Difference between revisions of "Alethkar"

'''Alethkar''' is the largest and most prominent of the five [[Vorinism|Vorin]] nations on [[Roshar]]. People from Alethkar are known as '''Alethi''', and their royal colors are blue and gold.{{book ref|sa1|69}} Prior to the [[True Desolation]], they were engaged in the [[War of Reckoning]] against the [[listeners]].{{book ref|sa1|23}} At the present, the vast majority of their territory is under control of the [[Voidbringer]]s.{{book ref|sa3|120}}

* [[Hearthstone]] - a large town in the [[Sadeas]] princedom]], and home of [[Kaladin Stormblessed]].

Several centuries later, in approximately {{Rosharan date|1158}}, [[Gavilar Kholin]]--inspired by the Sunmaker--sought to conquer and unite the highprinces, which he achieved by about {{Rosharan date|1163}}. He was then crowned king and his brother [[Dalinar Kholin]] became highprince to the [[House Kholin|Kholin]] Princedom. Hower, due to the lineage of each Princedom going back to the Sunmaker and his sons, the Highprinces were loathe to surrender their autonomous power to a supreme ruler. The integrity and unity of Gavilar's kingdom is therefore questionable, as evidenced by the ferocity with which the Highprinces resisted his military approach to unification and continued to strain against his rule. The most severe instance of this was the rebellion in [[Rathalas]], where Gavilar eventually had to send troops led by [[Dalinar]] and [[Torol Sadeas]] in order to quench the revolt, as political means had resulted in a failure.

Like all [[Vorin]] nations, Alethi practice a division between the sexes. Women werehave [[safehand]]s, covered either asby a buttoned-up sleeve, typical of lighteyes, or a glove, typical of darkeyes. They are discouraged from picking up weapons and fighting. By contrast, men are forbidden to read. As such, oftentimes a man and a woman will work together as a team in an important position that overlaps both their areas of responsibility, such as the military, with the woman acting as a scribe while the man issues commands.{{book ref|sa1|6}} The extremely militaristic nature of the Alethi further influences this divide, leading to most of Alethi rulers being kings, and women rarely, if ever, becoming highprincesses.{{book ref|sa3|122}}

Alethi discourage emotional openness and any show of what could be perceived as a weakness; an engaged couple keeping close in public is considered, while not obscene, at least extremely improper.{{book ref|sa3|122}} Men are encouraged to be combative and forceful;, and women, to be witty and always willing to engage in barbed banter. Unwillingness or inability to act in this way can often lead to a person being labeled as invalidinept or stupid.{{book ref|sa3|66}}

The Alethi culture is divided into two major castes, the '''[[lighteyes]]''' and '''[[darkeyes]]''', separated by, as can be surmised, the color of a person's eyes. The lighteyes form the upper casecaste, with broader rights and priviledgesprivileges, while the darkeyes are the lower, working caste. Furthermore, each caste is divided into ten ranks, with the lighteyed ranks being called [[dahn]]s, while the darkeyed ones are the [[nahn]]s. Some nahns and dahns are hereditary, or stable, while others can only be held by attaining a particular position.{{wob ref|2782}} The Alethi monarch, for example, is the only person in the country holding the first dahn.{{wob ref|4006}}

There are many ways for a person to improve their rankings, such as through marriage or military service. A soldier who becomes an officer will almost automatically be raised to a proper dahn or nahn, along with their children.{{wob ref|2782}} Holding land automatically entitles a lighteyes to at least the sixth dahn, regardless of their previous status, and becoming a [[Shardbearer]] demandsentitles at least the fourth dahn.{{wob ref|4006}}{{book ref|sa3|58}}

Military service is one of the more reliable paths of social advancement in Alethkar. A soldier can expect to raise in dahn or nahn to match his military rank.{{wob ref|2782}} Moreover, many darkeyed soldiers go to war hoping to defeat a Shardbearer and gain ownership of theira [[Shardblade]], due to a widespread belief -- later proven correct -- that bonding a Blade would change their eyes to light-colored.{{book ref|sa2|66}}

Alongside this culture, the Alethi highly honor the [[Thrill]], a form of battlelustbattle-lust that can sometimes encompass them when in combat. The Thrill is often considered a private thing, not to be shared with others; however, it's also highly desirable, with men often awaiting its arrival when in combat.{{book ref|sa1|12}}{{book ref|sa1|26}} For many, it's downright addictive.{{book ref|sa2|29}}

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