Wistiow
| Wistiow | |
|---|---|
| Children | Laral |
| Died | c. ? 1166[1] |
| Titles | Citylord |
| Residence | Hearthstone |
| Nationality | Alethi |
| Homeworld | Roshar |
| Universe | Cosmere |
Brightlord Wistiow is a lighteyed Alethi and the citylord of Hearthstone prior to the Vengeance Pact.[1] A friend of Lirin's,[2] Wistiow is a frail man who has one daughter, Laral.[1] Upon his death he leaves no male heir behind,[1] so Citylord Roshone is appointed to take his place.[2]
Personality[edit]
“Brightlord Wistiow let men do as they wished. And so they ignored him. Roshone lets them know he finds them contemptible. And so they scramble to please him. ”
—Lirin on Wistiow[3]
Little of Wistiow's personality is known, but things may be ascertained. He is not an ostentatious lighteyes, keeping only a single elderly horse[2] and paying little attention to the grounds of his manor.[4] In fact, Wistiow has contempt for lighteyes that spent their time hunting. He and Lirin joke that such lighteyes will kill beasts only if there are no men around to kill.[5]
Wistiow is an easygoing and passive citylord; he primarily lets his people do as they wish, although they are mostly ambivalent towards Wistiow himself, not overly striving to please him.[3] Wistiow himself may be somewhat stuffy,[6] but he also is likely a generous man who cares for his people, as Lirin firmly believes that Wistiow would have paid for Kaladin's training as a surgeon had he had the chance before his death.[4] He also calls for Lirin to come set the broken arm of a young parshman, although later the singer in question, Abiajan, questions whether the event only took place because Wistiow had paid a good price for her.[7]
History[edit]
Time as Citylord[edit]
Little is known about Wistiow's early life or marriage, but at some point in his life he became citylord of Hearthstone and fathered a daughter, Laral Wistiow.[1] During his tenure as citylord, Wistiow tended to allow his people to live their lives as they wished.[3] Wistiow kept a small staff, including a footman, a butler,[8] a nurse for his daughter,[2] and several clerks[4] and parshmen.[7] Wistiow also employed a man named Miliv who worked for Wistiow as his head steward,[2] as well as a cook named Barm.[4] Throughout his life, Wistiow was always a frail man.[1]
During his time as citylord, Wistiow became friends with Lirin, the town's surgeon.[5] The two often joked about other lighteyes,[5] and Wistiow and Lirin also had made plans that their children, Kaladin and Laral, might one day wed.[2] House Wistiow was a relatively poor family of little renown, and both could benefit from the connection. Wistiow may even have promised that he would fund sending Kaladin's training as a surgeon in Kharbranth to take care of his town.[fn 1]
Death[edit]
“Brightlord Wistiow has been carried by the winds. ”
—Lirin to Kaladin on Wistiow's death[1]
Around early 1166, an army passed through Hearthstone and asked Citylord Wistiow's permission to recruit a few of the older boys in town.[1] A few weeks later, Wistiow became ill and Lirin began to treat him in his mansion. Within a week, Wistiow's already frail health had diminished substantially[1] and he lost lucidity as he entered his final days.[4] Knowing the marriage between Kaladin and Laral was now in jeopardy, Lirin prepared the appropriate documents,[4] as well as a simple will written in glyphs[2] that would grant Kaladin a supply of diamond broams to fund his education in Kharbranth.[1] He had Wistiow's scribes read the message to the man before Wistiow sent them away.[4] Wistiow was not coherent enough to stamp the documents, so Lirin did it himself. Wistiow passed away shortly thereafter.[1]
Legacy[edit]
“[The people of Hearthstone are] my responsibility, now that Wistiow has gone. I can’t leave them to Roshone. ”
—Lirin on Wistiow's death[4]
Wistiow's death lead to a period of severe hardship in Hearthstone, as he was the last male of his line.[1] This meant that he was replaced after several months[9] by Citylord Roshone,[2] who had been exiled to Hearthstone for his actions in the capital.[10] The odd circumstances surrounding Wistiow's death lead to rumors circulating among the townspeople, perhaps spread by Miliv, that Lirin had written the document and tricked a confused Wistiow into signing it.[2] This suspicion was only exacerbated by Roshone upon his arrival,[3] as he wished to add the funds to the meager lands and property he had received from the Wistiow estate.[4] The planned engagement of Kaladin and Laral also fell through under Roshone, as Laral had not yet reached her day of majority and Roshone was unwilling to let her dowry go.[4] Instead he engaged her to his own son Rillir to tie their family to a respectable house. Following Rillir's death, Laral was engaged to Roshone himself instead.[11] Lirin found himself unable to leave Hearthstone despite the difficulties his family faced because he still felt like no one would care for the citizens of Hearthstone once Wistiow had passed away.[4]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l The Way of Kings chapter 16#
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i The Way of Kings chapter 25#
- ↑ a b c d The Way of Kings chapter 31#
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l The Way of Kings chapter 37#
- ↑ a b c The Way of Kings chapter 41#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 10#
- ↑ a b Rhythm of War chapter 1#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 23#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 20#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 62#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 44#
- Footnotes
- ↑ It is uncertain if Wistiow ever promised to pay for Kaladin's training. Lirin claims that in stealing the spheres, he only ensured that promises were kept, but he had earlier mentioned that they had lost the promise of a union with Laral.[4] This may indicate that they had originally planned to use Wistiow's money once Kaladin had married into the family, or even that Lirin was substituting the spheres for the loss of the engagement.