User:Rasarr/Kalak

{{character
|image=Kalak Endsheet.png
|abilities={{tag+|Cognitive Shadow}}, {{tag+|Shardbearer}} <small>(formerly)</small>
|titles={{tag+|herald}}, Patron of the [[Order of Willshapers|Willshapers]]{{nosnippet|, the High Judge{{book ref|sa4|78}} }}
|aliases=Kelek, Kellai, [[Stormfather]]{{book ref|sa3|i|1}}{{nosnippet|, Restares{{book ref|sa4|78}} }}
|world=Roshar
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]
}}
{{spoiler|sa4}}
{{update|sa4}}

For the glyph named after Kalak, see Glyphs/Index#Kalak.

“I am a blur. A smear on the page. A gaunt stretch of ink, made all the more insubstantial with each passing day. ”

—Kalak

Kalak, also known as Kelek in Vorinism, is one of the ten Heralds of the Almighty on Roshar, and the patron of the Order of Willshapers. Like all Heralds but Taln, he abandoned the Oathpact at Aharietiam. Currently, he lives in the honorspren city of Lasting Integrity, acting as their High Judge. Mraize also claims that Kalak leads the Sons of Honor under the name Restares.

Appearance and Personality

“It's so hard to decide. To do anything really… ”

—Kelek

Though not from Alethkar, Kalak appears Alethi, implying tan skin. He's a short man, with thinning, wispy hair, a round face, and a small nose. When he wishes to appear serious, he puts on a set of violet robes; ordinarily, however, he dresses more casually. Vorin artwork tends to present him as a young man, though in person, he looks more like a city administrator.

Back in the early Desolations, he was known for being decisive and authoritative, and he would often be approached whenever problems appeared to seek his counsel. However, as Desolations wore down on him, he became terrified of dying and returning to Braize to be tortured. By Aharietiam, he has vivid, painful memories of the torture that sometime cause him to briefly lose his grip on reality. When given the choice to abandon the Oathpact, he's aware and terrified of the consequences. However, by this point his fear of torture far outweighs his sense of duty.

By the True Desolation, this develops into a paranoid, but also erratic behavior. Kalak vacillates often, and finds making even the simplest decisions difficult. He often follows what the crowd wants instead of his own internal moral compass. He seems to have trouble focusing, or at least paying attention to time, even when others are waiting for him. He believes humans to be dangerous; he's unsettled by their presence, with Bondsmiths, and people associated with them, seeming to provoke the strongest reaction. A visit into a human city makes him jittery to the point where he runs away at the sight of another person. It's likely for this reason that he prefers to live in Lasting Integrity. Even there, however, unexpected commotion can quickly make him panic. In this state, he is near-insensate, crying, covering his ears and curling on the floor. He recovers into his normal state extremely quickly, though, and with no outward sign that he's been disturbed.

He is extremely pessimistic, believing that the cause of Roshar is already lost, and feels immense guilt for causing spren to bond with humans, leading them to what he believes to be their doom. He is obsessed with the idea of leaving the Rosharan system altogether; to this end, he initially aligns himself with Gavilar, assisting his research. After Gavilar's death, he continues the project of his own, hoping to unmoor himself and leave the entire cycle of Desolations behind.

At the same time, Kalak does have some determination still in him. He can be snarky, and will dryly mock people he considers stupid. He can still exercise some measure of authority, and can sometimes make snap decisions when truly needed. When faced with the possibility of his own death, he's calm and composed. For all that he fears humans, he sympathizes with them, and is at the very least willing to hear them out and give them some chance, even if he doesn't believe that they can succeed. He is willing to offer information, though it's unclear how much.

Attributes and Abilities

by Isaac Stewart

Kalak's glyph

For general information about Heraldic powers, see Herald#Abilities.

“He is not the type to fight unless cornered, but once pushed, there are few beings as dangerous on this planet. ”

—Mraize

Kalak is a Cognitive Shadow which can persist after death and take on a human body, though how this body comes about is unknown. While on Roshar, he doesn't age, and can only die by violent means; and after death, he travels to Braize, where he is caught by the Fused and tortured until he or another Herald breaks. When this happens, they are all returned to Roshar and a new Desolation begins.

Prior to the Last Desolation, Kalak wielded an Honorblade, making him a Surgebinder. The Blade granted him control over the Surges of Transportation, allowing him to travel to and from Shadesmar, and Cohesion, whose exact function so far is unclear. Additionally, Kalak could use Stormlight to heal himself.

He seems to have some knowledge of metalworking and smithing, as at the start of each Desolation, it was his duty to re-teach humanity how to cast bronze for weapons.

History

by botanicaxu

Kalak was born on Ashyn, and made the journey to Roshar when his home planet was destroyed by the overuse of Surges. When a war between humans and the native singers started and the Fused began to appear, he, along with nine others, was made Herald by Honor. During the Desolations, his particular speciality was teaching people craftsmanship, mainly smithing bronze.

At Aharietiam, Kalak was late to the appointed meeting place for all the surviving Heralds. There, he found only Jezrien, awaiting him, uncertain whether or not Kalak had perished. When Kalak confessed to his fear of returning to Braize, as was the Heralds' duty in-between the Desolations, Jezrien told him about Ishar's plan to abandon Taln to the Oathpact. Though initially apprehensive, Kalak agreed readily enough, out of fear of the tortures. He and Jezrien left their Honorblades along with the others, and departed in opposite directions.

Kalak's current fate is uncertain, though he has definitely survived to the present times. It's likely he's accompanied Nale to visit Gavilar Kholin on the night of the latter's assassination.

Culture

by Isaac Stewart

“They see us as divinities. They rely upon us, Jezrien. We're all that they have. ”

—Kalak

In the Era of Solitude, Kalak is basically unknown by his true name. In Iri and Rira, he's called Kellai, while in Vorinism, he is known as Kelek. The latter came about due to a vowel shift in the Vorin language family.

Vorin tradition associates him with the number 8 (kak), the Essence of Foil, and the Attributes of Resolute and Builder. In the countries following the religion, he's one of the most revered and commonly-prayed-to Heralds alongside Jezrien, with his name being an extremely common expletive. Other than by itself, it can also be found in phrases such as:

• "Kelek preserve us"
• "Kelek's breath"
• "what in the name of Kelek"
• "for Kelek's sake"
• "Kelek knows"
• "what in Kelek's tongue"
• "Kelek speed their way"
• "swear to Kelek himself".

Even further east, in New Natanan, Kalak is often equated with the Stormfather. The name Kaladin is derived from Kalak.

Trivia

• It's been heavily speculated (and may sometimes be noted as a fact) that Kalak is the man accompanying Nale during the feast prior to the Assassination of Gavilar. This has, however, yet to be explicitly confirmed.
• Though his name became "Kelek" due to linguistic drift, Kalak is one of three Heralds, alongside Shalash and Pailiah, whose names are symmetrical under Vorin rules.
• Kalak is one of the only three Heralds so far to have a viewpoint in The Stormlight Archive, the others being Shalash and Taln, as the prelude is written from his perspective. However, unlike the other two, he isn't slated to have his own book.
• The glyph for "Eternal" is also called kalak. Whether Kalak was named after kalak or the other way around, however, is unknown.
• Kalak's portrait used in the chapter arches is called the Maker by the Dragonsteel Entertainment staff.

Notes

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[[category: viewpoint characters]]