Difference between revisions of "Adolin Kholin"

For their first date Adolin takes Shallan to one of the trendy winehouses that allow viewings of oncoming highstorms. Shallan asks him about plateau runs and feels as though she’s filling an expected role in the conversation with Adolin until she asks him how he poops if he’s in shardplate. Though embarrassed Adolin reveals that he has defecated in his shardbladeshardplate three times, all on purpose. From that point on their interaction becomes more genuine.

They move on to discussing Chasmfiends and gemhearts and sustainablilitysustainability. Adolin feigns ignorance for a while, saying he isn’t good at anything that doesn’t involve stabbing, but eventually says he’s not as dense as he’s pretending. Shallan suggests raising and harvesting Chasmfiends that way as a solution to the dwindling population. Adolin, surprising Shallan, asks her what she needs to make it happen. She asks to be taken out onto the Shattered Plains to see an uncut chrysalis for herself. Adolin is hesitant about this but Shallan tells him she knows he’ll protect her. Adolin reveals to Shallan his father’s visions and Sadea’s betrayal. In turn Shallan reveals Jasnah’s suspicions of the [[Parshmen]] being related to the return of the [[Voidbringers]]. Adolin tells Shallan he’ll talk to his aunt and try to smooth things over for her so Shallan can talk to Navani about Jasnah’s research. Afterwards they watch the approaching highstorm and are the last remaining spectators until Adolin has to drag Shallan indoors before the storm hits. Before they go to the gender segregated sitting rooms Adolin promises to try and get her out onto the Plains. {{book ref|wor|49}}

While taking Shallan on a date Adolin is accompanied by Kaladin, much to his chagrin. He’s further annoyed by Kaladin insisting he has to be in the carriage with them. While travelling to the menagerie, Shallan tells Adolin and the listening Kaladin the account of Sadeas’s duel with highprince [[Yenev]] eighteen years prior. Sadeas won the chance to duel and kill Yenev through the [[Right of Challenge]] and the [[King’s Boon]]. Kaladin doesn’t think Sadeas would agree to the Right of Challenge but Adolin and Shallan tell him that Sadeas must obey it. They also explain to him that this is all about distroyingdestroying reputation and image; Sadeas has formed a coalition against the king thus implying he is stronger than the king. Everyone is playing a game and it’s rules Sadeas is playing by so defeating him within those parameters is possible. When there is a commotion at the gates of the menagerie Adolin stays with Shallan while Kaladin goes to check things out. Dalinar has arrived, with Amaram in tow, announcing that the Knights Radiant have been reestablished with Amaram as their leader. {{book ref|wor|55}}

Before the duel, Adolin goes through his rituals, burning the prayer Shallan wrote for him and praying himself. Navani expresses her worry, particularly over the terms that the duel shall end with surrender rather than breaking the shardplate. When Renarin does his check that Adolin has followed his routine, they discover that Adolin’s mother’s chain is missing,. whichThis momentarily throws Adolin off balance, though he starts to recover as they put on his plate. When his opponents enter the ring there are four of them rather than the two that Adolin had assumed. Instead of forfeiting, Adolin signals for the duel to commence. He recognizes the three shardbearers Relis brought with him: Elit, [[Abrobadar]] and Jakamav. {{book ref|wor|56}}

Adolin attacks, trying to minimize any attempt they have to assess and respond. He does alright for a while but eventually becomes overwhelmed. When he attempts to yield the shardbearers stop him and Highjudge Istow doesn’t, or chooses not to, hear him. Adolin realizes that if he leaves the duel alive he’d be doing so as a cripple. Renarin joins the duel with just his shardblade and Adolin tries to convince him to leave but Renarin refuses. Relis tells him that so long as Adolin does not surrender or make his cousin end the duel, Abrobadar will not hurt Renarin but if Adolin does attempt any of those things Renarin will die. {{book ref|wor|56}}

Adolin locks himself up on the third day of Kaladin's imprisonment in protest. {{book ref|wor|59}} He communicates with Shallan via spanreed, asking her to come visit him because he’s bored. He uses an ardent rather than one of his father’s scribes because he does not want Shallan to get jealous. Adolin tells her that his father is planning an expiditionexpedition to eliminate the Parshendi once and for all and that he managed to convince Dalinar to bring Shallan along. {{book ref|wor|63}}

When Shallan comes over to them she kisses Adolin’s cheek much to his surprise as Alethi are not so publicallypublicly affectionate. When she rhetorically asks why the moss is growing weird on a rock he replies that it’s because of alcohol in an attempt at being funny. Shallan asks Adolin to slay the moss for her and he bemusedly does so, cutting the top of the rock off with his Shardblade and then leaves Kaladin to watch over her as he goes to get something to drink. While he’s gone he lets the darkeyed waterboys try on his shardplate helmet. Later when the carpenter destroys the bridge Adolin ran to try to stop him and grabbed his father but was unable to save Shallan or Kaladin who fell into the chasms. {{book ref|wor|68}}

When Adolin learns that Shallan is alive he rushes to her apartments. Though he initiates the hug, the first time he’s ever initiated any physical affection, Shallan is the one who initiates the kiss. When Shallan asks where he’d been, he tells her he was delivering his father’s ultimatum to finish the [[Vengeance Pact]] to the other high princes. Dalinar thought it would keep Adolin occupied while grieving over Shallan. Adolin promises he’ll never let anything happen to Shallan again and she tells him she appreciates his concern but does not want that from him. While confused about this, he backs her up when Navani promises something similar. {{book ref|wor|75}}

Adolin and a thousand men go through the crem encrusted building to the wall the Parshendi singers are hiding against. He cuts two holes into the wall for his men to exit through, the first one going unnoticed because of all the chanting and rain but the second was. He charges into the Parshendi and starts cutting them down. He likens it to killing sleeping men and reflects on how attacking ordinary soldiers with shards was doing dirty work. Despite winning the plateau, the Parshendi’s expressions of horror haunt him as he cuts them down, feeling nauseated. Though he’s caught unawares by Eshonai and her attack, he mentally thanks her for her arrival, glad to have an honest fight on his hands. {{book ref|wor|83}}

Fighting Eshonai, Adolin senses the Thrill in her and uses this to his advantage in their duel, luring her to the edge of the plateau. Though Eshonai manages to break his vambrace Adolin knocks her off the edge of the plateau and down into the chasms. This gambit breaks his helm and nearly topples him over the edge as well but he is caught and saved by Drehy and Skar.

While jogging across the bridge to find out what was going on with the rest of the army, Adolin grabs the arm of a man in a thick cloak who he assumes is delivering something and asks where his father is. When the hood falls off Adolin discovers the man is the Assassin in White. {{book ref|wor|84}}

Szeth throws a badly beaten Adolin through one of the tents and Adolin lands near his father, most of his plate broken or cracked. Dalinar cradles Adolin as Szeth approaches and tells him to be a better man than he was and to not play the games of the other light eyes before getting up and approaching Szeth. Adolin tries to stop him but with so much of his plate broken he struggles to get up. He watches his father and Szeth fight and eventually manages to stand. Drehy and Skar help him remove his armour. Once it’s off, he runs to save his father, who was knelt in defeat before Szeth, but [[Roion]] gets there before him and is lashed upwards to the sky by Szeth. Wearing no shardplate again Adolin engages Szeth. Dalinar and Adolin both rush Szeth, hoping to score a lucky blow, but Szeth flies out of the way. Szeth manages to land a hand on Dalinar in the fight and lashes him upwards into the storm. Crying, Adolin beingsbegins to rush Szeth but the assassin points his [[Honorblade]] at Adolin and tells him it is finished and that he is done. Adolin moves to hit him but Szeth parries the blow, breaking Adolin’s wrist. He hits him in the chest, knocking the air from Adolin’s lungs, and says he can kill one more. Before Szeth can, however, Kaladin lands with Dalinar in his grasp, safe. {{book ref|wor|85}}

Adolin takes charge of the expedition of Urithiru, creating maps of the city. {{book ref|wor|87}} Adolin and Shallan meet and Shallan says she will not let her status as a Radiant be awkward between them. They kiss and Adolin promises to stop being awkward if she stops being irresistible. When he leaves he informs her that Pattern hadhas chosen her room and tells the guards that no one is to disturb her. {{book ref|wor|88}}

While exploring Adolin reflects on his relationship with Shallan and how it has changed with the revelation that she was a Radiant, which has shaken his sense of self. Getting too far ahead of the rest of his party Adolin investigates some voices he hears and stumbles across Sadeas with a scouting party of his own. Adolin remains hidden until the others have left and tries to sneak away but his boot scrapes and draws Sadeas attention. As the two talk Sadeas reveals his plan to undermine Dalinar by saying the Kholins had contacted the Parshendi and the two had put on a convincing show. Sadeas doesn’t believe this but it is the lie he’ll tell others.

Adolin asks Sadeas as to why he is the way he is and Sadeas tells Adolin that an army cannot have two generals and it has to be him or Dalinar who goes. Adolin says it doesn’t have to be that way but Sadeas reiterates that it must and that he will take everything Dalinar has. Adolin finally snaps and attacks Sadeas. The two wrestle and Adolin manages to stab Sadeas inthrough the eye and into his brain with a knife, killing him. Adolin ditches [[Oathbringer]], which materialized at Sadeas's death, out the window and into one of the planters. He cuts his bloody cuffs off and erases the chalk marks that indicated he had been in the vicinity. He returns to his scouting party and pretends he had been with them the whole time. {{book ref|wor|89}}