refuses to tell Mr. Gray that Ronan has the same ability. Their relationship seems to heal somewhat after they come to the understand that they had experienced two very different sides of their father.
Matthew is Ronan's younger brother. Ronan loves Matthew deeply and makes allowances for Matthew that he does not make for anyone else. It is revealed that Matthew was dreamt by Ronan and he searches for ways to keep Matthew animated after Ronan's own eventual death. Matthew is the only one who can get away with calling Ronan “pal.”
Ronan is the creator of Opal and essentially adopts her. In Ronan's dreamscape, Opal served as a guide and companion to him. She tried to keep him safe from nightmares and chided him about cheating and stealing from dreams. Once removed from his dreamscape, their roles reversed. Ronan became the one teaching Opal how to survive and worked to protect her from those who would do her harm. In the real world their personalities often clash, and they frequently seem to frustrate each other. But when it comes down to it, they are both extremely protective of each other.
Others[]
Kavinsky and Ronan clearly have an abusive relationship. Kavinsky has an unhealthy interest in Ronan, and is most likely attracted to him. They are constantly competing with and insulting each other. Kavinsky in particular likes taunting Ronan about his relationship with Gansey, alternately using homophobic comments about their nonexistent sexual relationship and calling Ronan "Gansey's dog." Kavinsky attempts to draw Ronan away from Gansey and his other friends. When Ronan leaves to return to them, Kavinsky tells him that he thought that Ronan was going to leave Gansey for him. When Ronan doesn't, Kavinsky acts even more violent and manipulative toward him. Kavinsky drugs Ronan, touches him without consent, violates his personal space, stalks him, and even kidnaps and tries to kill Matthew. While Kavinsky and Ronan have similar backgrounds, interests, personalities, and abilities, Kavinsky ends up a drug-addicted criminal with no concern for his own life or anyone else's. Meanwhile, Ronan cares for and loves his friends and family and makes a genuine effort to do the right thing. Kavinsky reveals that he is also a dreamer, and offers to help train Ronan. While reluctant, Ronan agrees, and Kavinsky teaches Ronan how to take exactly what he wants from his dreams. With more control, Ronan is able to dream an exact replica of the Pig, which is Gansey’s prized Camaro. Kavinsky wanted to use this time to get closer with Ronan and maybe even start a romantic relationship. His efforts are unsuccessful.
Appearances[]
- The Raven Boys
- The Dream Thieves
- Blue Lily, Lily Blue
- The Raven King
- Opal: A Raven Cycle Story
- Call Down the Hawk
- Mister Impossible
- Greywaren
Trivia[]
- Ronan is often listening to blaring electronic music.
- He is a Scorpio, according to the author.
- Maggie Stiefvater has mentioned that Ronan is actually very bad at Latin. She revealed that the bad Latin is actually a way to tell who and what has been dreamed up by Ronan, because it speaks it as badly as he does.[1]
- Ronan's dream of Adam wearing the mask in The Dream Thieves is reminiscent of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death."