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{{character
|family=[[Teo Royal Family]]
|race=Elantrian▼
|parents=[[Kiin]], [[Daora]]
|siblings=[[Lukel]], [[Kaise]], [[Daorn]]
|abilities={{tag+|Elantrian}}
|ethnicity=Aonic
|residence=kae
|world=Sel
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
▲|homeland=Arelon
|
}}
'''Adien''' is an [[Elantrian]] from [[Sel]]. He is the son of [[Daora]], step-son of [[Kiin]], younger brother to [[Lukel]], and older half-brother to [[Kaise]] and [[Daorn]]. Through marriage, he is related to [[Sarene]] and the [[Teo Royal Family]].{{book ref|Elantris|5}}
== Appearance and Personality ==
Adien is from [[Kae]] and was born autistic.{{wob ref|2209}} He moves in an awkward, stiff, uncontrolled manner. He is able to speak in complete sentences, but he is often seen mumbling numbers and words to himself.{{book ref|Elantris|5}}{{book ref|Elantris|8}} He has a thin face, pale complexion, and "haunted" eyes.{{book ref|Elantris|5}}{{book ref|elantris|29}} Notably, the descriptions of Adien provided by Sarene are from a period when he had been taken by the broken [[Shaod]] and was wearing makeup to cover its effects.{{book ref|Elantris|5}}{{book ref|Elantris|epilogue}} This affected his appearance, and likely his personality as well.
After Elantris is restored, Adien is able to think lucidly and speak clearly. He has the white hair and silver skin of an Elantrian, and he looks very similar to Lukel.{{book ref|elantris|62}}
{{image|Kiin family.jpg|side=left|width=250px|Adien (right) with his step-father and siblings}}
== Attributes and Abilities ==
Adien has the innate abilities of all Elantrians, including increased physical and mental capabilities and access to [[AonDor]]. Independently of his Elantrian abilities, Adien has a natural way with numbers. He counts his steps wherever he goes,{{book ref|elantris|60}} and the numbers that he speaks to himself during the broken Shaod are often related to distance.{{book ref|elantris|29}} He seems to instinctively know the distance (in strides) between any two locations that he has been before, even if he did not walk there.{{book ref|Elantris|62}}
== History ==
Adien was born to Daora around seven or eight years before the [[Reod]]. Daora held the title of [[Kimess]],{{glossary ref|elantris|K}} so Adien was presumably raised as a minor noble. His father's identity and the reason for the end of Daora's relationship with him are unknown. He visited [[Teoras]] as a child.{{book ref|elantris|62}}
Kiin adopted Adien and Lukel after retiring from battle and falling in love with Daora.{{book ref|elantris|part=ars}} In his early teens, about five years after the [[Reod]], Adien was taken by the Shaod.{{book ref|Elantris|60}} Unwilling to have him thrown into Elantris, his family concealed his condition with makeup{{book ref|Elantris|epilogue}} and kept him close to home. The makeup gave Adien a pale white complexion with a strange cast to his face.{{book ref|Elantris|5}} Because of his condition, Adien rarely left the house, and spent a lot of time sleeping.{{book ref|elantris|part=ars}}{{book ref|Elantris|5}} He had never been social due to his autism, which made it less suspicious that he did not interact with other people.{{wob ref|2209}} With his family's help, Adien accomplished the unprecedented feat of staving off becoming [[Hoed]] for those five years.{{book ref|elantris|epilogue}}
Adien was present when Sarene first visited Kiin and Daora's family in Kae. He was a thin-faced boy in his late teens and Sarene quickly realized that he had some sort of cognitive impairment.{{book ref|Elantris|5}} Adien's family was used to his behavior, and took no notice when he showed up late to meals or mumbled to himself.{{book ref|elantris|5}}{{book ref|elantris|8}} Adien was typically present any time Sarene was at the family's house.{{book ref|elantris|29}}
During the [[Invasion of Arelon]], Adien took shelter with his family.{{book ref|elantris|58}} However, they were soon captured and moved towards Elantris. Adien showed little concern for the events happening around him.{{book ref|elantris|60}} When they approached the site where the Fjordell soldiers planned to burn any Elantrians they could find, Adien suddenly moved towards the nearby pile of bodies. A Fjordell soldier slashed him across the chest, and when the wound did not bleed, Adien was finally revealed to be an Elantrian himself. He simply laid down on the pile with the other Elantrians.{{book ref|elantris|60}}
After [[Raoden]] healed Elantris, all of Adien's wounds were healed and he became a true Elantrian. His skin turned silver, and he gained superhuman physical and mental capacity. Adien felt like his old life had been a dream. He was always aware of what was happening around him, but struggled to interact and express himself. He retained his ability to remember exact distances, and provided Raoden with the distance to [[Teod]] so that Raoden could effectively use [[Aon#Tia|Aon Tia]] to rescue Sarene.{{book ref|elantris|62}}
== Trivia ==
* Brandon was never totally happy with the twist of Adien being an Elantrian. He has noted that Adien was underdeveloped as a character, and that his ability to calculate distance was something of a ''deus ex machina'' that allowed Raoden to pull off an otherwise impossible feat.{{wob ref|2209}}{{wob ref|2228}} However, he kept the twist because Adien was a planned protagonist in the [[Elantris sequel|''Elantris'' sequel]], possibly alongside his siblings.{{wob ref|2209}}{{wob ref|13514}} His natural ability with numbers would make him a particularly powerful wielder of AonDor.{{wob ref|2209}}
* [[Hrathen's seon]] is expected to be Passed to Adien in the sequel.{{wob ref|1950}}
* Brandon has noted that the portrayal of Adien's autism in ''Elantris'' is stereotypical and more of a "pop culture" representation of someone on the spectrum.{{wob ref|10591}}{{wob ref|11999}}{{wob ref|13855}} He does not regret his attempt to write the character since he was trying to be inclusive, but he recognizes that Adien's version of autism is not typical. ''Elantris'' was his first novel and he did not have the resources that he gained later in his career, including a broader reader base that would have been able to point out the inaccuracies in Adien's characterization.{{wob ref|10591}} He has tried to portray autism more realistically in later characters such as [[Steris]], and would apply those lessons if Adien does feature in a sequel.{{wob ref|9357}}{{wob ref|10591}} He believes that listening to feedback about stereotypes helps writers grow and do better.{{wob ref|10591}}
== Notes ==
<references/>
{{complete}}
{{Elantris}}
[[es:Adien]]
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