Alethkar

Alethkar
by User: Otto didact
Ethnicity	Alethi
Capital	Kholinar
Ruled by	Queen Jasnah Kholin
Occupied by	Singers
World	Roshar
Universe	Cosmere

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“We've got a noble heritage, Kal, darkeyes and lighteyes alike. That’s why the best warriors have always been from Alethkar. ”

—Laral

Alethkar is the largest and most prominent of the five Vorin nations on Roshar. People from Alethkar are known as Alethi, and their royal colors are blue and gold. The singers' name for Alethkar is Avendla, meaning Land of the Second Advance. Prior to the True Desolation, the Alethi were engaged in the War of Reckoning against the listeners. At the present, the vast majority of their territory is under the control of the Voidbringers.

Geography

by Isaac Stewart

Map of Alethkar. Alethi territories (barring the Shattered Plains) are marked in purple.

Borders and Territories

Alethkar lies in eastern Roshar, stretching across the entire continent, from the Steamwater Ocean in the North to the Tarat Sea in the South-West. To the East, it leans on the Unclaimed Hills, while to the South, it reaches the nationless Frostlands and the Shattered Plains, the latter of which it has recently claimed for itself. In the West, Alethkar has a long and long-disputed border with Jah Keved, which currently follows two rivers and the bend of the Sunmaker Mountains. In North-West, Alethkar borders Herdaz across a stretch of land decided through a few years of border wars.

It has an area around 7,134,000 km. In comparison to real-world nations, it is a little smaller than the total area of Australia.

Besides the mainland, the Alethi have a number of territories off the coast. On the Steamwater Ocean, Alethkar has Akak and a number of surrounding islands, giving it complete control over the Bay of Elibath. On the Tarat Sea - more specifically, a region of it called Mevan Bay - it controls a number of small islands in the delta of Deathbend River, near the city of Karanak.²

Interior

At the tail end of the Era of Solitude, Alethkar is the largest state on Roshar, covering around seven million square kilometers of land. Despite the fact that it is far more exposed to the highstorms than any country further West, large swathes of it are lush with animals and vegetation. It has numerous rivers crossing it, the two major ones being Windrunner and Deathbend. The Windrunner River runs East to West, from Unclaimed Hills to the Bay of Elibath, and has numerous tributaries across the northern half of the country. The Deathbend River likewise starts in the Unclaimed Hills, though it turns South, ultimately ending in the Mevan Bay, with one of its major tributaries being an enormous lake called the Sea of Spears. The North and South of Alethkar are divided by a long, cross-shaped masiff called the Sunmaker Mountains.

Notable cities

• Kholinar - the seat of House Kholin and the national capital following Alethkar's unification. The Alethela Oathgate is located there.
• Rathalas - ruined city once known for being constructed in a massive canyon for safety. It was burned down by Dalinar Kholin following the rebellion of the local highprince, Tanalan.
• Revolar - one of the largest cities in the Vamah princedom. During the True Desolation, it's taken over by the Voidbringers and used as a major assembly point for their armies.
• Hearthstone - a large town in the Sadeas princedom, and home of Kaladin Stormblessed.
• Dumadari - a major city on the border of Alethkar and Jah Keved.

History

The Silver Kingdoms

by Isaac Stewart

Map of the Silver Kingdoms

For more information, see Alethela.

Alethkar was founded as Alethela in the Silver Kingdoms Epoch. They were an extremely militaristic nation which remembered and studied the arts of war so that they would be able to teach it to new generations whenever a Desolation comes. This militarism laid the foundation for modern Alethi militarism and military strength.

Its territorial during this era was larger than its current territory, including the Unclaimed Hills in the Rosharan far east.

Due to the Desolations, they were constantly returned back to primitive technological levels, often to the point to making use of stone tools. Though they advanced each time with the help of the Heralds whenever they returned, often helping them to enter into the bronze age.

At some point, it was ruled over by King Nohadon.

It was the place that many people wanted Urithiru to be built, although, for a reason obvious to many others at the time, it could not be.

At some point following Aharietiam, the kingdom splintered apart into many different smaller nations, and would not reunify for centuries following the splintering.^{[citation needed]}

Sadees the Sunmaker

Alethela survived the Desolations, but fell under the sway of the Hierocracy until the Sunmaker led the kingdom in a successful revolt against Vorin rule. Following his successful reunification of Alethela under the name of Alethkar, he set his eyes upon the rest of Roshar.

His first conquest was over the northern nation of Herdaz, which was successful. At some point following the occupation of Herdaz, he marched upon Azir, then under the rule of Prime Aqasix Snoxil. He successfully conquered the capital city of Azimir, claiming to have come to "civilize" them. With a powerful army stationed in the nation, he instituted a policy of genocide against their people, it is said one of every ten Azish people died under the tyranny of Sadees.

After the Sunmaker's death, his ten sons could not agree on one of their number as his successor. With none of them willing to forego their claim to the throne, they split the kingdom into ten princedoms, which they ruled individually as Highprinces, with no unifying government. This loss of central government in the empire led to the Azish regaining their independence.

The legacy of this era would live on, with the Alethi seeing him as a great conquerer and a hero to his people, while many other people across the world saw him as a genocidal tyrant, causing other leaders to be hesitant to trust Dalinar and the Alethi. However, Alethkar's conquests forged trade routes to other regions including Azir, Herdaz, and Jah Keved; these routes persisted into the modern era, bringing great wealth to the nation.

Alethi Unification War

Several centuries later, in approximately 1158, Gavilar Kholin--inspired by the Sunmaker--sought to conquer and unite the highprinces, which he achieved by about 1163. He was then crowned king and his brother Dalinar Kholin became highprince to the Kholin Princedom. However, 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.

Brightlord Yezriar (1140)

One notable battle during the war was the battle against Brightlord Yezriar.

Conquest of Rathalas (1141)

They led a conquest against Rathalas in 1141, the seat of Brightlord Tanalan. During this fight, Dalinar slew Tanalan, but his body was taken away before his shard manifested. Thus he tracked it down and found his family, where he observed as the Brightlord's son took up the Shardblade Oathbringer in an attempt to protect the rest of his family. Ultimately, he couldn't bring himself to kill them, so he simply took the blade and left.

The conquest was ultimately successful, placing Rathalas under Kholin hegemony, although the rule was not peaceful. The ruling family was enraged by the conquest and the death of Tanalan, and was even further enraged by the loss of Oathbringer, which they demanded be returned to the rightful heir.

This battle was notable for laying the foundations of the Burning of Rathalas, and with the Kholin family obtaining the Shardblade Oathbringer.

By 1145, all ten Highprinces were officially united, but fighting would still continue for several years.

Alethi-Herdazian Border Conflict (1150 - 1154)

A violent war between Alethkar and Herdaz occurred starting in 1150 and lasting up until 1154. It was intended primarily as a show of Alethi strength, and as a way to ensure security at the border and expand Alethi territory. Dalinar Kholin was a major general in the conflict.

This conflict led to the deaths of many on both sides, and defined the modern Alethi-Herdazian Border.

Conquest of Akak (1155)

At some point in 1155, Dalinar Kholin led a military conquest of the Reshi island of Akak. The conquest was ultimately successful as he destroyed the Akak Reshi, and claimed the island for Alethkar.

Alethi-Veden Border Conflict (1155 - ???)

Around 1155, a war broke out at the border between Alethkar and Jah Keved. Dalinar also acted as one of the major generals in this conflict as well.

Burning of Rathalas (1163)

In 1163, due to increasing hostilities and calls for rebellion in Rathalas, led by Brightlord Tanalan's son, also named Tanalan, Gavilar sent Dalinar back to the Rift in order to quell them. Dalinar attempted to peacefully negotiate, offering Tanalan the position of Highprince if he surrendered. His offer was refused and his contingent, including himself, were struck by a landslide orchestrated by Tanalan, killing all of his men and leaving him injured, but alive.

Enraged, Dalinar slaughtered his ambushers, and ordered his surviving men (stationed outside of the Rift) to douse the city in oil and set it alight, as to slaughter all of its people and leave the city in ruins. Panicked at what Dalinar ordered, Evi went into the city in secret and attempted to negotiate with Tanalan herself, in order to prevent the massacre from being carried out. Tanalan came to agree, and decided to send out a plea for surrender.

When messengers were sent out waving a flag of surrender, he ordered them shot dead, and demanded that the burning be continued without any deferment. The attack went through at night, and the attack left all inhabitants of the city dead with the exception of Tanalan and his family, who Dalinar killed without hesitation. However, it soon came out that Evi was in the city during the burning, and was killed in it.

The guilt of killing Evi and thousands of innocents weighed heavily on his mind, and ultimately led to his seeking of the Nightwatcher and fundamental change as a person.

Early Interactions with the Parshendi (1166 - 1167)

He met with the Parshendi in Vev 1166 and was instantly fascinated by them. The Parshendi exploration that underwent first contact was led by Eshonai, who became a very important figure in Alethi-Parshendi relations.

Assassination of Gavilar Kholin (1167)

During the feast celebrating the signing of the Parshendi-Alethi Treaty in Ishi 1167, Gavilar revealed to Eshonai that he knew how to bring back the old gods they abandoned, and that he planned on doing so. Horrified, Eshonai reported his plans to the Five, and they agreed that he needed to be assassinated.

They sent Szeth to kill him, and Gavilar fought back in a desperate attempt to survive. Szeth ultimately won in the battle and assassinated him. However, Gavilar managed to make out some last words, telling his assassin to tell Dalinar that "he must find the most important words a man can say", and gave him a voidlight sphere. Szeth honored these last wishes, writing his last words on a piece of nearby debris, and taking the sphere.

The War of Reckoning (1167 - 1173)

For more information, see War of Reckoning.

When Gavilar was assassinated by Szeth under the orders of the Parshendi in 1167, his son Elhokar Kholin became king and declared war on the killers. Each of the highprinces joined the Vengeance Pact and they set out into the Shattered Plains to besiege the Parshendi in the War of Reckoning.

Late into the War of Reckoning, after Navani Kholin left Aesudan to rule for herself after deeming her fit to do so without her advisement, Kholinar was infiltrated by Ashertmarn, Sja-anat, and Yelig-nar. These Unmade caused Aesudan to fall into an abyss of decadence, throwing lavish feasts as Kholinar society collapsed around her, while Sja-anat corrupted the spren of the city; and Yelig-nar bonded with Aesudan, but she ultimately coudln't handle it and it led to her death.

During the war, the highprince Dalinar Kholin began to have visions of the past, and warnings of the future. These visions caused other highprinces and his soldiers to start doubting his sanity. However, over time, his talking during these visions led to the decipherment of the Dawnchant. These translations began to spread amongst scholars, leading to an immense increase in Rosharan understanding of their own history as they learned how to translate various ancient texts.

The siege took much longer than was expected, and was still active by 1173.

Battle of Narak (1173)

The Battle of Narak occured on Ishishach 1173, and marked the summoning of the Everstorm and the start of the True Desolation.^[expand]

The True Desolation (1173 - )

It eventually ended when the Parshendi summoned the Everstorm, beginning the True Desolation during the Battle of Narak. Afterwards, some of the Highprinces -- Dalinar, Aladar and Sebarial -- along with their remaining forces, took refuge in Urithiru, while others remained on the Shattered Plains, slowly taking over the abandoned warcamps of those who left and consolidating their power base there.

Siege of Kholinar (1173)

Meanwhile, the Alethkar homelands were besieged by the newly awakened singer forces led by the Fused, culminating in the siege and eventual fall of Kholinar.

After Elhokar was killed by Moash during the siege, and Adolin Kholin refused to take the throne after the Battle of Thaylen Field, Jasnah Kholin became Queen. The current heir to the throne is Elhokar's son, Gavinor -- however, he's still a child and a regency in his name was deemed too unstable and dangerous during the time of the True Desolation.

Fused Occupation (1174 - )

By the time of the Battle of Thaylen Field, most of Alethkar was under Fused hegemony.

A year after the Battle of Thaylen Field, Dalinar had managed to retake the southwestern corner of Alethkar which touches the Tarat Sea. Dalinar considered launching a major offensive into Alethkar but was convinced by the Mink that it would be wiser to attempt to retake Emul.

Evacuation of Hearthstone (1175)

In Chach 1175, an attempt was mounted by the coalition to evacuate the city of Hearthstone. After a battle with Fused occupiers, most notably Lezian, all but fifteen occupants of Hearthstone were successfully evacuated via the Fourth Bridge, and brought to Urithiru. During the battle, Brightlord Roshone was killed by Vyre, leading to the position of citylady eventually being passed on to Laral.

Culture

by Grant M. Hansen

Jasnah Kholin, the current Queen of Alethkar

“Conquering folks is basically their primary cultural heritage. ”

—Lopen

People

The Alethi people are generally tan -- darker-skinned than the Veden and Shin, but not as dark as the Makabaki -- with dark, typically black hair. They are typically extremely tall, standing on average at least a foot taller than people living further West. Like most Rosharan people, they possess Epicanthic folds and see those without folds as wide-eyed and childish.^{[citation needed]} In the late Era of Solitude, the Alethi tan and black hair are considered the general standard of beauty. Multicolored hair is also present within Alethkar and is an indication of mixed heritage. Some see this as a sign of an "impure" bloodline, while others use it as evidence of Alethkar's superiority, hard won through conquest. Among the Heralds, Jezrien and Vedeledev look Alethi.

Like all Vorin nations, Alethi practice a division between the sexes. Women have safehands, covered either by 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. The militaristic nature of the Alethi further influences this divide, leading to most of Alethi rulers being kings, and women rarely, if ever, becoming highprincesses.

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. Men are encouraged to be combative and forceful, and women to be witty and willing to engage in barbed banter. Unwillingness or inability to act in this way can often lead to a person being labeled as inept or stupid.

Caste system

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 caste, with broader rights and privileges, while the darkeyes are the lower, working caste. Furthermore, each caste is divided into ten ranks, with the lighteyed ranks being called dahns, while the darkeyed ones are the nahns. Some nahns and dahns are hereditary, or stable, while others can only be held by attaining a particular position. The Alethi monarch, for example, is the only person in the country holding the first dahn.

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. Holding land automatically entitles a lighteyes to at least the sixth dahn, regardless of their previous status, and becoming a Shardbearer entitles at least the fourth dahn.

Alethkar is generally a feudal nation. The Alethi monarch is served by ten highprinces, which have their own lower-dahn subjects, down to the citylords, who rule over individual settlements. Shardbearers stand slightly aside from this system, although many of them are either highprinces themselves, or in direct service to one highprince or another.

by ThomasW

A darkeyes facing a Shardbearer

Militarism

The Alethi culture is highly militaristic, stemming from their origins as Alethela. A soldier is considered the highest religious Calling, with the fight to reclaim the Tranquiline Halls being believed to be the greatest afterlife one could hope for. The country is almost perpetually at war, if not between the highprinces, then with some external power. Children as young as twelve can and sometimes are recruited by raving armies to feed this endless war machine.

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. Moreover, many darkeyed soldiers go to war hoping to defeat a Shardbearer and gain ownership of a Shardblade, due to a widespread belief -- later proven correct -- that bonding a Blade would change their eyes to light-colored.

Alongside this culture, the Alethi highly honor the Thrill, a form of battle-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. For many, it's downright addictive.

Religion

“The Alethi preferred to let the ardents deal with the Almighty, like he was some annoying parlor guest who could be safely distracted by servants offering a particularly tasty tea. ”

—Shallan

Alethkar is one of the five great Vorin Kingdoms, with vast majority of their populace worshipping the Almighty. The worship is mostly carried out by the priests, called the ardents. The ardents, while influential, are not free -- rather, they are slaves to various lighteyes. Unlike most other professions, ardentia is open to both men and women, and to people from all social castes. Ardents are considered genderless from a social standpoint, and as such, many of the Vorin taboos regarding gender and gender roles do not apply to them. They are also the only people permitted to use Soulcasters.

Unlike other varieties of Vorinism, the Alethi are not required to be personally devout, or to perform religious ceremonies. While each citizen is supposed to pick their Calling and Glory -- their goal in life, and the aspect of the Almighty they wish to emulate -- the actual religious part of the religion is handled by the ardents, who perform the requisite rituals and prayers for their masters, so as to reassure them of their righteousness. The Alethi themselves rarely interact with the Almighty, save for an occassional glyphward or prayer.

Language and Writing

For more information, see Women's script.

The Alethi language is part of the Vorin language family, which includes others such as Veden (spoken in Jah Keved) and Herdazian. It's particularly close to the former, making it easy to learn. Known words from the language include dahn and nahn for the ranking system, numerous glyph pronunciations, as well as two terms for family members -- Mathana, a formal term for older sister, and Mashala, for aunt.

The Alethi language can be written using two different systems. The Women's script, used broadly across eastern Roshar, is an alphabet, with twenty five letters, and at least two symbols -- a mark of maximum character height, at the start of a passage, and a small diactric denoting that a particular letter should be read as an "H". This being said, the women's script is restricted for use by the female part of the populace, in accordance with Vorin cultural rules. Men are permitted to learn glyphs, a separate system where each symbol or pair of symbols represents a separate idea or concept.

Politics

“Dalinar had been around Alethi politicians so much that he found honesty an obscure thing, like a language he no longer spoke. ”

—Dalinar

Monarch

The Alethi has a long history of the monarchy rising and falling, with few families able to retain authority for any significant length of time. The first person to unify Alethkar after the fall of Alethela was Sadees the Sunmaker, although his rule quickly collapsed after his death as Alethi territory was split between his ten sons, leading to another interregnum.^{[citation needed]}

While the king has power over the Highprinces, highprinces still retain a high degree of autonomy within their own princedoms. This power over the highprinces, however limited, is primarily maintained through military strength and access to soulcasters. In part due to the limited power of the king, many people feel more connection and loyalty to their highprince than they do to the king themself.^{[citation needed]}

Jasnah Kholin, the current queen, expresses an interest in disbanding the monarchy after the True Desolation is over.

Alethi Monarchs
Name	Length of Rule
Nohadon	Pre-Aharietiam
Interregnum	???
Heirocracy	673 - ???
Sadees the Sunmaker	???
Interregnum	??? - 1145
Gavilar Kholin	1145 - 1167
Elhokar Kholin	1167 - 1174
Jasnah Kholin	1174 -

Princedoms

by Isaac Stewart

Alethi Princedoms

Though it is ruled by a single king, Alethkar is divided into ten princedoms, each ruled by a lighteyed highprince. Each princedom is named after the family controlling it, and each has its own military, independent of one another - a remnant of the times prior to the reunification. While the highprinces do work together, the king has limited control over them, maintained less through tradition, and more through sheer military power and access to amenities like Soulcasters. In addition, the ruling House Kholin controls the largest territory, as apart from their own princedom, they also hold an underpopulated stretch of land called the Eastern Crownlands.

Each Princedom is further divided into named regions, such as Akanny in the Sadeas Princedom. The administrative government for these regions is not fully known. Another level down from regions are individual settlements, which are ruled by citylords.

The territories of Alethkar and their major settlements are:

Kholin princedom

In the east of Alethkar

• Kholinar (capital city)
• Shulin

Sadeas princedom

In the north-west of Alethkar

• Hearthstone
• Mourn's Vault
• Tomat
• Shorsebroon

Aladar princedom

In the north of Alethkar

• Dalilak

Roion princedom

In the north-east of Alethkar

• Relanas
• Varikev

Vamah princedom

In the north-west of Alethkar

• Farcoast
• Revolar

Ruthar princedom

In the west of Alethkar

• Kelathar
• Danidan

Thanadal princedom

In the center of Alethkar

• Davinar
• Savalashi

Hatham princedom

In the west of Alethkar

• Darkhill
• Shamel

Bethab princedom

In the south-west of Alethkar

• Dumadari
• Karanak

Sebarial princedom

In the south of Alethkar

• Rashir

Eastern Crownlands

In southeast Alethkar

• Rathalas

Military

Chain of command
Unit	Soldiers	Typical Commander
subsquad	6–8	sergeant
squad	~25	squadleader
platoon	~50	captain/captainlord
company	~100	companylord
battalion	~1000	battalionlord
division	~2000	general
army	—	highprince
In companies made solely of lighteyes, the rank "lieutenant" is used as the equivalent of sergeant.

The modern Alethi army is one of the strongest military forces on Roshar with well over 100,000 troops and over thirty Shardbearers. The army employs most of its troops as spearmen and archers, as well as a very small amount of cavalry due to the rarity of horses on Roshar; only the officers wield swords because, according to Vorin traditions, the sword is regarded as a lighteyed's weapon. Soldiers are usually trained in one or two additional Skills, i.e. horse grooms. Under most circumstances, military service is voluntary, though the leaders of the army has the right of conscription for darkeyes that do not provide an essential function to a community (e.g. a town's only surgeon) when they feel there is need for additional troops. It is extremely rare for a darkeyed soldier to rise higher than the rank of squadleader. Lighteyed officers that have the command of a branch of the army are usually referred by their duties (e.g. cavalrylord, infantrylord).

Despite Alethkar being a monarchy, the king has very little actual say in how the military is run and does not directly command any force other than the 250-strong King's Guard. The troops are sworn to and led by their individual highprinces. In that sense, Alethkar army is not truly a unified army, but a loose coalition between ten smaller armies. Indeed, even in wartime, there is constant in-fighting between the highprinces' armies, and cooperation between the highprinces themselves is seen as a weakness; this is bolstered by the tenets of Vorinism that say the purpose of life is to prepare in order to join the Heralds in the fight to regain the Tranquiline Halls and Alethi belief that everything is a competition in life.

Because of the immense size of the army and the difficulty of travel, Soulcasting plays a vital role in supplying the army with wood, metal, food, and many other necessities, as well as being used in building fortifications. The king controls most of the Soulcaster ardents; in fact, manipulating the highprinces with his Soulcasters is one of the ways that the king maintains a control over them.

Recently, in an effort to truly unify the kingdom, Dalinar Kholin has been appointed as the Highprince of War by the king. This title was used in Alethkar before being fragmented into ten princedoms when each highprince was given the ultimate authority over one aspect of the governing of the kingdom. On paper, this gives Kholin authority over all war-related activities.

According to official records, Alethkar possesses more Shardblades than any other nation on Roshar, with only Jah Keved coming anywhere close. Furthermore, a notably large amount of their army is made up of Knights Radiant, primarily those of the Order of Windrunners. They are used effectively as a means of transport and combat against the Fused and Regals.^{[citation needed]}

The Alethi military is currently one of the major military forces fighting against the Fused Invasion, most notably during the Battle of Thaylen Field and the Emuli Campaign.^{[citation needed]} Although many more battles and skirmishes were fought between the two armies between 1173 and 1175.^{[citation needed]} They also led the Evacuation of Hearthstone in early 1175. They are currently centered around and stationed in Urithiru.^{[citation needed]}

Notable Alethi

For a full list, see :Category: Alethi.

• House Kholin
• Meridas Amaram
• Hesina
• Turinad Sebarial
• Kaladin
• Laral
• Moash
• Roshone
• Torol Sadeas
• Sunmaker
• Teft
• Wistiow

Trivia

• Alethi are modeled on half Asian and half Hawaiian people, and according to Brandon, picturing Alethi as looking east-Indian works very well.

Notes

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