User:Zoey The Edgedancer/Shallan

Summary
Shallan Davar, also known by her Alters, Veil and Radiant, is a Knights Radiant of the Order of Lightweavers, the head of the Unseen Court, and the wife of Adolin Kholin.

She had a past filled with death and abuse, which led her to be deeply traumatized and suffering from a form of dissociative amnesia.

Past
She was born to the Davar family in the year 1156, the youngest of four brothers. She always had a strange life, her parents had strange dealings with various organizations, including the Skybreakers and the Ghostbloods, and her family always drew Cryptics.

Sometime during her youth she bonded the Cryptic known as Testament, and quickly swore the First Ideal. Shallan would bring her daydreams to life by practicing Lightweaving in the garden, where she also communicated with her Spren. Though, in the year 1167, when she was eleven, her mother discovered that she was a Surgebinder. Her mother and a friend confronted Lin, trying to argue that something must be done about Shallan. The argument became a fight after the unfamiliar man drew a knife, apparently intended for Shallan. She watched as her father fought against him; her father scoring a cut on the man's arm before being pinned to the ground. Her mother seized the knife and moved for Shallan, prompting Shallan to summon Testament as a Shardblade in self-defens, killing her mother.

The act of killing her mother led her into a state of deep shock. Lin took the blade and hid it in a strongbox while he sang to her to calm her down and comfort her. In the months that followed she would repress her memories of her mother and the events surrounding her death. Her disassociation with the Shardblade and the truth of what had happened caused her bond with Testament, her original cryptic, to fail, causing Testament to become a deadeye.

Her father, in order to protect her, spread rumors that he killed his wife and her lover, so that the blame wouldn't fall on Shallan. This would lead to a strain in her brothers relationship to her father. Making the household full of myriad fights and screaming, which only furthered Shallan's suffering.

After her mother's death, Shallan did not speak for five months.

Over the following years, despite the fights happening between the members of the family, and the various economic shortfalls of House Davar, Lin Davar still threw massive feasts to impressive lower-class lords with his wealth, using Shallan in fancy dress as part of the display.

The strain between Lin Davar and his household came to a head later that year, when Jushu's gambling debts climbed higher than he could manage. This led to him being captured and bound by his creditors, who demanded Lin to pay for his son's debts. But he refused despite the pleas of Jushu and Shallan. This led to Lin deciding he had been to soft in the last few years, and sent Shallan immediately to her rooms. Shallan however asked Balat and Wikim for their daggers and chased after Jushu. She begged for her brother's life, using both emotional appeals and logical arguments to convince the men to trade Jushu to her in exchange for the fine daggers.

But this soon changed when she returned home and found a maid beaten and on the floor, and her father told her that further disobedience would lead to others being punished in her place, just like the maid.

This led to her becoming quiet and submissive as so that others wouldn't be hurt by her father's fury. But this would change after a large fight broke out between Balat and Lin over him marrying Eylita, who would provide no political advantages. As it got heated and Balat named Lin a murderer, he had his axehound pups executed. This led to him wishing to flee with the rest of the family, as he would do anything to be able to marry Eylita.

In the end, pushed by her fathers abuses and his murder of his wife, formed a plan with her brothers to kill him. She wound up being the killer, suffocating him with a necklace. However in the fight they would wind up damages the Soulcaster in which much of the finances of the house relied upon; therefore, without the supplies of marble formed by the Soulcaster, and without Lin to reassure creditors, they had their economic and financial stability put in great peril.

Afterwards, her family began to form plans to collect a new Soulcaster. Having Shallan become a ward to Jasnah Kholin in order to steal her Soulcaster from her. Therefore she sent a letter of request, and was asked to meet with her.

Way of Kings
Over months of searching she managed to finally catch up to her, but had her wardship refused. But upon further convincing she managed to get accepted.

Over the period of her wardship, she would grow close to the Ardent Kabsal, not knowing his ulterior motives in getting closer to her and Jasnah.

After two months as Jasnah's ward, Shallan received word via spanreed from her brothers, who faced increasing pressure from their creditors. Nan Balat further confided that Luesh had been found dead and that his associates were demanding the return of the Soulcaster behind veiled threat. This encouraged her to work faster not only to collect the Soulcaster, but to also learn how to use it.

Some time later, the beings she was sketching suddenly began to chase her more aggressively, causing her to run through the halls. After being cornered, despite her promises to herself not to use the blade ever since her mother's death, Shallan began to summon her secret Shardblade out of pure terror. After a brief exchange between her and a Cryptic, she found herself having fallen into Shadesmar. Though only there for a moment, she accidentally managed to Soulcast the crystal goblet beside her bed into blood.

She assumed that it was related to the Soulcaster she carried in her pocket, and upon hearing Jasnah knock on her door, she slit her wrist with a piece of glass in order to make an excuse for the great amount of blood spread around the room. This led her to quickly fall unconscious.

She spent days in the hospital under watch by nurses who assumed her actions to have been a suicide attempt.

She was later visited by Jasnah and Kabsal, the latter of which offered bread and jam to the two of them, and greatly encouraged Shallan to eat the jam. To which she refused. He quickly took a big bit and forced it down before stumbling away and collapsing, having poisoned the bread. Shallan leapt from her bed after him but found that she was dizzy herself. She fell as Jasnah called for a garnet for her Soulcaster for use in healing Shallan. Believing that Jasnah would be unable to help her with the swapped, broken Soulcaster, Shallan revealed the stolen Soulcaster from her pouch before passing out.

After she recovered, the princess threatened to call the guards but as Shallan began to explain what she had uncovered, she began to hesitated=. In the beginning Jasnah began to explain Shallan's arguments away, though a sketch of Shallan's look into Shadesmar gave the woman pause. As final proof, Shallan reached out to Pattern (whose existence was still a vague memory) and spoke a deep truth--that of her murder of her father--which enabled her to visit Shadesmar once more. Shallan crashed into the sea of dark glass beads and began to slip beneath the surface before Jasnah suddenly appeared as well and pulled Shallan back from the other realm.

This led to Jasnah looking past the betrayal, not wanting to pass up the chance to raise a new Surgebinder. And they both formed plans to travel to the Shattered Plains.

Words of Radiance
Shallan and Jasnah began to leave for the Shattered Plains on the vessel known as the Wind's Pleasure. Upon passing by Longbrow's Straits a few days into the journey, Shallan was sketching from her memory of Shadesmar while on the ship's deck when she noticed a new Cryptic, Pattern. But was distracted by the shipmates calling out that they saw a Santhid, a nearly mythical creature, which she ran out to draw.

Afterwards, Jasnah explained the nature of the Cognitive Realm in order to satiate Shallan's curiosity about it. And when she expressed concern about her family, Jasnah revealed that she spoke with Navani concerning it and formed a causal betrothal between her and Adolin Kholin.

Shortly into the journey, various members of the Ghostbloods revealed themselves and pinned Jasnah to the floor, stabbing her through the chest. As the men noticed her and began to break through her door to get to her, she conjured a simple llusion of a form dashing from the room and out onto the deck. The men fell for the illusion and chased after it, giving Shallan time to move to Jasnah's room. With the crew captured and no other means of escape Shallan entered Shadesmar and managed to Soulcast the entire ship into water. Shallan lost consciousness as she sank into the dark, icy ocean.

--- Meets Kaladin

--- Joining into the Ghostbloods

--- It is around here when she began to form the Alter of Veil.

Oathbringer
--- Forms Radiant

--- Killings happen around Urithiru, she looks into it

--- Finds and repels Re-Shephir

--- Goes to Kholinar

--- Joins the Revel and sees Ashertmarn, is saved by Sja-anat

Rhythm of War
During the year long period between the Battle of Thaylen Field and the events of Rhythm of War, she formed an organization of Lightweavers aligned with the Coalition of Monarchs. Where she trained Lightweavers in how to better use their powers. This organization did much work as spies, and as food produces, making food through Soulcasting. Making them a very valuable asset to the Coalition of Monarchs in their battle against the Voidbringers and the Sons of Honor.

Shallan disguised herself as Chanasha Hasareh in an attempt to get brought into the Sons of Honor. Allowing her to get close to and meet with Ialai Sadaes, who immediately assumed she was an assassin sent to kill her. Against her wishes, Radiant killed her with a needle of Blackbane poison, and blocked the memory from Shallan. Leading to Shallan beginning to worry that there was a traitor in the Unseen Court.

She was sent along with various members of the Unseen Court to deal with the new isolationist policies formed by the Honorspren at Lasting Integrity, and thus was sent into Shadesmar to form a treaty and get them to start forming bonds with budding Knights Radiant once again. However, communication with Mraize led to her being given a mission to find and assassinate an individual known as Restares, and was given a box with a Seon, allowing her to communicate at long distance with Mraize.

Personality
Due to her Dissociative Identity Disorder, she possesses various very distinct personalities.

Veil
Veil has a personality that is daring and bold, being an accomplished con-artist and spy. She often drinks, even going to very strong Horneater liquor.

She is very open about her bisexuality as opposed to Shallan. She prefers her men to be tough and rugged, showing interest in Kaladin; though also shows interest in various women, shown most prominently with various barmaids at Urithiru. She has no romantic feelings for Adolin Kholin, but is close to him and sees him as a drinking buddy.

She believes herself to have years of experience as a spy, which she does not truly possess. She also sees herself as quite a way older than her other Alters.

She is quite forceful in getting Shallan to address her past.

Radiant
Radiant is the ideal form of what Shallan thought that a Knights Radiant should be.

Powers and Stats
Name: Shallan Davar, Viel, Radiant, Swiftspren, Little Knife, Kishi, Formless, Unulukuak'kina'autu'atai

Age: 19 (~21 in Earth Years)

Gender: Female

Classification: Knights Radiant, Lightweaver, Head of the Unseen Court, Member of the Ghostbloods

Powers and Abilities: Regeneration, Superhuman Physical Characteristics; Limited Durability Negation and Soul Manipulation via Shardblade; Light Manipulation, Sound Manipulation and Illusion Creation via Lightweaving, Transmutation and Limited Telepathy via Soulcasting, Enhanced Memory, Resistance to Poison Manipulation via Stormlight

Shardblade
As a Knights Radiant she is capable of manifesting her Spren, Pattern, as a special form of blade known as a Shardblade.

They do not act as ordinary blades in that they do not cut living flesh, but rather effervesce and pass through it, leaving the flesh unharmed and instead cutting the Spiritweb itself. If the Blade cuts the core of a person's limb, the person feels a flash of incredible pain and then the limb turns gray and becomes limp and numb. If an internal organ is pierced by a Shardblade, it may be killed or cease to function. If the spine or head is cut, the eyes of the person blacken and burn out with a dark smoke rising from them.

When cutting through something not classified as alive, they still cut far better than any other sword, able to cut through any non-Invested material with relative ease. A cut from a Shardblade leaves distinctive perfectly clean cuts.

Due to this being a Living Blade, it is able to have its shape and size modified according to her will, allowing her to shift it into various types of tools and weapons if she so desires it.

She is not particularly skilled in combat as Shallan or Veil, but as Radiant she has a far greater degree of skill from training with Adolin Kholin.

Illumination
Using the Surge of Illumination she is capable of manipulating light in order to make very convincing illusions, she is even capable of linking these to a body in order to make an apparent change in appearance for herself or others which moves as the body moves. This is the ability that she is most skilled in the use of.

These Illusions must be imagined in the mind and a Spiritual connection to the intended creation. She does this through memorizing the appearance of an object, or conjuring up an idea herself, and drawing it out as a focus for her powers.

These illusions have no true physical presence, and when touched would fizz and part from the passing object.

It is theoretically possible for her to manipulate light in order to create lasers or douse her target in radiation, however, she does not have access to such abilities due to a lack of knowledge that it could be used that way. However, this would also irradiate herself, and it wouldn't be practical in the skill needed and the excess amounts of Stormlight required to manipulate it. .

She uses this not only to disguise herself and others, but also to change her appearance to a specific form in accordance to which Alter is fronting, having their own appearances for Veil and Radiant.

Transformation
Using the Surge of Transformation she is able to turn one material into another. This is done by reaching into Shadesmar and convincing an object to change, once the convincing is done, she applies Stormlight to it and causing a change in the Spiritual and Physical aspects of the object, bringing about a transmutation into another material. However, not every object is inclined to change, depending on how the object is seen by the sentient species and how it sees itself, so the Surgebinder may need to negotiate with it.

This is limited by knowledge and intent, therefore, while they would be capable of Transmuting an object into something like uranium, due to modern Rosharans lacking any knowledge of such materials, she would not be capable of doing so. However, this is not the only limitation, as she cannot transmute anything into one of the Ten Polestones, that is to say Sapphire, Smokestone, Ruby, Diamond, Emerald, Garnet, Zircon, Amethyst, Topaz, or Heliodor; nor can she transmute Aluminium into anything due to the Investiture Inert properties of the metal.

When used in the Cognitive Realm, it allows her to manifest a copy of the Physical Form of an object within the Cognitive Realm. This requires her to touch the Bead, that is to say the Cognitive Aspect, in question, and supply it with Stormlight, bringing about the desired manifestation. These manifestations are not permanent.

Resonance
She is able to take very accurate visuals memories and perfectly replicate them through her art. This is borne from the Resonance of her two Surges manifesting as a nearly perfect memory as it applies to visual information.

In certain instances, this allows her to draw Cognitive Beings she cannot otherwise see, such as when she managed to draw Pattern before he revealed himself to her while drawing an otherwise normal image of Taravangian, or in various other cases leading up to his reveal to her.

Regeneration
By using Stormlight she is capable of regenerating from wounds or purifying her body from toxins, this form of regeneration also heals the soul, and is capable of restoring oneself from the damage caused by a Shardblade, though it requires an exorbitantly large amount of Investiture compared to other forms of healing.

All forms of regeneration through this method requires the use of Stormlight, therefore, she can only heal if she has enough Stormlight to heal from the exact wounds in question.

By holding onto Stormlight she is capable for going a prolonged period of time without breathing, though this is not indefinite.

Bilingualism
She is capable of easily speaking Veden, Alethi, and Khabaranthian; these languages are all closely related, however, they are distinct enough to be considered separate tongues.