Coppermind:Welcome/Featured Article/Jezrien
Featured Article: Jezrien[edit]
“We chose this burden willingly. Well, we can choose to drop it if we wish. ”
—Jezrien on the Oathpact
Jezrien, also known as Jezerezeh'Elin, Yaezir and Yaysi, is one of the ten Heralds of the Almighty and the Patron of the Order of Windrunners. Jezrien fights in multiple Desolations, defending mankind from the Voidbringers and returning to Damnation between Desolations to be tortured. After centuries of combat, Jezrien abandons the Oathpact with eight of the other Heralds, pretending the Voidbringers have been defeated once and for all. He goes into hiding, gradually losing his mind, while the rest of the world revere his memory and he becomes a figure of legend over the following millennia.
Appearance[edit]
Jezrien has dark eyes and black hair. He is tall and appears almost Alethi, although his skin is a little darker than a typical Alethi man and his features are slightly off. As a Herald, Jezrien appears to be about thirty years old and wore a short, neatly-trimmed black beard. He stands confidently with a royal bearing. He often wears fine white and blue clothing, although it is oftentimes stained and charred by battle. He speaks with a deep, calm voice that has a regal sound to it.
After he abandoned the Oathpact and started living as a beggar, Jezrien's beard grew long and scraggly, streaked with black and gray. His hair became matted and filthy and he smelled like garbage. Jezrien's clothes are reduced to ragged scraps. His words are often slurred or believed to be gibberish.
Personality[edit]
“Better that one man should suffer than ten. ”
—Jezrien's response to Taln's abandonment
Jezrien is widely believed to have been one of the best men to have ever lived. Upon joining the Oathpact, he was an honorable and true man. Jezrien's specialty was leadership; he was a great instructor on the guidance of men. He is a man willing to admit his mistakes and make common cause with those that had been his enemies. After centuries of torture, Jezrien became damaged by anguish and grief. He was afraid to return to Braize and face the torments of the Voidbringers again. This led Jezrien to make the choice to abandon the Oathpact and leave Taln alone on Braize. He had even reached such a point that he was willing to lie to the surviving humans that he and the other Heralds had achieved final victory. He seemed distraught by his own cowardice at the ending of the Oathpact and ashamed of leaving Taln to suffer.
In the millennia that followed, he succumbed to insanity. By the Era of Solitude, Jezrien's once sharp mind had been dulled thoroughly. He spoke nonsensically and without any clear meaning behind his words. He seemed to have some semblance of lucidity, referencing the various Unmade, but it is uncertain how much awareness he had. He appeared to speak gibberish at times, but it is possible that he is speaking in an ancient language, such as the Dawnchant.