Difference between revisions of "User:Jofwu/Shallan Davar"

{{quote|A familiar lullaby, one he always used to sing to her. In the room behind him, dark corpses stretched out on the floor. A red carpet once white.|Lin sings "Sleep My Baby Dear" to comfort his daughter{{book ref|sa2|10}}}}At the age of eleven, Shallan's mother discovered that her daughter was a [[Surgebinder]].{{book ref|sa2|88}} Her mother and a friend confronted Lin, trying to argue that something must be done about Shallan. The argument became a fight after the unfamiliar man drew a knife, apparently intended for Shallan. She watched as her father and the man struggled--her father scoring a cut on the man's arm before being pinned to the ground. Her mother seized the knife and moved for Shallan, prompting Shallan to summon Pattern as a [[Shardblade]] in self-defense. After killing both her mother and the associate, Shallan dropped the Blade and fell into a state of intense shock. Lin placed the Shardblade in his strongbox and held Shallan while singing "[[Sleep My Baby Dear]]" to soothe her.{{book ref|sa2|10}}{{book ref|sa2|88}} Though the Blade naturally vanished, Shallan began to associate it with her "Mother's soul" which she believed was held in the strongbox--an idea she clung to so firmly that the safe would visibly glow to Shallan's eyes.{{book ref|sa2|27}} In the months that followed, Shallan began to repress her memories of her mother and these events. Her disassociation with the Shardblade and the truth of what had happened caused her bond with Pattern to weaken nearly to the point of nonexistence.{{book ref|sa2|60}} In order to protect his daughter, Lin Davar allowed rumors to spread that he had murdered his wife and her lover--a secret he would share with few before his own death.

{{sidequote|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}}|right|200px}}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}}

For the next year and a half Helaran seemed to have vanished, and they received word from him only once through a brief letter--containing little aside from veiled threats for Lin--along with a book for Shallan written by [[Jasnah Kholin]].{{book ref|sa2|27}}{{book ref|sa2|39}} Lin Davar's anger only grew as he would occasionally turn his violence towards the servants.{{book ref|sa2|39}} Shallan practiced her artistic skill with the help of a drawing book by [[Dandos Heraldin|Dandos the Oilsworn]], often using art as a diversion from the family's struggles.{{book ref|sa2|27}} Shallan's other siblings continued to fare poorly, with Balat mistreating animals and starting fires and Jushu given over to drunkenness and gambling. The house was also facing economic troublesshortfalls--a truth Shallan discovered as she began assisting with the family's accounts--despite. In spite of this, Lin's insistenceDavar frequently insisted on throwing elaborate feasts, whereupon he would flaunt his alleged wealth to impress their lower-dahn guests.{{book ref|sa2|39}}Given Ata onenew suchdress feastfor each occasion, withShallan thebecame Tavinarpart familyof inthis attendance,elaborate display as well.{{book ref|sa2|27}}{{book ref|sa2|39}}