Kwati
| Kwati | |
|---|---|
| Died | Nan 1174[1] |
| Profession | Minister |
| Ethnicity | Azish |
| Nationality | Marabethian |
| Homeworld | Roshar |
| Universe | Cosmere |
Kwati is a corrupt government official who lives at the Purelake on Roshar.[1]
Appearance and Personality
Minister Kwati is a tall and beefy man. He wears a Marabethian wrap and an Azish coat, and is identifiable as a nobleman. He speaks the Azish language and has an overbearing, haughty attitude.[1] Although he lives in the Purelake region, it is likely that he is originally Azish.
History
Ki referred to Kwati as the "high minister" of a small town on the northern border of the Purelake, presumably in Marabethia. A coalition of rulers had agreed to allow the Order of Skybreakers to perform law enforcement functions in the area. The local population consisted of nonviolent Reshi people, so criminals were not usually executed. Instead, convicts from across the region were sent to a prison facility in the town administered by Kwati, who was paid tribute to run the prison. He gave the prisoners forehead tattoos to make them easily identifiable.[1]
When some of the prisoners escaped, Kwati sent a message via spanreed to the Skybreakers, asking them to find the criminals and kill them, since execution was the penalty for escape. The Skybreakers arrived in a few hours, and planned to use the situation as a test for their squires. Once they arrived, Kwati complained that it took them too long.[1]
Szeth found and killed one of the escaped criminals; the convict was emaciated and smelly, and told Szeth that the criminals did not have outside help in their escape. Szeth returned to the town and observed the prison, which was extremely dark inside and had a repulsive odor. He also noticed that there was only a single guard posted in the entire prison. Szeth confronted Kwati about the conditions in the prison, and Kwati tried to dismiss him. However, Szeth persisted, accusing Kwati of pocketing the money intended to fund prison operations. The lack of guards in the prison allowed the prisoners to make weapons in secret, and to form their own economy wherein weaker people did not get any food.[1]
Szeth correctly surmised that Ki was already aware of Kwati's embezzlement. The Skybreakers had not acted sooner because technically Kwati had not committed a crime until the prison conditions became so bad that they motivated and enabled the prisoners to escape. Deducing that Kwati was also guilty was part of the Skybreaker test; after Ki confirmed that Kwati was set to be executed, Szeth killed him using Nightblood.[1] This completely destroyed Kwati's body, as well as his soul.[1][2]