Cord
| Cord | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 by FelCandy
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| |||||||
| Abilities | Sighted, Shardbearer[1] | ||||||
| Residence | Urithiru | ||||||
| Nationality | Unkalaki | ||||||
| Homeworld | Roshar | ||||||
| Universe | Cosmere | ||||||
| First Appeared | Oathbringer | ||||||
“I realized that I liked ... being able to prove that I could survive frightening things. ”
Hualinam’lunanaki’akilu, also known as Cord, is an Unkalaki on Roshar. The name Hualinam’lunanaki’akilu is a poem about a wedding band.[3] She is Lunamor and Tuaka's eldest daughter and the twin sister of Gift.[4]
Appearance and Personality[edit]
Cord appears to be in her late teens or early twenties.[5] She is tall and has a bronze skin tone and beautiful rusty hair that she wears long.[6][7] Syl describes Cord as "more solid" than the Alethi.[7]
Cord is very brave and adventurous, and she likes proving to herself that she can do things even though they are strange, new, and frightening.[2] Although her twin brother follows Vorinism, she does not.[8]
Attributes and Abilities[edit]
Cord is fluent in Veden and is slowly learning Alethi.[4][8][9] Like her father, Cord is capable of seeing all spren, even when they are not visible to others in the Physical Realm. The Unkalaki refer to those with her ability as alaii'iku; the Sleepless refer to them as Sighted. Also like her father, Cord is noted as being a very capable cook.[10] Cord is a Shardbearer, but not in full, as she only possesses Shardplate.[11] She also currently possesses Highprince Meridas Amaram's Shardbow.[7]
History[edit]
Arrival at Urithiru (1174)[edit]
Cord arrived at the Shattered Plains with her family in Jes 1174 after traveling for months to meet with Lunamor, who sent them a message shortly after his arrival. Cord's caravan was attacked by Voidbringers, and her family defended themselves behind a pile of furniture. During the attack, a member of her family shot a Voidbringer with an Unkalaki arrow. They were found by Bridge Four during a patrol and escorted to Urithiru.[4] After settling in in Urithiru, Cord helped her father serve food and drink to Bridge Four and began taking on some responsibilities regarding cooking for the group.[8][10]
Rysn's Journey to Akinah (1174)[edit]
Cord was recruited by Lopen for the expedition to Akinah due to her ability as a Sighted and her desire to see more of the world.[10] Aboard the Wandersail, Cord took on the role of cook after the previous cook's departure.[5] During the journey, she discovered an infestation of worms in the barrels of grain.[12]
After Huio delivered a letter to her, Cord mentioned to him and Lopen that the Unkalaki made trades with people in the "spren world" and could acquire aluminum from them. This is likely in reference to Shadesmar, due to Cultivation's Perpendicularity being located in the Horneater Peaks. Lopen, who had a crush on Cord, made attempts to impress her while discussing her homeland and her father's actions in killing Amaram at the Battle of Thaylen Field.[6] Cord later revealed to Rysn that she was aware Lopen was attempting to impress her.[9] She told Lopen that when her father returned to the Peaks to face judgement for killing Amaram, she would not return with him.[6]
When the crew of the Wandersail went ashore following the encounter with Sleepless in the form of a dead santhid, Cord made a stew for the crew. She brought Rysn a bowl and, after discovering that they both spoke Veden, told her the stories she knew of the Gods Who Sleep Not, the Unkalaki name for the Sleepless.[9]
“There are gods that you call spren. There are gods that are like people. But some gods ... some gods are neither.”
As a final attempt to make the Wandersail turn away from its task, Nikli attempted to frame Cord by making it appear that she had poisoned the ship's pet, Screech. However, Rysn saw through his deceit.[2] Cord later thanked Rysn for believing that she was "good".[13] The ship continued on to Aimia, and Cord took shelter from the storm as they sailed through it. As soon as they cleared the tempest, Lopen sent for her to scout for spren.[14]
Cord remained on board the ship while a landing party went to look at Akinah. As she waited with Rysn, they watched as Chiri-Chiri made an unexpected dive off the ship, following some luckspren into the sea.[15] Despite hearing from the landing party that the island seemed safe, Cord elected to stay back with Rysn. She revealed to the Thaylen that her primary motivator for joining the expedition was to acquire Shardplate and Shardblades for her people. She feared that when the rest of Roshar discovered the existence of Cultivation's Perpendicularity, they would attempt to claim the Horneater Peaks. The two of them agreed that something seemed off about the treasure lying around on the beach.[13]
When Nikli and the other Sleepless boarded the Wandersail, Cord revealed that she did not know the Sleepless could take human form, that they could not be fought, and that Lunu'anaki had warned of the danger the Sleepless presented during her grandmother's time. Nikli told Cord that he did not expect the presence of a Sighted on the expedition, and that the Sleepless did not kill Sighted lightly. Cord then shouted something at Nikli in the Horneater language as a distraction, grabbed Rysn, and dove into the water.[16]
“I am of the Peaks. Guardians of the pool. You know I can be trusted.”
—Cord to Nikli[17]
In the water, luckspren guided the pair to a hidden set of caverns. The cavern contained a set of Shardplate, eight Soulcasters, and a mural depicting the Shattering of Adonalsium. Cord claimed this Shardplate for herself, thereby becoming a Shardbearer. She borrowed the rubies from Rysn's chair to power part of the Plate, then went off in search of more gems.[18] Cord only managed to get half of the Plate on when she was summoned back to the main chamber by Nikli's arrival. She and Rysn attempted to negotiate with him, but he became enraged when he discovered that Rysn had taken the Dawnshard.[19] Chiri-Chiri's arrival forestalled Nikli's attempt to kill Rysn and Cord, and Cord also noticed the arrival of a large number of luckspren. Rysn resumed her bargaining, and Nikli told Cord that if she were to take the Shardplate, she would be binding herself to the position of a guardian of the Dawnshard. She refused to take the position right away, saying that she would first learn to use the Plate and then would think about what the position would mean. When Nikli told them the background of the Dawnshard, Cord realized that her people had songs telling of the time when that particular Command had come through the Perpendicularity. She became the only other human to know the full details of the deal between Rysn and the Sleepless, being sworn to secrecy in the process.[17] A year later Rysn tells her babsk Vstim as well.[20]
Battles with the Coalition (1175)[edit]
Cord accompanied the group on the Fourth Bridge when they flew to Hearthstone to evacuate the inhabitants. She came dressed and armed for battle; having shot down Leshwi in the coalition's previous encounter with the Fused, she wanted to be ready to do something similar again.[7] When Lunamor finally decided to return to the Horneater Peaks, Cord and Gift chose to stay behind in Urithiru.[21] Cord continued to act as a cook, though she always had her Shardplate nearby.[3]
When the coalition launched their offensive in Emul, Cord joined herself to King Dalinar Kholin's guards and accompanied the group. During one Skybreaker attack, she used Amaram's Shardbow to shoot an arrow into Nale's face. Dalinar stopped her from shooting again, as he wished to speak with the Herald. When the diplomacy ended and Nale decided to attack, he caught one of Cord's arrows fired from just feet away and was only deterred by Dalinar forging a Connection with him with his Bondsmith powers.[22]
Relationships[edit]
Lunamor[edit]
“I will fight the Void, as my father refuses to do. ”
—Cord[17]
As Lunamor's daughter, Cord loves him very much. She shares with him the trait of being able to see spren and also has learned from him to enjoy cooking.[10] However, she disagrees with his choice to be a pacifist and resolves to fight alongside the coalition in opposition to Odium.[17] She feels that her father is clinging to tradition during a time when they need to change in order to save their people.[13] Cord understands her father's outlook and does not try to change his mind in seeking judgement over his killing of Amaram; however, she sees that in returning to the Horneater Peaks for that purpose she will need to step in and fill the role he had previously had in Urithiru.[6]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Dawnshard epilogue#
- ↑ a b c Dawnshard chapter 10#
- ↑ a b Rhythm of War interlude I-1#
- ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 37#
- ↑ a b Dawnshard chapter 4#
- ↑ a b c d Dawnshard chapter 7#
- ↑ a b c d Rhythm of War chapter 5#
- ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 55#
- ↑ a b c d Dawnshard chapter 9#
- ↑ a b c d Dawnshard chapter 3#
- ↑ Dawnshard epilogue#
- ↑ Dawnshard chapter 6#
- ↑ a b c Dawnshard chapter 14#
- ↑ Dawnshard chapter 11#
- ↑ Dawnshard chapter 12#
- ↑ Dawnshard chapter 15#
- ↑ a b c d Dawnshard chapter 19#
- ↑ Dawnshard chapter 16#
- ↑ Dawnshard chapter 18#
- ↑ Rhythm of War interlude I-8#
- ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 12#
- ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 47#