Difference between revisions of "Aesudan Kholin"

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'''Aesudan Kholin''' is the queen of [[Alethkar]] and wife of [[Elhokar Kholin]].{{book ref|sa2|prologue}} She manages the kingdom in her husband's absence, while he wages the [[War of Reckoning]] against the [[Parshendi]] on the [[Shattered Plains]].

 

 

For some reason, Aesudan is under the impression that the [[Almighty]] is displeased with her.{{book ref|sa2|i|12}} In order to gain his goodwill, she surrounds herself with many ardents, to whom she provides a vast array of luxuries: the finest foods, art, horseback riding, and leisure time. In return, the ardents promise her that living her life of wastefulness is the right thing to do, leading to an even greater disconnect between her and her people.

 

== History ==

 

At some point, Aesudan also gives birth to a son, [[Gavinor]], but exactly when this occurs is uncertain.{{book ref|sa2|1}}

 

=== War of Reckoning ===

 

However, either Navani makes a crucial misjudgment or the Unmade corrupted Aesudan after Navani's departure, because Aesudan inadvertently begins to turn the populace against herself.{{book ref|sa2|i|12}} She throws lavish feasts, reveling in excess, and allows food sent in by starving farmers for the soldiers on the Shattered Plains to simply rot away. She also cancels the [[Beggar's Feast]]s. This is perhaps due in part to her sycophantic [[ardent]]s who simply tell her that she is always on the right path. However, one of the ardents assigned to her retinue, a young woman named [[Pai]], refuses to look past the queen's flaws and performs an act of civil disobedience. She goes before the Common Throne of the [[People's Hall]] and inks the [[glyphs]] of the [[Ten fools|ten foolish attributes]] before the Throne, as well as a paragraph below each glyph, explaining how Aesudan exemplifies each of these traits, denouncing not only the queen but the government itself. Pai is executed, but Kholinar erupts in riots the next day.{{book ref|sa2|interlude|12}}

 

=== The Siege on Kholinar ===