Vai
| Vai | |
|---|---|
| |
| Parents | Sah |
| Species | Singer |
| Homeworld | Roshar |
| Universe | Cosmere |
| First Appeared | Oathbringer |
Vai is a seven-year-old singer on Roshar. She is Sah's daughter, and one of the younger girls in their traveling group.[1]
Appearance and Personality
Like the other young female singers, Vai wears her hair loose rather than tied or in a braid like the boys. While bearing a resemblance to her elders, she does not have quite the same armored Parshendi appearance, instead having the light orange-pink carapace typical of singer children.[1]
Vai doesn't wear shoes, which causes her feet to be covered with scratches and scrapes despite them being tough from calluses. She appears timid at first when dealing with Kaladin, but he soon realizes that she is not timid, just nervous.[1]
History
Meeting Kaladin
Vai and her father, Sah, were enslaved as parshmen in northern Alethkar. Sah cared for Vai after her mother was sold because she was considered good breeding stock. After the coming of the Everstorm released them from slaveform, they traveled with Khen and a group of fellow singers following a guiding spren. After they captured Kaladin, Vai ran and took the hand of her father as he led Kaladin from Hornhollow to Revolar. While Sah played cards with Kaladin coaching him, Vai tugged on Sah's arm and pointed. After a whispered response from Sah, Vai ran on her tiptoes towards a patch of flowering rockbuds. She squatted and waited for each to open and then she snatched one with each hand, giggling as she did. She returned, giving Kaladin a wide berth.[1]
“Why can't they just let us go? Could you go back and tell them? We don't want trouble. We just want to go away.”
—Vai's plea to Kaladin [1]
Vai's actions helped Kaladin realize that the awakened singers weren't monsters, but he still referred to them as runaway slaves. The comment upset Sah, who confessed that he spent each night clutching his daughter wondering how long they would be trapped in the shadows. He grabbed Kaladin and asked him if he truly understood what it was like watching your family being torn apart and being completely unable to stop it. Sah dropped Kaladin and picked up his daughter, holding her close as he ran to catch up with the others. As Kaladin was pulled along, he inadvertently stepped on Vai's flower in his haste.[1]
“No. We're nice. We've always been nice. I never hit anyone, even when I was mad.”
—Vai to Kaladin [1]
Kaladin offered to help the singers, but Sah questioned whether or not he really just wanted them to get caught. As Sah walked off to confer with the other singers, Vai walked over to where Kaladin sat, bringing him a waterskin. She then backed away, but didn't flee as Kaladin reached for the waterskin. When he thanked her, she asked if the other humans would chase them, and why they couldn't just let them go. She asked Kaladin if he could go back and tell them that they didn't want trouble. Kaladin apologized, but he told Vai they would come because the former parshment were considered a "resource" that they couldn't ignore.[1]
Vai sniffled and asked why, that they never tried to hurt them, that they were nice. She even promised that she never hit anyone when she was mad. Kaladin explained that he didn't mean her, but Vai's ancestors. However, he trailed off as he didn't know how to explain slavery to a seven-year-old. He tossed the waterskin back to her and she ran back to her father.[1]
Revolar
When the singers and Kaladin approached Revolar, Sah carried Vai on his shoulder so she could have a better view. She held onto some wooden cards, clutching them like another child might carry a favorite stuffed doll. As they walked, Sah told Kaladin that he'd dreamed of the parshmen having their own city, and here it was. Kaladin asked if that was what this was all about, conquering the kingdom, destroying humankind. Sah said he didn't know, but he could not be a slave again and he would not let them take Vai and imprison her.[2]
Separation from Sah
Unfortunately, Vai was taken from her father by order of the Fused when Sah, Khen, and the other singers in their group were sent along with Moash to fight in the Siege of Kholinar. This was supposedly a punishment for "harboring" Kaladin as a spy, although in reality the Fused were looking for reasons to conscript more singers into their infantry. Sah was enraged by this development, but had no recourse.[3] He was ultimately killed in the fighting; Kaladin, who participated in the battle alongside the Kholinar Wall Guard, slumped to his knees upon seeing Sah fall, recalling that all he ever wanted was to protect his daughter.[4] Vai's whereabouts after being separated from her father are unknown but she is still alive.[5]
Notes
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Oathbringer chapter 17#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 31#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 54#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 84#
- ↑ Dragonsteel 2022
— Arcanum - 2022-11-15#