Jarl Brum

Jarl Brum
art by a_smurf
Biographical Information
Status	Alive
Relatives	Hanne Brum (child)
Relationships	Ylva Brum (wife)
Physical Information
Gender	Male
Hair Color	Blond with gray at the temples
Eye Color	Blue
Affiliation
Nation	Fjerda
Occupation	Drüskelle commander (former)
Organizations	Drüskelle
Appearances
First seen	Six of Crows
Last seen	Rule of Wolves

"Your power cannot touch us, witch, and our cause is true." — Jarl Brum, Six of Crows

Jarl Brum was the commander of the drüskelle, the Fjerdan order dedicated to hunting and eradicating Grisha. He was Matthias Helvar's mentor and Hanne Brum's father.

Biography

Brum earned a reputation among the Ravkan Second Army as a ruthless, innovative witch-hunter, having doubled the ranks of the drüskelle during his tenure and pursued Grisha not just in Ravka, but in other lands and on the sea as well. Fifteen years prior to the events of Six of Crows, Brum built facilities in the old vault of the Ice Court's treasury for experimenting on Grisha, trying to control Grisha to use against other Grisha in battle.

When Matthias Helvar's family were killed by Inferni, Brum recruited him for the drüskelle and became his mentor and father figure.

Six of Crows

Nina Zenik recalls meeting Jarl Brum in the hold of a drüskelle ship after she was captured by Matthias on the Wandering Isle. She assumed he had perished at sea during the storm that destroyed the ship.

Nina is horrified to learn Brum is still alive when she finds herself face-to-face with him at the Ice Court's Royal Palace during Kaz Brekker's mission to rescue Bo Yul-Bayur. Matthias Helvar realizes Brum recognizes Nina and pretends he is still loyal to the drüskelle to gain Brum's trust, rescue Nina, and find Yul-Bayur. Meanwhile, Nina pretends to flirt with Brum in order to learn the location of Yul-Bayur. Brum takes her to the White Island's treasury and shows her Grisha that Fjerda has imprisoned and is experimenting on with jurda parem, then locks her in one of the cells and threatens to use parem on her.

Brum then speaks with Matthias, who is shocked that Brum is happily using parem-drugged Grisha in his war. Matthias realizes that for Brum, the drüskelle cause is not a holy one and he actually enjoys torturing Grisha. After Brum explains his plans for the Grisha and offers to welcome Matthias back into the drüskelle, Matthias chokes Brum into unconsciousness, takes his key to the vault, and returns to free Nina from her cell.

Brum escapes the treasury after Nina, Matthias, and Kuwei Yul-Bo blow up the vault. He, along with a group of drüskelle wearing gray metal masks to protect them from Grisha power, meet the Crows at the Djerholm harbor. Brum shoots Matthias in the chest, but Nina heals him instantly, having taken parem. Nina uses the unconscious bodies of other Fjerdan soldiers to remove the masks from Brum and his drüskelle, leaving them vulnerable to her Heartrender power. Matthias convinces Nina to spare their lives and she acquiesces, though she tears the scalp from his head.

Following Matthias's assassination, Brum disciplines Joran for killing him and assigns him as Rasmus Grimjer's bodyguard.

King of Scars

He comes to visit his daughter Hanne when he gets word of her getting in trouble once again. He's in the Wellmother's office, his back to the door, when Hanne and Nina enter the room. Nina recognizes him instantly, even from behind, but with her disguise as Mila Jandersdat, Brum fails to recognize her. Nina reflects on their last meeting and notes that someone took time to sew his scalp back on after her attack and that they had considerable skill.

Brum questions the disguised Nina, pointing out the factory breach and their sudden arrival. He asks questions on her age, her widow status, and her fear. Nina flatters him at one point, calling him a "great man", and realizes Jarl Brum enjoys it: having a soft, weak woman who bows to his rule and stature. He demands to question the other two people Nina arrived with—Adrik Zhabin and Leoni Hilli—and allows Hanne to continue her lessons.

Brum eats a private dinner with Nina and Hanne, arguing that Hanne belongs at the Ice Court and should follow the traditional behavior of Fjerdan women. He finds Nina in the hall and they exchange a few words before Brum departs.

Despite having said that he would be leaving, Brum goes to the factory housing drugged Grisha women and orders the guards not to let anyone pass without his permission. When Nina and her friends enter, Brum aims a pistol at Leoni and threatens her with parem. Hanne knocks him unconscious with a wrench and insists on carrying him outside. Brum is dragged into the woods and awakened by Nina and Hanne after the explosion. Believing Nina to be his savior, Brum introduces her to his wife, Ylva, welcoming Nina into their household.

Rule of Wolves

"They are giving their allegiance to a foreign power, a power with whom we are about to be at war. This new religion is more of a threat than any battlefield victory could be. If we lose the people, we lose the fight before it even begins." — Brum's enmity toward Ravka and its Saints, Rule of Wolves

At some point, Brum finds Magnus Opjer, Nikolai Lantsov's biological father, and imprisons him in a cell near his office.

Back in the Ice Court with Ylva, Hanne, and Nina, Brum heads to a show in Djerholm for the Vinetkälla celebrations. However, when supposed Saints interrupt the play, Brum loses his temper and orders the crowd to disperse, then demands the names of everyone in the marketplace. Ylva scolds her husband for reacting so strongly. In response, Brum criticizes the Saints and the Apparat. A soldier hands Brum a letter with news from the war.

Enke Bergstrin, the new Wellmother, arrives to see Nina and Hanne, and Brum introduces her to them. He defends Hanne and warns the Wellmother not to accuse his child in the future. After Hanne enters Heartwood, Brum approaches Nina at the party and compliments her, seeking more power through their interactions. Brum also makes disparaging comments about Prince Rasmus Grimjer. After Rasmus collapses in Hanne's arms, Brum allows the prince to meet Hanne and Nina. However, following Nina's conversation with Queen Agathe, Brum appears skeptical of Nina's claimed identity.

Brum and Redvin arrive at the hunt and mock Rasmus for not being able to participate. Hanne fetches Brum when Rasmus begins to abuse his power over Joran, then changes the subject after Joran pleads for the commander not to see. Brum takes Hanne and Nina to the kennels upon Hanne's request and leaves them there after an alarm is triggered.

Brum is congratulated following Os Alta's bombing, and he demands that Nina leave her room to see the queen. He later arranges for his family and Nina to be taken to Leviathan's Mouth—the Fjerdan naval base. Brum visits them briefly, then goes to the front, where Fjerdan soldiers are electrocuted in the water. He watches as Zoya Nazyalensky, taking the form of a dragon, spares his men and they bow to her.

After the battle, Brum finds Hanne's broken body on the deck. He tries to silence Nina's accusations, but she insults him before leaving, no longer caring about maintaining the submissive traits she has shown him. In Os Kervo, Brum is flanked by drüskelle and continues to push against the idea of peace, rejecting Nikolai Lantsov as the Ravkan king. However, to his surprise, Rasmus opposes Brum. Brum attempts to accost Rasmus afterward but is exiled instead, threatened with the implication that he might have poisoned the prince. Now desperate, Brum points a gun at Rasmus, and Joran shoots Brum thrice before he can fire. Brum is then taken to the infirmary to heal.

Personality and traits

TBA

Physical description

Brum had golden hair with gray at the temples, worn long in the style of the drüskelle, until Nina causes him to lose his hair. Nina describes the scar as a "fat pink tail of a rat" that wraps around his skull. He has a lean jaw, a tidy beard, and blue eyes. He is tall and lean. Brum wears the black uniform of the drüskelle, with the silver wolf of the drüskelle emblazoned on his sleeve.

Appearances

• Six of Crows
• Crooked Kingdom (mentioned only)
• King of Scars
• Rule of Wolves