Difference between revisions of "Shallan Davar"

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'''Shallan Davar''', also known as '''Veil''' or '''Radiant''', is a [[lighteyed]] [[Order of Lightweavers|Lightweaver]] of the [[Knights Radiant]] from [[Jah Keved]]. Shallan is an emerging scholar whose greatest achievement is the discovery of the legendary city [[Urithiru]]. She is also renowned for her extraordinary talent of accurately reproducing even fleeting scenes with photographic accuracy.

|Shallan longed to stay outside. Here in the gardens, people didn't scream at each other. Here there was peace.

|Shallan at age 12{{book ref|sa2|27}}

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After her mother's death, Shallan did not speak for five months. At this time, Helaran became involved with the Skybreakers, which frequently kept him away from his family's estates. Before leaving, Helaran purchased a sheaf of fine drawing paper and a new set of charcoal pencils for Shallan--along with a leather satchel--hoping to coax some life back into his sister, who had enjoyed drawing at an early age. All of the younger Davar siblings had handled the death of their mother poorly, and Helaran hoped that Shallan would help to lift their spirits in his absence.{{book ref|sa2|19}}

|You can't fix us, Shallan. Jushu will destroy himself. It's only a matter of time. Balat is becoming Father, step by step. Malise spends one night in two weeping. Father will kill her one of these days, like he did Mother.

|Wikim to Shallan at the Middlefest Fair

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Determined to continue bringing hope to her brothers, Shallan began seeking ways to encourage each of them to take steps away from their vices and towards more positive activities. At the [[Middlefest Fair]] of {{Rosharan date|1170}} Shallan put several of these plans into action after seizing an opportunity to leave her father's side when Lin and Malise began discussing the terms of a one-sided trade deal with Brightlord [[Revilar]]. Accompanied by a guard, [[Jix]], Shallan sought out [[Eylita Tavinar]] and then delivered a message from her to Balat in the festival's gambling pavilion. Shallan revealed to Balat that she had seen the two eyeing one another and so had organized an opportunity for the two to meet and walk together. With Balat on his way to meet Eylita, Shallan returned to find her father concluding a meeting with an [[Hoid|unfamiliar messenger]] who came with news from Helaran. The man gave a start of surprise upon seeing Shallan, and then dumped a powdery substance into his own cup before departing. When Shallan prodded for the news, Lin declared Helaran to be officially disinherited and named Nan Balat his heir. He then asked Shallan to speak with Wikim, who had refused to leave the family's carriage. Shallan took this opportunity to leave again, and found Wikim where he had been left. After discussing the family's battered state with Wikim, Shallan proffered several sheets of math problems related to [[highstorm]] timing calculations, which she had taken from her father's books and translated into [[glyphs]]. Seeing through her intent, Wikim belittled her efforts, but he could later be seen working the problems attentively and with a smile. Leaving the carriage feeling dejected, Shallan crossed paths with Helaran's messenger. The man, later revealed to be Hoid,{{book ref|sa2|55}} shared what little news he had of Helaran: that Shallan's brother was in good health, "doing things he finds very important," and keeping an eye on their father. He then began to ask pointed questions of Shallan, suggesting that he was aware of her family's brokenness and Shallan's Surgebinding abilities. After sharing a story about two blind men contemplating beauty, Hoid asked Shallan to indulge him with her own definition of beauty. With some prompting, Shallan began to describe a idyllic scene of her family--all present, including her mother and eldest brother--in their gardens, interacting with one another in love and joy. As she spoke, Hoid held out a handful of infused [[spheres]], which Shallan subconsciously used to Lightweave the scene described. Realizing what she was doing, Shallan withdrew her abilities. Hoid encouraged her, suggesting that their struggles are partially caused by an [[Unmade]] or some other supernatural force.{{wob ref|3333}}{{wob ref|6201}} Apparently satisfied with what he had discovered of her abilities, Hoid then bowed, disclosed that Helaran was currently in [[Alethkar]], and left.{{book ref|sa2|45}}

| He'll kill us all. One by one, he'll break us and kill us. There's a darkness inside of him. I've seen it, behind his eyes. A beast ...

| Malise to Shallan after being beaten{{book ref|sa2|65}}

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A couple of hours later, strengthened by encouragement from a book by Jasnah Kholin, Shallan went to Balat and asked him to flee with Malise as well. News of the order to assassinate Helaran urged him to take action, and the two conspirators began to discuss a way for them to leave and seek help before being caught. Upon returning to the house, Shallan entered her father's sitting room to tend to the wounded Malise, her first time in the room since the day of her mother's death. As Shallan began to clean and bind her stepmother's wounds the woman bitterly questioned why Lin hates everyone besides his daughter. Shallan then explained her plans made with Balat, dismissing Malise's concerns, before departing.{{book ref|sa2|65}}

 

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Upon leaving the Conclave, Shallan was surprised to discover Yalb still waiting outside, gambling with a group of city guards. Yalb attempted to cheer Shallan up as they made their way towards the docks, after she had explained her failure with Jasnah, and he eventually convinced her to make one final attempt to win Jasnah's acceptance. Yalb sought out a bookstore and Shallan went inside, searching for books by some of the authors Jasnah had listed. The [[Thaylen]] book merchant, [[Artmyrn]], and his wife were somewhat taken aback by the young lighteyed girl's requests and attempted to sell her a romance novel instead. After a series of biting remarks from Shallan, they eventually provided her with some of the works she had requested. Finding the cost much higher than expected, but unskilled in haggling, Shallan began to pay when Yalb suddenly burst into the room pretending to work as the servant of one of Artmyrn's competitors. With Yalb's help Shallan was able to reduce the price significantly before making her purchase and returning to the Conclave. Shallan gave Yalb the sketch she had made of him in thanks and returned to the Palanaeum where she rented the alcove adjacent to Jasnah's. She settled herself with her new books, planning to study as much as possible before Jasnah's departure from Kharbranth. Jasnah, who had bribed the servants to report if Shallan returned, appeared a moment later, surprising Shallan. She guessed at Shallan's new plan and, knowing something of House Davar's precarious situation, explained she understood the source of Shallan's urgency. Jasnah then requested to see her satchel, sifting through the contents before beginning to study [[Shallan's sketchbook]]. Impressed by Shallan's natural curiosity and inclination to scholarship, as expressed in her drawings, Jasnah finally decided to grant Shallan's request for wardship.{{book ref|sa1|8}} She wrote home the next morning via [[spanreed]], letting her brothers know that she had succeeded in the first step of their plan to steal Jasnah's Soulcaster.{{book ref|sa1|i|2}}

 

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|She'd lost it all. No fabrial to protect her family, no wardship to continue her studies. No Kabsal. She'd never actually had him in the first place.

|Shallan after her theft was revealed{{book ref|sa1|50}}

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She awoke alone in a quiet room and her memories slowly began to settle. A single man guarded the entrance to her new room, and reported to Jasnah when Shallan woke. Jasnah arrived and explained that Kabsal--now dead--had poisoned the bread in order to assassinate Jasnah and that she had saved Shallan's life by Soulcasting the poison from her blood. The theft now revealed, Jasnah questioned Shallan's motives before accepting the truth Shallan provided. Jasnah revealed Kabsal's conspiracy and death, chided Shallan for her actions, and explained that she had arranged passage for Shallan to return home the following day before leaving without further response.{{book ref|sa1|50}}

|I want to know, Jasnah. I want to be your ward in truth. Whatever the source of this thing you can do, I can do it too. I want you to train me and let me be part of your work.

|Shallan petitioning Jasnah to reaccept her{{book ref|sa1|70}}

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==== The Wind's Pleasure ====

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Jasnah and Shallan took passage towards the Shattered Plains aboard the Wind's Pleasure. Several days into the journey, as they sailed through Longbrow's Straits, Shallan was sketching from her memory of Shadesmar while on the ship's deck when she noticed Pattern's first reappearance. As she considered the strange sight, the crew began calling attention to a [[santhid]] which was spotted following the ship. Desiring to sketch the nearly mythological creature, Shallan attempted to have Captain Tozbek stop the ship, but the man refused her requests leaving Shallan deflated. Jasnah emerged from her cabin shortly afterwards and, seeing that Shallan was distracted by her visit to the strange realm of Shadesmar, explained the basic nature of the Cognitive Realm and spren to satiate Shallan's curiosity. When Shallan expressed concern for her brothers' situation, Jasnah explained that she had taken some actions to alleviate their problems. She had corresponded earlier in the day with her mother, [[Navani Kholin]], making plans both to repair the broken Soulcaster and to establish a causal betrothal between Shallan and [[Adolin Kholin]]. This would solve the Davars' financial problems and satiate the Ghostbloods while also tying Shallan closer to Jasnah. Humbled by Jasnah's opinion of her potential, their conversation turned towards Shallan's self-doubt, to which Jasnah explained that power and influence is often nothing more than an illusion. Encouraged and emboldened by Jasnah, Shallan commanded Tozbek to stop the ship and lower her into the sea, where she was able to capture a Memory of the santhid for later sketching.{{book ref|sa2|1}}

 

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Several days later, as the group was settling into camp for the evening, Shallan used Pattern to spy on Tvlakv and his other mercenary, [[Tag]]. Unsettled by their plans to hold her hostage in exchange for payment, Shallan approached Tvlakv to reiterate her promised payment and hint that she was aware of his schemes. Punctuating their exchange with an subtle Lightweaving, Shallan turned and headed back towards her carriage as Bluth returned from scouting the area with a call to put out the fire. He reported bandits in the vicinity, prompting the group to pack up their things and travel further through the night. As they continued riding the following day, Shallan began a new sketchbook with drawings of the santhid, local plant life, and Bluth in order to ease her nervousness. The bandits were spotted following, but eventually they found smoke in the distance ahead of them. Shallan pushed Tvalkv into approaching this new caravan, again making use of her Lightweaving abilities, and they set off once more. Shallan soon moved from her seat beside Bluth to the interior of her makeshift carriage for some privacy. She examined her feet, which she had treated with [[knobweed]] sap earlier in the day, to discover they were far more healed than they should be. In speaking with Pattern about her Lightweaving, which she had begun to realize she was unconsciously doing, Shallan learned how to breathe in Stormlight and determined that it was causing her feet to heal. They spoke further about the nature of Shallan's oaths and Pattern's belief that she would eventually kill him.{{book ref|sa2|15}}{{book ref|sa2|17}}

=== The Shattered Plains ({{Rosharan date|1173}})===

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== Trivia ==

* Shallan did not exist in [[The Way of Kings Prime]].{{wob ref|10198}}

* Shallan was the first person to interact with a [[Cryptic]] in centuries.

* Shallan was also the first person to utilize an Oathgate in centuries.