Moash

Moash
by Shuravf
Family Ancestors Ana, Da (grandparents)
Abilities	Shardbearer
Titles	Vyre (He Who Quiets), Lord Silencer
Profession	Soldier, caravaneer (formerly), bridgeman (formerly), bodyguard (formerly)
Groups	Sadeas army (formerly) Bridge Four (formerly) Kholin army (formerly) Diagram (formerly) Voidbringers
Nationality	Alethi
Homeworld	Roshar
Universe	Cosmere
First Appeared	The Way of Kings

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"Vyre" redirects here. For the previous holder of that title, see El.

“He couldn't be blamed. He was a product of his culture. ”

—Moash about himself

Moash, also known as Vyre, is an Alethi man on Roshar. Originally a bridgeman in Bridge Four, he becomes a soldier and bodyguard under Kaladin; eventually, he leaves Bridge Four and switches sides to the Diagram, then the Fused, serving them as a slave and warrior. He's the current holder of Jezrien's Honorblade.

Appearance and Personality

by taratjah

For more images, see /Gallery.

Appearance

Moash is lean, though strong, with a narrow hawkish face and brown hair speckled with black. He's born darkeyes, with brown eyes which turn tan after he receives a full set of Shards. Moash is a young man, potentially close to Kaladin's age. He is tall and has a scar on his chin.

Unlike many other members of Bridge Four, Moash does not have slave brands on his forehead. Due to this, he gets his Bridge Four tattoo on his left upper arm.

Personality

Moash comes off as standoffish and grim, holding people at arm's length when he first meets them. Though once he does warm up to someone, he gets attached extremely quickly. Once he joins a group, he's friendly and amicable, and often the driving force behind more relaxed, off-duty activities. He values his friendships, and tries to salvage them when he can. He's eager to gain power and he admires those who do have it. At the same time, he's highly suspicious of those above him in the social order. He has a strong sense of justice, originating with the injustice visited on his grandparents earlier in his life.

Moash tends to view people's actions by the external factors that motivate said actions, external factors such as one's position as a lighteyes or darkeyes in the Vorin caste system. As he becomes more involved in the Fused army and pushes deeper into Odium's emotional voiding, his old priorities slip away.

His need to see Elhokar and then all lighteyes face retribution consumes him and pushes him further and further away from friends and into the waiting arms of the Voidbringers. Eventually, as he gives in to Odium's power completely, he seems to lose any drive altogether, telling himself he feels no emotions even as he accomplishes his vengeance. In this period, he follows the commandments to seek out passion and follow the orders of the Fused. Although he continues to care for Kaladin, he thinks that suicide is the only way that Kaladin can be saved from Odium's torment, and in his own despair, urges Kaladin to kill himself rather than risk Kaladin joining Odium.

by Khaedart

Abilities and Attributes

Moash is a skilled spearman, enough so to kill an attacking Fused. For a time, he also possessed a set of Shardblade and Shardplate. While Moash was able to move naturally in his Plate after less than a week, he is less skilled with the Shardblade, finding it too clunky, and still defaulted to the spear when his life was on the line. Eventually, he's given Jezrien's Honorblade, granting him control over the Surges of Gravitation and Adhesion. He appears to be natural at using it, as it takes him no time at all to drink in Stormlight and use Lashings.

He's also a decent spear teacher and commander, able to train a group of singers before the attack on Kholinar.

Following the Occupation of Urithiru, he was left blind.

History

Early Life

Both of Moash's parents died when he was a child. He was raised by his grandparents Ana and Da, who both worked as silversmiths in Kholinar. It was his grandfather who named him. Later, Moash would discover that his name is singer in origin.

Moash chose not to enter the family business, preferring jobs that involved traveling. While he was working on a caravan for a few months, his grandparents became victims in the Roshone Affair that led to them dying while incarcerated in the palace dungeons. Moash ultimately blamed Elhokar Kholin, who was then a royal prince but would later become the king of Alethkar, for their deaths.

Bridge Four

Moash joined the war assuming he would be made a spearman but ended up in Bridge Four. When Bridge Four started training down in the chasms, Moash was one of the first who changed into a fighting man. Later, on the bridgerun where Dunny died, Moash probably saved Kaladin's life by keeping him from reaching Dunny's body and later told Kaladin that he was wrong about him.

by Nick Vidic

When Adolin tried to give Kaladin the gift of Shardblade and Shardplate, Kaladin instead gave them to Moash, thereby making him a lighteyes in rank. The Shardblade had a twisting vine pattern along the center of the blade, and the Shardplate, previously belonging to Abrobadar, was painted orange. Moash later had the Plate repainted to be blue with red accents. His eyes started to lighten a week after receiving the Shards, though he still did not consider himself lighteyes.

Attempted Regicide and Desertion

Kaladin: "Sometimes lives must be spent for the greater good."
Moash: "Exactly!"
Kaladin: "That's what Amaram said. In regards to my men, whom he killed to cover up his theft."

―Conversation between Kaladin and Moash on the topic of assassinating Elhokar

Moash became involved in a plot with Graves to assassinate King Elhokar Kholin, which was ultimately thwarted by Kaladin. Moash took his Plate and Blade and fled the warcamps with Graves after their failed attempt.

They head out into the wilderness with a caravan of stolen goods. Graves intended to introduce Moash to the Diagram, hoping that bringing back a full Shardbearer could compensate for his plan's failure. A short while into the trip, they were attacked by a group of Fused. Graves was killed, and Moash attempted to fight with his Shardblade, but deemed it too unwieldy. He got hold of a spear and was able to kill Leshwi, one of the Fused.

Upon seeing this, the other Fused gave Moash a choice, he could give up his weapons and come with them, or die at their hands. They did this because they thought that Leshwi would want to have revenge once she was reborn. Leshwi did not want revenge however, considering Moash to have great passion.

Servant of the Fused

by rspixart

Being confronted by Renarin

As a slave, he pulled supply sledges across the country. On one of his routes, he saw a group of singers pulling sledges like the other slaves. He stood up for the group, gaining more respect among the Fused and the singers. Eventually, he joined the assault on Kholinar as a warrior for the Fused's army.

In Kholinar, he and his singer companions fought with Kholinar's Wall Guard. At the climax of the fight, Moash found his way to King Elhokar, and stabbed him through the chest. He then stabbed the king again in the eye, just before Elhokar could finish swearing the First Ideal. His vengeance fulfilled, he looked up to see Kaladin, who was in Kholinar with the king on a mission to save the city. Moash saluted his former captain, who had frozen in shock at what happened, and left.

Following the siege, he was put to work as a laborer clearing out the debris. There he was approached by a Fused, Hnanan, who gave him a bright golden knife with a sapphire attached to it. The Fused then sent him to assassinate the Herald Jezrien, whom he killed with the knife. Some time after the successful assassination, the Fused, Leshwi, offered Moash Jezrien's Honorblade as well as a new identity. He accepted, took the singer name Vyre, which meant He Who Quiets, and used the Honorblade to join the Fused in the air.

A year later, Moash took part in the Fused assault on Hearthstone, where he murdered Roshone in front of Kaladin, who went into a state of battle shock. Moash then attempted to persuade Kaladin to commit suicide. He was stopped by Renarin, who showed Moash a vision of the man he could have been had he not betrayed Bridge Four, a Windrunner of the Third Ideal, causing Moash to flee.

In Kholinar, he sat in on a session of the Nine, where he warns them that Kaladin will foil their plan to occupy Urithiru. Later, he was approached by Odium, who intended to break Kaladin and questioned Moash on the best ways of tormenting his former captain.

by Khaedart

After being blinded by Navani

The Occupation of Urithiru

Moash: "I am unchained."
Odium: "And yet, you think so often of Kaladin."
Moash: "I am … mostly unchained."

―Moash speaking with Odium

During the occupation of Urithiru, Vyre used his Honorblade to operate the Oathgate between Kholinar and the tower for the Fused. When the uprising to take Urithiru back began, he set a trap for Kaladin in his family's clinic, but the trap was instead sprung by Teft and Lift. Moash injured Lift, then used a raysium dagger containing anti-Stormlight to permanently kill Teft's spren, Phendorana, before killing Teft. He handed Lirin to the Fused as insurance against Kaladin, ordering them to kill Lirin in front of his son should Kaladin fight back.

Moash then descended to the basement of Urithiru to kill Queen Navani. Nearly succeeding, he was ambushed by an injured Raboniel, which gave Navani time to bond the Sibling. After restoring the tower, she used its Light to incapacitate Moash and forcibly return his pain to him. Moash fled, hating himself for what he had done to Teft and realizing that he did not truly regret the murder, only the guilt. He eventually broke his spine in a fall and nearly died before being rescued by a few Heavenly Ones and given Stormlight. When he recovered, he found that he was blind.

Trivia

• Though Moash's name is similar to Moshe Feder (Brandon's editor) it is not actually a cameo.
• Moash's eye color is initially (and erroneously) written as dark green in The Way of Kings. In Words of Radiance, his eyes are said to be brown. Peter Ahlstrom has confirmed that Moash's eyes are brown and that the first book is incorrect.
• The name Moash was originally a singer name.
• Had he not begun killing for Odium, Moash could have become a Windrunner of at least the Third Ideal.

Notes

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