Jebel Rum
Jebel Rum was the protagonist in The Thin Executioner. He was the son of a legendary executioner named Rashed Rum and the brother of J'Al and J'An Rum.
At the beginning of the book, Jebel had feelings for a beautiful but petty girl named Debbat Alg. He was also friends with a rather plain girl called Bastina. Rashed Rum announced that J'An or J'Al would replace him as the executioner of Wadi, but didn't even mention Jebel. Ashamed, Jebel decided to go on a quest to request invincibility and great strength from a powerful fire god, Sabbah Eid. He chose a slave named Tel Hesani, to travel with him.
During his travels with Tel Hesani, Jebel and his slave went on a wide variety of adventures including meeting people who worked alongside nature, travelling through a canyon in which lived people who stole treasure but then simply disposed of it, becoming slaves (though Tel Hesani was already a slave), encountering murderous and sadistic cannibals and meeting a pair of traders named Bush and Blair who both turned out to be a nasty piece of work. At one point Jebel died but then came back to life after befriending the god of death, Rakhebt Wadak. Jebel began to doubt the teachings of his elders and Tel Hesani taught him that a man had to follow his heart. He eventually succeeded in his quest but learned compassion and mercy along the way. Jebel also eventually looked on Tel Hesani as a friend rather than a slave but unfortunately the slave was killed by an evil madman named Qasr Bint.
By the end of the book, Jebel had changed completely and he no longer thought Debbat Alg was the most beautiful girl in Wadi. Instead he married Bastina, not because of her physical appearance but because of her kind and gentle personality. They had eight children; Tel Hesani, Samerat, Hubaira, Ramman, Madhbah, Temenos, Farasa and Deir. Jebel also refused to become a killer and even though he was officially an executioner he suggested building jails to lock up criminals instead of executing them.
Personality[edit | edit source]
At first Jebel was arrogant and prideful and when he was shamed by his father, Rashed Rum, he went on a quest that few people had survived, simply because he wanted to restore his honour. Jebel was so prideful that he hated the thought of being killed by a girl, though he gained some respect for Hubaira during the short time he spent with her. He was distainful towards slaves and initially had a difficult relationship with Tel Hesani who disliked him in turn. However Jebel never whipped Tel Hesani though he threatened to several times. It was also revealed that he had said thank you to a slave in his youth but was whipped by a teacher and his father as a result.
Jebel was also trusting which allowed him to be manipulated by Bush and Blair. He ignored Tel Hesani's advise to be wary of the traders and both he and Tel Hesani suffered as a result.
As time went on, Jebel learned humility and finally began to form a friendship with Tel Hesani. However he was worried about offending his gods, but eventually learned compassion and mercy. By the time he finished his quest, Jebel had changed completely and was now a compassionate and merciful person, who felt that killing was wrong. He was also devastated when Tel Hesani was killed and named his first born son after his dead friend.
At the beginning of the book, Jebel had feelings for Debbat Alg but eventually realised that she was vain, shallow and petty. Instead he fell in love with Bastina, who was physically nowhere near as pretty as Debbat but instead was a kind, compassionate and gentle person. Jebel saw past her physical appearance to her kind heart and by the time he married her he considered her the most beautiful girl in Wadi, and continued to think that for the rest of his life.
Despite his compassionate personality, Jebel still had doubts about whether he was doing the right thing, since all through his life he was taught that compassion and mercy were weaknesses. However he always forgot his doubts when he returned to his beloved wife. Jebel also adored his eight children, naming four of them after people he met on his quest while the other four were named by Bastina.
