Delius
| Delius | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Titles | Lord Admiral (former) | ||||
| Groups | Taishin (former), Helm | ||||
| Ethnicity | Daysider | ||||
| Nationality | Lossandin | ||||
| Homeworld | Taldain | ||||
| Universe | Cosmere | ||||
Delius is a former Lord Admiral, the Taisha of the Helm, on the Dayside of Taldain.[1]
Appearance and Personality
Delius has long brown hair stubble on his face. He maintains the facade of a drunken sot, constantly drinking, or as he puts it, wasting wine.
History
“Yes, I'd committed the same sin twice--the sin of success.”
—Delius to Kenton.[2]
When he was a young man Delius was a member of the Guild. He was very successful and was 20,000 lak short of becoming the next Lord Merchant. Vey suggested to him that they finance a lakstone mine together. Delius put all of his fortune and effort into the project to no avail. After five unsuccessful years Delius, broke, was forced to sell the mine to his partner, Vey. One week later Vey found a vein of lakstone, and with the fortune he soon earned from the mine, he became the new Lord Merchant.[2]
“I had hundreds of lak worth of ships and they took it all from me, Kenton. I'm going to make them regret that decision...”
—Delius to Kenton.[2]
Delius quit the Guild in disgust and joined the Helm. Within a decade he had amassed a large fleet of merchant ships, one of the largest such fleets on all of Dayside. However, during his time at the Helm he neglected the importance of the Shipowners' Circle who took all of his fortune away from him by "honoring" him with the position of Lord Admiral. As Lord Admiral he was not allowed any possessions and the Helm provided him with three things: a house, a ship when he needed it, and as much food and as he wanted. As soon as the shock of it settled in, Delius began plotting his revenge and comeback. As revenge for what they did to him he took on the role of a sot, drinking bottle after bottle of expensive wine at the Helm's expense. He had his son buy up a new fleet of ships in his own name to get around the Helm's restrictions on what he could own. He "hired" his son as his steward and prepared documents that, when he signed them, would transfer ownership of the fleet from his son to himself. He had his son carry these documents with him at all times and bided his time, waiting for an opportunity to strike back at the Helm.[2]
“As long as I'm working against Vey I know I am doing something good--even if I don't pay much attention to what is actually happening”
—Delius to Kenton.[1]
Due to his hatred for Vey, throughout his time as Taisha he would oppose him in every way he could, in every vote of the council he would vote for the opposite of what Vey did, regardless of the consequences for himself or the Helm.[1] In the first vote of the Taishin on the subject, he was the only one to vote for the Diem's retention.[3]
The helm sent two messengers to visit his home in Kezare to attempt to convince him to curb his drinking due to the cost and disgrace it was causing to their Profession. He called their suggestions boring and refused to listen to them. As the two messengers were leaving Lord Mastrell Kenton arrived with Aarik and Ais to meet with him. Delius offered each of them some wine to drink, Kenton refused, but Aarik happily accepted.[1]
Quotes
“ Boring, boring, and boring! No, I shall face this world drunk, or I shan't face it at all. Thank you for the suggestion, but since I judge it to be inane, I shall ignore it. ”
—Delius to two messengers sent by the Helm.[1]
“ Steward, do you think we could knock down a few buildings to make this view more picturesque? ”
— Delius to his son.[1]
“ This world has given me little to believe in, Lord Mastrell. Those I thought were my friends betrayed me. The Profession I thought would protect me instead ripped my life away in exchange for this foolish mockery. A lesson for you, Perhaps? ”
— Delius to Kenton.[2]