Dalinar Kholin (The Stormlight Archive)

"“The most important words a man can say are, “I will do better.” These are not the most important words any man can say. I am a man, and they are what I needed to say.

The ancient code of the Knights Radiant says “journey before destination.” Some may call it a simple platitude, but it is far more. A journey will have pain and failure. It is not only the steps forward that we must accept. It is the stumbles. The trials. The knowledge that we will fail. That we will hurt those around us.

But if we stop, if we accept the person we are when we fall, the journey ends. That failure becomes our destination. To love the journey is to accept no such end. I have found, through painful experience, that the most important step a person can take is always the next one.

I’m certain some will feel threatened by this record. Some few may feel liberated. Most will simply feel that it should not exist. I needed to write it anyway.”"

- Dalinar in Oathbringer, My Glory and My Shame

"You cannot have my pain. You. Cannot. Have. My. Pain. I killed those children. I burned the people of Rathalas. YOU CANNOT HAVE MY PAIN! I did kill the people of Rathalas. You might have been there, but I made the choice. I decided. I killed her. It hurts so much, but I did it. I accept that. You cannot have her. You cannot take her from me again."

- Dalinar to Odium

"I will take responsibility for what I have done, if I must fall, I will rise each time a better man."

- Dalinar Kholin swearing the Third Ideal

Summary
Dalinar Kholin also known as the Blackthorn is an Alethi Hightprince of the Order of Bondsmiths, bonded to the Stormfather, the de facto leader of the reformed Knights Radiant, founder of the Coalition of Monarchs, and the King of Urithiru. He is a significant figure in the history of Alethkar and in the True Desolation.

History
He was born in the year 1120 as the second son of the Kholin Princedom in Alethkar. His mother died when he was young and he was primarily raised by a parshman nurse. Throughout his youth he looked up to and idolized his elder brother, Gavilar Kholin.

In the year 1139, he followed his brother into war to unite Alethkar under the Kholin banner alongside Torol Sadeas, wherein they sought to unite the scattered Alethi princedoms and have a true kingdom once more, as it was during the days of the infamous warlord  Sadees the Sunmaker. And from the beginning Dalinar became known as a terror on the battlefield, slaying countless in his bloodlust fueled rage, and a close connection to the Thrill. He quickly created a reputation for being able to win any engagement, and gained the moniker of The Blackthorn.

In the early days of the unification war, Dalinar hand-picked his own elite force of soldiers, sometimes even selecting enemy combatants and winning them over. Such as recruiting an archer he was impressed with during the battle against Brightlord Yezriar.

Over the next year, Dalinar won his own Shards, killing a Shardplate user by pushing them off a cliff, and gaining his Shardblade, Oathbringer, on his attack on Rathalas. Where he slew Brightlord Tanalan, but the body was taken away before he could get the Shardblade. Yet he searched to find the corpse and found Tanalan's widow, and Tanalan's young son holding the Shardblade. He simply took the Blade, not able to bring himself to kill the child and widow. Letting the child survive would come to have a great effect on his later life.

A year later, the war had started to slow down and the Kholins were looking for allies, and they turned towards the northern nations of Rira and Iri. And negotiated with Toh and  Evi, a Westerner Brightlord, and his sister. Two years after their initial meeting, he became betrothed to Evi in order to build up a stronger relationship between Rira and Kholinar.

Around this time, he led attacks against Highprince Kalanor of what would come to be known as the Vamah Princedom. It was in this battle that he became so entrenched in the Thrill he came to kill various Kholin men, though he ultimately did manage to kill Kalanor in single combat. He almost slew his own brother as well in his blind bloodlust. Deeply ashamed of himself, Dalinar gifted Gavilar the Shards he had just won, swearing to himself that he must never be king.

After five more years, in the year 1150, the war had officially ended, but various fights continued. And Evi was pregnant with their first child, but their relationship was strained by Dalinar's willingness to kill and Evi's horror at it. Gavilar received various demands from Tanalan's heir, demanding for the return of Oathbringer. But Dalinar refused to agree to the demands.

Even after a year, he was still safe at home. Though he had taken to excessive drinking and using firemoss, and having very violent bar fights that left people permanently maimed. It is around this point where he became drinking buddies with Ahu. During one such fight he received news that his wife was in labour, so he rushed to witness the birth of his son. However, he missed it and came shortly after his birth. But still was able to hold him in his arms and feel great pride. Naming him Adolin.

Gavilar was present at Adolin's birth but brought Dalinar some bad news. He'd been unable to contain the situation at Rathalas. He'd decided not to send Dalinar to fight there, however, opting to send him instead to fight the Herdazians and Vedens on Alethkar's border as a gesture of Kholin strength. He fought in these border skirmishes for a period of four years. Ensuring the security of Alethkar's border and gaining leadership experience and capability to match his personal prowess in combat, becoming known as his brother's best general. But even with all this time having passed, Rathalas refused to submit.

It was also during this time that his second son, Renarin was born. And he was completely absent for his birth, and for the first years of his life. He saw Renarin as quite a disappointment due to his disabilities making him unfit for combat.

His fight spread to fighting off Vedenar alongside Adolin, trying to act as a role model and teach him battle strategy. Though in 1163, he was brought a message once more about Rathalas, and was himself sent to take care of the city. He listened in part to his wife's pleas for peace, and decided to peacefully talk to the rebels. Saying that they would lose in war, and offering a duel with the Brightlord.

Tanalan informed Dalinar that Sadeas was working against him, and Dalinar promised him the rank of Highprince in return as the two concocted a cover story that would allow both sides to save face and call it a political victory. Dalinar left him with Tanalan's directions to where Sadeas' men were hiding, pleased that he was able to find a peaceful solution, knowing that it would make Evi happy.

Though he quickly discovered it was a trap, though it was too late, and a landslide was released on him and his men. Killing all of his men but leaving him alive, albeit greatly injured. This ignited a blind fury in him like he never experience before. And he slew all those that set off the trap, and dragged himself half-dead to camp, ordering the Soulcasters to make a great supply of oil. Wishing to destroy it so throughfully that everyone in it perished and nobody would rebuild it. A group of messengers from the city came out with a flag of truce, but Dalinar ordered them shot dead before they can approach the camp, and he continued his orders to burn the city. And even after much of it burned down, he ordered his men to enter and kill anyone left alive.

He himself walked through the ashes and found Talanan still alive, begging to let his family be spared. To which Dalinar refused. Tanalan informed Dalinar he had captured Evi to use her as a hostage, and sent messengers to notify Dalinar of this--the same messengers Dalinar had ordered killed without even meeting them. That Evi had perished in the burning. He strangled Tanalan to death. Six hours later, they recovered Evi's body where Tanalan said it would be.

This sparked a great change in Dalinar, he became extremely isolated, and became very addicted to alcohol, to the point his family hid it from him, and he went to begging for it from strangers. He could still hear the screams of Evi and the people of Rathalas, burning, even years after the event. In his alcoholism he lashed out at his children, and made a larger divide between them than they already had.

In the years following the reunification of Alethkar, Gavilar lost his thirst for battle and became obsessed with the ideals of The Way of Kings. Which Dalinar was against, finding them extremely un-Alethi. To try and change Gavilar's mind, Dalinar convinced him to go on an expedition, a hunt for a chasmfiend. He suggested this hoping to remind Gavilar of the good times in their youth, to reawaken his brother's fighting spirit. They went to hunt in the Shattered Plains in 1166, where they ran into the Parshendi.

After returning from the expedition, through an interaction with Renarin, he realized what he has been doing to his children, and choose to try to stop hating them for reminding him of Evi.

He was present at the treaty signing between Alethkar and the Parshendi, and the assassination of Gavilar. He recognized Gavilar's dying words as being from The Way of Kings. And when walking down the hall he heard a voice, and followed it to find Jasnah reading from the book. He sat down with her and listened to her read through the entire book.

On his way to the Shattered Plains in 1168, he choose to take a separate path, going far out of the way to visit the Nighwatcher, wanting to be transformed into a better man. He asked to be forgiven for his deeds, but instead of the Nightwatcher, Cultivation herself came and granted him his wish by erasing all memories of Evi. Afterward, Dalinar found himself outside, unable to remember the specifics of his agreement. He could not fathom that he would ask for forgiveness, of all things, and found it silly in hindsight that he would come to the Nightwatcher. He assumed that he had asked for and been given the boon of peace. He resolved then and there to stop drinking, to stop moping. He decided at this moment to start following the Alethi Codes of War - he had failed to follow the Codes and it had cost his brother his life. He asked for a copy of The Way of Kings to be brought to him along the way to the Shattered Plains.

Following this, he became obsessed with The Way of Kings and finding a more peaceful way of ending conflict with the Parshendi, no longer finding pleasure in or point to the senseless violence of the nearly decade long war, especially with how the war lost the purpose of revenge, and became merely an excuse to keep on harvesting the plentiful gemhearts on the plains. Though all of the other Highprinces took this as weakness instead of wisdom.

'Way of Kings
Later into the war, he began to have fits during Highstorms. During these fits, Dalinar lost awareness of his surroundings, experiencing visions of the past as though he were living them himself. He believed these to be from the Almighty, telling him to unite the Alethi Highprinces. In his visions he also saw the Knights Radiant, who he had known as wicked traitors, to be heroic, which greatly disturbed him. The Kholins kept Dalinar separate from others during highstorms, not willing to let others see him during these fits.

They discovered that his dreams were more than mere madness when they were able to find translations to the ancient Dawnchant in his ramblings, enough so that they were able to start to work on a greater level of translation of the Dawnchant.

A chasmfiend surprised them on top of the plateau, and Dalinar saved Elhokar from being killed by it. It was a reminder of Dalinar's strength to their armies.

During the Battle of the Tower, Tanatashev 1173 (1173.9.6.4), he was saved by Kaladin and the rest of Bridge Four, and for that he had great gratitude, and promised to free them from their slavery as a reward for their services. It was also during this battle that he dueled with Eshonai.

The following day he had his Vision about the death of Honor at the hands of  Odium. Which would lead him to his idea of reforming the Knights Radiant for the danger to come, and led him down the path of "heresy" which would get him excommunicated by the Vorin Church.

He purchased the Bridgemen of Bridge Four from Torol Sadeas, he first offered 60 Broams per member, though upon refusal of any level of payment, he paid with his Shardblade, Oathbringer. Of which Sadeas relented and accepted the offer, happy to get his hands on a Shardblade. Dalinar had Bridge Four appointed as the honor guard for him and his family. And gave Kaladin a cloak, to mark him as a Kholin soldier and even part of his family.

Words of Radiance
Dalinar started planning, in his capacity as Highprince of War, to unify Alethkar and refound the Knights Radiant. During this time, Navani began to stay with him while he had his visions so that she could record and translate what he says. After one such vision, on Tanatakach 1173 (1173.09.08.01), he slept, and when he woke up the next morning, he found glyphs scratched onto his wall: ''Sixty-two days. Death follows''. He worried that he somehow wrote the glyphs without knowing it.

Dalinar brought together a small group composed of Navani, Elhokar, Adolin, Renarin, Kaladin, his top general, Khal, and Teshav. He released a proclamation stating that all Gemhearts acquired would be deemed the property of the King and the wealth will be apportioned at the Crown's discretion, this proclamation was made in order to refocus the Highprinces on the war effort instead of just upon acquiring wealth.

The next thing he announced is that he intended to disarm the Highprinces, making them more malleable, by having Adolin begin dueling. In order to acquire Shardblades and Shardplate from the other Highprinces.

During a meeting he announced his intention to refound the Knights Radiant, though many questioned the wisdom in this choice, and it failed to go through during this moment.

He engaged in the Battle of Narak on Ishishach 1173 (1173.10.10.03).

Following the Battle of Narak and the summoning of the Everstorm, he and many other soldiers present during the battle fled into the Oathgate and into Urithiru.

He bonded with the Stormfather, becoming a Knights Radiant of the Order of Bondsmiths, the first one since the Recreance.

Oathbringer
He was married to Navani Kholin by the Stormfather.

After finding the corpse of Torol Sadeas in the halls of Urithiru, he appointed Aladar as the Highprince of Information and instructed him to establish a police force to create law and order within Urithiru. He made Sebarial the Highprince of Commerce and told him to set up markets, secure supplies, and turn Urithiru into a functioning city. Along with this, he put Adolin in charge of their soldiers and commanded him to count all of their troops and oversee their training.

He worked in order to try to form a Coalition of Monarchs, and began to try to think up a strategy of how to best go about it, eh decided that they would focus on protecting the cities with Oathgates as that was their key advantage over the Voidbringers, with an initial focus on Thaylenah, Azir, and Jah Keved for their strategic importance. This meeting was interrupted by Lyn alerting him about the occurrence of other murders in an identical manner to how Sadaes was killed. To which he responded by assiging Adolin to Aladar's team to lead the investigation into Sadeas' death.

The Azish were the first to reply. Though they refused to take up his offers of a coalition. Due to how they were actually negotiating with the freed Parshmen and didn't need further military backing.

He afterwards turned to Queen Fen of Thaylenah. Dalinar tried to invite her to Urithiru so they could talk in person but she refused. Fen said that while she was interested in the economic opportunities the Oathgates provided, she was not interested in joining any coalition.

After both responses, the meeting ended. And he was met by Elhokar. Who, feeling Dalinar was a better king then himself, swore fealty to him and named him the High King of Urithiru. He would also abdicate his princedom to his heir, Adolin, and must remove himself from the affairs of Alethkar. They decided to put off the offical announcement of this arrangement until later.

Following this he decided it would be best to send an army to Kholinar in order to activate the Oathgate, in order to secure it and sort out the riots that were happening there. He hesitated with the idea of sending Elhokar to it. They decided to wait for Kaladin to return so he could lead Elhokar on his mission.

He decided to spar, however, it was during this he began to realize that the Old Magic was wearing off, he could hear Evi's name and feel his memories of her start to come back to him.

Soon afterward, Taravangian arrived at Urithiru with Adrotagia, Malata, and a small group of scribes, guards, and advisors. He was the first monarch to answer Dalinar's call and travel to Urithiru via the Oathgates. He spoke to Adrotagia about the communications. The Iriali were dismissive, neither Marabethia nor Rira would respond, the Reshi had no central government, the Makabaki implied that they were waiting for the Azish, the Shin only sent a cryptic congratulatory response. the Natans were being coy, and the Herdazians thought that he was trying to trick them. And during his talk they got word back from Tezim of Tukar. Rather than agreeing to join the coalition, the letter demanded that they submit themselves to his rule and give him control of Urithiru. To which they of course rejected.

Dalinar convened a meeting with Shallan, Adolin, Renarin, Taravangian, Elhokar, Kalami, and the rest of the highprinces and their wives and scribes. He helped Shallan create an illusion of a map of Roshar which they used as a reference. They discussed possible methods of convincing the Thaylens and Azish to join their coalition.

Afterward, having retired to a smaller room with Navani, Taravangian, and some others, they received Azir's response to his plea which Teshav read aloud. The Azish said that they had decided to seal off the Oathgate until they could destroy it. They explained that a magical portal into the middle was too large a danger to allow to stand. They said that they would maintain trade relations with Alethkar but asked that Dalinar stop asking them to open the Oathgate.

Following this he once again tried to make contact with Fen. However, she once again refused to let an Alethi army into her city already broken down and struggling city.

After having it revealed to him that he could bring other people into his Visions, he got the idea to bring Fen into his Vision to more directly communicate with Fen. Several days later, during the next highstorm, Dalinar had the Stormfather bring Fen into a vision with him. He chose the Starfalls vision so she could see the Knights Radiant first-hand in their former glory. Though through some argument, he managed to push her into seeing his point, though had yet to entirely convinced her.

During the Battle of Thaylen Field, Odium tried to convince him into joining him once more, desperate to get Dalinar as his champion. And Dalinar rejected him. And in his rejection he to accepted his past actions, and swore the Third Oath of the Bondsmith, and gaining the ability to open Honor's Perpendicularity, and in doing so he frightened Odium into fleeing, leaving both armies to fend for themselves.

Following this, he walked through the battlefield and confronted Nergaoul, embodiment of and source of the Thrill, while Odium tried to use it to convince Dalinar into becoming his Champion. Dalinar refused to give in, but accepted the Thrill one last time, and lifting the King's Drop above his head, sealing Nergaoul into the gem. Which he would later give to Navani for study. Trapping Nergaoul freed the Sadeas army from Odium's influence, thereby ending the battle.

Rhythm of War
He became concerned about the wellbeing of Kaladin, who was showing various symptoms of battle-shock. Thus, for his own sake, decided to demote Kaladin from his position to allow him to focus more on his mental health. Dalinar let him keep his rank and offered him a position in training the new forces. Kaladin wasn't sure that was right, and he was allowed some time to think on how he wanted to contribute. He promoted Sigzil and Skar to take over his previous duties.

He brought the military to a battle at Odium-controlled Emul, in order to bring it under the control of the Coalition.

After betrayal by Taravangian, he sealed him away into a prison cell.

Dalinar had a crew of Windrunners fly himself, Szeth, and Nightblood to Ishar's camp in an attempt to learn more about his own Bondsmith abilities. Though Ishar accused him of being Odium's champion, and refused his pleas for aid, though he did acknowledge that his "lies" were reasonable. Following these accusations, he summoned his Honorblade and attacked Dalinar. Easily defeating the five Windrunners. As Dalinar opened a perpendicularity, Ishar approached him and created a Connection with Dalinar, meaning to steal his bond with the Stormfather as well as Dalinar's Connection to Odium, and almost managing to do so before the Connection was severed by Nightblood.

After Ishar formed his own Perpendicularity and fled into Shadesmar, Dalinar began to look through the camp. Where he discovered that Ishar had been experimenting on Radiant Spren, somehow bringing their Cognitive forms into the Physical Realm and measuring how long they were able to survive—usually mere seconds—and then performing autopsies. This greatly disgusted both him and the Stormfather alike.

On Vevishah 1175 (1175.5.10.5), he and Odium agreed upon a fight between Champions, setting the terms of their contest--one champion for each side would make it to the top of Urithiru unharmed by either side, and fight to the death. If Dalinar's champion won, Odium would retreat to the kingdoms that he had conquered for a thousand years, giving control of Thaylenah, Herdaz, and Alethkar to the coalition. If Odium won, he would remain in the Rosharan system, but he would gain Dalinar's soul to transform into a Fused.

The date was set for the tenth hour of Palahanah 1175 (1175.5.2.5), the tenth day of the following month. Giving him only ten days to ready himself for the Contest.

Appearance
Dalinar is an aging, but powerfully-built man in his fifties, with a warrior's face which he keeps clean-shaven. He has black hair, greying at the temples, and fine blue eyes possessing epicanthic folds. His body is covered in countless scars from his years of combat, and his nose is crooked from being broken when he was a youth. He chooses to keep his Shardplate as an unpainted grey, and he wears a sapphire signet ring with his house's glyphpair on it.

This Glyhpair takes the form of a tower and a crown, reading Khokh and Linil, for Kholin. These are made up of lines and curves which can be broken down into various phonemes which make up the words that they represent. In a manner very similar to Arabic Word Art.

Alethi are described by Brandon Sanderson as looking somewhat akin to someone of mixed Asian and Pacific Islander descent, albiet with a relatively wide range of pigments that can fall towards the darker end. The exact shade in which any exact character takes in unknown, but this is the intended range of the Alethi Race.

As a Rosharan he is quite a tall individual compared to average Earth humans, standing around or above seven feet tall or taller.

Personality
"It seemed that Dalinar had been four people in his life. The bloodlusty warrior, who killed wherever he was pointed, and the consequences could go to Damnation.

The general, who had feigned distinguished civility—when secretly, he'd longed to get back on the battlefield so he could shed more blood.

Third, the broken man. The one who paid for the actions of the youth.

Then finally, the fourth man: most false of them all. The man who had given up his memories so he could pretend to be something better."

Dalinar has had different personalities over his life, greatly changing across it. Therefore it is not as simple as to give a singular overview of his personality or outlook.

Blackthorn
As the Blackthorn he was an ambition, self-centred, and violent man; who was always quick to anger and bringer to violence.

He reveled in the battlefield, and had no fear of death. While initially, he sought equal combat, over time the Thrill corrupted that desire, to the point where eventually Dalinar relished in the murder of common soldiers and found fighting other Shardbearers to be a chore. Upon betrayal, he reacts in a very negative way, as displayed by how great his fury grew during his betrayal by Tanalan, which led to the Burning of Rathalas.

He was quite neglectful of Renarin, feeling little love for the child due to him not only being the second child, but also being born when he was brought to far away conflicts, and also the various disorders that Renarin displayed since his youth meant that he would be unable to be a warrior like his father or Adolin. Therefore, he looked down on him as a disappointment.

He greatly disapproved of Adolin's flamboyant manner of dress, considering him a "fop", though he still loved his son and was proud of his skill with the blade.

He began to doubt the sanity of Gavilar as he began to devote himself towards The Way of Kings and the ancient and recently rediscovered Alethi Codes of War, both of which he considered deeply un-Alethi.

Grieving
While grieving he fell deep into the spiral of alcoholism and drug abuse. To the extent that when he was unable to get his hands on any, he took to begging others for more alcohol in order to satiate his addiction and drown out the pain.

He is constantly haunted by memories of the burning of Rathalas and the thoughts of the screams of Evi as she burned.

As his children reminded him of Evi, he grew to hate them and lash out at them, further pushing a divide between their already fractured relationship.

Renewed Person
Following his visit to the Nightwatcher in 1168, he began to greatly grow as a person. Growing to try to be the role model his sons deserved, and give them the love and respect they deserved. And developing a new and more righteous set of morals, which completely upended and changed him from the person of which he used to be. This change was spurred forth both my the erasure of much of his memories, along with the death of Gavilar.

He became greatly attached to the ideals espoused by The Way of Kings, and began to model his life and morals around it, and often refers to it for advice. He often preached of it to others, and feels it to be a particularly important part of his current self, as it was the book that began to heal him following his brother's death. He can be somewhat egalitarian in his assessment of others, in particular soldiers, and will often promote men based not on eye color or social status, but rather on the ability they display. This doesn't mean he's entirely free of bias, however, and when the worlds of the court and the military collide, he can often end up referring back to the established social order, possibly without fully realizing it. His typical lack of care for social norms also extends to himself, as he cared little about the gender norms in regards to literacy, and had himself taught how to read and write, despite what he felt everyone would think about a man writing. This lack of true care of social norms extends to his views of his son, Renarin, who he actively supports despite not being traditionally masculine in the viewpoint of Alethi Culture, and often went with him to meetings in order to attempt to get rid of the mockery targeted towards him for being "unmasculine".

His deep amount of love and trust in The Way of Kings was in large part inspired by his brother's love for the book, and by how it helped him to heal following his death. It also helped him to grow and become a better person. It made him see the book and the morals it espouses as an important part of his current self, believing it to be one of the main things that made him who he is.

It is not just The Way of Kings that he subscribes to, but also the Alethi Codes of War, which few others follow due to considering them very un-Alethi. His particular attachment to these are due to Gavilar's adherence to them, and the fact that Dalinar was drunk during his assassination, which he believed would be prevented if he listened to the Code, namely "Readiness: The officer will be prepared at all times for battle. Never drunken on wine, never without his weapon,". Thus he began to follow it in hope that he could prevent any further tragedy. He believes that the Codes help him manage the extreme parts of his personality that he cannot otherwise control.

These Codes have shaped many parts of his personality, such as in his viewpoint of leadership, and how he should never order anyone to do something he wouldn't do himself, "Never ask of your men a sacrifice you wouldn’t make yourself. Never make them fight in conditions you would refuse to fight in yourself. Never ask a man to perform an act you wouldn’t soil your own hands doing." His adherence to these, and his belief that the Alethi leadership is not staying prepared and vigilant during the War of Reckoning, led him to actively trying to enforce the Codes of War on all the Warcamps in the Shattered Plains, despite the resistance people gave to his commands.

He can be far too trusting of others he has prior association with, and prone to not noticing signs in those he gives his trust to. This is particular shown in his undying, yet misplaced, trust in Sadaes and Amaram.

He is unflinchingly honest and straightforward, preferring to speak plainly rather than engage in any delicate diplomatic dance. But despite not wanting to deal with the more subtle and duplicitous aspects of politics, he still wishes to be in control, and has difficulty not being in control of things.

Despite caring for the wills and rights of his people, he has difficulty understanding democracy and democratic practices, such as allowing for unions and protests. Despite this he does believe that people do have reasons to not be able to continue their current form of work. Such as when he noticed that Kaladin was experiencing Battle-Shock, and was putting his psychological well-being at risk. Both being harmful to him, and making him work less efficiently, so he relieved him from his position out of concern for him. Despite his protests. This forcing upon him of what he believed to be his well-being is likely an extension of his wishes to be in control and his difficulty dealing with not being in control, mixed with his kind and genuine character. Birthing a personality trait wherein he tends to force upon others what he personally believes is best for them, even if they themselves think otherwise or try to resist him.

Furthermore, following from his continued support of the system of monarchy and desire to be in control, he is not fond of the idea that the Alethi Monarchy might end due to the actions of Jasnah, the True Desolation, and their working together with the extremely bureaucratic Azish government and peoples.

He grew to despise the unnecessary and prolonged violence on the Shattered Plains during the War of Reckoning, seeing it as drawn out and mainly motivated by a desire to harvest the gemhearts at the Plains, and not by revenge against those who betrayed them and killed the former king. He also became disgusted by violence in general, and lost his desire to engage in it unless he could find reason to deem it as necessary.

While he feels deep pain at knowing he killed his wife, and that he committed countless atrocities in his wrath, he doesn't want to lose his pain. He accepts what he did, and wants to repent for it through the pain, and slowly working to become a better person. He considers taking away the pain he feels for killing his wife to be tantamount to losing her again.

Even if he accepts that it happened, he greatly regrets his past, and struggles with how the way countless people perceive him is based around his past actions instead of his current self.

Religiously he abandoned Vorinism, though did not abandon his belief in a God. He simply rejected the idea that The Almighty was God to begin with. He follows a form of Liberal Theism. He speaks of the Almighty's death, that which he knows to be a fact, despite the way that many react to it, deeming him a heretic, and even having himself excommunicated from the Vorin Church of which he had been a part of his whole life. Though he cared little of what people thought of him, he simply wished to speak the truth, even if others wouldn't listen.

He has a fondness for Marathi rugs and uses them to decorate his barracks. He also has a fondness for, like many Alethi males, very spicy foods. And still has a liking for alcohol. Although he does not have the same addiction that he had to such drinks in his past.

Adolin Kholin
Dalinar greatly loves and respects his son, and has very high expectations of him, wanting him to take the throne after Elhokar's death. He could not understand why Adolin didn't want to take up this position, or why he believed he wasn't suited for it. This forcing of the position began to form a rift between them. Which was only furthered when it came out that he killed Sadeas, which left Dalinar furious. The publishing of Oathbringer, My Glory and My Shame including the admission of Dalinar's role in Evi's death, only furthered it even more.

He still loves and respects Dalinar, but feel that he cannot forgive him for killing his mother. And this was a big part in him growing to learn that he had a different moral code than his father.

They fight side by side on multiple occasions, and rely on each other.

At first he doubted his father's visions, but soon came to believe him and become one of his biggest supporters.

He was initially rather neglectful of Adolin, however he soon began to love Adolin dearly. Long before he began to treat Renarin with the same love. He often brought him to military engagements to teach him combat and strategy.

Ahu
During his period of drunkenness he became good drinking buddies with a fallen and disgraced Jezrien, who went by the name of Ahu. Their connection is apparently not that personal.

Evi Kholin
His relationship with Evi was always quite strained, due to a mix of how different their personalities were, the manner in which she didn't fit into Alethi culture, and due to the fact that their relationship was primarily political. Though despite all of the issues in their relationship, he still did love her deeply. He also tended to believe that she was too good for him.

The way he killed so many people without mercy often led to large fights between the two. It was her wish to peace that led her to go to Rathalas before the burning to try to make peace negotiations, which is what led to her death.

His grief over her death, and guilt over the fact that he was the cause of her death, led him to fall down a pit of depression, alcoholism, and abuse. It eventually was what led him to seek the Nightwatcher to have her memories of her erased.

For years following this, he didn't remember her at all. All his memories of her erased, and he couldn't even remember her name.

Eshonai
While they do not personally know each other, they both greatly respect each other for the other's strength and skill with the blade. Both wished to find each other once again to have another duel.

Gavilar Kholin
In the years before his assassination he began to believe that his brother was going mad with his insistence in following The Way of Kings and the Alethi Codes of War. He worried about him and his mental health. He feels great guilt over his death, blaming it on his own drunkenness and failure to follow the Codes. This guilt is a major factor in what drove him to self-improvement and the development of a new, and better, moral code.

Jasnah Kholin
His relationship with Jasnah is very positive, and they respect each other's knowledge and opinions. He finds her to be the most trustworthy and reliable member of his family.

Jasnah likewise is willing to aid her uncle, offering heartfelt advice when needed. Dalinar asks Jasnah to write the under text of Oathbringer, to which she agreed.

Kaladin Stormblessed
He respects and cares for Kaladin, not just as a soldier and commander, but also as a person. He watched over him and noticed the way he was being emotionally effected by combat, developing a form of battle shock, and relieved him of his duty so that he could spend more time to focus on his own mental health. Kaladin disagreed, leading to a heated argument, but ultimately he made him agree. He let him keep his rank and offered him a position in training the new forces.

Navani Kholin
He and Navani are deeply in love with each other, and have been for decades, even since before she married Gavilar. She decided on Gavilar largely due to how she feared Dalinar's intensity.

Once they met again at the Shattered Plains, with him as a changed man, she began to flirt with him, resisted her advanced at first. But eventually gave in and started a relationship with her.

Despite being his Sister-in-Law, the two eventually married.

She helped him and transcribed his ramblings when he had his visions, and was there for him when he was terrified. She was also one of the few people he could confide in about his weaknesses.

Odium
He utterly despises Odium and is devoted towards defeating him, though Odium once saw him as the perfect candidate to be his Champion. And groomed him over his life in order to make him agree to take up the role, and was the ultimate cause of much of the suffering throughout his life. He wanted to make him have such deep and unfathomable guilt that he would give him his pain, willingly joining his cause. However Dalinar rejected him at every turn.

In terms of their communications he puts on a calm, friendly, and overall amicable façade, in spite of the aggression that Dalinar focused towards him.

Odium later became fearful of him as he showed his ability to summon Honor's Perpendicularity.

Renarin Kholin
He and Renarin currently have a rather positive relationship, with Renarin wishing to be a son whom he can be proud of, and does what is asked of him. Dalinar is very supportive of his son, even if he couldn't live up to the expectations he used to have for him.

He is far less strict on Renarin than he is with Adolin, both from knowing he is not as capable in some areas due to his epilepsy, and also due to him not being in line for the throne. This does not mean, however, that he thinks lesser of Renarin. Instead he is very supportive of his son and encourages him to fulfill his full potential, and often reassures him that he is more skilled than he thinks. He also often goes to the meetings of the scholars in Urithiru with Renarin, in order to help dispell the idea that he is acting unmasculine.

In their past, he tended to look down at Renarin with scorn due to his epilepsy and autism making him not fit for the battlefield, leading to him being largely ashamed of and neglectful of him. He was also actively abusive during his period of grief and drunkeness. He tended to remind him of Evi and deepen his despair. Though Renarin still stayed by and tried to help his father, and was one of the biggest factors in helping him to climb out of the darkness he fell into.

Upon finding out that Dalinar killed Evi, he choose to blame Odium instead, not wanting to lose his father as well. Due to this their relationship was largely unaffected by the revelation.

While he does believe his name to be stupid; roughly translating to "Like one who was born unto himself", due to him being named by his mother, who had a somewhat lacking understanding of the Alethi language; he still uses his name regardless.

Szeth-son-Neturo
"I swear to follow the will of Dalinar Kholin. This is my oath."

- The Third Ideal of the Skybreakers, as sworn by Szeth

Szeth devoted himself to Dalinar for his Third Oath. He was greatly devoted to the Highprince, and follows his every order, both out of adherence to the Oath, and out of a great sense of respect for him. He also sees Dalinar as a sort of symbol of freedom from the slavery he once was under via his deveotion to the Oathstone, he is the choice to serve whomever person or ideal he personally believes.

Torol Sadaes
Before Gavilar's assassination, him and Sadaes were very close friends, though even as their relationships began to fall apart they maintained their respect for the other's abilities and appear cordial.

Sadaes feels that getting rid of him is what is best for Alethkar, and secretly tries to outmaneuver him in the political and military spheres.

Despite not having the best of relationships with him, he was still infuriated by his murder at the hands of Adolin.

Powers and Stats
Name: Dalinar Kholin, The Blackthorn

Age: 55 (60 in Earth Years)

Gender: Male

Classification: Highprince of Alethkar, Highprince of War (formerly), King of Urithiru, Knights Radiant, Bondsmith

Powers and Stats:

The Blackthorn = Superhuman Physical Characteristics via Shardplate (While wearing powered Shardplate, he has his strength, speed, and reactions greatly increased), Resistant to Magic via Shardplate (Due to being highly Invested, it is borderline impossible to effect Shardplate with Invested Arts)

Durability Negation and Soul Manipulation via Shardblade (Shardblades pass through living flesh without truly touching the flesh, instead just passing through and slicing apart the soul) Weapon Mastery via Shardblade and other swords (He has decades of experience in the use of a Shardblade, and in the use of swords in general. Having spent much of his life fighting in the Kholinar military).

Berserk Mode via the Thrill (He is very prone to entering the Thrill, in which he experiences a state of absolute bloodlust where he has no fear of death or injury, though this can often lead him to killing his own men in his blindness. He is addicted to the sensation of the Thrill)

Highprince =

Superhuman Physical Characteristics via Shardplate (While wearing powered Shardplate, he has his strength, speed, and reactions greatly increased), Resistant to Magic via Shardplate (Due to being highly Invested, it is borderline impossible to effect Shardplate with Invested Arts)

Durability Negation and Soul Manipulation via Shardblade (Shardblades pass through living flesh without truly touching the flesh, instead just passing through and slicing apart the soul), Weapon Mastery via Shardblade and other swords (He has decades of experience in the use of a Shardblade, and in the use of swords in general. Having spent much of his life fighting in the Kholinar military).

Berserk Mode via the Thrill (He is prone to entering the Thrill, although significantly less prone to it than he was in his younger years, in which he experiences a state of absolute bloodlust where he has no fear of death or injury. The Thrill he experiences in this period is far less extreme, and ends sooner, often while still in the middle of battle. While he still loves the sensation of the Thrill, he came to grow disgusted by it, therefore relies less on it)

Bondsmith = Superhuman Physical Characteristics when pulling upon Stormlight (When pulling upon Stormlight, he experiences an increase in his strength and reactivity in proportion to the amount of Stormlight that he pulls upon), Regeneration when pulling upon Stormlight (When using Stormlight, the body restores itself to its Spiritual Ideal, in essence healing the body and Spiritweb back to its undamaged state, a form of regeneration. The degree to which he can regenerate depends on how much Stormlight he as to draw upon)

Language Decipherment (Type 1) and Limited Soul Manipulation via Surge of Adhesion (Is capable of creating a Spiritual Connection to an individual, and in doing so temporarily learn how to speak in and understand their native language), Adhesion Manipulation via Surge of Adhesion, Rigidity Manipulation via Surge of Tension (Is able to alter the Rigidity of physical objects)

Limited Reality Warping (Is capable of merging together the Three Realms in a limited space in order to temporarily open Honor's Perpendicularity),

Limited Light Manipulation (When working with another Lightweaver, he can manipulate their Lightweaving to take on the form of an incredibly accurate 3-D Map from an aerial perspective)

Power Bestowal to Squires (If he names one his Squire, he would be capable of granting them the Surges of Adhesion and Tension.)

Attack Potency: In his youth he was incredibly strong even without the use of Shardplate, being a trained soldier easily able to win in fights against anyone he goes up against, even when entirely unarmed and unarmoured. When armed with Shardplate his ability to list objects and exert force increased tremendously, allowing him to wield a large warhammer, split a large wooden table by accident, and even shatter bones by accident. | Despite his age, he can still wrestle trained athletes to the ground without the use of Stormlight, and has a large muscular build. When using Stormlight, he is capable of increasing his strength to superhuman levels, even capable of surpassing his strength when using Shardplate. The level to which he can enhance himself is determined by the amount of Stormlight that he takes in.

Durability: Shardplate is incredibly defensive and can take multiple heavy blows before shattering. It can withstand 40 foot falls despite it's weight. However, repeated swings by the axes and maces of Warform Parshendi are enough to potentially shatter his Plate. Along with this, head-sized stones thrown at high velocity were able to shatter his right vambrace. Any hard enough blow, even if not enough to break the armour, causes it to release part of the Stormlight invested in it. Due to being filled with Investiture, it is highly resistant to any Invested Art, and thus is essentially incapable of being effected by Surgebinding. | When enhanced with enough Stormlight, his durability increases tremendously, to the point he could survive a fall from terminal velocity. Despite his high durability when enhancing himself, he is still at risk by projectiles. When not enhanced he is a normal human.

Speed: Can keep up with trained soldiers in swordplay, and dodge strikes from a Thaylen warrior repeatedly before tapping into Stormlight. When wearing Plate his speed becomes enhanced to superhuman levels. | His speed is the same as before when not being enhanced, and becomes greatly enhanced when pulling upon Stormlight. He should be comparable to Kaladin, who could weave around arrows mid-flight when using Stormlight. He moves far faster when he has Windrunners Lash him, able to move at velocities nearing the speed of sound, however this is not done out of his own power but rather through the powers of others.

Lifting Strength: Above average normally, he is a soldier with years of experience, often donning heavy armour. When wearing Shardplate his strength is greatly enhanced, to the point he could hold back the claw of a Chasmfiend for a relatively long period of time. Though it was still a struggle to be able to do so, even with his enhanced strength. | When enhancing himself with Stormlight, and using proper form, he was capable of picking up a large piece of archway said to "Weigh as much as ten men", however this used a tremendous amount of Stormlight and was pushing his limits. When not enhanced he is above average due to his large and muscular physique.

Intelligence: While illiterate and quick to send into fits of rage, he is quite an intelligent individual in the field of strategy and leadership, acting as a very successful commander and strategist of the army, and one of the most significant figures in the reunification of Alethkar, and the conquest of Herdaz, along with defending the border between Alethkar and Jah Kaved. His leadership proving invaluable. Along with this, he was immensely skilled with the blade, none winning against him in combat. | After his life changed dramatically after his interaction with the Nightwatcher, he became far wiser, becoming a sort of political philosopher, even if he was merely parroting the words and ideas of Nohadon, he still grew wise enough to question how right the viewpoints and practices of his culture and other Highprinces were. He also proved to have very good memory in being capable of memorizing long passages of The Way of Kings, and capable of quoting passages at a moments notice. He later learned how to read and write, though he is not entirely fluent, and still struggles in order to do so and often had to ask for help from his family. And while he can use his powers in order to effectively speak any language so long as he has a native speaker to Connect to, he does not possesses the ability to truly learn said languages, and is still monolingual. He also struggles with being able to see the truth behind people, even if it is obvious, due to his trust often blinding him from logic or seeing the truth, leading to him being easily tricked by those he trusts.

Weaknesses: He was very prone to being effected by the Thrill, which while partially a boon to him, granting him the ability to fight through battles without pain or fear of death, however, this does come with the side-effect that he often is left blind to his surroundings and can sometimes attack and kill his allies in a blind rage, one time almost attacking Gavilar himself. He is also largely illiterate due to his adherence to the cultural gender roles of Alethi society. After the death of Evi he began to display great instability and trauma, allowing with falling to alcoholism and firemoss addiction, leading him down a downward spiral. This ended after his visit to the Nightwatcher. | For a long period of time he was incapable of hearing his wife's name or remembering any memories concerning her, this restriction slowly began to fall apart after he formed his bond to the Stormfather, eventually falling away completely. Due to his soul being filled with Stormlight, he is extremely weak to Anti-Stormlight, with it easily being capable of completely destroying his soul when it interacts with the substance, with a sufficient amount it can go beyond regenerative capacity and kill him permanently. Along with this, the Anti-Tone of Honor would cause him extreme pain and discomfort, as it did to Navani. Along with this, as a Bondsmith, the Stormfather denied him access to or use of any Shardblade, leaving himself relatively incapable of defending himself compared to before this restriction. While he was taught how to read, he is still not entirely fluent and sometimes runs into difficulties in reading and writing. He tends to be overly trusting of those he has prior connection to, even if they are clearly twisted or lying, he is also quite quick to trust, this is not due to a lack of intelligence, but rather due to an overly trusting nature. This makes him easy to betray or be manipulated, such as by Sadaes and Amaram.

The Blackthorn =

Shardblade
He possess the Shardblade known as Oathbringer. He is a master at wielding the blade, and is considered a great threat on the battlefield, even ignoring the magical effects of Shardblades. A skill forged in decades of warfare.

As a Shardblade, it does 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 Honorblade, or even a Shardblade for that matter, leave distinctive perfectly clean cuts.

It is summoned through the Intent to summon it, and takes ten heartbeats to manifest. This is not a set period of time, and it can summon in a longer or shorter period depending upon his heartrate at any given moment.

Shardplate
Shardplate is a form of armour powered by Stormlight, using it greatly increases his strength, allowing him to do things impossible for an ordinary human. Along with this, it is incredibly durable, able to take heavy blows without breaking.

Upon having a portion of it shatter, it can be regenerated with the addition of more Stormlight. If one runs out of Stormlight, or the breastplate shatters, the added strength would fade and he would be left immobile from the weight of the armour.

Due to being very heavily Invested, this cannot be effected by Lashings. And along with this, it blocks the path of Shardblades. Although they still are able to deal great damage to it, and with multiple attacks in the same place one can easily shatter a portion of the armour.

The Thrill
"The Thrill didn't hate. Though some spren could make decisions, others were like animals—primal, driven by a single overpowering directive. Live. Burn. Laugh. Or in this case, fight"

- Dalinar when trapping Nergaoul

He actively takes advantage of The Thrill, which allows him to enter a state of bloodlust and fury allowing him to ignore all pain and push forward even through very dangerous scenarios. It is the ability to ignore things like pain or moral concerns that might otherwise distract from the goal of victory. Even if in rage it leads him to striking out at and killing those on his own side, and his loved ones, in his blind fury.

Illiteracy
As a man who follows Vorin virtues quite closely for the most part, he never learned how to read or write anything beyond Glyphs and Glyphpairs. Thus leaving him unable to read more complex writings.

Highprince =

Shardblade
He possess the Shardblade known as Oathbringer. He is a master at wielding the blade, and is considered a great threat on the battlefield, even ignoring the magical effects of Shardblades. A skill forged in decades of warfare.

As a Shardblade, it does 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 Honorblade, or even a Shardblade for that matter, leave distinctive perfectly clean cuts.

It is summoned through the Intent to summon it, and takes ten heartbeats to manifest. This is not a set period of time, and it can summon in a longer or shorter period depending upon his heartrate at any given moment.

He gives this blade up around the end of The Way of Kings, granting it to Torol Sadaes in return for the enslaved Bridgemen.

Shardplate
Shardplate is a form of armour powered by Stormlight, using it greatly increases his strength, allowing him to do things impossible for an ordinary human. Along with this, it is incredibly durable, able to take heavy blows without breaking.

Upon having a portion of it shatter, it can be regenerated with the addition of more Stormlight. If one runs out of Stormlight, or the breastplate shatters, the added strength would fade and he would be left immobile from the weight of the armour.

Due to being very heavily Invested, this cannot be effected by Lashings. And along with this, it blocks the path of Shardblades. Although they still are able to deal great damage to it, and with multiple attacks in the same place one can easily shatter a portion of the armour.

He gave up this Plate to Renarin.

The Old Magic
He is effected by the Old Magic when he requested forgiveness from the Nightwatcher for his deeds at Rathalas.

This leads him to lack any memories of his deceased wife, not even capable of recalling her name. This also leads him to be unable to hear her name when spoken, with it getting replaced with "Shshshsh". This also blocked out his memories of the Burning of Rathalas.

As time passed this barrier to his memories began to fade away.

Visions
Whenever a Highstorm hit he was sent into a fit and made unconscious, wherein he forcibly was given visions from the Almighty.

He had no control over these.

Memory
He has an exceptional memory, able to quote long sections from The Way of Kings from the top of his head.

Illiteracy
As a man who follows Vorin virtues quite closely for the most part, he never learned how to read or write anything beyond Glyphs and Glyphpairs. Thus leaving him unable to read more complex writings.

Bondsmith = He gains various different powers from his bond with the Stormfather, becoming a Surgebinder of the Order of Bondsmiths, and being able to work with the various Visions granted by the Stormfather. After becoming a Bondsmith, he stopped fighting in battle, leaving behind combat.

While he does possess a Shardblade, he is strictly forbidden from using it by his Oath to the Stormfather.

Shardblade
"I will not be a simple sword to you. I will not come as you call, and you will have to divest yourself of that... monstrosity that you carry. You will be a Radiant with no Shards."

He is entirely forbidden from the use of Shardblades, due to the Stormfather finding their usage an atrocity.

Despite his usage of Shardblades being banned, he did once manage to summon the Stormfather himself as a Shardblade to use as the key for an Oathgate, though this caused the Stormfather great agony and almost shattered the bond between them.

Stormlight
Using Stormlight, he is able to greatly enhance his strength, to levels exceeding that of a normal human being.

His greatest feat of strength, which used a very great amount of Stormlight, allowed him to lift a massive chunk of an archway, weighing at least the weight of ten men (710 Kilograms, 1565 Pounds), far above his head. This strained his body greatly, and is not a depiction of his normal levels, but it is a display of the upper bounds of what he can achieve.

Using Stormlight, he is also capable of returning his body to his Spiritual Ideal, that is to say, in simple terms, restore it from any damages caused to it. The degree to which he can regenerate is dependent on how much Stormlight he has to pull upon. This can also restore the Spiritual damage caused by Shardblades, by creating a new portion of Spiritweb and grafting it onto himself, this, however, requires significantly more Stormlight than physical healing.

This regeneration also purges the body of any toxins, including such things as alcohol.

Alongside this, when holding onto Stormlight, one can go without needing to breath.

Surgebinding
"Yours is the power Ishar once held. Before he was Herald of Luck, they called him Binder of Gods. He was the founder of the Oathpact. No Radiant is capable of more than you. Yours is the power of Connection, of joining men and worlds, minds and souls. Your Surges are the greatest of all, though they will be impotent if you seek to wield them for mere battle."

- The Stormfather on Dalinar's abilities

As a Surgebinder he is capable of using Stormlight as Investiture in order to power two Surges, and as a Knights Radiant of the Order of Bondsmiths, these two Surges are Tension and Adhesion.

Tension
The Surge of Tension can be manipulated to alter the stiffness of an object, for example, taking something flexible and making it rigid, or vice versa.

This Surge is strongly resisted by Investiture, and an object being even slightly Invested can make it nearly impossible to effect with Tension.

Adhesion
Using the Surge of Adhesion he can pool Investiture in an area, and all other objects that subsequently touch this area will be bonded to the object, sticking them there together so strongly that most materials would fail themselves before the the Lashing would fail. This lasts as long as it has Investiture to power the bond.

As a Bondsmith, Dalinar can bind inanimate objects, allowing him to restore broken things from pieces to their original shape.

Also, through the use of Adhesion, he is capable of creating a Spiritual Connection to a person in order to acquire the ability to speak and understand their native language. Although this does wear off over time. . This would allow him to speak in and understand any language, as long as he is able to make contact with somebody who speaks it natively.

Honor's Perpendicularity
He is capable of temporarily pulling together the Three Realms in a limited area, creating a Perpendicularity of Honor, releasing an excessive amount of Stormlight for those around him to use to their advantage, it also provides a temporary way to move between Roshar and Shadesmar.

Those that get power from this are, in a sense, "supercharged" from the excessive amounts of energy which flood from it.

Visions
After having bonded to the Stormfather, his Visions became far less involuntary, and he could choose to manifest them at will. Along with this, he can choose to have the Stormfather bring other people into the Visions along with him, as long as they are within a Highstorm. This requirement can be overcome by making physical contact with the individuals he wants to bring into the Vision.

He can also opt to "ride the winds" alongside the Stormfather, seeing the world from the sky. However, he cannot safely control the path in which he travels or the speed in which he does so. Trying to force the Stormfather to stay in one spot for too long, or go off his path, can cause significant damage to him.

When mixed with Shallan's Lightweaving, this is able to create an accurate and 3-D aerial map of the world. This is based upon the vision of the Stormfather, and it shows the world as he last saw it. Therefore it is not a perfect depiction of the world, and rather updates an area whenever a Highstorm passes over it.

Squires
He is capable of naming individuals his Squire, which would make them capable of using the Surges of the Order of Bondsmiths, that is, Adhesion and Tension, when they are within proximity of him.

However, he has yet to take any such Squires. But it still should be noted that he is capable of doing so, even despite the unique nature of the Order of Bondsmiths compared to other Orders.

Literacy
He learned how to read and write in the Women's Script, which he had taught to him by Navani. Both in order to write his confession of his actions, Oathbringer, My Glory and My Shame, and due to seeing it as the wise thing to do due to the ways in which literacy could benefit him.

Despite having learned how to read he write, he still does struggle with it to an extent, and is not yet entirely fluent.