Elhokar Kholin
| Elhokar Kholin | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | 1147[1][2] | ||||||||||||||
| Died | Siege of Kholinar 1174[3] | ||||||||||||||
| Abilities | Shardbearer | ||||||||||||||
| Titles | King of Alethkar | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Alethi | ||||||||||||||
| Homeworld | Roshar | ||||||||||||||
| Universe | Cosmere | ||||||||||||||
“Perhaps the liar here is me—lying to tell myself I could do this, that I could be a fraction of the man my father was. ”
Elhokar Kholin is the king of Alethkar on Roshar, and the nephew of Dalinar.[5]
Appearance and Personality
Elhokar is Alethi, with tan skin and epicanthic folds over green eyes.[6][fn 1] He keeps himself clean-shaven. His face is considered very handsome, with full lips, a broad forehead, and a firm chin. He bears some resemblance to his father, though Elhokar has fewer scars than Gavilar did.[5]
Elhokar is deeply paranoid, fearing assassins every since his father was killed by one, and thus wears his Shardplate far more often than other Shardbearers.[7] He also has a strong complex about being compared to his father. He vacillates between extremely spoiled, demanding respect for the sheer fact of being a king, and fearful, keenly aware that he does not measure up as a ruler.[8] He lacks the spine or accomplishments to stand up to Dalinar when the latter starts to take more and more power, and the highprinces often talk around him, with Elhokar himself serving more as a unifying figurehead than a true leader.[9] He has a habit of surrounding himself with sycophants and people intent on using him for their own purposes.[10][11] Perhaps related to that, he seems to have very low self-esteem.
While Elhokar is by no means an exceptional leader, he does have some potential, albeit deeply-buried. Despite his own uncertainty in his ability to rule, he's capable of making decisive action and manages to control the Highprinces, if just barely. He displays a certain sense for politics, and can, display startling insight into the minds of others.[12] Over time, he comes to acknowledge his own flaws and take steps to rectify it, starting by trying to learn by example from Kaladin and becoming more selfless.[4] He's also a devoted husband and father, and though he can't spend much time with his family, he cares for them dearly.[11]
History
War of Reckoning
After the assassination of Gavilar, Elhokar vows to avenge his father by waging war against the Parshendi, who claimed responsibility for the king's death. He makes the highprinces swear to the Vengeance Pact to help him in his conquest, thereby managing to keep his kingdom together for now. Due to Elhokar's youth and paranoia his ability to rule was questioned by those under his rule and he maintained a weakened authority over the ten Highprinces. The King's paranoia stemmed from the assassination of his father and he feared that he would meet the same fate, although he overcompensated on the battlefield and often acted recklessly to the dismay of his family and guards.[5] This paranoia was furthered by his ability to see strange creatures (almost certainly Cryptics) in mirrors.[7]
Elhokar's deep fear of assassination caused him to fake an assassination attempt on his own life by cutting the girth strap on his saddle,[13][14] in order to trigger an investigation on those who wish him dead. Although this rash action placed suspicion on his uncle Dalinar, this method did yield results as it was found that weakened gemstones were placed in his Shardplate by an unknown individual.[15]
He was almost assassinated by Moash and Graves on multiple occasions. When Moash comes into the palace to kill Elhokar, he is saved by Kaladin who then speaks the third ideal of the Windrunners.
After recovering from the attempt on his life. Elhokar moves to Urithiru and gives his blessing to Dalinar and Navani's marriage.[16] He later tries to abdicate in favor of Dalinar, but they settle on the title of Highking, giving Dalinar authority over Elhokar and his kingdom. They agree to keep this unofficial until Kholinar has been freed and they are sure Elhokar still has an Alethkar to rule over.[4]
Death
Shortly before his death, Shallan sketches Elhokar as a righteous and proud king and Elhokar, moved by the drawing, is inspired to be a good ruler for his people, despite all the faults he finds within himself. He is clutching this drawing when he is killed, using it as inspiration to become a Radiant. Unfortunately for the king, he is stabbed to death while speaking the First Ideal, unable to complete the words in time to save himself.
Elhokar is slain in Kholinar while trying to escape to the city's Oathgate with Adolin, Kaladin, Shallan, Skar, Drehy, and Azure. During their escape, the city is invaded by a parshmen army and several Fused. The army kills almost the entire Wall Guard, but it is Moash who slays Elhokar, by stabbing him through the chest and eye. Immediately before his death, Kaladin hears the king begin to mutter the First Ideal, and sees the king start glowing with Stormlight, but the king was not able to finish the words before he was run through by Moash. Later, Hoid rescues a Cryptic hiding near the scene of his death.[17] His body was eventually burned with honors.[18]
The king's son, Gavinor, survives and remains in Kholinar with Drehy and Skar while the others are transported to Shadesmar. The former three, along with Vathah, Red, Ishnah, and a local merchant managed to escape and send for help via spanreed. They are rescued by Kaladin after a scribe sent by Dalinar informs him of their location.
Attributes and Abilities
Had he completed saying the First Ideal, Elhokar would have become a Lightweaver, one who can make illusions and does not require the use of a fabrial in order to Soulcast. This was foreshadowed in The Way of Kings:
“ I see their faces in mirrors. Symbols, twisted, inhuman ”
— Elhokar Kholin[7]
This description is very similar to the apparitions that Shallan observes in her drawings.
“ a figure with a sharp, angular symbol hovering above its collar instead of a head ”
— Shallan Davar[19]
Elhokar also notices Pattern on Shallan's skirt and notes that it looks familiar to him.[20]
Shardwielding
Elhokar is a Shardbearer, with both a Shardblade and Shardplate. His Shardblade is called Sunraiser[13] and is long and thin with a large crossguard. It is etched with the ten basic glyphs up the sides of the blade.[5]
He also owns several additional sets of Plate and Blade that are often loaned out. His father's Shardblade, Firestorm, and Shardplate are among these.[21][22]
![[22]](#cite_note-Shardplate.jpeg-23){kind=link}
Trivia
- If Elhokar had lived long enough to speak his first Truth, it would be to admit that he was a bad king.[23]
Notes
| Preceded by Gavilar Kholin |
Monarch of Alethkar |
Succeeded by Jasnah Kholin |
- ↑ Brandon's Blog 2017
— Arcanum - 2017-11-01# - ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 22#
- ↑ Brandon's Blog 2017
— Arcanum - 2017-10-27# - ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 12#
- ↑ a b c d The Way of Kings chapter 12#
- ↑ Miscellaneous 2014
— Arcanum - 2014-08-26# - ↑ a b c The Way of Kings chapter 58#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 80#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 38#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 62#
- ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 84#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 56#
- ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 13#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 69#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 54#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 4#
- ↑ Oathbringer epilogue#
- ↑ Stuttgart signing
— Arcanum - 2019-05-17# - ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 45#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 74#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 16#
- ↑ Shallan's sketchbook - Shard sketches
- ↑ Skyward signing Seattle
— Arcanum - 2018-11-10#
- Footnotes
- ↑ In The Way of Kings Elhokar is described as having yellow eyes. For Words of Radiance however Brandon changes them to green, so that they would match the color of Gavilar's to emphasize the family resemblance between father and son.