Difference between revisions of "Jasnah Kholin"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m |
|||
|
|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]
}}
{{spoilers| for [[Words of Radiance]]}}▼
{{exemplary}}
{{quote|It strikes me that religion—in its essence—seeks to take natural events and ascribe supernatural causes to them. I, however, seek to take supernatural events and find the natural meanings behind them. Perhaps that is the final dividing line between science and religion. Opposite sides of a card.|Jasnah on why she researches Voidbringers{{ref|b|twok|c|72}}}}
'''Jasnah Kholin''' is an [[Alethi]] princess on [[Roshar]]. She is a [[Surgebinder]] with access to the [[Surge]]s of transformation and transportation. She is the sister of King [[Elhokar Kholin|Elhokar]], daughter of the late King [[Gavilar Kholin|Gavilar]] and [[Navani Kholin|Navani]], and niece of Highprince [[Dalinar Kholin|Dalinar]]. She is known widely as a brilliant scholar and for her denunciation of [[Vorinism]].{{ref|b|sa1|c|3}} She is a member of the [[Veristitalian]]s, an order of historians dedicated to reconstructing unbiased and factual accounts of the past in order to better understand the present.{{ref|b|sa1|c|28}} She is training [[Shallan Davar]] as her [[ward]].{{ref|b|sa1|c|8}}
== Appearance and Personality ==
=== Parshendi Betrayal ===
▲{{spoilers| for [[Words of Radiance]]}}
She attended the feast that was held in the [[Kholinar]] Palace after the treaty with the Parshendi was signed in {{date|1167|EoS}}. While walking to a meeting with an assassin named [[Liss]] with the intention of having Elhokar's wife, [[Aesudan Kholin|Aesudan]], killed, she noticed her [[Spren|shadow]] behaving oddly which discomfited her. She walked past Highprince [[Torol Sadeas|Sadeas]] and a [[Shinovar|Shin]] [[Szeth-son-son-Vallano|servant in white clothing]], and subsequently came across her father and [[Meridas Amaram]] having a quiet conference. Once Amaram left, Jasnah asked Gavilar what he commanded Amaram, but Gavilar deflected the question and hastily left Jasnah, leading her to wonder if he knew about her plans regarding Aesudan. Walking onwards, Jasnah's shadow again acted oddly, and this time, formed into a man-shaped oily blackness with an unsheathed sword. In panic, Jasnah went into [[Shadesmar]] for the first time, and there the shadowy figure sheathed its sword in satisfaction, and Jasnah fell into the sea of glass beads. Before being drowned, she managed to find the glass bead corresponding to the Kholinar Palace, and using that as her guide, willed herself to rise to the surface. She stood upon a platform made of glass beads locked together. From the beads, she formed the corridor she stood in the [[Physical Realm]], and when the shadowy figure stepped onto her platform with its sword drawn, she formed a statue of [[Talenel|Talenelat'Elin]]
She managed to compose herself, and hurried to her appointment with Liss. Once there, she decided not to go through with assassinating Aesudan, and instead ordered Liss to take a job as one of Aesudan's maids, and watch her only. Once the meeting was concluded, Jasnah asked about the servant Liss wanted to show off, but Liss answered that she had sold Shin servant to a slaver weeks ago for being too good a servant. Hearing that the servant was Shin, Jasnah recalled the servant in white clothing she'd seen earlier, and decided to check into him.{{ref|b|sa2|prologue}}
She was furious and hurt at the apparent betrayal from her ward. She initially thought that Shallan had stolen the Soulcaster for one of the devotaries. When Shallan woke up, Jasnah confronted her. Shallan told her, rather defiantly, that she'd stolen it for herself, that [[Shallan's father|her father]] was dead and [[House Davar]] was bankrupt, and that she had become Jasnah's ward to steal the Soulcaster in the first place. Jasnah told her that Shallan would be leaving for home the next day on a ship she'd arranged and Kabsal was dead. She told her that the bread he'd been bringing Shallan was poisoned with [[backbreaker powder]] and the jam contained the antidote, that he'd been using Shallan to assassinate Jasnah the whole time. She left the room, leaving Shallan behind in tears.{{ref|b|sa1|c|50}}
Despite what she was told, Shallan came to Jasnah's alcove and claimed that the Soulcaster Jasnah wore was a fake and she could Soulcast without a fabrial. Jasnah initially tried to deny this, but she was shocked to see Shallan reveal a depiction of [[Shadesmar]]. Shallan told Jasnah that she'd stolen the Soulcaster fabrial on the night when Jasnah killed the four footpads and that she could Surgebind as well. When Jasnah didn't believe her, Shallan entered, with a dim sphere, Shadesmar to prove her claim. Jasnah followed her, and brought her back, admonishing her for being an idiot in trying to enter Shadesmar with only a dim sphere. Shallan asked Jasnah to teach her and that she wanted to be a part of Jasnah's studies. Jasnah was reluctant at first, but eventually accepted her, with the promise that she would never lie to Jasnah or steal from anyone ever again.{{ref|b|sa1|c|70}} She went on to telling Shallan about Surgebinding, Knights Radiant and her theory about the Parshendi and the Voidbringers. When Shallan told her that she saw [[cryptic]]s, Jasnah said there were two orders of the Knights Radiants with the ability to Soulcast, and that the two women belonged to different orders. Jasnah showed Shallan her notes regarding the Voidbringers,{{ref|b|sa1|c|72}} and Shallan came to the conclusion the Parshendi were Voidbringers like Jasnah. Jasnah was pleased to convince at least one person. She said that they needed more information but had exhausted all that Kharbranth had to offer, and that they would leave for the Shattered Plains the next day. She said there were others after this information, and that the [[Ghostbloods]] were one of them. She showed Shallan the symbol of the Ghostbloods that she had found tattooed on Kabsal. Shallan was horrified to recognize the symbol, and said that her father might have had been a member of this group.{{ref|b|sa1|c|74}} Jasnah hired Captain [[Tozbek]] and the ''[[Wind's Pleasure]]'' to take her and Shallan to the Shattered Plains, and so the two women left Kharbranth.{{ref|b|sa2|c|1}}
=== Return to the Shattered Plains ===
{{spoilers| for [[Words of Radiance]]}}
During their days sailing, Shallan occasionally asked Jasnah about the Ghostbloods, but she claimed to know very little of them beyond the fact that they wanted her research, and were willing to kill for it. After the first few days of their journey, which she spent mostly in her cabin, Jasnah contacted Navani via spanreed, without informing Shallan, to ask whether Shallan's Soulcaster could be fixed. She also requested Navani arrange a betrothal between [[Adolin Kholin|Adolin]] and Shallan. Navani answered positively to both, however Dalinar stipulated he would not agree to marriage before Shallan and Adolin met. She also arranged a relatively small of money to be sent to the [[House Davar|Davar family]]. Later that day, she came up to the deck while they were traveling through the [[Longbrow's Straits]] to find Shallan watching a [[santhid]] that was following the ship even though she was supposed to be reading. She joined her ward, and started looking through her sketches. She came to a sketch of Shadesmar, and seeing it was bothering her, she explained the nature of Shadesmar and the spren to Shallan at length, showing a good understanding of the [[Realmatic Theory]]. She claimed that meeting was not an accident, that the spren had guided Shallan to her, and that the old ways were returning because spren sensed an impending danger and were trying to preserve themselves. When she mentioned that their attention must be on the Shattered Plains and the relics of Urithiru, and that it would be a long time before Shallan was able to return home, Shallan expressed worry about her family. Jasnah was hesitant and anxious to tell about the betrothal because she had not consulted Shallan beforehand, but she told Shallan about the arrangements she had made with her mother that morning. Rather than being offended like Jasnah had expected, Shallan was very happy about it. Seeing that, Jasnah relaxed and said she expected Shallan to be distressed because a marriage would mean the restriction of her freedom and being beholden to a man. She told she would let Navani know Shallan's response, and that they would have a [[causal betrothal]] in a day. Shallan was afraid that she wouldn't fit the Alethi court, but Jasnah told her that she would teach her, and then started teaching by explaining that perception of power is as important as welt or power to command armies or to Soulcast. After that, she left for her cabin, saying Shallan had the day free because she needed to consider how best to teach about Shadesmar. Soon afterward, she heard a commotion coming from the deck, and went back. She watched as Shallan had the sailors lower her into the water so she could take a look at the santhid underwater.{{ref|b|sa2|c|1}}
== Attributes and Abilities ==
| |||