◒

Wulfden the Fourth

From The Coppermind
Revision as of 08:19, 18 January 2020 by Stargazer (talk | contribs) (Correct link to disambig)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The Coppermind has spoilers for all of Brandon's published works, now including The Sunlit Man. Information about books that have not yet been released, like Stormlight 5, is allowed only on meta-pages for the books themselves. For more details, see our spoiler policy. To view an earlier version of the wiki without spoilers for a book, go to the Time Machine!

Wulfden the Fourth
Titles Wyrn, Emperor of Fjorden, Prophet of Shu-Dereth, Ruler of Jaddeth's Holy Kingdom, Regent of All Creation
Residence Widor
Nationality Fjordell
Homeworld Sel
Universe Cosmere
Wulfden redirects here. For the first Wyrn named Wulfden, see Wulfden the First.

Wyrn Wulfden the Fourth, sometimes referred to as "Wulfden" or simply "Wyrn", is the political and religious leader of the Fjordell Empire and the Shu-Dereth religion on Sel.[1]

Appearance and Personality

Wulfden the Fourth is one of the most handsome men to become Wyrn.[2] He has a proud, noble face with square features.[3]

He is thought of as a brutal, domineering tyrant by the Arelenes[4] and is prepared to commit genocide in Arelon and Teod if they do not join his empire.[5][6] His own subjects tend to fear him,[7] and he will deceive or even sacrifice them in the name of the Empire.[8][9] He is impatient and does not suffer fools gladly.[10]

History

Wulfden was chosen to be Wyrn around five years prior to the Reod.[2] He was relatively young when he became Wyrn, and was considered very vigorous.[2] He lives in a palace named Zigareth[11] in the Fjordell capital of Widor, which is presumably also known as "Wyrn's Seat".[12]

“ Words of Jaddeth, Lord of all Creation, through his servant Wyrn Wulfden the Fourth, Emperor of Fjorden, Prophet of Shu-Dereth, Ruler of Jaddeth's Holy Kingdom, and Regent of all Creation. ”

— A selection of Wulfden's titles[5]

Early in his reign, Wulfden was already preparing to invade Arelon before Elantris fell to the Reod.[13] In the recent past, the monks of the Derethi Dakhor monastery had learned how to access the Dor to gain superhuman strength, speed, and durability, making them a deadly fighting force.[13][9]

The Fjordell Empire continued to expand its influence after the Reod, including the annexation of Duladel.[14] Arelon and Teod were the only remaining nearby nations that had not submitted to Fjorden, and Arelon had been significantly weakened by the loss of Elantrian magic. Raoden admits that it would be foolish for Fjorden to delay an attempted invasion.[15] Wulfden sends Hrathen to Arelon, tasking him with converting Arelon and Teod to Shu-Dereth within three months to prevent their destruction.[5] However, this was a ruse, as Wulfden never intended to actually try and convert the Arelenes and simply wants to destroy them.[8] Hrathen was actually sent as a distraction so that Dilaf and other Dakhor monks could infiltrate Arelon unnoticed and set off the Invasion of Arelon.[8][16]

The invasion is halted after Hrathen betrays Wulfden and Raoden restores Elantris, but Wulfden retains control of the Empire.[4]

Attributes and Abilities

Wulfden oversees the entire Fjordell Empire and sits atop the Great Chain of Shu-Dereth.[3] His word is considered holy by his subjects.[5] He is presumed to be very wealthy.[17][18] He has access to seons and uses them for communication, despite their presumed origins in the "heathen" Aonic region of Sycla.[3]

He controls Fjorden's military, including a relatively small defense force[1] and a fleet of ships that is competent but inferior to the Teoish armada.[9] Wulfden's true power lies in his monasteries, where Derethi are trained to be warriors, spies, and assassins.[1] The most important monastery is the Dakhor monastery, where the monks undergo incredibly brutal training to gain access to Investiture through the Dor.[9] Wulfden uses the Dakhor as his favored warriors.[19]

“How had Wyrn known that Fjon would find Hrathen here, on the streets of Teoras of all places? Fjon would probably never know; Lord Jaddeth moved in ways beyond the understanding of men. ”

—Fjon[20]

Wulfden himself has magical abilities.[21] He tells Fjon to travel to Teoras and assassinate Hrathen during the invasion, even though Wulfden should not have known where Hrathen was going to be.[20] The source and extent of his powers are unknown, although his ability to see into the future may have some parallels to other temporal abilities seen in the cosmere.[22]

Notes

  1. ↑ a b c Elantris chapter 15#
  2. ↑ a b c Elantris chapter 38#
  3. ↑ a b c Elantris chapter 12#
  4. ↑ a b Elantris chapter 63#
  5. ↑ a b c d Elantris chapter 3#
  6. ↑ Elantris chapter 9#
  7. ↑ Elantris chapter 48#
  8. ↑ a b c Elantris chapter 58#
  9. ↑ a b c d Elantris chapter 60#
  10. ↑ Elantris chapter 51#
  11. ↑ Elantris (book) glossary section Z
  12. ↑ Map of Sycla
  13. ↑ a b Elantris Annotations
    — Arcanum - 2006-05-19#
  14. ↑ Elantris chapter 6#
  15. ↑ Elantris chapter 43#
  16. ↑ Elantris Annotations
    — Arcanum - 2006-03-10#
  17. ↑ Elantris chapter 17#
  18. ↑ Elantris chapter 53#
  19. ↑ Elantris chapter 59#
  20. ↑ a b Elantris chapter 62#
  21. ↑ Elantris Annotations
    — Arcanum - 2006-05-09#
  22. ↑ Tor.com Q&A with Brandon Sanderson
    — Arcanum - 2011-01-10#
This article is still missing information. Please help The Coppermind by expanding it.
Retrieved from "https://coppermind.net/wiki/?title=Wulfden_the_Fourth&oldid=114682"