Dalinar Kholin
| Dalinar Kholin | |||||||||
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 by Exmakina
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| Born | ca. 1123[1] | ||||||||
| Abilities | Surgebinding (Tension/Adhesion) Shardwielding (formerly) | ||||||||
| Titles | Highprince of Alethkar Highprince of War The Blackthorn | ||||||||
| Groups | Knights Radiant (Bondsmiths) | ||||||||
| Nationality | Alethi | ||||||||
| Homeworld | Roshar | ||||||||
“I’ll have us be what we were before, son. A kingdom that can stand through storms, a kingdom that is a light and not a darkness. I will have a truly unified Alethkar, with highprinces who are loyal and just. I’ll have more than that. I’m going to refound the Knights Radiant.”
—Dalinar to Elhokar[2]
Dalinar Kholin (Alethi pronunciation: [ˈdal·ɪn·ar xoˈlɪn] DAL-in-ar kho-LIN) is a lighteyed Alethi man, a highprince in the nation of Alethkar. He is known as the Blackthorn for his great prowess as a warrior and general; he is the Highprince of War. He is the younger brother of the late King Gavilar, and the uncle of King Elhokar Kholin and Jasnah Kholin. Brightness Navani Kholin is Gavilar's widow, and Dalinar is in a romantic relationship with her. His sons are Adolin Kholin and Renarin Kholin. He is a member of the Order of Bondsmiths and is the de facto leader of the newly reformed Knights Radiant.[3]
Appearance and Personality
Dalinar is an aging but powerfully built man in his fifties, with a warrior's face. He has black hair that is grey in the temples.[4] When he owns Shardplate, he chooses to wear it in its original slate grey color, without any unnecessary decoration or adornment.[5] His former Shardblade is Oathbringer. He rides a Ryshadium horse named Gallant.
He is a man defined by his duty and is rightfully considered an honorable lighteyes by all, perhaps the only one in Alethkar. He has a sense of fairness that is sometimes taken for weakness by his fellow lighteyed Alethi, but Dalinar proves that he is not to be taken advantage of.
Dalinar considers himself wholly a soldier and general with no talent for back-room politicking.[6] After Gavilar's assassination, Dalinar blames himself[5][7] and since then has worked to protect Alethkar and Gavilar's son Elhokar[8] in hope of earning some kind of redemption.
History
Early Life and Adulthood (1123 – 1167)
Dalinar is born in about 1123, second son to the Kholin princedom in Alethkar. In his youth, Dalinar deeply respects his elder brother Gavilar, although he is also envious of him at times.[9]
Dalinar desires a woman named Navani, but he realizes that Gavilar is also interested in her. For his brother’s sake, he steps aside and looks on as Gavilar courts and marries her. Later, Navani admits she had interest in Dalinar at this time, but since Gavilar was the one who chased her, she chose to accept his proposal. Dalinar marries another woman, whose name is currently unknown, and has two sons: Adolin and Renarin.
Gavilar, and their friend, Torol Sadeas, seek to unite the scattered princedoms and have a true kingdom once more. Each highprince ruled over their lands individually, and conflicts between the princedoms were common. This strife between the warring highprinces had lasted for centuries. Dalinar and Sadeas follow Gavilar’s vision and charisma to the end of reunification, convincing the highprinces to join under Gavilar’s rule, often by force. It is during this conflict that Dalinar earns the nickname the Blackthorn, for his might and ruthlessness as a warrior. From then on Dalinar is feared as the most powerful warrior in Alethkar, and his genius on the battlefield is remembered as a large factor in their success in reuniting the highprinces.
Dalinar’s wife passes away in 1163. Sometime after, he seeks the Old Magic, whose curse wipes away all of his memories of her. Now whenever someone says her name, Dalinar only hears the sound of the wind. If he ever encounters the name in any other manner, he is unable retain it in his mind.[10][11]
Gavilar’s Change and the Discovery of the Parshendi
In the years after the reunification of Alethkar, Gavilar begins to lose his thirst for battle. He starts reading a book called The Way of Kings, trying to convince Dalinar and his other highprinces to be peaceful and to follow the Alethi Codes of War. [9] Like the other highprinces, Dalinar resists his brother’s ideas, finding them unpalatable and strange – even un-Alethi. To try and change Gavilar’s mind, Dalinar convinces him to go an expedition, a hunt for a chasmfiend. He suggests this hoping to remind Gavilar of the good times in their youth, to reawaken his brother’s fighting spirit.[12]
In 1166, Dalinar and Gavilar set out on their expedition. In an unmapped forest south of the Shattered Plains, Dalinar meets a Parshendi patrol. At first disbelieving what he thought were simple parshmen acting individually, in a civilized society, Dalinar quickly accepts that the Parshendi were intelligent and organized, unlike their parshmen cousins. Dalinar brings Gavilar to meet them, and within days the Alethi and Parshendi are communicating well.[12] A year later, the Parshendi sign a formal treaty with Alethkar in the Alethi capitol of Kholinar.
War of Reckoning (1167 – 1173)
Gavilar’s Death
Within hours of the treaty signing, the Parshendi send Szeth, the Assassin in White, to assassinate Gavilar. When the Alethi king is assassinated in the middle of the feast, Dalinar is in a drunken stupor, completely unaware and unable to help.[13][7] Gavilar’s last words are written beside his body, addressed to Dalinar, saying that he must find the most important words a man can say. Dalinar recognizes the quote from The Way of Kings and begins living up to the teachings from the book, as his brother had done. Dalinar blames himself for Gavilar’s death, and undergoes a radical change in personality as he follows the book’s teachings.
Dalinar also begins to adhere to the same Alethi Codes of War that Gavilar had tried to convince the others to follow.[7] Had Dalinar been following the first of the Codes, “Readiness”, he would never have been drunk, and therefore would have been sober enough to try and aid his brother against the assassin. After Gavilar’s death, Dalinar joins forces with Gavilar’s son, King Elhokar, and the other highprinces to pursue the Parshendi to the Shattered Plains under the Vengeance Pact.
The War Against the Parshendi
At first, Dalinar throws himself into the fighting against the Parshendi with abandon, his guilt driving him. But as his grief faded, so did his thirst for battle and war. Dalinar and the Kholin warcamp follow the Codes when no other Alethi highprince would. He studies the words of Nohadon, the author of The Way of Kings, convinced that he must now become an example to Alethkar and lead them towards peace and honor.
At the same time, Dalinar begins having fits during every highstorm. During these fits, Dalinar loses awareness of his surroundings, experiencing visions of the past as though he were living them himself. The visions seem to be from the Almighty,[5] leading Dalinar to believe that God was telling him to unite the Alethi highprinces. In most of these visions, the Knights Radiant are present. This loss of awareness is frightening by itself, but seeing the Radiants as heroes is disturbing to Dalinar and his family. The Kholins keep Dalinar separate from others during highstorms, not willing to let others see him during these fits.
Men begin to speak of Dalinar the same way they’d spoken of Gavilar later in his life, namely that he is becoming weak and feeble despite Dalinar’s history as a powerful general. The rumors of his madness during the storms combined with his strange obsession with the teachings of The Way of Kings have lost Dalinar a lot of respect and influence among his peers.
The War Changes
The battle against the Parshendi was the first time Dalinar lost the Thrill.[14] This loss of the Thrill during battle causes Dalinar to question why he is fighting this war, and whether alternative methods of settling the Alethi dispute with the Parshendi would yield better results. The highprinces would view Dalinar’s wish for a more peaceful resolution as a further sign of weakness rather than wisdom, so he keeps this to himself.
Dalinar is deeply frustrated by the war at the Shattered Plains, as the highprinces’ priorities have changed from seeking vengeance on the Parshendi to competing for gemhearts in order to gain wealth for themselves. Dalinar believes the war on the Parshendi has become nothing but a game to the highprinces and strives to unite them. He wants to be the Highprince of War to realize this.[9] Despite his ambivalent feelings about staying at the Shattered Plains, Dalinar is devoted to Elhokar and the nation of Alethkar above all. Though Dalinar rarely goes on hunts, in 1173 he decides to accompany Elhokar and Sadeas. Elhokar manages to tease Dalinar into a footrace, and for his nephew’s sake, Dalinar lets him win.
Adolin wonders at this, and Dalinar explains that it is important to lift up Elhokar and support him in even the small ways. Even the little victories will help Elhokar feel more like a king and raising his confidence and reputation would actually make him a better king. Adolin is impressed at this logic, but is quickly appalled when Dalinar then confides his wish for the Alethi to be back in Alethkar. Adolin is shocked and upset at this suggestion, even when Dalinar shares his concern about the state of affairs back in their home since they’ve been away at war for so long. Adolin was already worried about his father’s sanity,[15] but when Dalinar begins to make important decisions based on the visions – like wanting to leave the Shattered Plains – Adolin questions the wisdom in trusting dreams, especially blasphemous ones. Dalinar maintains that the visions were real and grows further determined to unite the Alethi highprinces.
A chasmfiend surprises them on top of the plateau, Dalinar saves Elhokar from being killed by it. It is a reminder of Dalinar’s strength to their armies, but it doesn’t last. After the battle, Elhokar shows Dalinar a cut strap on his saddle and asks him to look into it. Elhokar suspects the work of assassins but Dalinar believes Elhokar to be overly
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 56#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 5#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 89#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 52#
- ↑ a b c The Way of Kings chapter 12#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 69#
- ↑ a b c The Way of Kings chapter 15#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 13#
- ↑ a b c The Way of Kings chapter 18#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 42#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 64#
- ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 28#
- ↑ The Way of Kings prologue#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 26#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 24#