Denth's crew
| Denth's crew | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Denth |
| World of Origin | Nalthis |
| Universe | Cosmere |
Denth's crew is a small group of mercenaries on Nalthis hired by Bluefingers to aid in the Pahn Kahl rebellion.[1]
History[edit]
Origin[edit]
Arsteel joined up with Denth, known before as VaraTreledees, sometime after the Manywar because he wanted to try and redeem Denth. He thought a reconciliation between Denth and Vasher was possible with his help; instead, he was killed by Vasher. Denth brought him back as a Lifeless whom the crew called Clod because he knew Arsteel could continue to contribute to the crew by means of his excellent combat skills.[2] Jewels originally joined the crew because she was in love with Arsteel. It isn’t clear how Denth and Tonk Fah first joined forces.
“Denth has served me well for some measure now, and he is loyal—if any mercenary can be called loyal.”
—Lemex's letter to Vivenna[3]
Prior to Vivenna's integration into the group, the crew had been hired by Bluefingers for the task of increasing tensions between Hallandren and Idris to drive Hallandren to war.[4][5] Early on, Denth managed to get employment with Lemex, the Idrian ambassador, to use as an in with the Idrian community in Hallandren. Not only did Denth help corrupt Lemex,[6] but he also used him to a certain extent like he later did Vivenna. When word came that Vivenna was on her way, Denth realized that she could be a backup pawn for their overall plan and began poisoning Lemex, who had not been so complacent with their suggestions, so that they could gain control of and use Vivenna when she arrived.[7][8][9]
Activities[edit]
“There are many intrigues going on in this city, Princess—some of the projects Lemex had us working on had a grand scope, and were for the good of Idris, as near as I can tell. ”
—Denth to Vivenna[10]
Upon her arrival in Hallandren, the crew ingratiated themselves to Vivenna, doing a thorough job of manipulating her into thinking that due to Lemex’s demise she was now their employer.[3] While Vivenna believed the crew was helping her to help her people, they actually used her as a symbol to inflame the local Idrian population against the Hallandren leadership and to show the Hallandrens that the Idrians were worth going to war against. First, they discussed and employed such tactics as disrupting the food supply to the city and inciting revolts in the dye fields. They also met with merchants, crime lords, and politicians, using Vivenna’s Royal Locks as proof of her identity.[11]
Denth knew he must walk a fine line between manipulating Vivenna into doing what he wanted her to do and allowing her to feel like she was in charge, so he allowed her to come along when they robbed a salt merchant's shop, setting fire to a building and attacking a priest's carriage as cover for the robbery.[12] He also went along with her plan to meet up with some forgers. The forgers agreed to falsify documents proving that certain priests were extorting Idris, although Denth privately intended to stop the documents from ever being used.[13][14] The next day, the crew discovered that Vasher had killed a gang of thieves they had previously worked with in the same garden as the meeting with the forgers (though this was actually just a coincidence).[15][16] Denth next agreed to support Vivenna on a trip into the Idrian quarter of T'Telir to some slums called the Highlands, to meet with some of her people. She first tried to speak to the people directly, but they were uninterested in her promises; she met with the slumlords, but was disgusted when she realized they were motivated by greed instead of patriotism. This venture ended when the city watch raided the meeting and Clod saved her from the Lifeless soldiers.[17] That night, after the crew's return to their safehouse, Vasher kidnapped Vivenna because he thought she was confederate with Denth.[18]
Vivenna escaped from Vasher quickly, but upon her return to the safehouse she discovered the bodies of Parlin, of all of Tonk Fah's recent pets, and of a number of Idrian soldiers her father had sent after her. Denth and Tonk Fah confronted her, but she used Clod's security phrase and ordered him to attack Denth, successfully distracting the crew long enough to escape to the streets.[9] Denth set a bounty on Vivenna's head, but she survived for a couple of weeks wandering the streets as a Drab until a group of thugs finally caught up with her. As they were taking her to Denth, Vasher intervened by allowing Nightblood to tempt the men into drawing him.[19] Vasher initially took in Vivenna purely to keep her out of Denth's hands, but once each was convinced that the other sincerely wanted to avoid war they ended up working together to counter what the crew had been doing.[6] While discussing possible ways to get ahead of Denth, Vasher and Vivenna realized that the robbery of the salt peddler was only a cover for the crew’s true motive: kidnapping the daughter of Nanrovah, high priest of Stillmark, to blackmail him into changing his vote at court to one for war. They rescued the girl, Misel, and returned her to her father, convincing him to argue against war once more.[20]
Disbandment[edit]
“And you were always to be my payment, Vasher.”
—Denth[21]
When the Pantheon assembled to cast a formal vote on war with Idris, Susebron and Siri were sequestered in the palace by their priests. At Vivenna's request, Vasher went to rescue Siri. However, he was unaware that some of Denth's mercenaries had killed the guards at her door and that Denth himself had laid a trap for him. Denth captured Vasher, disposed of Nightblood in the bay, and tortured Vasher as revenge for murdering Shashara.[21][22] After Nightblood was fished up by Old Chapps and Vivenna was reunited with him, Nightblood led her to Vasher and she assisted in his escape. Unfortunately, Vasher was knocked out of the window in the fight and was forced to draw Nightblood in the process of his attempt to get back to Denth. This left him tired and with very few Breaths left when Denth confronted him again and wanted to duel.[23] While Denth was handily beating Vasher in the duel, Vasher offered him a way to forget his past atrocities and become a better person. However, Denth felt he was not worth it and began to strike a killing blow right as Vasher forced onto him his remaining Breaths; this caused a spasm of ecstasy in Denth and created an opening for Vasher to kill him.[24]
After Denth's death at Vasher’s hands, the crew split up. Jewels left to take the Lifeless Arsteel to his brother Yesteel, master of Lifeless Commands, in the hope that he could find a way to restore Arsteel's memories and personality. Tonk Fah, free from the direction and control that Denth provided for his murderous urges, went off to begin killing wantonly.[25]
Abilities[edit]
Denth, the crew's leader, is a Returned; as such, he is highly knowledgeable about and skilled at Awakening.[26] He is also an outstanding swordsman and practiced manipulator.[27] Clod, the crew's Lifeless, retains much of his own excellent swordsmanship from his past life and is probably the most skilled Lifeless existing.[2] Jewels, the crew's only woman, is a Drab; this means that those with enough Breaths to enhance their life sense still cannot sense her by any means.[11] Tonk Fah is a sociopath who readily does the crew's messy work. He is a practiced and unfeeling murderer and torturer whose skills in that area are occasionally valuable to the crew.[28]
Politics[edit]
“Mind-set of a mercenary. We’re paid to do things—but we’re not the ones doing them. It’s you who do these things. We’re just your tools. ”
—Denth to Vivenna[12]
Denth's crew becomes embroiled in the local politics of T'Telir to fulfill their contract with Bluefingers; in doing so, they employ a wide variety of covert and often heartless tactics to inflame the populace against Idris. These ploys are largely successful. However, Denth and Tonk Fah stress again and again that they are only mercenaries, implying that their motivations are monetary in nature, not truly political.[10][11] For Denth in particular, the desire to flee responsibility for his actions motivates him to let others hire and direct him; his past dominates his present thinking and keeps him obsessed with hunting down Vasher to obtain revenge.[7]
Members[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-09-07# - ↑ a b Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-10-26# - ↑ a b Warbreaker chapter 10#
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-12-22# - ↑ Warbreaker chapter 58#
- ↑ a b Warbreaker chapter 43#
- ↑ a b Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-09-02# - ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-10-12# - ↑ a b Warbreaker chapter 35#
- ↑ a b Warbreaker chapter 13#
- ↑ a b c Warbreaker chapter 22#
- ↑ a b Warbreaker chapter 25#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 28#
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-11-28# - ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-06-24# - ↑ Warbreaker chapter 29#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 31#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 33#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 41#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 49#
- ↑ a b Warbreaker chapter 51#
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2011-04-25# - ↑ Warbreaker chapter 56#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 57#
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2011-07-18# - ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-10-26# - ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2011-07-11# - ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-10-26#