Lightsong

Stennimar
Family Siblings Llarimar
Abilities	Returned
Titles	Lightsong the Bold
Nationality	Hallandren
Homeworld	Nalthis

Lightsong the Bold was a Returned revered as the God of Bravery by the people of Hallandren. One of the main characters in Warbreaker, he is notable for his flippant attitude, and for not believing in his own religion.

Appearance and Personality

As a Returned, Lightsong takes care to maintain his apathetic and bitingly witty image, but truly does mean to do more than take advantage of the luxurious lifestyle offered by new position. Lightsong spends much time attempting to better understand himself and what he can do to be a good God to his people. He feels that he is not a 'real' god to his people, despite the fact that he is revealed to have the most followers, and recieve the most petitions. This at some points leads to him being more and more lazy to try and prove that he is not the great, mighty person they think of him as. However, he still tries to be the best person he can be, and actually gives thought to the petitions he recieves, feeling bad at having to say no to each person.

History

Before Returning

Before being Returned, he was Stennimar, an accountant often employed to discover fraud or embezzlement by looking through ledgers to find discrepancies. He died rescuing his drowning niece, Tatara, who fell off the boat Red Panther during a storm. After his death, Stennimar was granted a vision of war and destruction. He was offered a choice to Return and prevent this from happening, which he took. His Return restored the faith of his older brother, Llarimar, who became Lightsong's high priest.

After Returning

For more information, see Warbreaker/Summary.

At the time of the Pahn Kahl rebellion Lightsong had been Returned for five years, and was one of the younger divinities in the Court of Gods. As the God of Bravery, he held the commands to control ten thousand Lifeless warriors in the Hallandren army.

As the potential war with Idris drew closer, Lightsong found himself to be in a position of responsibility, one that he did not desire. Blushweaver was attempting to consolidate control of Hallandren's Lifeless armies under her command, and was actively trying to recruit Lightsong to her side. Throughout this time, Lightsong was having dreams of destruction and the capital city of T'Telir burning.

“I've spent most of my Returned life just lounging about, but then the moment someone is killed, I leap out of bed and can't resist poking around. Doesn't that sound suspicious to you?”

—Lightsong

As Lightsong attempted to distract himself from his visions, a murder of one of Mercystar's servants caught his attention. Lightsong was surprised to find himself interested in the murder, and to discover that he was actually good at investigation. Believing himself to be a detective or constable in his previous life, Lightsong made an effort to begin discovering more about himself and his past.

When Blushweaver managed to obtain control of Hopefinder's and Mercystar's Lifeless warriors, Lightsong gave his own security phrase to Allmother, in the hopes that she would oppose Blushweaver's call to war. Allmother surprised him by giving him the security phrase to her Lifeless. Unable to shirk his responsibility any longer, Lightsong took command of Allmother's Lifeless, giving himself control of half of Hallandren's army. When the vote was called to go to war with Idris, Lightsong walked away without casting his vote.

On the night of the Pahn Kahl rebellion, Lightsong and Llarimar entered the tunnel complex under Mercystar's palace, where he stumbled upon Blushweaver being held captive by Pahn Kahl scribes disguised as priests. Convinced that he was previously an investigator and a skilled swordsman, Lightsong attacked the Pahn Kahl, only to discover that he didn't know how to fight. After being captured and thrown into cages, Llarimar finally lost his patience with Lightsong, shouting at him and telling him that he was actually an accountant. The Pahn Kahl, demanding his security phrase, slit Blushweaver's throat when he refused. Horrified, Lightsong gave them his phrase when they threatened to do the same to Llarimar.

When the Pahn Kahl prepared to execute Susebron, Lightsong remembered the moment of his death, and the vision of the future he had been granted. Realizing that this is what he had been sent back for, Lightsong sacrificed his life to heal Susebron, restoring his tongue. Susebron, now able to Awaken, overpowered his captors and was able to prevent the war from happening.

Relationships

Calmseer

In his early Returned life, Lightsong had a close relationship with Calmseer - whom he was rumoured to have slept with. Lightsong regarded some of the Gods of this period, including Calmseer and Brighthue, as honorable and he remembered them with reverence, saying they were far better and greater than most of the later Gods.

Blushweaver

His most notable relationship at the time of the Pahn Kahl rebellion was Blushweaver, who was in love with him. Whilst their conversations were highly flirtatious, this relationship never became physical in nature, much to Blushweaver's indignation. Even though he admired and cared for Blushweaver, he opposed her desire for war with Idris.

Siri

After realizing that Siri was a naive young woman, and not a cunning spy send by Idris, Lightsong took pity on her and gave her advice for dealing with the politics of the Court of Gods. Siri recognized him as probably the best of the Returned Gods in the Court at the time, and came to rely on him, even though he continually advised her not to.

Llarimar

Lightsong's high priest, Llarimar was also Lightsong's older brother, although he had forgotten that fact when he Returned. Llarimar maintained a calm persona even when confronted with Lightsong's foolish behavior, such as calling him "Scoot." A true believer, Llarimar even educated Lightsong on his own religion, and offered encouragement when Lightsong was feeling despondent.

Attributes and Abilities

Lightsong was one of the Returned Gods with the duty and responsibility of security phrases to control ten thousand Lifeless, a quarter of Hallandren's army.

Following his discovery of a skill for interrogation, Lightsong made an effort to discover various skills from his previous life. He discovered that he was skilled in mathematics, sketching, juggling, and had a knowledge of sailing terms.

He is also very skilled at the game of Tarachin, even though he has no idea how to play and chooses spheres at random.

Quotes

“ Not a god, but a scribe. A silly little scribe who was allowed to play god for a few years! A coward. ”

— Lightsong about himself

“ You are a god. To me, at least. It doesn’t matter how easily you can be killed, how much Breath you have, or how you look. It has to do with who you are and what you mean. ”

— Llarimar to Lightsong

Trivia

• The sword Brandon gave to his wife Emily at their wedding is called Lightsong.Template:Annotation ref
• The relationship between Lightsong and Llarimar is a parallel to the relationship between Siri and Vivenna.Template:Annotation ref
• Lightsong was designed as a character that could fit in an Oscar Wilde play.Template:Annotation ref

Notes

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