Editing Susebron

{{character
|image=God King.jpg
|parents=[[Susebron's mother|Mother]]
|spouse=[[Sisirinah]]
|abilities={{tag|Returned}}, {{tag+|Awakener}}, {{tag+|Cognitive Shadow}}
|titles=[[God King]] of [[Hallandren]], Susebron the Grand, Immortal Majesty{{book ref|wb|4}}, His Excellent Grace
|nickname=Seb{{book ref|wb|36}}
|nation=Hallandren
|residence=T'Telir
|world=Nalthis
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
|introduced=[[Warbreaker]]
}}
{{quote
|When others look at something—a person—one may sometimes seem more beautiful than another. This is not so for me. I see only the colors. The rich, wondrous colors that make up all things and give them life.
|Susebron to [[Siri]]{{book ref|wb|29}}
}}

'''Susebron''', also known as '''Susebron the Fifth''', is the God King of [[Hallandren]] on [[Nalthis]] around 300 years after the [[Manywar]].{{book ref|wb|2}} He is a [[Returned]] and is given two or more [[Breath]]s every week by his subjects in order to keep him alive.{{book ref|wb|29}}  He is the fifth God King in the three hundred years since the Manywar.{{book ref|wb|32}}

==Appearance & Personality==
{{image|Susebron by Laurys L.jpg|side=left|width=250px}}
{{for|/Gallery|more images}}
{{quote
|All of those stories are just tales told by people who lived lives before ours. What they say about humankind is true. I have watched and seen how people act. It is strange, for me, to interpret these things, for I do not see as normal men do. I am the God King. Everything, to my eyes, has the same beauty.
|Susebron on his perception of beauty{{book ref|wb|29}}
}}

As a Returned, Susebron looks about twenty, much younger than his fifty years.{{book ref|wb|15}} He is described as having dark hair, black eyes, and pale skin, though it is revealed later that he can learn to change his appearance at will.{{book ref|wb|58}}

He is naive, having grown up in a virtual prison imposed upon him by his priests. He is highly trusting of them, and refuses to believe that they may wish him harm (though it is worth noting that his faith in them turns out to be well-placed).{{book ref|wb|29}} His main source of knowledge about morality is a book of stories that once belonged to his [[Susebron's mother|mother]], the morals of which he follows from memory.{{book ref|wb|24}} Later, he begins to figure some things out for himself, though he continues to hold to the book's rules, making him honest to a fault.{{book ref|wb|29}} Susebron is highly devoted to the people he trusts, including [[Siri]] and the priests, and refuses to abandon either of them. Nonetheless, he can be realistic in his assessment of others and is keenly aware of his own shortcomings as a ruler.{{book ref|wb|36}}{{book ref|wb|58}}

He is very fond of sweets and justifies eating a lot of them by saying that as a Returned, he can't gain any weight.{{book ref|wb|44}}

== Attributes and Abilities ==
{{image|Susebron by Caio Santos.jpg|side=right|height=250px|Using [[Awakening]]}}

Throughout most of his life, Susebron was mute and unable to read or write using the common alphabet. He did, however, understand the color-coded Hallendren artisan's script, which provided the only means of communication between Susebron and his priests.{{book ref|wb|20}} Because he wasn't taught how to Awaken mentally, he was unable to use his Breath to Awaken. He eventually manages to learn how to read and write from [[Siri]], and has his tongue restored by [[Lightsong]], immediately gaining the ability to speak.{{book ref|wb|29}}{{book ref|wb|57}}

He has been gifted with [[Peacegiver's Treasure]], a sum of approximately fifty thousand Breaths. Additionally, he receives two to three Breaths every week which causes his hoard of Breath to grow steadily over time. This grants him the Tenth [[Heightening]] and all the abilities of the Heightenings beneath it, including:{{book ref|wb|part=ars}}
* Aura Recognition - allows him to assess the number of Breaths a person possesses. 
* Perfect Pitch
* Perfect Color Recognition - allows him to instantly and instinctively determine exact shades of colors and their hue harmonics.
* Perfect Life Sense - allows him to sense people around him.
* Agelessness - makes him immune to most toxins and physical ailments, as well as making him functionally immortal. 
* Instinctive Awakening - allows him to know commands necessary for what he desires to do without learning them beforehand.
* Invested Breath Recognition - allows him to recognize the auras of objects, and can tell when something has been Invested with Breath via Awakening.
* Command Breaking - allows him to instinctively override Commands in other Invested objects, including Lifeless. This requires concentration and will leave him exhausted.
* Greater Awakening - allows him to Awaken stone and steel objects.
* Audible Command - allows him to Awaken objects that he is not physically touching, but that are within the sound of his voice.
* Color Distortion - Wherever Susebron goes, white objects in his vicinity break up their colors like a prism, creating further colors. To show this off, he's usually dressed in white for public functions, although he wears black in private, as it is a more powerful color from an Awakening standpoint.{{wob ref|6797}}
* Perfect Invocation - when Awakening he drains objects to white instead of grey.
* Mental Command - this ability, which is difficult to learn, allows him to give Commands and Awaken mentally. Susebron would have been able to Awaken through this ability before having his tongue healed, but was never taught how to do so.{{book ref|wb|58}}
* There are rumors of other powers granted by the Tenth Heightening which are not understood or have not been made known by the God Kings, who have been the only ones to achieve it.

The Peacegiver's Treasure makes Susebron effectively immortal, and even if he were to suddenly be cut off from his weekly supply, he could still live for over nine hundred years feeding off it.{{book ref|wb|48}} This amount of Breath might also make him immune to emotional [[Allomancy]].{{wob ref|11830}} In addition, as the God-King, he's capable of using his divine Breath to heal multiple people instead of just one.{{book ref|wb|24}} Whether this is because he was Returned young or some side-effect of holding Peacegiver's Treasure is uncertain.

Though little has been shown of Susebron's Awakening abilities, he is naturally extremely powerful by the virtue of the sheer number of Breaths he possesses. Shortly after regaining his tongue, he was capable of controlling hundreds of individual Awakened objects simultaneously.{{book ref|wb|58}}

Though he is a king, it's uncertain how much in the way of political skill he has, as until very recently, he's been little more than a figurehead of the priesthood.{{book ref|wb|20}}

== History ==
=== Childhood and Early Life ===

Susebron was an infant [[Returned]] fifty years before the [[Pahn Kahl rebellion]]. He was born to a poor family living far to the north in Hallandren, to a merchant and his wife.{{wob ref|7344}} At the time of his Return, the current [[God King]] was unable to produce a child, and so the infant Susebron was given [[Peacegiver's Treasure]] and made the new God King after his predecessor gave up his divine Breath to cure a plague.{{wob ref|7344}}{{book ref|wb|27}} At some point either before or after his crowning, his tongue was removed so that he would be unable to use the wealth of Breaths that had been bestowed on him.{{book ref|wb|40}} [[Susebron's mother|His mother]] raised him in the palace, though eventually she was "taken away".{{book ref|wb|24}}{{book ref|wb|44}} Through the years he managed to retain a storybook she used to read him; he had heard the stories so many times and looked at it over the years that he had memorized each symbol, and the morals of the stories in the book were in part the code by which he lived.{{wob ref|6947}}

Throughout most of his life, Susebron resided mostly alone in the black palace of the God Kings in [[T'Telir]]. Despite being the official ruler of Hallandren, he was kept away from its people and other Returned, only coming out briefly on special occasions in order to hide the fact that he was mute.{{book ref|wb|40}} At the time, he had not been taught to [[Awakening|Awaken]] by thought.

=== Marriage to Siri ===
{{image|Siri bedroom by Marie Seeberger.jpg |side=right|width=300px|[[Siri]] kneeling before Susebron}}
{{quote
|I don't think God Kings are supposed to be "sweet."
|Susebron showing his lack of knowledge on metaphorical terms{{book ref|wb|29}}
}}
To forestall a war between [[Idris]] and Hallandren, Susebron was promised the hand of king [[Dedelin]]'s daughter, [[Vivenna]]. At the last moment, however, she was swapped for her sister, [[Sisirinah]], and Susebron ended up marrying Siri.{{book ref|wb|4}} For a long time, Susebron and Siri met only at night, as the priests wanted them to make a child, but neither acted, as Siri was awaiting Susebron's first move while Susebron had no idea what was expected of him.{{book ref|wb|24}} Initially, he did not understand Siri, uncertain as to why she spent her nights waiting, naked, on his floor. After a nearly a week of this routine, Siri approached him and berated him for doing nothing but watch throughout all the previous week. When Susebron approaches, it is revealed that he has no tongue. Siri, to convince his priests that they were trying for a baby, began moaning and bouncing on the bed every day, mimicking what she thought sex sounded like. After she began to perform her moaning and screaming routine for the priests, he approached her with a book, hoping to start some communication.{{book ref|wb|20}}

Siri taught Susebron to read and write using his mother's storybook, and they started to converse, him writing on a board, and her speaking.{{book ref|wb|20}} As he and Siri planned how to reveal to the other gods that he had no tongue, the two began to fall in love. He would spend long hours with her, learning about things like sarcasm and mockery, about places such as Idris, and about Siri's life growing up.{{book ref|wb|24}} During one of these conversations, Susebron expressed an interest in meeting [[Austre]].{{book ref|wb|29}} Eventually, he and Siri consummated their marriage.{{book ref|wb|44}}

=== The Pahn Kahl Rebellion ===
{{for|Pahn Kahl rebellion}}

After much convincing from Siri, Susebron decided to finally reveal his true function in the court to the other gods, with the plan for failure being to flee with Siri and [[Bluefingers]].{{book ref|wb|48}} However, before either could happen, Siri was taken away by the priests under the guise of her pregnancy forcing her to stay in seclusion.{{book ref|wb|50}} Almost immediately afterwards, the [[Pahn Kahl]] attacked the [[Court of Gods]], and imprisoned both Siri and Susebron.{{book ref|wb|55}}

The latter found himself in a cell next to [[Lightsong]], who sacrificed his own divine [[BioChromatic Breath|Breath]] to heal him, restoring his tongue. Now able to speak, and armed with enough Breaths to let him instinctively Awaken, Susebron freed his palace from the Pahn Kahl invaders and saved Siri.{{book ref|wb|57}}

Soon after the rebellion was quenched, Susebron was approached by [[Vasher]], who gave him the command to the [[Kalad's Phantoms]] strewn about the city.{{book ref|wb|58}} He used it to send the statues after the [[Lifeless]] army, which was bearing down on Idris. He himself remained in T'Telir along with Siri, now with far more influence on Hallandren politics.{{book ref|wb|epilogue}}

== Relationships ==
{{image|Susebron and Siri by Elisgardor.jpg |width=250px|side=right|With [[Siri]]}}
=== Siri ===
{{quote
|There is nothing so wonderful as you, even in my entire court. The mountains must be special indeed, to produce such beauty.
|Susebron to Siri{{book ref|wb|29}}
}}

Siri and Susebron are married. Though the purpose of their marriage is to solidify political alliances and to fulfill the agreement between [[Hallandren]] and [[Idris]] set up two decades previously, they come to love each other deeply. Siri is not initially meant to be Susebron's wife through the agreement; instead, her older sister [[Vivenna]] is groomed her whole life to marry the God King. However, when Vivenna turns twenty-two and the time comes that she must travel to Hallandren to wed Susebron, her father, King [[Dedelin]], decides to send Siri in her place. Despite Siri's initial terror at the prospect her marriage to Susebron, the two strike up a friendship which turns quickly to love.

== Development ==
{{unpublished|book=mythwalker}}
[[Siri]], [[Vivenna]] and Susebron were developed together. Originally, they were all characters from ''[[Mythwalker]]'', Brandon's ninth, unpublished novel.{{wob ref|7819}} Susebron was unnamed in Mythwalker, going only by the name of the Emperor, but was likewise going to marry Vivenna (Vvenna in ''Mythwalker'') before marrying Siri instead.{{bws ref|warbreaker-prime-mythwalker-chapter-thirteen/|Warbreaker Prime: Mythwalker Chapter Thirteen|date=2011-08-15}}

The Emperor in Mythwalker retains the same divine status Susebron has, but the details are slightly different: he's significantly younger, has been crowned at the age of ten rather than shortly after his birth, and wears black rather than white in court.{{bws ref|warbreaker-prime-mythwalker-chapter-fourteen/|Warbreaker Prime: Mythwalker Chapter Fourteen|date=2011-08-15}} He's also not a [[Returned]], as [[Awakening]] did not yet exist in its current form.

Though the Emperor is present for Siri's marriage to him (in contrast to Susebron), his early meetings with her go much the same as they do in ''[[Warbreaker]]''.{{bws ref| warbreaker-prime-mythwalker-chapter-sixteen/|Warbreaker Prime: Mythwalker Chapter Sixteen|date=2011-08-15}} However, as the Siri in Mythwalker possesses powers that would allow her to regrow his tongue, the plot requires the two to remain in that initial state of non-communication for far longer than they do now.{{bws ref| warbreaker-prime-mythwalker-chapter-eighteen/|Warbreaker Prime: Mythwalker Chapter Eighteen|date=2011-08-15}}

Though Brandon never finished ''Mythwalker'', the budding relationship between Siri and the Emperor was one of his favorite parts of the story, which is why he revisited it in ''Warbreaker''.{{wob ref|7360}} Though their plot was re-written significantly to improve the pacing, the Emperor's personality did not change when he became Susebron.{{wob ref|7819}}

== Trivia ==
* Several people emailed Brandon saying that lacking a tongue, Susebron shouldn't have the sense of taste. However, this is a misconception born out of a common urban legend that the taste buds are segregated by taste on a person's tongue, while in reality, the roof of the mouth also has them.{{wob ref|7290}}
* Though Susebron believes that he has hidden his book of stories from the priests, they are aware of it, though they decided to let him keep it as a memento.{{wob ref|6947}}
* According to Brandon, Susebron might not make a good God-King, but he will certainly make an earnest one. It's possible that [[Llarimar]] will become his high priest.{{wob ref|3022}}
* Though Susebron might appear in ''[[Nightblood (book)|Nightblood]]'', he will not be the focus of the story.{{wob ref|8535}}

== Notes ==
<references /><!-- chapters: 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 15, 16, 24, 27, 29, 32, 34, 36, 40, 44, 48, 50, 52, 54, 55, 57, 58, annotations: 24, 29, 36, 44, 48, 54, 55, 58, epilogue -->
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{{Warbreaker}}