Cord

Overview

Cord is an extramuros machinist and the sib of Fraa Erasmas. Traveling with his small company to find Orolo, she supplies practical know‑how, steady driving, and on‑the‑spot fixes. Drawing on her background in heavy fabrication, she helps the group pivot its search northward by inferring a route over the ice toward Ecba and the ruins associated with Orithena.

Appearance and Traits

Cord comes across as direct, capable, and deeply practical. In unfamiliar towns her manner and carriage stand out from local norms, but she remains unflustered and observant. She thinks in terms of tools, parts, and procedures; prefers machines that can be disassembled and repaired; and can talk alloys and cold‑weather practice with ease. She is plain‑spoken, quick with dry humor, and comfortable challenging abstractions with concrete examples.

Roles and Actions

• At a refueling stop on the northern road, reviews images with companions and presses for specifics about a large excavation; once Ecba is identified, she reasons that Orolo is likely heading there by way of a high‑latitude sledge route, pointing to the sledge port at “Eighty‑three North.”
• Explains that her former machine hall fabricated parts for sledge locomotives and describes the special alloys needed to survive extreme cold.
• Helps re‑equip the convoy for deep‑cold travel: sources studded winter tires, replaces coolants and lubricants with low‑temperature formulations, and repacks gear for the push north. Diagnoses and repairs a balky stove (clogged orifice) to keep the team fed.
• Works closely with Ganelial Crade on the vehicle upgrades while Sammann researches the route; later climbs over the parked sledge locomotive to inspect its workings.
• While reviewing a brief speely of passengers boarding a coach for a launch, recognizes avout by their gait—an observation that helps companions interpret what they are seeing.

Relationships

• Fraa Erasmas: younger sib; she backs his search with candid advice and steady logistics.
• Yulassetar Crade: a wilderness guide who joins the journey north; Cord and Yul quickly become a couple and begin traveling together in his vehicle.
• Rosk: previously her liaison‑partner; during a series of jeejah calls she reports that the two of them have broken up.
• Sammann and Ganelial Crade: frequent collaborators on route‑finding and mechanical preparation; Cord bridges their information‑gathering and hands‑on work.

Current Status

Traveling north with the convoy toward the polar sledge route after staging at a refueling station; her own fetch is left stored while she rides with Yulassetar. Vehicles and supplies are loaded for extreme conditions as the company continues its pursuit of Orolo.