Professor Colonel Lewis Markham is a scribe that teaches at Basgiath War College.[1]
Biography[]
Fourth Wing[]
Colonel Markham is the Curator of the Scribe Quadrant. He is the author of Navarre, An Unedited History.[2] He co-teaches Battle Brief with Professor Devera because the class relies on the most current information.[1] Violet Sorrengail was his most promising student before she joined the Riders Quadrant.[3]
One day, during library duty, Jesinia Neilwart asks Violet to deliver a scroll to Markham, who left before his daily report arrived. When the scroll unintentionally unrolls, Violet catches a glimpse of news about an attack at Sumerton, but in Battle Brief that morning, Markham announces that the front lines are relatively quiet and discusses a historical battle instead.[4] Markham is shocked when Violet presents the map her squad has stolen from the general's office for the final task of the Squad Battle, which depicts all current skirmishes, including those not discussed in Battle Brief.[5]
After Violet and her squad are forced to leave Mira Sorrengail and the other lieutenants when Montserrat is attacked by gryphons during their visit, Violet waits outside Markham's office in the Riders Quadrant for news of her sister. He first tells her that the information is classified and anything that can be shared will be discussed in Battle Brief. When she pushes for him to just tell her if Mira is alive, he confirms that no riders were lost at Montserrat.[6]
Iron Flame[]
In the first Battle Brief of the year, Markham and Devera describe an attack on Athbyne which causes Violet to gasp. Markham asks if she has something to say and challenges her with a lift of his brow. She tells herself that he obviously knows what is going on beyond the borders, but she wonders if he knows that she knows about it too.[7]
Violet discovers that Markham had Navil Jacek killed[8] for requesting an account of a border attack that didn't exist.[9]
One day, Rhiannon Matthias arrives at Battle Brief with a notice her parents sent to her, warning not to take in strangers. Markham snatches the paper from Violet's hands as she looks at it and uses it to teach the class a lesson about propoganda. Violet feels that when he reads the notice aloud, he changes the meaning of the notice from a warning to a passionate plea. He goes on to discredit claims that dragons are destroying Poromish cities.[10]
Another day, Devera[11] secretly distributes a notice before Battle Brief headlined "ZOLYA FALLS TO DRAGONFIRE" and blames blue fire dragons and their riders. Violet and her squad debate whether the notice is real, but Violet notices Markham's tell as he rubs is forefinger against his thumb, indicating he had not planned for this news to be distributed. Following Violet's prediction, he discredits by collecting all of the notices and chastising the cadets for not being able to spot them as propaganda immediately, deflects by asking when Navarre has ever sent a riot of only blue dragons once no one has the notice in hand to note the nuance of the placement of the word fire, then distracts by announcing that Jack Barlowe is alive after having by crushed by a mountain months earlier.[12]
Just after the notices about Zolya, Devera clues Violet in that Xaden was severely injured in an attack on Samara. Violet runs out of the class and Markham calls after her, reminding her that she does not have leave.[13]
Markham sounds the alarm when the royal wards within the king's private library are breached, leading to Violet's capture and subsequent torture by Burton Varrish.[14] When Violet talks with her mother after escaping from torture, General Sorrengail explains that she forced Violet into the Riders Quadrant because she knew Violet would never go along with continuing the complicated deception woven by the head of the scribes, a role Markham was training Violet for.[11]
Physical Description[]
He wears cream colored tunic as befits his Scribe profession. He has thick silver[7] eyebrows with a bulbous nose.[1] He frequently wears an unreadable expression.[7]
Personality[]
Markham carefully controls the flow of information.[6] He is willing to kill to keep the secret of what is happening beyond the borders.[8] Like all scribes, he strives to keep his face emotionless.[3]
Relationships[]
Violet Sorrengail[]
Violet was supposed to be Markham's star pupil in the Scribe Quadrant.[1] He saw her as his protege, in training to be the head of the scribes.[11] Violet claims she is Markham's biggest failure since she stayed in the Riders Quadrant.[15] Almost two months into the school year, Dain Aetos begs Markham to accept Violet into the Scribe Quadrant for her protection. Markham agrees, saying he would allow Violet to join the first years without telling her mother.[16] Violet seriously considers Markham's offer when she cannot find a way up the Gauntlet,[17] but ultimately decides against running to the Scribe Quadrant because, even if Markham doesn't tell her mother, other professors likely will, and she would never find out what she was capable of.[18] When Violet learns about the existence of venin, she realizes that the Archives are intentionally incomplete,[19] which leads her to consider Markham a traitor.[7]
Quotes[]
| “ | That's above your pay grade, cadet. | ” |
–Professor Lewis Markham to an unnamed cadet in Battle Brief regarding how often the wards are faltering., Fourth Wing, Chapter 5 | ||
| “ | You know I can't give out classified information. If there's anything to be discussed, we'll do it in Battle Brief. | ” |
–Lewis Markham, Fourth Wing, Chapter 28 | ||
| “ | Apparently, we are not ready for today's exercise. We were going to follow up on our discussion about propaganda, but I can see now that I overestimated your ability to judge a simple printing like this without hysteria. | ” |
–Professor Lewis Markham, Iron Flame, Chapter 25 | ||
Trivia[]
TBA
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Fourth Wing, Chapter 5
- ↑ Fourth Wing, Chapter 14
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fourth Wing, Chapter 18
- ↑ Fourth Wing, Chapter 21
- ↑ Fourth Wing, Chapter 25
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Fourth Wing, Chapter 28
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Iron Flame, Chapter 9
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Iron Flame, Chapter 13
- ↑ Iron Flame, Chapter 16
- ↑ Iron Flame, Chapter 17
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Iron Flame, Chapter 36
- ↑ Iron Flame, Chapter 25
- ↑ Iron Flame, Chapter 26
- ↑ Iron Flame, Chapter 35
- ↑ Iron Flame, Chapter 56
- ↑ Fourth Wing, Chapter 9
- ↑ Fourth Wing, Chapter 10
- ↑ Fourth Wing, Chapter 11
- ↑ Fourth Wing, Chapter 35