Vey
| Vey | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Títulos | Lord Merchant[2] | ||||
| Grupo | Taishin, The Guild | ||||
| Etnia | de Kerzta | ||||
| Nacionalidad | de Lossand | ||||
| Mundo natal | Taldain | ||||
| Universo | Cosmere | ||||
Vey is the current Lord Merchant of the Guild. He is in charge of the banking industry of Lossand. He resides at the Golden Market of the Guild. He has a vote on the council of the Taishin.
Appearance and Personality
He has tan Kerztian skin and long brown hair.[3] He wears the colors of the Guild, purple and white.
History
In the first vote of the Taishin, Vey voted to dissolve the Diem.[3] His Profession, the Guild, was the only Profession which was continuing to pay tribute to the Diem.
Some time later, Kenton visited Vey with Ais and Aarik to try and change his mind ahead of the second vote on the fate of the Diem. After waiting for two hours in Vey's waiting room, Kenton became bored and decided to play with his sand while waiting. This infuriated Vey, who immediately burst out into the waiting room and yelled at Kenton for practicing his "unholy art" in his office. Vey then agreed to speak with Kenton in his office, but only to get him to stop using sand mastery. In the office, Kenton bluntly asked Vey to vote for the Diem and suggested that they make a deal for sand masters of the Diem to serve the Guild, similar to the deal Kenton had already made with the Lord Artisan. Vey replied that such a deal would be impossible because, as a Kertzian, he believed that sand mastery is unholy and that it would be unethical for him to profit from it. He then went on to accuse Ais of betraying her people by guarding Kenton, which provoked Kenton into mastering some sand and resulted in a shouting match between the two, after which Kenton left the office without any success.[2]
Later, Kenton tried again with a different tactic. He went back to Vey's office and told Vey's clerk, Grelin, that he wanted to make amends with Vey after their last meeting. After another long wait, Kenton got up and loudly implied that he knew the reason why Vey kept paying the tribute to the Duem. Vey then agreed to a meeting, but called Kenton's bluff and Kenton was forced to admit that he didn't know the secret. Kenton then claims that he'll figure the secret out eventually and tries to blackmail Very into supporting the Diem, but Vey is unfazed.[4]
Four days before the final vote, Vey left Kezare to stay out of Kenton's reach and instructed his nephew, Dockmaster NaiMeer, to stop Kenton from following him. Khriss found out through Nilto that he had gone to Lraezare, but when she and Kenton attempt to secure passage on a ship, NaiMeer refuses them. While Kenton and NaiMeer were arguing, Delius arrived, used his position as Lord Admiral to commandeer a ship to Lraezare, and invited Kenton to join him.[1]
Upon arriving in Lraezare, Aarik discovered that Vey was staying in the house of Lokkall, head of the Shipowners' Circle. Kenton and his friends then traveled there, but Lokkall claimed not to know where Vey was. Kenton, frustrated, yelled out that if Vey didn't speak with him, he would turn over the Diem's ledger, that listed 700,000 lak as the "amount owed," over to the Lady Judge. Vey then appeared from a room upstairs and told Kenton that they can speak privately. Kenton went up to join him and took Ais with him as a witness. Kenton then confronted him and confirmed that Vey owed the 700,000 lak to the Diem, not the reverse, which prompted Vey to groan and tell Kenton the story of Hennin.[1]
Hennin became Lord Merchant when two of his relatives died leaving him two separate fortunes. The Lord Mastrell of his time started a personal account with Hennin, and told Hennin to put the Diem's tribute money into the account. Hennin lost his fortune causing his rule to end. When the new Lord Merchant took over he discovered that a vast sum was now owed to the Diem, the original tributes and a large amount of interest, and since a new Lord Merchant inherits all of the incumbent's debts as well as his fortune, the debt has increased to the point where it is impossible to pay back. The Lord Mastrell was willing to keep the debt secret so long as the Lord Merchant kept paying the tribute. The Lady Judge's predecessor knew about the debt and ruled that the Lord Merchant must pay the debt in full when the Lord Mastrell asks for it.[1]
Instead of demanding that Vey pay the debt, Kenton forgave the debt, thus earning Vey's respect. Kenton then asked for a loan from the Guild to cover the Diem's current debts, promising Vey that the Diem would pay back the loan with the money they earn working for the artisans and that the interest on the loan will make a lot of money for the Guild. Vey accepted the offer, saying he could call the fact that the Guild wouldn't make that money if the Diem were disolved a threat to justify the loan to the rest of the Guild, and agreed to vote for the Diem.[1] When the Taishin voted on the Diem again following Kenton's duel with Drile, Vey voted as promised and it is implied that Gennel voted for the Diem due to Vey's influence on him.[5]
Relationships
- Delius: Due to their history, Delius hates Vey with a passion and considers him to be the representation of all that is evil in the world.[6]
- Kenton: While initially Vey was openly hostile to Kenton,[2] after Kenton forgave his 700,000 lak debt, they seem to become friends.[1]
- Gennel: Gennel is terrified of Vey, and does whatever Vey tells him to do.[1] It is not known why this is the case.
Quotes
“His name was Hennin. An idiot of a Lord Merchant who acquired the position unearned after two relatives died and left him separate fortunes. ”
—Vey[1]
“Thus each Quarter the Lord Merchant sends two thousand lak of his personal fortune to the Diem which the Lord Mastrell returns with instructions that it be deposited in the private account, adding to the blasted debt. ”
—Vey[1]