Beard
| Beard | |
|---|---|
| Died | Battle of Kholinar 1174[1] |
| Profession | Guardsman |
| Groups | Kholinar Wall Guard |
| Residence | Kholinar |
| Nationality | Alethi |
| Homeworld | Roshar |
| Universe | Cosmere |
| First Appeared | Oathbringer |
Beard is an eccentric member of the Kholinar Wall Guard in Alethkar on Roshar. He is a part of Noro's squad, Platoon Seven, Squad Two.[2]
Appearance and Personality
Beard's nickname is strange because he doesn't actually have any type of beard, although he has hairy hands.[3] He is short, stocky, and lighteyed.[3][1]
Beard is very talkative and tells outrageous stories, most of them claiming that he performed some heroic action or met with royalty. He claims to have learned to Soulcast from the King of Herdaz, performed secret missions for Amaram, learned to cook flatbread in the Horneater Peaks, and received a knife as a personal gift from the Blackthorn.[3][2] His friends mostly ignore him and often have to tell him to be quiet, or he will always be launching into another story.[3][2] He is aware that he annoys people, but it does not seem to bother him.[4] Beard's fellow squad members mostly feign annoyance at his stories, and actually seem to get along with him well; he appears to be a competent soldier.[5] He is briefly dejected when he learns that Kaladin actually knows Dalinar since it undermines his claim that he once swam in the Purelake with the Blackthorn, but he quickly changes the story to include the Prime Aqasix instead.[4] His storytelling and his tendency to address Kaladin by an obscure slang nickname ("Kip") reminds Kaladin of Lopen.[2][6]
“When in the service of the merchant lords of Steen, I once had to swim across an entire vat of dye in order to save the prince’s daughter. When I was done, I still wasn’t as colorful as that preening cremling.”
Beard is of the tenth dahn, the lowest rank of lighteyes. He views 'middlers', lighteyes who are above the eighth dahn, but not quite highlords, as useless. During a patrol, he insults Adolin, who was disguised as a middler, mocking the extraordinary amount of colorful clothing that Adolin was wearing.[2] He also blames Kholinar's slow disintegration on Queen Aesudan's execution of Pai.[2]
Beard initially seems to be an atheist, declining to wear a glyphward in battle and saying that he "knows a lot about telling which stories have been made up" and that nobody is watching over him.[2] Seeing Kaladin kill a Fused seems to restore his faith,[5] and Beard wears the glyphward 'Fortune' on his arm during the final stand of the Wall Guard.[1]
Attributes and Abilities
Beard is a professional soldier who is trained in the use of a pike and a tower shield.[2][5] He is familiar with the defensive formations needed to defend the walls of Kholinar.[2]
History
After Kaladin joined Noro's squad, Beard assumed he was a fellow low-ranking lighteyed soldier.[3] Beard easily befriended Kaladin and helped him to become familiar with the Kholinar Wall Guard's system.[2] He appreciated that Kaladin was able to see the best in people.[4] He displayed strong loyalty to his post and to Highmarshal Azure, guarding the secrets of her gender and her Soulcasting operation.[3][2]
Beard was present when Azure inspected the Wall Guard's barrack.[7] He also saw Kaladin killed a Fused on Kholinar's walls, and, unlike the other members of the squad, just grinned when Kaladin revealed himself to be a surgebinder who carried a Shardblade.[5] At Kaladin's request, Beard and the rest of Noro's squad were present when Azure revealed how Ithi and her sister were supplying the army with food through their Soulcasting operation hidden in an aluminum-lined chamber in one of the city's windblades.[4]
Beard was part of Kaladin's guard of about fifty soldiers when they entered Kholinar Palace to confront Aesudan and find Elhokar.[1] Beard took part in the chaotic fighting that ensued, and was rammed through with a spear by Sah.[1] Beard was quickly avenged by Noro before he, too, was killed.[1] Kaladin later regretfully thought about Beard when he saw Lopen telling stories.[6]