Difference between revisions of "Jasnah Kholin"

{{quote|It strikes me that religion—in its essence—seeks to take natural events and ascribe supernatural causes to them. I, however, seek to take supernatural events and find the natural meanings behind them. Perhaps that is the final dividing line between science and religion. Opposite sides of a card.|Jasnah on why she researches Voidbringers{{ref|b|twok|c|72}}}}

 

 

== History ==

Jasnah Kholin was born in {{date|1139|EoS}} to Gavilar and Navani Kholin. Her brother, Elhokar, was born eight years later in {{date|1147|EoS}}.{{ref|b|sa1|c|12}} She became a princess of Alethkar when Gavilar united the [[highprince]]s and became the king in {{date|1163|EoS}}.

 

She wrote Gavilar's account of his first meeting the [[Parshendi]] in {{date|1166|EoS}}.{{ref|b|sa1|c|36}} She didn't know what to think of the changes in Gavilar around these times,{{ref|b|sa1|c|15}} but for the first time in her life she felt connected to her father.{{ref|b|sa1|c|45}} She was very interested in the Parshendi and the [[Shattered Plains]], and wanted to study both. She suspected the ruins in the Shattered Plains to be extremely important and something that the scholars had been looking for for a long time.{{ref|b|sa2|prologue}}

 

She attended the feast that was held in the [[Kholinar]] Palace after the treaty with the Parshendi was signed in {{date|1167|EoS}}. While walking to a meeting with an assassin named [[Liss]] with the intention of having Elhokar's wife, [[Aesudan Kholin|Aesudan]], killed, she noticed her [[Spren|shadow]] behaving oddly which discomfited her. She walked past Highprince [[Torol Sadeas|Sadeas]] and a [[Shinovar|Shin]] [[Szeth-son-son-Vallano|servant in white clothing]], and subsequently came across her father and [[Meridas Amaram]] having a quiet conference. Once Amaram left, Jasnah asked Gavilar what he commanded Amaram, but Gavilar deflected the question and hastily left Jasnah, leading her to wonder if he knew about her plans regarding Aesudan. Walking onwards, Jasnah's shadow again acted oddly, and this time, formed into a man-shaped oily blackness with an unsheathed sword. In panic, Jasnah went into [[Shadesmar]] for the first time, and there the shadowy figure sheathed its sword in satisfaction, and Jasnah fell into the sea of glass beads. Before being drowned, she managed to find the glass bead corresponding to the Kholinar Palace, and using that as her guide, willed herself to rise to the surface. She stood upon a platform made of glass beads locked together. From the beads, she formed the corridor she stood in the [[Physical Realm]], and when the shadowy figure stepped onto her platform with its sword drawn, she formed a statue of [[Talenel|Talenelat'Elin]]. She confronted the figure, and it saluted her by raising two fingers to its head and bowing. After this, Jasnah returned to where she was in the Physical Realm, to find the spheres lining the walls of the hallway without [[Stormlight]].{{ref|b|sa2|prologue}}

 

Hours later, they discovered that the assassination and the surrender of the three covered the escape of the rest of the Parshendi in the palace. Dalinar sent a hundred cavalry after them, but they were killed to the last man and horse. The three Parshendi didn't say anything more, and were all hanged. Jasnah interrogated the surviving King's guards and Liss about the Assassin in White, but got almost nothing. Next, she started looking through the books to explain what she had seen that night.{{ref|b|sa2|prologue}}

 

After the death of her father, she started drawing parallels between the Parshendi and the [[Voidbringers]].{{ref|b|sa1|c|74}} Eventually, she discovered her [[Surgebinding]] abilities, and started carrying a fake [[Soulcaster]] [[fabrial]] to disguise she was a [[Surgebinder]].{{ref|b|sa1|c|72}} At some point, she made her way to the warcamps in the Shattered Plains, but eventually her studies took her elsewhere.{{ref|b|sa1|c|18}} She left behind her books, and asked Dalinar that they be cared for.{{ref|b|sa1|c|60}}

 

In {{date|1172|EoS}}, she received a letter from [[Shallan Davar]], asking for wardship. She replied Shallan to meet her in [[Dumadari]] in two weeks time, though she didn't really expect her to make it. She spent the next six months traveling from town to town, leaving notes for Shallan when she left so the young woman could follow her. She eventually reached [[Kharbranth]] in {{date|1173|EoS}}.{{ref|b|sa1|c|3}}

 

She found out King [[Taravangian]]'s granddaughter was trapped in one of the palace rooms after an highstorm caused a boulder to fall down from the walls, blocking the way in. Taravangian asked for Jasnah's help, to free his granddaughter by [[Soulcasting]] the stone. Jasnah accepted to help, in return for free admittance to the [[Palanaeum]]. Shallan Davar, a prospective ward, caught up with her at this point and Jasnah evaluated Shallan's knowledge. Once they reached the boulder that had trapped the king's granddaughter, Jasnah Soulcast the stone into smoke, causing the newly formed smoke to explode because of the difference in density of rock and smoke. After this, she informed Shallan that she wasn't good enough to become her ward. Jasnah left Shallan behind and went to the Palanaeum.{{ref|b|sa1|c|5}} After she collected the books she wanted, she returned to the alcove she'd reserved, and found Shallan there. She was angry to be defied, and told Shallan, not in a kind way, to leave her alone. Shallan, in her embarrassment and disappointment, forgot the [[spheres]] she had used for illumination inside the alcove. Jasnah asked her to return and apologized her for her rudeness. She found out that Shallan was self-taught and found it remarkable, promising if she filled the gaps in her knowledge, she would accept her as her ward. A few hours later, the servants informed her that Shallan was back and that she had her own alcove, intent on studying while in Kharbranth and applying for wardship again. Jasnah decided that if she could not get rid of Shallan, she might as well make use of her and accepted her as her ward.{{ref|b|sa1|c|8}}

 

While discussing King Gavilar's interest in the Parshendi with Shallan, Jasnah revealed that a fresh perspective could be helpful, and that she felt Shallan could discover something she had missed. The topic eventually led to Urithiru and the Voidbringers. Shallan suggested that Urithiru, which Jasnah claimed was the center of the [[Silver Kingdoms]], could be in the Shattered Plains, but Jasnah was certain that it wasn't there. She eventually ended their talk, and told Shallan to go back to her studies. Shallan left the alcove, saying she needed [[Tifandor]]'s biography of Gavilar. Shallan returned two hours later with Kabsal, of whom Shallan wanted to sketch a drawing. Jasnah was annoyed by the distraction, but left the other two to themselves. After sketching for a bit, Shallan became very agitated, saying she made a mistake, and left the alcove for her room. Jasnah, concerned for her ward, followed her, and found Shallan on the ground, bleeding from a cut on her wrist, after an apparent suicide attempt. She immediately called for help, and Shallan was taken to one of Taravangian's hospitals.{{ref|b|sa1|c|45}}

 

Jasnah spent the next two days outside Shallan's hospital room. Once she was allowed inside the room, she apologized to Shallan, although she didn't prove to be very proficient at apologizing which Shallan attributed to Jasnah's ineptitude at making mistakes. Becoming serious again, Jasnah claimed she may have done the world a disservice and stolen from it one of the great scholars of the rising generation by overworking Shallan. She gave her an empty book, and called it ''The Book of Endless Pages'', and cautioned her to seek out the [[devotary|Devotary of Sincerity]] of whom the book was the guide. Kabsal joined them, and as usually, Jasnah was cool and rude to him. He let it slip that Shallan was returning to her home and Jasnah, while initially suprised, agreed that it was the best for her. Kabsal revealed the strawberry jam and the bread she brought for Shallan. After being insisted by Shallan, Jasnah decided to eat some of it as well, but as her habit while accepting food from someone, she Soulcast the jam and the bread to purify them of any poisons. She was unsuccessful with the jam and the result was a rotten mush that was uneatable. Kabsal ate the jam anyway and get Shallan to eat as well, though when she refused he tried to run out but collapsed before reaching the door. The same happened with Shallan a few seconds later. When Jasnah told her that she had to Soulcast her blood to get the poison out, Shallan revealed Jasnah's fake Soulcaster fabrial, apparently having stolen it. Jasnah healed her and Shallan fell unconscious.{{ref|b|sa1|c|48}}

 

Despite what she was told, Shallan came to Jasnah's alcove and claimed that the Soulcaster Jasnah wore was a fake and she could Soulcast without a fabrial. Jasnah initially tried to deny this, but she was shocked to see Shallan reveal a depiction of [[Shadesmar]]. Shallan told Jasnah that she'd stolen the Soulcaster fabrial on the night when Jasnah killed the four footpads and that she could Surgebind as well. When Jasnah didn't believe her, Shallan entered, with a dim sphere, Shadesmar to prove her claim. Jasnah followed her, and brought her back, admonishing her for being an idiot in trying to enter Shadesmar with only a dim sphere. Shallan asked Jasnah to teach her and that she wanted to be a part of Jasnah's studies. Jasnah was reluctant at first, but eventually accepted her, with the promise that she would never lie to Jasnah or steal from anyone ever again.{{ref|b|sa1|c|70}} She went on to telling Shallan about Surgebinding, Knights Radiant and her theory about the Parshendi and the Voidbringers. When Shallan told her that she saw [[cryptic]]s, Jasnah said there were two orders of the Knights Radiants with the ability to Soulcast, and that the two women belonged to different orders. Jasnah showed Shallan her notes regarding the Voidbringers,{{ref|b|sa1|c|72}} and Shallan came to the conclusion the Parshendi were Voidbringers like Jasnah. Jasnah was pleased to convince at least one person. She said that they needed more information but had exhausted all that Kharbranth had to offer, and that they would leave for the Shattered Plains the next day. She said there were others after this information, and that the [[Ghostbloods]] were one of them. She showed Shallan the symbol of the Ghostbloods that she had found tattooed on Kabsal. Shallan was horrified to recognize the symbol, and said that her father might have had been a member of this group.{{ref|b|sa1|c|74}} Jasnah hired Captain [[Tozbek]] and the ''[[Wind's Pleasure]]'' to take her and Shallan to the Shattered Plains, and so the two women left Kharbranth.{{ref|b|sa2|c|1}}

 

During their days sailing, Shallan occasionally asked Jasnah about the Ghostbloods, but she claimed to know very little of them beyond the fact that they wanted her research, and were willing to kill for it. After the first few days of their journey, which she spent mostly in her cabin, Jasnah contacted Navani via spanreed, without informing Shallan, to ask whether Shallan's Soulcaster could be fixed. She also requested Navani arrange a betrothal between [[Adolin Kholin|Adolin]] and Shallan. Navani answered positively to both, however Dalinar stipulated he would not agree to marriage before Shallan and Adolin met. She also arranged a relatively small of money to be sent to the [[House Davar|Davar family]]. Later that day, she came up to the deck while they were traveling through the [[Longbrow's Straits]] to find Shallan watching a [[santhid]] that was following the ship even though she was supposed to be reading. She joined her ward, and started looking through her sketches. She came to a sketch of Shadesmar, and seeing it was bothering her, she explained the nature of Shadesmar and the spren to Shallan at length, showing a good understanding of the [[Realmatic Theory]]. She claimed that meeting was not an accident, that the spren had guided Shallan to her, and that the old ways were returning because spren sensed an impending danger and were trying to preserve themselves. When she mentioned that their attention must be on the Shattered Plains and the relics of Urithiru, and that it would be a long time before Shallan was able to return home, Shallan expressed worry about her family. Jasnah was hesitant and anxious to tell about the betrothal because she had not consulted Shallan beforehand, but she told Shallan about the arrangements she had made with her mother that morning. Rather than being offended like Jasnah had expected, Shallan was very happy about it. Seeing that, Jasnah relaxed and said she expected Shallan to be distressed because a marriage would mean the restriction of her freedom and being beholden to a man. She told she would let Navani know Shallan's response, and that they would have a [[causal betrothal]] in a day. Shallan was afraid that she wouldn't fit the Alethi court, but Jasnah told her that she would teach her, and then started teaching by explaining that perception of power is as important as welt or power to command armies or to Soulcast. After that, she left for her cabin, saying Shallan had the day free because she needed to consider how best to teach about Shadesmar. Soon afterward, she heard a commotion coming from the deck, and went back. She watched as Shallan had the sailors lower her into the water so she could take a look at the santhid underwater.{{ref|b|sa2|c|1}}

 

== Attributes and Abilities ==

 

== Quotes ==

 

{{quote|Ignorance is hardly unusual, Miss Davar. The longer I live, the more I come to realize that it is the natural state of the human mind. There are many who will strive to defend its sanctity and then expect you to be impressed with their efforts.|Jasnah to Shallan{{ref|b|sa1|c|5}}}}