| “ | I always felt that there was more for me to do. A greater destiny. Surely I wasn’t meant to just live life in an endless rotation on the run from the light. I was important. In these books, I learned what I was to do, offworlder... I was destined to unite all of my people. | „ |
| ~ The Cinder King to Nomad. |
| “ | And then, when the city returns, they will see me for what I am. Immortal. I will flay those who betrayed me. None will ever stand against me again. Not while I wield the beautiful sword of the offworlder. I will unify everyone. A single, glorious city, ruled by one man. | „ |
| ~ The Cinder King moments before his death. |
The Cinder King is the main antagonist of the Brandon Sanderson novel The Sunlit Man. He was a power-hungry man from the planet of Canticle who met and murdered an off-worlder, stealing his otherworldly encyclopedias. Armed with the newfound knowledge, he formed an alliance with the TimeTellers hidden on his planet and found out how the create the Charred, an army of vicious warriors forced to obey him. Seeking to control the entire planet, he created the nation of Union and began to expand. He was eventually put into conflict with another off-worlder called Nomad.
Appearance[]
The Cinder King was a tall man with glowing red eyes. He wore a long black and had a cinder heart; a glowing ember in his chest that glowed through his shirt.
Personality[]
| “ | We had violence. Crimes of passion. Arguments. But no actual killers. No trained ones. That was the Cinder King’s innovation. | „ |
| ~ Rebeke about the Cinder King. |
The Cinder King chief trait was his self-centeredness. He egotistically believed that he was superior to everyone else, being unsatisfied with his existence even before growing more powerful. Discovering information about other planets amplified these feelings of superiority, and as he gained more power, he began to think that he was simply destined for greatness that made him better than the people he ruled over. However, despite his seemingly confident persona, he was somewhat insecure and was constantly trying to prove his power to others and himself, as well as being very paranoid. Despite this, he frequently overestimated himself.
The Cinder King believed that separate nations should not exist. He was megalomaniacal and believed that the world was meant to be fully under his control. Because of this firm belief he showed no empathy or care for any other being. He took pleasure in the suffering of his enemies, largely because it made him feel powerful.
Biography[]
Rise to Power[]
The Cinder King was originally a normal executioner living on the world of Canticle, where the sun was so hot it melted everything it touched, and the people of the world had to constantly flee it. The Cinder King's job was to tie down sacrifices to be killed by the sun and turned into power sources called sunhearts.
One day, he encountered an offworlder attempting to make contact. Thinking he was a demon, the cinder King killed him, before taking his encyclopedias. After reading them and receiving information about other worlds, he used this newfound information to found Union and begin gathering more power.
The Cinder King was somehow able to find a secret facility under the surface of his planet inhabited by offworlder researchers called the TimeTellers. He made a deal with them: he would bring them sunhearts, and they would give him advance technology. They agreed and taught him how the create the Charred by placing technological artifacts called cinderhearts inside of prisoners and some of his randomly selected citizens, turning them into vicious mindless, slaves. Using the Charred he took over most of the planet.
Fall From Power[]
Sometime later, the Cinder King ended capturing another offworlder, who he attempted futilely to interrogate before discovering the man didn't speak his language. He then attempted to publicly kill him and turn him into a Charred which failed do to him having a different anatomy. Instead, he just tried to kill him, was interrupted by rebels from the town of Beacon. The offworlder escaped, but the Cinder King set out to find him.
The Cinder King eventually found Nomad and brought him onto his ship. He offered him a job in Union, but the man, named Nomad, refused. As the Cinder King revealed himself to be a liar, Nomad became infuriated with him and escaped, going to the join the Beaconites.
A few days later, the Cinder King oversaw the collection of some sunhearts, predicting something would go wrong. He was proved right when he was ambushed by Nomad and some Beaconites. The Cinder King had his Charred attack them, but Nomad responded by killing several of them, scaring the Cinder King into retreating.
The Cinder King soon discovered that the Beaconites had found the TimeTellers secret facility and were bringing all their forces to it. The Cinder King set out to defend it with his forces. He ended up crushing the Beaconites, killing most of them and deciding to leave the rest of them to the sun. He took the apparent leader Rebeke and set ordered her to be turned into a Charred.
As he prepared to have all of his enemies destroyed, the Cinder King was attacked by Nomad. Hoping to help grow his influence, he drugged Nomad so he couldn't fight and challenged him to a battle, while having himself filmed for his followers. The two battled at the top of his ship and eventually fell off into the muddy ground bellow. While on the surface, the Cinder King saw his ship flown off. He continued trying to kill Nomad but failed when Nomad stole all of his power and teleported from the planet, leaving him to die in the sun.
Powers and Abilities[]
Being native from Canticle, the Cinder King had the ability to take investure, a source of energy, from those he touched. He used this to kill those he touched and eventually grew powerful enough to extend his own life and gain superhuman strength. He also healed quickly and was an exceptional shot.
Thanks to the Timetellers, he gained the ability to control create and control the Charred.
Trivia[]
- Throughout the book, the Cinder King is never called by his real name.
External Links[]
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Shards of Adonalsium Scadrial Roshar Lumarians Canticle Threnody Others |
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