Difference between revisions of "Rlain"

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|groups={{tag|Bridge Four}}, {{tag+|army|Kholin}}, {{tag+|army|Sadeas}} <small>(formerly)</small>
|aliases=Shen
|titles=Bridger of Minds, Son of Thorns {{book ref|sa4|111}}
|species=singer
|birthplace=Shattered Plains
|world=Roshar
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
|booksfirst appeared=[[The StormlightWay of ArchiveKings]]
}}
{{update|sa4}}
}}
 
'''Rlain''' is a [[listener]] and member of [[Bridge Four]],{{book ref|sa1|46}}, {{nosnippet|as well as the second-ever Enlightened Truthwatcher.{{wob ref|15146}} }} He is sent by the listeners to the [[warcamp|warcamps]] to spy on the [[Alethi]] and is given the name "Shen" while running bridges with Bridge Four. He reveals himself after discovering that [[Eshonai]] and the other listeners have transformed into [[stormform]], and he later takes a place as a soldier in Bridge Four's new incarnation as a military unit. {{nosnippet|In recognition of his heroism during the occupation of Urithiru, he is offered a bond by the mistspren Tumi, who names him Bridger of Minds.{{book ref|sa4|111}} }}
 
== Appearance and Personality ==
}}
 
=== Appearance ===
Rlain has the marbling characteristic of [[singer|singers]]; his skin and beard (when he has one) are a unique pattern of red and black,{{book ref|sa3|14}} regardless of which form he takes. After Bridge Four is freed by [[Dalinar]], Rlain gets the glyphs for "freedom" and "Bridge Four" tattooed on his forehead with the rest of the crew.{{book ref|sa2|2}} This carries over to his other forms, blending into his skullplate in warform.
 
From his earliest times taking warform, he displays unusual adeptness at resisting its inclinations to violence and taking risks, preferring a more cautious and pacifistic approach.{{book ref|sa4|81}} He avoids engaging in physical violence in his resistance of Odium’s forces, and it concerns him that he hears the Rhythms more loudly in this form.{{book ref|sa4|81}}
 
=== Personality ===
;;Overall
 
Like the rest of his people, he considers touching the bodies of his fallen kinsmen to be a major taboo, a holdover from the ancient days when humans hacked apart singer corpses, searching for gemhearts.{{book ref|sa3|i|3}}
 
In Urithiru, he pretends not to notice humans' discomfort in his presence, and he habitually exaggerates his facial expressions and de-emphasizes the Rhythms in his speech to put them at ease.{{book ref|sa4|38}}{{book ref|sa4|74}} Sometime between the Battle of Thaylen Field and the Alethi campaign to Emul, he takes workform in hopes of looking less like the enemy. However, workform's vague visual similarity to slaveform causes humans to treat him like a parshman, which he finds intolerable, so he returns to warform.{{book ref|sa4|15}}
 
He struggles with reductive stereotypes and discrimination in general, no matter how much he tried to change for others. He is fully aware of how people around him stare at him and fear him, to the extent of many simply making up stories about him to try to justify their prejudice. He is also aware of how people on both sides of the war distrust him.{{book ref|sa3|55}}{{book ref|sa4|79}}{{book ref|sa4|109}} He has experienced various people trying to feel his carapace or look underneath it, and this leaves him very uncomfortable and irritated.{{book ref|sa3|55}}
He enjoys playing cards--particularly Towers and Runaround--and he's quite good, as his spy training and the listeners' cultural de-emphasis on facial expression make him excellent at bluffing.{{book ref|sa4|79}}
 
He hates how he is seen as a symbol, a representation of his entire people, and wants to instead just be seen as a person.{{book ref|sa4|79}} All of this makes him feel like an outsider, and he feels that as the war goes on, he is only becoming more and more of an outsider.{{book ref|sa3|55}}{{book ref|sa4|79}} He hates it when people use racial slurs to describe the singers and listeners, though he doesn't speak up for them or for himself, simply saying "it's all right," when they apologize to him, as that is what they expect him to say. He sometimes accidently attunes the Rhythm of Irritation when he says it, betraying his true feelings on the matter.{{book ref|sa3|55}}
 
For a long time, he struggled with feelings of being a traitor to his people, not just to the Listeners, but also to Bridge Four.{{book ref|sa2|79}}{{book ref|sa4|42}}{{book ref|sa4|96}} Over time, he grew to love himself more and get over these feelings.{{book ref|sa4|96}}
 
He wants to be recognized for his own abilities, enough so to turn down an honorspren that chose to bond with him due to being forced to.{{book ref|sa4|15}}{{book ref|sa4|109}} He was overjoyed upon Tumi picking him of his own free will, based on being in awe of him for his actions and personal attributes.{{book ref|sa4|109}} This can be seen as an extension of his general desire to be seen as who he is.{{book ref|sa4|79}}
 
He enjoys playing cards--particularly Towers and Runaround--and he's quite good, as his spy training and the listeners' cultural de-emphasis on facial expression make him excellent at bluffing.{{book ref|sa4|79}}
 
He is gay, exclusively being attracted to other men, he described this as not being what he was expecting.{{book ref|sa4|79}}{{wob ref|14751}}{{wob ref|14647}}
 
== Attributes and Abilities ==
}}
 
Rlain stayed with Bridge Four as they moved into Urithiru along with much of the Alethi army. He continued training and working with them, but the gulf between him and the other soldiers persisted. When he was on duty and guarding Dalinar, other [[Kholin princedom|Kholin]] soldiers viewed him with active suspicion.{{book ref|sa3|9}}. Most members of Bridge Four often forgot his presence and effectively ignored him, acculturated to treating parshmen as invisible. When they did acknowledge him, many made an effort to make him feel included and appreciated, but this warmth was too often spoiled by demonstrations of ignorance and unconscious prejudice, like [[Yake]] and [[Drehy]] expecting him to have insight into the enemy's plans, [[Eth]] casually using slurs in his presence, and many feeling relief that Rlain was unable to breathe in Stormlight, imagining it might turn him into a monster. He was not given encouragement as the other bridgemen gained Windrunner abilities, unlike the humans with the same problem, and he became envious the newcomers to Bridge Four who were quickly able to become squires and assimilate with the group.{{book ref|sa3|55}} Despite his frustrations, Rlain appreciated that most of Bridge Four made an effort to extend kindness and understanding, and made it clear their affection for him was genuine. Rock and Renarin were particularly consistent in their outreach and their friendship.{{book ref|sa3|37}}{{book ref|sa3|46}}
 
Alongside those external problems, he continued to deal with his grief over the genocide of the listeners. After the mass transformation into stormform, the casualties from the [[War of Reckoning]], and the transformation of the survivors into hosts for the Fused, Rlain believed he was the last of his people, which weighed heavily on him.{{book ref|sa3|55}} After one particularly difficult day, Kaladin engaged Rlain in conversation, inviting him to explain his feelings, so he and Bridge Four could help shoulder his burdens. Rlain resolved to try.{{book ref|sa3|55}}
As Rlain's bridgeleader within Bridge Four, Kaladin readily accepts him into the crew, names him "Shen," and refuses to allow the other bridgemen to mistreat him. However, Kaladin maintains some private reservations, refusing to arm him or train him in the spear. In the desperate days in Sadeas' crews, Kaladin is also forced to prioritize his people's lives over Rlain's wellbeing, and he creates armor from listener carapace and bones for himself, and then the entire bridge crew of 27, despite knowing how it will distress Rlain.
 
Rlain continues to serve under Kaladin after the bridge crews are transformed into a military unit for the Kholin army. Kaladin defends Rlain's right to a Bridge Four tattoo and its signifiers of freedom, but he persists in his reluctance to allow him a spear, to Rlain's deep disappointment.{{book ref|sa1|46}}. This gnaws at Kaladin's conscience, as in his experience, he had not tolerated being a well-treated slave. Weeks later, Kaladin eventually overcomes his reservations and presents a spear to Rlain, and Rlain often describes him as a good man from then on.{{book ref|sa2|46}}{{book ref|sa2|52}}{{book ref|sa3|55}} When Rlain's feelings of isolation and loss are particularly acute, Kaladin is one of the rare people to step up and make a concerted effort to understand what he is going through.{{book ref|sa3|55}}
 
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Though Kaladin still struggles to overcome deep-seated biases, including thinking "Shen" looks like an evil spren from stories when sitting in the shadows{{book ref|sa2|52}} and feeling discomfort at seeing warform Rlain giving humans orders as they implement his system to accelerate crop growth,{{book ref|sa4|15}} Kaladin makes a concerted effort to listen to him, trust his judgment, and see him for who he is. This determination is put to the test when Odium's forces invaded Urithiru, and Rlain elects to fight the resistance from within, rather than remain hidden at Kaladin's recommendation. However, Kaladin gives Rlain his trust.{{book ref|sa4|42}}
 
=== Renarin ===
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