Nicomo Cosca

Nicomo Cosca is a soldier of fortune, often to be found without it. He takes his reputations as a self-admitted scoundrel and chronic backstabber as a point of pride, and it doesn't stop him from having some likable qualities. Quite partial to a drink, a drink, a drink.

He has a minor role in the First Law trilogy and appears as a major POV character in Best Served Cold.

Appearance and Personality

Nicomo Cosca likes to project the image of a Styrian dandy, with his long moustaches, and flamboyant dress. However, he's actually almost a caricature of decrepitude and a practical alcoholic. The skin on his pinched and pointed face is pale and soapy, eyes red-rimmed. He has greasy hair with a large bald spot on his crown, and a scabrous flaking rash on his neck which gets worse with his heavy drinking bouts.

Cosca starts off as a somewhat eccentric, lovable rogue, if self-serving and morally flawed. Leading a life of violence has made him neither happy nor rich, though not evil he has long given up on being good. He has a plethora of experience in warfare, and is a surprisingly capable fighter and charismatic leader, especially when the odds are against him; albeit on both sides of many major conflicts all over the world.

History

Nicomo Cosca was born in Visserine in Styria. In Best Served Cold Cosca states that he is 48 years old, which puts his approximate year of birth at 531-532 AU. He claims to have had a happy childhood, but a wild youth, filled with ugly incidents. At seventeen, he left his birthplace to seek his fortune with only his wits, courage, and trusty blade.

Some years prior to the events in the trilogy, Cosca was serving as a mercenary in The Thousand Swords in Styria. There he met the young Monza and Benna Murcatto, gave them a home, taught her to fight, and both of them to read. He and Monza saved each other's lives many times. Eventually, he becomes Captain General of the mercenary company. He and Monza would split the company, and engage in false battles for rival employers, while earning money from both.

During this time, he turned into a neglectful drunkard. Monza, pressured by her brother Benna and employer Duke Orso of Talins, betrayed him. Her supposedly feigned charge, turned into an actual rout, and she replaced him as Captain General.

Cosca was forced into exile from Styria. In time, he again took to the drink, and ended up in Dagoska, as captain general of another mercenary company working for Carlot dan Eider, the Magister of the Guild of Spicers.

Before They Are Hanged

With the Gurkish preparing to lay siege to Dagoska, Nicomo Cosca gets a visit from new Superior Sand dan Glokta, and Practical Vitari. Cosca regales the Superior with his breadth of experience in siege warfare. However, Vitari knows him from Styria, and comment that the vast majority of Cosca experience is in betraying his employer. Regardless, Glokta finds the mercenary far more capable than General Vissbruck.

When Glokta receives a sizable loan from Valint & Balk, he uses some of his newfound wealth to buy Cosca's loyalty. This comes as something of a shock to Carlot dan Eider, when Cosca steps aside to allow Glokta arrest Eider and Korsten dan Vurms as traitors. Afterwards, Cosca offers his appreciation for the Superior's ruthlessness.

With Dagoska now under seige and bombardment by the Gurkish forces, Cosca seems to revel in the carnage of war, despite the hopelessness of their cause. Even when Superior Glokta is ordered back to Adua, leaving General Vissbruck in charge of the defence with orders to fight to the last man, Cosca merely smiles and suggests maybe he'll see him there.

A short time later, Dagoska falls to the Gurkish through some treachery, presumably by Cosca to save his own life, although his mercenaries are all taken into slavery.

Last Argument of Kings

Nicomo Cosca makes his way to Adua, where Glokta puts him on retainer, lest Arch Lector Sult reach the end of his patience with him. During the Battle of Adua, Sult has had enough of Glokta, and sends six Practicals to kill him. Having superior numbers and the advantage of surprise, Cosca and his newly recruited mercenaries easily deal with them.

WIth the Gurkish flooding into the inner city of Adua, Glokta, Cosca and the mercenaries are forced to make their way to the House of Questions through the sewers. There they find Superior Goyle who they force to admit that Sult is at the University, conducting occult rituals to contact The Other Side. Armed with Goyle's confession, Glokta attempts to present it to High Justice Marovia, only to find him dead. Cosca urges the despondent Inquisitor that now is the time to laugh in his enemy's face. And off they march to the University.

In the University, they find the Adepti and Arch Lector Sult calling forth some grim ritual. Fearful of entering the room, Cosca, for the first time in his life, throws a dagger and hits his target—the centre of Adeptus Silber’s forehead. He dies and with it his ritual. Glokta arrests Arch Lector Sult and the other on charges of treason against the King.

In the end, Cosca and now Arch Lector Glokta agree to keep in touch.

Best Served Cold

In the intervening years, Nicomo Cosca has returned to Styria and drinking, squandering all his money in Sipani. Monza Murcatto tracks him down, and convinces him to help her kill Prince Ario, in revenge for the death of her brother Benna. They set a trap for him in Cardotti’s House of Leisure, disguised as entertainers and whores, with Cosca as master of ceremonies. Although Ario is killed, the night does not go entirely to plan, and Cardotti’s burns to the ground in the ensuing chaos.

Monza's misfit crew head to Visserine, which is put to siege by Grand Duke Orso’s army. The plan is to kill General Ganmark by disguising themselves as Talinese soldiers. However, Duke Salier has Monza, Caul Shivers, and Day arrested and tortured as spies. Cosca uses his old friendship with Salier to save them, but not before Shivers loses an eye. When Ganmark and his forces breach Salier's art gallery, Monza's crew drop the portcullis sealing them inside. Cosca lays into the two dozen soldiers with every dirty trick he can think of, as do the others. Eventually, Cosca and Monza face off against Ganmark, but they are completely outmatched against the masterful swordsman. Fortunately, Ganmark is also aware of his own superiority, which makes him arrogant enough to toy with them. This drags the fight out until a statue collapses on top of him. In the aftermath, Cosca is mortally wounded. Friendly offers to stay with him, but Cosca tells him to flee with the rest. The two had become friends; Cosca forgives his quirky behaviour, having plenty of quirks himself. However, when the Talinese soldiers breach the gallery, they mistake Cosca for a fellow soldier and rush him to a surgeon.

Cosca reunites with Friendly, and makes his way to The Thousand Swords mercenary company, where he finds Monza has lured Faithful Carpi into a trap and killed him. Much to Monza's disgust, Cosca convinces the senior captains to restore him as Captain General.

During the decisive battle between Duke Orso and Duke Rogont near Ospria, Cosca accepts money from the Gurkish agent Ishri to play no part. When Colonel Rigrat storms into the camp to demand he attack, Cosca lures him into his tent planning to ransom Rigrat back to his family. However, Friendly misunderstands and stabs him in the neck with his knife. Unruffled, Cosca just shrugs it off.

With Duke Orso's army defeated, Monza begs Cosca to help her put siege to Orso himself in the fortress of Fontezarmo in Talins. Surprisingly, he agrees, because despite her pretentions to ruthlessness, she is actually a good person. During the final assault, Castor Morveer tries to kill Cosca by poisoning his wine. However, only his captain Victus is killed; Cosca has been tee-total since Sipani, which Morveer himself had advised him to do. Cosca forces Morveer's own mounted needle into his neck.

In the end, Cosca heads to Visserine with Friendly, to press his claim for the Duchy.

Red Country

In the ten or so years between the books, Nicomo Cosca is no longer Duke of Visserine nor Captain General of the Thousand Swords, instead he runs a smaller mercenary band called the Gracious Hand in Starikland. Now nearly 60, he seems to have had a slight moral decline over the years; he’s less of a loveable rogue, and more a scoundrel with no scruples.

Cosca and his mercenaries have recently participated in suppressing the rebellion in Starikland. Superior Pike employs Cosca again to track down Conthus who led the rebellion, despite the reservations of his lawyer Temple. Pike insists on no entanglements with the Old Empire; the Union not wanting any more wars at the moment. Inquisitor Lorsen will accompany Cosca on the journey to the Near Country, as well as Spillion Sworbreck who is writing Cosca’s biography.

Cosca and his mercenaries wreak havoc on the towns of the Near Country. In Averstock, Temple and Sufeen attempts to talk to the townsfolk and allow them to surrender any rebels. Before they have time to talk things over, the mercenaries charge into the town and many of the townsfolk are slaughtered unnecessarily, including Sufeen. Frustrated with Cosca's actions, Temple decides to flee from the company. Meanwhile, Cosca learns that a man named Grega Cantliss has some ancient gold, and convinces Lorsen that the money is used to fund rebellion.

Cosca tracks Cantliss to Crease in the Far Country, and arrives just as Shy and Lamb prepare to go into the mountains after the children with Cantliss. Cosca convinces Cantliss to tell the Inquisitor that Conthus is with the Dragon People. On the way, they defeat an attack by the Dragon People in a village called Beacon. In Ashranc, the city carved into the mountainside and home to the Dragon People, the mercenaries kill most of the people, sack the city, and steal the massive treasury. The writer Sworbreck is horrified by the violence and greed.

Inquisitor Lorsen is furious at the lack of rebels, convinced that this was Cosca’s ruse to steal the gold. To placate the Inquisitor, Cosca claims the man Savian is Conthus. When Savian is stripped to the waist, his whole body from his pale neck to his pale hands is blue with rebel tattoos. As Lorsen’s Practicals prepare to torture Savian, Lamb comes back to rescue him. Lamb kills the Practicals but they manage to cry for help. The mercenaries surround the hut, while Shy and Temple steal the Dragon People’s gold as a distraction. Savian and Lamb fight off the mercenaries, until Cosca uses his “gift” from Superior Pike, cannons to destroy the hut and kill Savian.

Cosca tracks Shy and Temple to Crease, looking for the gold they stole from him. However, The Mayor signs a treaty with the Old Empire. Inquisitor Lorsen, not wanting to start a war between the Union and the Old Empire, has Cosca is arrested, with First Sergeant Friendly and the writer Sworbreck. The treaty is later revealed to be a sham, and Imperial Legate Sarmis was really none other than the actor Iosiv Lestek.

On the journey back to Squaredeal, Shy and Lamb encounter Cosca, having escaped imprisonment, still looking to get his gold back. He is almost deranged, his rash having spread up his face, in tattered clothes, with a terrified Sworbeck by his side. This leads to a standoff between Cosca, Temple and Hedge and Lamp, Shy and Sweet. Trying to get an upper hand, Cosca orders Friendly to kill one of the children if they do not drop their weapons.

To try and defuse the situation, Temple selflessly walks up to the deranged Cosca, putting his life on the line. Temple confesses that Conthus took the gold, and that Cosca has never truly wanted the money, prestige or fame he fought for when be actually got it. Cosca's world begins to unravel- he cries, proclaiming he wishes he could go back and do it all right, after so many missed or wasted opportunities. In the end, Cosca is stabbed through the chest by Sworbreck with his own sword. His intended last words, which he specifically prepared, are never uttered.

Illustrations