Naru Gwei
| Naru Gwei | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Path | Path of Grasping Sky |
| Rank | Underlord |
| Faction | Blackflame Empire |
| First Appearance | Skysworn |
| Origin | Blackflame Empire, Northern Ashwind Continent |
| Family | |
You wouldn’t know it by his looks, but Naru Gwei is a member of the Naru Clan, the Imperial Ruling House of the Blackflame Empire. He appears in the novels beginning with book 4, Skysworn
Brief
Naru Gwei is the Captain of The Skysworn, the imperial security and defense organization for the Blackflame Empire. He ranks among the strongest Underlords in the Empire. In book 4, Skysworn he was ranked number 2. His is on the sacred arts Path of Grasping Sky, which develops wings for a goldsign.
Family
The dowager empress, presently retired in seclusion, is Naru Gwei’s sister (or sister-in-law?). Thus, Naru Gwei’s nephew is the Emperor Naru Huan. His niece is Naru Saeya, the emperor’s younger sister. He is also related to Naru Jing and (by-marriage) to her husband, Cassias Arelius.
His Paranoia
In book 4, Naru Gwei shows an absurd paranoia with respect to Eithan Arelius. He even thinks Eithan wants to seed the Skysworn with warriors loyal to Arelius, including a Blackflame and a Blood Shadow, so he contemplates killing young Lindon and Yerin.
Now, the Blackflame and the Blood Shadow’s host were in his power. He could rid the Empire of both of them. He stood still, thinking, as Lindon squirmed against his manacles beside him. He could kill them both in an instant. And then what would happen? (Skysworn ch 13)
Skysworn Duties
Gwei’s responsibilities as Skysworn Captain revolve around safeguarding, protecting, and defending the Blackflame Empire. His organization also guards against high crime and illegal use of sacred arts from within the empire. Like all Skysworn members, he is known by deep emerald green armor. His Skysworn headquarters office is located at the top of Starsweep Tower on the mobile cloudcity Stormrock.
The Skysworn’s flying city of Stormrock was built on a massive green cloudbank. Guard towers loomed over forbidding walls of black stone, even as one tower rose over the rest of the city. Starsweep Tower. Headquarters of the Skysworn. Other cloudships, Thousand-Mile Clouds, carriages pulled by winged creatures, and flying sacred artists had to stop at the gates of the city, but Naru Gwei’s cloudship soared over the walls without even slowing down. They headed straight to the highest floor of Starsweep Tower, where a broad path of stone jutted out like a bridge to nowhere. The dock for his ship. (Underlord)
Gwei’s Appearance
Captain Naru Gwei has well-developed emerald wings (goldsign) and keeps a massive slab of a sword slung on his back. He has matted down, greasy gray hair and burn scars on one side of his face and eye. Typically, he appears worn-out weary and is frequently seen chewing on a leaf.
Gwei’s Character
The Captain is a man of few words. His first and main concern is the well-being of the empire. He cannot tolerate the company of Eithan Arelius. In fact, at his lowest ebb, he manifests paranoid suspicion regarding Eithan and his "kids". He also shows poor judgment by trusting in Bai Rou, but he does occasionally show some wisdom.
