Sixth of the Dusk (character)
| Sixth of the Dusk | |
|---|---|
 by Shuravf
| |
| Bonded With | Kokerlii, Sak |
| Ethnicity | Eelakin |
| Homeworld | First of the Sun |
| Universe | Cosmere |
“For Patji would try on every possible occasion to kill him. ”
—Sixth of the Dusk's thoughts regarding the island[1]
Sixth of the Dusk is a traditional Eelakin trapper on First of the Sun.[1]
He breeds Aviar and catches and forages other goods on the Pantheon isle of Patji.
Appearance and Personality
“Better to let Patji claim rivals than to directly stain one’s hands. At least, so his uncle had taught him. ”
—Sixth of the Dusk's thoughts on the other trappers[1]
Dusk is calm, patient, but also alert at all times, for every step on Patji cannot be stepped without care. He rarely speaks and isn't used to being around people due to the solitude lifestyle of a trapper. He is also a practical person; although he loses some of the trappers' traditions by using creations of modern technology, he considers survival to be of higher importance.[1]
He has the unique beliefs and philosophies of a trapper. He loves Patji and serves as a priest for the sacred land, but he also views Patji as a vengeful father who constantly tries to take his life. As is customary, he is in rivalry with the other trappers and would set up traps in hope of killing them. However, upon encounter, he would simply walk away from most people.[1]
Dusk has dark skin and long hair.
- Images of Sixth
by Jorge Jacinto On Sixth of the Dusk cover
by Kekai Kotaki Sixth of the Dusk interior art
by Ben McSweeney Arcanum Unbounded interior art
by Matthew Johnson On Patji
Attributes and Abilities
As a proficient trapper, Dusk has competent knowledge of the spectacular flora and fauna on the island. The ability to identify the deadly lifeforms is what allows him to survive in the jungle. Moreover, he uses these threats to his advantage, for example, setting various traps for his safecamp with deathants, nightwind fungi, and jellywire vines. He is quite capable in woodcraft, and is able to make a canoe in weeks with materials from the jungle. He also utilizes modern technologies; among his equipment are steel machete, firestarter and thick clothes. However, the most notable abilities he has are those associated with Aviar.[1]
Aviar
One of the most profitable skills Dusk has acquired is the breeding of Aviar. While most of the Aviar he raises are traded with mainlanders to meet the ever-high demand, two of the Aviar, Kokerlii and Sak, have bonded with him and travel around with him. Kokerlii has typical cognitive disguise ability, which protects Dusk from predators that hunt by seeking out mind. This type of Aviar is a necessity for Eelakin trappers as mind-shielding ability is both required when traveling on water, where deepwalkers can consume a ship in one gulp, and traveling on land, where being found by a nightmaw or other predators means almost certain death. The other Aviar, Sak, has a rare and unique ability: its blessings, when bestowed, can reveal possible dangers for its owner by creating illusions of its owner's corpses that provide clues about an imminent danger in that spot. Although Dusk doesn't like to rely on this ability, as it might gradually cause him to lose his edge, it has proven extremely useful on several life-saving occasions.[1]
History
He was trained from a young age in woodcraft and surviving in the isles of the Pantheon, mostly on Sori, the smallest and tamest isle. His mentor, Dusk's own uncle, died during a trip to Patji, and Dusk became a trapper exclusively for that isle, as was tradition for his people. He spent much time breeding and raising Aviar to sell in the homeisles and to the mainlanders. At some point he also raised a bird from the mainlands on the islands, Sak, and she gained a unique mental ability; the bird could send premonitions of Sixth's corpse, based on threats in the local area. Along with Kokerlii, Sak traveled with Dusk and helped him survive the dangers of Patji.[1]
He was contacted by the Northern Interests Trading Company in an attempt to ask for his consultation and help in settling the Pantheon isles, which he highly disapproved of. He was present on Patji as they attempted to begin "taming the island" by setting up a scientific experiment that would locate all of the Island's Aviar using technology from the Ones Above. After observing a brief, but deeply disturbing glitch in Sak's abilities and the panic of every Aviar of the island, Dusk questioned Vathi about the current actions of the company and concluded that a preliminary activation of the Aviar-locating machine had caused it. With this in mind, the pair set off to prevent the larger machine's activation. En route, they encountered a nightmaw and though they eliminated the immediate threat with Vathi's new, destructive technology that excited Dusk with it's potential, they were forced to run at a dangerous pace when the nightmaw called the rest of its brethren. The two escaped by hiding in Patji's Eye, the basin at the center of Patji in which dwells the Invested parasite that gives the Aviar and all of the cognitive life on First of the Sun their powers. As Vathi learned about the truth of the Aviar's powers, Dusk worried that he had inadvertently brought about the end of the Pantheon and his life as he knew them. When the nightmaws found them, Dusk was prepared to sacrifice himself by leading them away, but instead made ingenious use of Patji's Fingers and Vathi's cannon to draw the predators away.[1]
Upon reaching the fort, Dusk and Vathi found out that the machine had never been activated at all. Despite Dusk's ineptly-worded protests that something was still wrong, Vathi left him and entered the fort. In the throes of despair and anger, Dusk raged against Patji as he made his way back to his safecamp, despairing the oncoming loss of his world. Sak then flew away, leading him back to a terrified Vathi who had also realized the truth; the machine was a trap. Just as Dusk left Aviar mating plumes to lead rival trappers to their demise, so the Ones Above were deliberately leaving seeds of their technology for the mainlanders in hopes of artificially speeding up their technological progress in order to make it legal for them to trade with the Shardworld's inhabitants and exploit the entire planet of First of the Sun.[1]
Knowing that the mainlanders would need his help to prevent this terrible eventuality, Dusk entered the fort in spite of Sak's warnings of danger and his own hatred of such places in hopes of gathering other trappers and saving the world as he knew it.[1]
Relationships
Vathi
Dusk met Vathi after a deepwalker assaulted the camp of Northern Interests Trading Company and scattered the people. Vathi fled to Dusk's hidden safecamp, and despite her efforts, was eventually caught in one of Dusk's traps, where she was found by Dusk. Although not competent enough to hide her trail, her survival skill still impressed Dusk as she didn't fall to the dangers in the jungle. Although Dusk disliked her at first, as they traveled together to stop the company from activating the Aviar-scanner, he found that he was growing to be protective of her, treating her like an apprentice. He hurt himself when saving her from another trapper's trap and even prepared to sacrifice himself when the nightmaws closed in. In the end, he agreed to help her fight the scheme of the Ones Above in spite of the great dangers.[1]
Uncle
Dusk's uncle was his mentor when he apprenticed the ways of a trapper. His figure has left Dusk with memory and guidance.[1]