Gavilar Kholin
Gavilar Kholin | |||||||||
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by Sheep
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Died | 1167 | ||||||||
Abilities | Shardbearer | ||||||||
Nationality | Alethi | ||||||||
Homeworld | Roshar |
Gavilar Kholin (Alethi pronunciation: [ˈga·vɪ·lar koˈlɪn] GAH-vi-lar ko-LIN) was the King of Alethkar, a nation on Roshar, who was assassinated by Szeth under the orders of the Parshendi. He was the brother of Dalinar Kholin and married to Navani Kholin, with whom he had two children, Elhokar and Jasnah.
He was a ferocious fighter, strong leader, and the momentum behind the unification of Alethkar. He had strong features, square chin, a black beard with a hint of white, and pale green eyes.[1]
Gavilar and the Parshendi
In approximately 1165 Gavilar and Dalinar made an expedition to the south of the Shattered Plains where they found a group of "parshmen" living on their own. First they couldn't believe, but these parshmen were friendly, curious and learned the Alethi language quite easily. Gavilar's stormwardens began calling them "Parshendi." Though Gavilar never had been the 'scholarly type,' and for a reason that has not yet been discovered, he grew more and more fascinated by the Parshendi. Despite Dalinar's attempts to return to Alethkar, Gavilar wanted to stay on the Shattered Plains to learn more about the Parshendi. Also they told Gavilar to lead him on the hunt for a great-shelled beast that had gemhearts.[2] It's also yet unknown why Gavilar made that treaty with the Parshendi and what caused the Parshendi to order Gavilar's assassination in that very night of the treaty signing although quotes from Eshonai and Amaram hint to the fact that he was a member of the Sons of Honor and attempting to bring back the Voidbringers (to whom the Parshendi are related), thus bringing back the Heralds and restoring the dominance of the Church.
Literature
A number of works about his life exist, including "Gavilar's Account",[3] dictated by Gavilar to Jasnah a year before his murder, "King Gavilar Kholin, A Biography"[2] by Navani, and "Matain's account."[2]
Assassination
Gavilar expected an attempt on his life, but not by the Parshendi. His suspects included Thaidakar, Restares, and Torol Sadeas, despite being on apparent good terms with Sadeas at the time. Gavilar had a small, strange Black sphere that glowed with a black light; he gave this to Szeth before he died, saying, "You must take this. They must not get it." He wished his brother to know the "most important words a man can say". Szeth then proceeded to write in Alethi those words in Gavilar's blood on a wooden block, which was later deciphered by Jasnah Kholin. Dalinar then took this to mean the words of the Knights Radiant.[1]
Shardblade
Gavilar's Shardblade, Firestorm[4], was six feet long with a design along the blade that resembled burning flames that "almost seemed to glow." Gavilar's Shards are now used for training purposes.[5]
Visions
Gavilar, on the day that he was slain, told Taravangian that he had seen visions of the Almighty and of a coming storm. [6]
Notes
Preceded by foundation |
King of Alethkar |
Succeeded by Elhokar Kholin |
- ↑ a b The Way of Kings prologue#
- ↑ a b c The Way of Kings chapter 45#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 36#
- ↑ {{{2}}}
— Brandon's website - {{{date}}}# Cite error: Invalid<ref>
tag; name "stormlight-2-maps-and-illustrations" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 16#
- ↑ Words of Radiance interlude I-14#