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| Shallan longed to stay outside. Here in the gardens, people didn't scream at each other. Here there was peace.
| Shallan at age 12{{book ref|sa2|27}}
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After her mother's death, Shallan did not speak for five months. At this time, Helaran became involved with the Skybreakers, which frequently kept him away from his family's estates. Before leaving, Helaran purchased a sheaf of fine drawing paper and a new set of charcoal pencils for Shallan--along with a leather satchel--hoping to coax some life back into his sister, who had enjoyed drawing at an early age. All of the younger Davar siblings had handled the death of their mother poorly, and Helaran hoped that Shallan would help to lift their spirits in his absence.{{book ref|sa2|19}}
[[File: Davar-Siblings.jpg|350px|thumb|left|<center><small>by [[User:Botanicaxu]]</small></center> The Davar children--Jushu, Balat, Shallan, Helaran, and Wikim]]
At one such feast around late {{Rosharan date|1169}}, with the [[Tavinar]] family in attendance, Lin Davar announced his recent betrothal to [[Malise Gevelmar]]. After uncomfortable, prompted applause from his guests and family, a disgruntled Lin distributed gifts to his children--fine daggers for his sons and an [[aluminum]] necklace for Shallan.{{book ref|sa2|39}}{{book ref|sa2|48}} The feast was suddenly interrupted by [[Redin]], bastard son of Highprince [[Valam]], come to investigate the rumors of murder. Lin denied the rumors and requested that further discussion be held in private. While waiting, Shallan told jokes to her brothers, prompting laughs, smiles, and their first genuine interaction with one another in quite some time. After additional encouragement from Shallan, Balat complained that simple optimism will not solve their problems. However he later thanked Shallan for the light she seemed to bring them. Speaking loudly so as to be heard by the children, Redin declared his need for a testimony against Lin Davar in order to convict the man. Balat considered answering this summons before fear led to hesitation. Wikim encouraged Shallan to speak out, noting that their father will not harm her. However, Shallan claimed that she could not remember what had happened, while internally denying that anything had happened at all. After earning no response from the children, Redin reiterated that a witness was welcome to come forward at any time. At the demands of Lin, Redin then departed.{{book ref|sa2|39}}
| You can't fix us, Shallan. Jushu will destroy himself. It's only a matter of time. Balat is becoming Father, step by step. Malise spends one night in two weeping. Father will kill her one of these days, like he did Mother.
| Wikim to Shallan at the Middlefest Fair
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}}
Determined to continue bringing hope to her brothers, Shallan began seeking ways to encourage each of them to take steps away from their vices and towards more positive activities. At the [[Middlefest Fair]] of {{Rosharan date|1170}} Shallan put several of these plans into action after seizing an opportunity to leave her father's side when Lin and Malise began discussing the terms of a one-sided trade deal with Brightlord [[Revilar]]. Accompanied by a guard, [[Jix]], Shallan sought out [[Eylita Tavinar]] and then delivered a message from her to Balat in the festival's gambling pavilion. Shallan revealed to Balat that she had seen the two eyeing one another and so had organized an opportunity for the two to meet and walk together. With Balat on his way to meet Eylita, Shallan returned to find her father concluding a meeting with an [[Hoid|unfamiliar messenger]] who came with news from Helaran. The man gave a start of surprise upon seeing Shallan, and then dumped a powdery substance into his own cup before departing. When Shallan prodded for the news, Lin declared Helaran to be officially disinherited and named Nan Balat his heir. He then asked Shallan to speak with Wikim, who had refused to leave the family's carriage. Shallan took this opportunity to leave again, and found Wikim where he had been left. After discussing the family's battered state with Wikim, Shallan proffered several sheets of math problems related to [[highstorm]] timing calculations, which she had taken from her father's books and translated into [[glyphs]]. Seeing through her intent, Wikim belittled her efforts, but he could later be seen working the problems attentively and with a smile. Leaving the carriage feeling dejected, Shallan crossed paths with Helaran's messenger. The man, later revealed to be
{{quote
| Keep cutting at those thorns, strong one, and make a path for the light. The things you fight aren't completely natural.
|
}}
The strain between Lin Davar and his household came to a head later that year, when Jushu's gambling debts climbed higher than he could manage. Shallan, now fourteen years old, was joking with Balat and Wikim in the family gardens when the three heard the arrival of a carriage. As they rose to investigate, Wikim gave Shallan a small pouch of [[blackbane]] leaves he had been intending to use and thanked her for her enheartening efforts. They arrived at the manor house to discover Jushu bound, his creditors demanding repayment from the boy's father. Refusing to pay his son's debts, Lin relinquished Jushu and hardened himself to Shallan's pleas. After repeatedly petitioning her father to change his mind, Lin Davar came to the decision that he had been too soft for the last several years. Grabbing Shallan firmly by the arm, he sent her to her rooms without further question. Determined to do what she could regardless, Shallan asked Balat and Wikim for their daggers and chased after Jushu. She begged for her brother's life, using both emotional appeals and logical arguments to convince the men to trade Jushu to her in exchange for the fine daggers. Shallan's sense of victory soon vanished, however. Upon returning to her room, Shallan's father arrived, behind him lying the bloody, crumpled body of a serving maid. Resolved not to harm his own daughter, Lin coldly explained that his anger was beyond his control and that future disobedience from Shallan would result in others being punished in her place. The brightlord's assertions that he has plans to make something great of House Davar suggest that these events coincided with the onset of Lin Davar's involvement with the [[Ghostbloods]].{{book ref|sa2|48}}
| He'll kill us all. One by one, he'll break us and kill us. There's a darkness inside of him. I've seen it, behind his eyes. A beast ...
| Malise to Shallan after being beaten{{book ref|sa2|65}}
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}}
A couple of hours later, strengthened by encouragement from a book by Jasnah Kholin, Shallan went to Balat and asked him to flee with Malise as well. News of the order to assassinate Helaran urged him to take action, and the two conspirators began to discuss a way for them to leave and seek help before being caught. Upon returning to the house, Shallan entered her father's sitting room to tend to the wounded Malise, her first time in the room since the day of her mother's death. As Shallan began to clean and bind her stepmother's wounds the woman bitterly questioned why Lin hates everyone besides his daughter. Shallan then explained her plans made with Balat, dismissing Malise's concerns, before departing.{{book ref|sa2|65}}
==== Petitioning Jasnah Kholin ====
[[File: Shallan in Kharbranth.jpg|350px|thumb|right|<center><small>by [[Coppermind: Artists/John Ly|John Ly]]</small></center> Shallan in Kharbranth]]
Upon arriving in Kharbranth in {{Rosharan date|1173|6}}, Shallan now seventeen years old, Captain Tozbek checked with the dock registrar to confirm that Jasnah Kholin was still in the city. He explained to Shallan that, as a princess, Jasnah would certainly be staying in the [[Conclave]] at the top of the city. Tozbek assigned one of his men, [[Yalb]], to escort Shallan, and promised to deliver her belongings if she proved successful with Jasnah. Yalb hired a rickshaw porter for Shallan and served as a translator as they took the direct route from the docks to the Conclave. Shallan took in the exotic sights of the unfamiliar city as Yalb translated the porter's commentary. Upon reaching their destination the porter attempted to overcharge Shallan, but Yalb explained the truth. Shallan paid Yalb handsomely for his help and asked him to to remain outside the Conclave in the event she needed him further. Once inside, Shallan sought the assistance of a master-servant, who located Jasnah Kholin and led Shallan to the woman.{{book ref|sa1|3}} Shallan joined Jasnah as she accompanied King [[Taravangian]] to the site of a recent cave-in which had trapped his granddaughter. Though Jasnah was impressed by her tenacity, Shallan soon realized that Jasnah's request to meet was merely an opportunity for her to petition the woman rather than a tentative acceptance. Jasnah began to evaluate Shallan's educational background and, with a few exceptions, found it to be sorely lacking in several subjects. Upon reaching the cave-in, their conversation was put on hold. Jasnah Kholin used her Soulcaster to transform the fallen boulder into smoke, freeing those trapped on the other side and gaining Taravangian's leave to make use of the [[Palanaeum]]. Wasting no time, Jasnah denied Shallan's request for wardship and made her way to the city's famed library.{{book ref|sa1|5}}
| You can tell much about a person by what they carry with them. If that notebook is any indication, you pursue scholarship in your free time for its own sake. That is encouraging.
| Jasnah deciding to make Shallan her ward{{book ref|sa1|8}}
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}}
Upon leaving the Conclave, Shallan was surprised to discover Yalb still waiting outside, gambling with a group of city guards. Yalb attempted to cheer Shallan up as they made their way towards the docks, after she had explained her failure with Jasnah, and he eventually convinced her to make one final attempt to win Jasnah's acceptance. Yalb sought out a bookstore and Shallan went inside, searching for books by some of the authors Jasnah had listed. The [[Thaylen]] book merchant, [[Artmyrn]], and his wife were somewhat taken aback by the young lighteyed girl's requests and attempted to sell her a romance novel instead. After a series of biting remarks from Shallan, they eventually provided her with some of the works she had requested. Finding the cost much higher than expected, but unskilled in haggling, Shallan began to pay when Yalb suddenly burst into the room pretending to work as the servant of one of Artmyrn's competitors. With Yalb's help Shallan was able to reduce the price significantly before making her purchase and returning to the Conclave. Shallan gave Yalb the sketch she had made of him in thanks and returned to the Palanaeum where she rented the alcove adjacent to Jasnah's. She settled herself with her new books, planning to study as much as possible before Jasnah's departure from Kharbranth. Jasnah, who had bribed the servants to report if Shallan returned, appeared a moment later, surprising Shallan. She guessed at Shallan's new plan and, knowing something of House Davar's precarious situation, explained she understood the source of Shallan's urgency. Jasnah then requested to see her satchel, sifting through the contents before beginning to study [[Shallan's sketchbook]]. Impressed by Shallan's natural curiosity and inclination to scholarship, as expressed in her drawings, Jasnah finally decided to grant Shallan's request for wardship.{{book ref|sa1|8}} She wrote home the next morning via [[spanreed]], letting her brothers know that she had succeeded in the first step of their plan to steal Jasnah's Soulcaster.{{book ref|sa1|i|2}}
[[File: Kharbranth characters.jpg|350px|thumb|left|<center><small>by [[User:Botanicaxu]]</small></center> Jasnah, Shallan, Kabsal, and Taravangian]]
After her father had placed tight restrictions on what and whom Shallan was allowed to sketch, she now relished the opportunity to draw anyone who would permit it. Shallan's talent quickly became the talk of the Conclave, and as word spread, even King Taravangian himself came to request a portrait from the young artist. While sketching the king, she accidentally added the forms of two Cryptics standing behind the man. Not understanding the significance of what she had drawn, Shallan claimed she had made a mistake and started the sketch anew. This surprised Jasnah, who had never known Shallan to make such mistakes in their time together. Though Jasnah herself did not show much interest in Shallan's artistic ability, she did see some value in it. On one occasion, she had Shallan copy the purported image of a "[[Voidbringer]]" while corresponding with [[Dalinar]].{{book ref|sa1|28}}{{book ref|sa1|29}}
| There will be times when you must make decisions that churn your stomach, Shallan Davar. I'll have you ready to make those decisions.
| Jasnah Kholin{{book ref|sa1|36}}
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}}
[[File: Shallan in the Palanaeum.jpg|400px|thumb|left|<center><small>by [[Coppermind: Artists/Alex Allen|Alex Allen]]</small></center> Shallan in the Palanaeum]]
Eventually Shallan completed her philosophy studies, deciding that Jasnah's actions were "both legal and right," but also immoral and unethical. After determining that Shallan had studied the subject to her satisfaction, Jasnah gave her the day off. Shallan returned to her quarters to test the Soulcaster further, having found a new reference the day. The tip, however, proved useless, and Shallan's mind began to wander until she took to drawing. As she sketched the strata of the rocks on her ceiling she heard a voice suddenly whisper, "What are you?" Startled, Shallan investigated the source of the voice and found a maid in the sitting room. After realize the maid had entered Jasnah's room (despite requests that no maid enter), Shallan sent the woman to apologize to Jasnah and took the opportunity to look through Jasnah's notes herself. Though she hoped to find some reference concerning use of the Soulcaster, Shallan instead found several notebooks of Jasnah's research into the [[Voidbringer]]s and the [[Knights Radiant]]. As she wondered why Jasnah would be so interested in such myths, a knock at the door forced her to abandon the espionage abruptly.{{book ref|sa1|42}}
[[File: Shallan and Cryptic.jpg|300px|thumb|right|<center><small>by [[Coppermind: Artists/Petar Penev|Petar Penev]]</small></center> Shallan fleeing from Cryptics]]
As they began to return to Jasnah's alcove, Shallan confessed to the ardent that she would be leaving the following day--giving the excuse of urgent family matters. Kabsal offered to come with her, but Shallan refused him a final time. Wounded, Kabsal asked for a sketch of himself before she departed, and Shallan suddenly realized that she had never drawn one of him during her time in Kharbranth. They hurried back to the Veil, and Shallan set to drawing the young man through tears. Kabsal then insisted that she draw a second image of them together in exchange for payment. Shallan used a mirror to capture a Memory of the pair of them and began to sketch while filled with feelings of guilt and anxiety. As she wrestled with these emotions, Shallan once again accidentally sketched the form of a Cryptic, standing behind Kabsal. Crushed by the weight of her circumstances and concerned for her mental state, Shallan declared that she had made a mistake and dashed from the balcony seeking privacy. As she took the lift down to the main level Shallan took another Memory of the landing above. Upon quickly sketching the scene, two of the symbol-headed figures stood above, watching her. Shallan fled to her quarters as quickly as possible, pausing for one more moment along the way to draw another sketch, this time with five of the creatures following her. She hid in her room, huddled on the bed with doors locked, as she began yet another sketch of her surroundings which revealed a group of the Cryptics surrounding her, one of them reaching out as if to touch her. Despite her promises to herself not to use the blade ever since her mother's death, Shallan began to summon her secret Shardblade out of pure terror. She was interrupted then by a voice, asking, "What are you?" With her response, "I'm terrified," the room around her crashed into beads and Shallan found herself in [[Shadesmar]] for the first time. Though only there for a moment, she accidentally managed to Soulcast the crystal goblet beside her bed into blood. Assuming that the transformation was related to the device she carried in her safepouch, Shallan was shocked out of fear momentarily and began to ponder what she had done. Jasnah, however, had followed quickly and began knocking on Shallan's door. Out of concern that Jasnah would discover the blood and realize Shallan had the Soulcaster, she took a shard of glass that was broken in the accident and cut a gash in her own wrist. As Jasnah entered the room, Shallan slipped into unconsciousness.{{book ref|sa1|45}}
| She'd lost it all. No fabrial to protect her family, no wardship to continue her studies. No Kabsal. She'd never actually had him in the first place.
| Shallan after her theft was revealed{{book ref|sa1|50}}
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}}
She awoke alone in a quiet room and her memories slowly began to settle. A single man guarded the entrance to her new room, and reported to Jasnah when Shallan woke. Jasnah arrived and explained that Kabsal--now dead--had poisoned the bread in order to assassinate Jasnah and that she had saved Shallan's life by Soulcasting the poison from her blood. The theft now revealed, Jasnah questioned Shallan's motives before accepting the truth Shallan provided. Jasnah revealed Kabsal's conspiracy and death, chided Shallan for her actions, and explained that she had arranged passage for Shallan to return home the following day before leaving without further response.{{book ref|sa1|50}}
Left alone, Shallan slowly processed through her thoughts and heavy emotions concerning the theft, Kabsal, and her time in Kharbranth. As she considered the poisoned bread and examined sketches of her memories, several holes in Jasnah's explanation began to surface. Why had the antidote failed? Why had Jasnah not been poisoned. Paired with her own experience Soulcasting without the apparent aid of the Soulcaster, the answer eventually became clear to Shallan: Jasnah could Soulcast without the use of a fabrial. She left the hospital, during the night and still wearing her gown, and made her way to Jasnah's alcove in the Veil. The princess threatened to call the guards but hesitated as Shallan began to explain what she had uncovered. Though at first Jasnah began to explain Shallan's arguments away, a sketch of Shallan's look into Shadesmar gave the woman pause. As final proof, Shallan reached out to Pattern (whose existence was still a vague memory) and spoke a deep truth--that of her murder of her father--which enabled her to visit Shadesmar once more. Shallan crashed into the sea of dark glass beads and began to slip beneath the surface before Jasnah suddenly appeared as well and pulled Shallan back from the other realm.{{book ref|sa1|70}}
{{sidequote
| I want to know, Jasnah. I want to be your ward in truth. Whatever the source of this thing you can do, I can do it too. I want you to train me and let me be part of your work.
| Shallan petitioning Jasnah to reaccept her{{book ref|sa1|70}}
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}}
| Power is an illusion of perception... On an individual basis, in most interactions, this thing we call power—authority—exists only as it is perceived... I can create that illusion for them, as can you.
| Jasnah to Shallan, aboard the Wind's Pleasure{{book ref|sa2|1}}
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}}
Jasnah and Shallan took passage towards the Shattered Plains aboard the Wind's Pleasure. Several days into the journey, as they sailed through Longbrow's Straits, Shallan was sketching from her memory of Shadesmar while on the ship's deck when she noticed Pattern's first reappearance. As she considered the strange sight, the crew began calling attention to a [[santhid]] which was spotted following the ship. Desiring to sketch the nearly mythological creature, Shallan attempted to have Captain Tozbek stop the ship, but the man refused her requests leaving Shallan deflated. Jasnah emerged from her cabin shortly afterwards and, seeing that Shallan was distracted by her visit to the strange realm of Shadesmar, explained the basic nature of the Cognitive Realm and spren to satiate Shallan's curiosity. When Shallan expressed concern for her brothers' situation, Jasnah explained that she had taken some actions to alleviate their problems. She had corresponded earlier in the day with her mother, [[Navani Kholin]], making plans both to repair the broken Soulcaster and to establish a causal betrothal between Shallan and [[Adolin Kholin]]. This would solve the Davars' financial problems and satiate the Ghostbloods while also tying Shallan closer to Jasnah. Humbled by Jasnah's opinion of her potential, their conversation turned towards Shallan's self-doubt, to which Jasnah explained that power and influence is often nothing more than an illusion. Encouraged and emboldened by Jasnah, Shallan commanded Tozbek to stop the ship and lower her into the sea, where she was able to capture a Memory of the santhid for later sketching.{{book ref|sa2|1}}
| You live lies. It gives you strength. But the truth . . . Without speaking truths you will not be able to grow, Shallan. I know this somehow.
| [[Pattern]] to Shallan{{book ref|sa2|17}}
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}}
Several days later, as the group was settling into camp for the evening, Shallan used Pattern to spy on Tvlakv and his other mercenary, [[Tag]]. Unsettled by their plans to hold her hostage in exchange for payment, Shallan approached Tvlakv to reiterate her promised payment and hint that she was aware of his schemes. Punctuating their exchange with an subtle Lightweaving, Shallan turned and headed back towards her carriage as Bluth returned from scouting the area with a call to put out the fire. He reported bandits in the vicinity, prompting the group to pack up their things and travel further through the night. As they continued riding the following day, Shallan began a new sketchbook with drawings of the santhid, local plant life, and Bluth in order to ease her nervousness. The bandits were spotted following, but eventually they found smoke in the distance ahead of them. Shallan pushed Tvalkv into approaching this new caravan, again making use of her Lightweaving abilities, and they set off once more. Shallan soon moved from her seat beside Bluth to the interior of her makeshift carriage for some privacy. She examined her feet, which she had treated with [[knobweed]] sap earlier in the day, to discover they were far more healed than they should be. In speaking with Pattern about her Lightweaving, which she had begun to realize she was unconsciously doing, Shallan learned how to breathe in Stormlight and determined that it was causing her feet to heal. They spoke further about the nature of Shallan's oaths and Pattern's belief that she would eventually kill him.{{book ref|sa2|15}}{{book ref|sa2|17}}
| That was, she thought, the most ridiculous thing I've ever done. And yet she found herself excited, flushed with the thrill of it. Storms! She'd enjoyed that. The tension, the sweat, the talking her way out of being killed, even the chase at the end. What was wrong with her? ... I'm not that girl anymore, Shallan thought, smiling and staring at the ceiling. I haven't been for weeks now.
| After Shallan's first meeting with the Ghostbloods{{book ref|sa2|43}}
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}}
The women rode a palanquin to the temple complex in Dalinar's warcamps, where Shallan simply used her own identity to gain entrance while Iyatil was distracted. They reached the building where the man--none other than the [[Herald]] [[Talenel]]--was being kept, along with other mentally ill patients. Shallan then convinced the ardents that Iyatil was possessed by a Voidbringer, giving her a distraction to slip through unnoticed as well as a mean to escape from Iyatil's observation, and snuck into Taln's dimly lit room. Though the crazed man reacted minimally at first, constantly reciting his repetitive speech about his nature and purpose, an attempt to Surgebind by Shallan caused him to snap into a brief intense lucidity in which he seemed to recognize her as a Knight Radiant. Dazed after drawing her Shardblade in fear, Shallan was unable to leave before Meridas Amaram arrived with [[Bordin]] to question the man himself. Shallan hid behind a Lightweaving as the brightlord asked questions of the man without success, revealing to Shallan that he believed the words of the Herald to be true. After the two new arrivals departed, Shallan returned to Iyatil with information about Taln's rambling speech and the arrival of Amaram. Later that evening she delivered a full report via spanreed. Upon receipt, Mraize welcomed Shallan as a full member of the Ghostbloods.{{book ref|sa2|64}}
{{sidequote
| I seek the truth. Wherever it may be, whoever may hold it. That's who I am.
| Shallan explaining herself to Iyatil{{book ref|sa2|64}}
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}}
| There was a simple relief for Shallan's pain. There was an easy way to hide. Veil hadn't suffered as Shallan had—and she was tough enough to handle that sort of thing anyway. Becoming her was like setting down a terrible burden.
| Shallan while changing into Veil.{{book ref|sa3|18}}
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}}
As Veil arrived to the Breakway, she began eavesdropping on conversations between the people there in order to pick up on any information on the murders. After failing to learn anything relevant to her mission, she entered a bar set up in a large battle tent in hopes of learning more there. Noticing that Veil lacked the experience she posited herself to have, Shallan hoped to increase her credibility as a [[darkeyed]] con artist while visiting the
Noticing that she had let Veil slip while she was drunk, Shallan berated herself for dropping the disguise and letting herself feel the pain of her past she was hoping to avoid. As Pattern attempted to remind her that Veil was just a disguise, Shallan shared her fear that she may have killed her brothers and fabricated the memories she had with [[Balat Davar|Balat]] as she conversed with him over spanreed.
As Veil interned the All's Alley, she ordered and drank [[Horneater]] white, the strongest drink they had, impressing the others at the bar. Hoping to prevent Veil from becoming too drunk, the barkeep attempted to stop her from drinking any more of the alcohol, but Veil stopped him and used that opportunity to ask about the murders, using the excuse that she was searching for the murderer that killed her little sister in the Alethi warcamps. Refusing to share any information on the murder, he directed Veil to a group of thugs that might have the answers she was searching for. In order to learn more information on the murder, Veil stabbed one of the thugs in the hand for pushing her out of his chair and threatened them by revealing her association with the [[Ghostbloods]]. While interrogating them, [[Betha]], one of the thugs, revealed that a man named [[Ned]] had strangled his wife to death. Believing she had reached a dead end, Veil began to make her way out of the bar. Before she left, she overheard Betha mention another murder that occurred in the markets while conversing with [[Ur]], the thug Veil had just stabbed. As she returned to the thugs, Betha quickly informed Veil that a barmaid had also died a similar way, but Ned vehemently denied any connection to the second murder before Ur killed him for supposedly killing the
==== A New Job ====
[[File: Spren in the Wall.jpg|280px|thumb|right|<center><small>by [[Ben McSweeney]]</small></center> Shallan's drawing of the spren in the slot]]
The next morning, Shallan, still ill from the heavy drinking she did as Veil, woke to sound of Adolin knocking on her door. After enjoying some light banter with the prince, she sucked in stormlight from a sphere he offered her to clear the hangover she suffered from. As she began to dress herself for the day, Adolin informed her that he would be meeting with [[Ialai Sadeas]], the widow of Torol Sadeas, in order to discuss any clues she might have on her late husband's murder. Disturbed by Ialai, Adolin requested that Shallan accompany him to his meeting with woman. When Adolin requested that she bring her own soldiers to
When they arrived at Sades' section of Urithiru, Shallan found that [[Mraize]] was also there, acting as one of Ialai's soldiers. Despite being surprised by his presence there, Shallan and Mraize both pretended not to know each other. When Ialai dismissed Shallan to fetch tea, she and the assassin discussed Veil's actions with the thugs in the Breakaway and the whereabouts of her family. While he did not reveal any important information on her family, he informed her that she must remove the "darkness" that is supposedly plaguing the city and that he would share some information on her now-deceased brother, [[Helaran]], in exchange. Frustrated by Mraize's teasing of her brother's name, Shallan returned to the proper rooms where Ialai revealed that she had assigned [[Amaram]] to investigate Sadeas' murder on his own due to her distrust of the Kholin family. After the revelation, she and Adolin returned to the hallway and discussed their dislike for the woman. As they began to leave Sadeas' residence, a guard informed them that the [[highstorm|highstorms]] have returned.{{book ref|sa3|21}}{{book ref|sa3|22}}
| Plan every battle as if you will inevitably retreat, but fight every battle like there is no backing down.
| Adolin to Shallan as she hesitated during her battle with Re-Shephir{{book ref|sa1|36}}
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}}
==== Siege of Kholinar ====
[[File: ShallanOB74.jpg |300px|thumb|right|<center><small>by [[Coppermind: Artists/Casta|Casta]]</small></center> Shallan encounters Wit in Kholinar]]
When Shallan began to doubt her actions taken to provide for the poor citizens in Kholinar, [[Wit]] arrived and comforted her. While talking, they discussed the meaning of power, eventually giving Shallan the advice she needed to infiltrate the [[Cult of Moments]]. After this, he left her with the bill for the food he ate, much to her displeasure.{{book ref|sa3|68}}
=== Surgebinding ===
[[File:Shallan - I. The Magician .jpg|thumb|left|250px|<center><small>by [[Coppermind:Artists/taratjah|taratjah]]</small></center> Shallan using Illumination]]
Because of her Nahel bond with her [[spren]], Pattern, Shallan possesses the ability to [[Surgebind]]. She has access to the surges Illumination and Transformation. As with all Surgebinders, she has superhuman endurance, strength, and healing when she holds Stormlight. She has demonstrated her ability to Soulcast multiple times, though the full scope of her abilities remain yet to be seen. {{book ref|sa3|116}} She is in the process of becoming a [[Knights Radiant|Knight Radiant]].
; Transformation:
| |||