Pahn Kahl rebellion
| Pahn Kahl rebellion | |
|---|---|
 by Shawn Boyles
| |
| Participants | Pahn Kahl, Hallandren, Idris |
| Effects | War averted, Susebron healed, Kalad's Phantoms rediscovered, deaths of Lightsong and Blushweaver |
| City | T'Telir |
| Nation | Hallandren |
| World | Nalthis |
| Universe | Cosmere |
“ And so here you are. Unable to fight. Unable to free yourselves. Considered second-class. And yet, if your oppressors were to get into a war, it might give you an opening. A chance to break away… ”
The Pahn Kahl rebellion is an attempt by the Pahn Kahl to free their people from the rule of Hallandren, that occurs approximately three hundred years after the Manywar.[2]
Background[edit]
The Pahn Kahl as a people harbored resentment for centuries due to the abuse they received at the hands of the Hallandren: their subjugation,[2] relegation to the lowliest jobs,[1] and seeming total assimilation to the point that most Hallandren assumed their culture no longer existed.[3][4] They had worked towards a rebellion for generations, using their positions as stewards, scribes, and clerks, where they were responsible for performing many of the key functions in the palace, to gain influence in the kingdom slowly and quietly. Bluefingers' position in particular was passed down from a Pahn Kahl before him; this type of set-up greatly aided in accumulating more and more influence.[5]
A Pahn Kahl named Vahr led an unsuccessful attempt at a rebellion prior to Bluefingers' own attempt. Vahr spent more than a decade working towards the freedom of his people. He garnered the financial support of some of the Idrian slumlords and some of Hallandren’s economic competitors to raise an army.[6][7] Bluefingers, however, felt that Vahr's plans threatened his own by drawing too much attention to the otherwise overlooked Pahn Kahl, so he leaked information to the Returned to assist in Vahr's capture; after this, Vahr's rebellion fell apart.[8] Dedelin, king of Idris, was displeased to hear of Vahr's capture because he had hoped Hallandren would focus on the Pahn Kahl in lieu of Idris. It is due to Vahr's capture and Hallandren's subsequent renewed attention on its enemies that Dedelin decided, in an attempt to stave off an impending war at least until winter, to fulfill his contract with Susebron by sending Siri to T'Telir.[9]
Preparations[edit]
The Tunnel System[edit]
“The priests of the Iridescent Tones, it appeared, were hiding things from the rest of the kingdom. And from their gods. ”
—Vasher after discovering a trapdoor in Mercystar's palace[10]
The Pahn Kahl who held the position of steward prior to Bluefingers was instrumental in manipulating the priests into constructing an extensive tunnel system below the Court of the Gods and keeping it a secret from the Returned. As the project continued, Bluefingers used it for his own ends both by misappropriating some of the funds and also as cover for digging projects of his own.[5] He was eventually able to use the tunnels below the court to grant covert entry to mercenaries and to Pahn Kahl Awakeners. He sequestered a large number of the former in the tunnels in preparation for the final attack and he set the latter to the task of breaking the Lifeless army.[11] The Awakeners managed to break some of the Lifeless and commanded them to attack with deadly force if any Idrian was aggressive towards them, which resulted in a chaotic and deadly scene when the City Watch raided Vivenna’s meeting with the Idrian slumlords.[12]
Manipulation of Siri[edit]
“Doing your duty as the Vessel was the danger! ”
—Bluefingers to Siri[13]
When Siri arrived in T'Telir to marry Susebron, Bluefingers strived to gain her trust at the expense of the Hallandren. He thought her trust in the Hallandren priests would preclude war between the two nations and hoped to use her to manipulate, by extension, the Idrians of the city. To this end, he invited her pity on the Pahn Kahl by drawing attention to their lowly stations. He also allowed her to believe he was more ignorant of palace scheming than he really was, not letting on that he knew about Susebron's missing tongue, and expressed to her that his real concern was the Pahn Kahl not being able to retain their positions when a new God King succeeded Susebron, as the usual custom was to replace all of the servants.[8] Knowing that Treledees had instructed Siri that she and Susebron must have a child as quickly as possible, Bluefingers further undermined her trust in the God King’s priests by warning her that this would actually bring danger to the couple.[14] This plan worked to the extent that Siri asked him to get her and Susebron out of the palace should they become endangered.[15] Bluefingers' plan regarding Siri morphed, however, when Denth successfully captured and exploited Vivenna in their efforts to stir up the people of T'Telir, and Bluefingers instead conceived of the idea of Siri dying at the apparent hand of the Hallandren priests.[16]
Denth's Crew[edit]
Meanwhile, Denth's crew, whom Bluefingers had hired for the purpose of inciting the people of T'Telir, was busy out in the city. The crew attacked the supplies needed for war and, together with Vivenna, incited the Idrians in the slums. Denth also hatched a plan to kidnap the child of Nanrovah, Stillmark's high priest who vocally opposed war in the debates in court. His idea was to hold Nanrovah's daughter in order to blackmail him, but Vivenna eventually tumbled to Denth’s real motives and teamed up with Vasher to rescue the girl and begin working against Denth's crew.[17]
Final Attack[edit]
The fact that the Court of the Gods planned to assemble to take a formal vote on war with Idris precipitated a final attack in the culmination of all of Bluefingers' plans. When Bluefingers saw the priests act preemptively in securing the God King and Queen inside the palace, he believed that they were suspicious of him and reacted by seizing both the God King’s palace and Blushweaver herself from her palace.[18]
The Tunnels[edit]
Bluefingers ordered the capture and torture of Blushweaver so that the rebels could get the Lifeless command phrases from her. In the meantime, Lightsong entered the tunnels of his own volition, guided by his prophetic dreams and seeking the answer to why tensions between the two nations had risen so high even after the wedding. He and Llarimar, who came with him, stumbled onto the group of Pahn Kahl posing as priests as they tortured Blushweaver, and they were both captured in their rescue attempt.[19] After their success extracting the Command phrase from Blushweaver, the Pahn Kahl killed her in front of Lightsong and obtained his Command phrase when they threatened to kill Llarimar too.[20]
“By the Colors... I am a god.”
—Lightsong[21]
After Bluefingers sent Susebron down into the tunnels, he ended up in a cage next to Lightsong. Bluefingers planned to leave Susebron's body in the palace dungeons and to place Blushweaver's and Lightsong's bodies in the Lifeless barracks surrounded by the corpses of Idrians.[2] When the Pahn Kahl retrieved Susebron from his cage in order to kill him, however, Lightsong thwarted their efforts by giving up his divine Breath (and his life with it) to heal Susebron's missing tongue.[21]
The Palace[edit]
When Susebron's priests heard about the impending vote, they were concerned for the God King and Queen's safety and sequestered them in the palace under the pretext of discovering that Siri was with child.[22][18] After the fighting began, Treledees took Siri to reunite with Susebron. Bluefingers arrived and suggested that they flee through the tunnels under the palace, but on the way there Siri put together the facts and understood that really this was a rebellion of the Pahn Kahl, with Bluefingers as the ringleader. They instead headed towards the front gates.[1]
Vasher attempted to break into the palace to rescue Siri at Vivenna's request, but Denth and his mercenaries ambushed and captured him outside Siri's door. Vivenna came to his rescue and successfully freed him, but after being knocked out a window in the ensuing fight, Vasher was forced to draw Nightblood, who consumes Breath when unsheathed, in his effort to get through a group of soldiers and back to Denth. Having successfully manipulated Vasher into losing most of his Breaths, Denth then challenged him to a duel.[23] Vasher in his weakened state was no match for Denth. Just before Denth was about to kill him, Vasher transferred his few remaining Breaths to Denth, inducing such momentary ecstasy as to provide Vasher an opening to kill Denth with his dagger.[21][24]
“You want me dead, then have the decency to let me die standing up.”
—Siri to Bluefingers[21]
Meanwhile, Treledees and the other of the God King's priests took Siri and Susebron towards the front gates in an attempt to escape the palace. Bluefingers and a force of Lifeless ambushed the group and killed the priests; Susebron was sent into the tunnels while Bluefingers took Siri to a room on the fourth floor. There, he intended to kill Siri and place her on an altar surrounded by the corpses of Hallandren priests as proof that they only wanted her to come to T'Telir so they could sacrifice her to the God King. The rumors that she was with child would only make her death in such a manner more powerful.[21]
Susebron's healed tongue, which Lightsong restored to him in the tunnels, allowed him to use Peacegiver's Treasure, the fifty thousand Breaths of which he was guardian. With such an incredible Awakening force, Susebron efficiently quelled the rebels' attack on the palace with a storm of awakened cloths and rescued Siri from Bluefingers' clutches.[25]
The Lifeless Army[edit]
Upon obtaining the Command phrases from Blushweaver and Lightsong, a small group of Pahn Kahl imprinted the whole Lifeless army of Hallandren with a new Command phrase. Bluefingers directed them to give the army orders to march on Idris. All those who knew the new Command phrase were then to kill themselves with poison so that no one would be able to stop the attack.[2]
Bluefingers intended to stage a scene in the now empty Lifeless barracks: with Susebron's body in the dungeons, he hoped that when the Hallandren found Lightsong and Blushweaver, the sole two holders of the army's Command phrases, in the barracks surrounded by the bodies of Idrians, it would appear that Lightsong and Blushweaver sent the army to Idris in revenge for their God King's death.[2]
Aftermath[edit]
“They are your responsibility now... Do better with them than I did. ”
—Vasher to Susebron[25]
Vasher and Susebron each independently considered going after the Lifeless army and trying to defeat it, but were talked out of it. After Nightblood revealed Vasher's true identity to Vivenna, she realized Vasher knew where Kalad's Phantoms were and how to activate them; she convinced him to share the information with Susebron.[25] Susebron used the Command phrase to mobilize the statues, and they stormed after the Lifeless army marching on Idris.[26] Upon reaching them, Kalad's Phantoms destroyed the whole force with ease.[27]
If the war had occurred, Yesteel would have supported the Idrians by giving them the knowledge to create Awakened swords like Nightblood; this would have tipped the scales in favor of Idris and its allies, resulting in the destruction of T'Telir and throwing the region into chaos.[28]
Notes[edit]
| History of Nalthis | ||
|---|---|---|
| Marriage of Susebron and Siri | Pahn Kahl rebellion | Unknown |
- ↑ a b c Warbreaker chapter 54#
- ↑ a b c d e Warbreaker chapter 55#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 14#
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-11-23# - ↑ a b Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2011-05-23# - ↑ Warbreaker chapter 31#
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-07-13# - ↑ a b Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-12-14# - ↑ Warbreaker chapter 1#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 21#
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2011-01-18# - ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-12-02# - ↑ Warbreaker chapter 20#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 24#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 34#
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-09-07# - ↑ Warbreaker chapter 49#
- ↑ a b Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2011-04-20# - ↑ Warbreaker chapter 52#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 53#
- ↑ a b c d e Warbreaker chapter 57#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 50#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 56#
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2011-07-18# - ↑ a b c Warbreaker chapter 58#
- ↑ Warbreaker epilogue#
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2011-08-01# - ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2011-06-22#