Adolin Kholin

Adolin Kholin
by Exmakina
House Kholin Parents Dalinar, mother Siblings Renarin
Born	1150
Abilities	Shardbearer
Titles	Prince of Kholin
Nationality	Alethi
Homeworld	Roshar

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Adolin Kholin is a lighteyes from Alethkar on Roshar.

History

Early Life

Shards

Adolin inherited his Shardplate from his mother's side of the family on his sixteenth birthday. At some point, he dueled a lighteyes named Tinalar. Against expectations, he won the duel, securing his unnamed Shardblade.

Sureblood

When he was a youth, his father Dalinar to a place where riders can meet Ryshadium. There he bonded with the steed Sureblood. Adolin was more nervous on this day than he was when he won his Shardblade

Training

Adolin most likely began training under a weapons master in the sword at least by the age of ten. He eventually started training with Zahel after stubbornly refusing to at first, though when he started is currently unknown. There are indications he was trained by his father in using Shardplate. When Adolin was young Dalinar also made him serve in a spearman squad for two months with the intention of teaching him what it was like to “serve in the shoes of his men.”

Dalinar believes that Adolin was also brought up and trained to be a highprince in a manner that he himself was not and that this will make him a fine highprince.

War of Reckoning

Chasmfiend Hunt

Adolin accompanied King Elhokar and Highprinces Dalinar, Sadeas and Vamah, along with his brother Renarin. Adolin worried about his father's mind and Sadeas's scheming over the trip. He rode up with the King, Dalinar and Sadeas, intending to keep an eye on Sadeas. When Elhokar and Dalinar raced to a rock formation, Adolin took control of his father's army. He prepared the troops in the way he knew his father would want it done, rather than just doing what was easy. During this time, Renarin teases Adolin over his failing courtships with Rilla and Janala. When Dalinar mentions wanting to withdraw from the Shattered Plains Adolin fiercely urges his father to reconsider. At this time, Wit rode up and started insulting the Kholins. Adolin took it in stride, mentioning how much he loved the new Wit. As they reach the final plateau, they meet up with the huntmaster Bashin, who tells them it should take about two to three hours for the chasmfiend to arrive. While he gave advice to Dalinar and Elhokar on how best to slay the beast, Dalinar noted that the chull was no longer dragging any bait.

Family

Adolin is the first son of Dalinar, and his younger brother is Renarin. There is near to nothing known about his mother. Gavilar is his uncle, Dalinar's brother. Navani, Gavilar's widow, is his aunt, and he calls her Mashala. Gavilar's children, Jasnah and King Elhokar, are his cousins.

Appearance and Personality

Adolin’s hair is mostly blond with streaks of Alethi black running through it and it has been described as an unruly mop and a stylish mess . Despite the blond hair color he and Renarin share, they are both Dalinar's legitimate sons. It is, however, seen as a mark of his bloodline being impure. Kaladin believes Adolin's mother may in fact be from Rira because his hair is mostly golden blond. Adolin prefers to remain clean shaven but he did grow a beard when he threw himself in jail in protest of Kaladin’s imprisonment, which was also blond, speckled with black. His eyes are blue and have an epicanthic fold. He has been described as handsome on numerous occasions and as he is Alethi it can be surmised that his skin is tan in colour.

Adolin is incredibly loyal to his father despite not always seeing eye-to-eye with him and is certainly unafraid to voice his opinions. Despite his opposing views he remains steadfastly obedient, listening to his father and following the codes even if he does not necessarily believe in them or wish to obey them. He shows an unwillingness to become the highprince when Dalinar considers stepping aside in favour of him, still intensely loyal to his father. His skepticism surrounding the codes eventually changes and Adolin begins to understand their purpose. He grows to become a better leader because of this and at the same time he grows further away from the people he once considered to be friends.

He deeply cares about his family and one of the few times Adolin admits to being frightened is seeing his father looking fragile and worn down. Adolin even allows the four-on-one duel to continue when Relis threatens to have Abrobadar ‘’accidentally” kill Renarin. He is also quick to defend Renarin when Sadeas insults his younger brother. Adolin seems to have had a good relationship with his deceased mother as well, carrying a chain that once belonged to her for good luck during duels.

He is impulsive, often having to be held back by Renarin or rebuked by his father. Sadeas even refers to him as a “firebrand”. This impulsiveness of his has lead to him throwing Kaladin across the practice grounds while sparring, accidentally allowing Relis Ruthar to set him up in a one-on-four duel and contributed in some part to his snapping and murdering Sadeas.

Adolin has a strong sense of right and wrong. In his first encounter with Kaladin he saves a prostitute from being beaten by one of Sadeas’s officers. He also throws himself in jail as a show of solidarity with Kaladin.

He is shown to be very confident, charismatic and friendly, being on good terms with both lighteyes and darkeyes. He’s also infamous for his numerous courtships in which “he continues to change partners like he’s in a dance that involves particularly quick music.” Adolin admits to Kaladin that while he knows how to get women he is unsure of how to keep them.

Adolin is observant and this has also lead to him being suspicious of those he does not trust. He absolutely does not trust Sadeas, even when his father asks him to, and is eventually proven right at the battle of the tower. He is suspicious of Kaladin for a long time, being the only one to notice that the arm Szeth had cut with his Honorblade had miraculously healed itself. He is the first person outside of Bridge Four to believe Kaladin’s claims about Amaram, stating that he always felt the man was hiding something.

Adolin is very tactically minded. Shallan notes that he is not as ‘brilliant’ as Kaladin but this does not mean he is unintelligent. He even admits to sometimes feigning at being dense. He applies his knowledge in a more direct manner to win duels and battles and isn’t quite as skilled in wit or rhetoric. Adolin is compared to his father on various occasions, Dalinar continuously saying that Adolin is a better man than he is. Adolin believes differently.

“My father [...] thinks I’m a better man than he is. […] Unfortunately for you, he’s wrong.”

—Adolin to Sadeas

Abilities and Attributes

He is a Shardbearer, owning both a Shardblade and a Shardplate, which he inherited from his mother's side of the family on his 16th birthday.

He has a white stallion, a Ryshadium horse named Sureblood, one of only a dozen Ryshadium in all the Alethi warcamps on the Shattered Plains.

Duelling

“This might be our last fight together […] I appreciate what you’ve done for me. I know you’d do it for anyone who held you, but I still appreciate it.”

—Adolin to his Shardblade

Adolin's Calling is duelling and he frequently resorts to challenging other lighteyes to settle disputes. Since arriving at the Shattered Plains he has been unable to duel as much as he had previously due to his father's insistence that he follow the Alethi Codes of War which state that needless duels should be avoided during times of war so that commanding officers are not wounded. Once Dalinar becomes Highprince of War he uses Adolin and his duelling as a key part in his plan to discipline the Highprinces by taking away their Shards in duels.

Adolin has a series of traditions he performs before any duel he fights. While in the preparation room, which is used primarily for meditation, he talks to his unnamed blade before continuing on to the staging room where his armourers help him into his Shardplate. Navani normally paints a glyphward for him though by his final duel he has move to having Shallan paint them for him. Finally Renarin will check to make sure Adolin has eaten chicken at some point before the duel and that he has their mother’s chain on his person. Navani passes these off as superstitions which Adolin denies. However before his final duel, when he forgot his mother’s chain, both he and Renarin appear visually shaken. By the time his armourers have finished though he seems mostly recovered.

Adolin has employed various Shardblade Stances in his duels, though he relies most heavily on Windstance, and diverse tactics. In the duel against Resi, which is disguised as a friendly match, Adolin implements the defensive and offensive forms of Windstance, his style described as dancing. Against Salinor Eved he switches to using Ironstance as well as employing elements of hand to hand combat for a rather brutal display, much to the ire of Highjudge Istow. While fighting against Eranniv Sadeas notes that Adolin is fighting far below his own capacity , making it seem like a close fight. Against Elit Ruthar Adolin employs Windstance again, focusing on precision while implementing a tactic of exhausting Elit’s plate of stormlight until it can no longer move.

In the final duel against Elit, Relis Ruthar, Abrobadar and Jakamav Adolin relies most heavily on Windstance, as it is the most effective against multiple many opponents. At one point he backs himself up against a wall to protect his back. Once Kaladin joins the duel he remarks that two opponents actually seem like an even match for Adolin. By the end of the duel Adolin is pinned beneath Jakamav and holding him in a wrestling grip.

It can be argued that Adolin is actually the most skilled duellist on the Shattered Plains given that he is both capable of winning a fight while hiding his true level of skill and being an even match against two men. Sadeas remarks that Adolin is growing into the Blackthorn, a man who conquered Alethkar with his skill and power, and that thought terrifies him.