Aradan Yomen
SupportingA bald, middle-aged man with a completely shaved head covered in intricate black obligator tattoos that sweep across his eyes, forehead, and face, the patterns appearing to curl toward the single sparkling silvery bead of atium tied prominently to his brow. His thoughtful eyes watch with calm intensity from within the tattooed mask while he wears the dark, flowing robes of his religious station that mark him as both holy man and king. He carries himself with straight-backed composure and an aura of disciplined authority, his features reflecting the deep warm hues of sunset when standing near a window.
Aradan Yomen first appears in The Hero of Ages as the last Obligator-king of Fadrex City, a living emblem of the Lord Ruler’s theocratic order. Over the course of the novel he transitions from a rigid, atium-crowned zealot who openly defies Elend Venture’s New Empire to a reluctant ally who accepts the truth about Ruin and helps safeguard the atium cache. By the story’s end he has shed the mantle of divine kingship, yet his disciplined intellect and administrative skill position him as a stabilizing force in the post-Catacendre world.
Physical Description
A bald, middle-aged man with a completely shaved head covered in intricate black obligator tattoos that sweep across his eyes, forehead, and face, the patterns appearing to curl toward the single sparkling silvery bead of atium tied prominently to his brow. His thoughtful eyes watch with calm intensity from within the tattooed mask while he wears the dark, flowing robes of his religious station that mark him as both holy man and king. He carries himself with straight-backed composure and an aura of disciplined authority, his features reflecting the deep warm hues of sunset when standing near a window.
Evolution
The Hero of Ages
A bald, middle-aged man with a completely shaved head covered in intricate black obligator tattoos that sweep across his eyes, forehead, and face, the patterns appearing to curl toward the single sparkling silvery bead of atium tied prominently to his brow. His thoughtful eyes watch with calm intensity from within the tattooed mask while he wears the dark, flowing robes of his religious station that mark him as both holy man and king. He carries himself with straight-backed composure and an aura of disciplined authority, his features reflecting the deep warm hues of sunset when standing near a window.
- Crowned himself king of Fadrex and fortified the city against Elend’s siege, wearing atium as a symbol of divine authority.
- Captured Vin and Elend during a parley, intending to execute them as enemies of the Lord Ruler.
- Discovered the truth of Ruin’s manipulation when Elend revealed the Inquisitor plot and the fake atium stash.
- Agreed to open the city gates and surrender the real atium cache to aid the battle against Marsh and the koloss.
- Renounced his claim to kingship after the Catacendre, choosing instead to serve as an administrator under Elend’s restored government.
Relationships
Begins as an ideological foe who brands Elend a heretic and usurper; after the revelation of Ruin’s influence, Yomen cedes Fadrex and lends his bureaucratic expertise to Elend’s fledgling empire.
Initially worships the Lord Ruler as an infallible deity and seeks to restore his theocracy; upon learning of Ruin’s corruption of the Inquisitors, Yomen’s faith is shattered, freeing him to accept a secular role.
Book Appearances
The Hero of Ages
First appears Ch 26