Editing Rysn Ftori

{{character
|image=Rysn by paintweaver.jpg
|profession= Accountant, <br /> Merchant
|abilities=[[Dawnshard]]
|nation=Thaylenah
|world=Roshar
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
|introduced=[[The Way of Kings]]
}}

'''Rysn Ftori bah-Vstim''' is a young woman from [[Thaylenah]] on [[Roshar]]. She is a tradesmaster and the [[rebsk]] of the ''[[Wandersail_(1174 ship)|Wandersail]]''. Previously she was an apprentice merchant under her ''[[babsk]]'' [[Vstim]]. During her apprenticeship, she lost the use of her legs in an accident on the [[Reshi Isles]]. Afterwards, she worked in the [[Thaylen Gemstone Reserve]] for some time, managing [[Queen Fen]]'s personal finances, before becoming a merchant in her own right. Rysn has a pet [[larkin]], which she calls [[Chiri-Chiri]]. She is a [[Dawnshard]].{{book ref|sa3.5|epilogue}}

== Appearance and Personality ==
{{image|Rysn by ML Malandrino.jpg|Rysn and [[Chiri-Chiri]]|side=right|width=250px}}
{{for|/Gallery|more images}}
Rysn has the long, white eyebrows typical of [[Thaylen]]s that she tucks behind her ears. She wears a glove on her [[safehand]], although she finds the practice of covering safehands a silly tradition resulting from [[Vorin]] cultural dominance. She usually prefers to wear vests over long-sleeved shirts and ankle-length skirts.{{book ref|sa1|i|4}} 

== Attributes and Abilities ==
Rysn was trained as a merchant by her [[babsk]] [[Vstim]].{{book ref|sa1|i|4}} She is a good observer of character{{book ref|sa1|i|4}} and determined when she bargains.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} Her biggest fault, as defined by Vstim, is her prejudice against other nations and cultures.{{book ref|sa1|i|4}} She is seen making great strides in addressing this fault during her time in the [[Reshi Isles]]{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} and [[Aimia]].{{book ref|sa3.5|19}}

Following an accident during a trade in the Reshi Isles, Rysn no longer has the use of her legs.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} She furnished her office with long benches on which she can slide as a mobility aid.{{book ref|sa3.5|1}} In public, she moves by wheelchair, porter, or palanquin and, later, by a fabrial-enhanced levitating chair designed by the [[Ardent]] [[Rushu]] with assistance from [[Huio]].{{book ref|sa3.5|1}}{{book ref|sa3.5|9}}

Rysn gains certain abilities after becoming a [[Dawnshard]], but the exact extent of these abilities is not yet known.{{wob ref|14339}} She begins to hear a voice in her head that appears to provide information and suggestions directly to her (presumably the Dawnshard itself).{{book ref|sa3.5|18}} She also appears to become more attuned to color and musical tone in the world around her, similar to sombody who holds many breaths.{{book ref|sa3.5|Epilogue}} It is expected that these passive effects will grow over time if Rysn remains the Dawnshard{{wob ref|14346}} although she is incapable of actively using the Dawnshard.{{wob ref|14333}}

== History ==
{{image|Rysn by Marie Seeberger.jpg|side=left|width=150px|Rysn and [[Tyvnk|her pot of grass]]}}
=== Shinovar ===
{{quote
|I've heard of the grass. But it's just so ''odd''.
|Rysn to Vstim{{book ref|twok|i|4}}
}}
Five months into her apprenticeship, Rysn traveled with her [[babsk]] to [[Shinovar]]. There, they offered [[Soulcast]] metal, which the Shin valued highly because no stone was broken in the process of acquiring it, in exchange for chickens, cloths, and exotic dried meats.
Rysn thought Shinovar very strange because of its different plant life, lack of [[spren]] and strange culture. She called the Shin grass imbecilic, and couldn't understand how it survived [[highstorm]]s. Her babsk made her take [[Tyvnk|a pot]] of it and told her to care for it until she no longer found it odd, claiming that it would make her a better trader.
After setting up an [[Alerter]] [[fabrial]], they met with their contact [[Thresh-son-Esan]]. Rysn was surprised to learn that soldiers were considered the lowliest of men among the Shin, while farmers were the most respectable, akin to craftsmen or tradesmen in her own culture. Rysn watched as [[Vstim]] and Thresh bargained, each one taking pains to explain how worthless their wares were. Rysn, puzzled, found this very uncharacteristic of her ''babsk''. After Vstim and Thresh came to an agreement, Vstim asked Rysn what she learned. Rysn realized that the Shin are a humble people, and in their culture, it was viewed as more honest -- and therefore more moral -- to devalue your products than to overstate their worth.{{book ref|sa1|i|4}}

Despite Rysn's initial concerns, the goods they bought from the Shin proved to be very profitable. Rysn ended up naming her pot of grass ''Tyvnk'' -- meaning "sullen" in [[Thaylen]] -- because, rather than being sullen at being so overtly wrong while Vstim was right, she let her grass be so.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}}

=== Reshi Isles ===
{{image|Rysn by ephermeres.png|side=right|width=250px|Rysn falling off [[Relu-na]]}}
{{dialogue
|Rysn| You will take the trade. You will trade with me.
|Talik| Oh? And what makes you say this?
|Rysn| Because [[Relu-na]] approves of boldness.
|attr=Rysn and [[Talik]]{{book ref|wor|i|3}}
}}

Rysn and Vstim's next adventure was in the [[Reshi Sea]]. They made their way with a caravan of sixteen longboats laden with people and goods purchased cheaply in lands rimming the [[Purelake]], guided by a Purelaker named [[Gu]]. Rysn acted as the trademaster because of Vstim's sickness. Rysn was astonished to learn that the "islands" the [[Reshi]] lived on were really the backs of gargantuan [[greatshell]]s called [[Tai-na]]. Like in Shinovar, she viewed local customs as primitive and was dismissive of them. Once they landed, Vstim told Rysn that she would have to trade with the Reshi. Vstim's illness made him weak, and that would ruin the deal. He told Rysn that the Reshi appreciated strength and boldness. On her way with [[Kylrm]] and [[Nlent]] to the meeting with the Reshi trademaster, she saw people jumping from the shell of the Tai-na to the sea. An [[Aimian]] named [[Axies the Collector]], who was hanging upside down and tied by his feet to a shell nearby as a punishment for asking the king about the soul of his god, informed her that the Reshi did this to show their courage. Rysn continued climbing all the way up to the head of the ''Tai-na'' to meet the King, who, to Rysn's surprise, turned out to be, in her eyes, a woman. A man named [[Talik]] spoke for the King and introduced their island's god as [[Relu-na]], then asked why Vstim was not attending. Rysn informed him she was authorized to handle the trade, but Talik told her that the deal was off. Rysn continued trying to convince Talik to take the deal, and managed to impress the king enough to speak with him directly, although all he did was inform Rysn that he would not complete the trade, choosing instead to wait for Vstim to recover from his illness. Rysn, believing that Vstim's illness was fatal, was desperate to close the deal. Deciding there was only one way to show her boldness, she climbed down the rope used to feed the Tai-na and pleaded her case directly to the island's god. She hung there for a time in direct disobedience with the king's orders, but Relu-na's motions to catch the rope snapped it in two, leaving Rysn to fall. For a split second she saw the greatshell's eye, then felt a rush of wind as she crashed into the sea, then fell unconscious.

{{quote
|I needed to do something. To prove courage. I thought... I needed to be bold...
|Rysn to Vstim{{book ref|sa2|i|3}}
}}
Rysn woke up back on a longboat, where Vstim told her Relu-na had slowed her fall and saved her life. Rysn's legs were shattered in the fall, however, and she would never walk again. Rysn soon figured out that Talik was a former apprentice of Vstim, that Vstim wasn't as sick as he appeared, that the trade had been finalized long before their arrival, and that Vstim had set up the meeting with the Reshi so that Rysn could practice negotiating in a controlled environment, but that now the Reshi would definitely trade with her again, and so would all the other isles. They had come to the island to trade for the corpse of a [[larkin]], a species believed to be extinct by the rest of the world, but Relu-na gifted Rysn a live one in acknowledgment of her bravery.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}}

=== Thaylen Gemstone Reserve ===
{{image|Rysn and Chiri-Chiri by Ralf Melevo - Colored.jpg|Rysn with Chiri-Chiri|side=left|width=200px}}

{{sidequote
|This is my consequence—payment for a contract I entered into willingly the moment I climbed down the side of that greatshell.
|Rysn to Vstim{{book ref|sa3|i|13}}
|side=right|size=250px
}}
Rysn, embarrassed about her shattered legs and thinking her freedom and career as a trader was over, took the job Vstim offered her at the [[Thaylen Gemstone Reserves]] once she graduated from his tutelage. She'd taken down most of the relics from her travels because they reminded her too much of what she’d lost. However, she still kept the pot of Shin grass from her first expedition and looked after [[Chiri-Chiri]] the larkin, which was now slightly longer than Rysn’s palm. Rysn was preparing for a visit from an important auditor when Vstim, who turned out to be the man she was waiting for, was brought into her office by a guard. He offered her the captain’s cord to an expensive ship called ''[[Wandersail]]''. Rysn mentioned that she had approached a [[Radiant]] and was going to ask him to heal her legs, but by the time she'd gotten to him, it had been too long and they had become a part of her identity.{{book ref|sa3|i|13}}

After Rysn opened the Gemstone vault for Vstim, she had the guards carry her to Vault Thirteen, which held the [[King’s Drop]], but the guard holding her chair was killed by a queen’s guard. Rysn pulled herself along the floor, tying the King’s Drop to her leg using the captain’s cord after the traitor dropped it fighting with other guards. Rysn made her way toward the door, grabbing the crossbow of a fallen guard as she went. She then realized that she couldn't cock it as long as she couldn't stand, so she tied the crossbow to her chair using the captain's cord in a makeshift pulley. She watched as Chiri-Chiri fed on the [[Voidlight]] the traitor was holding, then shot the [[singer]] through the chin.{{book ref|sa3|i|13}} Rysn was later found lying next to Vstim's injured body by [[Highprince]] [[Dalinar Kholin]] after the Gemstone Reserve had come under further attack. She informed Dalinar that the enemy had stolen the King's Drop.{{book ref|sa3|116}}

=== Expedition to Aimia ===
{{image|Aboard the Wandersail.jpg|side=right|width=200px|Sailing towards [[Aimia]]}}

{{quote
|There will be smaller details to arrange at a later date. But we give our agreement to your terms, Rysn Ftori bah-Vstim. Your life for being honorable. These Soulcasters and Plate for the promise to train and help us.
|[[Nikli]] to Rysn at the conclusion of the negotiations at Akinah.{{book ref|sa3.5|19}}
}}

A few months after the [[Battle of Thaylen Field]], Rysn was visited by [[Talik]], whose assistance she had requested due to [[Chiri-Chiri]]'s apparent illness. He counseled Rysn that the larkin must return to its home in [[Aimia]] (specifically the lost city of [[Akinah]]) in order for its condition to improve. Concurrently, Queen [[Navani Kholin]] has put out a call for a ship to mount an expedition to Aimia, following the return of the ''[[First Dreams]]'' without its crew.{{book ref|sa3.5|1}} Rysn traveled to [[Urithiru]] with her new porter [[Nikli]]  to discuss the terms under which she would commit the ''[[Wandersail_(1174 ship)|Wandersail]]'' and her crew to such a dangerous mission. An agreement was reached with Navani sending [[Windrunner]]s [[Lopen]] and [[Huio]] for protection; the [[Ardent]] [[Rushu]] to discuss the possibility of a fabrial mobility device for Rysn; and having [[Queen Fen]] provide a royal mandate to motivate the Thaylen crew.{{book ref|sa3.5|2}}

At sea, Rysn struggled with her relationship to the crew - realizing that the captain [[Drlwan]] and her crew resented that Vstim chose Rysn as the [[rebsk]] rather than Drlwan herself. She recommended that [[Nikli]] entice the sailors to begin a playful hazing ritual in order to earn their favor; while bonding with Lopen over shared experience with disability and Rushu over interest in fabrial motion devices.{{book ref|sa3.5|5}} 

Rysn began to gain respect by handling successive 'omens' which appeared and troubled her crew. First, when the ship's grain was found to be infested, she consulted her notes from Vstim and directed the captain to trade with nearby [[Hexi]] nomads. They accepted the bad grain in exchange for jerky, saving the expedition's food stores. Later, when a [[santhid]] corpse washed up to the ship, she spun the arrival as a good omen and offered the crew a chance to rest ashore to pay respects to the greatshell.{{book ref|sa3.5|6}}{{book ref|sa3.5|8}} During the rest stop, Rushu experimented with Rysn's chair and aluminum-modified fabrials discovered by Huio, leading to the creation of a prototype levitating chair. Rysn also received a spanreed communication from Vstim explaining that the Windrunners and Rushu had been instructed in secret to find the [[Oathgate]] at Akinah.{{book ref|sa3.5|9}}

{{image|Rysn by Gar_leyva.jpeg|side=left|width=250px}}

When both bad omens are revealed to have been Nikli plotting with other [[Sleepless]] to scare the expedition away from Akinah, Rysn requested that Lopen and Huio remove Nikli from the ship. ''Wandersail'' continued to Aimia, and traveled the strange storm around Akinah before finding safe harbor.{{book ref|sa3.5|12}} Rysn remained on-board, intending to set foot on the island once the landing became safe, although Chiri-Chiri dove overboard into the water and left her side. Rysn was the first to recognize that the gemhearts on the shore were fake and that a trap had been set, but is caught by surprise when Nikli returned to the ship. [[Cord]] grabbed Rysn and jumped into the water in an attempt to escape.{{book ref|sa3.5|15}}

In the water, [[luckspren]] led the pair into a set of caverns beneath the surface of the island. The cavern contained a set of [[Shardplate]], eight Soulcasters, and a mural depicting the [[Shattering of Adonalsium]]. Upon staring at the mural, the [[Dawnshard]] contained within left the mural and joined with Rysn. Still unaware of the existence of the Dawnshard, Rysn and Cord planned to negotiate for safe passage home with a promise of secrecy - an offer the Sleepless were not interested in considering.{{book ref|sa3.5|18}}

At the conclusion of the negotiations, the crew of the ''Wandersail'' was permitted safe return with information about Akinah in addition to the Shardplate and Soulcasters found in the cavern. In return for their safety, Rysn had vowed to be the protector of the Dawnshard so that it was not in Akinah when [[cosmere]] forces eventually came in search of it. The Sleepless agreed to this plan under the condition that they be permitted to follow Rysn permanently. A two-layer cover story was created: it would be said publicly that the return of a [[larkin]], [[Chiri-Chiri]], had convinced the Sleepless to let the ship go; while the rulers of [[Roshar]], particularly [[Navani Kholin]] and [[Fen Rnamdi]], would be told that the exchange included Sleepless remaining with Rysn as training on impersonating humanity.{{book ref|sa3.5|19}}

As the ''Wandersail'' was pulling away from Aimia, Drlwan acknowledged that Rysn had put the crew before her own safety, and requested that she take the helm on their next voyage. Rysn also noticed that she saw colors better and thought that Drlwan's voice sounded more musical.{{book ref|sa3.5|epilogue}}

=== Post-expedition ===
{{image|Rysn Dawnshard mural.jpg|side=right|width=250px|Rysn sitting in front of the [[Dawnshard]]'s mural in [[Akinah]]}}


{{quote
|But. . . Babsk. . . I had to tell ''someone''. I need your wisdom, now more than ever.
|Rysn to Vstim after returning from the Aimia expedition.{{book ref|sa4|i|8}}
}}

Following her expedition to Aimia, Rysn met with Vstim and recounted her interactions with the Sleepless to Vstim. She referenced his lessons and how she used them in her negotiations with Nikli. Despite her non-disclosure agreement with the Sleepless, she told Vstim she had to confide in someone about the truth. Vstim promised Rysn that he'd keep her secrets and bear them honorably. After he left, a tired Rysn told Chiri-Chiri that she needed something to eat. Chiri-Chiri then proceeded to say a few words in the human tongue, beginning with Rysn's name. Though Rysn believed her exhaustion was causing her to hallucinate, she dropped her cup of tea and gasped when she realized that Chiri-Chiri was speaking.{{book ref|sa4|i|8}}

== Trivia ==
* The writing process of Rysn's interlude in ''[[Words of Radiance]]'' was recorded and released as a series of YouTube videos.{{url ref|url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSH_xM-KC3ZviGuhA9pT7ETB481Fw-VEL|text=Brandon's livestream|site=Youtube|date=29 Jun 2014}}
* [[Brandon Sanderson|Brandon]] wants to have an interlude with Rysn every book, though each book can only have so many interludes and there may not always be enough slots for her.{{wob ref|1992}} 

== Notes ==
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{{Stormlight}}
[[category: viewpoint characters]]