History Characters / TheStormlightArchiveAlethkar

* RealWomenDontWearDresses: An Alethi variation. She dismisses art and painting, considered the highest of the feminine arts in Vorin culture, as frivolous and shows some disdain for Shallan for focusing on what she considers a useless subject. However, spending more time with Shallan causes her to see the uses for it and she slowly discards this attitude.

->See the "Main Characters" folder.

* AbdicateTheThrone: When Elhokar dies, Adolin realizes that he's going to end up king, since Dalinar has taken himself out of the line and Elhokar's son is too young. In the end, he refuses the responsibility, as he broke the Codes by murdering Sadeas and honestly knows he'd be terrible at the job anyway, passing it onto Jasnah.

* HiddenDepths: Much, ''much'' smarter than he lets on. He's not ''yet'' as great a leader as his father, but he's well on his way, and he also shows ruthless pragmatism by [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim murdering Sadeas]] instead of playing his political games, which may come to haunt him in a big way.

[[folder:Roion]]
!Highprince Roion
->''"If I were them, I'd just form up out there as if to prepare for an attack--but then I wouldn't. I'd stall, forcing my enemy to get stuck out here waiting for an attack until the highstorms returned!"''

Although the highprince with the best archers of the Alethi forces, Roion has earned the fewest gemhearts.

* GeneralFailure: Not a terribly competent war leader to begin with, and only hurt more by the fact that his talented archer troops are very ineffective against the Parshendi.
* HeroicSacrifice: Attacks Szeth to try and save Dalinar; he is easily slain in turn but manages to buy time.
* NeutralNoLonger: He's one of the peacekeeper highprinces in ''Words of Radiance'', standing between Sadeas' faction and the Kholins, but joins Dalinar for the final assault.
* TheSoCalledCoward: Sebarial often calls him a coward, while Dalinar believes Roion is merely cautious. In the end he sacrifices his life by attacking Szeth to try and help Dalinar.

[[folder:Thanadal]]
!Highprince Thanadal

Not a Shardbearer, this highprince relies on Brightlord Resi, his only Shardbearer, for most of the fighting.

* HypercompetentSidekick: Not one himself, but Brightlord Resi, with his Shardbearer status, is one for him.
* TeamSwitzerland: He, along with Highprinces Hatham, Roion, Vamah, and Bethab, is one of the neutral highprinces standing between Sadeas and Dalinar in ''Words of Radiance''. In ''Rhythm of War'', [[spoiler:he attempts to take over the warcamps, but is assassinated by the Ghostbloods, who pin his death on Ialai Sadeas so that Dalinar's coalition goes after her]].

* CasualDangerDialogue: On the battlefield. His mistress even ''reads a novel'' while the battle and a ''highstorm'' rages.

[[folder:Aladar]]
!Highprince Aladar

->''"I wish I could, Dalinar. But this isn't about you. It's about the other highprinces. Maybe I could trust you, but I'll never trust them. You're asking me to risk too much of myself."''\\\

A Highprince and one of Sadeas biggest supporters.

* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Subverted. He's Sadeas' loudest supporter during the entirety of ''Words of Radiance'', but hes really trying to convince himself more than anyone else. He eventually joins Dalinar for the expedition to the center of the Plains because he ''fails'' to convince himself.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: He, like Sadeas, thinks that all the talk of ancient honor and such is little more than historical revisionism. He does tell Dalinar that he ''wishes'' it was true, though, and it's certainly better than how Sadeas does it, trying to wrap nooses around everyone's necks.
* SourSupporter: He is very much on Sadeas's side, but he doesn't like being told what to do. He eventually abandons supporting Sadeas altogether and joins Dalinar's coalition.

[[folder:Hatham]]
!Highprince Hatham

->''"We must not allow ourselves to be attacked one at a time, and we must not squabble."''\\\

An Alethi Highprince, known for using his ardents in political maneuvering and for being behind on his taxes.

* CorruptChurch: Despite it being very specifically illegal, he often uses his ardents as part of tricks and deals, such as by having one of them insult a potential trading partner in order to make Hatham look desperate when he apologizes.
** TheDogBitesBack: The ardent who was part of the scheme then freely admits it to Dalinar and then tells him that the church is on his side, leaving the latter nonplussed.
* TeamSwitzerland: He, along with Highprinces Thanadal, Roion, Vamah, and Bethab, is one of the neutral highprinces standing between Sadeas and Dalinar in ''Words of Radiance''.

[[folder:Vamah]]
!Highprince Vamah

->''"I take your point, Dalinar. No need to keep bashing the rock into my face."''\\\

An Alethi Highprince, one of the ones who joined the chasmfiend hunt at the beginning of ''The Way of Kings''. He dislikes the prices for Elhokar's Soulcasters, and keeps trying to find ways around it.

* MugglesDoItBetter: He tries to skip using Soulcasters by just using wood to patch the holes in his walls. But since he needs to buy the wood from Sadeas, Sadeas raises the prices and forces him to use Elhokar's Soulcasters after all.
* TeamSwitzerland: He, along with Highprinces Thanadal, Roion, Hatham, and Bethab, is one of the neutral highprinces standing between Sadeas and Dalinar in ''Words of Radiance''.

[[folder:Bethab]]
!Highprince Bethab

An Alethi Highprince, known for using mercenaries and coveting the throne.

* PrivateMilitaryContractors: Most of his army is made up of mercenaries. On a successful plateau assault, he would ride back to camp with the gemheart while leaving them to figure out their own way back.
* TeamSwitzerland: He, along with Highprinces Thanadal, Roion, Hatham, and Vamah, is one of the neutral highprinces standing between Sadeas and Dalinar in ''Words of Radiance''. By the time of ''Rhythm of War'', [[spoiler:he has fully joined the war effort, though not entirely voluntary, but because the remaining opposition to Dalinar's coalition has fallen apart.]]

[[folder:Ruthar]]
!Highprince Ruthar

->''"Great. All we have to do is win the war, which we've only been trying to do for five years."''\\\

An Alethi Highprince, and an eager--if slightly quiet--supporter of Sadeas.

* DirtyCoward: According to Wit, this is one of the reasons why [[spoiler:he thinks he can beat his children: they are the only ones who won't fight back]].
* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler:After all of his abuses of his family, he is reduced to being unable to return to them and forced to join the army as a recruit from the bottom or allow himself to go into poverty.]] Wit notes the irony.
-->'''Wit:''' How remarkable. If you spend your life knocking people down, you eventually find they won't stand up for you. There's poetry in that, don't you think, [[PrecisionFStrike you storming personification of a cancerous anal discharge?]]
* DomesticAbuser: [[spoiler:Beats his children to the point that at one point, one had a broken arm. It's bad enough that Hoid, on finding out, considers him a sadist and a coward, as well as, in Rosharan terms, a piece of shit (the last insult given without prompting).]]
-->'''Wit:''' [[spoiler:[[SincerityMode I've been speaking to your children, Ruthar.]] [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness No, this part isn't a joke.]] Relis, Ivanar. Yes, I know them. I know a lot of things. Would you like to explain to the queen where Ivanar's broken arm last month truly came from? Tell me, do you beat your children because you're a sadist, or because you're a coward and they are the only ones who won't dare fight back? Or... oh, silly Wit. It's both, isn't it?]]
* HateSink: There is ''nothing'' admirable about him, from misogyny to disrespect for any feminine traits to [[spoiler:child abuse]], to the point that other officers are put off by his attitude once he makes it clear. He is so bad that Wit, who, though insulting almost anyone, doesn't seem to hold any grudges, seems to truly hate him, calling him a sadist, a coward, and a "storming personification of cancerous anal discharge"[[labelnote:Translation]]a fucking piece of shit[[/labelnote]], and seems to particularly hold him in contempt for [[spoiler:hurting his own children]].
* ImpromptuTracheotomy: Jasnah stabs him through the throat with [[OrnamentalWeapon Wit's sword]], though he is healed by [[HealingHands Renarin]] before he bleeds out (though he is still legally considered dead by the terms of a duel).
* InsultBackfire: He calls his own son a bastard for betraying him by mentioning [[spoiler:his domestic abuse]]. In earshot of Wit.
-->'''Wit:''' Not yours, then? No wonder I like him.
* LegallyDead: [[spoiler:Jasnah stabs him through the neck in a duel, has Renarin {{heal|IngHands}} him at the last moment, and proclaims as Queen that she "killed" him and that therefore his estates and titles have passed to his heirs. Under the circumstances, no one disputes her points of law.]]
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Though he isn't outright villainous in his actions (barring his [[spoiler:domestic abuse]]), he still considers Dalinar too feminine for knowing how to write long after anyone else gave up on that thought process for him.
* TheRemnant: In ''Rhythm of War'', [[spoiler:he's the last remaining piece of the Sadeas-aligned faction who refuses to cooperate with Dalinar, as the rest of Sadeas' allies are dead or surrendered after Ialai's assassination. Jasnah and Wit dismantle him after tricking him into a drunken duel.]]
* {{Sadist}}: In ''Rhythm of War'', [[spoiler:Wit explicitly calls him out as one, as well as being a DirtyCoward, when he brings up the injuries of Ruthar's children, including one having a broken arm.]]
* SmugSnake: He's constantly described as oily and conniving, but not actually very effective at manipulation or planning. He's often completely blindsided by enemy plots, and despite holding a significant number of Alethkar's Shards, by the end of ''Words of Radiance'' he has lost all of them to Dalinar except his own Blade. In ''Rhythm of War'' [[spoiler: he falls entirely into Jasnah and Wit's trap, even when Dalinar explicitly warns him what is about to happen.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: Though calling him an outright villain may be stretching it (he doesn't outright turn against Dalinar), he is still a highly antagonistic force, and his drunken rant in ''Rhythm of War'' directly leads to his downfall.
-->'''Ruthar:''' Am I the only one seeing this? I didn't say anything when she was made queen. Other nations have queens. But are any of them in this room interrogating a general? [[SuddenlyShouting It's a disgrace!]] Dalinar writing? [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain He might as well put on a havah and start painting.]] We ''deserve'' the judgments of the Almighty, after giving the throne to a godless [[CurseCutShort wh]]-- (''[[OhCrap realizes that the entire room has gone still and silent]]'')

-----
!!Hearthstone

[[folder:Laral]]
!Laral

->''"Don't you want to become a lighteyes? Win a Shardblade?"''\\\

The daughter of the brightlord of Kaladin's home village of Hearthstone. Their parents were setting her up to marry Kaladin, but that plan derailed when her father died.

* OldManMarryingAChild: After Roshone's son died, she became betrothed to Roshone. Age-wise, it was perfectly legal (though the fact that Roshone was technically her guardian at the time might have made it tricky), but the fact remains that he was a good twenty or more years older than her. When Kaladin returns home in ''Oathbringer'', she's become accepting of her role and seems fine with the marriage.
* {{Tomboy}}: When she was younger, she spent most of her time playing with Kaladin and Tien. As she grew older, her maids stopped letting her do that sort of thing.
* TookALevelInJerkass: When Roshone and his son moved into town, she was cut off from Kaladin, and forced to become cold to him to fit in. In ''Oathbringer'' she's become more accepting of Kaladin and grown into her role as the scribe and clerk of the township, taking governing as her responsibility.

[[folder:Tien]]
!Tien

->''"Kaladin, look at this rock. It changes colors when you look at it from different sides."''\\\

Kaladin's little brother, an insufferably cheerful boy who is small and spindly for his age.

* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler:He and Kaladin speak in ''Rhythm of War'' after Dalinar Connects Kaladin to a "spot of warmth" in the Spiritual Realm. Dead people who pass into the Beyond are said to be beyond the reach of even the Shards, but the Spiritual Realm is a PlaceBeyondTime, so it's not clear it if was Tien or not.]]
* TheAntiNihilist: [[spoiler:Kaladin's vision of]] Tien points out that the inevitability of death is what makes the time we share together that much more special.
* CynicismCatalyst: His death is one of the most important events in Kaladin's backstory, along with the manipulations leading up to it.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler: He tells Kaladin during their Adhesion-fueled reunion during the climax of ''Rhythm'' that he chose to be on the frontlines with the other messager boys, facing the battle together and offering comfort and courage to them, rather than trying to find a way to escape. [[AmbiguousSituation Of course, as with any incident involving the Spiritual Realm, it's unclear on what level it was "real", whether Kaladin was truly conversing with his brother's soul or was just being given the chance to hear what he needed to hear.]]]]
* HiddenDepths: Despite being treated as little more than a silly fool who can make Kaladin smile, he proves to be a very good carpenter, producing artful statuettes. Unfortunately, the carpenter doesn't see the use in such frivolous things. [[https://wob.coppermind.net/events/352-miscon-2018/#e10278 He was also bonding or bound to a Cryptic, implying he wasn't as stable as he seemed]].
* ThePollyanna: He spends nearly every single one of his scenes bouncing up and down like a loon, and is the only one who can shake Kaladin out of his chronic depression. The only time he seems genuinely unhappy about something is when Amaram recruits him for the army. He cries tears of joy when Kaladin joins up as well to protect him.
* RealAfterAll: During the AmbiguousSituation above [[spoiler:Tien gives Kaladin a wooden horse, and tells him "don't lose it this time" before fading out]]. While [[spoiler:the wooden horse]] doesn't remain after the vision fades, Kaladin later finds it in a merchant's bin full of stuff from the Shattered Plains, which is one hell of a ContrivedCoincidence considering he lost it in ''Alethkar''.
%%* StepfordSmiler: If his [[WordofGod nascent bond with a Cryptic]] was anything to judge by, his infectious cheerfulness was, on some level, an act.

[[folder:Lirin]]
!Lirin

->''"That's like trying to stop a storm by blowing harder. Ridiculous. You can't protect by killing."''\\\

Kaladin's father, the surgeon of the small town of Hearthstone. He is a deeply generous man who refused to charge for his services, subsisting on donations from grateful townsfolk. After he failed to save the elderly Brightlord Wistiow, Brightlord Roshone moved in, and everything changed.

* ActualPacifist: He refuses to kill, even by inaction, under any circumstances. This becomes a serious point of contention between him and Kaladin, and in ''Rhythm of War'' [[spoiler:they get into multiple disagreements and arguments over Kaladin's place, and it culminates in shock and anger on Lirin's part when Kaladin is forced to kill a stormform Regal in the middle of Lirin's clinic to protect an unconscious Teft]].
* DarkSecret: He is accused of forging documents from Wistiow willing his family a large gift of spheres for Kaladin's education. Turns out he really did do it, though he is insistent that if Wistiow had been lucid in his last hours, he would have done so willingly.
* EducationMama: Of a sort. He is insistent on training Kaladin to be a surgeon and sending him to Karbranth when he comes of age. Kaladin would rather be a soldier, but he learns well regardless.
* HonorBeforeReason: There are several times where he could have killed Roshone, or even just let him die, but he always refuses. He also refuses to ask for payment for healing or move his family to a more prosperous city, despite knowing it would be far easier on him.
* ItsAllMyFault: His slide from taking a low view of fighting into full-blown SuicidalPacifism stems from thinking his fight with Roshone is the reason Tien was killed and Kaladin was broken. In a way, he [[LikeFatherLikeSon isn't dissimilar from his elder son in this regard]]. It takes Hesina calling him out on it in private for him to make any attempt to be better after an argument with Kaladin in ''Rhythm of War''.
-->'''Lirin:''' Would he be dead if I hadn't spent all those years defying Roshone? If I hadn't picked a fight?
* LikeFatherLikeSon: His method of dealing with it aside, his [[ItsAllMyFault guilt]] over Tien is not all that different from [[IShouldHaveBeenBetter Kaladin's own]].
* ShamingTheMob: Manages to do this to a group of his neighbors when they come to steal the spheres given to him by Brightlord Wistiow, saying outright that he's ashamed of them and pointing out how he's healed them and their loved ones.
* VicariouslyAmbitious: He is hard on Kaladin and his actions out of not only his own guilt, but a desire for Kaladin to be better than how he perceives himself to be. It takes Hesina calling him out in ''Rhythm of War'' for him to acknowledge this problem.
-->'''Lirin:''' He was supposed to be better than this. He was supposed to be better than... [[BeneathTheMask than I am]].

[[folder:Hesina]]
!Hesina

->''"You burn a glyphward out in front of your house, and it will turn away evil. It's easy. Your father won't give someone a ward to heal them. He'll insist that they stay in bed, drinking water, taking some foul medicine, and washing their wound each day. It's hard. They'd rather leave it all to fate."''\\\

Kaladin's mother, a well-off darkeyed woman who was wooed by a surgeon and followed him to a lonely town in the middle of nowhere. She is intelligent and refined in all things, and never complains about her lot, but Lirin secretly feels guilty for what he has put her through.

* CloudCuckoolander: Downplayed. She's just a bit odd, especially by Alethi standards. She prefers to talk circles around her sons instead of directly chastising them, looks forward to one day men being allowed to read, and thinks Kaladin's supposedly blasphemous powers are ''delightful''.
* DeadpanSnarker: She has a clever tongue in her head, though not as much as many of the other snarkers in the book. She's very good at twisting Kaladin's words around to teach him a lesson, and the few times he snarks at people, he always credits her.
* NoodleIncident: Whatever exactly happened between Lirin and her parents that led to her leaving the city and rarely speaking of them.
-->'''Hesina:''' ''[to Kaladin]'' Don't let your father's words unnerve you. He always gets pessimistic at times like this.\\
'''Lirin:''' I do not.\\
'''Hesina:''' ''[DisapprovingLook]''\\
'''Lirin:''' Name one other time.\\
'''Hesina:''' Meeting my parents.\\
''[beat]''\\
'''Lirin:''' Stormwinds, let's hope this doesn't go ''half'' as poorly as that.
* ProperLady: She comes off as a perfectly refined Alethi darkeyed woman, who ended up in a remote corner of the country but retained her courtly manner. It's hinted (and [[https://wob.coppermind.net/events/324-emerald-city-comic-con-2018/#e9290 confirmed by Sanderson]]) that one of her parents is lighteyed.

[[folder:Toralin Roshone]]
!Brightlord Toralin Roshone

->''"I do not like your little town. I do not like being treated like an '''exile'''. I do not like living so far from anything--everything--important. And most of all, I do not like darkeyes who think themselves above their stations."''\\\

The citylord of Hearthstone, who took over when Brightlord Wistiow died. It's obvious from the beginning that he was exiled for some political offense in the city, and he blames the town, especially Lirin, for his suffering.

* TheApocalypseBringsOutTheBestInPeople: Surprisingly enough, the Singer occupation of Hearthstone leads Roshone to start taking his duties to his people seriously, even putting aside his feud with Lirin to work together to help protect his citizens. [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceDoorSlam Moash kills him before we could really see his growth.]]]]
* ClosestThingWeGot: He's a terrible citylord, but in ''Oathbringer'' Kaladin tells him that he has to shape up because they don't have time to upend the entire Vorin caste system.
* EvenEvilCanBeLoved: Despite his flaws, his children's genuine love for him [[spoiler:and their grieving for him after his death]] are some of Roshone's more humanizing aspects.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Roshone's a cruel bastard, but he loves his son, and blames Lirin for failing to save his life after a hunting accident.
* TheExile: He was banished to the backwater town of Hearthstone after pissing off a bigwig for some reason. ''Words of Radiance'' reveals Dalinar realized that he was abusing Elhokar's trust for his own selfish purposes, and thought it would be fine to just send him off to the edge of Alethkar.
* FailureToSaveMurder: Roshone blames Lirin for the death of his son Rillir. Roshone and Rillir were both severely wounded while hunting a whitespine, and Rillir's wound was inevitably fatal, so Lirin prioritized saving Roshone's even though Rillir was still technically alive. Roshone would accuse Lirin of letting his son die, and this would lead to him having Tien be conscripted into the army as retaliation.
* FantasticRacism: Like most Alethi lighteyes, he finds darkeyes to be little better than slaves, and is annoyed whenever they won't just give him everything he wants without arguing. The reason he ended up in Hearthstone was because he asked Elhokar to help him get rid of some bothersome elderly darkeyed silversmiths he was competing with. When they made an issue of it, they were thrown in jail pending an inquest, where they died in short order. Dalinar exiled Roshone to a distant corner of the country "where he could do no harm."
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: He went from the next king's best friend, to the lord of a backwater town, to a servant doing menial labor, [[spoiler:then finally a corpse]].
* ImpoverishedPatrician: In ''Oathbringer'', Kaladin is surprised to realize that while Roshone has more money than the rest of the town put together, he's still quite poor by the standards of his rank. The money Kaladin brings to town, intended just for holding the Stormlight he needed to fly, turns out to be worth more than the bundle of spheres he and Lirin were fighting over.
* ItsAllAboutMe:
** He wants the spheres Brightlord Wistiow gifted to Kaladin's family. There doesn't seem to be anything he actually wants them ''for''--he just wants them because he doesn't want anyone else to have them. This is also what led to him getting banished to Hearthstone in the first place. He screwed over Moash's grandparents because he was having trouble competing with them legally.
** [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes On the flip side,]] when he and his son are injured by whitespines (a species of aggressive monsters) during a hunting expedition, Roshone tells Lirin to operate on his son first. Unfortunately, his son's injuries are so severe that ''nothing'' short of [[HealingHands magic]] could have saved him.
* JerkassHasAPoint: While Roshone took his grudge with Lirin too far to the point of [[UriahGambit effectivally murdering Lirin's son]], he was correct in that Lirin had stolen the money they were fighting over.
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Moash catches up to him years later and avenges his grandparents' deaths.]]
* NeverMyFault:
** He blames Lirin for his presence in Hearthstone, due to the surgeon failing to save the previous Brightlord. Nevermind the fact that the more direct cause was Roshone asking his friend the crown prince to screw over an innocent pair of competitors.
** When his son is killed in a hunting accident, he blames Lirin for failing to save him--despite the fact that the hunt was Roshone's idea in the first place, and Lirin could have easily have killed him on the surgery table.
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: He competed with Moash's grandparents and got Elhokar to practically have them killed, was exiled by Dalinar, and made Kaladin's childhood hell. He's also related to Amaram, who picked up right where he left off in making Kaladin's life hell.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: When a shop belonging to an elderly darkeyed couple was giving him trouble, he had Elhokar screw them over. Dalinar stepped in as soon as he could, but the couple had already died in prison, waiting for the inquest. Dalinar then banished him as far from his connections as he could, in the hopes of keeping him from doing any more harm.
* UriahGambit: When Lirin was unable to save his son (despite trying), Roshone got revenge by adding Lirin's son Tien to the list of conscripts for the army in the hopes he'd die in combat. It worked.

!!Others from Alethkar


[[folder:Meridas Amaram]]
!Brightlord Meridas Amaram
->''"This '''is''' for my men. You can't begin to understand the weights I carry, spearman."''\\\

The lord Kaladin formerly served under. Ends up betraying Alethkar to Odium in exchange for Odium getting rid of Amaram's guilt.

---> ''See [[Characters/TheStormlightArchiveOdiumForces Odium's Forces]]''

[[folder:Cenn]]
!Cenn
->"''I'm going to die, aren't I?"''\\\

A new boy in Kaladin's squad.

* DecoyProtagonist: Dies in the introductory chapter for Kaladin, though this isn't made apparent until the end of Part 3 of the first book.
* KilledOffForReal: Cenn is struck down by a Shardbearer and doesn't come back.
* NewMeat: A new recruit that Kaladin takes under his wing and tries to protect.
* RedShirt: He exists only to die, and the worst part is he ''knows'' it. Even though we don't actually see him die until halfway through the book, his death is still blatantly obvious.
* ShoutOut: Brandon has stated that he may have unconsciously named him after [[ScrewPolitenessImASenior Cenn Buie]] from ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Killed off at the end of the first chapter of ''Literature/TheWayOfKings2010'', before anyone really got to know him.

[[folder:Niter]]
!Captain Niter

The captain of the Cobalt Guard.

* BusCrash: Stops appearing partway through ''The Way of Kings''. The next time he's mentioned is a fair bit into ''Words of Radiance'', when Zahel tells Kaladin that he died during the second tower assault.
* TheLeader: Of the Cobalt Guard.
* RedHerring: He fits the description of Jezrien, the Herald King, almost word for word. Turns out to just be a coincidence.

[[folder:Danlan Morakotha]]
!Danlan Morakotha
->''"Dalinar holds himself back. He knows he should take the throne, but hesitates out of love for his dead brother. The other highprinces interpret this as weakness."''\\\

A spanreed operator working for the Kholins. Comes to visit from another warcamp and starts dating Adolin. They stay together for an unusually long time, but then end up breaking up in between ''The Way of Kings'' and ''Words of Radiance''.

* HiddenDepths: Aside from a brief slip-up in her airhead act, she doesn't seem to be anything special in ''The Way of Kings''. Then in ''Words of Radiance'', it's revealed that she's trying to kill King Elhokar.
* TheMole: She's secretly working for Taravangian, aiding his Diagram plot by trying to kill Elhokar.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Tries to act like an airhead, even though she actually isn't. Adolin notes that the angriest he's even seen her is when he off-handedly reveals he knows she's been doing this.
* RomanticFalseLead: Teased as potentially being the true perfect girl for Adolin, but [[RunningGag as usual]], they break up.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: She's a fairly minor character, but the information she collects and sends to Taravangian is what causes him to send Szeth to kill Dalinar.

[[folder:Azure]]
!Highmarshal Azure

A mysterious woman who appeared to rally the defenses at Kholinar.

* AbdicateTheThrone: While she tells Adolin that it was [[IHaveThisFriend someone she knew]] that gave up the throne and royal responsibilities, it's pretty obvious she's talking about herself.
* BolivianArmyEnding: Last seen preparing to defend the Honorspren from the Fused. [[spoiler:''Literature/RhythmOfWar'' would confirm she survived and returned to her own travels.]]
* BountyHunter: Is referred to as one, having come to Roshar to take Nightblood back.
* CoolSword: She has a strange Shardblade that she wears in a sheath, apparently because she is unable to dismiss and summon it, and refers to as "she", implying it has some measure of intelligence. It's generally assumed to be a Type IV Awakened Entity like Nightblood, although considerably less dangerous for everyone involved.
* DimensionalTraveler: She's from [[Literature/{{Warbreaker}} Nalthis]]. Specifically, she's Vivenna, last seen traveling with Vasher, who now goes by Zahel.
* KaleidoscopeHair: She still has the Royal Locks, and her hair changes to white in Shadesmar, indicating that [[OhCrap she's terrified]]. Adolin notices, but doesn't understand the significance of the color, assumes it's some oddity of Shadesmar, and doesn't comment.
* MeaningfulName: "Azure" is obviously a reference to Kholin blue, but it's also a color--making it an appropriate pseudonym for someone from [[Literature/{{Warbreaker}} Nalthis]].
* OhMeAccentsSlipping: Once she gets to Shadesmar, she drops any and all pretenses of being Alethi, using expressions that are far more obviously from [[Literature/{{Warbreaker}} Nalthis]]. Justified, as no one else knows Nalthis exists.
* SamusIsAGirl: Her men pretend she's male to keep her from getting in trouble. Kaladin doesn't really mind due to his experiences with Syl and the new female Radiants, while Azure herself is mostly just amused.
* WalkingSpoiler: It's hard to talk about her without mentioning that she's actually [[Literature/{{Warbreaker}} Vivenna]].

[[folder:Rushu]]
!Ardent Rushu

One of Navani's ardents, she is a beautiful and intelligent woman with an unfortunate tendency to get distracted.

* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: On the ''Wandersail'', she was supposed to show Rysn the new fabrials within a day or two. It took her two weeks, because she kept getting distracted.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: She is distractible and more than a bit odd. She's also one of Navani's most valued assistants because when she ''is'' on task she's just that good.
* TooCleverByHalf: On the Wandersail's expedition, she did an excellent job investigating the strange situation on Aimia. Too good a job. She cut through the deceptions of the Sleepless in minutes and forced their hand.

* AffablyEvil: He is polite and friendly with other lighteyes of equal station, and seems to genuinely care about Dalinar and his family. That affable nature, however, completely vanishes when dealing with anyone beneath his station. Lower-ranked lighteyes and especially darkeyes are [[CannonFodder tools to serve his needs]], and any honor he shows to his equals goes out the window when dealing with his subordinates, especially bridgemen.

* FriendlyEnemy: With Dalinar. Doesn't stop him from betraying Dalinar. He even tries to justify his betrayal as granting Dalinar an honorable, heroic LastStand so that he would be a martyr that the rest of the Alethi will unite behind.

* ArcherArchetype: His forces have the best archers of the Alethi highprinces.

* DropTheHammer: The other weapon Sadeas relies on is a massive warhammer common among Shardbearers without a Shardblade.

* TheGhost: She doesn't have a single appearance in the first book, and barely in the second, though she is at least discussed. She finally appears in the third book during the attempt to retake Kholinar.

* WickedWastefulness: Aesudan's misrule escalates to the point that she cancels food aid to the poor but holds lavish parties for her sycophants while her country suffers. It prompts a TurbulentPriest to denounce her, setting off a wave of civil unrest. [[spoiler:However, her actions are at least partly influenced by the EldritchAbomination Ashertmarn, Heart of the Revel.]]

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Is suddenly killed in the first part of ''Words of Radiance''. Ultimately subverted when she turns up alive at the end of the book; she was able to survive by healing with Stormlight and slipping into Shadesmar with her Elsecaller powers.

* [[Characters/TheStormlightArchiveMainCharacters Main Characters]] [[note]] Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar, Eshonai, Szeth [[/note]]
* [[Characters/TheStormlightArchiveUrithiru Urithiru]] [[note]] Bridge Four, the Unseen Court, other Radiants [[/note]]
* [[Characters/TheStormlightArchiveHeraldsKnightsAndSpren Heralds, Knights, and Spren]] [[note]] Heralds of the Almighty (Jezrien, Nale, Chanarach, Vedel, Paliah, Shalash, Battar, Kalak, Talenel, and Ishar), the Knights Radiant (and orders thereof), Radiant Spren (Sylphrena, The Nightwatcher, Pattern, Stormfather, Wyndle, Ivory, Timbre, and Mayalaran), Unmade (Yelig-nar, Sja-anat, Nergaoul, Moelach, Dai-gonarthis, Re-Shephir, Ashertmarn, Ba-Ado-Mishram, and Chemoarish), Other Beings of Magic (Sword-Nimi, Ulim) [[/note]]

* [[Characters/TheStormlightArchiveTheFused The Fused]][[note]]Leshwi, the Pursuer, Raboniel, El[[/note]]

* [[Characters/TheStormlightArchiveOther Other]] [[note]] Frostlands (Taravangian, Stick, and Vathah), Ghostbloods (Thaidakar, Kabsal, Mraize, Iyatil, and Lin Davar), Historical Characters (Nohadon/Bajerden and Sadees "The Sunmaker"), and Other Characters (Demoux, Grump, Blunt, Zahel, Rysn and Vstim, Axies, Lift, Nan Helaran Davar, Arclo, and Venli) [[/note]]

[[folder:Dalinar]]

The lord Kaladin formerly served under.

* AffablyEvil: Amaram's initial politeness isn't feigned, he feels guilt over his actions, and believes the evil acts he performs are necessary. By the time of ''Oathbringer'', the exposure of his deeds and his dislike of Kaladin, Dalinar and Jasnah has made him much less affable.
* ArchEnemy: Amaram is this to Kaladin, being the one responsible for his enslavement and the deaths of his original squad, all to protect his own reputation. Kaladin finally gets a chance to settle the score in ''Oathbringer''.
* BerserkButton: Of all things, YourMom insults really rile him up.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: One of the most well-respected of brightlords, and one of the few Alethi brightlords who Dalinar truly respects. Adolin, slightly more GenreSavvy than his father, correctly notes that Amaram's sterling record sounds entirely too much like a man who spends a lot of energy on keeping up appearances.
* BodyHorror: His bonding with Yelig-nar causes crystals to burst out of his body and even through his Shardplate, including on his back, an entire side of his face, consuming his feet, and down his arms. Kaladin's view after destroying the chest piece (and thereby the entire suit of Shardplate) is very nasty.
-->The highprince's entire chest had collapsed inward. There was no sign of ribs or internal organs. Instead, a large violet crystal pulsed inside his chest cavity, overgrown with dark veins. If he'd been wearing a uniform or padding beneath the armor, it had been consumed.
* BrokenPedestal: Kaladin once looked up to Amaram as a true lighteyes, honorable and just unlike Roshone. Then Amaram revealed his true colors, and Kaladin left with an undying hatred for not only his former commander but towards all lighteyes that hasn't fully gone away to this day.
* BullyingADragon: Tries to summon his Shardblade against Jasnah [[DisproportionateRetribution for insulting him.]] Jasnah coolly begins preparing to Soulcast and [[BringIt daring Amaram to give her a reason to kill him.]]
* CoolSword: His Shardblade, which he stole from Kaladin.
* DarkSecret: He never earned his Shardblade. He stole it from Kaladin and sold him to slavery on a false charge.
* DemonicPossession: In the final fight against Kaladin, he intentionally becomes possessed by the [[DemonLordsandArchDevils Unmade Yelig-Nar]] so he can become powerful enough to fight a Knight Radiant.
* TheDragon: He briefly becomes Odium's after the latter uses the Thrill to corrupt him, and then Dalinar refuses to become Odium's champion.
* DualWielding: Dalinar gives him Oathbringer once the Blade is found, since as the new Highprince of Sadeas he's its rightful heir. He uses both it and Helaran's Blade in the final battle.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: He nearly draws his Shardblade on Jasnah after she calls his mother a whore.
* EvilCounterpart: He's basically what would happen if Dalinar couldn't take responsibility for his crimes.
* FantasticRacism: At first he was surprised that a Herald might have dark skin and self-consciously chides himself for assuming they'd all look like Alethi. He's convinced that the Herald's dark eyes must be some sort of disguise though: so in other words he can overcome his FantasticRacism but is still blinded by his Fantastic ''Classism''. The assumption is ''somewhat'' justified though, as Shardblades and Surgebinding gradually turn the irises of a darkeyes that gains them light, and the Heralds are literally legendary in their Surgebinding prowess and have been for millennia. However, the connection between a Herald and their Honorblade is entirely different from the Nahel bond between a Radiant and their spren and does not have this effect.
* {{Hypocrite}}: For all his talk of making hard choices to fight Odium, he ends up joining Odium. Admittedly, Nergaoul was less than a mile away and pumping him with enough Thrill to drive his entire army insane, but still. He had previously praised Dalinar for his mistaken belief that Dalinar had killed Sadeas, and turns on him for that exact reason.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Insists that stealing Kaladin's Shardblade was necessary for the fate of the world, as he can utilize it far more effectively. Eventually, he comes to regret his actions. That is, he regrets enslaving Kaladin rather than killing him.
* ItsAllAboutMe:
** Kaladin thinks this is his attitude. He's shocked to learn Amaram is actually a WellIntentionedExtremist who genuinely believes his actions serve the greater good. The trope still applies, however; Amaram is convinced that he is important to the survival of the world, and that getting his hands on a Shardblade is worth killing a handful of innocent men.
** Apparently Kaladin isn't the only one who thinks this. Jasnah is positively dismissive of him for the same reasons.
** He takes credit for Kaladin's Radiant status, saying he was the one who forged Kaladin into what he is.
* KarmicDeath: Amaram killed Kaladin's original squad for knowing his DarkSecret. As he prepares to murder Kaladin, Amaram is killed himself by a member of Bridge Four, Kaladin's new squad. The squad-mate in question was Rock, the only member of Bridge Four who refused to kill in the past.
* KarmaHoudini: In between ''Words of Radiance'' and ''Oathbringer''. Dalinar proves Kaladin's innocence and exposes Amaram as a thief, a liar, and a murderer, and for a while it seems like Amaram's public image is forever ruined and the man is powerless. Then after everyone is settled in Urithiru, Amaram is promoted as Highprince Sadeas on Ialai's behalf, and business continues on as usual for him like nothing happened.
* KnightTemplar: For the majority of the story, he was convinced that what he was doing was for the good of all of Roshar, even if [[NiceJobBreakingItHero it would actively usher in another Desolation]]. He finally drops this when he fights Kaladin in ''Oathbringer'', embracing Odium's power.
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Wit uses this trait as a basis for his ReasonYouSuckSpeech. His plans - which involve triggering another Desolation to return the good old days - show that Wit was entirely correct.
-->'''Wit:''' [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom You]] are what lesser cretins like [[LackOfEmpathy Sadeas]] can only aspire to be.
* LoopholeAbuse: Like all good Alethi men, he can't read, but he understands the simplified glyphs used in their place for things like showing directions or labeling objects. Amaram has taken to stringing them together in sentences (rather than just singly and in pairs), creating a crude pictograph language.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Part of his breakdown in ''Oathbringer''. As Kaladin notes, he keeps trying to justify everything he did, but if he was ''truly'' beyond guilt, he wouldn't bother.
-->'''Amaram:''' Anyone would have done what I did, even Dalinar himself.\\
'''Kaladin:''' [[SpottingTheThread Didn't you tell me you'd given up that grief?]]\\
'''Amaram:''' Yes! I am beyond guilt!\\
'''Kaladin:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Then why do you still hurt?]] (''Amaram flinches'') Murderer. You've switched sides to find peace, Amaram. But you won't have it. He'll ''never'' give it to you.
* NeverMyFault: Dodges his guilt by claiming [[IDidWhatIHadToDo it was necessary]]. This makes him susceptible to Odium's offer to accept the blame for Amaram's misdeeds, claiming he was the one who drove him to it. Amaram accepts Odium's offer, unlike Dalinar, who admits Odium may have influenced him, but the choices were still his own. It is being forced to acknowledge that he still does feel guilty about it all that drives him into a [[VillainousBreakdown complete breakdown.]]
-->'''Amaram:''' I hurt, once. Did you know that? After I was forced to kill your squad, I... hurt. [[IgnoredEpiphany Until I realized. It wasn't my fault. None of this is my fault.]]
* NiceToTheWaiter: At least, when nothing important is at stake. Shallan, after disguising herself as one of his servants, is surprised to learn that he knows his servant's name, that she has the night off, and her current relationship status.
* NotSoSimilar: He thinks Dalinar is the same as him to the point of modeling his miltary career after the highlord's, but he's very wrong despite the surface similarities. Dalinar never [[LaserGuidedAmnesia intentionally]] hid what he was and what he did, which became public knowledge, unlike Amaram who tries to cover up every single flaw that might tarnish his public image. Likewise, Dalinar eventually became who he pretended to be and accepted his flaws, while Amaram's fake personality remained just that while he pushed away all responsibility for his crimes onto other people.
* OhCrap: His reaction when he realizes Dalinar knows what he did with Kaladin.
* OneWingedAngel: When he swallows a gemheart and becomes a champion of Odium, Amaram's body begins to rapidly be replaced by spikes and plates of raw amethyst that makes him resistant to Shardblades. He also gains access to nine of the Ten Surges (presumably except for Adhesion as it is not an Odium Surge) through Voidbinding, and takes to DualWielding Oathbringer and Helaran's Shardblade, essentially making him a combination of every single kind of human enemy at that point in one person.
* PainfulTransformation: His gradual transformation after bonding with Yelig-nar seems to be rather excruciating, driving him to a ScreamingWarrior.
* PrecisionFStrike: Jasnah is so far the only person to have managed to get a genuine angry rise out of him when she insults him directly, due to their former closeness, or at least, his perception that they were close.
-->'''Jasnah''': From what I understand, (your mother) spent the seven months she was with child entertaining every military man she could find, in the hopes something of them would stick to you.\\
'''Amaram''': You godless ''whore''.
* RankUp: Named the new Highprince Sadeas by Ialai after Torol's death.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Subverted. Kaladin thought he was this for a long time, but when Kaladin refuses the Shardblade he won, he promptly has his spear team killed and Kaladin himself MadeASlave so he can have the Shardblade himself.
* RedemptionRejection: Though Amaram sides with Odium, Dalinar offers him the opportunity to change back sides and redeem himself, telling him that everyone can change. Amaram refuses, saying he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.
* SincerestFormOfFlattery: When Amaram is exposed as a liar and a murderer by Dalinar, he's shocked and angered because he based his persona and miltary career on Dalinar's own, and thought they were peas in a pod.
* SlaveToPR: He's dedicates a lot of his energy into emulating Dalinar and making himself out to be the perfect, honorable brightlord. Everyone, even Kaladin was fooled by it initially with only Adolin ever suspecting the man was hiding something.
* SuperpowerLottery: After bonding with Yelig-nar, Amaram gains access to all Ten Surges, or perhaps their Voidbinding equivalent. This grants him the ability to slick himself through Abrasion, [[GravityMaster use Lashings]] for NotQuiteFlight, use Tension to transform [[DishingOutDirt stone into mud and back again]], and Division to set anything he touches, from the ground to the very air, [[PlayingWithFire ablaze]]. Unfortunately, this is coupled with a PainfulTransformation.
* TooGoodToBeTrue: Adolin's opinion about his reputation. After all, even his father, the greatest man he's ever known, has flaws open to the world.
* UniversallyBelovedLeader: He is one of the few Alethi nobles known to all to be perfectly just, honourable and morally upstanding. Subverted not only because he most definitely ''isn't'', but because this is exactly the reason why Adolin believes Kaladin's accusations against him - he figures that anyone who looks ''that'' squeaky-clean must be making an effort to look so good.
* UnskilledButStrong: Subverted originally, as he is an expert with his (stolen) Shardblade. ''But'' during his fight against [[TheHero Kaladin]] he becomes [[DemonicPossession possessed by Yelig-Nar]], making him this trope. He gains [[ArcNumber nine]] different types of magic (in contrast Kaladin has ''two'', both of which Amaram also has) but has no training with them, so he can't use them to their maximum potential.
* VillainousBreakdown: On being forced to acknowledge that he ''still'' feels guilty for what crimes he has committed, Amaram loses all attempts to keep his composure and flies into a rage to try and kill Kaladin once and for all.
-->'''Amaram:''' Everything I've done, I've done for Alethkar. I'm a patriot!\\
'''Kaladin:''' If that's true, ''[[ArmorPiercingQuestion why do you still hurt]]?''
* ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: This is Kaladin's stance towards punishing Amaram for his crimes, while Dalinar thinks exposing him and ruining his public image is enough. Kaladin turns out to be right, as ''Oathbringer'' reveals.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: As one of the Sons of Honor, Amaram wants to bring back the Heralds so that they can properly lead humanity under the doctrines of the Vorin church. The Sons of Honor believe that to do so, however, requires them to start another Desolation, unaware that the Heralds both already live on Roshar, and desperately want to avoid another Desolation to the point that the Skybreaker order are actively assassinating Sons of Honor agents as well as potential Radiants.
* WrongGenreSavvy: He'd fit in fine in a darker fantasy work like ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' or even some other [[Literature/TheCosmere Cosmere]] works like ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}''. He just happens to live on the one planet where the magic system runs on HonorBeforeReason, and being a WellIntentionedExtremist does nothing but empower Odium.

[[folder:Gaz]]
!Former Soldier, Former Deserter, Lightweaver Squire of Shallan
-> ''I liked being useful. Reminded me of back when I first joined up. You tell her, Veil. Tell her to give us something to do other than gambling and drinking. Because to be honest, I ain't very good at either one.''

Gaz was initially the seargent in charge of Bridge Four, an antagonist of Kaladin's. Partway through ''The Way of Kings'', he disappeared, only to reappear as a deserter in ''Words of Radiance''. He then becomes a devoted follower of Shallan's, and eventually her squire as a Lightweaver.
----
* DefectorFromDecadence: From the lowest orders of decadence. Having been repeatedly shamed by Kaladin's excellence in the face of adversity, and facing execution for failing to prevent it, Gaz nopes out of Sadeas's army and becomes a deserter instead.
* EyepatchOfPower: Initially, his missing eye is just played as another symbol of his fallen soldier archetype, but Shallan reimagines it as a tragic scar for him to overcome.
* HeelRealization: Gaz never thought of himself as a good man. He hated what he was doing to the bridgemen, he just feared more what would happen to him if he didn't keep doing it.
* HiddenDepths: Though he was a bastard to Kaladin with Bridge Four, he's the first to jump at the chance for redemption when Shallan offers it in the Frostlands.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Falls into tears at seeing the sketch Shallan has done of him as a noble, fallen hero who has a chance to rise once more to grace.
-->''She tidied up his uniform, smoothing out his paunch, taking liberties with his chin. Most of the difference, however, had to do with the expression. Looking up, into the distance. With the right expression, that eye patch became noble, that scarred face became wise, that uniform became a mark of pride. She filled it in with some light background details reminiscent of that night beside the fires, when the people of the caravan had thanked Gaz and the others for their rescue.''

[[/folder]]

* WeHardlyKnewYe: Killed off at the end of the first chapter of ''Literature/TheWayOfKings'', before anyone really got to know him.

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: He is one of the few Alethi nobles known to all to be perfectly just, honourable and morally upstanding. Subverted not only because he most definitely ''isn't'', but because this is exactly the reason why Adolin believes Kaladin's accusations against him - he figures that anyone who looks ''that'' squeaky-clean must be making an effort to look so good.