| Azure | |
|---|---|
 Azure | |
| Biographical information | |
| Ethnicity | Nalthisian |
| Nationality | Nalthisian |
| Gender | Female |
| Status | Alive |
| Abilities | Worldhopper |
| Social Information | |
| Aliases | Vivenna |
| Title(s) | Highmarshal |
| Occupation | Soldier |
| Appears in | Warbreaker, Oathbringer |
Azure is Highmarshal of the Wall Guard in Kholinar. She has no commander above her, not even Queen Aesudan Kholin.[1] She joined the Wall Guard because she thought they would have information on Vasher.[2]
Yokska tells Elhokar that she hasn't seen him; that he doesn't come down from the wall much. Kaladin suspects that Azure is the one responsible for feeding the city, for providing grain to the people.[3]
According to Beard, he does rounds every night around dinner time, checking on each barracks.[4]
Members of the Wall Guard refer to Highmarshal Azure as "he" and "him" because women are not warriors in Vorin society. Still, they find her to be incredible; when they lost their former commander, she led a group who held the wall when the Cult of Moments tried to seize the city gates, fighting like a Voidbringer, holding aloft a gleaming Shardblade.[4]
The first thing that Azure did when she took command was to have the Wall Guard attack the low monastery, by the eastern gates, in order to get the only Soulcaster that wasn't in the palace. She tells them that they have to close their ears to voices coming from the palace. That they can't be taken by them unless they listen.[5]
Azure is curious about Kaladin, the lighteyed man with slave brands. She asks him how he is finding his time in the Wall Guard, to which he replies that it's a well-run army.[6] Stating that he has a regal name, she also asks him what his house is, to which he replies that they just call him Stormblessed.[7]
She is excited to learn from him of the Oathgate at the palace and wants to get it started and working to save the people of the city.[7]
Unfortunately, Azure also learns that reinforcing troops await the other side of the Oathgate.[7] She and the Wall Guard join in the assault on the palace.[8] All too soon, the booby-trapped Oathgate drops Azure, Shallan, Kaladin, and Adolin into Shadesmar.[9]
Azure says, "Damnation. I hate this place."[9] She tells her companions that she is from a far land and that she came to Roshar about a year ago, hunting a man, a criminal. She used a portal between realms - Cultivation's perpendicularity in the Horneater Peaks. She had spren guides and traveled by a ship sailed by spren.[10]
When Adolin asks if she is a Knight Radiant or a Herald, Azure replies, "I'm just a woman who has been constantly out of her league since adolescence." When Adolin and Kaladin look skeptical, Azure says, "Really. There's no spren here for my Blade because it's flawed. I can't summon or dismiss it. She's ... but a pale copy of what you carry."*[2]
While on Ico's ship in Shadesmar, Azure stands upon the deck, holding on to the railing for dear life and occasionally shoots distrusting glares at the Reachers. Either she doesn't like being on a ship, or she doesn't trust the spren. Perhaps both.[11]
Before Azure takes leave of her companions in Shadesmar, she tells them that she'd come hunting a Shardblade that bleeds black smoke (i.e., Nightblood) and the one who brought it to Roshar.[12] When she does take her leave, she tells Kaladin and Adolin, "When you boys next meet the swordsman who taught you that morning kata, warn him that I'm looking for him."[13]
Appearance
Vivenna possesses the Royal Locks, able to grow her hair and change its color at will. Hair color can also inadvertently change with emotion - anger or embarrassment (red), fear (white).[14]
The highmarshal is of average height for an Alethi woman, maybe just under, and wears her hair straight and short, reaching halfway down her cheeks. Her eyes are orange. She wears a glittering chain, a bright tabard and an appropriately azure cloak, lighter than the traditional Kholin blue, with a mail coif down around the neck, helm carried in hand. She wears a side sword with a glistening silver basket hilt that has an otherworldly look about it. She is lean and grim, and has a couple of serious scars on her face that make her look older than she actually is.[4]
She also wears gloves and a breastplate, her face and build obviously female. She appears to be very Alethi, with her skin tone and hair, her eyes a glimmering light orange.[6]
Dressed in armor, helm under her arm, face crossed by a pair of scars, she is younger than Shallan had expected.[15]
While in Shadesmar, Adolin watches Azure's hair dim from an Alethi jet-black to a faint grey.[10] Later, her hair recovered its dark coloring, and it seemed to him that her scars had faded. She seemed almost like a spren.[2]
Later ...
| “ | "That uniform is well tailored, but the blue doesn't work with her skin. She needs a brighter shade. The breastplate is overly much, like she's trying to prove something. I do like the cape though." | ” |
–Adolin to Shallan[16] | ||
Character
According to Kaladin, Azure is tough to read. She visits the barracks every night, but never talks about herself.[17]
Characteristics
Vivenna is descended from a Returned,[18] which is why she can change the color of her hair.[19]
On Roshar, she eats men's curry with gusto.[6]
Kaladin thinks that Azure must have spent time as a mercenary out west because Sigzil once told him that women fought in the west, particularly among mercenaries.[6]
When Kaladin asks her why she won't let anyone talk about the fact that she's a woman, she tells him that the men came up with the game on their own. That they're Alethi, so they needed an excuse for why they're listening to a woman giving military orders. Pretending there's some mystery focuses them on that, instead of on masculine pride. She finds the entire thing silly.[6]
Syl characterizes her as a bounty hunter.[20]
Azure's Blade
*Azure's Blade is a side sword with a glistening silver basket. Men report seeing it cut through stone, but it has no gemstone on the pommel or cross guard.[17][5] Kaladin thinks it may be an Honorblade like that of the Assassin in White.[17] The Voidbringers are afraid of it.[21] When she stabs an enemy soldier, his eyes don't burn, though his skin does go a strange ashen grey as he dies.[8]
Abilities
In Warbreaker, Vivenna/Azure acquires the ability to Awaken and Command objects. She has since utilized her cloak as an animated weapon.
A guard reported that it had felt like they had a spren at their backs, holding them up and helping them fight.[4] After a fight defending the city wall, Kaladin notices that Azure had her cloak off and held oddly in one hand, wrapped around her forearm, with part of it draping down below.[21] At the fight at the palace, Adolin notices that curiously, Azure had removed her cloak and wrapped it half around her left arm.[8]
History
Azure first appears as Vivenna (age 22) in Warbreaker. She is firstborn, daughter of Dedelin, king of Idris, with (in birth order) brother Ridger, sister Fafen, and sister Siri (age 17). Vivenna is betrothed, by treaty, to the God King of Hallandren, an enemy nation.[22] When the time came, Dedelin couldn't bear to send Vivenna, and so sent Siri instead.[23] Vivenna decided to sneak off to T'Telir, Hallandren to rescue Siri from the evil tyrant. When Vivenna met Dedelin's spy - Lemex, in T'Telir, Lemex was dying and transferred his Biochromatic Breaths to Vivenna. Vivenna, being a follower of the religion of Austre, God of Colors, considered this to be evil.
Later, Vivenna is duped by mercenaries working for the faction that wants war between Idris and Hallandren. Vasher kidnaps Vivenna, then makes her pick up Nightblood, which makes her vomit. When Vasher leaves, Vivenna uses Breath for the first time to Awaken and Command her bonds to untie. When she gets back to the mercenaries, they reveal their true allegiance, but Vivenna escapes.[24]
She eventually teams up with Vasher,[25] who gives her a dueling sword.[26]
In a fight, Vivenna gets run through her shoulder with a dueling blade.[27] In the epilogue, Vivenna departs T'Telir with Vasher, who has Nightblood in his possession.
Color References
- "I'm missing something. Like white on black ... ."[21] (This is the same as that of Zahel.)[28]
- "That's the entire army. I'd bet my red life on it."[21]
- "That's going to be crimson to break. We'll fight for every inch."[8]
Notes
Kaladin initially thought that "he" would likely be some middling officer who had been thrust into command during the chaos of the riots, which made him all the more impressive.[4]
Then, he thought he might have found Azure to be another Radiant.[4]
Azure and Adolin both had Vasher/Zahel as their swordmaster.[2]
References
- ↑ Oathbringer, 61. Nightmare Made Manifest
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Oathbringer, 93. Kata
- ↑ Oathbringer, 62. Research
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Oathbringer, 70. Highmarshal Azure
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Oathbringer, 73. Telling Which Stories
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Oathbringer, 78. The Revel
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Oathbringer, 81. Ithi And Her Sister
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Oathbringer, 83. Crimson To Break
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Oathbringer, 87. This Place
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Oathbringer, 89. Damnation
- ↑ Oathbringer, 99. Reachers
- ↑ Oathbringer, 108. Honor's Path
- ↑ Oathbringer, 110. A Million Stars
- ↑ Warbreaker, Ch. 10
- ↑ Oathbringer, 82. The Girl Who Stood Up
- ↑ Oathbringer, 97. Riino
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Oathbringer, 77. Stormshelter
- ↑ Returned
- ↑ Warbreaker, Ch. 51
- ↑ Oathbringer, 102. Celebrant
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Oathbringer, 79. Echoes Of Thunder
- ↑ Warbreaker, Ch. 1
- ↑ Warbreaker, Ch. 10
- ↑ Warbreaker, Ch. 35
- ↑ Warbreaker, Ch. 43
- ↑ Warbreaker, Ch. 46
- ↑ Warbreaker, Ch. 56
- ↑ Oathbringer, 16. Wrapped Three Times
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