Grund
| Grund | |
|---|---|
| Died | Killed by the Grips, Nanaches 1174[1] |
| Residence | Kholinar |
| Nationality | Alethi |
| Homeworld | Roshar |
| Universe | Cosmere |
“As she curled up on the floor, Grund’s death seemed a shadow of everything else, of her good intentions turned arrogant. ”
Grund is an urchin in Kholinar on Roshar during the True Desolation.[3]
Appearance and Personality
Grund has dark green eyes and a malformed hand.[4][5] He is typically grimy and is generally accepting of his station in life.[4][3] He occupies himself by drawing or doing small jobs like recovering hogshide from old shoes.[3][5]
History
During the Siege of Kholinar, Grund lived with Ma and Seland in an abandoned shop in Ringington market that had been damaged by the Everstorm.[3][5] He hung around the Secure Keeps, where Velalant was giving away grain mostly to households of lighteyes, and attracted the attention of Shallan Davar, who was there with Elhokar Kholin as part of his task force to recover the city. Shallan bribed Grund with one of her meat sticks to tell her about the food distribution, but he fled after receiving a second stick.[4] She returned to the market many times after that and met with Grund to get information.[3] Unfortunately, Shallan's attention attracted the attention of the Grips as well, a local gang that took the food from Grund and beat him if he tried to hold back. They instructed Grund to wait around for Shallan and came to collect when she left.[1] While he was initially excited to see Shallan every time she showed up, he became more and more jaded and reserved.[3][5]
Wanting to attract the attention of the Cult of Moments by giving away food, Shallan asked Grund for a list of people who were poor and needing food but unable to collect from Velalant's distributions. At his word, she began bringing food to people such as Muri, Jom, and others.[3] She also asked Grund to look for a copy of Hessi's Mythica, and he eventually found one for her with the help of the Grips.[3][6][1] Eventually the situation between Grund and the Grips became so dangerous that Ma and Seland moved out, leaving Grund alone in the old shop; he lied about their motivation to Shallan, saying that they had left because they thought the condition of the building was getting too dangerous.[5]
“My life was waiting for you. If I wasn't here when you came, or if I tried to hide the food, they beat me.”
After Shallan's visit to the revel, she took some more food to Grund. Thinking she was the gang, he hid from her at first. He tried to cover up his unease, but Shallan noticed that he was unhappy to see her and seemed too eager to please. Promising that she would be back in a few days with another big haul, Shallan left him only to change her disguise and double back to listen outside the shop. In the meantime, the Grips came to confront Grund. Displeased with the meager amount of food that day, the gang started beating Grund. Shallan witnessed it and shouted at the men angrily; as they scrambled to get away, one of them struck Grund's head with a cudgel and broke his skull. He lived long enough to tell Shallan how much he and all of the other people she had 'blessed' with food handouts hated her because of the position they were in with the Grips. She immediately went to check on Muri, who was about to flee from the gang herself and confirmed Grund's story.[1]
Shallan was guilt-ridden by Grund's death. She huddled, overwhelmed, on the floor in Muri's hovel thinking about Grund and the many others she had failed until Wit arrived and told her that the men in the market had formed a militia and forced the Grips to hand over the man who had murdered Grund.[2]