Difference between revisions of "Wistiow"

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{{character
|children=[[Laral]]
|died=c. {{Rosharan date|11651166|missing-date=?}}<!-- 7.5 years before sa1 -->{{book ref|sa1|16}}
|residence=Hearthstone
|titles=citylord
|nation=Alethkar
|world=Roshar
|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]
}}
'''Brightlord Wistiow''' was a [[lighteyes|lighteyed]] [[Alethi]], and the Citylordcitylord of [[Hearthstone]] prior to the [[Vengeance Pact]].{{book ref|twok|16}} HeA was the fatherfriend of [[LaralLirin]]'s,{{book andref|sa1|25}} diedWistiow inwas hisa oldfrail ageman underwho thehad careone ofdaughter, [[LirinLaral]].{{book Lirin,ref|sa1|16}} claimedUpon thathis Brightlorddeath Wistiowhe hadleft giftedno amale smallheir fortune inbehind{{book spheres, but this ended up being a lie,ref|sa1|16}} and noCitylord such gift[[Roshone]] was everappointed made.to take his place.{{book ref|twoksa1|1625}}
 
== Personality ==
{{quote
|Brightlord Wistiow let men do as they wished. And so they ignored him. Roshone lets them know he finds them contemptible. And so they scramble to please him.
|Lirin on Wistiow{{book ref|sa1|31}}
}}
Little of Wistiow's personality is known, but things may be ascertained. He was not an ostentatious lighteyes, keeping only a single elderly horse{{book ref|sa1|25}} and paying little attention to the grounds of his manor.{{book ref|sa1|37}} In fact, Wistiow had contempt for lighteyes that spent their time hunting. He and Lirin used to joke that such lighteyes would kill beasts only if there were no men around to kill.{{book ref|sa1|41}}
 
Wistiow was an easygoing and passive citylord, he primarily let his people do as they wished, although they mostly mostly ambivalent towards Wistiow himself, not striving to overly please him.{{book ref|sa1|31}} Wistiow himself may have been somewhat stuffy,{{book ref|sa1|10}} but he also was likely a generous man who cared for his people, as Lirin firmly believed that Wistiow would have paid for Kaladin's training as a surgeon had he had the chance before his death.{{book ref|sa1|37}}
 
== History ==
=== Time as Citylord ===
Little is known about Wistiow's early life or marriage, but at some point in his life he became citylord of Hearthstone and fathered a daughter, [[Laral Wistiow]].{{book ref|sa1|16}} During his tenure as citylord, Wistiow tended to allow his people to live their lives as they wished.{{book ref|sa1|31}} Wistiow kept a small staff, including a footman, a butler,{{book ref|sa1|23}} a nurse for his daughter{{book ref|sa1|25}} and several clerks.{{book ref|sa1|37}} Wistiow also employed a man named Miliv who worked for Wistiow as his head steward,{{book ref|sa1|25}} as well as a cook named [[Barm]].{{book ref|sa1|37}} Throughout his life, Wistiow was always a frail man.{{book ref|sa1|16}}
 
During his time as citylord, Wistiow became friends with Lirin, the town's surgeon.{{book ref|sa1|41}} The two often joked about other lighteyes,{{book ref|sa1|41}} and Wistiow and Lirin also had made plans that their children, Kaladin and Laral, might one day wed.{{book ref|sa1|25}} House Wistiow was a relatively poor family of little-renown and both could benefit from the connection. Wistiow may even have promised that he would fund sending [[Kaladin]]'s training as a surgeon in Kharbranth to take care of his town.{{ref|group=fn|text=It is uncertain if Wistiow ever promised to pay for Kaladin's training. Lirin claims that in stealing the spheres, he only ensured that promises were kept, but he had earlier mentioned that they had lost the promise of a union with Laral.{{book ref|sa1|37}} This may indicate that they had originally planned to use Wistiow's money once Kaladin had married into the family, or even that Lirin was substituting the spheres for the loss of the engagement.}}
 
=== Death ===
{{quote
|Brightlord Wistiow has been carried by the winds.
|Lirin to Kaladin on Wistiow's death{{book ref|sa1|16}}
}}
Around early 1166, an army passed through Hearthstone and asked Citylord Wistiow's permission to recruit a few of the older boys in town.{{book ref|sa1|16}} A few weeks later, Wistiow's became ill and Lirin began to treat him in his manor. Within a week, Wistiow's already frail health had fallen substantially and he lost lucidity as he entered his final days. Knowing the marriage between Kaladin and Laral was now in jeopardy, Lirin prepared the appropriate documents,{{book ref|sa1|37}} as well as a simple will written in glyps{{book ref|sa1|25}} that would grant Kaladin a supply of diamond broams to fund his education in Kharbranth.{{book ref|sa1|16}} He had Wistiow's scribes read the message to the man, before Wistiow sent them away.{{book ref|sa1|37}} Wistiow was not coherent enough to stamp the documents, so Lirin did it himself. Wistiow passed away shortly thereafter.{{book ref|sa1|16}}
 
=== Legacy ===
{{quote
|[The people of Hearthstone are] my responsibility, now that Wistiow has gone. I can’t leave them to Roshone.
|Lirin on Wistiow's death{{book ref|sa1|37}}
}}
Wistiow's death lead to a period of severe hardship in Hearthstone, as he was the last male of his line.{{book ref|sa1|16}} This meant that he was replaced after several months{{book ref|sa1|20}} by Citylord [[Roshone]],{{book ref|sa1|25}} who had been exiled to Hearthstone for his actions in the capital.{{book ref|sa2|62}} The odd circumstances surrounding Wistiow's death lead rumors to circulate among the townspeople, perhaps spread by [[Miliv]] that Lirin had written the document and tricked a confused Wistiow into signing it.{{book ref|sa1|25}} This suspicion was only exacerbated by Roshone upon his arrival,{{book ref|sa1|31}} who wished to add them to the meager lands and property he had received from the Wistiow estate.{{book ref|sa1|37}} The planned engagement of Kaladin and Laral also fell through under Roshone, as Laral had not yet reached her day of majority and Roshone was unwilling to let her dowry go.{{book ref|sa1|37}} Instead he engaged her to his own son Rillir to tie their family to a respectable house. Following Rillir's death, Laral would be engaged to Roshone himself instead.{{book ref|sa1|44}} Lirin found himself unable to leave Hearthstone despite the difficulties his family faced, because he still felt like no one would care for the citizens of Hearthstone once Wistiow had passed away.{{book ref|sa1|37}}
 
== Notes ==
<references /><!-- sa1: 10, 16, 20, 23, 25, 31, 37, 41 -->
; Footnotes
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<references group=fn />
{{complete|[[User:Windrunner|Windrunner]] ([[User talk:Windrunner|talk]]) 22:42, 7 September 2018 (MST)}}
{{Stormlight}}
[[Category: Family names]]
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